2020 CHRISTMAS GREETING
2020-LUMglobal-Christmas-letter.pdfPosted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
Saying "Merry Christmas!" just doesn't seem to be enough! But ---- MERRY CHRISTMAS! anyhow!
As I write, Jo Ann is in the kitchen preparing a Christmas Eve dinner for five friends here in Yuma. We love having folks in our home, and no time seems more appropriate than Christmas to have friends who otherwise would dine alone on Christmas Eve. We wish we could have invited more . . . but we want to honor the COVID-19 restrictions implemented by park management.
Attached is our Christmas "card" to you! From the picture at the top to the final thoughts at the bottom, it expresses our thoughts this season, but expresses them entirely inadequately.
It seems that each Christmas season God graciously puts in our hearts a particular concept about the birth of Christ, and this year is no exception. Perhaps it is because there has been such a foreboding spirit of darkness and despair caused by political upheaval, economic tenuousness, international unrest, and COVID-19 fears. Perhaps it is because we have been able to see only a few of our Chapel families this past year. Or it could be another factor. Whatever the case, this year my heart has been strangely drawn to prophecies about the Incarnation of Christ found in the Book of Isaiah.
It has all centered around the idea of Christ as the Light. We tend to focus on other prophecies, but if you understand the underlying theme of Isaiah, you know that the prevailing focus on Christ's birth is that He is the very incarnation of "Light". For example, . . .
Early in the book, Isaiah invites Israel, "Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD" (Isa 2:5), instead of continuing in the darkness of division (the Divided Kingdom), despair, and idolatry.
Two chapters later, he warns them about calling light "darkness" and callng darkness "light" (Isa 5:20). He writes, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" The word "woe" indicates an incredibly stern warning of both a sinful action and an inevitable end result.
After continuing similar warnings for several chapters, interrupted by his encounter in the temple (Isa 6), the Prophet gives a glimmer of hope: "The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them." (Isa 9:2), and then a few verses later explains it:
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this." (Isa 9:6-7).
That was the theme of my sermon on December 13th.
The second of three major passage in Isaiah is found in chapter 42, from which I preached December 20th:
[Speaking to His Son, God said] "I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison. I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images." [Then, speaking to us, God said} "Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you." (Isa 42:6-9).
A few verses later, God reinforced His promise to the world:
"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone." (Isa 42:16).
This coming Sunday I will preach from the third prophecies of God's "Light" trilogy:
"Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising." (Isa 60:1-3.
Isaiah was a prophet who spoke directly to Israel in their time of division, bondage, and sin, and promised them a national redeemer. In that this Redeemer is also the Savior of the world, Isaiah's predictions were for us as well. The "Light" He predicted, Came! He, Himself identified Himself over and over again as "The Light of the world (nations)".
We have seen Him. We have received Him. Now we proclaim Him.
That's what Christmas is all about. That's what being a Christian is all about ---- seeing Him, receiving Him, proclaiming Him.
Jo Ann and I pray that you have done the first two, and we pray that you are doing the last one.
Praying that you are blessed above and beyond your wildest expectations as you celebrate Christ, shout victory in the midst of challenge, finish the year well, and begin the new enthusiastically.
In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann
The Tollivers
Bob Tolliver
Life Unlimited Ministries
LUMglobal
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