Today is Tuesday, December 28th, 2010; Karen's Korner #1977

Our local church supports our hometown son John Crozier (who was a member of our congregation) and his family as missionaries in Poland. This is his/their Christmas letter to us (and you):
 
 
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.  Zechariah answered the angel, „How can I be sure of this?  Luke 1.18
  
 
If we can make our way past the blow-up Santas, sparkling lights, and frustrated shoppers looking for the perfect present, we might come face to face with the oddity of Christmas, namely God encroaching the line that divides the here and now from eternity. And once we find ourselves gazing at the tiny baby in Bethlehem, many find themselves asking Zechariah’s question;
 
"How can I be sure of this?”
 
How can I be sure of God’s promise of salvation?  How can forgiveness be found amongst the cows, hay, and dirt of a manger?  Like Zechariah, we have a tendency to doubt the spiritual reality hidden behind the glitter and noise of yet another Christmas season. 
 
We are not alone in our doubt. Didn’t the shepherds deal with the same question en route to Bethlehem? They had no guarantee, no cell phones to call ahead and check on the validity of the angel’s message. And yet they went.  Believing the unbelievable. Hoping for the impossible. 

We pray that you will join the shepherds this Christmas, as together we journey to Bethlehem, brushing past the presents, long lines, and endless strings of lights, so that we might find ourselves at Jesus’ side, along with all those throughout history who have asked the same question;
 
"How can I be sure of this?”
 
Zechariah’s question was only answered much later with the birth of a son. Uncertainty and doubt were his companions up until the moment God’s promise came true. The shepherds, as well, traveled on without guarantee, doubting and hoping the message of Christmas right up until their tired feet found the Messiah. 
 
This Christmas, we hope and pray you and your family will know the truth that turns doubt and uncertainty into the praise and worship heard around the manger so long ago. Praise not based on empty promises and wishful thinking but on the simple fact that, as recorded by Luke, the events of that first Christmas, as hard as they are to believe. . .”were just as they had been told”. 

With heartfelt gratitude and hope this Christmas,

John and Zaba, along with Dawid, Tomek, and Zosia
(their children who are better known as David, Thomas, and Sophie in the English language)

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