Merry Christmas!  It is Christmas morning here in Florida and the weather outside is delightful. The closest thing we can get to a white Christmas would be a short trip to the sugary white sands along the Emerald Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. I readily confess that I love it! It is also Sunday morning. So today is a day of double blessings. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and we are also celebrating His resurrection.  What a special day this is.

How you will celebrate?  Our family (joined with our friend and comrade Micah Self) will share gifts!  We will feast royally (thank you Bethlie Joy!).  We will laugh and talk and laugh and talk some more.  We will miss our family.  Most of mine are in Tennessee; Bethlie’s are mostly in Ohio.  I have a niece whose family is serving our Savior in Europe and I am certainly praying for them as they are far from all of us.  Bethlie’s sister and her family are in India serving Jesus as well and we miss them too.  We will read God’s word together and will pray a prayer of thanksgiving that our God humbled himself and came to walk among us and to die for our sins.  We will praise Him for the wonderful Savior that he is!

We will also assemble with our church family and will worship!  We will sing together.  We will encourage one another.  We will pray for one another.  We will study God’s Word together.  We will share the good news that JESUS really is the reason for the season. We will tell everyone present that through Him there is forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and genuine love, joy, and peace.  He is a wonderful Savior.

So, Merry Christmas, my friends.  No matter what may be happening in your life today – know that Jesus is real and Jesus cares for you.  He offers you peace.  He offers you forgiveness of sins. He offers you himself!  Believe on Him.  Worship Him.  Love Him.

I wish you good tidings of great joy!

Thanks for reading. Your friend,

Dave Young