From:-
TORCH TRUST FOR THE BLIND, Torch House, Torch Way, Northampton Road, Market
Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9HL, U.K.
Telephone: (01858) 438260, Fax: (01858) 438275, email: info@torchtrust.org
Charity Number 1095904.
.. Greetings!
Mary tells
Joseph her Christmas Dream
A Christmas
Eve Service for those who don’t feel like celebrating
Studies in
the Book of Revelation
Christmas approaches. Family, friends, parties, parcels – what is it that first comes to mind? What for some brings a smile, for others provokes a shudder. Maybe there’s the pain of missing loved ones. Perhaps the memories of previous family Christmases aren’t so happy after all. For some there’s acute loneliness – people who at other times are there for us becoming preoccupied with their own family celebrations. Can Christmas even be a celebration for some of us?
Much of what Christmas in the home of a happy family has come to mean is good, but it’s possible to celebrate at Christmas and not celebrate Christmas. Those without the family and the parties may have to dig a bit deeper to find the joy of Christmas but in so doing can find something that warms for rather longer than the festivities. Can anything provide more cause for rejoicing than the incarnation – that God not only entered our world but that He entered our humanity too? To grasp the reality of it means we need to strip away the tinselly wrapping. Both birth and death push the boundaries of human dignity. Desert loneliness, heartbreaking bereavement and crushing crowds test the extremities of human tolerance – and Jesus experienced them all. The incarnation means God put himself where we are: Emmanuel, “God with us”.
Wherever you are, may Christmas break right into your life.
by Mum Heath (co-founder of Torch Trust)
On my 85th birthday most of the family came to celebrate. My granddaughter was bursting to talk to me. “Grandma,” she said, “we’re going to have a baby in November!” Her face was radiant – I didn’t need to ask if she and Nathan were pleased! Preparations began at once. A room was made into a neat little nursery, baby clothes appeared, a baby buggy and a carrying basket and other items were chosen from a catalogue. It was exciting. Maternity classes were put on the agenda for both of them. They were changing to a totally different lifestyle for the sake of the baby.
We are drawing near to Christmas, and I can’t help but compare the preparations made for our baby, with the lot of the most important Baby ever born, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
There was no celebration planned to welcome Him; only a
very puzzled girl, clutching a secret which she herself could hardly believe.
An angel had told young Mary, a virgin from the
Joseph refused to believe Mary when she shared the news with him. It took God to intervene before he could shoulder the responsibility of fathering this Holy Child. Mary must have wondered herself if she had been dreaming.
The angel had also told Mary that her elderly aunt
Elizabeth was expecting a baby, a miracle indeed as
She soon had the answer, for
Mary went back to face the uncertainty of life under Roman
occupation. It seemed to be the last straw when Caesar Augustus decided to
order a Census. Everyone must go to the city of their forefathers to be registered.
Poor Mary, so near to the time when her baby was due, had to face a wearying
journey to
We know the outcome so well, too well I think, for we fail to realise the enormous fact that God, when He sent His Son to earth, did not arrange for Him to be born in a palace, but in a cave where animals were kept, with a feeding trough for His crib. Only a few poor shepherds came to that humble place to worship this holy Child after angels had told them the Good News. None of the mighty of the land knew anything about it.
Karen and Nathan will surround their baby with happiness and comfort, wanting to see the little one live, and develop into a strong healthy adult.
Jesus, the Child of Bethlehem, God’s Son, was born in poverty and obscurity. In fact, Jesus came for one great purpose – to die on a cross! And He did it for you and me.
May this Christmas story fill your hearts with wonder, as we kneel and worship the God who loved us so much that He sent His Son to redeem us.
Happy Christmas!
I had a dream, Joseph. I don’t understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought new clothes. They’d gone shopping many times and bought elaborate gifts. It was peculiar though, because the presents were not for our son.
They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows, and stacked them under a tree. Yes, a tree Joseph, right in their house. They decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls and sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on the top of the tree. It looked like an angel might look. Oh, it was so beautiful. Everyone was laughing and they were very happy. They were all excited about the gifts.
They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph. Not to our son. I don’t think they even knew Him. They never mentioned His name. Doesn’t it seem odd for people to go to all that trouble to celebrate someone’s birthday if they don’t know Him? I had the strangest feeling that if our son had gone to this celebration, He would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone was so happy, but it made me want to cry. How sad for Jesus not to be wanted at His own birthday party. I’m glad it was only a dream. How terrible Joseph, if it had been real!
* * * * * *
Let’s think about how we can “put Christ back into Christmas” this Christmas time.
(taken from Telling the Bible, by Bob Hartman)
[My dad passed away in the autumn of 2002, and by the time Christmas came around, I didn’t feel much like celebrating. So I put this collection of readings together on the assumption that I probably wasn’t alone – that there were others who had felt, or were feeling, or would one day feel, just like me . . . My story is based on Luke 2:8-18:]
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,
keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But
the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
The shepherds spread the word. They went and told
people what they had seen and heard. Friends. Relations. Citizens of
But were they moved? . . . Convinced? . . . Or changed? That’s a different thing altogether, isn’t it? And it’s true for us as well. Because sometimes, even though it’s Christmas – maybe even the first Christmas – we’re just not in a Christmas-y mood. We just don’t feel like celebrating.
The shepherds’ first port of call is the local pub. “
There’s a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing and “Never!” But when
the shepherds repeat the angels’ message – “good news of great joy!” – a man in
the corner grunts and gulps down what’s left of his pint. He’s a merchant,
travelling up and down the
And, just like us, he wonders: How do you do it? How do you celebrate good news – how do you even believe in the possibility – when all the news you hear is bad?
So let’s light a candle [in our imagination]. And let’s pray – for everyone who wonders with him . . . for everyone this Christmas who struggles to believe that the news – any news – can be good.
“Good news of great joy!” the shepherds repeat. And they’re standing on the tables now and flapping pretend wings!
Some punters laugh. Some punters cheer. But the barmaid turns round and wipes her eyes with a dirty towel. Her husband is out of work. One of her children is seriously ill. And just last week, her grandmother died. Everything seems to be falling apart. Everywhere she looks is dark. She wants to share the shepherds’ excitement – or at least she feels she should. But she can’t. Not now. Because everything is still too painful, too close, too hopeless, too sad. And just like us – because we’ve been there, or one day will be – just like us she wonders: How do you sing “Joy to the world” when all you feel is sadness?
So let’s light a candle. And let’s pray a prayer – for everyone who wonders with her . . . for everyone this Christmas who’s sad.
The shepherds are in full swing now. And even though they can’t begin to sound like angels, the message is the same: “Glory to God in the highest. And peace to people on earth.”
One punter has had enough. It’s not just their singing he can’t stand. Nor the disruption of a quiet night’s drink. It’s that line that galls.
“Peace on earth,” he mutters. And he slams the door on his way out. “Peace on earth? While the Romans rule over us? While they crush us and control us and lay claim to God’s own land? Peace on earth? Impossible!”
And surely we wonder with him.
So let’s light a candle. And let’s pray a prayer – in the hope that, one Christmas, the angels’ song might come true.
The shepherds’ tale is almost done. But the punters are losing interest. Angels are one thing – strange, exotic, amazing! But a baby? Everyone’s seen a baby. And so the end of the story is a bit of a dud.
But it’s also the beginning of an answer. The answer to all we have felt and worried over and wondered about. You see, Christmas promises are one thing. Sometimes, by God’s grace, they come true. And sometimes, foiled by man’s stubbornness and sin, they fall short. Their complete fulfilment lies ahead – in the kingdom to come.
Christmas promises are one thing. But a Christmas present is something else. For God’s gift to us is God himself. God in a very specific way:
God in a manger . . . God in a stable . . . God vulnerable and fragile and small . . . God like us, in fact . . . God with us in the bad news . . . God with us in the sadness . . . God with us when we cry for peace . . . God with us when the promises come true . . . And God with us when they don’t . . . God in a cradle . . . And God on a cross.
God puts himself in our hands. To suckle and to nurture. To receive or to reject.
God’s gift is God himself.
So let’s light a candle. And let’s pray a prayer – for everyone who wants God’s gift this Christmas. For everyone who longs for God himself.
by Mike Townsend
[We take a break from the Christmas content now, to continue our study of the Book of Revelation.]
In the last study, we finished with the harvests at the end of time. Have you ever been to a harvest supper? Nowadays these celebrations are an excuse for a good party. In previous centuries harvest supper thanksgivings were occasions of genuine rejoicing. There will be enough food!
The people of God will enjoy many celebrations after the
battles. At the beginning of chapter 15 we see, “Standing beside the sea, those
who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his
name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant
of God and the song of the lamb: ‘Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God
almighty’.” (verses 2 and 3). The song of Moses was sung after the Israelites
had escaped from the dreadful plagues of
In Study 5 we learned that the time between Jesus first and second comings are marked in Revelation by a series of parallel sets of seven actions. The seven seals were God’s sovereign control of history. The seven trumpets were warnings. We now come to the seven bowls of God’s wrath with their accompanying plagues.
“Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes round their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no-one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” (verses 6 to 9).
The temple is the place of God’s glorious presence. No one can enter the temple until the judgment of the earth is complete.
In chapter 16, we see the full judgment of God. The first four bowls of wrath are poured out on the earth, destroying the environment (verses 1 to 8):
“On the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.”
“On the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.”
“On the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.”
“On the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire.”
When the trumpets blasted out their warnings for people to
repent, only one third of the earth was touched. But the bowls dispense total
destruction because this judgment is complete. Earth’s environment can no
longer sustain life. The old earth passes away, making ready for the new. As
I write, the news reports a dramatic shrinking of the Arctic polar ice
cap. The satellite to measure the ice caps has sadly crashed into the sea after
its launch. People are worried enough to monitor environmental decline. Could
global warming be part of God’s trumpet warning for people to turn to Him?
I am not going to make definite predictions. I met a Bible teacher who
wrote a book showing how the “
When the plagues devastated
“The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness.” (verse 10). Light is extinguished and a thick pall of darkness falls. Creation is being prepared for God’s glorious New Jerusalem, a city filled with the blazing light of the lamb.
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east . . . They go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God almighty” (verse 12 and 14). The sixth bowl clears the ground for the last great battle. “Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (verse 16). Three demonic spirits appear to have miraculous powers. But, seen from heaven, they are ridiculous frogs hopping from the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. (verse 13).
We must always look at our problems from heaven’s perspective. In verse 15 Jesus places the devastation of the earth and the coming great battle into His eternal context. “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake.”
“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘it is done!’” (verse 17). God’s work of judgment upon the earth is finished. “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.” (verse 18). Cities collapse, islands and mountains completely disappear, and massive hailstones come thundering down.
This year there have been several natural disasters, reminding us that such occurrences are all too possible in our modern world. But praise God, our hope is not in this world! “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (chapter 21 verse 1). Whilst we must continue to live in our world as it is for now, we have this wonderful hope of the new to come.
(from the Internet)
Christmas can be a confusing time for many people. A time when problems come into our lives: debt, worry, loneliness, even suicide.
Somehow, it seems that there is something wrong. There is such a big contrast between the way the world spends Christmas, and the religious message which is almost forgotten. How can we make sense of Christmas today? Mohinder’s true story suggests a way.
Mohinder came to
He recalls:
There had always been despair and frustration in our home. I was always arguing with my wife and there was no real peace or contentment in our lives. My ambition was to earn as much money as I could and get my five children married. I thought I was happy doing this, but deep down inside I was empty and unfulfilled.
Then about 14 years ago, my wife became a Christian and started attending a local church where the Bible was taught in both English and Punjabi. This really upset me because I thought she had embraced an English god and changed her culture.
It was not until 1994 that I too found the way to God. I realised what a terrible person I had been and how I had mistreated my wife, my family and other people. I had also cursed God. I realised that in God’s view, my life was wrong: I needed to be right with Him and find His forgiveness.
I then began to suffer from real fear, and it was not until I turned my life over to Jesus Christ that I began to overcome this problem. I asked God to forgive me for all that I had done wrong, and that He would give me His power in my life to change me. I read in the Bible that God promises to those who follow Him, a spirit of love, power and a sound mind, not a spirit of fear. This became really true for me.
Christmas has now taken on a new meaning. There is now contentment and real joy in my heart, and there is peace in our home. We no longer argue and fight. Difficulties still come, but I know that Jesus is my friend, and He is able to help me through my problems. Even if I die, there is great hope because I will go to be with Jesus Christ. He can save and help all who trust Him, whether black, white or Asian. That is why Christmas with Christ is special.
by Joni Eareckson Tada
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census
should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to
register. So Joseph also went up from the town of
The distance between
We can imagine Joseph packing a few belongings and
beginning the journey on foot or donkey-back with Mary – well into her ninth
month of pregnancy. Talk about unpleasant circumstances! How Mary must have suffered
on that journey. Joseph too may have been gripped by anxiety over the
situation. Can you imagine his thoughts as they travelled towards
Why did this census have to happen now? Of all times! What
if the baby comes while we are travelling? Where will we stay when we get to
But it was necessary to make that several-day journey to
Now, certainly, it was a great inconvenience to both Mary and Joseph. But unpleasant circumstances often have a way of becoming the best part of God’s magnificent design. Despite the headache and hardship, the inconvenience and discomfort, God’s sovereign timetable was ticking off right on schedule.
This Christmas story has a lesson for us today, because sometimes you and I make the mistake of thinking that only the “right” things or comfortable things are a part of God’s design. A good job, robust health, close friends, a comfortable house, money in the savings account – all give us the impression that we must be doing something “right”. Then, when the inconvenience or discomfort or hardship hits, we wonder where we went wrong.
Maybe nothing went wrong.
Maybe we simply need to realise that our most unpleasant circumstances, much like Mary’s and Joseph’s, often have a way of becoming a beautiful portion of God’s magnificent design.
God’s sovereign timetable is working in the life of your family, too, hard as that may be to accept at times. Despite the hardship, despite the inconvenience, despite our lack of understanding, God has something in mind. He is in control, and He has a design for our life this Christmas season . . . and through all the seasons of your life.
by Mum Heath (co-founder of Torch Trust)
He came –
He knocked at the door of mankind that day
When as a babe, in a manger He lay.
He came -
Mary, the peasant girl opened her heart
In wonder and gladness accepted her part.
He came -
Very few noticed – preoccupied,
Yet wise men, they searched for Him, with star to guide.
He came -
Not to a life that was famous or great,
But to die on a cross, for my sinful state.
He came -
Men bruised Him and beat Him until He died,
Nailed to a cross, He was crucified.
He comes -
Tender and loving, He offers today
Forgiveness to those who will walk His way.
True peace and deep joy and a reason to live,
These are the blessings He’s waiting to give
To all who will welcome Him in.