Thursday, December 16, 2021

One Last Christmas - December 16, 2021

 

 One Last Christmas - December 16, 2021


John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


 
Matthew West is the King of the Tear-jerking story-song.  A few years ago, he wrote a song called “ The Heart of Christmas.” The song was written for a movie based on the events that inspired the song for today, “One Last Christmas."  The video tells the story powerfully, so I won’t recount it here.  If you haven’t watched the video, watch it now. I’ll wait.
 
What I love about that story is how contagious love and compassion can be.  The way a whole town rallied around that family is just inspiring.  And yet, this Christmas, it has happened right here on Pine Island.  A few weeks ago, a family in Bokeelia experienced a fire in their home.  It was a family that we were already connected to through our food deliveries.  When we heard about the fire, we responded with resources we had available.  What has happened since has been amazing – as many as a dozen organizations on the island have gotten involved and have rallied around them.  They are going to be okay because of contagious love and compassion. All we did was provide the spark of contagion.
 
But what we really know is that we didn’t start that fire – God did.  God entered the world God created because of his love and compassion for us – his desire that we should not “perish.”  The word translated “perish” in this world-famous verse is the word used to describe food “going bad.”  It was “going bad” for us and God intervened because “God so loved” us.  He still intervenes in this way for people every day.  Now, we get the opportunity to be a part of this compassion contagion. 
 
Question:  What could you do today to help someone whose life is “going bad?”
 
Prayer:  Save us Lord from the ways we are perishing and include us in your work of saving others. Amen.
 
Prayer Focus:  Pray for people who are facing a new scary diagnosis

 

Song:  Matthew West - One Last Christmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye39mgcHC3E

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