December Note

From Pastor Mark

 Do you think that the innkeeper would have given Mary and Joseph a first-class room had he known the significance of their visit?

Who would give a second thought to a pair of unknown strangers asking for a room when the sign said, “No Vacancy?” Either send them to the competition down the street or let them sleep in the stable was the best he could do.

Well, certainly he didn’t expect his establishment to be the birthplace of the world’s Redeemer, did he? One wonders what he felt afterward.

In the same manner, how do we sometimes know to whom we have really talked or entertained in our home?

Worse yet, whom have we turned away from our door when we had the opportunity to be helpful?

Dale Evans wrote the book, Angels Unaware. That title is referred to in Hebrews 13:2; “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” She writes in her book…”It makes me wonder if I will have the opportunity to meet these people that I perhaps was less warm to than others, in the afterlife. What will be my excuse? That their visit was totally unexpected; or more honestly, surely some lame excuse that didn’t hold water in my self-described effort to be a servant.”

Christ said he will come again. For some, this is fiction, for us believers it is an expectation. The next time you answer the door, or await a guest, or have a chance meeting with a stranger, perhaps it is wise to take a different attitude as to what they have to say despite their looks or dress.

Given the present state of alarm and distrust in our society, one can only rely on God’s grace and encouragement that we are serving a need to someone else. Let’s not be like the innkeeper.

What are you expecting this season? Nice gifts, plenty of food, a good time, good health? On what are your expectations based? Let us put our trust in God and live each day with the full expectation that when God comes, we are ready.

I look forward to once again celebrating Christmas with you and your family!

Faithfully,

Pastor Mark

Email Pastor Mark:  pastormark@sotpmail.com