December-Branches-Blank_Production-Master

Pastor’s Note
Praying for a Christmas Miracle
These past few weeks in the Minor Prophets have
been hard but good for me. They have hurt in
a healing way. God has called my heart out and
called my heart home. The list of idols He has
shown me in my life has grown (I had to get a
bigger notepad), and so has the assurance of
his unending love and patience with me (I get to
pray more!).
The bottom line as the prophets trumpet
“Repent” over and over is that God is calling me
into deeper relationship with Him – to knowing
Him more, to valuing Him above all else, to
seeing my life with Him as that which flows into
every other area of life. I’m thankful that God
is working in my heart, and I’m thankful He’s
working in similar ways in many of yours, too.
Thanks to so many of you who have shared that
with me and are praying for me. God is calling us
together to know Him more and to be satisfied
and fulfilled in Him.
And then December comes. … Christmas parties,
long car trips, Christmas music, family traditions,
gifts to purchase, Christmas concerts, food to
bake, Christmas concerts, semester-ending
school stuff, Christmas cards to mail, planning for
2020, people to serve … all in 24 or so days? Are
we serious? Where in all of this am I supposed to
know God more? Won’t that be one relationship
that can wait until next year to get my attention?
From where I sit in late November, it will be a
Christmas miracle if I am awake on December 25!
That’s what I mean when I say I’m praying for a
Christmas miracle, because I am – the miracle
that God would meet busy people like you and
me this Christmas and take us deeper in our
relationship with Him. I don’t want his work to
stop for me to busy myself with celebrating his
birth. Ha! I laughed as I wrote that, but isn’t it
true? Don’t I avoid Him even by throwing Him a
birthday party, so to speak? Is my heart not so
skilled at keeping God at arms’ length from me?
Father, forgive me. Jesus, have mercy on us. Holy
Spirit, come help us!
See, the miracle of Christmas is that God
actually enters into our crazy, busy mess himself
– that’s exactly where He shows up in a stable
in Bethlehem. He comes to tired shepherds, to
distracted religious leaders, to people just trying
to get through the day and make it to the end
of another year. And his very purpose in coming
is that we might see the Word made flesh, God
become man, and know the glory of God. His
desire is not merely to do something for us but
– miracle of miracles – have God and sinners
be reconciled, give hungry people a taste of his
heavenly provision.
So, please celebrate Christmas with gusto
– meditate on the music, worship with your
church family, share the joy with kids, friends,
and neighbors. But would you also join me in
praying that God would make us mindful of
that incredible reality of his love this Christmas
season? Would you pray that God would remind
us that He was born that we might truly know
Him – and that in the midst of all the agendas we
have this December, He maintains his agenda of
fostering relationship with us? Would you pray
that we would truly experience Him, not merely
learn some more things about Him?
He comes to topple idols in my heart that try
to enslave me to sin. He comes to make his
blessings flow in the cursed world I live in. He
comes to turn self-focused, distracted eyes to
heaven – just as He did 2,000 years ago. What a
miracle! He will do it again this year!
Will Spink
Senior Pastor
If you would like to contact Will, use
the following:
will.spink@southwood.org