“For the Lord is Good: His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

 

December, 2009

Dear Friend,

Trusting that all is well with you and your loved ones. We are all fine, and praising God for giving us another wonderful year of ministry. Thank you, to all who responded to our appeal last month, and to our precious monthly partners. God bless you! This past year has been a blessed one, and we are very excited about what God has done, and what He will do in 2010! Our 40 volunteers thank you for giving them the privilege of serving God in a powerful way in a year where thousands of people lost their jobs, and hope was deferred. Our prayer line was busy with calls from people who lost hope for their future for many reasons. But our God says “Do not let your hope be deferred, I am here!”  I love this ministry because it is a personal one. Our phone lines bridge the gap between hope and despair, and because of Who God is, hope lives!

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior this month, let us hold tight to Who He is, and who we are in Him. Psalm 100 tells us to make a “joyful shout to the Lord..” When life is going good, it is so easy to do that, isn’t it? However, what about the bad times? I don’t see anywhere in this Psalm or in the Bible that it says to only praise Him when things are going our way. The psalmist says to “serve the Lord with gladness: Come before His presence with singing, know that the Lord, He is God: It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves: Then it goes on to say “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Vs. 2-3) When life gets tough, and things don’t go our way, that is especially the time to remember to Whom we belong! We belong to Jesus! Glory! Can you give a SHOUT right now? Let us lift up holy hands and praise the Lord! Because of Jesus, hope lives! We can never, never, never give up! On the night of His birth the angels rejoiced! The stars shone brightly, the earth received Him. All nature bowed to Him. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Yet He came as a baby, born in humble circumstances, in a stable. Jesus, the very Son of God, who was royalty in heaven, came to earth to live as we live, feeling the same feelings that we have, knowing hunger and thirst, knowing what it is to be misunderstood and rejected, and then be put to death for the sins that we have committed, not Him. He was Faithful, He never gave in to temptation and He never sinned. But He loved us so much that He was willing to suffer the shame and torture of the Cross for us. He took our place on the Cross. We deserve the cross, not Him. But He did it because He loves us so much. Those of us who repent of our sin, and receive Him into our heart are now set free! We

are forgiven! We can know that without a doubt that when we die we will go to heaven. His Blood washes us clean. We can go before the Father washed in the Blood of His Son, and when He  sees us He sees His Son. Praise God!!

Psalm 100 tells us to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, Be thankful to Him, and bless His Name. (Vs. 4) The word “praise” means “a celebration.” (Strong’s #8416) It is time to celebrate, it is a time for singing, it is a time for expressing our love and gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is Born! My family has a tradition, that when it is time for cake and coffee after our Christmas dinner, we make it a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. It is our way of making Christmas be what it is supposed to be, a birthday celebration for the One who came to this earth to give us salvation. This is why Christmas is such a time to celebrate! Verse 5 gives us three reasons to celebrate. 1. He is all Good. 2.  He always forgives. 3. His Word is alive forevermore.

No matter what is going on in our lives, because of Jesus, there is always hope. Never  give up! When it looks like we are at the end of our rope, that there is nothing more that can be done, that is when Jesus will suddenly move, and He will move quickly! I have seen it happen so many times in my own life. When I can’t fight anymore, and I feel like giving up, suddenly, He shows up! The bills get paid, healing takes place, and prayers are answered. He reminds me that I belong to Him, and as long as I do, He will show Himself strong on my behalf. Recently I was concerned about a situation, and it was as if the enemy was saying to me, “that is it, there is no hope, your situation will bring you down and you won’t recover.” I was starting to really get nervous, and then suddenly.... I heard God say “why are you worried? Haven’t I always taken care of you and your concerns? I am stronger than the enemy, and I will always take care of you. Do not fret, leave it up to Me.” I immediately repented for worrying and thanked the Lord for His Faithfulness, and I put that worry back into His hands. And yes, He is taking care of that situation, and I am at peace. Praise God!

This Christmas take the time to think back to your life, and think of all the times that Jesus has come to your rescue. Think upon the times when your prayers have been answered, and thank Him. Let us all enter into the New Year with hope in our hearts. Let us join together now and pray.

“Father, in Jesus Name, we come before Your Throne of Grace, covered by the precious Blood of Your Son Jesus. We thank You Father for sending Your Son so that we can have salvation. We thank You Jesus for coming into this world to save us. Happy Birthday Jesus!!  We thank You  for the Cross..for the Blood that was shed for us. We thank You for this past year, for all the times when You suddenly showed up! For the times when we were filled with despair, and You came and lifted us up and out of it. For the times when even in the midst of a storm, You held out Your hand and rescued us. Praise You Lord. We thank You for this New Year, and we give it to You for your honor and glory....  Father, I ask You to bless this reader, and give this person a year of health, peace, prosperity, joy, and above all, a year of growing more and more in love with You. Amen. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rev. Barbara Anne Yovino, Ph.D.

Director