Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas

December 2011

In Luke chapter two, starting in verse twenty-five, we pick up the account of Simeon. The Bible tells us he was just and devout, and that the Holy Ghost was upon him. He was told he would not see death before he saw the Lord Jesus Christ. What a promise to be given. Simeon knew he would see Jesus before he died. The Bible tells us he was just and devout, but I think he was probably also patient. Then, to finally see the Christ child had to be a highlight of Simeon’s life. The promise given was to see, not to hold. The gift given was to handle the Christ child, to hold in his arms the Savior of the world. In verse 28, the Bible tells us, “Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” Simeon knew it wasn’t going to get any better than that; he was ready to die now. What a gift he was given, what a gift we have been given. From His saving grace, to His preserved Word to hold in our hands, we have been given promises. But, we always get gifts above and beyond those promises.

We always equate this time period every year to the end of another year. We try to finish things up before going into the New Year. This time of rushing around leads us to forget what is important, and we sometimes get aggravated. I need help in staying focused. The best way I have found is to constantly think about the promises and then the gifts He gives us. The promises are always there, but you never know when the Lord is going to place a gift in our laps. Just this week, in a conversation with a family making preparations to go into the Ministry full time, they were telling us their story of how the Lord led them to this point in their lives. It was a gift to us, as well as them. To have the privilege to see how God works in our lives and also in the lives of others is the same as Simeon standing, holding the Christ child in His arms, amazed at what he is seeing. We are thankful this year for all of the gifts He has always given us, every day, sometimes twice daily.

We want to thank all of our supporting churches, and the individual families that have supported us this year. We have been given some great gifts throughout the year. We cannot thank you enough; we could not do what we do without you.

Merry CHRISTmas,Richard and Ann Bibey