December 20, 2018
Dear friends,
Today was moving day for our radio follow-up office. Although we began taking things from our “old” office a couple of months ago, today we were blessed to have five strong helpers move furniture, books and other items to the “new” location. The office is now in the center of Châteauguay, across the street from a Roman Catholic church that was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1998 (https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1003). On Monday morning, just before a man came to install a carpet in the office, the bells above the church rang loudly. In a few days, we will remember the day when God sent His one and only Son to be born in Bethlehem. Although no church bells rang that day, a multitude of angels joined the angel of the Lord who announced the birth of “a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-14) to shepherds at night.
In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “God chose the least of all cities (Bethlehem) to host the birth of His Son, and He chose the least of society (shepherds) as the first witnesses. Shepherds were considered ceremonially unclean because they invariably had to engage in financial transactions with Gentiles; therefore they were not allowed to worship in the temple. Neither were they allowed to testify in court, because they were considered unreliable witnesses.” Aren’t you glad that God went out of His way to redeem us from our sin? The Bible clearly states that all people have sinned and that the result of sin is separation from God. Praise the Lord that Jesus came from heaven to die for our sins!
One of the first songs that I learned after trusting in Christ as my personal Saviour when I was seventeen was “Sweet, Sweet Song of Salvation” by Larry Norman. He sang about telling our children, friends and others that Jesus cares. This morning, I saw a man entering the mechanic’s place next door to our “old” office. I met Marcel a few years ago and saw him at the hospital around the time that one of Karen’s parents was a patient. I immediately told him that we are moving and gave him the new address in hopes that he would visit us there sometime. When we started moving in October, I parked near a bicycle repair store behind the “new” office. I told Stéphane, who repaired a bike for us a few years ago, about our move and looked forward to telling him more about the ministry. However, a few weeks later, he moved his business to another town. You never know if you will have more than one opportunity to tell someone about the Lord. May this Christmas be a time of great peace and joy for you and your family!
Scripture for the weekend: “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” Luke 2:20 (NKJV)
Thought for the weekend: “God’s promises are sure. If we set our hearts and minds to know Him, He will open our spiritual eyes and ears, revealing Himself in wonderful and often unexpected ways.” Dr. Charles Stanley (“From the Pastor’s Heart” – July 2014).
By His grace,
Steve