Zechariah 8, Revelation 16, Psalm 144:1-15, Proverbs 30: 29-31

Zechariah 8, Revelation 16, Psalm 144:1-15, Proverbs 30: 29-31

Merry Christmas! For the last three weeks or so if someone would ask how I was (especially when I was working,) I would answer, "Great!" With a big smile. To the select few who I'm more comfortable (at work,) my response would be "I can't wait for January." I know I work in retail, for Corporate America, and this is the material world that has been created around us. I also know though, that even though I love my job and the holiday season, this time of year is the busiest, people can be the meanest, and it can be very challenging for me to remember "the reason for the season:" Christ. Over and over today I kept telling Divan that it just didn't feel like Christmas. I was expecting to wake up with the warm and fuzzy feeling and secretly wished that Santa came with presents waiting downstairs. I saw lonely people eating a Christmas dinner by themselves, homeless people walking a cold street in Queens, and my heart has been heavy and aching,praying that Heidi would get a new heart. We are all broken. I am broken.

On a 4 1/2 hour long flight to Albuquerque, I watched JetBlue's free tv... The Bible was showing on the History Channel and I started at the end of Jesus's ministry, through the cross, to the last words of Revelation. It was the second time today that the picture of the cross was put in my path. On Facebook I read a blog about how Christmas brings out the weary, the heartbreak, and the need for. Christ. This is what Christmas is about. It's the beginning of hope. The birth of hope. It's the birth of God's son to save us from ourselves. This is the time we need Him most.

Reading Zechariah 8 reminded me of all this. It's about hope. A new Jerusalem is about God's promises fulfilled. It's about joy in suffering (that has occurred for centuries) and it's about giving all glory to God. That is the kingdom that is ahead, Mount Zion, and the truth and promise we have that God delivers. He will deliver the Jews, His chosen people... A remnant that he will preserve. It's about God's promise to deliver us... Just as lost and just as broken.

My prayer tonight is for the land of Israel and his people: that they believe and follow Jesus. My prayer tonight is that my friends and family (you...us) that are hurting, disappointed, lonely, and broken will surrender to his love. My prayer tonight is that Heidi will get a new heart and that we remain patient until then. Merry Christmas.