Dear friend,

Most businesses are sending out greetings that avoid the word “Christmas,” instead opting for the supposedly more “politically correct” greeting of “Happy Holidays.”

Not me.

It used to bother me a little bit when I’d see the word “Christmas” replaced with the word “Xmas” in various places. “Don’t take Christ out of Christmas,” I’d say.

But, now our society has gone so far as to remove Christ AND Christmas altogether!

For example… My kids go to public school and they no longer have “Christmas” parties or programs, they now call them “Winter” parties and programs.

How boring!

I realize that not everybody celebrates Christmas or believes in the Christ whose birthday we are celebrating this month. That’s OK. I completely respect everyone, no matter what they believe or don’t believe!

But, I personally AM a believer in Christ, and I would rather risk a little criticism from a few non-believers who may get “offended” than remove Christ (and Christmas) from my well-wishes to you.

So, here goes 🙂

In a nutshell, Christmas is all about GOOD NEWS  and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like good news, do you?

God loved you, me and all of us two-legged varmints (as a friend of mine recently joked) SO MUCH that He decided to leave the perfection of Heaven, and become a piece of flesh right here on planet Earth. He left his eternal tropical vacation at the throne of God to enter our imperfect atmosphere as a crying little baby (who pooped and burped), lived a sinless life, and was rejected and scorned by the ones He came to serve.

He felt our pain and experienced our weaknesses to the fullest.

So, why was he scorned, and eventually crucified by those he loved?

He loved us too much, I guess. Even to the point of dying a bloody death, hanging by Roman nails, pierced on a tree.

He is the reason we can have Christmas trees in our homes, sing Christmas carols, give gifts to others, spend time eating too much goodies with family and friends, and decorate our homes with colorful lights… because of that old bloody tree.

But, here’s the best news: after Christ died on that tree, he didn’t stay dead!

Nope. Just three days later, after being buried and sealed in a tomb… the most remarkable miracle in the history of the universe occurred.

Resurrection.

Raised from the dead! He once was dead, but then he came back to life. Never to die again!

And 40 days later, he levitated into the sky and teleported back to the throne of God in Heaven, where He continues to rule and reign as our Loving Savior and Our Father.

He did all that because He loved us.

And He loves you!!

Loves you so much He wants to spend time with you, help you in your darkest moments, and celebrate with you in your best times. He wants to give you resurrection, too.

He’s also got an open invitation for you to join Him at a big feast that he’s throwing in Heaven on the day of your death, one that will top any ham or turkey dinner your mom or grandma could whip up. I’m telling ya, it’s something you don’t want to miss out on!

So, how do you get all this?

Well, it’s free… But it’ll cost you your life (in a good way, as you’ll learn if you read below…).

If you don’t know Christ’s love, maybe you could take a bit of time this season to find a Bible (the best-selling non-fiction book of all-time) and read a little from the book of Matthew, Mark or Luke. If you get on a roll and want to learn more, keep reading. John. Acts. Romans. All talk about the love of God, and explain more about what happened around 2,000 years ago. Eventually, you may want to read the whole Bible – all 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation. They all speak about God’s love!

It’s a living book, really. God comes alive through the words on the page, as you read them with a heart to seek after Him. He’ll meet you there. He’s faithful and true. Qualities we don’t see much of in society anymore.

MERRY CHRISTMAS (and happy holidays) to you and yours this season!

Yours for excellent health,

Joe Barton
Founder & CEO
Barton Publishing Inc.

p.s. If I’ve offended you by this letter, I am sorry. But I get excited thinking about the love of God, and I can’t help but tell others about the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received. I want everyone to experience this gift of God: eternal health. He’s listening and waiting for you right now…

Comments

comments