Daily Devotional for Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Have you missed any of our devotionals? Remember they can be found in the Archive section of our Website
http://www.gospelines.com 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. ~ Matthew 1:20-25 (New International Version) "Meet the Gilliams" In Thomas Meloncon's play, Christmas with Great Aunt, we're introduced to the Gilliam family. Cecil (Dad), Casey (Mom), Cecil Jr. and Dana have taken a trip to Bethlehem, Texas on their way to Los Angeles for Christmas. There seems to be some confusion as to the true meaning of Christmas. Casey has returned to Great Aunt's in search of the missing link; something to take away the loneliness and perhaps regret she feels. Cecil, on the other hand, thinks that the trip to Los Angeles will show just how much he loves his family and the fruit of his hard labor to "provide" for their lifestyle will be evident. (They arrived with their Mercedes filled to the brim with gifts for Great Aunt and their own gifts awaiting opening at their final destination) He is so proud of Dana who is going to attend a prestigious Ivy League college soon. Cecil Jr. marches to the beat of a different drummer, much to the consternation of his father, who continues to express his displeasure. Each family member has a heavy heart and pain that manifests itself in different ways. Everything is different in Bethlehem. Despite the fact the church burned down, Great Aunt and the members are still joyous and are preparing for their play depicting Christ's birth. The food Great Aunt prepares (possum stew and hot water cornbread) isn't anything like that which the Gilliam's normally eat. And, imagine, a house with one bathroom and the kids have to sleep on palettes on the floor and their cell phones don't work either. There is no luxury hotel nearby and Cecil isn't feeling it. He is very reluctant to make the adjustment as everything is about appearances and how hard he works to bring home the bacon; always reminding everyone how much things cost. He's a very proud man..his successes have blinded him and he's out of touch with each member of his family, and rest assured, out of touch with himself. Each member of the family is searching for their own truth. I won't give away the entire story here, but I can safely say that many of us have been caught up in much the same way during the Christmas season. The emphasis on material trappings and keeping up appearances is not what the birth of Jesus signifies. As Great Aunt would remind us, we need to choose life through Jesus. In the dark recesses of our minds and hearts, HE is the light of the world and directs our paths if only we would invite him in. GospeLines Prayer: Father, we come to You with humble and heavy hearts knowing that we have lost track of the importance of the ultimate gift You have given us, the gift of salvation. We are most assuredly undeserving. The love You have shown us through the gift of Your son, trumps all of the things we often think are important. We thank You for Your love and for the love of our families and those Angels You have brought along our path. While we acknowledge that neatly wrapped packages, decorated trees, holiday music and lit-up houses conjure up great imagery, nothing surpasses the beautiful story of our Savior's birth. Thank You Father, for Your bountiful blessings. In His Love, Carla ΓΏ Amen and Amen! O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en.
