I'll Be Home For Christmas

I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Micah 5:2

2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

(NKJ)

We have so many different memories when we think of our birthplace on Christmas.

I remember wonderful times, of a warm home with the smell of Christmas foods and dreams of how Christmas day would be with my family and friends.

I remember the Christmas programs at the church and the apples, oranges, nuts and candy canes and reciting our parts before the church.

We where not wealthy by a long shot but we didn’t know that because of my mother and father. They did everything they knew how to make Christmas as special as possible and you know what, I look back over my life and I thank God for them.

Years later when I would spend Christmas on a secret mission in Japan or spend Christmas in Vietnam or even spend Christmas half way across the country, I would always wish to be home for Christmas.

No matter where I would find myself, I would make sure I found a way to call home and let my mother know how much I missed her and thank her for all she had done for me. Daddy was gone by now but he would always hold a special place in my heart at Christmas also.

I know that everyone didn’t have this type of Christmas. But even the ones, who had a hard time during this season, hold on to the memories of their best Christmas’s.

I talked to a friend who told me about a Christmas when they had nothing. They lived up in the mountains in a small town and she remembers how this Christmas was shaping up to be like so many others when they would only receive a piece of candy or even nothing at all. She remembered her best Christmas as the one that on Christmas Eve they received word to come to the western union office. Her aunt had remembered them and had sent them some money for Christmas. She said it was the greatest Christmas ever because they didn’t even have food to eat and now there would be food and maybe even a present.

God has special people and He has special places. You may come from a big city or you may be from the smallest little ole town back in the hills but it is home.

There are people who right now who are planning how they can make it home for Christmas.

Some will take a plane, or ride a bus and others will drive thousands of miles night and day just to be home for Christmas.

Home may be a spilt level or it may be a little house on the backside of town but they want to come home.

There are some people in this church right now, if that far away son or daughter, sister or brother would walk through that door, you would bust into a fit of joy.

This truly is a special time of year and we must never allow the enemy to take that away from us.

The only way the enemy can do that is if we allow ourselves to forget the reason for the season.

When we don’t have Jesus, we don’t have Christmas. People who don’t have Jesus are the ones without joy.

They can be found always complaining about this time of year is too commercial.

They are the ones saying they will be glad when it’s over.

Most of them really love Christmas but for what ever reason they have allowed past hurts and disappointments to take Christ out of Christmas for them. They have an inner bitterness that they want let go of.

When you take Christ out of Christmas you lose your joy and happiness.

TEXT:

There was excitement about the birth of Christ even before He was ever born.

Years before the birth of Jesus the Prophet Micah was forewarned by God that in the town of Bethlehem would come forth a ruler.

Bethlehem would be the place where Jesus would make His entry into this world.

The savior of not only Israel but the Savior of the world was to be born in Bethlehem.

But I must say why Bethlehem? Why not in the great city of Jerusalem?

Let’s take a closer look at the town of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem means House of Bread.

It was a special place where they worked the fertile soil and produced food and sustenance for the people. It was a humble small town of hard working people.

It was not the holy city – it was not Jerusalem – it was not the great capital center of worship.