Joy, my wife, wrote how, “For several years our family vacationed every year at Christmas time in Mexico. We always took individually wrapped candy canes to give to the local children. One Christmas morning I had taken the bus to attend a Christmas church service. After the service, while waiting for the bus to arrive, I saw a very poor looking, unkempt little girl and greeted her saying, ‘Felice Navidad’ (Merry Christmas) and gave her a candy cane.

“A few minutes later, I felt someone tugging on my skirt and turned to see this same little girl smiling as she handed me a walnut! My first thought was, ‘I can’t accept this walnut from her as it may be all she had received for Christmas.’ However, I thought of the true meaning of Christmas giving so accepted her valuable gift. I got back to the beach where my family member were and was so deeply touched by this poor little girl’s precious gift, I cried. I still have the walnut and every year tell the story now to my grandchildren—and we still cry.

“I treasure this gift from a poor little girl who gave me all she had out of the abundance of her loving heart.”

At this Christmas season we are again reminded that Jesus gave his very all that we might be forgiven of all our sins and given the gift of eternal life—the greatest Christmas gift anyone could ever receive.

Jesus has this gift of forgiveness and eternal life for you, too, dear reader, so if you haven’t accepted it, be sure to do so at this Christmas season. For help, be sure to read “How to Be Sure You’re a Christian” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/christian.

And may you and I, like the little Mexican girl Joy wrote about, always give out of the abundance of a loving and grateful heart.

Suggested Prayer; “Dear God, thank you that you gave out of the abundance of your loving heart the greatest love gift in all the world—the gift of your Son, Jesus, to come to earth as a baby to live and die for my sins so that I could be given the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. And thank you, Jesus, for all you have done for me. Because you died for me, help me to live for you and always give to you and others out of a loving, grateful heart. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 19:14 (NIV).

“On Sept. 14th, 2001—just after the tragic events of 9-11—President George W. Bush called for a national day of prayer and the ringing of bells in houses of worship across our land. Rector Daniel Paul Matthews contacted the churches in his Manhattan parish to let them know of President Bush’s initiative. Matthews especially wanted to hear the bells ring out from St. Paul’s Chapel on Broadway, the oldest public building in the city. St. Paul’s is also an historic church. President George Washington prayed there during times of war. But the engineers at St. Paul’s said it would be impossible to ring the Chapel’s bells. They were too near the chaos of Ground Zero, and the Chapel had been shut off from normal activity.

“But one of the engineers, Mike Borrero, wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He climbed up into the Chapel’s bell tower and banged on the bell with an iron bar. Twelve times the bell pealed out through the streets of Manhattan. On the ground below, fire fighters and police officers paused in their work to take off their hats and bow their heads in reverence. One brave engineer determined that St. Paul’s Chapel would not remain silent in the midst of adversity.”²

May we, who call ourselves Christ followers, never have to wait ’till Christmas to hear the bells of peace ring out—or allow the purveyors of political correctness to silence the bells of peace—as expressed in an old favorite Christmas carol:

I heard the bells on Christmas day / Their old familiar carols play / And mild and sweet the words repeat, / Of peace on earth, good will to men. / I thought how as the day had come, / The belfries of all Christendom Had roll’d along th’ unbroken song / Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow’d my head: / “There is no peace on earth,” I said, / “For hate is strong, and mocks the song / Of peace on earth, good will to men.” / Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: / “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; / The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, / With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in this world where so few wrongs are put right and where there is not yet lasting peace, grant that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, will hasten the day of his return to end forever all wars, evil, sadness, sickness, and suffering, and that there truly will be ‘peace on earth, good will to men.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: If you have never accepted God’s remarkable Christmas gift of forgiveness and eternal life, for help go to www.actsweb.org/christian for the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious.”

1. Luke 2:13-14 (NIV).
2. “God Reigns” by Daniel Paul Matthews, from a sermon preached on Sept. 23, 2001, quoted by Associated Church Press wire news.