Christmas is one of the most wonderful times of the year for those who are truly celebrating the Lord Jesus Christ's birth. Here we see anew an omnipotent God reaching down in such a loving and humble way to us, His creation, who owe Him everything but have rebelled against Him. How wonderful to know we are loved unconditionally!

Recently I was thinking of how different God's provision for our needs is from what we think it will be. At the time Jesus came all the Jewish people were expecting the Messiah, yet almost none of them ended up following Him. Why? I'm sure there were many reasons, but one of the most obvious is that God's provision through Jesus was very different than they expected. He didn't come and establish His Kingdom on earth and free them from the Roman tyranny. Instead, Jesus first came to set them free from slavery to sin and enable them to live for Him prior to the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. That was something very few were able to accept.

This past year has been somewhat like that for us. We have been asking and believing for Cora's healing for many years, but her condition has continued to worsen. Yet through this God has done a greater work than the physical healing we have been asking for. In the first half of 1994 things were so bad that Cora felt she could no longer live without the healing and didn't even want to in spite of God's revealed will. Jenny and I would often wake wondering if Cora would still be breathing when we went into her room. But as we prayed and asked others to pray, these thoughts of death began to disappear despite the fact that things physically were no better! God had somehow removed them!

Then in the fall our family started encountering Scriptures and articles about fear and anxiety. We soon realized the Lord was wanting to deal in those areas, so again we asked people to pray specifically for deliverance from worry and fear and He is doing just that! Cora has experienced renewed strength and courage that before were being drained away by fear and worry. So, just as in the Christmas story, God has provided for us in ways that were certainly not what we expected. We thought being delivered from our fears meant removal of the circumstances, but instead God removed the fear in the circumstances.

And the story of God's provision for the people of this earth does not end with the Christmas or even the Easter story, for the day is rapidly approaching when Jesus will establish His Kingdom here on earth just as the Jewish people have been waiting for so long. And the same is true for Cora. The Lord continues to assure us that the day is rapidly approaching when her physical healing will come to pass. These other workings of God are not substitutes but preparations for the final work that He promised us so many times over the past years.

We really appreciate the encouragement and prayers of each one of you knowing we could never walk this path alone. May this Christmas be the most meaningful one you have ever experienced as you direct your attention to the One for whom this season is named Christ the Lord. God bless you.