To read this month's Reachout:  December 2009

                    Well, we are in Advent which is preparing for the Christ Child to be born. All Earth hopeful, the Savior’s come at last, how do you prepare for this occasion?

                 ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. ²⁷Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary

under the law, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

                 ¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." ²²All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us." ²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he

did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

                 Jesus Christ, our savior, is the High Priest who gave himself up for you and me. He prepared us to be in the presence of God, who is now in our midst, who is with us. We have been made ready for our life with God. How does that change the way we act? How does knowing God is with us change who we are and how we deal with one another?

As we have been studying the Bible, we have been exposed to what it is that God truly wants from us. What have you been hearing? Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your mind and with all of your soul and your neighbor as yourself. How do you prepare to do that? How do you prepare yourself to help others? How do you mirror Christ to those who are our neighbors? This Advent, I would like for you to think of ways to prepare yourself to be more available for others. Is this truly the messiah? If Christ is the one then we have work to do!

                                                                                            Pastor Ralph