I thought I would share a few reflections found in the book, "Daily Meditations and Prayers of the Christmas Advent Fast and Epiphany". May we look for the breakthroughs in our heart! May we put Jesus in our day planners making time for this sacred and life giving relationship. And may we find Christ in the Bethlehem of our heart.

 "We speak of major ‘breakthroughs’ in science and space exploration. We hope for ‘breakthroughs’ with serious illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Sometimes we need a ‘breakthrough’ in a relationship that has become extremely stuck and painful.

 Yet the greatest ‘breakthrough’ happened on Christmas day. God ‘bowed the heavens and came down and visited His people’. This is the miracle of all miracles, the breakthrough of all breakthroughs. We will never fully understand this mystery we can only kneel in awe before the manger and praise God for His infinite love!

 A mother kept pointing to a picture of her husband, away at war for two years, and telling her little daughter that was her dear daddy and what a wonderful man he is. Many months later daddy came home. He swooped his daughter up in his arms and gave her a big hug.

 Through her tears of joy the daughter said to her mother, "look, daddy has stepped out of the picture frame." So it is that Jesus-the Power of God and the Wisdom of God-steps down out of the frame of the universe and dwells among us’ to embrace us, to eventually stretch His arms out on a cross and show us His infinite love.

 Isn’t this the greatest of all ‘breakthroughs’, His willingness to be in relationship with you to be with you and know you and love you? May Christ’s life and love ‘breakthrough’ that crack in your heart as you receive the invitation to know and love Him this Christmas!…"

 "Just think that when God came into our world during Christmas, people were too busy to receive Him, they didn’t have time! There was no room for Him at the inn. "He came unto His own, and they that were his own people received Him not." And it seems that many of us don’t have room in the ‘inn of our heart’ for Jesus. We crowd Him out with so many things, especially with our busyness.

 Jesus tells a story about busy people being invited to a nice banquet and one by one each person offered their unique and important excuse. They were to busy on the farm, another too busy with his wife, and another had to deal with his oxen.

 What Christ is saying is that we can become so busy making a living that he can neglect making a life. God can be crowded out so easily by the trivial and frivolous in life. The things that matter most are at the mercy of the things that matter least. Jesus is telling us also that important duties in life that keep us from God are not duties at all but sins.

 We all make excuse of being busy with our important affairs. C.S. Lewis states that the devil captures many not by preventing their spiritual encounters with God, but by whispering at precisely the right moment that just now they are too busy. "Let’s meet another time", is our response to Jesus.

 There is a proverb saying that, ‘when the devil can’t make you bad, he makes you busy. Our church always try’s to help us carve out time to focus and prepare for the coming of Christ in our hearts…."

 "Where is Bethlehem? If Christmas is the time that God chose to come close to us, then Bethlehem must be somewhere very close to us. Where is Bethlehem? It is not far at all. Bethlehem is your heart and mine! This is where Jesus came to be born. This is where He wants to be born.

 This is where He wants to live, bringing us new life, the very life of God. If Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born and not in your heart and mine, then we have missed the whole meaning of Christmas. Where is Bethlehem?

 "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him." Rev. 3:20. There is Bethlehem!

 Where is Bethlehem? "I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5. There is Bethlehem!

 Where is Bethlehem? "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him" John 6:56. There is Bethlehem!

 Where is Bethlehem? "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me." Bethlehem is within!!!"

 Many Blessings to you all during this Holy Season!

 +ft. tom