"I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If you really knew Me,
you would know My Father as well.
From now on, you know Him and have seen Him."
John  14: 6-7
The Way Of The Lord Ministries
Reverend Noreen T. Kevern
520-237-0329
Please take a moment and go to our Prayer Requests and pray for those listed. If you would like to post a prayer
request for yourself or another please do so.  
God Bless
The Way of The Lord Ministries - Tucson Arizona - Funerals, Baptisms, Christening, Prayer Services, Spiritual Needs, & Wedding Services.
IF you are ready to take the first step in believing in God, or to come back to God, or if you have decided to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Savior, please click here.


The Reason For The Season of Christmas

John testifies concerning Him. He cries out, saying, “This is He of Whom I said, ‘He Who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ From
the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No
one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, Who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
John 1:15-18

What exactly is the reason for Christmas? Is it to celebrate the birth of Jesus, or is it just a time to buy gifts for each other? Is there any reason for believing that
this baby was going to bring about Salvation for all mankind? How can we know the truth if we were not there that one silent night? And what can we do to bring
the true meaning of Christmas in our daily lives and to those around us?

Christmas is truly a gift to mankind. Many people don’t really understand the gift. Some people think that Jesus was a prophet of God and are not sure He is
truly the Son of God. They have difficulties understanding the meaning of the coming of Jesus because they have lost the true meaning of this gift. No matter
what has happened in your past, know this: God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but
have eternal life (John 3:16). Prodigals in our lives should be in our prayers during this Christmas season. For those who have lost their way, our reaching out
to them and teaching them lovingly, will plant a seed that can grow and flourish if only we choose to reach out to them.

God chose the Israelites as His chosen people because He wanted to show all the people of the world how He would like them to live their lives. He didn’t want
to force them or anyone into choosing to love Him. He gave laws and signs to teach people His way. But people did not want to learn or didn’t understand the
signs. I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light
for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison, and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42:6-7). They
were to be a light to all people but they didn’t always follow the way of the Lord. And so they sinned and were punished.

At times, the Lord God was not happy with the way things were going in the world. He chose to destroy all of creation and save the only Noah and his family
who were righteous. He sent armies to secure the Israelites by bringing about confusion and brought forth His own righteousness. Many times people are
confused by the wars and deaths in the Old (Jewish) Testament and the love that Jesus taught in the Gospels. They fail to see that even Jesus has said: “Do
not suppose that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). He said to them, “But now if you have a
purse, take it and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36). Jesus’ coming was about bringing peace on earth, but
our baptism to receive this peace bring trials. We don’t understand that as the Creator, God has all power over us, whether we accept Him or not. And as the
Potter, He has the right to start over with His pieces of clay, or refine us in fire so to purify us. We are called to stand up and preach the Good News about
Salvation in Christ Jesus. At times it is going to be hard to deal with people as they listen to the lies that Satan tells.

The Gospels are not all about accepting people no matter what they do or how they choose to live. The Gospels are full of telling people that they must repent
from their sins and to change the life of sin that they have been leading. John the Baptist was foretold in Malachi 3:1,4:5-6—“See, I will send my messenger,
who will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, Whom you desire, will come” says
the Lord Almighty…“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” John the Baptist went about preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the desert as it was foretold in the prophet Isaiah 40:3—“A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the
way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” In the Gospel of Luke 1 Zechariah was on duty in the temple when an angel of the Lord appeared to him.
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were old and had no children. But the angel had good news for Zechariah.  “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has
been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John…and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of
the people of Israel will he bring back to their God. And he will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their
children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:13-17).

We are to prepare in our lives the coming of the Lord Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament, we see the prophecies foretelling the coming of the birth of the
Savior. We read in Ezekiel 17:62: “So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I AM the Lord. Then, when I make atonement for you for all
you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.” But we have
forgotten the meaning of the coming of Christ and His cross that brought about our atonement, our forgiveness of our sins. The coming of Christ this Christmas
season should remind us of the promise that was given to us.  Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
Son and will call Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Father and Son were spoke about in Proverbs 30:2-4: I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man’s
understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of His hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in His cloak? Who
has established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name and the Name of His Son? Tell me if you know?

Jesus was foretold as the Son of God, being equal to God as God. Too often we try to understand God in human terms and don’t understand that God is not
human and as such cannot be understood. When we try to explain the wonder of having a relationship with the Lord, not everyone will understand. But we must
remember to live in His light and to let that light shine through us in all we do. We cannot hide God’s light for then it will not bring others into the light. It’s such
an amazing thing, living in the Lord.

We should learn to live our lives as John the Baptist did. His father Zechariah said after he was born: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most
High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because
to the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the paths of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).
John went about preparing the way of the Lord. Let us throughout this coming advent, being the bearer of the Good News. Let us produce fruit in keeping with
our repentance and share in the love of our Lord. Be content with what life has handed you and trust in the Lord no matter what is going on. We are building
the Body of Christ through our actions and guiding people to the Light of Christ. This year, be prophets for others, to prepare them and our selves to the
coming of the Lord. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. In
that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left…(Isaiah 11:10-11). God wants us to look for the lost and help them to
find the narrow way. He wants us to strengthen those who have left our Lord and are now wandering and those who faith is weak. He wants us to heal the sick
of their lack of faith by our strength that comes from the Lord. He wants us to show them the joy comes from the Lord in His strength. In Ezekiel 34:4—You have
not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. But far too often, we are
ashamed of standing up and saying “Merry Christmas” or “God bless you” or wearing our faith through our lives. Our Salvation is in the cross of Jesus, and
only in the cross we are saved. We must preach repentance and change our own lives into lives that reflect God’s truth. We must strengthen those around us
and bring back our prodigals.

This year, make it a year of less presents and more of the presence of Jesus Christ. Make it a year of giving to food banks, charities that feed the poor,
children who may not receive a present by giving at an angel tree, by praying more and gossiping less, by giving to your neighbors who are in need. Give of
your heart and of your self. Help distribute food and gift boxes, serve food or do a good deed for someone. Don’t look for praise from others though. Just do
things in the way of the Lord and your Father in heaven will reward you.

Celebrate the coming of Christ by being His light to others. Don’t be the chaff that will be burned up in the unquenchable fire, but be the wheat that will be
stored in the barn. God is with us, Emmanuel is filling our hearts with the wonders of His love. Spend many silent nights with God and prepare for His coming.
Let the Lord’s gift of love shine brightly this Christmas season in you.