Dear Family:
Today is January 25, 1999. This is the first day
of the rest of our lives. I thank God for putting
each of you into my life! From the beginning of
my life you have been there, to this day, to today
you are still here. The family has grown, for now
there are children and grandchildren, nieces and
nephews which are part of my world.
I think back to Christmas, exactly a month ago
today. I remember the gifts that I lovingly
gave each of you, they were special purchases for
each of you! You see, what I was wanting to share
with each of you, was my heart, that says "I love
you"! I searched for the perfect gifts, the ones
that would put a smile on your face, and maybe a
tear to your eye, because the sentiment was there.
For the first time, dad even read a couple verses
out of the bible about the birth of Jesus. You
see this year it was important to honor Him, the
reason for the day!
Thank you for the smiles, and for the tear that
was shed. You let me know that I did good in my
shopping as I had wanted to do. Thank you for
your patience when your dad/grandpa read the bible
verse to honor Jesus' birth. I knew it was
uncomfortable for some of you because we had never
done that before.
Today though, as I look back I realize that things
were not right. You see, I neglected to give you
the most precious gift of all. It didn't even
cost anything, you see, this gift was paid for
long ago. Even before my time. Family, today I
ask your forgiveness, for neglecting to give you
this wonderful gift. Yet, it's not too late, so
today, please accept this most wonderful gift
that I am wanting to give.
You know that sweater that I gave to keep you warm?
It will do it's job for awhile. Eventually though,
the threads will fray and wear and it will be
thrown away. The little book that I gave that
tells you how much I love you, will eventually
decay. The Barbie doll that lit up your eyes?
Will be outgrown soon and discarded. I want all
of you to know that I thought that I was giving
you the best gifts ever. I really did. I am so
thankful that this most wonderful gift can be
received and given every day. Really that's what
is meant to happen.
Okay, my family, today I give you the most wonder-
ful gift of all. It's not even belated, because
you know, this is actually the best time, the
right time. The gift for each of you?
God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
I realize now, why there was discomfort when dad/
grandpa was reading the bible, because this gift
has never been given as it should have. I could
hear discomfort from the voice that was reading
that wonderful bible verse. Thank God, it's not
to late for His gift of Himself. You see, He
wants you comfortable with you, because He created
each of you. He created the world around you. He
even created the people that designed and made the
sweaters and toys. Even the people who invented
the machines that make these items. You see, yes
the gift of the sweater was a good gift, because
it will keep you warm, but wouldn't the gift of
the Creator above all creators be so much better!
With the gift of God, there will be no decay, no
outgrowing, no discarding. Because with Him,
comes the gift of eternal life! With Him in
your heart and soul comes the most awesome gift
of all, eternity in heaven! I had been trying
to give you something for the moment, for the
smile, for the tear. I had neglected to give
you God's offer for a life eternal with Him in a
place called Heaven. You see, we aren't living
today for life today, we are living today for a
life eternal. I'm sorry if I'm confusing you.
Let me try to explain.
In the beginning of time God created the world.
With the world, He created angels. There was one
angel that thought that he could be better than
God. His name was Lucifer. Because of his greed
and wickedness God promised him a place in hell
for eternity, yet he would be free to roam the
world with his evil ways until the end times of
the world. Did you know that God can be every-
where at one time? That tells how awesome and
invincible He really is! God has angels that
protect each of us day and night. Some of them
are guardian angels, some are warrior angels, that
battle for our freedom from evil. Lucifer can
only be one place at a time. So you see, he does
not have the power that God does. Lucifer also
has angels, they are called fallen angels, because
they turned from God to follow Lucifer. There are
many, that's why it seems that Lucifer is in so
many places too. That's what he wants people to
think and the fallen angels help to make that seem
possible.
God wants us to live our lives for Him. That's
why He created us in His image. The baby Jesus
that we honor on Christmas Day is God's only Son.
Though we should be reminded of this miraculous
birth every day, it is especially remembered on
Christmas. Jesus lived on earth as the infant
born through man-hood. He worked in honor of His
Father every day. He taught the masses of people
about God's word. He had followers who also taught
of God. These were the apostles and disciples,
priests, etc... Jesus also had people who despised
Him. During Jesus' lifetime, even Satan tempted
and scorned Him. Jesus never failed to remain
loyal to His Father. One day, Jesus was made to
carry His cross. You see, He was nailed and hung
from the cross, between two criminals. One of them
even acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of God and
begged forgiveness. Jesus promised Him a life with
God in Heaven. Can you imagine, even in the final
hours Jesus was offering eternal peace to others!
Jesus was also being scorned, spat upon, bitter
vinegar to drink and tortured at this end. Family
do you understand what all of this has to do with
you? He died to forgive us all from our sins. He
suffered and died for each of us. The blood that
was shed, was shed for us! Our slates have been
wiped clean! Jesus died for us! This is the gift
that I said was free and that it was paid for long
ago. Can you imagine any gift being so great?
Not only did Jesus die for each of us, 3 days after
His death He rose from the dead. He went into
heaven. So when you see the cross/crucifix, I
hope that you can remember what it represents.
The empty cross (the cross without Jesus on it)
means so much more, because that is a reminder
that He did rise from the dead. For us this means
that we shall do the same. For we have been given
the same privilege as a place in heaven. Like
Jesus though, we too have to earn our way. We
are to live our lives for God. Since our sin
has been washed away, from this point, we need
to start anew in a life free from sin.
Here's the tough part. Remember, Lucifer is here
until the end of time. He is still evil and he
will always be that way. He already knows that
he will have no place in heaven, because he has
been promised hell. I can hardly imagine a life
wrapped in fire, pain and hell! There is no relief
from it. Every moment of eternity. Eternity means
always and forever. I know that each of you has
had a burn of some kind once in your life.
Remember how painful it was? How much more
cautious you are now so that you don't do that
again? Now imagine that covering your whole body
inside and out. There is no way away from it,
because you are bathing in it forever!
How could I withhold the best gift from you? The
saving knowledge of God, our Father! I know where
each of you are in your lives. I am so afraid that
some of you, if you don't seek God, that you will
spend an eternity in the fires of hell. I know that
nobody wants to think about death. It won't happen
to us today, right? I will bet that of the people
who will die and be killed today, probably thought
that they would have a long life ahead of them too.
Do you understand what I am saying? Many people have
even had wills drawn up, because they want to be sure
that if something happens to them, that the family
will be taken care of. There are even people that
have had papers drawn up that they wouldn't be put on
life support. Some have even prepared their own
funerals. Many people seem to want things prepared.
Why then, are so many unprepared for the everlasting?
You see, we shouldn't be living today for today. We
should be living today for eternity. This life will
end, that life never will. I pray for each of you
every day, that you open your heart to God. That the
salvation that Jesus offered each of us, with His own
death and resurrection will be realized by you. It
breaks my heart to know that one or some of you, may
choose to reject God's offer for eternal life in heaven
because you're afraid that you will miss out of some
fun in this life. Do you know that Lucifer wants to
find you a place with him in hell? He and his fallen
angels want you with them there. They will offer you
every fantasy and hope of all fun & materialistic
thing available. What can I do to help you understand
the seriousness of this.
Think about all the preparations that you make when you
buy a house. You search and search for the right place.
Will it fit the needs of each of you? You line up all
of the people involved, the movers, getting the meters
read, etc. The house will be temporary, because in this
world we will only live for so long. Would you specificly
look for a house in the rundown area of your town? Some
place that is noisy and loud, in a place heavy with gangs
and killings? Do you see, that's the house that you are
purchasing for eternity if you do not choose a life with
God in heaven. That house will be forever.
I won't apologize for not giving you this gift at
Christmas, because today is the day I need to give you
this gift. Today is the right time. For each of you
I give you the gift of God. I hope that you will accept
this gift. Because with the gift of God, you also are
making a purchase of your house, your place in Heaven.
I won't force this gift on you, because you have to
choose to accept it. I KNOW that this is the best gift
that you will ever receive. I will continue to pray
that you will choose a life eternal with God and me.
Remember, today you live for eternity.
P.S. On this day I did send this to my family.
Email to those I could and US Mail to the others.
If you feel God leading you to send this to some-
one in your family. Copy, cut & paste, whatever
and change the wording so that it is appropriate
for your own family member(s).
