Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. (Luke 1:30-33)
 
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain … (Revelation 21:4)
 
This world, this life, is not the way it’s supposed to be. Don’t we all, deep down in our souls, mourn the loss of Eden when we bump up against woes such as families broken by divorce, diseases of the mind or the body, children in foster care because of abuse or neglect by parents, friction in the church, teenage addicts, terrorist attacks, government sanction of same-sex marriage, and on and on and on?
 
The word I am focusing on this Christmas week is kingdom, a word used 119 times in the gospels. We can take heart because, in Jesus’ kingdom, all wrongs will be made right. In His kingdom, the world will be very goodagain, the way God intended it to be. The King has come, and His kingdom is coming. Merry Christmas!
 
As you celebrate Christmas this week, do kingdom work by praying for others:

• For people who are lonely
• For people who are suffering from health problems  (Pray for Jacob Newport, who broke his ankle last Thursday and is undergoing surgery this week.)
• For people who are grieving the loss of a loved one
• For children who are sorting out the fantasy of Santa and the truth of baby Jesus
• For people who celebrate Xmas, not Christmas
• For nominal Christians who may attend church only once a year on Christmas Eve
• For people whose lives seem dark and blighted, without hope
• For Christians in other parts of the world celebrating Jesus’ birth even at the risk of severe persecution
• For people who are angry with God  (Lift up Chet, a man with Stage 4 lung cancer. He thinks God is angry with him and is angry at God in return.)
• For people who are preoccupied with worries

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert, Prayer Chair
Calvary Community Church of Brea