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Christmas Greetings and BlessingsBy Paul Hayden December 25, 2017
Merry Christmas to all!
 Christmas to me is about God's love revealed in the birth of Jesus, and what that means for us.Christmas and holidays can be a rough season for some, as deep feelings come welling up from within. It can be that loved ones are gone, and that love is no longer able to be shared with parents or children or other family members. It can be distance, as so many loved ones no longer live close enough to see and visit as often as we might like. Or it could be that there is no longer love shared between you and someone, that the bonds of love have been broken for some reason. The Bible says that Jesus came to bring and share love with the world - God's love. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born it was foretold: Jesus came to bring God's peace to the world. He came to reconcile us to God, our creator. He also came to reconcile us to one another. Love is not really love unless it is shared, with God and with other people. Sure we can have love in our hearts by ourselves. But if we don't or can't share love with those around us, what good is it - is it really love? Reach out and share love this Christmas, not only with those who are EASY to love but with those you might know who are NOT so easy to love. Who would come to mind if someone asked you, "Whom do you find it most difficult to love in your life?" THAT PERSON would be a good starting point for reaching out with love. I know I can think of at least a few people who are, let's say, not that easy for me to love. It says in the Bible:
I read something recently that really touched me, and it is this: True love is from God, and we do not have it in ourselves to really love as God loves, unless we first receive His love. Love is closely related to forgiveness, as you might guess when asked: "Who is it hard for you to love?" If we do not forgive others, it is said that this is quite closely related to how God can forgive us. All this forgiveness and love is very much what Jesus and Christmastime are all about. If we reach out to God in a spiritual way, asking for His love and forgiveness, the Word says that He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us. (I John 1:9) With God's love in our hearts, it will be so much easier to reach out and touch other people in love.
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 Paul Hayden is a Christian believer, and an American patriot, necessarily in that order. He is a student of the Bible, and is avidly interested in our role in the context of history, as understood through the heart and eyes of faith. Paul has lived and traveled somewhat widely, and now lives in the heartland of the U.S. (central Illinois), with his wife Donna - they have five grown children. Since December of 2016, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief of www.ConservativeTruth.org."I was raised by a Christian minister, Kenneth Hayden, until his death when I was 10. Then my mom married a farmer. So I was raised in a very down-to-earth home. My faith has grown through the years, but both in conjunction with the institutional church and through small groups and individuals, including books as well as group settings, where deep, sincere faith is shared that aligns with Biblical truth."
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