PO Box 81244 Lafayette, LA 70598-1244 337.237.6956 * Fax: 337.237.4319
www.ebalaf.com
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
You are invited to a reception honoring
Bert & Deedy Langley
on
Sunday, December 28, 2014
at 4:00 PM at First Baptist Church, Lafayette, LA This is an opportunity to thank Bert and Deedy for twenty years of faithful service to the Lord and to the churches of
Evangeline Baptist Association.
Publication of Evangeline & Gulf Coast Baptist Associations
of the Louisiana Baptist Convention
December 2014/January 2015
Volume 42, No. 8
DOM Lines
Counselors Corner
Bert Langley, Director of
Missions O, THE WONDER OF IT ALL! John MacArthur said, If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: 'God with us. In theological circles, the same three words have been reduced to one word - incarnation. In Jesus, God took upon HIMSELF human flesh. Christmas celebrates the awesome and amazing fact that God is grander, wiser and more mysterious than we could have ever imagined [Dan Schaeer, pastor/author]. The Apostle John, in one of his letters (1 John), described the incarnation when he wrote, The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have s e e n and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-4) The wonder of Christmas is not about Mary or Joseph, shepherds or angels, kings or wise men, but it is that God, who created mankind in HIS image, took upon HIMSELF the image of mankind. In his letter to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul described the wonder of the birth of Jesus when he wrote he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:7) Michael English in his song Mary, Did You Know? certainly captures the wonder of it all. I particularly like the part where it says, Did you know that your baby boy Has walked where angels trod? When you've kissed your little baby Then you've kissed the face of God. Deedy and I pray that the wonder of our Lords birth will fill your hearts and homes this Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS and a blessed New Year.
Mary Langford, Counselor
Tomorrow I will attend my
first-ever Reveal party. I am most interested to see what will transpire. Apparently, the idea is that when parents-to-be learn the gender of their unborn child, they invite friends and family to share the news and celebrate. Im pleased to be asked to participate in this happy gathering which is a unique entry to my social calendar. The more Ive thought about it, however, the more I realize that this kind of before-the fact announcing is not new at all. As we enter the Christmas season, we will probably hear many times those wonderful Old Testament prebirth announcements. Long before Jesus came to earth, Isaiah said, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. The people at tomorrows party will be pleased to know whether they need to buy pink or blue baby gifts, but thats about all they will be able to learn about the little one whose birthday is still months away. Nothing will be told of the childs personality or future achievements. God gave Isaiah more information to share: And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Those of us who know Him can attest to the truth of Isaiahs prediction. He is our daily Counselor and Guide, powerful God, gracious Father, source of Peace. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. Every week I meet with clients who are longing for His guidance, His power, His comfort, His peace. I try to remind them that the Christmas baby grew up to be the one who was always ready to dispense peace. One of His favorite greetings was, Peace be unto you. And He promised to give a peace that others will not understand and that does not depend on circumstances. If we concentrate on all the sickness, perversion and evil in todays world, we can become very fearful, angry, and discouraged. Those things are true. But they are not the only truth. The other glorious truth is that God gave a Reveal party in Bethlehem hundreds of years ago. He sent His Son to reveal what the Father is like, to show us how to live and to give us peace. My wish for you is that your heart and home will be filled with this special peace at Christmas and throughout the new year.