Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Hank Unplugged podcast, reads portions of the latest letter from his sister Jobje, who is battling pancreatic cancer. She writes, “First and foremost, I want to wish you all a very blessed Christmas in our adoration of our Savior and Lord, the King of all Kings, for His indescribable gift of a Savior!….My adoration for my Savior has increased during this year of ‘blessings and affliction’ for all His supplied grace. Let each of us come in quietness and humility this Christmas season, and let us adore Him with our whole heart and soul.” Jobje goes on to say, “The Christmas season has not always been my favorite holiday to celebrate.” Why? Because of “the commercialization of Christmas, frantic shoppers, insane traffic, and then hearing the precious carols and the name of Jesus dragged through the mud by the stores‘ merchandizing audio systems, which always make me squirm with discomfort. I just wanted to get the Christmas season over and get back to some kind of normalcy….I am sure that you all can relate to this very busy time of year where we forget to be still, forget to ponder in amazement, forget to adore Him and to thank Him for making our Christmas celebrations with church and families possible….For me in view of this past year, Christmas has taken on a new meaning. The Christmas season is here one more time. With me being more housebound, it has made me stop and ponder the joy of my Salvation — soon to be completed. And this all is made possible, because a holy God chose to send His holy only Son to a sinful foreign, war-torn soil. He left His Home in Glory, born as a helpless baby, laid in a manger, destined to live through an exhausting ministry, being admired by some, nevertheless despised, rejected, and then to be crucified on a cruel cross, all for our salvation. Stop and think of the magnitude of this indescribable gift! The capstone for me was when (just last night) the young people, their leaders and our pastor…came Christmas caroling in our home. What a joy it was to see them and hear them sing with joy those familiar carols, showing their love and kindness to just another ‘shut in.’ As I sat on the couch I heard those familiar songs, and my adoration for my Savior increased with new meaning! Let us come and adore Him in all His holiness in this Christmas season with a new awareness. The greatest Christmas gift for me will be when I, sinless!, can finally adore Him sinlessly in His holy presence and in the splendor of the heavens. I look forward to that day!”
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