White Christmas

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

you who are God my Savior,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

Open my lips, Lord,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart

you, God, will not despise.

Psalm 51:7-17

As I was sitting here on Christmas evening, I was thinking about the historical moment I'm a witness to today...snow in metro Atlanta on Christmas Day!  It hasn't happened, so they say, for over a hundred years.  Pondering all this, this passage in Psalms came to mind.  Reading it again, I am reminded of just how great a gift my Lord and Savior, a King at birth, gave to me on that first Christmas.

He came to be the One who can cleanse me from my sins.  He came so that I can rejoice no matter the circumstances of life.  He came so I can have a steadfast and willing spirit within me.  He came to be the One who can restore my joy.  He came to sustain me.

Why?

So I, in return, will tell others about Him, sing of His righteousness, and declare His praise.

Similarly on my mind this Christmas season, is what the shepherds response to being with Jesus was...

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  Luke 2:16-20       

If I ever wonder what God wants me to do, I need just look to the shepherds example...
Seek out Jesus and spend some time with Him. 
After being with Jesus, tell people about Him.
And, hearing and seeing what God has done and is doing, glorify and praise God for everything.
What a blessed gift this white Christmas has been to my heart!