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“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HATH ANOINTED ME TO PREACH
THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HATH SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED,
TO PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERING OF SIGHT
TO THE BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THEM THAT ARE BRUISED….” Luke 4:18
Every Christmas we love to be caught up in the joy,
the shopping for gifts, the “angel” choir singing
praise for the birth of Jesus our Savior, and the church
pageants by the young people depicting Mary, the
manger, and the birth of the
Christ child. But we often overlook
the real purpose of His
coming.
Of course, we know Jesus
came to redeem us from sin and
He died on the cross to save and
make us sons and daughters of
our Heavenly Father, but as our
theme Scripture shows, we see
so much more that our Savior
purchased for us — not only our
eternal salvation — but everything
we need here and now in
this life.
We will look into these
blessings in a moment, but I am
reminded of a humorous, but
sweet, story that our dear C.M.
Ward loved to tell every
Christmastime.
In one of the church
pageants, the eight to ten year olds donned their
bathrobes and all the other props they could gather,
and proceeded to depict the Christmas story the
Sunday night before Christmas. Of course, the big
moment came as Mary and Joseph approach the
innkeeper to secure a room. You know the story well:
The innkeeper makes it clear, “There is no room in
the inn!” But in the pageant, which had not been too
well rehearsed, Joseph pleads with the innkeeper that they were desperate; they had traveled far, were
exhausted and worst of all, Mary was pregnant and
near to giving birth! Again, it was made clear — “NO
ROOM!” Joseph pleads again and again, until finally
the little innkeeper was so
moved with compassion he
broke down and said, “Well,
I know I am not supposed to
say this, but COME ON IN!”
I’m sure all of us, if in the
innkeeper’s place, would have
desired to say the same thing!
Thank God, millions of us
have found room for HIM in
our hearts and how we long to
lead others into our “inn”!
But, beyond the glorious
truth of “so great a salvation”
(Hebrews 2:3), Jesus has
come to touch, heal, deliver,
bless, and provide for our
every need.
Never in the last hundreds
of years have we seen such a
need for the compassionate
touch of our blessed Savior.
Twenty-three hurricanes and tropical storms this year
alone! Katrina, which virtually destroyed New
Orleans, and on the heels of it, Rita, another killer
hurricane that finished off much of the Gulf Coast.
Multitudes still suffer the effects of the horrific 9.15
underwater earthquake and subsequent tsunami that
hit Asia last year. And now, even as I write this letter,
another killer earthquake has struck, this time in Pakistan, where the death toll has passed 50,000, with many more feared trapped in crushed
and fallen buildings.
Ah, dear partners, this will not be a happy Christmas
for millions around the world. Surely, as I wrote last
month, these disasters signal the “birth pangs,” of the
nearness of the return of Christ.
SO WHAT SHALL WE DO?
Our theme Scripture holds the answer, but WE
MUST GET THE MESSAGE TO THEM!
Can we even fathom the pain, sorrow, and broken
hearts in those who have lost loved ones: wives, husbands,
children, relatives, and friends? In Indonesia
alone, thousands were literally snatched from the arms of
loved ones and pulled into the sea, never to be seen again.
I am told that a pastor in India, clutching to hold his wife,
lost his grip only to lose his dear one forever!
Yes, the only answer is in our precious Jesus, now
the full grown and powerful Son of God, our Father. In
the book of Luke, Jesus repeated the prophecy of Isaiah
concerning Himself:
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME….”
(Luke 4:18)
And here are some of the precious missions a baby Jesus
grew up to fulfill:
“HE HATH ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE
GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HATH SENT ME
TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED….” (Luke
4:18)
And again, I ask: Who is Jesus’ body on earth today?WE ARE! He told us to go into all the world to —
“PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERING OF SIGHT TO THE
BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THEM THAT
ARE BRUISED.” Luke 4:18
Dear Partners, we are Jesus’ body here on earth —
we are to do all these wonderful ministries to the
multitudes who languish with unbelievable pain — with
broken hearts that only Jesus can heal!
Touch that hurting neighbor with a gift of love;
introduce them to dear, old TBN with 24 hours a day
healing of broken hearts. Invite them to church — tell
them of the GREATEST HEALER of broken hearts who
wants to come in and live in and heal that broken heart.
Yes, we can make this a Merry Christmas for
millions as we broadcast the love of our Jesus around the
world through YOUR TBN! Let’s all be Jesus’ hands
extended and make this a happy Christmas for
multitudes, in spite of the awesome tragedies our world
has suffered this year.
We love you and are holding you, our precious
Partners, in prayer as we bring in the Harvest and as we
bind up the brokenhearted with Jesus’ love.
“Arise, shine for thy light has
come…” (Isaiah 60:1). From TBN’s
headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA:
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS”!
HELLO CANTON, OHIO! Paul gives a “thumbs up” to the beautiful, new studio building for TBN’s station in Canton, OH: WDLI-TV 17. And, now, thanks to digital multicast broadcasting, viewers with digital TV receivers can get all four TBN networks: TBN, The Church Channel, JC-TV, and TBN Enlace on WDLIDT Channel 39.
Paul and our Canton station chief engineer, Dale
Osborn, in front of the new digital transmitter. If you
would like more information on how you can receive
TBN’s multicast channels, please go to the “TBN
News” section of our website: www.tbn.org, and click
“TBN Begins Shift to Digital.”
NEW YORK CITY: “get ready, get ready, get ready!”
Paul and grandson, Brandon Crouch, stand in front
of the future home for TBN’s station that will cover the
“Big Apple”!
Join your TBN family this Christmas as we
celebrate JESUS—God’s great gift of hope and
salvation for the WORLD!
