A CHRISTMAS LETTER TO YOU WHO MEAN MUCH TO US (from Dr. David & Janice Clemens) December 22, 2009 Dear One, The year’s blessings have been rich and without number. They never would have been possible without this One we call Jesus. We lovingly devote this letter to Him and His birth. Bethlehem and her inn. Totally crowded and in great fuss and bustle. So much so that there was not a place made even for a mother-to-be, due in just hours, even moments! That’s pretty incredible, to be that caught up in your own world that even a lady just about to give birth can’t get some necessary consideration. Contrast that scene with the nearby open fields and sky (GOD’S Inn, if you will). Absent was the hubbub. Present was…The GLORY! It flashed and shone all about the shepherds. They were frightened, then they were comforted by the angel bringing Good News of Great Joy. The News? Finally, the long-awaited Savior had come! Then came the instruction: “Go.” And suddenly, on that lonely, expansive hillside under that endless swath of Heaven, there appeared with the angel “an army of the troops of Heaven - a heavenly knighthood – praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace among men with whom He is well-pleased – men of good will….” (Amplified Bible) Our response to that scene can only be/it must be a hushed and holy, “Wow.” Just think. If these shepherds had been in town with all the action, they would have missed the flashing lights, the “Good-News-of-Great-Joy angel, the heavenly knighthood/army, the instructions and directions to the birthplace, and, most important of all, they would have missed the God-Babe. How good it was that they were out in the fields where they could see, hear, listen to God point the way to His dear Son. Here we are, some 2000 plus years after the fact. Our inns are bustling, as is all of life around us. Even if we ourselves are not running from place to place, our hearts and minds are. In the midst of it all, today, this “grown-up” Son of God, Who was the co-equal God of the universe even before He ever was a temporary baby, is in His Heaven…and there He waits. HE waits for us. He has so much to tell us, just like the angels did so long ago. He longs for our undivided, peaceful, worshiping attention today. This Christmas, may we learn well from those wise shepherds this lesson: take time for the field, the quiet place, the place where just God, we, and His Word are alone together. And, as we do, we will be available to let the wonder in and let The Glory diffuse into even the very deepest parts of our souls. “Oh come to my heart, Lord Jesus; there is room in my heart for Thee.” In a nutshell, The Good News spoken so long ago was this: “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He even gave up His only-begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish –come to destruction, be lost- but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge- to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on- the world; but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” (John 3:16-17 A.B.) Now, no matter where or with whom you spend Christmas, remember that the Guest of Honor always is waiting to be invited to your home and ours. May it be a happy and holy day. Wishing you special Christmas blessings, David and Janice Clemens

To those of you that follow Dr. Clemens Ministry: One prayer request, please: David’s 2nd cataract surgery is scheduled for December 28. Please uphold him in prayer, will you? Thank you. We look forward to catching you up on God’s workings (in which you have had a part) in future e-mails.