For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John
3:16
Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
It
is my hope and prayer for you and your loved ones that these Bible
verses and illustrations may encourage you and be a reminder of the
coming of the Light of the World, our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
I
know that some Christians do not celebrate Christmas. Some will say
it is a pagan holiday. Some will point out that the date of the birth
of Jesus is not December 25, and so on and so forth...
So what? I
know all this, so call me a heretic if you will, but for me, none of
it matters. It is in the saving grace and redeeming love of Jesus
that I place my faith. And so I celebrate His birth with many other
Christians worldwide.
I
made some drawings of Jesus (1977) after I was blessed to see Him as
He stood at the foot of my hospital bed in 1976, and saved my life by
the miracle of His grace.
My
renderings of Him can never do Him justice, they are only what I saw,
but I want to share them anyway.
The other photos are of me (many moons ago) at some of my regular haunts, monasteries, cloisters and convent gardens, my favorite places in all the world.
Wishing
you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas.
Barbara Hartwell
Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Cloisters, NYC
Isaiah
9:6
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah
53: 1-5
Monastery Garden, Maine
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isaiah
11:10
And
she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them
in the inn.
Luke
2:7
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,
To
preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke
4:18-19
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
John
3:16
Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah
7:14
And
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of
grace and truth.
John
1:14
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
John
1:1
Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
John
14:6
Giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Colossians
1:12-20
Cloisters, NYC