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                        A Christmas Poem
                     By Pastor Ronnie Wolfe
                        December 19, 1995


Upon that deep and dreamless night, when stars shone bright above,
A Babe was born in Bethlehem, expressing God's rich love.
Mary placed Him in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
The wonder of this little child, its marvel no one knows.

But just as soon as He was born upon this chilly night,
The shepherds quaked to see the wondrous beauty of his light,
Shining in the yonder sky with purpose full and plain:
To lead them to this wondrous child; Its purpose was not vain.

They traveled far to ask where this, the King of kings was born;
But Herod sent for them and said, "I, too, am deep forlorn!
Please find this babe and tell me where you find him in his bed.
I want to worship him, you know, place gifts upon his head."

But Herod's heart was jealous, and he burned with jealous rage
To see this little child destroyed:  'Twas on his ordered page.
The shepherds warned by angel's message, turned a different way
And did not tell the king where Christ was born upon this day.

Meanwhile, the parents kept their watch upon the lovely Babe
And took to them visitors and gifts the wise men gave.
They watched as angels ministered to their Ancient Lord
And knew that this was prophecy fulfilled from God's own Word.

Silent was the night as the stars went passing by.
One star was brighter than the rest, reaching from the sky
To tell the wondrous story of God's Son upon the earth,
Proclaim his love and grace and announce his waiting birth.

When born, the whole creation lay well prostrate at the sight
Of the miracle of virgin birth that happened on this night.
And angels bent toward the earth to touch their harps of gold
And wondered how that this could be, though prophesied of old.

Gold, Frankincense and myrrh were gifts brought from the wise.
Gifts of kings and royal things enhanced his tender size.
With bright and comprehending eyes he watched the evening pass
Subject to time as ne'er before; how long would this vale last?

For he was not accustomed to time's immense restrain.
He came from Heaven's boundless realm to take up time's short chain.
He was subjected to each hour that life would give his own,
And soon He'd know how bitter a cup He'd drink from Heaven's throne.

Mary looked at her small babe, smiling as she saw
A little man who'd been placed here beneath the weight of Law.
She partly knew his purpose here, but could not wholly tell
How this young child could make amends for man's impending Hell.

She looked into His face and saw his bright illumined eyes.
She then looked up:  beheld the beauty of the friendly skies.
The star that shone so bright and beaming to the baby's bed,
She knew the Christ was born this day to bruise the serpent's head.

The parents loved their baby, as parents mostly do
And did their best to give him love; they knew he loved them, too.
And as the night drew later and the chill of evening air
Swept across the manger, they cuddled him with care.

By now the God-sent angels had gone along their way.
The wise men gone, the shepherds, too, not much was left to say,
Except to say how happy to be the chosen two
To have this chosen baby who makes our hearts anew.

He grew in favor with God and men; the Bible tells us so.
But some were fearful, vain, and jealous:  helpers of his foe.
His foe was Satan, who hated him, and wanted this babe dead,
For he remembered the prophecy of the foot upon his head.

So Satan used old Herod to seek the holy Child.
He caused his temper to arise and made his temper wild.
Herod hated Jesus; he allowed no other king
To reign his stead, so hard he tried to kill that holy Thing.

The slaughter of the innocent, the children were so fair;
But Herod's wrath was building high, so his soldiers did not care
Of little children rich or poor; their souls meant nought to him.
He killed them all, all males alike, his victory to win.

He must be king. He must be king.  Another shall not reign.
This king who's born shall surely die; the throne he shall not gain.
Little did he realize the Child already ruled
Upon a throne in Heaven; the Child cannot be fooled.

Satan's plan was hard and swift, but little did he know
What a waste that it would be to treat the children so;
For this young king shall be King no matter what may be.
God has placed him on his throne for all eternity.

When he was 12 the young child went to worship in the town.
Many folks had come to pay their tithes from all around.
When in the temple righteous men taught their mighty creed,
Jesus asked them questions that showed their cruel greed.

They wondered how he knew; they knew he had not learned.
He was a simple peasant boy; his candle had not burned
Within their walls of teaching:  he was not trained aright.
But with all their questions answered, he brought them to the light.

Satan used the Pharisees to gain unholy ground,
To try to bring unholy hurt, the Master to astound
With hellish wisdom through the men who served the wicked one
And bring to nought the Kingdom and the work of God's own Son.

But the wisdom of this world could not avail its weight on him,
For he had wisdom from above that held its power o'er sin
And defeated hellish words and ways and powers of sinful men;
And Satan could not conquer him, because he had no sin.

So through his life the Devil sought to throw the gauntlet down,
But to his tricks and slight of hand the Savior was not bound.
Satan had nothing in him; he could not have his way;
So in the Lord's companions he crept within one day.

He threw his fiery arrows at the midst of Judas' heart
And there he tried to hurt the cause and tear it all apart;
His dart was sharp and deep, and Judas fell its prey,
So much that in his desperate heart he intended to betray.

Satan caused his heart to burn, betrayal in his mind
And in his heart he planned to leave his love of Christ behind
And give a kiss to show his cause to sell the Lord away
To hateful hands and wicked hearts in Satan's glory day.

Into the hands of wicked men, betrayed, our Lord stepped on,
Submitted to the Sovereign God, the humble, obedient Son.
Cruel trial of wicked men, mocking his fair form,
Crucified among the thieves and wearing royal thorn.

Suffering more than man can feel or even comprehend,
He took the burden of his own and paid for all their sin.
His corpse was laid in a borrowed tomb, for Satan thought he'd won.
He watched as death pressed on our Lord assuring he was gone.

With cautious thoughts of vict'ry Satan watched nearby the tomb
To see if what the Lord had said would conquer Satan soon.
For he had said that he would rise to life again one day,
But Satan thought that this was wrong, but was afraid to say.

Then on the first day of the week in sight of Satan's view
Our Lord stepped out of a sealed-up tomb and frightened Satan's crew.
He coiled within his snake-like form and shuttered for the day
When Christ would surely judge his sin and cast his soul away.

Then in Satanic thoughts he wondered, and then he surely knew
That all the things that Christ had said were definitely true.
I'll fight 'till every whit of truth is mixed with Devilish lies
And work and plan until each truth within the Bible dies.

He went about his work with vigor, planning every step,
Because his head was crushed, and schedules must be kept.
He must deceive the nations as he never has before,
Because when his short time is up, he'll deceive their minds no more.

And now each time he thinks of a way to hurt the kingdom's cause,
He thinks of a time some time ago when a star in certain pause
Shone o'er the town of Bethlehem and showed the wise men's way
To visit a manger in the night their homages to pay.

And Satan knows that on that night when Jesus came to earth,
It marked a new and brighter day for children of new birth.
For now he has no power over death to bring to hell.
God's grace was sent to earth that night; we know the story well.

We're thankful for the holy night so silent and so sweet
Where God bends forth and touches us, where truth and mercy meet.
Give thanks this day for every grace that God has shed our way
And serve him more for every thought of every Christmas day.