To those who take the time to tune into Ridgeview News… Thank you. Your encouragement over the past year has blessed me beyond what I can express in words. Even for those who have disagreed and made comments that weren’t always so nice, I’m glad you were here. The entire reason that Ridgeview News came into existence was to become an outlet for truth in a world that makes it hard to find.
For my first Christmas as the Ridgeview News I would consider myself remiss if I didn’t share with you the truth about Christmas. And yes, you can disagree. And you can say that it’s the truth according to Shari, and you’d be somewhat correct. Because Christmas is nothing without the personal knowledge of Who it is we’re celebrating and why. Jesus Christ.
Just like most news outlets of today, the world would love you to believe that Christmas is an agenda. They’d love for you to believe that it’s a story fabricated by zealous religious people to control the weak and give them a false hope. The worldly agenda would love you to accept their side of the story for which they control the narrative: that the Bible is just a book, that Christ was just an historical figure created by religion, and the moral compass of mankind comes from an explosion billions of years ago. If they had the truth on their side, that logic might work. But they don’t. As Christians we have the truth of over 1800 prophecies of scripture. Most of which have come true, and the remaining will.
I’m not a bible scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I wear the hat of the Jesus Chick, the same way I wear the hat of Publisher of the Ridgeview News… with the understanding that I will answer for every word and deed done in my life before Almighty God. That’s how serious I take Christmas and that’s how serious I take Ridgeview News.
I am obligated to share only the truth. Am I above reproach, or incapable of making a mistake. Oh Heavens to Betsy, no! But never would I intentionally mislead or lie to the readers in hopes of furthering a political or religious faction. Which is why I can share the truth of why I celebrate Christmas, because I know Him. The Lord Jesus. I met Him February 18th, 1996.
So for my very first Christmas letter to the readers of Ridgeview News. It is my prayer your Christmas is filled with blessings. For those struggling with heartache, health issues or angst brought on by the downturns of life, I pray you never lose hope.
In the book of John 16:33 Jesus told the Jews that He was speaking to, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
The Jewish people are still facing persecution, so how can we find hope in that? Has Jesus really overcome the world? The very fact that an attempt to destroy Christianity for 2,000 years has failed, from the day Christ was born they attempted to kill Him as an infant because they knew He was truth and they continue to try and destroy His word because it is Truth is part of the proof. Only part…. There’s so much more!
As hard as it is to understand, and I’ve had my own share of health and life struggles, but your illness, your broken heart or your broken spirit are not your enemy. They’re a result of a world that turned their back on the Creator and refused Hope. There is peace in this world but it comes from understanding that everything in life has purpose. Perhaps it’s to make you stronger, or perhaps it’s to make you weak in order to help you understand Who it is that you can depend on.
At the worst of times, I always go back to the words of my precious Mother, Violet Hardway, who when her teenage daughter, me, asked why she didn’t blame God for my brother Richard’s death at the age of 19 responded thus:
“How can I blame the only One who will allow me to see him again?” She is still so wise.
When it comes to hope at Christmas, I pray you have it or discover it. There is a world coming when this heartache will end, and in that we have hope. We have challenges and we falter, but we pick ourselves up and begin again. Each struggle in life is an opportunity to show grace and compassion to our community. Many of you have shown that to me.
I realize that in printing the truth it often times does not look like grace and compassion from my stance. And that’s hard for me too. But my prayer for the days of printing bad news is that it causes us all to understand that “There but for the grace of God go I.” It’s not printed in judgement. It’s printed with the hope that we strive as a community to be better. Ignoring the truth doesn’t fix it. Acknowledging the truth and using it as a catalyst for living better will.
Ridgeview readers: I’m honored to be your servant. And I’m looking for ways to be better in 2023. God bless you and have a Very Merry Christmas!
