For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior.

That's what I need, a savior.

Someone that I can trust in, absolutely,

when all of the fragilness of my humanity is laid out on the table.

I was in the hospital with kidney stones, they're not life-threatening, they're not fatal,

but they make you crawl up the wall, okay?

And I was there in that hospital and I have to confess to you that I got frightened.

They weren't sure it was just kidney stones.

And so they put me through all these tests and operations that I'm sitting there thinking

that I have this and I have that and, well, my time's up and my ministry's over

and I wasn't afraid of death, but I sure wasn't relishing the thought of dying.

I'm not afraid of what happens after my heart stops beating.

I know whom I have believed and I know that God has prepared a place for me in heaven

and will keep his word, but he is not guaranteed me that I'm not going to have to go

through the valley of the shadow of death and have to hang on by my fingernails along the way.

I know that Christians are called to suffer and I wasn't particularly up for it, okay?

And so I was in that hospital bed and it was around Christmas time.

One of the ministers came on Sunday morning and he read the passage,

for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

I don't even remember what he preached on, but I remembered that Christmas text

and I said to myself, that's what I need, a Savior.

That's what I need in my life.

...