 |
| We all know the 12 Days of Christmas song. Most of us know that Advent has four Sundays to represent our waiting for the birth of the Chosen One, Jesus Christ. https://christian.net/special-themes/what-do-the-5-candles-of-advent-represent/ Since there are 12 Days of Christmas, here is my compilation of 25 Verses (Using chapter or verse number) to prepare you for Christmas. Please don’t judge me for not getting it out by the 1st. I just came up with the idea this week and it was harder to put together than I thought. I hope these verses will somehow prepare to meet the Savior in a special way during this blessed season. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Matthew 2:6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Titus 3:4 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Galatians 4:4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman” Micah 5:2: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Titus 3:6 . He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 1 Peter 1:8 “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Luke 2:10: “And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.'” Luke 2:11: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” 2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thank God for his gift that words can’t describe!” John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” John 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. John 8:19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” Luke 2:20: “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Phillipians 3:,,,21 we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Matthew 1:23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Psalms 24:10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty— he is the King of glory. Isaiah 25:1 “Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago“ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Son!  I am grateful for you taking the time to read through these verses. May you experience the wonder of God’s love as we await the birth of His Son and our Savior. I would love to know your favorite Christmas verses. Please email them to me at [email protected] |
Are you waiting and properly preparing for Christmas?
Today we light the Advent wreath’s 2nd of 4 candles as we wait on the coming of Jesus. Different denominations celebrate this season differently https://www.dailypress.com/life/faith/dp-fea-advent-christianity-20161126-story.html but there is one common principle shared. We are to spend this four week period waiting so that we might be renewed. This past summer I used my morning coffee to share how to be our best. It was about the need for emptying, cleaning, and refilling so that we could taste the newness of each day.https://thankfulinallthings.com/how-do-you-keep-yourself-energized/ I then wrote a few weeks later on how watching my grandchildren and my Bout with Guillain Barre taught me lessons on how to wait.https://thankfulinallthings.com/do-you-find-it-hard-to-wait/ The original season of Advent was arguably the most important season of waiting in all of history. We celebrate it over four weeks but it lasted much longer for those who waited for their Savior. Isaiah was written during the Babylonian period, about 580 to 520. So the supposed prophecy regarding Jesus was about 500 to 600 years before He was born. In fact, The Old Testament, written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, contains over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled through His life, death and resurrection. The One who would free them from their master and establish a new kingdom. Little did they know what they were waiting for and in reality, many ended up very disappointed.
In this season of Advent for what are you waiting? Depending on what it is, you too could end up disappointed and experiencing the pain of unmet expectations. The gift you didn’t get. The relationship that continues to be side ways. You or your loved ones recovering from health issues. The job or promotion that didn’t occur. The discontentment you feel from not feeling like your life matters or even with achievement leaves you with the sense that there has to be more. Like the Jewish people you could be waiting on something that is not what God intended. If that is the case, you will end up disappointed and discouraged. The second candle represents love. God created you, loves you, and because of that baby being born in a manger, you can establish a relationship with Him that will not let you down. Your Joy will be made full
https://biblehub.com/john/15-11.htm and instead of the world beating you down you can experience the abundant life God promises. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/john/10/10
As we mark the Season of Advent, let’s take the time to wait on the Lord and examine our hearts. Like our cup of coffee, make it a time where stop, allow ourselves to be cleansed filled again so that we might be renewed. Enjoy the fun of preparing and decorating for Christmas but let us also not forget that we are to “prepare the the way of the Lord” , the Son of God, who became man to save the world and give each of us life now and for evermore. Hallelujah for He is the King of Kings! Enjoy this fun flash mob rendition.
https://youtu.be/SXh7JR9oKVE
Please subscribe to this blog and share it with others who you think it might encourage. I can be reached by email at [email protected]
Did you get to see the Christmas star?
This week the stars aligned. Well actually, NASA described it this way. “Jupiter and Saturn aligned in the night sky on Dec. 21 in an event astronomers call the “great conjunction” — also referred to as the “Christmas Star” — marking the planets’ closest encounter in nearly 400 years. https://apple.news/AHBOEehUORSyRWvSNsB9wBQ There are many that say this is what the Three Wise Men followed when seeking to worship Jesus after He was born. I was struck by the fact that all around the world people were looking upward to catch this amazing phenomenon. What a wonderful picture analogy of the Advent season where we wait expectantly to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Like us seeing the great conjunction, the Israelites waited hundreds of years to welcome a Messiah who Isaiah prophesied about 700 years before his birth. The difference of course is in a matter of days Jupiter and Saturn are no longer visible whereas the world has never been the same since “unto us a child was born whose name is Jesus, Wonderful counselor, our Immanuel.” Isaiah 9:6
The second similarity that the great conjunction brought to mind is that we are all waiting for Covid19 to release its wretched grip on our lives making it so difficult to be with the ones we love. Like the planets, we look to the availability of the vaccine to be made so all we will be well and life as we imagine it will get back to normal. It certainly feels like the Christmas carol, “a star, a start dancing in the night” that provides us some glimmer of hope that this soon could be over. As I thought about this I happened upon the Season 3 The Crown episode where Prince Phillip watches every moment of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins landing on the moon.https://youtu.be/qLebb96VHJM It is again a picture of looking up at the moon and being amazed at the courage it took to achieve this heroic accomplishment. The Prince was astounded that the astronauts were more interested in Buckingham Castle and what his life of royalty was like than landing on the moon. So often, we think what others have done or are doing is much more important or significant than ours. It can lead to discouragement as we fall into the lie that our life doesn’t measure up to others.
Christmas speaks truth to that lie. Missionary, Doug Coppage, sums it up well in a recent letter to a friend. “My hope does not depend on other people, no matter how religious or corrupt they may be. My hope rests in Jesus alone, and he did a very, very good job of overcoming darkness, despair, death, and every other curse of human life. God did all this through Jesus for us – and for me! This is God’s Christmas lesson for me this year.”
This Christmas, may the eyes of your heart be enlightened, that you may have a deeper “Christmas star” understanding of what it means to love God and to love others. Only then can we receive the best gift God offers Us; His unique divinity, His grace and truth, His indescribable peace. May it make you “Thankful in all Things”
Please subscribe to this blog to get email notifications when new content is posted. I can be reached by email at [email protected]