Tag Archives: Christmas

Bible Studies, Christian Growth, Devotionals, Salvation

Behold, your King…

throne-87081_640

The King has come…

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him (Matthew 2:1-2 NKJ).”

Your King is coming…                                        SEPTEMBER 2014 002

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
(Zechariah 9:9 NKJ)

He rules over a spiritual kingdom…

“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here (John 18:36 NKJ).”

Enthrone Him…

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21 NKJ).”

The King ‘is’ coming!
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20 NKJ).”

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals, Uncategorized

A Christmas Without Batteries

aa-1056221_1280

What’s a Christmas without batteries?

Hmm, that’s a thought for you and me to mull over for a minute or two. So many of our gizmos need batteries inserted before we can operate them. SEPTEMBER 2014 002

Pity the parents who forget to buy batteries before children and teens open their gifts. What about poor Dad? He will be unable to hear the whir of battery operated tools if they are not included?

Free advice included in this message….

Stock up on batteries before Christmas and remove dead batteries from your cameras. You won’t want to miss a minute of the action; this year’s Christmas will be next year’s memories. As Christians, we depend on a far greater power than disposable batteries.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8 HCS).”

We receive his power through repeated fillings.

“… be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18b HCS).”

Batteries power gizmos; the Holy Spirit empowers Emmanuel followers!

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

Planned & Anticipated

christmas-734865_1280

Revelers plan and anticipate Christmas & New Year’s parties.

Beware of imbibing…                                                                           SEPTEMBER 2014 002

“Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of mixed wine.
Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;
At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
“They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”
[Proverbs 23:29-35 NKJ]

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

MAKE HASTE!

6369655899_4201e2751b

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/60532802@N07/6369655899″>Good Tidings 12</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

Make haste; there is no time to waste!

The shepherd’s story is as relevant in June as December.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them (Luke 2:14-20 KJV).”

When God makes the gospel truth known to us, we are compelled to make haste.

There is no time to waste.

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

Mary Knew

A BLOG MARY

 

                                                                          What did Mary know?

 

“And Mary said:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,
because the Mighty One
has done great things for me,
and His name is holy.
His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear Him.
He has done a mighty deed with His arm;
He has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
He has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
mindful of His mercy,
just as He spoke to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his descendants forever (Luke 2:46-55 HCS).”

Mary knew God, her Savior.

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

UNEQUIVOCAL JOY

A BLOG

Christmas joy is not on sale. SEPTEMBER 2014 002

We will not find it at the mall, super stores, or favorite .com sites.

I surmise it would be a best seller the first season that manufacturers released it to distributors. Even our traditional Christmas greeting of ‘Merry Christmas’ carries a wish for joy…

In Santa hype, advertisers depict him as merry, jovial, and jolly. Joy, deep joy is a gift from the Lord. In this season of gift giving, Jesus hopes we will receive the year-round gift of unequivocal joy.

“I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete (John 15:11 HCS).”

Our joy feeds on faith in our Savior and His promises. The angels delivered news of great joy!

“Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people; today a Savior who is Messiah the Lord was born for you in the city of David (Luke 2:10b-11 HCS).”

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

Wonderland or Wasteland?

TEA FOR TWO AND TWO FOR TEA SNMAN{Image:Tea for Two & Two for Tea}

You decide, winter wonderland or wasteland?     SEPTEMBER 2014 002

It depends on your point of view; barely daylight and there is a foot-deep fresh blanket of snow. Children beg mom to turn on the news in hopes that their school is closed. She feels a bad head ache coming on. Dad dresses in layer upon layer of winter clothing before shoveling out the driveway.

Forty-seven years ago on December 30, I married my Louisiana Rebel in Syracuse, NY 32 below zero temperatures, amid mountains of snow. Boasting, a few weeks later he moved me south saying that it hardly ever snows in Mississippi. One morning, to our surprise we woke to a Mississippi Delta winter wonderland. Six inches fell from southern skies.

I anticipate a heavenly wonderland!

“But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJ).”

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

Baby Blankies

 

WRAPPED CHRISTMAS-DAVID WOODALL FOR BLOG

NEWBORN BABIES

BRING OUT MY MATERNAL INSTINCTS.

        {Image by David Woodall}

Did it begin with SEPTEMBER 2014 002baby dolls dressed in flannel gowns & matching booties or starched dresses under the Christmas tree ? The new doll smell drifted up to my nose as I quickly named them. I played mommy; the make-believe feeding, dressing, and rocking baby dolls came naturally.

Each year Mom & Dad added childcare essentials, placing dolls in toy baby strollers, cribs or high chairs under our Christmas tree. They were too big to wrap but that afforded me the added pleasure of seeing them at first glance. Mom lovingly displayed my dolls under drooping light-decked branches.

Playing dolls prepared me for real-life babysitting jobs. I was caring for newborns by the early age of eleven, quickly bonding with the bundles of joy. Infants were dependent on me and gave unconditional love. Holding a contented baby in my arms made the hours of clock watching worthwhile.

Baby Jesus grew to sacrificial lamb, willingly giving His life that we might receive everlasting life. Christmas led down the path to Calvary. We open Christmas packages in both celebration of His birth and resurrection. Grieving followers discovered His open and empty tomb. Jesus lives and waits to wrap us in His blanket of grace.

“But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6 NAS).”

Standard
Christian Growth, Devotionals

COOKIE-CUTTER CREATIONS

??????????????????????????????????????

Preschool age children SEPTEMBER 2014 002love to get their hands in Play-Doh and cookie dough. They roll it, pound it and squash it too.

Mommy ads to their fun when she puts cookie cutter molds into their tiny hands; youngsters now have the excitement of creating favorite shapes.

The tikes laugh with glee when they see animals, Christmas trees, stars or snowmen.

As mothers or grandmothers, we guard our hearts and minds. We must not conform to the molds of our godless society.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2 KJV).”

The Creator places no cookie cutter into our feeble hands; He writes His word upon our hearts and watches to see its transforming power in our walk with Him.

Standard
Christian Growth

Wish or Worship?

 

PAM CROPPED 2013

Wishing upon stars is as senseless as knocking on wood.  God alone hears and answers prayers;  God, with great disdain notes wishing upon stars. He created the stars to serve as lights in the heavens above, not to grant wishes to those living below. One particular star had the role of ancient GPS,  God’s Providential Sensor.  It detected the exact birthplace of the King of the Jews.

BLOG 12-23

Wise men did not waste time or energy in wishing upon the star. They followed the light of the star, enabling them to worship Jesus, descendant of King David.  “I,  Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16 HCS).”  

Standard