These past several weeks, after ‘pondering on God’s Love, I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing on this earth that I cherish more than His love.  It is through God’s love that we can truly cherish our families and turn our hearts toward our relationship with Him, our families, our friends, and our fellow man.  There will always be someone in need of a Savior and the everyday things (that some of us take for granted)  needed to survive (food, clothing, a warm place to live…).  To quote from a famous movie (A Christmas Carol), “Mankind Is Our Business”. 

What an awesome thought, to think that God the Father chose to make a humble, yet spectacular entrance into humanity, all because He Loves Us.  That’s you and me.  The thought that He would cherish me (hold me dear) enough to carry out His humble, yet spectacular plan, is so awesome.  May we cherish and love the One who loves us, with all our hearts.

From my family to yours ~ Merry Christmas!  May your Christmas be filled with the joy of the birth of Jesus Christ!

OUR CORNERSTONE

OUR HIGH PRIEST

THE ONE WHO REACHES FOR US

IMMANUEL

The SERVANT King

OUR TREASURE

Whose MOTHER Was A Humble Servant Of God

OUR ANSWER, ADVOCATE And ACCESS To God The Father

And Most Of All, OUR SAVIOR

Happy Birthday Jesus!

We Love You!

F.Y.I. The beautiful cake was made by my neice, Erica.  Her cakes are not only beautiful works of art, they are delicious.  If you know me and the area that I live, and would like for Erica to make your next celebration cake ~ I would be glad to give you her contact info.

CHRISTMAS

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ REACHING FOR US

“I” Is For Christ, IMMANUEL

“S” Is For Christ, The SERVANT King

“T” Is For Christ, Our TREASURE

“M” Is For Christ’s Mother, MARY

“A” Is For Christ, Our Only ANSWSER, ADVOCATE And ACCESS To God The Father

“S” Is For Christ, Our SAVIOR

I could choose no other word for the last letter in the word “Christmas”, than SAVIOR.

The past couple of weeks, we have had visits from family, and a time we call “family Christmas”, love and fun times that we share (we love to giggle and laugh and some say we tell the same dumb stories over and over again), the opening of gifts, and the teasing from one family member (you know who you are “G’) that the only gifts underneath our tree were a couple of unwrapped cardboard boxes. Underneath the tree was bare because we had just had one of those “family Christmas” weekends.  But, if you looked around the tree at this moment you would find wrapped presents for the kids and grand-kids.  They too will be gone by Friday evening.  There have been ”Christmas programs” at church and at schools.  There have been special once a year “Christmas get-togethers”.  Some have even expressed some stressful emotions over the fast pace, gift buying or the lack of, and too much togetherness. 

We have this little box at our house.  Some of you may know what I’m talking about, after a few more sentences.  The box and what is inside is called, “What God Wants For Christmas”, an interactive kid-friendly Nativity.  It says on the box, “What God Wants For Christmas?  It’s–to you–a surprise.  In box number seven it is disguised.  But–no peeking!–Be patient!  For this you must wait.  It’s what you offer Him, and it’s really great!”  The little gift boxes inside are numbered 1-7, and as you read the Christmas Story the children open the boxes when prompted.  Inside box #1 is Gabriel, as angel and speaker of God’s Word, telling the story.  (As the gift boxes are opened the children place whats inside, inside the Nativity)  Gift box #2 is Mary, Mother of Jesus; #3 is Joseph, who is chosen to be Jesus’ earthly father; #4 is the baby Jesus; #5 is the Shepherd boy; in box #6 are the Wise Men.  When you open gift box #7, there is a little mirror inside.  When the children look inside the box, they see themselves.  This is what it says, in the book “What God Wants For Christmas” written by Amy L. Bradford. 

“What God wants for Christmas?  Now here’s the surprise.  In box number seven, where it’s been disguised.  Peek in the box, for so long you have waited.  What God wants is you–the one He created!  Me? you ask. ‘Why is this so?  I cannot wrap me and put on a bow!  No, you cannot; but what you can give are the choices you make in the life that you live.”

Whatever Christmas looks like in your family, many gifts or no gifts under the tree, a tree or no tree, lots of family members or few family members, lots of stress–a little stress or no stress, a few get togethers or ‘it’s party time’, so many Christmas programs that Granny and Poppy have to split up to make all the grand-kids feel special, or you haven’t hit this stage of life yet…Remember This!

CHRISTMAS is all about the birth of Our SAVIOR, the gift of Christ, the baby in the manger.  Ed and I went to “The Sight and Sound Theatre” in Branson to see the “Miricle Of Christmas”.  I’ll put a plug in for it.  Great production!  In the production, Mary would present her babe to everyone who came to visit Him (most of the time, Mary placed the babe in their arms) and say, “He Is God’s Gift To You”.  God wants us and loves us so very much that He gave us the only gift He could, the gift of A SAVIOR, His Son. We all need Him.  My heart weeps for those who do not understand the need for A SAVIOR, The Christ.  My prayer for us all is that in the coming year our relationship with the SAVIOR will be one of offering of ourselves, to Him who created us and made provision for our sins. And, that we might live our lives in the light of Our SAVIOR, and, so let our light shine before the world around us.  I’m going to throw a quote in here.  I would give the person who said it credit, but I don’t know who that person is.

“Jesus Is The Reason For The Season ”

“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.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”       John 3:16-17  NIV

 God’s Love, The Gift of Our Savior

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ REACHING FOR US

“I” Is For Christ, IMMANUEL

“S” Is For Christ, The SERVANT King

“T” Is For Christ, Our TREASURE

“M” Is For Christ’s Mother, MARY

“A” Is For Christ, Our Only ANSWER, ADVOCATE And ACCESS To God The Father

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  I John 2:1  KJ

The NIV translation says, “We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense”.  “The Greek word for ’advocate is ‘parakletos from the word ‘parakaleo, which means to call hither, toward, or to speak to, to speak cheerfully to, encourage.  He who has been or may be called to help, a helper.  One who comes forward in behalf of and as the representative of another. Thus in 1 John 2:1, Christ is termed our substitutionary, intercessory advocate.  Christ designates the Holy Spirit as Paraclete, and He calls Him ‘allos, another, which means another of equal quality and not ‘heteros, another of different quality.”  Taken from The Hebrew-Greek Study Bible; Word Bible Publishers; page 1718 

 “God’s love is truly made complete in him” from the NIV translation. Or, “In him verily is the love of God perfected” from the KJ translation. (1 John 2:5) 

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ REACHING FOR US

“I” Is For Christ, IMMANUEL

“S” Is For Christ, The SERVANT King

“T” Is For Christ, Our TREASURE

“M” Is For Christ’s Mother, MARY

“….God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.”  Luke 1:26-28  NIV

‘Mary was greatly troubled  at the angel’s words, but the angel said to her…’

“Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the SON OF THE MOST HIGH.”  Luke 1:30-32  NIV

‘Mary asked the angel, how can this be, since I am a virgin’?  The angel said to her…’

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the SON OF GOD.”  Luke 1:35  NIV

‘Then Mary said, ‘I am the Lord’s servant.’

“How the Holy Spirit impregnates’ Mary is one of the Bible’s great mysteries.  The word overshadow means ‘to throw a shadow over’; and here the word carries the sense of the power of the Most High that overcomes Mary.  Somehow, God’s glory infuses her with his presence…God’s glory observed.”   ”The Mystery” quoted from The Women of Faith Study Bible, page 1680

MARY’S SONG

You MUST read Luke chapter 1, verses 46-55.   The passage is sometimes referred to as The ‘Magnificat, which is a Latin term, meaning ‘To Magnify’.  Even though Jesus has not been born yet, Mary magnifies him as Lord.  Mary must of had many emotions as she pondered her angelic encounter.  Whatever her emotions, she did not let them get in the way of her Song of Worship for the Lord.  It must have been a beautiful song, full of the ‘Breath of Heaven’ and the Love of God.  I wonder, were her words like speaking poetry or were her words spoken with melody?

F.Y.I. ‘Amy Grant’ sings a song titled “Breath of Heaven ~ Mary’s Song”.  If you havn’t heard it, you can find it on ‘youtube’.

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ REACHING FOR US

“I” Is For Christ, IMMANUEL

“S” Is For Christ, The SERVANT King

“T” Is For Christ, Our TREASURE

What is a treasure?  It is something of great worth or value.  It is a person that we especially value as rare and precious.  We treasure many things and people in life, the roof over our heads, the material things that we have, our ministries, our husbands, our children, our grand-children.  We place great value on these things and people (the list could go on and on).  Where is our “True Treasure”?  What should be more valuable to us, than anything or person, anything physical in this human existence?  What and who do we treasure?

This week, my cousin “G” visited us.  We were talking about our relationship with God and placing value on our relationship with Him, above all else.  It was a confirmation, to me, of the word I had chosen to represent the letter ‘T’ in the word CHRISTMAS.  Whatever we treasure, there is where our time will be spent and there is where our HEARTS are. 

Since I became a Christian, I’ve spent a lot of time ‘taking notes’ about sermons I’ve heard, thoughts from my prayer time and time spent in the Word.  But, recently I’ve become a journaler (if there is such a word…if not, I just made one up).  There is a difference between taking notes and journaling.  Taking notes is writing down an explanation of what you’ve heard or read.  Journaling is a record of experiences, ideas and heart felt reflections. The same is true in our relationship (OUR TREASURE) with Christ. Our explanation of what we think we know of Christ is very different from our experiences, ideas and heart felt reflections of Christ.  And we can only express and exhibit the later by placing the highest of value on Him.  OUR TREAURE Is CHRIST.

God the Father Treasures Christ, His Son

Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”  NIV 

We Learn to Treasure Christ, Through the Power of The Holy Spirit 

The Holy Spirit, awakens our hearts to experience the “TREASURE OF CHRIST”.

Jesus said, “When the Counselor (Holy Spirit) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”  John 15:26 NIV

Jesus said, “He (the Holy Spirit) will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”  John 16:14  NIV

2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, ‘Let the light shine out of darkness’, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”  NIV

“In The Face Of Christ, OUR TREASURE, is the Valuable Image of God”

The birth of the Christ child is A TREASURE in God’s Plan

Thoughts to ponder:  Are we note takers, or journalers?  Are we explainers, or experiencers? 

Scripture to ponder:  Matthew 6:21 

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ REACHING For Us

“I” Is For Christ, IMMANUEL

“S” Is For Christ, The SERVANT King

Jesus came, not as a King to rule in outwardly splendor, but as the SERVANT King.  He was born, not in a bed surrounded by attendants caring for him and his sweet mother Mary, but surrounded by the presence of his earthly father Joseph, and a few unsanitary animals.  What made Christ’s birth more splendid than that of any other king born or to be born, was the unseen presence of the Almighty God, His Father in heaven.  We are told that when Jesus was born, his mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room or place for them (Luke 2:7).  Yet, when the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her of her blessing, he told her “Your child, Jesus, will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages, and of His reign there will be no end” (Luke 2:32-33).

Jesus came as the SERVANT King to serve His Father.  His rule is not the world’s idea of kingship, but that of spiritual kingship.  Throughout Jesus’ life, His royalty was shown time and time again.  It was shown by the miracles He performed.  He even commanded and controlled nature (see Mark 4:35-41).  One has only to read through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to understand the nature of Jesus’ Kingship.

Jesus came not to conquer kingdoms of this world, but to conquer our sinful hearts.  His SERVANT kingship is the only house of royalty capable of defeat over sin.  He was born a SERVANT King, lived as, was crucified on the cross as, and was resurrected as The SERVANT King.  All because God the Father loves us so very much.

Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man came not to have service rendered to Him, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for (instead of) many.”  The Amplified Bible 

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ REACHING For Us

“I” Is For Christ, IMMANUEL

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14  KJ

There is a word in the above passage of scripture, that caught my eye as I was reading.  Actually, it was the phrase “shall CALL his name Immanuel”.  It was the word, call, that I was compelled to grasp the meaning of.  The ‘Hebrew word for call is ‘Qara’.  The following is the definition for ‘Qara’.

“…to cry out, to call aloud, to roar; to proclaim.  The basic meaning of the word is the enunciation of a specific vocable or message.  It is usually addressed to a specific recipient and intended to elicit a specific response.  Rarely does it refer to a random outcry…God wanted Adam to assert his own authority in this world (Genesis 2:19).  Naming a person may specify an individuals primary characteristic (Genesis 27:36), be an evaluation (Isaiah 58:13; 60:14) or recognize an eternal truth (Isaiah 7:14).”  Quote from Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible

The announcement above (Isaiah 7:14), is more than just giving a name to the child who will be born of a virgin.  It is the “enunciation (cry out, call aloud, roar, proclaim) of an eternal truth“. 

The ANNOUNCEMENT of IMMANUEL (With Us Is God)

The eternal truth?  God IS With Us!

Scripture to Ponder:  Matthew 1:23

Today is one of personal testimony from me, to you.

“C” Is For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Is For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

“R” Is For Christ, REACHING For Us

Last night our Grandson, Avery (age 8), accepted Christ as his personal Savior.  We had gone to our Grandson Asher’s (Avery’s little brother) Kindergarten Christmas program.  Avery came with his devotional study book to read, as we waited for the program to start.  He was sharing his devotion with “Poppy” (that’s what the Grand-kids call Ed, my hubby) and I.  Avery was pondering the question, “How does God show His power to us“.  One conclusion he came to (with our help), is that God helps us to make good decisions in life.  Avery had also been sharing with us, recently, that he has been reading  his Bible at night before he goes to sleep. Poppy and I had not been home long last night, when the phone rang.  It was Avery, who had something wonderful to tell us.  He had just prayed with his Daddy to accept Christ as his personal Savior.  Of course, we were excited and so very happy for Avery.  As I thought about Avery’s decision to accept Christ, I couldn’t help but think of how God’s gift of the Christ child is constantly “Reaching” for us.  It is through the hand of God, the human birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the Cross, the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit that God ”Reaches” us.  Yes, those of us who love Avery try our best to lead him in the right direction.  But, it is God who “Reached” and found him.  So, here’s to Christ, Avery’s Savior, who “Reached” for him and found him. 

“C” Stands For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

“H” Stands For Christ, Our HIGH PRIEST

Christ is the Great High Priest

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  Hebrews 4:14-16  NIV

In the book of Hebrews, chapters 4-7,  we see the comparison being made between the Old Testament high priest and Jesus Christ.  In my understanding, the most obvious differences in the Old Testament high priest and Jesus Christ are these:  the earthly priest made sacrifice through the blood of animals on a continual basis and the priest would eventually die, preventing him from continuing the priesthood.  Jesus Christ offered the sacrifice of His own blood for our sins, once and for all, and this sacrifice is eternally effective.  Christ is forever alive, present in Heaven, to make intercession for us.  (see Hebrews 7:25 and Hebrews 10:12)

How Loving of our Father God, that He would make this sacrifice for me and for you.  He sent His one and only Son, down from Heaven, in the form of a ”Little Babe” to become a complete end to the sacrifices of the Old Testament priests, concerning the issue of sin.  We are assured that Christ understands our greatest needs. 

Guess What?  Thirteen shopping days until Christmas!  I did go to town yesterday to do my Christmas gift shopping.  About the only time I listen to the radio, non stop, is at this time of year when a certain station plays (non stop) Christmas music.  What I really noticed yesterday was the absence of “The True Meaning of Christmas–God’s Gift Of Love To Us”, and the non stop presence of  “13 shopping days until Christmas”.  The shopping priority was mentioned many times throughout my day.  I wish I had counted them.  I hope I can get the COUNTDOWN out of my head!

Today, I want to begin my own countdown to Christmas by using an ‘acrostic’.  We all know what it is (a series of lines in which certain letters form a name or a message).  I’m going to use the letters in Christmas, and the message is this:  To continue on into our “Journey Into God’s Love” through the message of  ”THE BEST GIFT EVER!”. 

 ”C” Stands  For Christ, Our CORNERSTONE

Christ is our cornerstone.  He is the basis upon which we stand and are supported.  He was foretold in Isaiah 28:16. 

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”  Isaiah 28:16 KJ 

Christ is our capstone, God’s highest, and crowning achievement of His love for us.

“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.  This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”  Psalms 118:22-23  KJ

The word head (verse 22) in Hebrew is ‘Rosh.  It’s meanings are captain, chief, excellent, first, forefront, highest.  Jesus said, in Matthew 21:42, “Did ye never read the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner:  this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”

Christ Is Our Cornerstone

Scriptures to ponder: Ephesians 2:20 (The Chief Cornerstone) and 1 Peter 2:5-7 (Living Stones)