Jesus The First Christmas Gift

Gift giving is one of our biggest traditions.  Certainly the tradition we spend the most time on as we shop , wrap and put gift tags on them and place the gifts under the tree—Why?   

Christmas is God’s gift of His Son to a world he dearly loves. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall have everlasting life.  That was the first Christmas gift.

The Wrapping….(swaddling cloths)

Luke 2:12 ” And this shall be a sign to you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Swaddling cloths are burial cloths.  Symbolic of the fact that Jesus was born to die for us.

The Gift Tag…..

Isaiah 9:6 says, “”For unto YOU a child s born and unto US a son is given.

Lets Decorate For Christmas

Yesterday we talked about the evergreen tree.  Most of us probably have the green tree, but some of us have a:

 Flocked Tree….

You see snow everywhere at Christmas. Much of the snow we see is not real, but it covers the branches of our Christmas trees.

Snowmen frolic all over town, so fun to look at, especially for the children.

Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”  When the Father sees us, He sees us like branches covered with snow.

We are washed clean by the blood of His son, Jesus.  We are covered in His righteousness.  Remember that this Christmas and give thanks to the Lord.

Colored Lights…

Matthew 5:14 says, “ye are the light of the world.”  Be lights this Christmas.  People will see your light and come out of the darkness to Jesus.  The many colored

lights can be symbolic of Christmas because we are many colored, and serve in many different callings,  We are all in different stages of spiritual growth also.

Yes we are all different, but we are all connected to one power Source.  If your not on the cord and plugged in to Jesus,  Become one of His lights this Christmas.

Blinking Lights….

1 Thessalonians 5:14b says, “Take tender care of those who are weak, for when one of us is weak, the other is strong.

Bubbling Lights….

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Decorate With Your Eyes On Jesus

Lets ask the Lord to give us eyes to see Him in our Christmas traditions.  Help us Lord to see you in all that we do.  It’s a very busy time of year, but help us take the time to see you.

The Christmas Tree

We most likely, all have one of these beauties in our home and spend many hours devoted

to the preparation of that special tree.

It is a lot of fun and very beautiful, but have we kept our Christmas tree Christ centered?

The Tree can be a wonderful way to glorify Jesus .  Through our spiritual eyes let us see the great meaning

there can be in these branches and decorations.

The evergreen tree…..(Everlasting)

Jesus is everlasting:  Psalm 90:2 “Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

Jesus never changes:Hebrews 13:8  “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,”  Revelation 22:13

The trunk of the tree and the branches…..

Jesus is the vine or trunk of the tree: John 15:5  “I am the vine, ye are the branches.”

Jesus is the vine, the source, and the branches are connected to Him.  If the branch be separated from the vine they will surely die.

Jesus is like the tree….Isaiah 53:18  “He was cut off out of the land of the living.”  Yes He was cut off  just like our Christmas tree was cut off.

Many Christmas trees, when you purchase them, are nailed to a cross!  Especially those

on the traditional Christmas tree Lots.  The tree was cut off out of the land of

the living, and nailed to a Cross like Jesus was.  Remember His death as we look at our

tree this Christmas.  So often at Christmas we think of Jesus as the Christ

Child, a baby in the manger.  The most important thing to remember is Jesus the Lord, who died for the remission of our sins.

He went to the Cross for us.

The Hope of a tree….

“If it be cut down, it will sprout again, and the tender branch there of shall not cease.”Job 14:7

Yes, Jesus rose again from the grave and the tender branches, who are us, the Church, have never ceased.  The tree just keeps growing and growing.

That is our hope!  Our hope is in our tree, Jesus Christ who is risen! Hallelujah!

Jesus, The Reason For The Season

Christmas is such a beautiful time of year, it is so special!  There is warmth, love, and inspiration that is found at no other time of the year.  Love abounds at Christmas  time, it is everywhere.  People remember to care for one another and correspond with people they never see all year-long.  It is a giving time, generosity is very present.  Many reach out and help the unfortunate.  I wish that would happen all year long.  Hearts are stirred, pricked, and even broken.  The air is full of fragrance and colorful sights.  There are a lot of feelings also at this time of year.  Sometimes it feels wonderful, sometimes it feels sad, and sometimes it is Jesus tugging at your heart, saying, “Remember Me , I am the reason for the season!”  Millions upon millions of people celebrate Christmas all over the world, but relatively few of the millions who celebrate truly know the true meaning of Christmas.  Other things take priority over Jesus, and the celebration of His birth.  Lets change our focus this year and keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus.  It will touch your heart deeper than anything else.  You will never be the same.

Christ Centered Christmas

Christmas is a magical time of year, lots of stories, traditions and fun.  Volumes have been written about Christmas and its many wonderful traditions.  It is a holiday rich in folklore and great imagination.  Even the Bible story of Christmas has been embellished over the years with such stories as The Little Drummer Boy, The littlest Angel, We Three Kings, and its many takes on them.  Yes much has been said, and there is much more that can be said about Christmas…………It is the wanting season.  People want love.  They want to be remembered.  Buying presents  is something that people want to do for others.  Some other people just want presents!  But remember, The Lord is our Shepherd, and we shall not want.  Wanting can be stressful, disappointing, and even sad.  The Lord will give us what we need this Christmas.  Let Him bless you as you just rest in Him and have a wonderful Christmas celebrating Jesus, not us.

Wise Men

I Love the account of the Wise Men in Matthew Chapter 2.  The Bible doesn’t say three Wise Men but Tradition has held to that number.  There were three gifts, so I think that’s how the number of men was established.  There could have been many wise men.  They were astrologers, and studied the stars.  They must have seen something very special in this star that they saw in the East  They came to Jerusalem to see Herod and ask him where was this child that was born.  They must have received a devine message as well, when they saw that new star in the sky.  Herod was angry and concocted a story, that they should find the babe so that he Herod could worship Him.  They left Herod and followed the star.  It went before them and led them to Bethlehem.  The star actually stood in the sky over the place where Jesus was.  When the Wise Men saw Jesus, they fell down and worshiped Him.   They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Gold is associated with kings, and Jesus is the King of Kings.  Frankincense, is often used as incense in worship.  Jesus is to be worshiped.  Myrrh is a perfume that was put on dead bodies and Jesus would one day die to save His people from their sins.   The Wise men had a dream that Herod would kill the child if they went back and told him where He was.  So they went back to their homeland another way.  Thanks to those wise men, Herods’ plan failed and Jesus went on to save us from or sins.  Heavens Gift to us and the Reason for this beautiful Christmas Season.

Believe

Sitting by our Christmas tree one day, I noticed this tiny scene in the tree . It made me think about the faith that our beautiful God created, birds have.  They lay their eggs and faithfully sit and wait for the day to come when they will hatch.  They Believe!!!  We all desire things, and there are times when we just need things.  Sometime big things, sometimes small.  It might be healing that we desire.  Salvation for a loved one is a huge need and desire.  Believe, and ye shall receive!  We often desire and pray for things, but we don’t really believe.  I have seen the Lord bring the desires of many hearts.  I believe, with all my heart that the Lord can and will give you the desires of your heart.  Can you believe?

Angels Declare His Birth

Out in a field at night under the bright stars, an angel appeared to shepherds who were tenderly watching their flock.  The Shepherds were so afraid.   They were surrounded by the Glory of the Lord.  Imagine that,  I think I too might have been afraid.  But the message the angel brought was so comforting and life changing  they were quickly moved from fear to awe.  A Saviour had been born!!  The angel was inviting them to and see this Saviour.   An angel choir came and sang to them, it must have been one of the most beautiful praise songs ever sung.  As soon as the angels left those shepherds they put their heads together and decided to go and find this Saviour,  The Bible says they went with haste.  They were in a hurry to find the Saviour.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people were rushng to find Him today.  What a wonderful world this would be.  He is not a baby in a manger now;

He is Christ the Lord.

Have A Shiny Day

Bad day,  sad day,  sick day, happy day, or the best day of your life, all of our days belong to the Lord.  Todays scripture is one of my favorites.  It reminds me that no matter what, I need to pick my self up, shake myself off, and start all over again.  Every day is a new day to appreciate and walk in what the Lord has given us,  Every day is also a new day to serve Him in whatever capacity we can.  Sometimes when we are having a happy day we will tend to forget about the glory of the Lord that has risen upon us.  Those bad days are hard too, because we just want to huddle down and feel bad or sad.  Sick days are a challenge because our body Is not cooperating with our hearts.  But His word says, “Arise and Shine for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee!  Isaiah 60:1  HAVE A SHINY DAY!

Joy Comes In The Morning

This photo of the moon was taken as I stood on the deck of a ship heading to Puerto Vallarta .  An other wise beautiful night was marred by a fall that my wonderful husband had when he had a blood pressure drop and passed out in the cabin.  We have been through allot in the past year, and decided we needed to pack up our troubles and just go on a cruise.  This fall he had really threw me and did bring the weeping that I tried so hard to resist.   The Lord has been with us and has brought us through so much, but this was so unexpected.  We had to call the ship 911 for help and he was taken to the ships hospital.  They patched up his cuts and bruises and after a couple hours sent us out to enjoy the rest of the evening.  I must confess, fear was on me.  Fear that it would happen again.  I just couldn’t shake that fear.  After we had dinner and returned to our cabin I went out on the deck and saw this beautiful scene.  It was then that the Lord reminded me that joy comes in the morning.  The night became less scary and I was able to rest in the Lord and anticipate that Joy that was coming.  Morning came and my dear husband as sore as he was , was ready to enjoy every moment of our cruise.  We saw the Lords word come alive in Jerry’s body and in our hearts.  Remember this, when hard times come, and they will.  Joy will come in the morning as we look to the Lord.