Today I looked out to see a winter wonderland! I was amazed at the beauty of this "White Christmas". The scene was breathtaking! After a month of decorating, planning, and looking forward to this day, it came in great style. I have pondered the birth of Jesus and praised Him for his great provision for our salvation. My heart was warmed by the manger scene and Christmas carols. As I stood there I shivered as the cold wind blew, causing an avalanche of snow to blow off the snow laden trees. Yep, Christmas is nearly over and reality sets in like the winter winds, for many people. For, some the past year has weighed on their hearts like the snow that covers the branches outside. The avalanche of troubles have plagued the last year with profound hopelessness. Buy wait let me tell you about what else sat upon the branches! To my surprise, a robin hopped joyfully from branch to branch. Yes, I said a robin! Robins to me have always been a sign that spring was on the way. Hope that the dreary winter was over and knew life was about to spring forth. Just as winter will finally come to an end I pray that the Lord will put new hope in your heart for the new year. Our hope is in Him!
Romans 15:13
May the Lord of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
My "Christmas Robin" was a great reminder that the New Born King gives us hope for the new year even when all seems bleak and cold. Spring and healing are just around the corner!
Merry Christmas and God Bless you!
Sent from my iPad=
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Puzzle
Whew, finally, the last piece! I just finished a puzzle that was started at Thanksgiving while my kids were here. We all worked on it through out the five days they were here but I will have to admit they did the hard parts. They worked on the places that didn’t make sense, like the back round that was all one color. That’s what separated the men from the boys or more like it, the patient from the impatient. Only a puzzle lover could understand the jubilation of finding just the right piece, in fact, I could almost do a back flip over a whole block of pieces that fit perfectly. Wow, the visual on that was not pretty! Like I said, you have to be a puzzle lover to understand this explosion of emotions!
As I read scripture about the birth of Jesus I see pieces of another puzzle come together. The Bible is a giant puzzle that fits perfectly together if you have the patience to gather it’s pieces. As I started through Matthew, I highlighted each reference from the old testament. Just as I pick up the right piece of my puzzle and place into the perfect place, prophecy from the old testament fits perfectly into the Christmas Story. Amazing isn’t it? I get so excited as these perfectly shaped pieces, of the “perfect plan” fit together. Everything from the birth and ministry of John the Baptizer, to Mary, the virgin maiden, who was prophesied about hundreds of years prior to the birth of Jesus. I think we all forget that the beautiful story we think about at Christmas time or read on Christmas Eve was not an isolated event but it was that vital piece of the puzzle that brought redemption to us all. Is the puzzle finished yet? No, it will be finished at the return of Christ and then we can fully appreciate the beautiful plan that God set into motion. The puzzle will be complete and we will see fully, things that we only see in part for now. Praise His Holy Name!
In the same way that God has a great plan for the world, he also has a plan for you and me! There will be times when the pieces of our lives seem not fit together, when parts of the puzzle doesn’t make sense but rest assured, there is a plan. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that he has a plan for our life, a good plan that is meant for our good. That means that even though our puzzle is not coming together right now, it will because I think that God is the master puzzle lover and He rejoices as each part of the plan he has for you comes together. God has all the pieces, trust him to show you day by day his plan.
All this took place to fullfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means “God with us”. Matthew 1:22-23
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Matthew 3:3
Whew ! I feel another 1000 piece-er in my near future, how about you?
As I read scripture about the birth of Jesus I see pieces of another puzzle come together. The Bible is a giant puzzle that fits perfectly together if you have the patience to gather it’s pieces. As I started through Matthew, I highlighted each reference from the old testament. Just as I pick up the right piece of my puzzle and place into the perfect place, prophecy from the old testament fits perfectly into the Christmas Story. Amazing isn’t it? I get so excited as these perfectly shaped pieces, of the “perfect plan” fit together. Everything from the birth and ministry of John the Baptizer, to Mary, the virgin maiden, who was prophesied about hundreds of years prior to the birth of Jesus. I think we all forget that the beautiful story we think about at Christmas time or read on Christmas Eve was not an isolated event but it was that vital piece of the puzzle that brought redemption to us all. Is the puzzle finished yet? No, it will be finished at the return of Christ and then we can fully appreciate the beautiful plan that God set into motion. The puzzle will be complete and we will see fully, things that we only see in part for now. Praise His Holy Name!
In the same way that God has a great plan for the world, he also has a plan for you and me! There will be times when the pieces of our lives seem not fit together, when parts of the puzzle doesn’t make sense but rest assured, there is a plan. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that he has a plan for our life, a good plan that is meant for our good. That means that even though our puzzle is not coming together right now, it will because I think that God is the master puzzle lover and He rejoices as each part of the plan he has for you comes together. God has all the pieces, trust him to show you day by day his plan.
All this took place to fullfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means “God with us”. Matthew 1:22-23
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Matthew 3:3
Whew ! I feel another 1000 piece-er in my near future, how about you?
Monday, December 6, 2010
Golden Scarf!
As I carefully place the pieces of the Nativity set in it’s traditional place atop the desk, I try to find a quiet time to think about the characters and give thanks for the part that each played on that miraculous day. I place the stable along with Mary and Joseph on a gold scarf that came with the set. Of course, I recount how Mary was told by an angel that she would have a baby and she was to call him Jesus. Next to Mary I see poor Joseph who had his world turned upside down with the news that his wife-to-be was with child. I remember scripture that tells of the angel who came to calm his fears with news that this was God’s plan. Close by I place the shepherd with a lamb in his arms who gazes at the baby. Off at a distance the three wise men make their way with their gifts. The donkey, cow and sheep lay nearby to help make the scene complete. Lastly, I place the beautiful Baby Jesus in the manger over flowing with golden hay. My heart is greatly warmed at the sight of the sweet baby who came to be our savior. As I stand back and gaze at this beautiful scene, I am suddenly checked by the Lord. I began to see the scene in a different way.
The King of Kings was born in a stable, not the one that my Nativity set portrayed on it’s glimmering, gold scarf. It was a stinky place that animals stayed in and since the inn was full so probably was the stable. This weary couple may have shivered from the cold as the winds blew through the cracks of the rickety old barn. Mary and Joseph lay down, not on a bed of clean hay but probably a hard dirt floor that was hardly a place to give birth to a baby let alone our Savior. The manger was a dirty trough that was used to feed the livestock, how Mary must have winced at laying her precious baby there. The angels didn’t go to the religious leaders of that time but sang of the good news to lowly shepherds who quickly joined this scene, not smelling all that good either.
Why? He looks so good on my gold scarf, everyone is all cleaned up and looks so good I can practically hear “Silent Night” playing in the background. Why couldn’t he at least be born inside the inn? Why not a warm cradle to lay him in? I guess if the world had been the clean, perfect world that sat upon my gold scarf, there would have been no need for Him to come. If man was perfect, there would have been no need for a Savior. Jesus was born of a lowly maiden in a dirty stable and would die to save us from our dirty sins. As Mary wrapped her new born baby in swaddling clothes she wrapped God’s plan to save the world.
Don’t worry, my Nativity still sits on the gold scarf I haven’t brought in stable “dirt” to make it look realistic but I will never look at it the same. This perfect baby came down to an imperfect world to die for our sins. Why? Because he loved us so!
Luke 2:1-7
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The King of Kings was born in a stable, not the one that my Nativity set portrayed on it’s glimmering, gold scarf. It was a stinky place that animals stayed in and since the inn was full so probably was the stable. This weary couple may have shivered from the cold as the winds blew through the cracks of the rickety old barn. Mary and Joseph lay down, not on a bed of clean hay but probably a hard dirt floor that was hardly a place to give birth to a baby let alone our Savior. The manger was a dirty trough that was used to feed the livestock, how Mary must have winced at laying her precious baby there. The angels didn’t go to the religious leaders of that time but sang of the good news to lowly shepherds who quickly joined this scene, not smelling all that good either.
Why? He looks so good on my gold scarf, everyone is all cleaned up and looks so good I can practically hear “Silent Night” playing in the background. Why couldn’t he at least be born inside the inn? Why not a warm cradle to lay him in? I guess if the world had been the clean, perfect world that sat upon my gold scarf, there would have been no need for Him to come. If man was perfect, there would have been no need for a Savior. Jesus was born of a lowly maiden in a dirty stable and would die to save us from our dirty sins. As Mary wrapped her new born baby in swaddling clothes she wrapped God’s plan to save the world.
Don’t worry, my Nativity still sits on the gold scarf I haven’t brought in stable “dirt” to make it look realistic but I will never look at it the same. This perfect baby came down to an imperfect world to die for our sins. Why? Because he loved us so!
Luke 2:1-7
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
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