1 Christmas verse you don't know...
There exists a school of thought that accepts God has retired. It is Deism. He was at first a cosmic clock-maker, created the world and wound it up.
There exists a school of thought that accepts God has retired. It is Deism. He was at first a cosmic clock-maker, created the world and wound it up.
Imagine a time without Christmas. Imagine a world without forgiveness.
Non-conformist Mark Twain was correct. Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities - truth isn't.
God acts differently. Christians for 2000 years have known that preparation for Jesus begins in the heart. But, that first Christmas was different.
Does Christmas glitter too much? Jack London (1876-1916) is described as a pioneer of commercial American fiction, he penned: The proper function of a man is to live, not to exist....
The presence of Christmas is 'electrifying' the air. So, what causes the 'electrification'? God's Son drops in to earth.
An unusual reflection upon Christmas. Esau and Jacob are not usually considered relevant to the wonderful pageant of Christmas. 'The brothers grim' would be a far more accurate description.
"It wasn't enough to see the angels, the shepherds wanted to see the One who sent them.
Pause for a moment, yes, even at Christmas. Unwrap your heart. Search for this baby Jesus.
The significance of an occasion, enhances or diminishes its preparation. Curiously God prepares for His only Son's birth with first another birth.
Absolutely everything around the Christmas narrative bellows from the cradle to the cross: humility. That first Christmas signals humility's original entry to mankind.
Inscribed on the wall of Mother Teresa's childrens' home in Calcutta is 'ANYWAY'. 'ANYWAY' is a refreshing poem of life giving values. 'ANYWAY' echoes much of Christ's giving.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been...
The shepherds were men on a mission from God. Lets go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. . .
Sprawled across the Father's eternal calendar, printed with gold leaf in His holy diary or locked in His iPhone reminders are the two dates that Jesus would visit earth.
The silly season now reigns over the western world. It is deftly formed to keep mankind running in ever expanding circles.
Into the muddled middle classes, the struggling poor and even the wealthy, each Christmas Day Father-God still speaks loudly and gently.
The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.
Where is the one who was born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.
Across millennia Bible readers have shuddered, particularly Old Testament readers. Who can read translated Hebrew names with ease? Araunah, Jeshebeah and Joshbekasah are but a few to trip over.
Joseph . . . did what the Lord's angel had told him to do.
What if you follow a star and find a stable? What happens when all of a sudden, after thinking that something grand and glorious awaits, you end up in a backyard...
Don't spoil my Christmas, many maybe thinking. The year of Covid still threatens health, incapacity, a deep loneliness and death. Yes, Covid can spoil Christmas.
If you look for Me at Christmas You won't need a special star I'm no longer just in Bethlehem I'm right there where you are You may not be aware of Me Amid the celebrations You'll...
Christmas both begins and ends with Christ. Christmas day repeats each Christmas season only until the end of time.
That night the Lord was born every spiritual and earthly realm was shaken. Powers and principalities were stirred, common man was ignorant. The uncommon weren't.
Fierce disputes have long erupted upon the overlap of church and state.
Unnoteworthy events of antiquity rise to be the stunning events of history. The unjust events of the past become the world changing fodder of millennia.
‘Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord.
Heaven 'begins' with a throne surrounded by supernatural well-wishers. Streets of gold, boughs of healing, my history hidden and empty of evil; this is the eternal fabric of heaven.
God couldn't have made Himself bigger to impress us, so He made Himself smaller to attract us. ~ J.
Five quick quotes to remember at Christmas: 1) "You've stood where Joseph stood. Caught between what God says and what makes sense.
When the Lord Jesus has become your peace, remember, there is another thing: good will towards men. Do not try to keep Christmas without good will towards men.
If you were the Creator of the Universe, how would you run things? Would you lead with an iron fist or the roar of a lion? You could if you wished...
Scores of small bouncing bodies splash Christmas shopping malls with unfettered energy. Fidgeting size four shoes ignore their accelerating heartbeats.
Patience involves looking attentively in the right direction, scanning the horizons for glimpses of God's action. Mary and Joseph waited patiently for the favor of God.
Each next Christmas is the guarantee that there will be a last one. All will know when there is no more.
Restless men scour experience, accumulate goods and search the face of this earth for identity. Such is their lot. There is a wicked burden mankind bears.
A vacancy came into heaven. It filled a manger. God was born on earth. That is the first Christmas.
Inhospitable places to humans are the rich soils for eternity! Elijah rose from a mountainous Gilead, John the Baptist was groomed in the desert, Jesus was born in a stable! Into His...
Are the verses below the intentions of a retiring timidity? Could these be spoken through innocent, quiet eyes gazing up from a valueless crib? Via an infant the great and only I AM ushers...
Annually the world slides into Christmas. Its eyes glow steadily brighter as December 25 approaches.
We Christians are like the frog in lukewarm water, not noticing that the temperature is rising.
It is the prayerful wish of SoulSupply that Jesus' glory be your story this Christmas day, and then every day.
Could the good Lord plead this Christmas time: Please add faith, hope and love to the gifts you seek and give this Christmas.
Understand the heavenly time zone we live in: There are many wars and many more rumours of wars, Nations do and will rise against nations, And terror spreads darkness across God's earth....
We shall celebrate many things this Christmas, but let us remember that our God is Lord of all history.
Christmas is the Father delivering a love letter to His world not via a post-box, but a manger. This letter is as short as it is loving.
There is a significant absurdity to Christmas. Christmas is the mighty arm of God stretched down to an earth enveloped by darkness and imprisoned to sin.
Is there a fearsome gun-toting believer who will free the baby Jesus to face His world? Jesus needs to be liberated from the manger and lifted from the hay.
We have heard the Christmas story all our lives. I am very glad it is well known.
Christmas purchases account for 1/6th of all annual retail sales in the U. S. Masses of devotees are dedicated to addictive shopping. It is largely devoid of any teamwork.
At that first Christmas Mary proclaimed our Lord's wonder, then almost four centuries later Bishop Ambrose of Milan (c340-397) taught us how to live it.
If Christmas is the entry of Jesus upon earth there will be a second Christmas - He will enter again.
If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator. .
Nobility is surely mankind's heart at its purest, its most God-like. Problematic to much well-meaning desire is a feeble humankind wishing for what they cannot achieve.
Around 700 years prior to Jesus' birth Israel's prophet Isaiah described the distress that earth's people lived in. He spoke of their hunger and anger, their cursing and darkness.
It was in Bethlehem, not Jerusalem, that Jesus was born. Bethlehem was a poor town, where many people lived in modified caves.
While they were there (Bethlehem), the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Fierce disputes have long erupted upon the overlap of church and state.
Christmas first triggers and then assembles a myriad of thoughts and emotions within a man. Since 1843 Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas Carol' has educated the western world.
That night the Lord was born every spiritual and earthly realm was shaken. Heaven broke into our shackles of time and space.
Did the gift givers to baby Jesus come as kings from Africa, Asia and Europe? Possibly! This thought pleases me for it captures a gathering of three kings from three continents...
T'was the night before Jesus came and all through the house Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
The sleigh was all packed, the reindeer were fed, But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.
This sign is read every day, and everywhere at every airport. Consider the joy for those who wait when a loved returns.
Since the outbreak of a heartless Syrian civil war in March 2011 an estimated 9 million refugees have fled their torn homes.
Just four days now until Santa gets stuck in the chimney, the elves lay down their tools and the reindeers stand again upon terra firma, for Christmas is so close.
Every gift from your friend is a wish for happiness. ~ Richard Bach. When there were no skies and no place to hang the stars. . .
Floating across the Christmas tinselled horizon the western world now gazes upon. . .
How would a real estate agent market heaven? Maybe: beautiful one day perfect the next,the pleasure palace ora place with space?There could be no tired aphorisms such as: renovate or detonate,diamond in the...
God did not rifle through a supermarket bin of glittering paper. . .
All the battleship grey chairs were prematurely full. This early opening suburban surgery was abuzz. Nervous expectancy only heightened by each subsequent minute the doctor was late.
Pioneers are the yeast of a better tomorrow. They are the brave and diligent explorers of improvement. History's annals record pioneers with great affection.
Where was the home of the wise men who searched Jesus out - Babylonia or Arabia? Their origins are as unclear as their guidance is clear, their home as unknown as their...
Eager children forage for their name on a random tags below Christmas trees worldwide. Their minds consumed with anticipation.
Heaven held a vacancy but the inn did not. However, Bette Midler still sings God is watching us from a distance.
Soul Snack 245/14 . . . “Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art,” John Keats introduced his reader to eternity.
Soul Snack 246/14 . . . My loud and un-sneaking suspicion confirms what most of this planet's distressed dwellers fail to realise: Christmas is THE compass to the world.
Soul Snack 243/14 . . . Christmas is Omnipotence wrapped in the bonds of my own fragile humanity.
Soul Snack 242/14 . . . Inhospitable places to humans are the richest soils of eternity.
Soul Snack 239/14 . . . From a far distant yesterday the middle-east has been known for its religious zeal.
Charles Dickens got this right ~ I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
Soul Snack 238/14 . . . Beacons are sentinels for safety and comfort. They warn the wayfarer, the ignorant and the weary of danger.
Soul Snack 237/14 . . . Christmas lights both candles and cannons alike. The babe of Bethlehem would become the man of Jerusalem.
Soul Snack 236/14 . . . Consider please: The mundane events of antiquity become the stunning events of history.
Soul Snack 235/14 . . . Music's hall-of-fame added an anonymous young lady in 1877.
Soul Snack 230/14 . . . The world mocks the Lord's birth and laughs at the promise of His return.
Soul Snack 245/13 . . . A Christmas Collage Jesus' welcome to earth was as humble as His birthplace and life upon earth.
Soul Snack 244/13 . . . Cradle to CrossThere is an infant peeking through the windows in the suburbs.
Soul Snack 243/13 . . . 12 Days of Christmas 2000 years ago a birth reconfigured all history. A shaft of light descended intersecting the story of all mankind.
Soul Snack 241/13 . . . Recovering Christ Christ has never been lost, but He is roundly ignored.
Soul Snack 223/12 . . . The Single Present Sufferer ~ A# One of my lucky school friends has a birthday on 25 December.
The search for suitable gifts can be both demanding and exhausting.
Soul Snack 225/11 . . . . Royal Giving On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Soul Snack 225/11 . . . Royal Giving On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS The 12 Days of Christmas. . . source: Dr.