Christmas: Welcome to our World!
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Christmas blessings from a branch in the VINE.
Read MoreADVENT (Week 4) -- Fullness of LOVE in Jesus: "the Smile that Destroyed My Religion"
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When I think of God’s Love in Jesus, I no longer think,”Yeh, He loves me, but then sometimes He loves me not.” Do you feel this way?
For this very short 4th week of Advent, I feel compelled to share the most critical turning point in my spiritual life. and this turning point is all about the “fullness of the love of God” for me truly and totally.
4th Week of Advent: I Wonder as I Wander
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My friend Penny is a walker (a very serious, fast walker, by the way). But Penny doesn't just walk for exercise, she also "walks" closely with the Lord. So when Penny shares, I listen. And when she shared about a favorite Christmas carol, it made me take notice. Why? Because while walking, Penny has been doing what this song describes.
Read MoreADVENT (Week 3) -- Fulness of JOY in Jesus
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“Don’t be afraid!” he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great JOY to all people.
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem,
the city of David! …
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others
—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
3rd Week of Advent: EMMANUEL, Our God is WITH Us
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If ever we needed to know God is WITH us in every possible way, it's NOW, after another year of the unanswerable "why's" of life. We struggle to make sense of all the violence, suffering, and injustice we see all around us. Though we can't know the answers, we can turn afresh to the One Who has us in the palm of His Hand. The God Who became One of us...flesh and bone and joint and sinew...who experienced every emotion possible, raw and gripping, tender and affectionate! He felt it all! And He feels our current struggle with us too!
Read MoreOf the Father's Love Begotten ... Emmanuel
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For the past several years, I have been following an Advent devotional by a British author Tim Chester. One of the unique things that the author does is quote some “unknown to me” hymns and carols. In one of the devotionals, I recognized the final lines of each stanza in the hymn of the day. Sure enough! I had been listening to that very carol each year on an old Christmas CD in our collection.
Read More2nd Week of Advent: the Really Good News -- GOD with US!
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"The Good News isn't just that Jesus died for our sins. The Good News is EMMANUEL...GOD WITH US!" So declared Deb at the end of our Bible Study.
As John and I drove home that evening, we reflected on her statement. We recalled a conversation we had had years before when we were discussing what the heart of the gospel ("Good News") is. The Good News isn't just that our sins are forgiven so we can go to heaven someday (and now we just do the best we can in the meantime).
Read MoreREST! Yes, Despite the Holiday Craziness
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In the total craziness of holiday celebrations this year, there comes the call:
REST, enjoy His love …
Jesus came to give us His rest of spirit, so we could enjoy God’s love):
Read More1st Week of Advent: O Come, Emmanuel!
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When I was a child, I always loved Advent. There was a melancholia, a longing...but mixed at the same time with anticipation and hope. How did I get all that as a child? I'm sure I didn't, except to say that maybe all the sights and sounds and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories of the "liturgical celebration" weren't entirely lost on me, nor on many of you. The reality of our God-Man Jesus has grown in me over the years as I've walked and talked with my Savior.
But whether you have had that sort of background as a child or not, why not journey with us these next weeks. Take it all in as if for the first time...all the sights, sounds, and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories.
Below are Scripture readings for every day this week. Let the Word of God wash over you day by day. I've linked the passages to biblegateway.com so you can change the version as you wish.
But first, enjoy this Christmas Carol to start off your Advent devotions. It's one of my childhood favorites: O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
I love the intense longing expressed in this song...a longing for the presence of God Himself into our frail humanity...a presence that is our Present Reality in Christ.
Who would have ever imagined it? God in the flesh! C.S. Lewis was right when he called the Incarnation (God made Man, God with Us), The Grand Miracle.
Sing it with us, and let the emotion and wonder of it all bathe over you!
O Come O Come Emmanuel Selah
O come, O come, EmmanuelAnd ransom captive IsraelThat mourns in lonely exile hereUntil the Son of God appearRejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, freeThine own from Satan's tyrannyFrom depths of Hell Thy people saveAnd give them victory o'er the graveRejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheerOur spirits by Thine advent hereDisperse the gloomy clouds of nightAnd death's dark shadows put to flight.Rejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,And open wide our heavenly home;Make safe the way that leads on high,And close the path to misery.Rejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,In ancient times did'st give the Law,In cloud, and majesty and awe.Rejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel.
For an interesting story behind the song, click here.
Readings for the First Week of Advent:
Sunday -- Luke 4:16-21
Monday -- John 1:1-18
Tuesday -- Hebrews 1:1-14
Wednesday -- Philippians 2:1-11
Thursday -- Luke 2:41-52
Friday -- Matthew 3:1-17
Saturday -- Matthew 4:12-25
Advent artwork courtesy of my cousin-in-law Marilyn Parente. Of these beautiful creations, Marilyn says, "I created them using images of panels of glass I shot in Disney with a bit of clipart and some Photoshop thrown in for good measure." Thank you so much for sharing, dear sister in the Lord!
Advent Devotions: Us with GOD
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A few Advents ago, I met a new-to-me British author, Tim Chester, through his Advent devotional The One True Light. I’ve loved this little volume that has led me year by year through the first eighteen verses of the Gospel of John.
Well, this year I discovered his other two Advent books: The One True Gift (On Philippians, chapter 2) and The One True Story (on the story of Christ through the Old Testament to Jesus’ Coming). So this year, each Advent day finds me meditating through all three, each one in turn.
The books are not coordinated, but one day in reading all three, a thread grabbed and entwined me in an amazing truth: Jesus is not only Emmanuel, God with Us; He is also Emmanuel, Us with God!
Read MoreADVENT (Week 4) -- Fullness of LOVE in Jesus: "the Smile that Destroyed My Religion"
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When I think of God’s Love in Jesus, I no longer think,”Yeh, He loves me, but then sometimes He loves me not.” Do you feel this way?
For this very short 4th week of Advent, I feel compelled to share the most critical turning point in my spiritual life. and this turning point is all about the “fullness of the love of God” for me truly and totally.
Glory-filled JOY: Hail, the Incarnate Deity!
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I love this song and this blog. It is an excerpt from my Bible study/ devotional book, The Witness of Our God: Relationship in Every Dimension. (See below)
Enjoy the backstory of this amazing hymn and several renditions of the song.
Then dig into the bible study that amplifies each line of the song with scripture. …
ADVENT (Week 3) -- Fulness of JOY in Jesus
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“Don’t be afraid!” he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great JOY to all people.
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem,
the city of David! …
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others
—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
Christmas: Welcome to our World!
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Christmas blessings from a branch in the VINE.
Enjoy this family story and a heart-grabbing song, my gift to you.
And most of all, join me in welcoming our JESUS!
Read MoreJesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven (A Children's Carol)
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There's a song that's been going through my mind and heart these Advent days. I even find myself bursting into a line of lyric here and there. The thoughts I love most in it are truths that have become more and more precious to me as I reflect Advent after Advent -- that our Emmanuel came to earth from heaven, not just to pay for our sins (as crucial as that is), but also to give us His divine eternal LIFE...deity indwelling our humanity. We can become children of Almighty God!!!
Read MoreDarkness to Light: Disappointment to Hope
/And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.
Matthew 4:16 NASB
I love this verse…it makes me think of Jesus the Son of God, the Light of my world … not just at Christmas, but every day of my life.
And this Christmas, the darkness could flood in for me. John and I have COVID during this most anticipated time of the year. All kinds of missed celebrations and holiday concerts and most of all, extended times with our “treasured ones.”
Read MoreHe's Here ... Emmanuel!
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He is HERE … right here, right now. The God of the universe in human flesh! Our Redeemer, our Brother, our Friend. The One who was waited for, longed for, foretold … now ours. Celebrate!
Enjoy this magnificent rehearsal of the coming of the God Who is HERE with us!
Read MoreOf the Father's Love Begotten ... Emmanuel
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For the past several years, I have been following an Advent devotional by a British author Tim Chester. One of the unique things that the author does is quote some “unknown to me” hymns and carols. In one of the devotionals, I recognized the final lines of each stanza in the hymn of the day. Sure enough! I had been listening to that very carol each year on an old Christmas CD in our collection.
Read MoreThe Mega-JOY of Emmanuel
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Joy is the flag that flies over the soul when the King is in residence!
Chuck Swindoll
Years ago, I was leading a small group of ladies through Paul's letter to the Galatians. In chapter 5, we came to a familiar passage:
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self control. Galatians 5:22-23
Julie was in that small group that year, and Julie was from Great Britain. I asked her about Chuck's metaphor. She assured me that it was true. When royalty is in residence at the palace, the flag flies. It's the signal to the "subjects" that their monarch is present.
Read More
