Isn't There Anyone Who Can Tell Me What Christmas Is All About?

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign unto you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

'Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"

Wishing you and yours a safe and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Movie Quotes #4: Miracle on 34th Street

Fred Gailey: "Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don't you see? It's not just Kris that's on trial, it's everything he stands for. It's kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles."

A Changing World

Time magazine has announced their Person of the Year 2007. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Time describes the selection of Person of the Year, not as an honor, but rather "a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership." In describing Putin's reign as president they say "he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power."

All of this shows that we as a nation are no longer the single world power. Now, more than ever, it is important that we pray that God will raise up a generation for Him, not only in the US, but also in Russia, China and India. A generation that will become leaders-bold, earth-changing leaders- among their people, and will bring their lands to faith in the Lord.

Christmas Movie Quotes #3: The Christmas Box

Mrs. Parkin: "Richard, do you know what the first gift of Christmas was?"

Richard: "A tie?!"

Great Post

Check out this post from Dan at In the Long Run...

I think he makes some great points regarding the origins of Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas.

Christmas Movie Quotes #2: The Muppet Christmas Carol

Rizzo the Rat: How do you know what Scrooge is doin'? We're down here and he's up there.

Gonzo: I told you, storytellers are omniscient; I know everything!

Rizzo the Rat: Well, hoity-toity, Mr. Godlike Smarty-Pants.

The Promise of the Bethlehem Candle

A few years ago, my family began the tradition of using the Advent Wreath as part of our Christmas celebration. For those of you who don't know, this tradition began in Germany and quickly spread to the rest of Europe and America. A wreath of evergreen garland (symbolizing everlasting life) has five candles placed on it and a different candle is lit on each of the four Sundays before Christmas with the fifth candle being lit on Christmas Day.

So for the past few advent seasons, my family has gathered around the kitchen table as my dad reads a short devotion and a few related bible verses and then lights each candle. It really brings the reason of Christmas to the forefront for our family.

This past Sunday we lit the second advent candle which is the Bethlehem Candle (symbolizing faith). As Dad read the devotion for this particular candle, it seemed to come alive in a new way. He talked about how Mary was given a promise from God, that she would bear the Messiah. She would have known enough about the prophecies surrounding the birth of the Messiah to know that he was supposed to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. But that presented a problem, since she lived in Nazareth which was quite a ways from Bethlehem. Mary could have fretted about how she could work it so that she was in Bethlehem when the Messiah was born, but instead she put her faith in God and trusted in Him to have her where she needed to be when she needed to be there. And God in His sovereignty used the ungodly Caesar Augustus and the lineage of Joseph to place Mary in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth.

We too have been given promises by God and all too often we feel that we must do something to make that promise become a reality. Instead, we should believe that God will fulfill His promise in His own time and way, and that all we need to do is to stay in His word and His will. That is the promise of the Bethlehem Candle; when we put our faith in God and live our lives according to His purpose, then God will be faithful to the promises he has made to us.

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Psalm 145:13

Christmas Movie Quotes #1: It's a Wonderful Life

Clarence: "I told you, I'm your guardian angel."

George: "Well you look like the kind of an angel I'd get!"