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Showing posts from December, 2021

Merry Christmas!

 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Isaiah 9: 6 & 7 Today is truly a day to celebrate. No, we do not really know the day that Jesus was born, the Bible does not give a specific date, but today has been chosen as the day to commemorate his birth. What joy! What peace! A savior was born and He lives in the hearts of all who have received Him. No greater gift was ever given and the gift was given for us all.  Celebrate! Laugh, enjoy and share love. Merry Christmas!

Grinch or Grace?

 About every two years I change the decorations I put up outside our home. The last couple of years, due to so much turmoil in the world, my decorations incorporated the word "peace" and were displayed so that anyone passing by would see the word. My hope was to encourage the seer; and to provide some comfort. This year, I was determined to keep Christ in Christmas and set out to purchase decorations that focused on who this season is really all about. I was stunned to find how challenging it is to find anything that celebrates Christ...the One who came to earth as God's tremendous outpouring of grace toward his creation. The stores have plenty of items that have come to represent this time of year: snowmen, elves, Santa's, reindeer, the Grinch...but almost nothing that reminds us of God's greatest Gift. After quite a bit of effort I was able to find what I was looking for. Something simple and that would stand out and be noticed. The Grinch is heart-warming.  Chr

Crumbs, Please!

Where there is a strong need there must also be strong determination. There was a woman whose daughter was grievously ill and she came to Jesus asking for mercy. Why "mercy?" For two reasons: she was a woman (in that culture, she should not be approaching a man) and she was an outsider (a non-Jew). The biblical account actually states that she "cried unto him" meaning that she had volume and passion in her voice.  Initially, Jesus did not answer her cries. The disciples also heard the woman and pleaded with Jesus to "send her away" because the woman had been following them around, while loudly begging for their help. Jesus responds to the pleading of the disciples by saying "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He is letting everyone know that he sees the woman's nationality. In spite of the words that seemed to say she was not going to be considered, the woman came close to Jesus and bowed in worship. The opportunit