Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with images from traditional Christmas scenes and Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra singing THE Christmas classic … Silent … and please take in the images we traditionally associate with the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior as these two great singers honor His birth with one of the most sung and recorded Christmas carols of all time.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 2:10-11 [NLT] … 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
… Again today [see my blog from 12/24] … on this Christmas Day … we remember the GOOD NEWS of God’s greatest gift of all time, which we celebrate today.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 2:1-12 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Luke, announces the Hope of the World born in Bethlehem … the coming of King Jesus, The Messiah, … The Christ. And that should be our focus today!!
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Reference Passage : … John 3:16-17 [NLT] … 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
… What a gift to mankind … the thrill of hope … the Son of God … come in flesh as the Lamb of God to save the world!!
Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:6-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… And our Lord came, humbly in a manger, to shed His blood ad the Lamb of God, to save us all with the hope of eternal life. And that’s what we really celebrate today!!
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, used the depiction of the candy cane to illustrate the traditions people have all over the world to celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Savior, … The Christ. The ODB author wrote: As you savor a candy cane this Christmas, say “danke schön” to the Germans, for that confectionary treat was first created in Cologne. As you admire your poinsettia, say “gracias” to Mexico, where the plant originated. Say “merci beaucoup” to the French for the term noel, and give a “cheers” to the English for your mistletoe.
But as we enjoy our traditions and festivities of the Christmas season—customs that have been collected from around the world—let’s save our most sincere and heartfelt “thank you” for our good, merciful, and loving God. From Him came the reason for our Christmas celebration: the baby born in that Judean manger more than 2,000 years ago.
As the attached photo depicts, many of our families have Nativity Creche Scenes in our homes, which we pull out of storage each year to help us remember what we’re really celebrating on this Christmas Day. Most certainly, … we’re surrounded by what the world makes of this time of year each December … with all of the lights and music to promote the sales of products which we buy to give to our friends and loved ones.
But for those of us who truly desire to honor the birth of our Savior on this date, I pray that we can focus on our “reason for the season” as we celebrate whatever Christmas traditions we will share today. And that’s why our Pastor at Christmas eve service yesterday preached a wonderfully pertinent message about the origins of probably the most popular Christmas carole of all, … Silent Night.
And I, for one, hope all reading here will use the link above to hear Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra sing this old traditional carole written by an Austrian Pastor and his organist in the 19th century.
The carole really says its all when it comes to what we celebrate today; and I pray we can keep our focus on what God brought into our world that night to save mankind.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Today we focus on You, King Jesus, and Your birth to save us all. HALLELUJAH!! … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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