Love and Christ

Since today is Christmas Eve I thought it would work to include the last 2 candles of advent. Yesterday was Love and tonight is the Christ candle.  I pray that CHRIST'S  HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE fill you as you celebrate His birth. 

                                                 Love 12/23         

          LIGHT THE FIRST PURPLE CANDLE, “Jesus is our HOPE”

       LIGHT THE SECOND PURPLE CANDLE “Jesus is our PEACE”
          LIGHT THE PINK CANDLE “Jesus is our JOY”

1 John 4:9-12

                        ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

LIGHT LAST  PURPLE CANDLE, Jesus is Love

We light this candle to represent LOVE.  God loved us so much he sent his only Son and Christ loved us enough to come to earth and lay down is life so that all people can be saved.  Through out the year we may love others as Christ loves us.

John 3:16-17

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

    PRAYER 

                        Our Lord God and gracious Father, we thank You for Your Son and the gift He was, and is, to all of us.  “Lord in You our hearts rejoice, for we trust in Your holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.” (from Psalm 21-22)

                                               Christ Candle (Christmas eve)

                    “For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

                                                                                                                            Luke 2:11   

“CHRIST IS OUR HOPE”

            LIGHT THE 1^st  PURPLE CANDLE


      “But God demonstrates His own LOVE for us in this:  While we were yet sinners, Christ died              for us.” Romans 5:8 
                        “CHRIST IS LOVE”
  LIGHT THE 2^nd PURPLE CANDLE


                             “Behold, I bring you good news of a great JOY which will come to all the people…” Luke2:10
                        “CHRIST IS OUR JOY”
LIGHT THE PINK CANDLE


"Glory to God in the highest, PEACE on earth, good will toward men” Luke 2:14
                        “CHRIST IS OUR PEACE”
             .LIGHT THE LAST  PURPLE CANDLE

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 1 John 1:1-5

       Jesus Christ is all of these, He is the greatest Gift.  He makes all these other gifts possible.  So, we light the Christ candle now, as we think about what His coming means to each one of us.

       LIGHT THE LARGE WHITE CANDLE

      

Romans 15:13 “ May the God of HOPE fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with HOPE  by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

Prayer:

We thank you God, for your gift of Jesus Christ to the whole world.  We thank you that His coming makes HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE possible for every person in every nation. Encourage us to do our part to bring goodwill, and peace to our families, our churches and our neighborhoods and  the world.

Now  may Your Spirit fill this place and our hearts so  that this Christmas Eve brings you all the honor and glory befitting our Great and merciful GOD.  Amen                        

JOY

                                      

                                   Joy

                        LIGHT THE FIRST Purple CANDLE,  “Jesus is our HOPE”

                        LIGHT SECOND  Purple CANDLE, “Jesus is our PEACE”

                        Luke 2: 9- 10

⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

LIGHT THE PINK CANDLE

We light this candle to represent JOY.  The JOY that comes with the anticipation of the birth of a King.  The JOY that comes from knowing and accepting who Jesus is and what He came to this earth to do for you and for me. 

     John 15:10-11

¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

                                               

Prayer is from Psalm 28:7
“Lord you are our strength and shield; our hearts trust in you, and we are helped. Our hearts leap for JOY and we give thanks to you in song.” 

Lord may our joy be complete this season and throughout the year as we love others in the same way you love us.

PEACE

                                                                     

                                                                      Peace 

                        LIGHT THE FIRST PURPLE CANDLE, “ Jesus Christ is our HOPE”

                        Light the 2^nd  PURPLE CANDLE

“We light this candle to represent PEACE.   

He came to bring peace, to preach peace, to be our peace!

 His presence gives us peace,  that can sustain us day by day.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Colossians 3:15

                         The PRAYER is from John 14:27

Jesus said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  Lord thank You for Your peace that is available to all, I pray that those here today take comfort in Your peace.   Amen

My prayer  for you is that you feel His peace today!

HOPE

Advent is here!  A time of anticipation of the coming of something great....we reflect on the anticipation of the coming of a Savior so many years ago, we find peace and joy in His coming as a child born humbly to save us from our own sin and unrighteousness and we anticipate His coming again...

  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.    John 14:3

Each Monday through Christmas we will do the Advent together.  If you are able an Advent wreath with the candles representing Hope, Peace, Joy and Love make a nice addition to your holiday décor and to doing this devotion.

HOPE

            LIGHT THE FIRST PURPLE CANDLE

  “We light this candle to represent HOPE. The prophecy of HOPE for a Savior to come.

READ Isaiah 9:6-7 

“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.”

HOPE in the birth of a child . 

Luke  1:31-33

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

We have the HOPE of Christ’s coming again.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

                       

We HOPE for the Savior’s love to be spread through-out the world.

                        Prayer

Heavenly Father we thank you for the hope that we have in You.  You were, are and will be forever the HOPE of the world! May all who are here place their hope in You and You alone


See you next Monday for Coffee With A Dear Friend as we light the Peace candle.

Take It and Grow With It

You have heard the statement .."take it and run with it" or "take it and go with it" ..in regards to a concept or idea.
Well, my brain jumps to "take it and grow with it"
As in...Christ's gift of salvation!
📖 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

So, whoever believes should have eternal life!  You believe in Jesus Christ Gods son, you believe in the crucifixion and the resurrection.... You believe that without it,you a sinner, shall be eternally separated from God.  You believe...you are saved!
BUT now what....
Take this gift and GrOw with it!
📖 continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,  for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12b-13

📖 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  James 2:17-19

If we have the faith to believe, then our deeds must reflect that...and one of those deeds is continuing to grow and learn.

Peter, in his second letter to the churches,  talks about Christs's 2nd coming and appealed to his readers as to what to do until that time...
📖 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18
In other words we need to keep GROWING until we see Jesus!
To read the whole chapter click on the link
2 Peter 3
I thought this was appropriate as we enter the advent season next Sunday.
Each week during Advent we learn, discuss, meditate on an atribute of the true meaning of Christmas; Hope, Peace, Joy, Love
As we prepare to celebrate the earthly beginnings of this Savior of ours let's commit to growing more each day...in our knowledge and love for Christ.
So please join me each Monday starting December 3rd as we go through advent together.
This season...if you haven't already...
Take His gift and GrOw with it!

My Legacy

We sang a new song at church yesterday...and it is a good one! Only Jesus by Casting Crowns
And following a weekend filled with children and grandchildren, celebrating a first birthday and packing shoeboxes... it made me think.....(of course it did!😉)
The chorus:
 🎶And I, I don’t want to leave a legacy
I don’t care if they remember me
Only Jesus
And I, I’ve only got one life to live
I’ll let every second point to Him
Only Jesus
When we gather as family, memories and stories are shared...it is an important part of family heritage.  It is also a way for the younger generation to be connected to the past...it is vital.  Memories of grandparents, walks in the woods, reading stories, tea parties, sleepovers.....I hope my kids have beautiful memories and now as a GiGi I want my grands to have great memories like my kids do...and I do of my grandparents.
But listening to that song I realize that though those memories are important ...the best legacy I can leave to my grandchildren, my children...to anyone....is Jesus.  That all I did in life was about Him, passing on His memories, His stories.
It brought me to the verse
📖Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

Do we honor Him in all we do?
As we gather this week for all the festivities that surround Thanksgiving....will people see Jesus?
As we enter the Christmas season....will the memories being made center around Jesus?  

📖 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

📖 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,  keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:15-16


🎶 Make it count, leave a mark, build a name for yourself
Dream your dreams, chase your heart, above all else
Make a name the world remembers
But all an empty world can sell is empty dreams
I got lost in the light when it was up to me
To make a name the world remembers
But Jesus is the only name to remember

All the kingdoms built, all the trophies won
Will crumble into dust when it’s said and done
But all that really matters
Did I live the truth to the ones I love
Was my life the proof that there is only One
Whose name will last forever

And I, I don’t want to leave a legacy
I don’t care if they remember me
Only Jesus
And I, I’ve only got one life to live
I’ll let every second point to Him
Only Jesus                            Lyrics by Mark Hall, Matthew West, Bernie Herms

click on the link and enjoy the song Only Jesus by Casting Crowns

A poem I wrote in 2010

  🦃Thanksgiving Day🦃 

Thanksgiving is a time to gather those we love close by

We laugh and eat and celebrate and even enjoy some pie.

We eat until our bellies are full, we work, and rest and play

But do we stop and give pause on Thanksgiving Day?

To reflect on all the blessings that are showered from above,

Gifts from our Lord and Savior, who lavishes us with love

Will we stop to think as we dress ourselves that morn,

 that we have choices of what to wear, what color or how warm?

As we bathe and shower and brush our teeth so clean

Should we pause and be grateful for the gift of simple hygiene?

As we prepare the food, with extra portions to spare

Will we take the time and thank the Lord that we have enough to share?

As we smile across the table from family and loved ones so dear

Should we stop and say  “Thank you, Lord,  for all those gathered here.”?

As stories and memories are shared, even some with tears

Will we give thanks for those who touched our lives over the passing years?

God has blessed us so with much, our cups to overflowing,

 if we only take the time to find what is most important in knowing

that God’s love, and grace and mercy is there for us each day

 and we must share it with others we meet along the way.

Thank you God and Father

For loving us so

That you sent your Son

So Salvation we could know

                                                                                                                           ©TJT 2010, rev 2018

                                                                      

The Living and the Dead

Since this past Sunday was veterans day....I wanted to know the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day...as some of the visual remembrances seem to be interchangeable.
Memorial Day is the day we honor those who have died in service to our country.
Veteran's Day is the day set aside to recognize and honor those living veterans and active military.
A big difference? Well to those still alive, I am guessing.

But aren't we honoring those who serve in our nations armed forces either way?
I think the distinction between the living; those who served/are serving...and those who have died in service, is an important one.  Don't we honor the living differently than the dead?
But it got me thinking about honoring our Lord.

Jesus Christ died....in a battle with the sin of this world....He sacrificed His life for a worthy cause...YOU and ME!
📖 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
And we can honor that by accepting what He did for us.
📖  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God  2 Corinthians 5:21

BUT on the other hand!!  Jesus is ALIVE!

📖 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”  Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:27-29

And He is still "active duty"
 📖 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Isaiah 121:3-4
📖  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 

We can honor that by proclaiming what He did for us!
 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. Romans 14:8-10

This says it all!  
I have accepted His death for me, and I proclaim it!!

I am grateful for those who have served our country, as well as those who have served the Lord, and lost their lives in that service.  And I am thankful for those who can testify to their service and those who are serving now.
BUT I am most thankful for the Savior who gave it ALL for me and is on my side today...everyday!

Every Hour I Need Thee

We were given an extra hour this past weekend...not really...but for those who observe daylight savings time...
we got to set clocks back an hour...how many of us were like "YAA bonus sleep hour!!!"
Hmmm?? did any one say..."YAA, bonus prayer hour!"??
It reminded me of the chorus says..."every hour I need thee"

 We should need to turn to Him every hour, every minute of every day
📖 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.

Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:16-17

We can't be on our knees every moment in prayer...we have jobs, families, commitments....BUT we should make sure we begin our day with the most important commitment we have....to Jesus Christ.  When we became of follower of Christ ...a relationship was formed and we have a commitment to grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him and that comes from TIME with Him....prayer and in His word.
📖Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18
📖This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.1 Timothy 2:3-4

In Proverbs alone there are 38 verses with the word "knowledge".
And 44 times in the New Testament the word is used.  It is important.  God wants us to come to a knowledge of the truth, His truth that saves us, but also, knowledge that brings us to and understanding of His character and to an understanding of His peace, His love!

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

 📖Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

As I said we can't be on our knees 24/7 but from this verse it tells me it must be possible to have a flowing conversation with God through out our day...."without ceasing", a thread of communication with Him from the moment we are conscious of being awake until our mind falls asleep.
Doesn't that sound beautiful!?   Peaceful!?


Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup
you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful[b] onesee decay.

You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:5-11

 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Beautiful song to sum up what I am feeling.....(click on link to listen)

Lord, I Need You  Chris Tomlin

A post script for today....
We need to go out and vote....and "Lord, we need You OH we NEED You" as we go to the poles and vote for our government leaders; give us wisdom not emotion, peace not turmoil, Your love not anger.