35 results for tag: Christmas
The Central Significance of Christmas {Christmas Meditation #3}
December is here. The lights are going up and people are looking forward to the Christmas season again. It is the time of year that brings to mind many joyous themes and remembrances of Christmases gone by with family and friends. Along with the many joys of remembering are also times of sadness when loved ones who we wish were around the tree with us are no longer here. This mixture of joy and sadness in our memories drives us to search for a deeper meaning to Christmas. We hear themes of peace on earth, love, and the giving spirit, and perhaps how Christ exemplified these, but, however true these are they have not hit upon the central significance ...
A Sunrise, a Light from on High {Christmas Meditation #2}
Electricity is a wonderful convenience until we lose it on a stormy night. Suddenly it is so dark we cannot see the hand in front of our face. As we stumble over chairs and other furniture seeking some source of light we truly know what it is like to experience darkness.
John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah refers to people who sit in darkness, and the prophet Isaiah refers to people walking in darkness. Neither of them are referring to physical darkness but to darkness of the soul. Just as we have all experienced physical darkness on a stormy night, we have all experienced darkness of the soul as we traverse the sufferings brought on by this ...
Spiritual Forces of Evil Surprised and Defeated {Christmas Meditation #1}
The agents of an ancient, wicked ruler entered her house. There stood her toddler son looking to her for care, love and protection. The agents grievously took his life in his mother’s sight. Her heart could only well up in uncontrollable sorrow and grief. Why did an evil king in a furious desire to retain power bring this about? There was no rebellion against the king in her son. She could not be comforted. This story was repeated scores of times in the town of Bethlehem and its region some 2000 years ago (see Matthew 2).
One little boy had barely escaped and was now with his parents in a foreign land. Nobody at this point understood the plan ...
This God-to-us Season {And a Christmas Giveaway!}
As I approach Christmas, I can feel that there is—inherently—a sense of longing that swells this season, especially having lost my child on this earth. I have a biblical longing for all to be made right, for the gap between this world and the next to be gone, for the righteous King of all to return—not as a baby this time, but as the One coming on the clouds carrying all victory over sin and death. The reality that this world is missing what I most desire is all the more pronounced through my unique, acute, and raw awareness of how empty this life can feel.
And yet—do you feel the rush of this season too? I don't mean the rush of mall ...
Christmas Day Encouragement: “I Miss Your Baby”
"I miss your baby." Are you going to hear those words today? Will someone you are with acknowledge your baby? Is anyone going to speak any thoughts to you of him or her?
Is anyone going to say the name of your son or daughter? “I miss him so much,” or “I really miss her,” or “I wish we were together with your baby too,” or “Your son is a part of this family even though he cannot be in the family pictures, see the family traditions, and eat the family meals,” or “I know that your baby is in the best place of all in heaven—but, oh, it is our loss!” I hope that someone does.
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