Author: purposeunderheaven

Finding Christ and the History of the Church in Christmas
Christmas · Christmas Traditions

Finding Christ and the History of the Church in Christmas

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Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.  The song starts playing before the first of December and will be heard from the radio, from store intercoms and almost every other place you go.  Christmas carols signal the beginning of the Christmas season.  We listen to endless renditions of the songs we have heard since we were kids until we yell, “stop, have mercy, please stop”

And at almost the same moment, crowds form outside the stores.  Like horses stationed at the starting mark, these shoppers waiting for the “they are off” moment.  The door opens and the mass of people push past the employees to search for the perfect deal.  Dollars fly out of billfolds to pay for the latest toy rage or for electronics identified as a really good deal.

The Bell Ringers stand near the stores.   The pleasant sounds of their bells draw attention to the donation pots.  People drop coins even dollars occasionally.  The news anchors go nuts with stories of the special gifts deposited in those pots.  They report on gold coins or diamond rings left by someone unknown in a bell ringers pot.

Days pass by and we work our way through our ToDo Lists of presents bought, parties attended, foods cooked and house decorated.  We tell ourselves we will keep Christ in Christmas.  We tell ourselves we know the reason for the season, but sheer business almost overwhelms us.  The chaos steals our joy if we are not careful.

This season of Advent, lets take a few minutes a day to look at Jesus’ birth, to recall where the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas came from.  Society tells us that this season is a pagan holiday and Christians usurped the holiday.  The reality is that this Holiday and many of the traditions are purely Christian.  They developed based on Christian lives and their attempts to live as Jesus would have them live.  The Christians of old show us how to keep the season and how to live our lives for Christ.

For the next 25 days, I intend to research and discuss the source of our Christmas celebrations from Santa Clause, Christmas trees and presents to Christmas Cards and yes those ever playing Christmas Carols.

Please Join me in seeing what our Christmas traditions have to tell us about our Christ and living as a Christian.

Getting ready
Christmas · Christmas Traditions

Getting ready

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Before we start you will need two things.  Even these are optional, but highly recommended.  You will need a writing pad and something to write with.

Here is how this blog will work starting on December 1.

Each day I will discuss a piece of history regarding Christmas.  We will investigate the sounds, sights and customs of Christmas to reveal Jesus and those who lived for him in the past.

Find fifteen or twenty minutes each day to read the history; the associated bible verse and devotional.  The readings are short.  Your time will be spent in meditation and journaling what God shows you.

Prior to reading the page, talk with God.  Ask Him to open your eyes to the season and to show you His will in your life during this time of anticipation and joy.

In your note book, answer any questions you maybe asked.

Jot down your thoughts.

Create a page where you document any specific actions you believe God is directing you to do.

 

That’s it.  A little quite time each day during this hectic season to think about the One who stepped down from heaven to slip on a human body and live with mankind.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 

 

Christmas · Christmas Traditions

Traditions of Christmas: Telling the Story of Christ and His Church

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Christmas traditions and decorations tell the story of Christ ‘s birth and of those who have served him through time. Christ is in Christmas. Do not buy into stories about how Christmas does not belong to Christians.  Nor allow the commercialism of Christmas to steal from you the joy of His coming or the peace of our knowledge of Him.  Starting December 1—Traditions of Christmas: Telling the Story of Christ and His Church.

My Thanksgiving playlist
Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving playlist

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El Shaddai     Amy Grant      I Can Only Imagine – Ultimate Power Anthems of the Christian Faith

What A Friend We Have In Jesus        Amy Grant       Legacy…

I Love To Tell The Story      Barbara Mandrell Precious Memories

In the Garden       Barbara Mandrell Precious Memories

Glory, Glory, Glory      Bishop Noel Jones & The City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir Welcome to the City

Victory In Jesus       Bo Steele Victory In Jesus – Single

The Little Drummer Boy        Burl Ives Have A Holly Jolly Christmas Holiday

Love Song for a King     Caleb Rowden      Love Song for a King

Sing      Carpenters The Singles, 1969 – 1973

Praise You with the Dance        Casting Crowns Casting Crowns Inspirational

The Old Rugged Cross    Chris Rice Peace Like a River: The Hymns Project

Amazing Grace     Elvis Presley Elvis – Ultimate Gospel

Psalm 118: Easter Alleluia (For the Great Vigil, With Easter Gospel According to John)    Gary Daigle, Rory Cooney & Theresa Donohoo This Very Morning

Cry Of My Heart/Lord I Lift Your Name On High      Highland Village, TX Baptist Church Worship Band Songs From The Village 2000

Cry Of My Heart        Invitation Music       The World’s Most Loved Classic Worship Songs

Psalm 118: This Is the Day     John Angotti          Joy Beyond Our Dreams

Altar of God      Josh Bates     Glory Revealed

I Love You, Lord   The Maranatha Singers    Songs 4 Worship: Holy Ground

Oh Happy Day     The Oak Ridge Boys Oak Ridge Boys Collection Inspirational

Revelation Song    Phillips, Craig & Dean      Fearless

O, How I Love Jesus (LP Version)    Randy Travis Glory Train, Songs of faith, worship & praise

Hallel    Richie Furay    In My Father’s House Inspirational

Give Thanks to the Lord     Richie Furay      In My Father’s House

Lord, I Lift Your Name On High    Rick Warren   The Invitation

Psalm 23 2:38 Steve Ivey 30 Celtic Hymns

Family of Love, Family of God    Take 6    Songs for a purpose driven life

The Heavens Declare (Psalm 19:1-4, 7-9)  Todd Fields Word of God Speak: The Worship Session

Victory In Jesus   Travis Cottrell Jesus Saves (Live)

We Bow Down    Twila Paris Twila Paris – Greatest Hits

The Heavens Declare (Psalm 19: 1-4, 7-9; NIV)     Word Of God Speak

Pulling it all together to live a life of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving

Pulling it all together to live a life of Thanksgiving

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Be a person who cries out to Jesus, who calls on the name of Jesus.

Start by accepting Christ as your savior and as the Lord of your life.

Place your worries and and fears on the alter before Christ and do not pick them up again.

When God acts in your life, answering prayers, or providing blessings,  recognize what He has done and thank Him,

Record the answered prayers and remember them when you face troubles.  Pray to God reminding yourself of all He has done in the past to strengthen you faith for the present.

Remember the deeds of God in the Bible and hold to them as evidence of what God can do in your life.

Tell people in your life what God has done.  Your personal testimony of answered prayers.

Sing praises to God for His mighty deeds.  Sing of your Lord’s loving kindness.

Celebrate His love and the gifts He has given you.  Like David dance for joy.

Fall to your face and worship God for He is worthy to be worshipped.

Bring offerings of Thanksgiving to Him.  Give Him the best of you time, your talents and your resources.  Give Him what He wants most.  Love others as Christ loves you.

This is not a one time event but should be a way of life.

Exercise

Plan a time to share with other Christians.  Create a time when you can share with one another what Christ has done in your life.  Make it a party, a party with singing and praising God.  Make it a party Celebrating the blessings of God on your life.

Then take this love that is in your heart, take the talents, time and resources and love those who cross your path.  Love them as Jesus loves you.

Thanksgiving is a Celebration of all God has done for you.  Thanksgiving requires faith.  But a person who focuses their lives on recognizing  the gifts given by God and on giving God praise for those gifts will grow into a mighty person of faith.

If I am to bring an offering what does Jesus want?
Thanksgiving

If I am to bring an offering what does Jesus want?

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So in the ancient times the people offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to God.  We no longer have a specified offering.  But Jesus did tell us what He wanted from us if we loved Him.

John 14

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Now we know what Jesus wants is for us  to keep His commandments.  But what does that mean?  How do we keep the commandments of Jesus?  What are these commandments?  A few verses later, Jesus tells us.

John 15

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

 

A simple command and yet maybe the hardest command that exists.  What Jesus wants from us is for us to love one another as He loved us. He loved us enough to come from heaven to earth.  He loved us enough to give his life on the cross as a sacrifice for us.  He loved us enough to send the Holy Spirit as a comforter and teacher.  He loves us enough to hear and answer our prayers.

And if we want to show our thanks for all Jesus has done, He asks us to love one another.

Exercise

What do you think it means to love someone like Jesus?  Does it mean forgiving them when they mess up?  Does it mean caring for others even when we might not want to do so?  We are told by Jesus when we feed the hungry, cloth the naked and care for the prisoners we are doing these things for Jesus.

Yesterday we looked at our time, and money and talents as something we could give God.

Today look at who you could show love, the kind of self sacrificial love Jesus gave to you.  Make a plan for how you can be more loving to another person.

Playlist song

Family of Love, Family of God        Take 6           Songs for a purpose driven life

 

Level 4 Thanksgiving Sacrifice
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Level 4 Thanksgiving Sacrifice

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An overview of Giving to God in response to all He has done for you.

David’s instructions in regard to giving to God.

1 Chronicles 16

28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

29 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

 

The Israelites were provided with specific instructions regarding a thanksgiving sacrifice.  God gave them a list of the hows and whats if they wanted to show him their gratitude.

Leviticus 7

11 “‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the Lord:

12 “‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. 13 Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast. 14 They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. 15 The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.

16 “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day. 17 Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up. 18 If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted. It will not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.

 

Today it’s different

We do not offer sacrifices on a physical alter.  We do not leave bread and animals on the alter.  But the concept remains the same.  We have money, time, and talents which we can lay on the alter for our Lord out of gratitude for what he has done for us.

Exercise

List in your journal what you have that could be given to God as a gift.  I think God appreciates our time as much as He does anything.  I run around busy all the time.  I struggle with making time just to spend with God in prayer and meditation and yet we are told this is really important.  Could you offer a few moments a day to just spend talking and listening to God.  Or do you have some money, maybe you give up a coffee a day for a month, to make a donation to God above what you normally give.

Think about what you have, what God has given you, that you could give back to the Lord as a gift.

Playlist

This Christmas song for kids has a great message for us as we think about what we can do for God.

The Little Drummer Boy       Burl Ives           Have A Holly Jolly Christmas Holiday 8

Closing verse on giving to God.

Mark 12

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks
Thanksgiving

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks

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Saw the King and I–the Rogers Hammerstein musical-the other day.  Throughout the play, the issue of servants prostrating themselves before their king is discussed.  The Western Anna resists the act while those raised in Siam readily show this level of respect.  In the end Anna wins and the new king ends the practice.  But I am going to suggest that here in the West we should consider falling down at our King’s feet.

Prostration demonstrates either submission or adoration.  In the case of our healed leper, he ran back to the man who healed him.   He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet out of love for what Jesus had done.  I think this man would have been ready to completely submit himself to Jesus.  Christ gave this man back his life.  Before he was a prisoner of his illness; trapped inside a rotting body.  Jesus freed him to live a life among healthy people.  Jesus freed him to love and be loved; to work, to play, to live.

We owe Christ our greatest Thanks, but so seldom do we actually contemplate just how much.  We belong on our faces praising Christ and thanking for our salvation, for the fact he hears our prayers, for the miracles in our lives, and  for the Holy Spirit who is always with us.

In reality, we treat all Jesus has done for us as our birth right.  We go through life to some degree just accepting God’s gift like spoilt kids who think His gift of Grace is no big.  We owe him our everything, but we are like the 9 lepers who did not return to think Jesus.

Luke 17

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Exercise

1) Has your faith made you whole?  Have you thanked Jesus for your Salvation and for the answered prayers in your life.  We have been writing and thinking about what God has done in our life. Review what you have written and add other reasons you are thankful.  Now find a quite place for the next few days and fall prostrate before God both in submission and admiration.  Thank Him for what He has done and ask Him to give you a greater faith.
2) Write in your journal does your gratitude to Jesus reach the level of servitude and admiration.  Would you do anything for the one who saved you? Or you more like the other nine?

Playlist

We Bow Down      Twila Paris Twila Paris – Greatest Hits

What the heck does this mean?
Thanksgiving

What the heck does this mean?

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Last instruction in level two ‘Glory in His name”  Research was required.  What does it mean to glory?

Well, I have the answer.  We do it a lot more often then you would think.  Just maybe not for God.

Visualize the Super bowl champions when they return home.  The excitement, the joy, the pride, the praises we shout for the winners.  We glory in our team; we rejoice in their victory.  We celebrate their accomplishments.

Now lets think about what that would look like if we Glory in His name.  Think of the phrase in His name as sort of meaning who He is and what He does.  So glory means to exult; to rejoice in triumph.  I have two perfect examples of what I think it looks like.

David:

1 Chronicle 15

25 So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obededom with joy.

26 And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of theLord, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.

27 And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.

28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

29 And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

My second example is back to our one leper in Luke 17

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

Exercise

Have you ever had a moment of this type of exuberant joy over a blessing from God.  Did you dance and sing and fall on your face before God?  If you have not, why not?  Has God done things in your life deserving this level of celebration?  Think about holding a Party or a Thanksgiving Celebration where you would exult God for who He is and what He has done.  Plan a celebration glorifying God.  Maybe it will be just you and your family, you and a friend, or just you.  But celebrate God for who He is and what He has done.  Include Dancing, singing and shouting praises.

 

Play list

Glory, Glory, Glory

 

He came from Heaven to Earth
Thanksgiving

He came from Heaven to Earth

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God’s Deeds laid out in the old Testament provide us with a foundation to know God is mighty, God keeps His promises, and God disciplines and forgives His people.  Praise God, His Love Endures Forever. Thank you God for giving us these detailed explanations of what you did in the past because it reassures us that you are the same today.

But moving forward.

Thank you God for the New Testament which shows us just how much you loved us.

Jesus left heaven where the angels worshiped and obeyed his every command.  He left heaven for one purpose.  He left heaven to seek those who were lost.

Through Jesus the whole world was created.  Yet he came to earth in the form of a baby subject to parents and  other adults.  He followed the rules and studied with the Rabbis.  Jesus played and worked and lived in the world he created.  Then at the appropriate time, he taught us what it meant to live as one with Him, with the Father.

I am thankful he cared enough to step down out of heaven for my sake; for your sake.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life.

Thank you God for coming to show us the way, coming to be our sacrifice, coming to create a bridge where we can be one with You,

Thank you: the baby in the manger, the great teacher, the passover lamb, the risen savior, the Holy Spirit

John 1

King James Version (KJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Exercise
Write in your journal what you think heaven is like.  Do you think it was a big deal for Jesus to leave heaven to come to earth and to live in human skin?  Write a thank you note for what Jesus did by stepping down from heaven to become a sacrifice covering your sins if you have asked Him into your life.  Write a detailed note expressing true feelings.
Playlist (what else could it be)

Lord, I Lift Your Name On High       Rick Warren      The Invitation