Category: Advent

Advent · Christian. · Christmas · Christmas Traditions · Uncategorized

The Colors of Christmas

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Slide1

European Christians in the years around 1500 AD, developed plays to tell the bible stories to the illiterate population.  Actors traveled across the different regions of Germany and France preforming the plays.

In regions of Europe where they commemorated Adam and Eve Day on December 24, the Paradise Play was preformed on the  eve of Christmas to celebrated  the creation of the world and recalled the fall of Adam and Eve.

The actors went and cut an evergreen tree–the only green trees in December.  They tied apples ( one of the few ripe fruits in the area) on the limbs. This was the major prop for the show.

The evergreen represented the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.  The apple represented the fruit Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat. One last decoration was placed on the tree.  Pieces of wafer, unblessed eucharist, were attached to the branches to show the coming promise of a savior to take away the sin of the world.

They preformed the play in a circle of candles.  Adam and Eve, in defiance of God’s rules, toke a bite of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  This act cause the couple to run and hide because they saw their sin.  Their sin separated them from God.  They were removed from Paradise, and humankind cursed to face hard lives and death.   But God gave them  a promise of one who would come to save mankind.

The tree remained up for December 25th as they celebrated the birth of that promised savior.  And the tree became known as a Christmas tree and with it the Christmas colors of red, green and white which tell the Gospel Story.

Forth Candle–We are getting close.
Advent · Christmas · Uncategorized

Forth Candle–We are getting close.

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The fourth candle stands for love.  That deep Agape kind of love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love endures misfortunes and troubles.  It perseveres bravely with patience. Love is slow to anger or to punish. True love acts with kindness.  Love does not burn with anger or envy. A person acting out of agape love doesn’t go around bragging or building themself up.  This love behaves itself in a respectable manner; it is not selfish. This love is slow to anger, and does not keep track of the things that have been done wrong. Agape does not approve when unjust things happen to others, but, rather, celebrates the truth.  Agape endures everything.  The person expressing agape love shows trust, hope and faithfulness.

We know a few things regarding God and love.

We know that God is love.  (1 John 4:8)

We know that God loved us.

John 3:16 16 : For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

Jesus, who was worshipped by angels, stepped down from heaven to take the form of a simple baby.  Think about how helpless a baby is.  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords allowed himself to become totally dependent.  He humbled himself in true agape love.

The man who grew from the baby walked the earth – not as a mighty ruler – but as a poor teacher. He cared for the outcasts.

Then, without cause, he allowed Himself to become a sacrifice for our sins.  He suffered torture and disgrace for our sake – always with you and I on his mind.

Jesus demonstrated what Agape love looks like.

Prayer: Dear Lord forgive me for not loving with Agape love.  I cannot love with complete sacrificial love without you.  Please love through me.

Mediation: Think of examples in normal life when you have seen Agape love shown from one person to another.

Action:   Write my thoughts about how much God loved me to be willing to leave heaven and take a human form for me.  The bible makes it clear that if I were the only lost sheep Jesus would have come just for me.

Luke 15

3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

If Jesus loved me enough to step down from heaven to save me, and all He asks of me is to love His sheep, shouldn’t I make it my highest priority?

Setting the Stage
Advent · Christmas · Uncategorized

Setting the Stage

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The time approaches.

A woman who trusts God  carries a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Her adventure is about to begin.  But right now the very pregnant virgin girl is traveling from her home to the town of Bethlehem.

Matthew 1:

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Joseph agreed to marry the young girl even though she is pregnant because an angel speaks to him in a dream.  Now, he travels by Mary’s side to the city of his ancestors, Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting

The timing could not be worse, but they have to go because of the Census.

Luke 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

They trek for days to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem,  4 days maybe more.  They would have had to take care to protect the baby.

Out in the fields near Bethlehem,  shepherds watch over sheep.  Shepherds near Bethlehem cared for the lambs which would be used for the Passover sacrifice.

And some where to the east of Jerusalem, the location is not stated, but some think Babylon where Daniel had lived and been a leader of the Kingdoms wise men.   Where ever they were from, they were watching the sky and soon a star would appear to them.  Since we have little information about when the star appeared, they may have already seen the star and been on their way or it may appear in a few days.  The trip probably took a couple months to complete in a caravan.

In a temple in Jerusalem, two people wait to see the Messiah.

Everyone is in their position we are days away from a point in time when the world will never be the same.

Making Room For Jesus?
Advent · Christmas

Making Room For Jesus?

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I collect nativity sets.  I love them and decorate all around the house with them.  A few years back I started picking up pieces whenever we went to a foreign country. This started while traveling through the Middle East.  I collected camels from each country to put in front of a nativity scene I had at home.  Now I just look for nativity scenes or ornaments from each country.  It is common for the country to have scenes with people who look like the natives of the country it is from.

Some have the stable made of wood and straw, others made of pottery.  The real stable was probably a cave.  In Bethlehem today, there is a church over the spot believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.  They have placed marble over the soil and a star marks the spot.

But that night there was a rock for a roof above and dirt for a floor.  The King of the Universe entered mankind in a setting fit for sheep and cattle.  They laid his head where animals ate.

Due to the census being taken, the rooms at the Inn were full.  There was no room for the Messiah that Israel so anxiously awaited. Do you ever think about the manager of that Inn?  I have been trying to decide if he was a good guy who saw a pregnant woman and even though every thing was full he tried to find her a place with a roof over her head.  Or was he a money grubber who was renting out every inch of property he had.

We think how sad.  The Innkeeper put Jesus in the barn.  He didn’t give him the best.  That Innkeeper had no way of knowing the Lord of the Universe would be born that night. But we know he came into the world.  He taught us right from wrong and how we should live.  Then He allowed Himself to be crucified for our sins so we might be reconciled with God.  We know he deserves the palace.  So why do we so often give Him the left overs.

Prayer: Forgive me for not giving you my best, for squeezing you in.

Meditation: Do I just giving Christ the remains in regard to time, passions, money?  Do I give Him the best or just the stable?

Action:  Look at my Todo list each day.  Give God that time when I am at my best.

Light
Advent · Christmas · Uncategorized

Light

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Lights decorate our homes and line the streets blinking with reds, whites and greens.  The advent is counted by lighting candles.  We hold candle light services to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Our Christmas trees twinkle with light.

So what does light have to do with Jesus.  Oh the traditions probably just grew over time from different events, but the idea of light is very important when thinking about the baby who grew into the man we know as Jesus.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ” I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

And

John 1:1 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. 3Through 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.

And

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son,  purifies us from all sin.

And some day

Revelation 22:5 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.

Prayer: Dear Lord, you are the light of the world, help me to walk in that light that I might have fellowships with those who are yours.

Meditation: Think about living with God where there is no need for light or the sun, because the light of God will light the world.

Action.   Sit outside and look up at the stars and the moon, just think about the one who spoke all of this into creation.

 

Bullies, Pharisees and the Baby Jesus
Advent · Christmas

Bullies, Pharisees and the Baby Jesus

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This is something I wrote a year ago.  Tonight we had our candle light service out by the creek again.  It made me think about this.  So I thought I would repost.  I still love the “feeling” of standing outside under the stars, candles held high, and singing Silent Night. 

Four days of anger, frustration, rants and hand ringing. I accept a certain amount of bullying exists whenever the wrong mix of teen girls come together. Teens and drama go hand in hand. What set me off this week were adult women bullying a teen girl.

The first day, I shook my head, but did little. The bullies not satisfied to have made a direct attack on the child started whipping others up in their little drama. I thought people would be horrified that grown women would treat a young defenseless teen in such a despicable manner. I was wrong. They allowed themselves to get sucked into the witch-hunt, repeating the gossip and picking up the stones to throw.

Tonight at a candle light service out by the creek, I stood with loving caring Christians singing Christmas Carols and listening to the story of the angels and the shepherds. As I listened a thought came to me.

The babe in the manger grew up to be the man who loved the tax collector, the women caught in adultery, the woman at the well who had been married multiple times. He gave extra time and attention to those who were broken and weak. He would tell them to go and sin no more, but he never treated them as if they were less than the most special people he had ever met.

But Jesus, love incarnate, had ugly words for those who bullied these helpless ones. As you read through the bible, the one group Jesus seems to have no patience for is the Pharisees. Those who proclaimed themselves the great religious leaders of their time but had no compassion for the sinner, for the broken, for those who could not defend themselves.

We claim the reason for the season is Jesus. We say we love Christ. I think the greatest gift a Christian could give Jesus on His birthday is to love and defend those who cannot defend themselves.

Go Tell It On the Mountain.
Advent · Christmas · Uncategorized

Go Tell It On the Mountain.

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Go Tell It On the Mountain, over the Hills and everywhere; Go tell it on the Mountain Jesus Christ is Born.  (An old American Slave Spiritual)

I love this song.  My second grade class worked on perfecting it for days so we could sing it for our parents in the Christmas program.  I still start singing loud and strong when it comes on the radio.

The first people who went to tell others about Jesus was the Shepherds.

Luke 2

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

Those Shepherds heard the words of the angel and they headed to Bethlehem to see for themselves.  Once they found Jesus, they left the place and told others about the baby and about what the angles had said.
Can you imagine their story?
” We were out in the fields when we heard Angels praising God and saying the Messiah was born.”
And those listening were thinking, “so you heard angels–okay”
“And we ran into Bethlehem where they told us.  There he was.  He was wrapped in cloths and laying in a trough.”
The Messiah, the one coming to save Israel, is sleeping in an animal food trough.  Born to a couple who were sleeping in a stable.  I doubt many people believed them.  Yet, the experience so excited the Shepherds, they told everyone what the angels had said.  They could not be silent.
Prayer:  Give me that level of excitement about all you have done.
Meditation:  I love Jesus. So why am I silent so often.  Jesus intervenes in my life and does so much for me.  So why don’t I tell others what He has done.
Action: When God acts in my life, tell others rather than keeping it a secret.
The Passover Lambs in the Fields
Advent · Christmas · Uncategorized

The Passover Lambs in the Fields

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Luke 2 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

That flock of sheep sitting in the field probably had something in common with the babe in the manger.

Bethlehem sits about six miles from Jerusalem where the temple was.  The sheep in the fields, more than likely, were being raised to be a sacrifice.  At Passover people flooded into Jerusalem, they needed a lamb without flaw for their sacrifice.

The babe in the manger would grow up to be the only perfect human.  This man would lay down his life as our Passover lamb.

And on the day of His birth, the shepherds were called by the Angels to view the new born baby who would be the final Passover Lamb required.

John 1 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

I am constantly amazed that Christ chose to leave heaven to be a sacrifice for me.  He came to be the final passover lamb.  I am in awe constantly just at the thought he was willing to leave heaven, but to come knowing that he faced being the passover sacrifice.  That is just amazing.

John 3 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Babe in the manger was your gift from God.  The Father provided the Lamb to be sacrificed for your sins.

Genesis 22:8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb or the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

Prayer: Thank Jesus for coming to earth, for being our Passover lamb, for giving us the comforter.

Meditation:  Think about what it would like to be in heaven and then to leave for earth.  Think about the love Jesus had for us to be willing to sacrifice himself to build a bridge between us and God.

Action:  Write a Thank You note to Jesus for what his coming to be a sacrifice has meant for me in my here and now.