What are they which are but nine?
Nine Muses, like the heaven’s nine spheres,
With sacred tunes entice our ears:
Tag: Christmas
What Are They Which Are But Seven?
What are they which are but seven?
Seven liberal arts hath God sent down
With divine skill man’s soul to crown:
Watch Night
Moravians (a group of devout Christians) started Watch Night services around 1733 on the estates of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf in Hernhut, Germany. This count from childhood longed to serve God. He established the earliest Protestant missions and had a strong influence on John Wesley the founder of the Methodist movement.
Over the years, the Methodist continued the tradition of Watch Night services. These include New Year’s eve watch night services, but they were also done on other evenings. The most famous watch night was when slaves waited on December 31, 1862 for the dawn of freedom. The Emancipation Proclamation came into effect on the first.
The purpose of the Watch Night centered on evaluating your relationship with Christ. The evening should be spent in contemplation of where you would stand if tomorrow you were called to face God. We have no idea when Christ will return or when we will be called to face Him personally. We know a day will come. If we take our faith seriously, we should evaluate our lives periodically to determine if we are living as He desires.
Journal Exercise
Do you know Jesus as your personal savior? Do you trust that his sacrifice on the Cross covers your sins?
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.
Do you love God?
Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
One of the tests to determine if you love God more than anything else is to ask if God asked you to give it up or if God took it from you would you still trust God. An example of this is the Rich Young Ruler who asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. They go through most of the ten commandments and the young man confirms he has done these things. Then Jesus says
Luke 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
Would you sell all you have if Jesus asked you to do so?
What if Jesus asked you to give to the poor, to help a single mother by baby sitting, or to send a care package to a prisoner or to go regularly to a nursing home to sit with the elderly. What if He asks you to take a job you did not want to take so you can help someone who is sick?
We show our love for God by loving others.
John 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
But here is a question are you willing to be hated by the world? Do you stand for Christ even when it is not popular? Do you love Jesus more than anyone else in the world?
John 15:
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
What Are They Which Are But Six?
What are they which are but six?
Six days to labor is not wrong,
For God himself did work so long:
Sixth Day of Christmas: Reviewing the Nativity Characters
Let’s zoom in on our nativity scene for a minute.
We have elite sages from some where in the East headed to Bethlehem. They represent nobility and the highest levels of knowledge for their times.
Mary, probably 15 or 16 years old, descended from the great King David lives a humble peasant’s life in the small village of Nazareth. A women described as favored by God. A teenage women God trusted with His only begotten son. Basically, you can say Mary is a small town teenager who loves God.
Joseph, we have no idea of his age, but we know he was also of the family of David. We know he was an craftsman. He worked with his hands to create the things needed by others. Many believe he was a carpenter though the word can be used for any of the crafts. This man knew he could have dealt harshly with Mary when he discovered she was pregnant, but he had compassion for her. Then the angel came in his dream and told Joseph the baby was from God and to take Mary as his wife. Joseph immediately did as God asked.
Shepherds leave their sheep in the fields after hearing from the angels.
Luke 2 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
In this moment we have Angels, the highest of creation and who stand at the throne of God, announcing to Shepherds about the God of creation taking on flesh and being born a baby. The shepherds represented a strange group of people. These men live at the edges of society. But shepherd’s in the Bethlehem area were probably raising sheep for the Passover sacrifice. The feast of Passover required only perfect sheep be sacrificed; these shepherds raised the sheep and provided lambs with no blemish for the Passover. They also would be among the first to see Jesus our Passover Lamb.
1 Corinthians 5: 7B For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us
Journel Exercise
Who do you relate to in this crowd? Are you of the educated elite? Or are you a hard working crafts person? Do you work in an important profession that no one respects? I am assuming you are not an angel.
The last people to be a part of Jesus birth are a man named Simeon and a women named Anna. Simeon waits in the temple for the messiah. God has told Simeon that before his death he will see the Messiah. And he does.
Luke 2
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Are you waiting for the second coming of Jesus? Really waiting in expectation?
Anna was an elderly woman who spent her days in the temple praying and fasting. She received the honor of also beholding the infant. Are you more like Anna? Do you spend your days in prayer?
Last question
Of our crowd, who do you wish you were like? Why?
Fifth Day of Christmas–A Star
Educated men in a land to the east of Israel saw a star which indicated to them that a great ruler would be born.
Matthew 2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
These wise men, sages, astronomers, studied the sky and believed a great ruler would be born. They may have came from the area which is currently Iran or Iraq. The prophet Daniel once held positions of power among the wise men of what was then Babylon and Persia. We know little of why these men believed the star foretold a Kings birth. But they followed the star to Jerusalem.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
It appears the star disappeared from sight for a period. The men start asking people questions and they draw the attention of Herod. The wise men ask where the baby would be found. And Herod asks his scholars. The scholars tell him Bethlehem, but notice these learned men of the scriptures did not leave the safety of the palace to seek out the baby. They knew what the words said, but they did not act on that knowledge. Herod tells the wise men they should head to Bethlehem.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
These wise men traveled a great distance to find the new born king. If they came from Persia, they traveled over a 1000 miles to reach Jerusalem. Making all kinds of assumptions, including the not validated idea that they rode camels, the fastest they could have arrived was 10 days. We do not know if the star appeared before the birth, or after the birth.
What we know is these men were determined to see this new king and when the star disappeared they asked questions to help determine the way. And when the star returned, they rejoice with exceeding great joy. Finding Jesus mattered to them.
Journal Exercise
What effort are you willing to put forth to discover all there is to know about Jesus?
When you find a way to know him better do you rejoice with exceeding great joy? If now why not?
If you do, think of examples and write them down as a reminder to you of the joy of discovering more and more about our King.
Fourth Day of Christmas: Evil Exists
We see evil in our world but deny its existence. Horrible terrible things occur and we strain to understand. We struggle to find some reason for the evil even when there is no logical rationale. We search for answers where the answer may simply be there is evil in this world.
We look at the Christmas story and see the beauty of the story. To be honest, the love of Christmas in many ways fits our ideals about love. A man and a woman engaged to be married have angels suddenly appearing in their lives.
The first angel informs the woman that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and place a child in her womb. We skim over the fact her society would have been harsh on a young woman pregnant before the final marriage vows are taken. She says she is willing to accept God’s will in her life. We nod.
The second angel comes in a dream telling the man to accept the baby because it is of God. The man does as he is told.
But in the mist of our beautiful love story, we see evil. We want to rationalize evil and when we cannot rationalize evil we want to blame God. We struggle with the evidence of evil in our world.
The Fourth Day of Christmas is the Childermas or the Feast of the Holy Innocents.
The Wise men following the star stop in Jerusalem to ask about where the royal infant they are searching for might be found. Herod, the ruler of Israel, asks his experts where the Messiah would be born. They inform him prophecy indicates the birth will occur in Bethlehem. Herod tells the Wise men to return and tell him where the child is when they find him. But the Wise men are warned by God not to go back to Herod. Joseph receives a warning to take the baby and go to Egypt.
Matthew 2:16-
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Herod was known for two major attributes. He built beautiful buildings—temples, fortresses, and homes. He killed people. Herod murdered his sons when they presented a possible threat. Herod was evil
Based on the size of Bethlehem at this time, as many as twenty baby boys died at the hand of Herod.
Journal Exercise
God does not commit evil. But if you believe God can intervene in our lives, then we have to accept that sometimes God allows evil to occur. Herod killed those babies, but God did not act to prevent it. We struggle to comprehend why God would allow twenty baby boys to die. God knew it would happen. The scriptures foretold this event. He warned Joseph. Today events occur and we ask why God protects some and allows evil to act in other cases. What are your thoughts?
The Book of Job details how God allows evil to act in a righteous man’s life. Job refuses to curse God, but he also struggles to understand why all of this has happened. His friends accuse him of all kinds of misdeeds as rationale, but he is innocent of what they imply. God appears to Job and asks Job if he had been at creation when God made the world. He asks a series of questions that indicate God is greater than any man or woman. Job’s heart is healed and the evil is undone to some degree. He grows closer to God, but not once does God explain why He has allowed the evil into Job’s life. We are not told why God allows Herod to murder these babies.
We may never know why God allows evil to act in this world. Write your feelings about this as a message to God, but remember who He is and who you are. Write with reverence asking for the ability to accept there are things we will never understand.
Has God ever allowed evil into you life or the life of someone you know? Have you had to deal with trusting God that He has a reason for allowing evil to touch your live and that you may never be able to understand in this life.
What Are They Which Are But Four
What are they which are but four
Four sweet Evangelists there are,
Christ’s birth, life, death which do declare:
Second Day of Christmas, Feast of Stephen
There is a Christmas Carol I have heard since I was a child and never under stood. This song actually has more to do with the Feast of Stephen than with the nativity of Christ
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath’ring winter fuel
The Feast of Stephen and the Second Day of Christmas are both on the 26th of December. Let’s start with who St. Stephen was:
Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
Stephen was chosen to be responsible for widows, orphans and those in need; his day represents the same principle. People on the Feast of Stephen would take extra care to provide for those in need. Wenceslas, a real person actually was a Duke and was known for caring for people. He died at the hand of his brother partially due to Wenceslas willingness to give away his money to those in need. He was declared a King after his death in honor of his Christian heart for others.
Journaling Exercise
Identify others who have needs where you might be able to help. This does not have to be monetary help. You could aid an elderly person by visiting them regularly or you could give a single mother a “night-out” by babysitting her kid.
Make your list and then decide on one activity and make a plan to act. Come back to this page after you help the other person and describe how it went.
On the First Day of Christmas
Tis the first day of Christmas. We sing the song 12 days of Christmas and assume it has to do with some tradition of counting the days prior to December 25th, but we are wrong. Early traditions around the birth of Christ had the days before the birth of Jesus as fast days. The days from the birth of Christ until the eve prior to the Epiphany were the 12 days of Christmas. And they were days of celebration.
The first day of Christmas the Lover of my soul gave me a savior in a manger.
Join me in a journaling adventure over the next 12 days as we look at this old Christmas tradition. In many ways, the celebration of the 12 days of Christmas fits our modern society better. The days prior to Christmas day are chaotic with the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties and the secular traditions that have grown around the holy day. After Christmas, we have more down time to contemplate the miracles of God stepping into the world.
Grab a note pad or some paper in a binder. Prepare to write your thoughts over the next couple of weeks as we study the 12 Days of Christmas.
A New Dial –12 Days of Christmas Song from the 1500’s or early 1600’s
1st Day Verse
In those twelve days let us be glad 😐
For God of His power hath all things made.What are they that are but one?
What are they that are but one?We have one God alone
In heaven above sits on His throne:
Journal Exercise
Describe your Christmas day.
Is God on His throne in your life?
Do you put God before everything and everyone else in you life?
Fourth Day Adventures 