2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:
6 ‘“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”[b]’
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star behold, As with joy they hailed its light, Leading onward, beaming bright; So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore be led to Thee.
As with joyful steps they sped To that lowly manger bed, There to bend the knee before Him whom heav’n and earth adore; So may we, with willing feet, Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
As they offered gifts most rare At that manger rude and bare; So may we with holy joy, Pure and free from sin’s alloy, All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heav’nly King.
Holy Jesus, every day Keep us in the narrow way; And, when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds Thy glory hide.
Last night I was out Carolling with my local Salvation Army Band & Songsters. It was when we were asked to sing the above carol that I made the connection with ‘The Mercy Seat’(for those of you who do not know about The Salvation Army it has what is basically a piece of wood which acts as a place of prayer).
I also began to realise as I got into the next two verses that I suppose you could call this a prayer at Christmas time or anytime really.
Note: I aim to bring you Christmas blog on 25th December! Merry Christmas
Along with Joy to the World, Hark the herald angels and Away in a manger I think I have got to admit that Who is He is my favourite carol I like playing in my Corps Band because for me it is a carol that speaks volumes. It’s a carol that tell us Jesus was a ‘special baby’ he was to be a baby that grew into a man and to perform miracles before he was crucified on the cross to save us from our sins.
Verse 1
Who is He in yonder stall,
at Whose feet the shepherds fall?
Chorus
‘Tis the Lord!
O wondrous story
‘Tis the Lord,
the King of Glory!
At his feet we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him
Lord of all!
Verse 2
Who is He in deep distress,
fasting in the wilderness?
Verse 3
Who is He
to Whom they bring
all the sick and sorrowing?
Verse 4
Who is He on yonder tree,
dies in grief and agony?
Verse 5
Who is He Who from the grave
comes to heal
and help and save?
Verse 6
Who is He Whom from His throne
rules through all the world alone?
“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.’
The people of this country never cease to amaze me, when I seen the news on ITV on Christmas Day I heard about the idea that a couple of railway workers had which resulted in London’s Euston train station being filled with the homeless for a Christmas Dinner I thought this was brilliant. They also said that this may be a thing that may be repeated each year, let’s hope so. Let’s also pray that it may catch on in our major cities throughout the country as well.
Questions For You and Me
By Jacob Folger
Stuffed and overflowing stockings hanging by the fireside
Pretty plastic candlelights glowing in the night
Sticky candy canes hanging from pine tree boughs
This all presents questions, I will in this poem pose.
When a little kid with Christmas time coming round
The joyful music, it seemed was the only sound
But really, I wonder now what it all means to me
Is it all about that perfectly shaped and lighted Christmas tree?
Little, sweet baby Jesus sleeping in some straw
It seems to me that someone might notice a little flaw
What is the difference between that dirty man without a home
And the King of Kings that almost all of us must have known?
And tell me what was that message that He gave to you and me
Before His life was ended on that old and lonely tree?
Was it all about just taking care of little, selfish me?
Or is there more here, more for all of us to see?
I asked a lot of questions in this poem this Christmas Eve
I guess this time of year, the cold, and the suffering that I see
Fills my head and heart with old and sad memories
I am hoping that maybe from it all we will not always flee.
Little, sweet baby Jesus sleeping in some straw
It seems to me that someone might notice a little flaw
What is the difference between that dirty man without a home
And the King of Kings that almost all of us must have known?
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c]39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
I suppose you as well as myself will have noticed the number of appeals that went out from different charities over the Christmas period for different things.
The other night I seen this appeal on TV for clean water and it showed the difference it could make to the lives of those in poor countries
The thing that has really stuck in my mind about this advert is the joy on some of the children’s faces when they were drinking ‘Clean tap water’ for the first time
Verse 1 Life is a journey; long is the road, And when the noontide is high Souls that are weary faint ‘neath their load, Long for the waters, and cry:
Chorus The well is deep and I require A draught of the water of life, But none can quench my soul’s desire For a draught Or the water of life; Till one draws near who the cry will heed, Helper of men in their time of need, And I, believing, find indeed That Christ is the water of life.
Verse 2 Life is a seeking, life is a quest, Eager and longing desire; Unto the true things, unto the best, Godward our spirits aspire.
Verse 3 Life is a finding; vain wand’rings cease When from the Saviour we claim All we have longed for, solace and peace, And we have life in his name.
17 Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.
When I look a the meaning behind this proverb I realise what a powerful statement it is.
In order to become true Christians we do need to show mercy on the poor, and God will pay us back in full
There are many ways that we can do this, we can attend to the needs of the poor in countries not so well off as our own.
Many Cities and large towns will have soup runs run by some sort of organisation for the down and outs in our towns and cities.
Also for those families who can’t afford to go to the big supermarkets many churches or organisations run ‘Food banks’ for those on a low income
We mustn’t forget the money that gets raised by the various churches and organisations to be distributed both in the UK and overseas.
On the lead up to Christmas some churches have a shoe box appeal for the less fortunate children overseas who wouldn’t normally be recieving a Christmas present
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
[Verse 1] O holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining ‘Til He appears and the Soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees; O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O holy night, O night divine!
[Verse 2] Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming Here come the Wise Men from Orient land The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger In all our trials born to be our friend He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger Behold your King; before Him lowly bend Behold your King; before Him lowly bend
[Verse 3] Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us praise His holy name Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever! His power and glory evermore proclaim His power and glory evermore proclaim
Most children nowadays seem to connect the above truck and Santa Claus with Christmas, I even seen one for Aldi supermarkets and The John Lewis advert (and yes as a young Christian I to also thought santa was real until one year my mother and father decided to put central heating in the house blocking off the chimney.
Whilst I am out carolling each year with The Salvation Army Band I am always amazed by the amount of people adults and children alike stop and listen even if it is for a few moments.
Let us not forget that ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’ a baby born to Mary and Joseph in a stable in Bethlehem
Mathew 1 V 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I would love to read your comments on all posts, so feel free to comment.
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