28 Day Journey-Day Twenty One
Sunday 12//25//0521 Christmas
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light,
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy,
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:2-7
[Merry Christmas from all of us at Passion. Hope there's a trip to Nashville under the tree!]
posted by 268gen at
12:07 AM
12 Comments:
Merry Christmas!!!
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 12:46 AM
Happy Birthday Jesus! Through the day, may we not lose sight of what Christmas is all about.
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 12:52 AM
Shatter the yoke that burdens us; let our bloody garments fuel Your fire. We surrender our lives; make the useless useful and the dead alive. Come and rule, for our oppressor has no place here and no final say in Your kingdom. So on this day, the day of Christmas, we stand in awe and we stand as warriors. We kneel and we fight, both in deference to the Flame, and to keep it burning bright. From the fire comes peace. Jesus, rain down Your peace.
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 2:15 AM
What a precious gift our Father has given us!
NoThiNg can compare to the love He has for us...
Lets thank HIM today for the birth and life of his Son Jesus Christ!!!!
We love you...Happy birthday:)
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 3:17 AM
Lord we celebrate You today and exalt Your Name. Hail the Lion of Judah!
"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
"To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb! The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength, For age after age after age." Revelation 5:13
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 8:31 AM
Christ is good! Always!
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 12:29 PM
Just yesterday i went with my family to see The chronicles of narnia for the first time.
Though i knew that Jesus was parralleled by Aslan, it really "hit home" about halfway into it...
From the part where Edmond's life is saved, to the death walk and killing of Aslan, the representation on what that truly means for humanity sank into not only my body but my soul.
I cannot shake these images from my mind, the knowledge of the reality of Jesus' goodness, and sacrifice... finally made real and ALIVE in my heart...
yet the purpose is greater than this...
For those of you who haven't seen it or by chance have never heard the story, i'm going to ruin it for you...
you see, Aslan is dead, but his people continue to fight for Narnia, notonly now to save their lost brothers but to defeat the White Witch and save the Land from her reign.
They fight without the peace and comfort brought in his safety
Yet just as the battle gets the fiercest, and the numbers start to bring an inevitable defeat...
Aslan returns. ALIVE AND POWERFUL!
This is my Jesus. Though there are times when i feel so far from him, or simply get caught up with what i consider life, the peace he brings is there.
Not a "boring" peace as i had once pictured it, but peace, joy, and excitement in knowing the battle will be won. In having purpose to celebrate this day, larger than the fact my family couldn't afford a tree, or presents were not as extravagant as usual.
Long comment, yes i know, just another day in the journey of my heart as we anticpate and prepare for passion!!!
Merry Christmas!!!
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 12:29 PM
Merry Christmas!!
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called, wonderful counseler, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace.
John 3:16- For God so loved the world that He have his one and only son so that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life.
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 1:36 PM
Merry Christmas everyone!
By
steph, at 12/25/2005 2:43 PM
A Merry Christmas this is, indeed! My parents and grandmother are here to visit; and even though all grew up going to church, Jesus has not been part of their lives for as long as I can remember. And over breakfast, grandmother asked: "So what does your church believe?" Wow, what a chance to share the gospel! And when we were at church, for the first time in as long as I can remember, my family took the Lord's supper, all knowing that we're all sinners, and that only Jesus is perfect and that he came to give us just that: all HIS goodness! I don't think mom or dad ever realized that before today... Merry Christmas, and God bless us all... EVERYONE!!!
Silke
By
Silke, at 12/25/2005 2:55 PM
i woke up this morning asking Jesus how i could celebrate him today. but now, six hours later, i am asking what there is to celebrate at all.
You see, today, all of the problems in my family came to a head. in one moment, my lonliness, anger, confusion, and bitterness rose to the surface and lashed out to parents who have not been listening. My father, in response to my shouting, instead of asking why i was so angry, hit me. that has never happened before. and it has left me frozen, numb, and altogether absent from this day. i have absolutely no idea how to respond to my father, my mother, my God.
how do you celebrate in despair?
Lord, manifest your redemption afresh in our world. there are families worse off than mine. all over the world, people are sitting in emptiness, without hope or direction. Many people lack parents at all, and very few have any that mirror the perfect love of the Father. people are sick. people are dying. the poor go unnoticed and oppressed. our sin has set in motion a never-ending, always-multiplying order that is stripping us of life, and love, and joy.
this is the world our God chose to enter. this is the day we celebrate the birth of Redemption. the day when a new order was established - the Kingdom of God that will manifest His glory and salvation to a people who walk in darkness.
the birth of Christ did more than establish a one-time offer for eternal life. it set in motion the redemptive rule of God that is able to penetrate our deepest suffering...now!
For those reading today, please pray for my family. But do not stop there. Pray for God to Redeem families all over our globe that sit in silent despair. Lord, we ask that you would put an end to the fear that hold so many in status quo. we pray for peace to filter into agitated hearts. we pray that the enemy would not rob us of the hope and trust that You are at work and able to save and heal and transform.
we thank you for birthing a redemptive order that never quits nor fails. Just as Jesus manifested His presence in our world some 2000 years ago, we ask that He would be birthed anew in our hearts and lives and families in the coming year.
Redeem us, we pray, Lord Jesus.
By
Anonymous, at 12/25/2005 5:48 PM
Anonymous,
I will be praying for you and your family. You know there is hope in Christ Jesus. It is through Him that we have been restored back to God our Father. The same is with families. I speak from experience of watching the loving relationship I have always had with my son destroyed twice, last year being the worse. Well, I just got home and spent Christmas with my son, along with driving around seeing other family members. My son chose a path of darkness years ago and because of that, the enemy had such a stronghold on him, I could not reach him. I finally gave him up completely into God's hands, yet continued praying for him and still do every single day. God will restore your family and the many others out there that are hurting. It is just as Psalmgirl says, no family is perfect. They all have their defects, and yes, some have a ton of problems more than others. The key to all of this is forgiveness and you have that in your heart. Keep following after God and He will give you guidance on how to deal with your situation. I know He sure did show me how to relate to my son and continues to do so.
Psalmgirl,
It sure is a blessing to see how your relationships with your ex boyfriend and friend are being mended. I pray that God will give you guidance every step of the way. Yes, I can relate to seeing Christmas turn into a disaster. Although this did not turn today into a sour one, still I had to hear my son talk down on his cousin (not in her presence of course), and I had to give him some words of encouragement to draw him away from looking down on her and understand why things are like they are. Family members cutting each other down, judging each other's lifestyles. I stepped out on a limb to witness to him about what Jesus says about treating others, since he stopped believing in God years ago, but I felt he needed to hear God's truth rather than go through life believing the lies that satan is trying to whisper throughout our family member's ears. Just another way the enemy tries to cause strife amongst loved ones. Now this is a teenage boy who last year told me he never wanted to hear about God or religion again, yet is hearing what I say without an argument. I truly believe all of this is sinking in, but in order for him to believe, he first has to see Jesus in me. That is where we as the believers in our families will shine the light of Jesus to our family members, even in the midst of turmoil and arguments. And just remember, the best way to fight our battles is on our knees to God.
By
Donna, at 12/25/2005 11:10 PM
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