"O Holy Night"

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth

It's just a beautiful image. A starlit sky.
Knowing that the Creator God is the Father
of the baby who would one day become the
Savior. Did anyone back then lie under the
sky gazing up at the stars in awe-struck
wonder of the Creator and contemplate
the blessings of His Son's birth?

Matthew 2:1-2:

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east
arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star in the east and have come to
worship Him."

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til he appeared and the soul felt it's worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees;

Matthew 2:11 - "Afer coming into the house they
saw the Child with Mary his mother; and they fell to
the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening
their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

O hear the angel voices
O night divine -- o night, when Christ was born

Luke 2:13-14 - "And suddenly there appeared with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth
peace among men with whom He is pleased."

....Fall on your knees....

Philippians 2:5-11 - "Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God
highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which
is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY
KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."

Thank you God, for the greatest Christmas present of all.

Inspirational

On the website http://www.elisabethelliot.org/newsletters.html, I found the following piece written by Anna L. Waring (1850)

"Father, I know that all my life
Is portioned out for me,
And the changes that are sure to come
I do not fear to see;
I ask Thee for a present mind,
Intent on pleasing Thee.

I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do
Or secret thing to know;
I would be trusted as a child
And guided where I go.

Wherever in the world I am,
In whatsoever estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts
To keep and cultivate."

Guiding Pillar

Exodus 13: 21-22:

"The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people."

Exodus 14:19:

"The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them."

--Is 'the angel of God' Jesus?

God, please be my guiding pillar and MAKE me follow. When I look at clouds in the future, please remind me that you were once leading the Israelites in a pillar of cloud, and that you can guide us(me) today as well, although we're in a different context. Thank you.

God's Deliverance Awaits

Exodus 6:6-9

Here God says, "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.'"So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage."

In dark times our clarity of vision can be shortsighted. It can be easy to forget the temporariness of life's burdens. Yet what a promise awaits. God will take us to a land...to the Heavenly Land. Nothing can compare. And HE can lighten our load. If we come to HIM, HE promises rest. As the (perhaps) somewhat famous Matthew 11:28 states: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Another example of a Scriptural passage that notes God's deliverance is found in Psalm 34:17: "The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles." However, 'The righteous' is in italics in my Bible, so let me try to find another verse that expresses this idea. Oh. Just verses earlier, in verse 4, it is noted that "I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears."

God in difficult times please help me not be consumed by them but instead please help me to remember that there is light up ahead. Joy is supposed to come in the morning, right? Isn't there a verse that says something to the extent that sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning? Help me to turn to you and help my inner being to be renewed daily. 2 Corinthians 4:16-- "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day." Please help me to be 'renewed day by day' and, if possible, can you help me to be aware of how it is being renewed? Thanks...please help scripture verses come to my mind and help me to think upon YOU more often. Thank you. Please help me to listen to You/Your Word even in the midst of my trials. Please let the difficulties not carry me further away from You.

Be my Strength when I am Weak

Exodus 4:10-12:

"Then Moses said to the LORD, 'Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since. You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' " The LORD said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.' "

God can work through our physical weaknesses for His glory.

As the song goes:

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all.

2 Corinthians illustrates the truth of God's being able to work in spite of our shortcomings in verses 9 and 10: "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

God, please work through my weaknesses for Your glory.

On Trusting God

In Exodus 4:3, the LORD told Moses to throw his staff on the ground. Verses 3-5 go on to say "So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail' -- so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand -- 'that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.' "

God spoke, and Moses followed (by stretching out his hand to catch what he feared). When God told him to "grasp" the serpent "by its tail," I wonder if Moses was still filled with the fear he seemed to have when he fled from it at first. This passage demonstrates how Moses trusted God and obeyed Him in spite of his initial fright. I then, too, should trust and obey God in the midst of insecurity or fear.

God's "memorial-name"

God's "memorial-name" as described in Exodus 3:15 -- "The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"

In verse 15, it is further noted that "this is . . . [God's] name forever. . .to all generations."

I like this. Knowing that God is the God of my ancestors. He has stood the test of time and proved His faithfulness time and time again. Perhaps He wanted Moses and the Israelites to always remember this special name so that they would be drawn closer to HIM. Perhaps this special name served as a heart-engraven reminder of God's covenant to their forefathers. With this covenant ever implanted in the forefront of their minds, they could perhaps better endure their hardships waiting for the time of deliverance. If they could remember the faithfulness God has shown their ancestors, perhaps it could help them trust in the fulfillment of His covenant.

Waiting for the light in expectation with the knowledge of God's faithfulness shown since time's beginning.

I want to patiently wait for the light that God brings and remember the faithfulness God has shown. God please teach me your faithfulness and let me remember the times You have shown me faithfulness. God please show me how You have proven faithful to others throughout the Bible and throughout the centuries.