God's Simple Plan Not silver or even a big heap of gold Not fancy homes Or just stuff that grows old Not applause and awards Or a wall full of trophies Saying, “You a great guy!” Turn waves to calm seas But the cry in the night by a babe in a manger Was God’s simple plan to deliver from danger And the cross and the nails And the spear and a crown And the stone rolled away From the tomb Before dawn God's Simple Plan by Peter Caligiuri Copyright 2021 All rights reserved
salvation
Christmas Eve – 12th Gift – Love
12th Gift of Christmas – The Love of God
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. John 3:16
We often think of the baby in the manger as the giving of God’s ultimate gift. But looking more deeply into the story we see that yes it was at Bethlehem that God’s gift came, but it was not until the cross that His gift was given. God’s gift of love became ours as the blood poured from the wound in Jesus’ side. Why not make Christmas the start of a new life’s journey that will last forever? He has given you these twelve gifts and so much more. Christmas is the perfect time to give your life to Him!
Here is my poem for you as my gift and the Mullett girls singing on a fresh new video about the Glorious Night Jesus was born! Merry Christmas all!
12 Gifts of Christmas The gift of being a neighbor Do I know my neighbor’s name? The gift of Kindness That puts prejudice to shame The gift of Prayer That calls help down from God The gift of Faith That believes when times are hard The gift of Hope That sees our Lord in all The gift of Joy That helps us when we fall The gift of Grace That washes away sin The gift of Rest That spends sweet time with Him The Living gift of Water That fills our thirty souls The gift of Mercy That answers law’s demands The gift of a Star That guides us through strange lands The gift of Love The greatest one of all And Jesus - gift of gifts In a manger low and small! 12 Gifts of Christmas by Peter Caligiuri Copyright 2017 All rights reserved
The Mystery of Christmas
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the only one of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NIV
When I stopped to put my dollar in the Salvation Army bucket outside of our local Walmart the bell ringer started to talk about Christmas. At first it was nice meeting someone who seemed to appreciate what Christmas is supposed to be about. But soon He was steering the conversation down the path of a somewhat bizarre interpretation of who and how the baby in the manger came to be. He kept pressing his point further and further with detail after detail that fit together until His conclusion somehow lost its way. Sadly I had to walk away, because what had begun as a celebration of God’s gift felt more like the dissection of a butterfly.
There is a beauty and a mystery in the incarnation that we can only see with eyes of faith. When each Christmas we pause and ponder on the astonishing reality of God coming as a baby we can only kneel in awe and worship. We ask again the question Mary asked, “How can these things be?” Again the answer comes. “The Spirit of God will overshadow you…”
If we try to get hold of every detail we end up like a drowning man grasping at straws. We can get our hands around straws, but only God’s Spirit and our faith that He has come can save us in the end. Then with John we can say, ” And we have seen His glory… Full of grace and truth!”
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