Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The ABCs of Christmas (Letters J and K)


There is so much joy found in knowing the King of kings! This Christmas season, I hope that we dwell on the truth of the Gospel.

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J is for JOY.

At Christmas time, we sing Christmas carols. It’s sometimes easy to sing them without really thinking about the words. If we stop and consider what we are singing, though, we can often be reminded of the reason we’re celebrating in the first place! Joy To The World is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Read the words today, and think about them next time you’re singing along!

Joy to the World,
the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing, (repeat)

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.



Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods,
rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy, (repeat)

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.



No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found, (repeat)

Far as, far as, the curse is found.



He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love, (repeat)

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Has your heart "prepared Him room?" My prayer is that He has or will one day soon rule your heart and life with His truth and grace!

K is for KING OF KINGS.

Most kings are born in the most comfortable places possible. They are given the best care, and have all of the luxuries that are given to people in their position. At Christmas time, though, we remember a King who wasn’t born in a comfortable home or hospital - instead, he was born in a stable. He wasn’t wrapped in a soft, snuggly blanket and placed in a warm bed like most babies. Instead, he was wrapped in swaddling cloths and placed in a manger.

To people of His day, Jesus would have seemed like anything but a king. He didn’t have a lot of material wealth. He didn’t lead armies of soldiers like other kings did, and as far as anyone could see, He didn’t even have a temple or a throne! But later in His life, Jesus would declare, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) The Bible makes it clear that even though He was born in a dirty stable and raised by a humble carpenter, Jesus always has been and Jesus always will be “the King of kings.” (Revelation 17:14).

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Letters A and B
Letters C and D
Letters E and F
Letters G, H and I




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