Author: astherainandsnow

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,  saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled…

“Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.’  After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.  And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” Matthew 2:1-3,7-12

After hearing of Jesus’s birth, these learned men (and sky watchers) from the east, where the Hebrew religion was not known or revered, were drawn by the sign of the star (and the Spirit) to Him. They were curious, and sensing His worth, came with gifts. They left their homes for this journey of unknown length, following the heavenly light like a magnet. (Genesis 1:14)

Wise people seek Christ, and watch for glimpses of His signs and work. (Exodus 33:13,18; Psalm 119:18; Isaiah 50:4)

Wise people rejoice at God’s movement in their hearts, and respond willfully and willingly to His pull and wooing and leading and light. (Psalm 119:105)

Wise people do what it takes in time and effort to make their way to Jesus, keeping on until they meet with Him. They bow, and humbly, gratefully offer their best to Him who is worthy. They worship. (Hosea 6:3; Romans 12:1)

Wise people are wary of strangers and false messages. Their knowledge of God guards them against temptation. They discern the true word to dismiss wayward allures and keep in line with God’s leading and direction. (Isaiah 30:21; 1 Corinthians 10:13)

Do we want to be wise not just in lip service but in Spirit, action, and truth? Then we would watch for the Lord. We would persist in devoting ourselves to seeking His face and word for us. We would go after Him daily and expect Him to direct our steps and make Himself known. We would rejoice at His companionship and delight in His presence. Do these describe our desire and commitment? (John 4:24; 1 John 3:18)

When do we go to worship? Are we so enthralled with His perfection, power, and majesty that all we can do is give, open ourselves in offering, not looking to take and ask? Is the substance of our regular prayers a shopping lists of wants? Laundry list of grievances? Or an unending list of praise? What steps will we take to be wise today?

Lord, keep me persisting to seek, know, and honor You.

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’  By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised.  When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.

“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.” Malachi 1:6-9,11-14

The prophet Malachi (“my messenger”) brings a stinging word to God’s beloved Israel, targeting their self-centeredness and laxness toward Him. Their Lord, King, Father, and Master is appalled by, and condemning of, their careless sacrifices and accompanying calloused reasoning and excuses. Their pompous attitude of privilege, desert, and ease had so hardened their hearts that they could not even recognize how far they’d fallen in their sense of God’s majesty and worthiness. Where was their lofty worship, their robust, sacrificial devotion? How dare their casualness toward the Lord of hosts, great in the nations?

In the here below we tend to bow our heads for the wrong things. We fix ourselves to devices and work, bend toward tasks and urgencies, look out to comparison and greedy wants, but not up to the light of Christ. We get so used to the spiritually mundane and settled in anemic devotion that we don’t realize soul embers have grown cold. This disgusts our King of kings, who is worthy of our best and first. (Revelation 3:15-16)

Have we become so accustomed to selfish living that we don’t recognize our greed? To polluted thinking, language, and entertainment that we don’t see the affront to the Holy One? Have we become so grand in our own eyes that we cannot see the grandeur of God? How do we take His grace and mercy for granted, rather than with humble, generous gratitude?

Lord, expose my irreverent, casual attitudes, and accustom me only to Your splendor and greatness, so daily I give You the full honor You deserve.

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,’
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.” Psalm 139:1-18

The psalmist is nearly undone at the measureless mind of God for His own, and sings of it with respect, awe, and gratitude. His recounting of these many facets of God’s love strum repeated wonder for all who read his words. With every description of who God is and how He works the distance between their conception of one another seems to grow: the greater is his God, the smaller is he. The more intimately God knows him, the more he has to learn of God.

Our thoughts: pedestrian, human, worldly, limited, banal. God’s thoughts: magnificent, divine, otherworldly, infinite, perfect. Only the Holy Spirit can bridge the limits between us, and make intimate and palpable our love for the Lord who so deeply, personally loves us.

What keeps us from plumbing the depths of Christ who makes Himself known to the willing heart? Shame? His grace covers it all. Fear of being exposed and vulnerable? He already knows all, and loves us lavishly. Afraid He will demand too much in return? His gifts are free, His Spirit is ours, and we can never out-give our limitless Lord. How will we press on this year to get Him, and get more of Him? (2 Chronicles 9:5-9,12; Luke 6:38; Ephesians 3:20)

Lord, increase my knowledge of and awe for You, and so narrow the gap between us. Help me get You, to think, love, and act as You do, to Your praise.

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign… He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. While he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. They chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them… He beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

“When he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent… to repair the house of the Lord his God…  And when [he] heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes… 

“The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and Jerusalem and the priests and Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. The king made a covenant… to walk after the Lord and keep his commandments… with all his heart and soul… And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to Israel… All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.” 2 Chronicles 34:1-4,7,8b,19,30-31,33

From an early age, by God’s grace alone, Josiah sought the Lord. Pursuit of his God directed his way and kept at bay the enticements to which his father and grandfather had succumbed. With focus on Him his efforts cleansed and redirected the nation. (Jeremiah 22:15-16)

When we seek one thing, we are not seeking others. While certainly there are constant pressures and allures nipping at our right and left, or sometimes squarely in front of us, dedication to pursuit of God does much to ward off distractions. It keeps us focused on the Lord’s ways and learning what’s important and vital to Christian growth. It exposes wrong thinking and practices, and emboldens to rectify those wrongs. It leads to purposeful work and ministry.

To purport to seek the Lord is a spiritual decision followed by many acts of the will. Time and attention must be set and taken, habits and practices must adjust. Seeking God doesn’t just happen, nor does opposition disappear. A heart set right with God handles attractive counter-efforts and necessary emergencies with confidence. He inspires discernment and discipline, He clarifies vision and next steps, He gives order and strength for needed tasks.

What do our actions say we’re really seeking in life? Do we dream big, but behave just wanting to get through the day? Are we putting off making a difference or memories with others because we’re more intent on making money or a name for ourselves? Would we intentionally ask the Lord to shape and order our intentions and passions? He who made us knows how we can best fulfill His unique purpose for us. Identification of desire establishes pursuit.

Lord, please fully engage my desires and efforts to pursue You, Your plans, path, and glory.

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?  Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud  and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.” John 9:1-7

Jesus was always about his Father’s business. He came to the world for a purpose and every second was spent to that end. His eyes, heart, and hands were daily living sacrifices, an offering that the works of his Father might be displayed and known. As he passed by… Wherever He went, He was intent on His Father’s next appointment. Present in the moment, along the day’s way, utilizing the ordinary, He brought the divine into the banal and made every moment count for glory.

We do not know the number of our days, nor the limit the Lord might impose on our capabilities. But we can seek God’s wisdom for every one of them, and make it our aim to please Him as long as we breathe. If we begin each day by offering ourselves as living sacrifices unto God’s will, He gives eyes to see His pathways, passion for His work, and ripe opportunities to make a difference. (Psalm 90:12; Job 14:5; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 5:15-16)

Sometimes He plants desire or a burden and we know not how to begin or execute. Would we seek His mind, and ask Him to orchestrate the details? Prayer awakens expectation and hones vision. In answer, we experience His intervention in opening next steps, arranging circumstances, and starting conversations, and can boldly take His lead. Taking up the mud, we can marvel at how He transforms willing effort into significant life changes. (2 Chronicles 20:12b; James 1:5)

As we pass by people and situations throughout our days, how intent are we on shining and spreading the light of Christ? How tuned in are we to specific divine appointments the Lord has assigned to us? How keen are we to recognize and how courageous to take up eternal causes? What distractions in the common and temporal works of man prevent us from focused employment in the heavenly work of God? What adjustments can we make in our schedules and ambitions to keep us occupied with God’s intentions over our own? (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13)

“A charge to keep I have, 
a God to glorify, 
a never-dying soul to save, 
and fit it for the sky. 

To serve the present age, 
my calling to fulfill, 
O may it all my pow’rs engage 
to do my Master’s will! “ ~Charles Wesley (1762)

Lord, as long as I am in this world, may I display Your light and honor Your name, to Your ends and glory.

“Hezekiah did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.  Every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart.

“After these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities…When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, he planned with his officers and mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land, saying, ‘Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?’ He set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance.  He set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” 2 Chronicles 31:20-32:8

King Hezekiah regularly gathered with his God, which equipped him with great effectiveness in leading Judah. Seeking the Lord with all his heart was a magnetic example and inspiration for his people, and afforded great wisdom in guiding them through enemy threats. He gathered leaders for strategic planning, focused building, and ready, confident defense. As a result, all were encouraged in the One who would fight for them. His faithfulness did not protect him from hardship, but fortified him in it.

There is great benefit in gathering together under godly leadership and among devout friends. We learn principles and practices based on scripture, and can together build defenses against the culture’s onslaught. Together we gain understanding and refine thinking. Together we hone skills and multiply strength. Together under the word our hearts and hands are encouraged to do more than we could alone. Together we hope and believe and stand fast against accusation and criticism, and expectantly look for the Lord’s intervention. And when the Lord brings victory, together we contribute to the praise God deserves. (2 Chronicles 32:9-23)

Where is my place in the gathering of God’s people? Do I shrink back from exposing vulnerability or getting involved because of insecurity or self-consciousness? Have I disordered priorities to put my own interests first? Have I grown lazy about gathering together to accommodate ease, comfort, and control, and neglected my call to common service, support, and mutual upbuilding?

When do I regularly gather with my Lord? How am I specifically encouraging my leaders by prayer, giving, expressing appreciation? How do I contribute to and cooperate with their initiatives?

Lord, help me give to and glean from the gathering of Your people, and so magnify Your power and glory.

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha… So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill…’ 

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again…’ Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died…’

“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days… So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.  Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again…’

“Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died…’

“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ John 11:1,3,5-7,14,17,20-23,32,38-40

The women’s faith was strong. They knew their friend Jesus and what He was capable of. Immediately upon their brother’s illness, they summoned Him to come and heal. Jesus knew their faith and as He so exquisitely does, intended to make it even stronger, deeper. What He would do involved their participation and firsthand exposure to power they’d not previously known. He is always about God’s glory and its manifestation to and in His children. (John 11:38-44)

In situations pressing and all-consuming, our behavior belies our boast. We purport to believe God is mighty yet dictate how He should work. We claim He is infinitely able but prescribe what He should do. We assert that He’s high and supreme, yet trudge along in the bog of weak trust, limited vision, and low expectations. The Lord challenges insufficient understanding of His wide and eternal purposes to push the limits of our faith in Him.

Where is He calling us to deeper trust? Where is He breaking open our preconceived notions and anemic expectations by conviction, or drastic and unexpected changes? How are we wrangling with human parameters and efforts and failing to take Him at His powerful word? Would we repent of pride and shallow faith, and watch, listen, and willingly follow Him to new and higher peaks of trust?

The high and holy One thinks and does far more than we can imagine, and He stretches us to believe and experience far more than we do. He orchestrates circumstances to take us to new heights of faith and greater tenacity to grasp His power and marvel at His splendor. In what situations will we trust Him anew this day? (1 Kings 8:27; Isaiah 55:8-9; Ephesians 3:20)

Lord, do what is necessary to increase my faith and magnify Your glory in and through my life.

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end… [He] rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him… Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me…’ 

“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you?..  I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him…

“After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me…’ 

‘Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another… Will you lay down your life for me?'” John 13:1,4-5,8b,12,15-16,21,34b,38a

Jesus knew what lay imminently ahead. His excruciating death loomed, but love loomed nearer, and it compelled Him to the nitty gritty with His disciples. No fanfare, no going-away attention or fêted applause, His was to the end a position of servitude to His Father and friends. Whatever it took to finish His every lesson and work on earth was His joy and glory.

The way of Jesus is steady, life-giving love to the end. From His initial condescension from glory to be born in a manger, His way was kneeling, taking the low place, unceasing self-expenditure, serving, doing the necessary and dirty work. Indeed, He came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as the deepest expression and example of love. Every loving act as He walked earth’s dust led to the dirtiest work of all when He bore the ugliness, evil, shame, repulsion, and horror of our sin on the cross. (Isaiah 53:2-11; Matthew 20:28)

For us, nearing the completion of a task often carries with it a sense of exhilaration or euphoria, desire for notice, desert of reward, or mere exhaustion. The work itself has consumed, so there’s great aplomb with the finish. Certainly no more can be spent or given.

Have we truly applied the dirty work of Christ? Have we been stunned and brought to humble gratitude by what He’s done on our behalf? Have we allowed Him to wash the grime of strange affections, temper, self-absorption, greed, and worldly fetishes off our feet? If so, our cleanliness should bear a distinction in daily decisions and interactions with others.

Do I reach a point too often where I want another to do the dirty work? Where do I insist on being served rather than serving? Does self-care or laziness compel over love? How do we respond to opportunities to humble ourselves for the sake of others? Even when we are spent, if we cherish and implement Jesus’s example of surrender we surely experience His supernatural blessing.

Lord, make me willing to do dirty work that exhibits and magnifies Your grace and love.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud..!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on… the foal of a donkey…
He shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and… to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double…

“On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.

“Their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord…

“I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they shall walk in his name.” Zechariah 9:9,10b-12,16; 10:6-7,12

The prophet’s promise of Zion’s coming King was embellished with great anticipation. Rejoice! Behold! This righteous, humble, omnipotent Regent will bring a peace and freedom and blessing you can hardly imagine! So rejoice greatly! No matter what trouble you face or opposition you presently encounter, on that glorious day of salvation you will shine on the land! As this hosanna will be repeated on Jesus’s journey to the cross, let this hope spur you on and fill you with joy! (John 12:12-15,27,32; Hebrews 12:2)

How easy it is to get stuck in the quagmire of difficulties. They abound in life here below: rubs in relationships, sweat in toil, failures in health, conundrums in thought, pressures in finances, sadnesses in spirit. Since Eden we’ve struggled with enemies without and within, but the Lord’s true and abiding promises fortify His children with unshakable hope to endure. It is the very substance of His pledge that gives strength to keep on, with gladness. Every facet of His perfect character, every sparkle of His glory, the impenetrable sureness of His promises are all ours to behold, hold, and apply. (Genesis 3:15-19; Romans 7:15,18-19)

With what are we currently dealing that threatens to consume? What pesky mites of irritation or pounding weight of sorrow? The enemy will use anything to destroy sure and future hope, anything to distort the truth that this life is not all there is. If we would turn instead to behold our eternal King, the One who reigns to the edges of our imagination and emotions and the ends of the earth, He would transform our mindset. He would cause the pressure and fire of now to turn us to jewels that shine forever. Will we yield our attention? (2 Corinthians 4:17)

How will we carry and spread the light of our Savior into the bleakness around us? What truth can we speak to illumine spiritual darkness? What love into dissension, prejudice, and animosity? What calm into storms of misunderstanding and anxiety? What beauty into ugly conversations and situations? What comfort into hurt and grief? What qualities of our Lord can we make known in our interactions and industry?

Lord, help me actively live out the hope of Your lavish promises, shining Your love and excellencies in this dark world and so glorify You.

“There was a man in Jerusalem, Simeon, [who] was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.’

“And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.  And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’” Luke 2:25-35

There is nothing like the welling praise that arises with the joy of salvation. Simeon- anointed, taught, and led by the Holy Spirit- expected the long-expected, and now held Him in his arms. Christ had come before his death as God had promised! Simeon saw in the babe Jesus the light and glory for the Jews and all the earth. His glistening eyes and captivated heart were riveted. Bless God! This is enough!

Then he blessed the Christ child’s parents, foretelling the sober and glorious truth about their son. And his words bless us as we acknowledge and gratefully exhale with the same recognition, I may now depart in peace because Christ has come. I have seen His salvation. Joy unspeakable! The Savior is here! Our ransom and rescue! Deliverer and Redeemer! How intently do we look at Jesus so we are satisfied in His presence? How well do we see and robustly rejoice in all that He is?

Jesus is enough. Near the end of life, however rich and long and fruitful, or barren and stretched and desolate and painful, only one thing matters, that we have held and seen and believed in Jesus. This is a message for our families, our neighbors, the world. Are we so enthralled with Jesus that we must, as the herald angels, speak His glory? Where do we announce His salvation so others can rest at peace? (1 John 1:1-3)

“Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
‘Glory to the newborn King.'” ~Charles Wesley (1739)

Lord Jesus, may I clearly see and faithfully tell of Your great salvation. Merry Christmas, Savior!