After being fed up with the hassle and stress of Christmas shopping, someone announced, "Whoever started this thing called Christmas should be shot!" Another person, close by, replied, "Don't worry. They already crucified Him."
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this." (Isaiah 9:6-7)
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23)
"And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)
"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."” (Luke 2:9-14)
Please click here to enjoy this online animated Christmas card, and be sure to turn your sound up!
"In the First Light" by Todd Agnew
Third Day - "Joy to the World"
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16 comments:
'Someone asked a child, "Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?" The child replied, "No, but it's not my birthday!"'
Well done.
Third Day - "Joy to the World"
First rate Christmas art.
Thanks very much, Russ.
Merry Christmas, Jeff! Hmm... now where did I see Isaiah 9:6 before??? ;)
Sorry I haven't stopped by in a while; been swamped (still am), but am getting more motivated to return to blogging. Comes and goes, I guess.
Need sleep; catch up later.... :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS, Greg! Thanks for stopping by! I understand about being busy.
Talk to ya later...
Happy Christmas, is a phrase you will here around the Richmond area. The use of the phrase is dwindling. However, it is nice to know this phrase survives from ancestry.
Happy Christmas. I'm from Pa.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS, Jim! Hope you and your family had a wonderful and joyous Christmas celebration!
Thanks Jeff,
Now stop milking this post and give me something to read;)
What do you plan to do with the New Year?
jeleasure,
Now stop milking this post and give me something to read;)
Yeah, I was thinking last night I need to post a new article. I may do that today.
What do you plan to do with the New Year?
I may visit my mom, youngest brother and sister-in-law, or I may just stay home; not sure yet.
Jeff, cool graphics for my blogs.
You are very skilled and marketable.
I hope family time went very, very well.
The new satire post is light but timely.
The new thekingpin68 post is educational (with some funny comments).
satire and theology,
Jeff, cool graphics for my blogs.
You are very skilled and marketable.
Thanks, Russ!
thekingpin68,
I hope family time went very, very well.
Yes, thank you, it went very well.
The new satire post is light but timely.
I left two comments just now.
The new thekingpin68 post is educational (with some funny comments).
I may drop by there later, or tomorrow, and leave a comment or two.
I just now learned something from watching Day of Discovery on TV. When a baby lamb was born, its destiny was to be a sacrifice. So, as soon as it was born, so that it would not break any of its legs in its struggle (which would disqualify it from being a 'spotless' and 'perfect' sacrifice, since there had to be nothing wrong with the sacrifice), they would reach in and pull it out of its mother's womb and immediately wrap it tightly in swaddling cloths, so that it could not kick and flail around. Then, they would lay it down until it had calmed down, and when it was completely calm, they would unwrap it, and let it walk off to its mother. Luke 2:12 (KJV) says, "And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
From a website called Prophecy Today, I found the following, which is interesting:
"Our key verse is an interesting statement, "and this shall be a 'sign' unto you." And then Dr. Luke records what the angel said to the shepherds, that they would find the newborn babe, God-man, Jesus Christ, "in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes".
For the longest time I could not understand why that would be a "sign" to the shepherds. Then one day I ran across a comment about the connection to the "sign" and a special location in the Shepherd's Fields called the "tower of the flock". In the Hebrew, the phrase is, "Migdal Edar." "Migdal" is Hebrew for "tower" and "Edar" is "flock" in the Hebrew language. The phrase is only used twice in the Bible - Genesis 35:21 and Micah 4:8.
In the Genesis passage, "Migdal Edar" is referring to the location where Jacob pitched his tent after he buried his wife Rachel who had died in childbirth. "Migdal Edar" is on the road between Bethlehem, where Rachel was buried, and the city of Jerusalem, which is only three miles away. The other mention of "Migdal Edar" or "tower of the flock" in Micah 4:8 is a prophecy of the announcement of the Messiah which would be at "Migdal Edar".
I must tell you that "Migdal Edar" was a "watchtower" in the Shepherd's Fields of Bethlehem. It was a two-story stone structure out in the fields. On the top story, a priestly shepherd would stand watching over the flock, to make certain that the sheep were not being harmed.
Remember, the sheep raised in the Shepherd's Fields of Bethlehem were destined for the Temple sacrifice three miles away. These sheep must be without blemish and spot, perfect, in order to be sacrificed.
The bottom floor of "Migdal Edar" was for the birthing of these lambs. And from the beginning, they must be perfect. The shepherd would take the newborn lamb and wrap it in "swaddling clothes" to keep it from harming its limbs. After wrapping the baby lamb, the shepherd would lay it in a "manger" until the newborn lamb had calmed down.
The shepherds knew this procedure and, when told it would be a "sign", they re-called Micah 4:8 and with haste, Luke 2:16, ran to see the newborn Jesus, the Son of God at "Migdal Edar"."
That is a very nice ecard.
Here is a Christmas greeting to you with a nice Christmas ecard and a Christmas choir ecard:-)
pondering4cat,
Thank you very much for those beautiful animated ecards! Those were awesome!
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