Romans 12:15-16 ~ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

White Christmases In Houston - Branded Duo, choreography River Point Church

Texas Christmas Iced Tea!

Romans 12:15-16

Rejoice with those who rejoice; 
mourn with those who mourn. 

5th Century House Church in Thessaloniki, Greece Osios David

like The Book, Acts of the Apostles

16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Father God had Jews give up their divergent and separate Worship. God had opened His Word to all the world. As Antioch flourished in The Acts of the Apostles, we find Jewish governing authorities, different races, different nations and different levels of education. Worshiping God as Good. God giving Jesus as Salvation. Tremendous advice for Christmas. A Great Christmas to be this open!

Galatians 3:24-29

24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Christian Freedom.
Jews are stoic. Greeks Epicurean. Slaves are victims of tragedy, war, given as Joseph was into slavery by families for need or greed. Free in this context could mean free or it could mean opportunistic seekers. This could include the wealthy who had many slaves. Jesus did not shun women, He spoke with women, helped women and protected women. Jesus has encouraged all souls to be seen as His. Saying what we do to the least of people, we do to Jesus Himself.

The Christmas song speaks of difference in just celebrating Christmas. But this is a great analogy for seeing seasons in life. Seasons we have celebrating Christmas as young or old, not every Christmas is identical. Texas loves to sing Feliz Navidad Prospero año y felicidad! Does the Midwest or New England today - we all have different Christmas traditions!

Nehemiah 8:10

10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Psalm 61

4 I shall live forever in your tent; oh, to be safe beneath the shelter of your wings! 5 For you have heard my vows, O God, to praise you every day, and you have given me the blessings you reserve for those who reverence your name.

Psalm 71

For you, O Lord, are my hope,

my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

you are he who took me from my mother's womb.

My praise is continually of you.

7 I have been as a portent to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

forsake me not when my strength is spent.

Psalm 13:5

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

Psalm 118:24

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

2 Corinthians 1:4

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. 

When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Isaiah 40:1
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all patience and teaching!

Colossians 4:3

As you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word,

so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ

Abba!

You, Our Father, has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are His Children!

John, Your Beloved Disciple calls You, "God of Love." Paul calls You, "God of encouragement!"

We pray rightly over Christmas! For us all!

Please You Bless us and Keep us,
Make Your Face Joyfully Shine upon us,
Be Gracious to us!

May we Lift up Your Face to Smile upon us!
Cover us in Your Peace, the Very Peace of You, Our God, Knowing Your
Willing Plan for a Hope and Future!

To place the Name of Jesus in our souls. Jesus before us,
Jesus behind us, Jesus Living Water pouring and flowing surround us and those we Love.

The Blessing of Jesus upon us. 

For all the Times You've Divinely Helped Thank You!

Alleluia and Amen in Jesus Christ!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

Scripture for Today Web Results  

Scripture for Today Blogspot 

Jeremiah 32:27 ~ Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all

Jeremiah 32:27

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Jeremiah 32:17

Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

Psalm 65:2

O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

If Christmas is stressful, perhaps we should instead, fight all our battles with Prayer in Jesus Christ with Father God. And allow God to be God. Giving thanks for our circumstances. God calls the stars by name. God has Given us Jesus' Name to Pray to Him with confidence. If we allow God used all of the Heavens to call the Stars by Name - then in the Name of Jesus - we will ask Father God and allow His Good Will and our faith the room to do His Plans giving us a Hope and a Future.

And as the father brought his son to Jesus for healing, we will Let God's Mercy, His Willing Mercy do more than we can ask or imagine.

Christmas and Answered Prayer

Zechariah's Prayer

Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.

All the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

The angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord."

Elizabeth Prayed

"As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary Prayed Uniquely to God, 
speaking to His Messenger Gabriel 
and through His Word

For no word from God will ever fail. 

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

Mary had the direction of God she had asked and prayed about.
Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Joseph Prayed in his thoughts

Joseph - considered - these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear ... giving Joseph all the Guidance Joseph did pray for.

Joseph dreamed God answered him to Go to Egypt and dreamed for the 3rd time to withdraw from Jerusalem and live in the district of Galilee.

The Wise Men Prayed

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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 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. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Simeon Prayed

Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

Anna Prayed

Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Acts 1

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 

11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

2 Corinthians 1:20

For all the promises of God are "Yes" in Christ. 

And so through Him, 

our "Amen" is spoken to the glory of God.

Abba,

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,

Christ, by highest heaven adored:
Christ, the everlasting Lord

Abba, we would proclaim Your Love this Christmas.
The Wonder of God's Birth announced so Vividly,
the stones would cry out to Proclaim Jesus if the earth of the Lord's fullness did not.

Let Love cover us and Bless us.

Let the Name of Jesus and His Love cover and Bless the ones we Love.

And all the earth will know the fullness of Your Love. And
our children's children will see the Wondrous Acts of God.

Glory to You, in the Name of Jesus, we ask for Love, Peace and Joy.
In Jesus Christ. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

Scripture for Today Web Results  

Scripture for Today Blogspot 

Psalm 46 ~ God is our refuge and strength

Psalm 46

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Selah.
Mystery. Jerome was asked in the 4th Century to put the Bible into Latin. The Septuagint, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate διάψαλμα—a word enigmatically in Greek as is "Selah" in Hebrew. Jerome translates this as the musical direction for pause, stop and forever.  Always.


Always... the Alleluia we can mark in our lives when we have been transformed, redeemed, renewed, strengthened and changed as God's Spirit brushes ours.

Romans 12:2 is Selah. God will always be with us. Emmanuel!
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I listened once to a room filled with regular Christmas party-goers sit down and answer the question: "What is the most remarkable, memorable Christmas memory you remember?"

Instantly the Holy Spirit prompted the room to remember what Christmas and God's Child have brought to your heart and your life.

A 90-year-old gentleman recalled being a very young boy and with his great-grandfather. They were climbing stairs, going into Midnight Christmas Eve Service and the Great-grandfather gently squeezed the then young boy's hand and told him this was his Best Christmas Memory of the Delight of his life culminating to this joy and glory. His young great-grandson filling the joy in his life.

And a woman asking him the Church, which was far, far away. It seems they had attended the same Church many states away. And she remembered the Christmas Evening she knew to pursuit playing the organ for the Church and had done so for 30 years.

I recalled another little town where the residents all stayed up late to keep the Christmas Lights on, so those going to Midnight Services of different congregations would have the joy of a Christmas Lighted town going to Christmas Eve Midnight Service. Walking with my father to Church in the snow to see the Lights.

1 Timothy 3:16

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of faith:

He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed among the nations,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.

These fill our lives when pressed down in this life, we will have our troubles, yet not overcome. Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

If we fill our heads with visions of dancing sugar-plums, we will end up believing the Hap, Happiest non Season of all. Where real Joy is not found as steadfast.

There is a definite feeling of 'outside' in Faith. God is our refuge and strength! People experiencing near-death report being 'outside.' A Visitation of Greater Glory. The pause that will become Always. Alleluia.

Christmas exists for this, His Glory. The Glory of Outside. Not of inclusion, instead the hard-won greater depth of Love. Then with Greater Understanding, not just inclusion but Eternal Love. The Glory of our Father, God of All.

A young couple begins with love. A marriage of advantage and expectation.

A problem of Life? Creation, new beginnings... Surely this would not be a problem? Instead, a young mother flees her family in great haste. To another remote location. The family left in great haste is not recorded again until a very heavily pregnant, young woman travels 80 miles, in winter, still unwed. Not the beloved child bride.

No room in the Inn. To record lineage and family, to travel alone and unwed. Surely this is not going well to deliver a baby, a small, innocent baby in a barn. Nothing appears to be hopeful.

Not something anticipated for millenniums. In come the Shepherds. More than barn decoration of career-oriented Shepherds! Shepherds proclaiming the Visitation of the Heavenly Host. To a yet unwed mother and her betrothed, a message His Mother would Ponder in her heart. Not Schooled, these Shepherds, by Gamaliel of the Temple.

Nations would come to His Brightness according to Isaiah.
Before the destruction of David and Solomon's Temple, Isaiah was telling about Noble men attending the Birth of the Christ Child. The Wise Men from far off Nations arrive. Dreams. Joseph has given up his dreams, is prepared to take flight where the Children of Israel were mere slaves. The Davidic Line in hiding in a Foreign world. Mary would sing of fame and of inclusion and exclusion. The Wise Men would dream about Herod's inclusion and change direction.

The Meaning of Christmas:
Great Joy. Nazareth asks - “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things? Surely this was the Son of God! Weren't our hearts strangely warm? Fear Not Little Flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Fear not.

Good Tidings of Great Joy for All People.

Families live on earth and in Heaven. They went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

Psalm 46 

God is our refuge and strength

Micah 6:8

"What does the Lord require of you? 

To act justly, and to love mercy 

and to walk humbly with your God."

In Christmas...

Luke 1

For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins

 Because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

Jesus gave us the advice for us to live in expectation of God's Mercy and Love. And He gave us the illustration of young virgins trimming their lamps. Surely Mary's father would just have fallen over. The Christmas story is believing in Selah - the pause is leading to the fruit of Always and Alleluia.

Holding human flaws and frailty to God. Allowing us to have the Strength to find mercy for ourselves and our expectations and for others.

Christmas does hold all the frailty life has and as many processes.

The process of life, waiting for the child to be born.

The process of engagement leading discovery in the path of Life to Love.

The building of a family in faith.

The Shepherds left their flocks to discover God's Glory.

The Wise Men looked unwise to travel great distances following a Star. And proving the wisdom of man, to knock at Herod's Palace.

Repeating Family history, Mary and Joseph return to the slavery of Egypt. Mary greatly wondered at the words of Gabriel. Mary's heart is recorded as pondering. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”

Christmas

Becoming a time for every purpose under Heaven, Acts 1 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Merry Christmas.
Not conforming to this world.
Preparing the work of Christmas to come. Fighting the Good Fight of faith and remaining in the Steadfast Love Father God has planned for your hope and your future.

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Abba!

Our Merry Christmas! O LORD, for Your loving kindness is good; 
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies!

We would dwell in the shelter of the Most High
and abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 

We will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 

For he will deliver us from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.

For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God.

Thank You for Your Great Mercies and Willing Blessings, Father God. Tenderly You hold us in Your Wings as a mother cares for her chicks.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

We ask Your Word of Your Prayers to Encourage us to Your Plan. Your Word to make us wise and strengthen us. Your Word to fan flames of Love and keep us tender hearted. Your Courage to keep us bold in the hope and future You have Planned.

Your Word to lead those we Love sealed in Jesus Christ. Our cares lifted far as You care for us. Strengthen the Nations coming to Your Brightness and trusting in Jesus Christ.

Our Refuge and Strength! To Your Glory we would live and have those we Love 
Live to Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

Scripture for Today Web Results 

Scripture for Today Blogspot