Isaiah 24:14-23
They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 Terror and the pit and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of Heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls,
and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the Host of heaven, in Heaven,
and the Kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed
For the Lord of Hosts
Reigns
on Mount Zion
and
in Jerusalem,
and
His Glory will be
before his elders.
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
It's the most wonderful time
Yes the most wonderful time
Oh the most wonderful time
Of the yearrrrrr
Nicholas of Myra,
aka, Nicholas of Bari,
4th Century AD Christian Bishop of Greek descent
From the modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey.
With many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known
as Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Saint Nicholas.
One of the real and poignant aspects of Saint Nicholas' life
was the troubled times he lived in,
and his desire to make more of Jesus
giving us more Heaven on earth with God's Good Will.
This makes
Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Père Noel, Santa Claus
an odd choice when we consider this to be
Yes the most wonderful time
Oh the most wonderful time
Of the yearrrrrr
Why GO THERE? Why start off with this?
PERSONAL FULFILLMENT
LOVE YOURSELF
so you have the energy, the desire, the sparkle, the zest and the goal
to LOVE ONE ANOTHER
People get their hopes up, that the right amount of love, gifts, food and positive vibes turns around all dog paths. Hope, hope, hope and then a strong dose of reality. Bills and sadness.
More suicides happen, because people get worn completely out faking all is well, all is well, all is shiny and bright. The National News reported - - - this week we have been through SO MUCH, that there is an epidemic nationally of isolation and loneliness. And or / families use the stress to attack people around them verbally or with ideas of CONTROL.
Romans 12:9-17
Let love be genuine.
Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
Hope
Hope takes energy. If you have worried yourself into being a soggy hand towel pretending to be a bold, new, big, bath sheet, Hope can be overwhelming. Hurricanes wear out their surroundings with waves that follow waves. It just doesn't stop.
We have to be bold to get in the boat, the helicopter, the rowboat or the Coast Guard when we need a change.
In ProLife, we hear again and again about how the slinky, bold, cool influences of TV coolness, the swank date, lover has a few damaging to the entire life things to say. It takes courage to do our lives with Hope. Believing when we don't have the gifts and talents to prevail, God is Always Interested and Loving.
Even when Life has been a Hurricane.
We have to be wise enough to really listen to the right internal messages, the way, the truth and the Life God gives us.
Isaiah is a puzzle. He saw so much. Placed to help the Line of David triumph. One sentence, one verse, he tells us of the Glory. The Grace upon Grace. The Lord, The God Almighty. And in the next breath, we find the reality of God, The Almighty, Who is looking for GOODNESS.
And the reason, the way we play Mood Tennis.
To listen to the comments of Christian Radio, giving grace upon grace. People feel the slings and arrows, the motion of the ocean of moods and thoughts surrounding us.
Even Pickle Ball, the smaller, less complicated game, sends the ball away from our hopes.
Even the youths. The Yutes. Young Adults,
Wonder how Christmas will be years down the line.
The next set of Mood Tennis.
Verse 22.
My mother called me one day and said the happiest season of all is a full house of young children. But we don't even see that in the busy parts of life. Ok, so how is Christmas as we begin to be older. It is exactly, completely, totally the way we live life. If daily, we seek Heaven on earth - then we keep Christmas in our hearts. We seek to help others fulfill their purpose. We see the gifts in life God has given us. And we see the life left to us by our families and we make plans to do something more who we are and hopefully better. My Grandmothers loved to read, both of them. And Christmas became a drag if it isn't filled with lots of family, society and Cheer. So they never decorated for Christmas. As a child, I thought this was a really wet blanket, drag. And, as children do, I explained to them - this wasn't what I'd do.
The Newlywed and Nearly Dead NEIGHBORHOODS are GREAT!
And then I got married and moved next door to Doris. Age 80. Doris was an urban Pecan Orchard, picking, harvesting and shucking her Pecans. She painted a wall if it looked needy. Doris had to hire a painter to re texture her walls, they had become smooth. And I realized watching Doris work even half a day, that she was happier having a purpose.
Don't get me wrong, my family loved to hobby craft, paint creatively, discuss the fashions they could easily sew or smock, can food, raise chickens, cook and cook and cook. But they finally got tired.
Doris looked for what wind was blowing, and set her sails.
Christmas is like that. Doris did this for enjoying life. Not to please a husband who passed on or children who grew up. Doris did advocate for the neighbors and planned to be a peacemaker.
Love the Lord. With all your might. Love Yourself. And then in this enthusiasm, put out branches to let the whole of God's Good Creation, find their comforting, comfortable branch to be happy with and upon. TO SING!!!
In ProLife, you meet young women finding they are not pregnant and then wonder what life is going to be. They are sad not to be pregnant. Or women who have a STI, STD. And they say something like this too: "My grandmother made food, cookies and kept her house lovely. It was home. My mom, she was interested in fun and people, she inherited Granny's house, and it is in ruins now 10 years later. What should I do?"
The question? What should she do? About? Learning to be more like her grandmother. What should she do with the ruined house? In her early 20s, she didn't know what to do with a house of memories, that as her mom passed away early, what to do to fix the place.
This is called asking for the practical advice of loving yourself
to broaden the world.
A very good question!!!
This is why... every sermon needs some Life 101, back to the Bible basics.
We had a dialogue of how to clean up a really dirty house, until you can get to maintaining it.
How will we find CHRISTMAS CHEER???
Another young woman said God and Church bored her. How could she learn about the God she was well aware of. To learn to be mature enough in the faith to grow. To read the Bible, even small portions every day and be dedicated!
How will we find CHRISTMAS CHEER???
Love the Lord!
Love ourselves!
Love others!
and
Be Honest!
READ THE BIBLE!
Set your realistic goals
If you want to be all Christmas
it will take a week or more of a calendar plan.
Months of tucking away a gift to give.
Not feeling upset it isn't coming together
and if not
Chinese Restaurants are open on Christmas.
and
Everyone in the family can learn to gift wrap.
Perfect is not
necessarily better
but
neglect and anger isn't a happy xmas.
Chose Joy
with
what we can do
today!
Abba, Father,
Help me,
Help us
to clean our houses
and our lives
knowing who we are
asking for Your
Forgiveness
and Mercy.
Dwell in me,
Dwell in us,
Dwell in those we Love,
Help us to seek You first.
And we will finish well,
in Jesus Christ.
Let evil and practicing evil
depart
far
from us
and our children.
With Your Help
We will act justly
and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with You, our God.
Help us seek Heaven
What will you gift us today?
Help us see Your Hand and Love
each day.
Help us read the Scriptures daily.
Help us to Bring more Heaven
To do the Good Works You
give us Daily.
To pray for others
and our details of life.
Help us to become a part of Heaven
to Give
Shelter
Love
Mercy
Encouragment.
AND
In this work You Bring Us
We
WILL
FIND MORE HEAVEN ON EARTH.
And Good
Christmas
Practices and Choosing Joy
AGAIN Today.
And in Jesus - this Hope,
Faith and Love - we will rise up believing Jesus.
Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
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