Advent day 21 – People of the Nativity – Jesus
If lighting an Advent Log, light candles 1-21
Jesus
Away in the Manger
In the fifth century hymn, Of the Father’s love begotten, there is much about Who and Why Christ came.
The best way to describe Jesus, is through the Word of God:
6 For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom,
to order it,
and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Zacharias recieved a message from the Angel. In speaking about John’s birth, He prophesied Jesus’ purpose, to which his son John would proclaim in Luke 1:67-79 and following.
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn[c] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
John poetically describes Christ in John 1:1-18 – describing the difference again between Jesus, and the prophet John.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.
8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)
16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Jesus – Son of God, Son of Man, Savior of the World.
THIS IS the GIFT of Christmas! and it’s not a THIS!
HE IS the GIFT of Christmas!
Bach wrote Jesu, Joy of Man’s desiring.
I happen to love the Celtic Woman version.
Josh Groben does a nice job with this song as well!
Jesus IS the reason for the season – but not just because HE was born!
Here are three different songs, called Born to Die:
Baby Born to Die sung by Bebo Norman
Born to Die by Shane and Shane
Born to Die by Barbara Mandrell
This Baby – by Steven Curtis Chapman – an interesting view of the Baby born on Christmas Day
I hope you have enjoyed this musical explanation – here is another song.
Here are 7 beautiful songs to sing about the birth of Jesus from Hebrews 12 Endurance
More Advent Devotions
Advent Day 20 – Joseph
Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.
- Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
- Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation
Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest
Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.
- Naomi’s Heart Ministries
- Obed’s House Ministries
- The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
