Jesus is the reason for the season!!!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! J

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the upcoming holiday? The majority of the people today would say shopping, presents, decorating, cookies, santa, the annoying song that everyone can’t stand “The Twelve days of Christmas”, NO SCHOOL for a couple of weeks and so on. Shouldn’t our first thought be of Jesus?

 

As I was driving my daughter to school the other morning, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something. People sometimes spend months in advance prepping for someone’s birthday. I know with my own children, I start ordering things and planning their party’s months before so that they can have an awesome birthday. It’s the one day that it can be ALL about them. I want them to feel special and LOVED. I heard, “How much MORE should we celebrate the day our Savior was born?”

 

My favorite Christmas song EVER is “O, Holy Night”

This song is so anointed; I get teary eyed every time I hear it. I especially like the Celine Dion version…that women has some serious vocal cords! J

FUN FACT: O Holy Night' was written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas.

 

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord!

 

It’s one of those songs that people just sing because they know it, but they don’t really LISTEN to the actual words. When I hear this song I imagine what it would have been like if I was actually there that night Jesus was born. Wouldn’t that have been awesome!!!!! I would have LOVED to be one of the shepherds that night…..

Luke 2:8-14 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the angels of heaven—praising God and saying 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

To hear the angels sing and rejoicing that Jesus was born…WOW!!!! I can imagine a rockin’ birthday party that night!

As we start this Christmas season let’s not forget the TRUE meaning of why we celebrate it. What a great time to talk about Jesus with your friends these next couple of weeks before you get out for the break. Let’s bring Jesus back in CHRISTmas!

He came to this earth so that we could be redeemed. He came to give us hope, peace and love. The awesome part is that He isn’t that little baby in the manger anymore, He is coming back for us soon! Let us celebrate Jesus this season and help others around us so that they can know Him too.

I will leave with this cool little story about the Candy Cane. Maybe while you and your friends are hanging out and eating some, you can tell them about this story you heard.......

 A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker then shaped his cane into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to reclaim the fallen lambs that, like sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Be Blessed!