+ Luke 2:30-31 +
"For my eyes have seen Your Salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples."

-- Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, ...

I've seen the Face of (Baby) JESUS...
It was a wondrous sight!
Oh, glorious Face of beauty,
oh gentle touch of care;
If here it is so blessed,
what will it be up there?
--W. Spencer Walton

"If You Look for Me at Christmas"

You won't need a special Star --
I'm no longer just in Bethlehem,
I'm right there where you are.

You may not be aware of Me
amid the celebrations --
You'll have to look beyond the stores
and all the decorations.

But if you take a moment
from your list of things to do
And listen to your heart, you'll find
I'm waiting there for you.

You're the one I want to be with,
you're the reason that I came,
And you'll find Me in the stiffness
as I'm whispering your name.

Love,

Jesus Christ

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-- 1 John 4:9-10
9 This is how God showed His love among us:
He sent His One and Only Son into the world
that we might live through Him.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

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It was not the angel's message
That gave the Christmas thought
Nor yet the gold and incense
Which the wise men had brought.

It was not the star that led them
Upon the unknown way;
It was the Birth of Jesus
That makes the Christmas day!

-- Annie Johnson Flint

-- Luke 2:13-14
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth Peace, Goodwill toward men!"

"The Celebration"

The Father sent an invitation
To the rich and to the poor;
"Come attend a celebration
Like one never held before."

He had made a proclamation:
"I will send My Son in love,
To be your friend and Savior;
The Gift - One perfect -
From above."

The joyous shouting of the angels,
"Praise to God and peace to men,"
Rings throughout
The endless ages,
And we hear it now as then.

Jesus came to bring salvation
To the rich and to the poor
Within our hearts a celebration -
Like we'd never known before.

Let us sing out with the angels,
"Praise to God and peace to men,"
For throughout eternal ages,
Celebrations will not end.

-- Jeanne M. Roth

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-- Psalms 98:1-6
1 Sing to the LORD a new song,
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have worked Salvation for Him.
2 The LORD has made His Salvation known
and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered His love
and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the LORD,
all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn --
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

-- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will be with Child and will give birth to a Son,
and will call Him Immanuel ("God with us").

-- Isaiah 9:6
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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"The Gift of God"

Long before the day when Mary gave birth,
Before God formed man from the dust of the earth,
Before the stars into the heavens were hurled,
There was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Before the deadly fall of the race,
God's Plan of redemption was already in place.
His own Son would die on an old rugged cross,
To save His creation from eternal loss.

God foretold His coming from the opening book,
The Seed of the woman for whom we should look.
Abraham, Isaac, and the sacrificial ram,
Foretold the sacrifice of the great I AM.

The prophets proclaimed the place of His birth:
Bethlehem of Judea, where God came to earth.
His name did the prophets clearly foretell:
Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Immanuel.

In the fullness of time God's word came to pass,
The birth of the Savior to a young virgin lass.
His mission on earth was finally unfurled,
The Lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world.

The way to the Father was shown us by Christ,
He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
He came to release the deathgrip of sin,
He went to the cross our redemption to win.

It was for our sin that He suffered and bled,
Yet triumphant, victorious, He rose from the dead.
Now seated in heaven He eternally lives,
Mercy and forgiveness freely He gives.

Salvation is promised to all who'll receive.
Trust the Lord Jesus and in Him alone believe.
Repent of your sin and for His mercy do plead,
And from sin, death, and hell you will surely be freed.

O this Christmas may your life truly start.
May the glory of God shine into your heart.
May the gift of God -- His Son Jesus Christ
Bring true peace and joy into your life.

And what can separate us from such wonderful love
So rich and so full from our great God above?
Nothing, no nothing, in all creation can part
The Lord Jesus Christ from a redeemed, trusting heart.

-- Michael Lindell

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-- John 1:1-4
1 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 men.

-- Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by Grace you have been Saved through Faith,
and that not of yourselves;
It is the gift of God.
9 Not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.


-- 2 Corinthians 9:15
Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
indescribable
inestimable
incomparable
inexpressible
precious beyond words.
--Lois Lebar

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You can never truly enjoy Christmas
until you can look up into the Father's face
and tell Him you have received His Christmas Gift.
-- John R. Rice

-- Luke 1:26-38 + (The Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary) +
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said,
"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name JESUS. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end."

34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered.
"May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.


-- Matthew 1:18-25 + (The Birth of Jesus Foretold to Joseph) +
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

-- Luke 2:1-7 (20) + (The Birth of Jesus) +
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

-- Luke 2:8-20 + (The Shepherds and Angels) +
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.("The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One"). 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests."

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

-- Luke 2:21-35 + (The Prophecy of Simeon) +
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise Him, He was named Jesus (is the Greek form of "Joshua," which means "the LORD saves."), the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived. 22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), (Ex. 13:2,12) 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." (Lev. 12:8).

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 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 now dismiss Your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 which You have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel." 33 The Child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother: "This Child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

-- Luke 2:36-40 + (The Prophecy of Anna) +
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, 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. 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

40 And the Child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.

52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God and men.

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-- Roman 5:1-2
1 Therefore, having been justified by Faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through Whom also we have access by Faith into this grace
in which we stand, and rejoice in Hope of the glory of God.

-- Psalms 136:1-3, 26
1 Oh, Give thanks to the LORD,
For His Love endures forever.
2 Oh, Give thanks to the God of gods!
For His Love endures forever.
3 Oh, Give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His Love endures forever:
26 Oh, Give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His Love endures forever.

The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded
+ by the Spirit of Christ. +
The spirit of Christmas is annual;
+ the Spirit of Christ is eternal. +
The spirit of Christmas is sentimental;
+ the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. +
The spirit of Christmas is a human product;
+ the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. +

That makes all the difference in the world.
-- Stuart Briscoe

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God grant you the Light in Christmas, which is Faith;
the Warmth of Christmas, which is Love;
the Radiance of Christmas, which is Purity;
the Righteousness of Christmas, which is Justice;
the Belief in Christmas, which is Truth;
the All of Christmas, which is CHRIST.
--Wilda English

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Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect and loving God.

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The best Christmas gift of all is the presence of
a happy family all wrapped up in love with one another.

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Keeping Christmas is good.
but sharing it with others is even better.

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A merry Christmas to everybody!
A happy New Year to all the world!

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May the Joyful Blessings and the Spirit of "Christmas"
Always be with you and family!