12.12.08: Light4theDay - "Christmas and Three Kings" (Viet)  (<<) (>>)
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("Prayer To Receive Christ")

A little Child, a Shining Star, a stable crude,
the door ajar; but in that place, so crude, forlorn,
THE HOPE OF ALL THE WORLD WAS BORN.

-- Matthew 2:10-11
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.



The Three Kings

Three Kings came riding from far away,
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they travelled by night and they slept by day,
For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

The star was so beautiful, large and clear,
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere,
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,
Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,
Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

And so the Three Kings rode into the West,
Through the dusk of the night, over hill and dell,
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,
And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,
With the people they met at some wayside well.

"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,
"Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen His Star,
And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,
To find and worship the King of the Jews."

And the people answered, "You ask in vain;
We know of no King but Herod the Great!"
They thought the Wise Men were men insane,
As they spurred their horses across the plain,
Like riders in haste, who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem,
Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,
Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;
And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,
And bring me tidings of this new king."

So they rode away; and the star stood still,
The only one in the grey of morn;
Yes, it stopped -- it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David, where Christ was born.

And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
Of a kingdom not human, but divine.

His mother Mary of Nazareth
Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
Were mingled together in her breast.

They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
The myrrh for the body's burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
And sat as still as a statue of stone,
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the Angel had said
Of an endless reign and of David's throne.

Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
And returned to their homes by another way.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

+*_*+*_*+*_*+

-- 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 unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

-- Luke 2:10-14
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. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 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!"



"Shall We Share the Truth this Christmas?"

This Christmas Day, while we sit with our family and friends
Shall we share the truth of how it all began?
Will we brag on what gifts we gave and received?
or will we share with our children in what we believe?

The season has lost it’s meaning to some
so few share how the season had really begun.
The Birth of Christ was a Gift from above
A Gift from God to prove His great love.

Children may ask for material things
We need to give them the story of what God’s Gift brings
Although we give them gifts from our heart
Keep Christ in their Christmas right from the start.

The presents they get will get broken or lost,
some presents are given at a great cost.
but no value can be placed on the REAL Christmas Story
So remember this Christmas to give God all the Glory!

Sing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus this year
For, if not for Him there would be no great cheer.
Sing a few carols, reminisce about the past
Share the REAL story of Christmas,

It’s the One present that definitely will last.

-- Lynn

+*_*+*_*+*_*+

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

+*_*+*_*+*_*+

What can I give Him?
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part.
Yet what can I give Him,
Give Him my heart.
-- C.Rossetti

+*_*+*_*+*_*+

-- John 1:1-2,14
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.
+ 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of Grace and Truth.

-- John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

-- Romans 10:9-10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

-- Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For it is by Grace you have been Saved, through Faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the Gift of God -- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.



-- Matthew 2:1-15
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi (wise men) from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His Star in the east and have come to worship Him."

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ (Messiah) was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "’But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the Shepherd of My people Israel.’" (Micah 5:2).

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him." 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the Star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the Child was.

10 When they saw the Star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the Child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him." 14 So he got up, took the Child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called My Son." (Hosea 11:1).

-- 1 John 5:11-12
11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

-- Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-- Psalms 25:4-7
4 Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths; 5 guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. 6 Remember, O LORD, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You are good, O LORD.

-- 2 Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.