Deity and Humanity

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8

We made one last trip to Spokane on Thursday for some specific items before our Christmas celebrations begin.

We enjoyed the sunrise along the highway.

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:3

This morning in Let Earth Receive Her King ~ Daily Readings for Advent, Alistair Begg shares this lesser  known Christmas Carol. I’m highlighting some of the words.

Once in roy­al Dav­id’s ci­ty
Stood a low­ly cat­tle shed,
Where a mo­ther laid her ba­by
In a man­ger for His bed:
Mary was that mo­ther mild,
Jesus Christ her lit­tle child.

He came down to earth from Hea­ven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shel­ter was a sta­ble,
And His cra­dle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and low­ly,
Lived on earth our Sav­ior ho­ly.

And, through all His won­drous child­hood,
He would hon­or and ob­ey,
Love and watch the low­ly maid­en,
In whose gen­tle arms He lay:
Christian child­ren all must be
Mild, obe­di­ent, good as He.

For He is our child­hood’s pat­tern;
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was lit­tle, weak and help­less,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feel­eth for our sad­ness,
And He shar­eth in our glad­ness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own re­deem­ing love,
For that Child so dear and gen­tle
Is our Lord in Heav’n above,
And He leads His child­ren on
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor low­ly sta­ble,
With the ox­en stand­ing by,
We shall see Him; but in Hea­ven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His child­ren crowned
All in white shall wait around.

Once in Royal David’s City ~ Cecil F. Alexander, 1848.

Smile, Your On Wednesday Hodgepodge

Blogging…where everyday is Candid Camera day.

Time for a holly jolly candid Hodgepodge. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What’s one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

There is not one thing that stands out to be accomplished. I was considering weeding out some Christmas decor before everything is put back into the bins for next year. Some of our stuff is tired looking. Maybe I’ll designate one bin for the things I can let go.

2. What’s something that brought a smile to your face this year?

Thankfully there were many things. I am a smiley person in general. Our family times together always brings a smile on my face and generally there are belly laughs, too. The wonderful weather we enjoyed in Scotland in September brought many smiles and gratitude! We have our children’s play/musical this coming weekend and I know that will keep me smiling. It is called The Loaned Manger, a western themed presentation. Both Addy and JJ will be performing. Addy has some key singing parts and JJ is Joseph this year.

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

We really enjoyed Jo’s Cranberry Jalapeno dip at Thanksgiving and when JJ was here on Monday he said “I’ll get the crackers for the cream cheese” as if I kept that dip around every day. Hilarious! (JJ is Five)

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

We have entered the dud zone when it comes to New Year’s celebrations. We are typically in bed and the fireworks might wake us up at midnight! In our part of Washington state it is generally too dry with fire danger on July 4th so people around these parts stock up on fireworks to shoot off on New Year’s Eve instead.

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

Celebrating Fifty Years! 

We were married in 1974 so 2024 marks our 50th wedding anniversary. We have celebrated well starting at the end of June with a getaway to Walla Walla for a weekend of fun with our family of 10. We celebrated again in Scotland in September and we celebrated on the actual day with an overnight trip to Coeur d’Alene.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I saw that common phrase this year on facebook, ‘keep Christ in Christmas’ and my reaction was a new one. There is no way anyone can keep Christ out of Christmas, even if you don’t know Christ or celebrate Him. The darkness (Satan) has been trying to eliminate God from the beginning of time. It started in the Garden of Eden. The light of the world will always overcome the darkness. Christ brought His light into the world and will continue to shine till one day the darkness will finally be cast away. Herod tried to kill Christ as a babe and did the unspeakable by killing all the male children in his realm thinking he could eliminate Jesus. God in His mercy preserved Jesus Christ for His role in becoming the Savior of the world by his sacrificial death on the cross so that man can be at peace with Holy God. Because of Jesus Christ’s perfect life and righteous sacrifice and resurrection our repentance, turning from sin, makes us acceptable to God and makes us redeemed in His sight. Christmas is all about Jesus Christ’s incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus, fully God, became man for us. He condescended with love to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God and have eternal life with Him instead of eternal damnation in hell.

Praying that God is calling you to repentance and opening your spiritual eyes to see His Truth today.

Merry Christmas Hodgepodgers!

At the Breaking of the Day ~ Hymn

AT the Breaking of the Day

Oh, how oft amid our la­bor
Do we think of what will be
When the boat shall drop its an­chor
In the ha­ven o’er the sea!
And our hearts, with joy ex­pand­ing,
From our tri­als look away,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Refrain

At the break­ing of the day,
When we an­chor on the shore,
At the break­ing of the day,
When the storms of life are o’er,
When our sor­row and our sigh­ing,
Like a dream will pass away,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Oh, how oft amid the con­flict
And the bat­tle raging high,
With a faith as clear as noon­day
We behold the vic­to­ry nigh,
And we know that with the right­eous
We shall stand in bright ar­ray,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Refrain

Endless praise to our Re­deem­er
For His all aton­ing love,
That pre­pares for us a man­sion
And a crown of life above,
Where our eyes shall see the beau­ty
Of the flow’rs that ne’er de­cay,
When we all shall meet to­ge­ther,
At the break­ing of the day!

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1891.

Truth from A to Z ~ X is for…

This Thursday we are on that tricky letter X. Remember you can pick any word that has an X anywhere within the word. After you choose your Bible verse or verses add it in the comments and I’ll post it below. Thank you all for your excellent contributions each week.

X is for Examine:

Lamentations 3:40 ~ Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.

2 Corinthians 13:5 ~ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -unless indeed you fail to meet the test.

From Vera:

X is for eXact

“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NASB

From Patricia:  X is for Examine:

Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:27-31 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.

From Ruthie: X is for Exalt.

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool. Psalm 99:5

From Bethany: X is for Exalt.

Click over to Bethany’s Blog Raindrops and Rainbows to see her post.

From Happy One (Karen): X is for Exceedingly

Mark 4:41 And they feared EXCEEDINGLY, and said one to another, what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

From Cheryl:

“Exalt” is a repeat, but this is the verse that came to mind, and I love this invitation to His people!

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

ABC’s of the Word ~ Radiance, Representation

Hebrews 1:3

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

For more ABC’s of the word visit Pam at Grey like Snuffie.