A Glorious Night

 In preparing the study for the first Wednesday in January, I was going to do a study on one of the last two Wednesdays with the title A Glorious Night, but decided with it being a New Year that I go with A Glorious Night for this one. I feel it's important to share a study like this one in the first month of a brand New Year.

Matthew 5 verse 16, Psalm 19 verse 1, Hebrews 1 verse 3, Psalm 3 verse 3, Romans 11 verse 36, Isaiah 60 verse 1, Revelation 21 verse 11, John 11 verse 40, Philippians 2 verse 9-11, Romans 3 verse 23, Psalm 72 verse 19, Habakkuk 2 verse 14, Isaiah 55 verse 8, 2 Corinthians 4 verse 6, John 8 verse 12, John 12:46, Matthew 1 verse 18, 1 Peter 2 verse 9, Psalm 27 verse 1, John 12 verse 35, Psalm 18 verse 28, Romans 13 verse 12, John 3 verse 16-17, Genesis 1 verse 3, Genesis 1 verse 4,  Genesis 1 verse 5,  Psalm 118 verse 24, Deuteronomy 4 verse 40, Psalm 23 verse 6, 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, Jeremiah 29 verse 11, Psalm 16 verse 11, and Galatians 5 verse 22.

In these scriptures that we read we see that God can show us light, can show us that we can overcome what may seem dark in the night to bring the light of hope in the beginnings of a new year, to knw as beloved Children of God that in days and nights that we can see His Glory, we can see His Glory is working all things together for our good and the plans He has for us is never to harm but to prosper us.

I want to share with all of you in all of the scriptures that we read and why I feel it's perfect in so many ways to share this as it's a celebration on a night to rejoice and be glad in a glorious celebration of why we celebrate a new year in Christ who is Love and so I want to share this song by Sidewalk Prophets.

… The shepherds came to See the baby, Stood by his mother's side, Here laid the Savior Inside a manger, Oh what a glorious night, Oh what a glorious night … I hear the angels singing halleluiah, Let the earth receive her king, I know that love has come, Singing it out Jesus Christ is born, Jesus Christ is born, Yeah … The shepherds wondered, They couldn't hide it Told everyone in sight, All were amazed, When they heard how God came down on the glorious night, God came down on this glorious night … I hear the angels singing halleluiah, Let the earth receive her king, I know that love has come, Singing it out, Jesus Christ is born, Jesus Christ is born, Yeah… Glorious, Glorious, What a Glorious night … Glorious, Glorious, What a Glorious night … I hear the angels singing halleluiah, Let the earth receive her king, I know that love has come, Singing it out, Jesus Christ is born.

It really is a wonderful to know on a Glorious Night like this one to remember how Jesus was born. How he later came into this world to save us and help us, and to remember and be reminded in this new year that when we feel afraid we can go to our Lord and Savior in prayer and pray for blessings and pray that His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven and know that we are never alone in this world.

My God will use His glorious riches to give you everything you need.

I wanted to end on that as a reminder that our God will give us what we need because He knows what we need on this Glorious Night in a new year and every single time out, before we ask or think it.

The Light Of The World

I want to talk about the Light Of The World after the holidays because I feel it's important to remember that even on times where it's not Christmas Eve, Christmas, or New Year's Eve, that Jesus is still The Light Of The World this season.

Before we go into scriptures about how Jesus is the Light Of The World, I want to share two songs.

Here comes the letdown Christmas is over, Here comes the meltdown, there goes the cheer, But before we have a breakdown, let us remember, The light of the world is still here, Happy day after Christmas And merry rest of the year, Even when Christmas is over, The light of the world is still here, The light of the world.

There is a candle in every soul, Some brightly burning, some dark and cold, There is a Spirit who brings fire, Ignites a candle and makes His home, Carry your candle, run to the darkness, Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn, Hold out your candle for all to see it, Take your candle, and go light your world, Take your candle, and go light your world, Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to Light his own candle some other way, See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to Still holds a candle without a flame, Carry your candle, run to the darkness, Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn, Hold out your candle for all to see it, Take your candle, and go light your world, Take your candle, and go light your world.

We are a family whose hearts are blazing, So let's raise our candles and light up the sky, Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus, Make us a beacon in darkest times, Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor, Hold out your candle for all to see it, Take your candle, and go light your world.

John 8 verse 12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Matthew 5 verse 14-16: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Psalm 119 verse 105: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

John 9 verse 5: While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

1 John 1 verse 5: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Ephesians 5 verse 8: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

James 1 verse 17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Psalm 18 verse 28: You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

 Isaiah 60 verse 1: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

 Genesis 1:3: And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

In these scriptures we see that as we get ready to begin the start of a new year, we know that God is The Light Of The World we realize what Christmas means to us this season and everyday as we step into Christmas but as we mainly step out into Faith this coming year and we see how God lights our way. We see that God shows us that the darkness of what the enemy tries to rob of our joy will flee cause He will light the path to righteousness and will light our way back to Him and we will know that nothing can ever come between the relationship we have with Christ because Christ will always be the Light.

This is what I want to end on with all of you as we remember all of this tonight because I feel it is important that we end with this reminder of why Christ is always The Light Of The World everyday.

Accept Nothing Less Than Jesus

Be Satisfied with nothing less than

Jesus abiding in your life.

He is the Light Of The World.

He is the Life Of The World.

He is your Savior,

Your Lord,

And Friend.

He has promised to come to you

and abide with you.

Then accept nothing less than

Jesus in your life.

Invite Him into your heart.

Embrace Him.

Talk often with your Friend, and

His Light Will Fill Your Life.

The Hope Of Christmas

 In this Christmas Season we step into Christmas wondering what it means to us. We wonder why do we celebrate Christmas? How do we go about spreading joy this Christmas and giving The Hope Of Christmas and showing them that it means that Christ is born this Christmas Day and that is what it means to us? 

Well, let's take a look about scriptures that talk about Christmas. 

Isaiah 9 verse 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.

James 1 verse 17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Acts 20 verse 35:  In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

 Zechariah 9 verse 9: Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Romans 15 verse 13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 1 verse 9-10: The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

John 1 verse 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.

Luke 1 verse 14:  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,

In these scriptures we see how God this Christmas is always with us abounding in Hope and how He Brought His Son into this world so that we may have life and live it to the full or abundantly.  

These days peace on Earth is hard to find And I need you to remind me one more time, You're still the hope of Christmas, You're still the light when the world looks dark, You're still the hope of Christmas

And You're still the hope of my heart, Watch the snowflakes fallin' down, Like a blanket on this town, For a moment we can hardly see, The pain this year has brought us, May the sick find healing's touch

May hatred's fight be one with love And may every heart make room for You, The one who came to save us, 'Cause You're still the hope of Christmas, You're still the light when the world looks dark

You're still the hope of Christmas And You're still the hope of my heart, You're the hope of Christmas.

We can see that the Hope Of Christmas shows us that God is near and that is what we should be doing as we Step into this Christmas Season, in being that light in showing what Christmas not only means to me but what Christmas this season can mean for others.

And the bells are ringing (peace on Earth), Like a choir they're singing (peace on Earth), In my heart I hear them (peace on Earth), Peace on Earth, good will to men.

In this part of things we see that the Hope Of Christmas can mean a lot of things, not only to myself or all of us in general, but what it can me for those who may be longing for that Hope Of Christmas and finding out as they step into Christmas what it means to them, cause what Christmas means to me in the heart of it all means that we have a Savior who gives us Hope this Christmas to know that we don't walk alone.

This year we see people around us losing Hope, feeling like what did I do to feel like I'm alone on Christmas? Well that is when the God of all Hope comes in and shows that The Hope Of Christmas is here, that the Hope of Christmas lies within our hearts to know that we can be the light to someone feeling that way and know that we are never too far gone in how we live our life for Christ as this is another reminder in what Christmas Means to Me as I know the Hope Of Christmas is showing the Love Of Christ in which God is Love and knowing that God is Love and is the true Hope Of Christmas, is a wonderful blessing daily.

Christmas is not a story of hope. It is hope. 

Faith makes all things possible, Hope makes all things work, Love makes all things beautiful, May you have all three things this Christmas. Merry Christmas.

I wanted to end with these two things cause I wanted us to remember that God who is The Hope Of Christmas this season and always, shows us that His Love because He is Love makes beautiful things out of us and out of the dust, that our Faith and Hope in Him make all things possible work because God calls all of His beloved and shows Love and makes all things possible and makes all things work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His Purpose. Let us remember that this Christmas season.

The Me You Made With The Heart Of Christmas

 Luke 2 verse 11: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Isaiah 7 verse 14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

2 Corinthians 9 verse 15: Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

John 1 verse 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.

1 John 5 verse 11: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Romans 5 verse 8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Zephaniah 3 verse 17: The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

John 14 verse 6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Hebrews 4 verse 12: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

Job 33 verse 4: The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 100 verse 3: Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Genesis 2 verse 7:  Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Psalm 139 verse 13-16: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Ephesians 2 verse 10: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

2 Timothy 3 verse 16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

John 1 verse 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

John 4 verse 24: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Ephesians 2 verse 9: Not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 10 verse 9: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 16 verse 33:  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 17 verse 23: I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Proverbs 3 verse 5-6 : Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

One of the things I realized is that when preparing this study in talking about scriptures that talked about Celebrating Christmas, the person God made us to be, and how We are Wonderfully Made, I realized that God is the author and finisher of our stories and we all have a testimony. Although that's not everything I realized in all of what we read in the scriptures tonight. This goes deeper into what I want to share with all of you to help you guys understand all of this tonight.

You see, my title for my study originally was going to be something like The Heart Of Christmas In The Me You Made or Christmas Heart In The Me You Made but my title ended up being The Me You Made With The Heart Of Christmas because it goes into a deeper meaning of Christmas as God’s beloved child with a heart for Christmas but we also see the people He made you and I to be can have a Heart of Christmas to know Hope returns, to know He’s the God Who Stays, and that there are songs that show Love On The Radio, while we are Walking Miracles and The Man Who Needed Grace isn’t too far gone, that we are never too far gone , Not Today or ever because with My Story for His Glory we’re a Nobody who tries to tell everybody about someone who saved our soul while walking in The Heart of Christmas to know and to see why we celebrate Christmas in who God made us to be this Christmas as Wonderfully made children of God.

Keep your Christmas-Heart open all year round.

Christmas Will Always Be As Long As We Stand Heart To Heart And Hand In Hand.

Christmas begins in God's Heart, and it is only complete when it reaches the heart of man.

Not good, not cool enough, Don't measure up, yeah I've had enough, Hey I don't wanna spend my life

Wishing I was different, That would be a waste of time, Cause I know You love me just as I am

And I know my God don't make mistakes, So, I'm just gonna be the me you made, The whole world is posting pictures, Looks like everybody else has a perfect life And we're just watching from the bleachers, Discontent and thinking wouldn't it be nice, But comparison is the thief of joy, Trust me, I know cause for way too long I let it steal my joy But not anymore, Hey I don't wanna spend my life

Wishing I was different, That would be a waste of time, Cause I know You love me just as I am And I know my God don't make mistakes, So, I'm just gonna be the me you made, Yeah, I'm just gonna be the me you made.

So this is how it feels when standing strong, Turns into barely even holding on, The plans you had are shattered on the floor And your fear tells your faith, There's no use in praying those prayers anymore

When your world is crashing, when your knees hit the ground, When your heart is asking, "What do I do now?" Just when you think it can't get worse, Hold on, that's when hope returns, Like a new sun breaking through the darkest night, Like a whisper saying, "It'll be alright", I know you're tired, I know it hurts, But hold on, that's when hope returns And that's when hope returns.

You're the God who stays, You're the God who stays, You're the one who runs in my direction

When the whole world walks away, You're the God who stands, With wide open arms, And You tell me nothing I have ever done can separate my heart, From the God who stays.

'Cause if you know, know, know Jesus, Like I know, know, know Jesus, Then you'll know, know, know the reason why, I'm putting love on the radio, Spreading joy everywhere I go, There's no way to hide my hope, oh, no, This little light of mine, Hey, I'm gonna let it shine, Telling the world who saved my soul, The only way I know, With love on the radio.

Oh, they're all around us everywhere we go, The proof that we should never give up hope, 'Cause we serve a God who turns impossible, Into living, breathing, walking miracles.

Now the man who needed grace still knows how to make a mess, There's never been a day that you found me perfect, All the grace just keeps on showin' me exactly what it is, A gift that goes to those who don't deserve it And nothing I could ever do, Compares to what's been done for me, I'm free and all because of you, My debt is paid, my sins are gone And my soul can't stop singing this victory song.

I listened to you yesterday, Now I need you to hear me say Not today, The father of lies will not have his way, Yesterday guilt had me digging my own grave, Sin had the final say But not today.

My story, Your glory, My pain, Your purpose, My mess, Your message, In all things, I know You're workin', One life, one mission, One reason why I'm livin', All for You, not for me, My story, Your glory.

Why You ever chose me, Has always been a mystery, All my life I've been told I belong, At the end of the line, With all the other not-quites, With all the never-get-it-rights, But it turns out they're the ones You were looking for All this time, 'Cause I'm just a nobody, Trying to tell everybody, All about Somebody, Who saved my soul, Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing, I'm living for the world to see, Nobody but Jesus, I'm living for the world to see, Nobody but Jesus.

Wherever you are, no matter how far, Come back to the heart, the heart of Christmas, Live while you can, cherish the moment And the ones that you love, make sure they know it, And don't miss it, the heart of Christmas.

In all of this tonight and everything I want to get across tonight in this entire study and the lyrics I shared with some quotes at the end as well, is that the Me You Made With The Heart Of Christmas study title is a sole reminder of this quote that I want to end on tonight and that is this: Jesus Is The Heart Of Christmas. Let us remember that this Christmas season as we are Made In His Image as His Beloved.