A year ago we were anticipating the birth of our second grand child Haddon. I remember waking every day checking on his mom, Lacey and asking how she was feeling. We just knew it would be any minute! As we anticipated the arrival we tried to make preparations. Lacey and Les prepared the room for our new arrival. We gathered boy clothes since our first grandchild had been a girl. Then we just waited. I wonder if that is how Mary and Joseph felt? Waiting…
The celebration of Advent is just that, the celebration of the arrival of the Messiah. During the month preceding Christmas day scriptures are read and prayers are offered as we prepare our hearts to celebrate what God did by sending His Son
Today’s Passage is John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It is tempting to make gift buying and even fun things like elves or Santa the focus the closer you get to Christmas Day. You may even feel pressure to be perfect in decorating, hosting, or any number of outside pressures. Don’t allow these things to move your focus from the main person of Christmas. He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. He is our only ticket to Eternal life with the Father.
As we wait expectedly for Christmas I invite you to interact with me. Please comment on the scriptures we post or leave a thought, a favorite recipe or craft. Join in the celebration. This is intended to help us keep our focus on Jesus not the pressures that sometimes accompany the Christmas Holiday. It is His birthday and we want to highlight Him!
Commit today to spending time daily focusing on His word and a few minutes in prayer. You may even want to throw in a carol or two.
(This is the couple that own The Barn at Shady Lane where Gene’ and Zach were married. (Two on the left) They nail Mary Did You Know!)
Thank you so much for the reminder. Company just left and I would like to share a simple breakfast casserole that I used this morning. Crescent roll, 1 lb sausage brown and drained, 6 eggs beaten and cheddar cheese. Layer these things in this order in a greased 9 x 12 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. It was a hit at my house this morning before church.
Roberta that sounds great. Thank you for sharing!
I started feeling sorry for myself. Alone for the holidays again. Sitting in church it hit me again.
Life is not always about me. Christ died for me. This is HIS birthday. Why am I sad.
I have a pin that says Jesus is the reason for the season. Yet I walk around feeling sorry for myself. This year with your help, I will keep my focus on Jesus. Keep looking up. Jesus is the important thing not gifts or decorations. Not even family.
Love each other family or not and keep looking up!
Great insights Vicki. I know there are many that feel alone at this season of the year. A great reminder to all of us to look around us and reach out to those you see who may be sitting without someone around them or eating without a friend. Your focus on it being His birthday is so important as well.
I was thinking about Christmon tree ornaments. We would make a ornament and have a devotional about the meaning of each ornament. They were expensive to make but I found a web site that found a way to make them I expensively.
http://www.ezartsncrafts.com/christiansymbols.html
It’s a great way to remember Christ!
This would be super for families trying to remind their children of who Christmas is all about!!!
John 14:6. This is in response to Thomas’ question in verse 5, where Jesus declared that He is the way to God because He is the truth of God and the life of God. In verse 6, it is exclusive and emphatic that Jesus is the only way to the Father. Only one way – not many ways, exist to God – which is Jesus Christ!
It’s so simple, yet there are those that reject Him. I pray for those who are rejecting God’s gift of Jesus that they will accept Him as their Lord and Savior so they may have their sins forgiven and live with Him for eternity. Thank You, Lord for the gift that everyone needs! Jesus!
Yes mam Priscilla! Truth!
John 14:6. Is my favorite verse in the entire Bible. It says it all. Plain and simple!
So glad we started out the season with your favorite verse.
Thank you all for contributing! This is going to be fun!
The older I get the less possessions mean to me. I cannot imagine my life without Jesus. He is truly my best Friend. Celebrating His birth by giving Him a gift this year is very important to me. I’ve already given Him my life so what can I bring? This year I want to give Him the gift of treating others as He would, with love and compassion and I want to give others the gift of sharing Jesus, who He is and what He has done for us, as often as possible. This is my desire for my focus during this season.
Great insights. I love your gifts!!!
In John 14:6, Jesus tells us, “I am the way, the truth. and the life, No man comes to the Father but by me.” I recently heard a sermon illustration about a famous opera singer who was not granted entrance to the wedding reception of the wedding in which she just sang. The reason? She was sent an RSVP for the reception, but never got around to confirming. She assumed because of who she was they would still let her into the reception. You can imagine her shock and surprise when the Captain of the Ballroom refused to grant her entrance to the reception. He was given strict orders that only those people whose names were on the registered list were permitted to enter the reception. No exceptions! The embarrassed, famous opera singer had to slip away to the elevator and go home. Friends, let’s continue to pray that those who are holding Jesus’ invitation will RSVP so they can join Him in heaven.
That is a great story!!! Thank you for sharing it.
We have gotten out of habit of advent devotions. Thank you for the encouragment. Jesus is our only source of hope. I will read and pray daily to be in His truth.
So excited that you guys will be making this journey with us! Please have your family members comment. We would love to hear their thoughts as well.
Thank you Page! Love this !
I’m so grateful for this devotional blog focusing on advent! Years ago our family went through Page’s advent devotional and enjoyed the daily reminders of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Yesterday I was thinking about finding a new advent series to go through when your initial post popped up in my FB feed. Hmmmmm…yes, He IS the way, truth, and life! So much so that He even uses a post on FB to answer the cry of this child’s heart. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all!
John 14:6 has stuck to me like glue for years. Not because it’s a catchy little verse, but because of the battle I have every single day with my parents. See, they are unbelievers. Or perhaps better said, they are over-believers. Believing in God and believing in multiple ways to get to God. According to them, you can choose to be Muslim, or Hindu, or Jew, or New Age, or even Christian. It does not matter, for they believe there is more than one way to the Lord. This verse is the verse I want to scream at them every time we have conversations about God. Some times, I feel futile in my attempts, and some times I see glimmers of hope that they might be figuring it out. Time is running short, for they are quite old now. I cry for them.