Whatever is Pure
Christmas 2009
O come, O come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Living in north Central Alberta, it is fitting that we prepare for Christmas during the darkest month of the year. As the days shorten, we long for the late summer evenings where we could stroll in soft sunlight. We wistfully remember awakening to bright sunshine streaming in our windows, no matter how early our days began. By mid December, we arrive at work and school in the dark and return home in the dark.
It is particularly difficult for newcomers to Canada, especially those who arrive here from countries close to the equator. Most who arrive in the winter months are dismayed to find themselves in a land of seemingly constant darkness. It has brought me great joy over the years to bring the good news to many of these newcomers. The sun will return and not only will it return but it will shine brightly long into the evening hours when their own homeland will be cloaked in darkness.
We Canadians only have to endure four months of shortened winter days, unlike the children of Israel who endured spiritual darkness for four hundred years. The first generations could tell their children their own first hand experiences of the heady taste of freedom but as the time of exile deepened, subsequent generations could only rely on the stories passed down by their forefathers. There were very few who still carried the hope of the coming Messiah and even they could not imagine living in the true freedom and light that God had promised them. And yet, that remnant clung on to their faith, trusting in the prophecy, trusting that the light would one day return.
If you are in a season of personal darkness, my prayer is that you reach out during this season of Advent to the same God that ransomed captive Israel. May I encourage you to invite His light to fill your heart, allowing that light to overcome the shadows of hopelessness and resignation that cling onto you?
Genesis 1: 3-4
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
John 1: 1-4
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
John 8:12
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."
© 2009 Katherine Walden
An Advent Devotional
Jeremiah 33:14-16
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to
the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a
righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness
in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this
is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."
When I read the scripture it brought to mind a time when I did not want to be reminded of "the days are surely coming." I wanted the time to be now and not in the future.
Many years ago, my grandfather passed away and my grandmother came to live with us. My mother resigned her job and became grandmother’s full-time caretaker. Unlike, previous year’s Christmas would be celebrated on a smaller scale. Needless to say, I was not joyful. Of course being a teenager, I thought life wasn’t fair! Why should I have to endure this unrighteousness!
God in his mercy moved someone to submit our family’s name to receive a food basket and gifts. At first I thought, we didn’t need it; we had food. However, the lesson I learned was greater than the goodies and gifts. That Christmas, God set things right for me; He began to chip away at my selfishness. He restored the real joy of Christmas.
Truthfully, are you yearning for the promise of justice and righteousness to be executed in the land?
Prayer: Thank you Father God for this Advent season; change my heart so that others will desire your return. Help me to do your will and the world will be saved; live in safety and see the new city called "The Lord is our righteousness." In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
You must contact the author for permission before using this devotional or forwarding thisdevotional on to your friends and family via blog, email, message board or via any other printed or electronic format.
Christmas Day 2005
Christmas Day 2005 started out like any other Christmas Day.We unwrapped presents and then the kids played with their new haul. We went out to brunch with family.
While we were on our way to my sister in law's house, we received a phone call from a man at our church who happens to be the deputy chief of police in our town. Mark sadly informed us that our house had burned down while we were at brunch.
We went back to find a burned out shell of a house. The firetrucks were leaving as we turned onto our block. Mark met us with hugs and pointed out the press so we could avoid them. He helped us navigate the situation. We went to a neighbor's house to wait for the fire inspector to meet with us. We had no idea what to do next. It was Christmas Day and no stores were open so we couldn't even buy a toothbrush!
A short time later our pastor arrived, asking us what we needed. His wife took our sizes for clothing. He told us that we could use the youth house for our home as long as we needed it. An hour later we walked into that house. It was filled with people working; filling cabinets with food, sorting clothes and shoes by size, setting up air mattresses and bedding, sorting toiletries.
My first response was "It's Christmas Day you should be with your families. What are you doing here?" The overwhelming response was, "We're here for you." As my eyes filled with tears I realized that this kind of love is what Christmas was all about.
You must contact the author for permission before using this devotional or forwarding thisdevotional on to your friends and family via blog, email, message board or via any other printed or electronic format.
Shalom friends! The thing that always amazes me about this season is a Christmas Eve candlelight service - after the lessons and carols everyone seems to be at perfect peace. There is a overwhelming sense of serenity and love in almost any church i have every been in for that service and yet, it is so fleeting. All the hustle and bustle to get to that point, all the bills to pay after Christmas, heading back to work, how can we keep that great feeling going, amidst all the "necessities of life"?
Make the "Prince of Peace" your necessity of life ... i did, it is not as hard as you think and here is what may happen:
When you have less than $100 left after paying your bills, rent, alimony, child support, credit cards, weekly car payments, it won't shake that perfect peace, because you have the "Prince of Peace". I guarantee all those bad things will start to turn around. Why can I say such a bold statement?
It is because you have started to turn around ...to turn towards Jesus. Yes, you will need help with that, through church, bible study and hanging out with those who have already gotten that "Peace"
Give it a try, what have you got to lose? Worry, anger, sad feelings, poor health, bad habits, bills, misery?
God can handle all those much better than we can, all you need do is trust Him, if you spend nearly as much time with Him
© 2009 Pastor Al Johnson
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He Laid Aside His Glory
He laid aside his glory, to be born as a babe.
This Holy God from heaven, in a cattle stall was laid.
No royal crown of splendor was placed upon his head,
He only had a manger of hay, to be his bed.
No birthday celebrations with food, and friends and toys,
just some cattle lowing, welcomed this baby boy.
But then, out on a hillside where shepherds kept their sheep,
A choir of holy Angels their frightened eyes did see.
Behold! We bring you tidings of peace, good will to men,
For unto you a Savior is born in Bethlehem.
He is a Gift from heaven, sent down from God above,
He came to bring salvation, and show the world God’s love.
© 2007 Gertrude Jefferies
Please contact the author directly for permission to use in any print, web-based or electronic media
trude@eastlink.ca
As of May 2012, "WHATEVER IS PURE" ARCHIVES will no longer be seeking submissions. As most authors and poets now have their own blogs, we noticed a significant drop in submissions over the past year and felt it was best to move on to other endeavors.
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