God Shows Up at Christmas

God Shows Up at Christmas

God shows up at Christmas, especially Christmas.  I hear of Him in so many of the songs.

Joy to the World

Hark! The Herald

O Holy Night

O Little Town

Silent Night

I Heard the Bells

And these are sung by “secular artists”.  And God shows up.  The guard is down.  The lights are bright.  The decorations are up.  The smiles are on every face.  And God is near.

One of my favorite lyrics from a Christmas song is this one:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead nor does He sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to man

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Internet Church Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope Encouragement Inspiration

Making Room at Christmas

Making Room at Christmas

  

The phrase – “Let every heart prepare Him room” has been circulating in my mind lately.  What an important thought at Christmas. 

I want to be one who makes room for the Christ of the manger.  Every year, I offer a prayer to God for new insight, new ideas and a new understanding of the essentials of Christmas. 

Tonight’s insight – making room.  I go through stages of purging my book shelves, closets and files from time to time.  I’m more in the mode of “getting rid of” than “making room for.”

This year, I want to focus on the ‘extra room’ part. 

This is a large idea.  Too big for me to try and reduce it to 300 words.  Rather, I’ll let you rumble, and muse and ponder this idea. 

Merry Christmas.

Internet Church Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope Encouragement Inspiration

A Thanksgiving Moment

A Thanksgiving Moment

The hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness is one of the great hymns.  I’ve sung it hundreds of times in countless settings, and it still moves me.  Even tonight, as I read some of these lyrics, I am pausing to give thanks as we move toward Thanksgiving Day. 

There is a part of the third verse that demands our attention for today.

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine, with ten-thousand beside.

And the refrain:

Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

The first part – “strength for today” is what I’m experiencing at the moment.  I’m still in recovery mode from my open-heart surgery last December.  I do not have strength for a week.  I have strength enough for one day, and then I restore and get ready for the next day.  And for that I am very thankful.

I read something this week that talked about grace being given for daily needs.  I can relate.  It’s like the manna from heaven that the children of Israel feasted on during their wandering years.  They received food for one day at a time.  If they gathered more than their daily need, the extra would spoil and smell.  Except on the night before Sabbath. 

That is grace.  Grace for the day, for the moment.  You and I will get grace for next Thursday on Thursday.  And for that I thank God.

And then the phrase –

All I have needed thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

The key word is “needed” or “need”.

Time and time again I have experienced God giving me what I need moment by moment. 

That brings a moment to pause and give thanks.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with ample thanks-giving along with all the great food and family and friend times.

Internet Church Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope Encouragement Inspiration