A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord. Psalm 118:36
Amen.
“It’s not pink, it’s rose.”
“Rose” happened on the 3rd day.
I wish you a wonderful religious celebration. I celebrate Christmas also, the contribution of Christianity to western cultural values is endless and pre- eminent.
I wonder if you respect the speech of someone who is not a theist.
In the present climate of submission and compliance to corrupt “officials” in everything from govt dominance over personal risk decisions with Cv to blatant criminal election fraud by elected and appointed “officials”, Jesus is not a great example for the kids.
He never fought, he complied with his ruler’s dictates and meekly died. Even if for a higher purpose, he didn’t fight. I will never forgive that.
More disgusting than a marxist is a submissive martyr.
(I realise this is ban material).
And, in doing so he submitted the entire known world at
the time. Pretty good example of living in the light of
the Lord. All of the civilized world eventually was
established by peoples seeking the freedom
to worship the Lord. Jesus said “render unto Caesar
what is Caesar’s and unto the Lord what is the
Lord’s. Jesus is the best example for children and
adults. .
Jesus fought with the greatest weapons of all, and he is the only mortal to ever win the battle.
This is not a forum for a religious argument. You can pass these posts by if they are not to your liking. You have had your say, but I will remove any future posts and moderate you if you continue. Your final words take your comment out of the range of a different opinion and into being a slap in the face.
Noted.
Perhaps a line of information at the start of comments to indicate these devotional posts are of a different comment category from the rest of the blog, would be useful?
You mean like the title saying it’s the Third Sunday of Advent?
If you don’t believe in God or an afterlife, Jesus’ life makes no sense. As St Paul says (1Cor 15:19) “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.” So there’s no sense trying make sense of Jesus unless/until you believe in a Creator.
I think the title of the post and the Scripture is a clear signal to the content and expectations of comments.
God Bless you! I hope you and Sundance are well! You are loved by many!
The Lord Jesus was born to accomplish redemption. His death upon the cross fulfilled the plan of the Father, and the Lord chose obedience to this purpose. He was not killed against His will. He was fulfilling the purpose of His birth and doing the greatest work in history such that we count time from the birth of Christ.
The sinless, genuine, human blood of Christ effected an eternal salvation for whosoever will receive it. You and I were condemned by the righteous requirements of the law, because of our sin debt. Whenever I see the cross, I think of two things: the severity, the enormous finality and horror of the problem of sin (and its result which is separation from God), and second, the incomprehensible love of Christ because of which he took that penalty upon Himself. Talk about courage.
The power of the gospel is the resurrection of Christ. Death could not hold Him, and it was not too difficult for Him to resurrect. As God, He rose from the dead. As man, God raised Him.
Your comment was obviously insulting and meant to provoke something, not sure what. I hope that this comment might give you a glimpse into the excellency of the person and work of Christ. Also, during His life, He vigorously excoriated the hypocrites of His day, I don’t know how you got the idea that He didn’t fight. His whole life was a battle against evil.
Sorry you are so blinded and hardened in heart. I will pray for you.
History, consider this. I do not expect to change your mind, but I ask that you consider my words
as I have yours.
If Jesus fought, if he had been a man of war, we would never have known his name.
It is only because of his complete submission to the will of his Father that he won the battle for
all humanity. Some human always has a bigger club, but never big enough to overcome the will
or plan of God. Reading the Old Testament demonstrates this truth over and over.
Greater love hath no man they say. Jesus had the greatest love of all, and he fought all the powers
of hell. He did great battle, and his ultimate weapon was the cross.
Ever see a young kid or baby with a crayon? They scribble everywhere thinking it’s pretty. We as parents stop them, clean their mess usually or make them clean it. Sometimes they destroy precious pictures and writings.
When I was older I saw many of my children’s books filled with scribble, my Bible, I remember doing it. Now, I was so disappointed at myself for my ignorance.
It’s the same with spiritual matters. Menagerie is about to remove the crayons from the hand of this one.
No, not quite. First, I do respect differing viewpoints, but like everyone I
bristle a little at blatant disrespect. Second, we all had to color outside
the lines
to learn how to color. And my most used Bible is full of my own notes and highlights. I do take your point, but mine is a bit different.
And this is why you are the moderator. Good job.
Long story short, being an atheist worked for me right up until it didn’t. At a moment of great emotional trauma, I prayed to a god I didn’t believe in to please show me a way out of the pain. Less than thirty minutes later, I experienced the peace that passéth all understanding. That peace has never left me, although too often I fail to access it.
choosing to defend oneself, by using “human techniques” subjects one to human consequences.
Choosing instead to use Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding KEEPS you from, PROTECTS you from…
The human consequences.
Only God HAS power; only God can GIVE power.
That’s me wholeheartedly agreeing with you, Menagerie!
A sacrifice. A willing lamb led to slaughter for the redemption from sin. The ONLY payment that could atone for the sin of the world and the soul of man, was the pureness of God, the sinless sacrifice to pay the debt that cursed us all.
Why would a willing sacrifice fight against the world when He was sent to save the world?
Heed the words of John 6:63
The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. The words I speak to you are Spirit and life.
You see with the eyes of the world and so succumb to the limitations of the world because that is where you live and where you will die.
Even now, the voice is calling in the desert to receive those that would have Him. Until such time as the end of the tribulation, you shall have the opportunity to relent and repent of your worldly ways. Once the tribulation is finished, there shall be no more salvation for man, only the ones that persevered to the last will receive their redemption and reward.
Spot on . He came to be Our Sacrifice to satisfy Divine Justice . He won the battle before the whole heavenly court that God is Mercy and Justice in One . He never came to be a mere earthly warrior , He said it Himself , if that was the case , He would have had Legions of Ángels fighting against the human despots . As it turns out , His battle was of a different order , of an unseen Realm , that enacted the ultimate show to the Universe :: THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD( us humans ) THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON FOR US!!! That is ultimate Mercy and Justice !
Yes.
This.
ah, but History, he arose – indeed, a stumbling block to the ‘wise’.
You’d like Paul. He was a firebrand, and when people tried to run roughshod over him, he absolutely fought back.
Jesus didn’t come to fight, that time. He will do so later (before long, I think.) The first time, he was a peace offering. But if the peace offering gets slapped down, then it’s time for war.
A submissive martyr doesn’t rise from the dead or ascend to His throne where He lives to intercede. A submissive martyr doesn’t promise to return and reign for eternity.
History, I don’t claim to understand it all, but I choose to believe what I cannot see and what I cannot understand. God’s ways are higher and trustworthy and all you have to do is embrace it by faith.
Praying that this Christmas season will be your awakening to the truth of the gospel of Christ ??❤️
You think it meek,that even knowing what was coming,he did it anyway?Higher purpose?What could be higher,than sacrificing yourself,so that others might live?
You will never forgive that?You will not forgive him,for sacrificing himself for you?So that if we repent and believe on him,he will forgive us anything?He defeated our greatest enemy death,he did it for us,undeserving,he saw what man was,could do and still he died for us anyway.
He only submitted to his father,not man.He allowed it to happen for us……
I respect your 1st amendment rights as much as anyone who is acting from his/her conscience. I don’t agree because when I (like you) could not see any value in even a perfect man dying “for me” I still prayed for God to reveal what I didn’t understand. He did one day when I felt desperate to have truth revealed. Jesus never backed down which is why they used a bogus legal proceeding to condemn him. When He came back to life the Bible says He defeated death (our last enemy) and by doing so He gave us the courage to fight spiritual enemies cloaked in flesh and blood without resorting to their methods. In regards to our current fight against the intentional liars and abusers, I recommend the famous quote by Martin Luther as he was being judged by the papacy he disagreed with:
“I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”
Not banned. All questions are legitimate. To have an inkling of what Christians know – that Jesus’ choice to submit was the source & reason for His Victory – these words from God through Paul the Apostle in Galatians chapter 2 may help:
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
I’m not sure those verses are “understandable” to a non-Christian. But they may lead to something for you. I pray so. Happy Christmas to you, History.
As we approach the birthday of our Savior, consider for a moment the words of His father: “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore”. Gen22:17
These are vast numbers, unimaginably huge. Estimates of the number of stars run from 3 to 7×10 to the 22nd power. A well-reasoned (imo) estimate of the grains of sand on all the beaches is 4×10 to the 22nd power.
But stop a moment. The number of stars visible to the human eye is only about 2500.
So, when God promised this blessing, who knew that there were so
many stars?
Only God.
Found your comment in the bin…. 🙁
Wow, beautiful voice and beautiful pictures! I must be ethnocentric tho, I like the English version better! ?
Thanks FDR!
Beautiful indeed. have forwarded it to my ‘scattered’ family.
Thank you for this magnificent beauty. Merry Christmas to all.
Relevant?
There is a special celestial event on the near horizon that
is a rarity and was surprised to not see it mentioned here so far.
It is an event that prominent astronomers have speculated to be what
was perceived as the “Star of Bethlehem”.
The noteworthy event is the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter
on December 18th.
Is this celestial event significant to where we
find ourselves today? To where we will be in a week?
Be Best,
I’ve heard of that too… methinks it could be an omen. ?
And thank you Menagerie for all you do! ?
I heard it will be on the 21st.
According to Space.com, it will be on the 21st., just after sunset in
the western sky. What makes this extra special is that it is on
the day of the winter solstice. I have included a links from
space.com and earthsky.com
great-conjunction-jupiter-saturn-explainedgreat-jupiter-saturn-conjunction-dec-21-2020
Thanks for clearing up the date!
Also appreciate knowing timing and direction to observe.
Mixed up date because I read a subsequent post that spoke to events on both the 18th and 21st.
According to that post both days will be very good days.
(for the good guys anyway).
Best of all it is my son’s birthday. We brought him home on Christmas morning, God’s greatest gift to me on this earth.
Very cool!
It’s on 21 st. Make sure to watch it. After sunset.
Does anyone ever just think about all we have seen in the heavens in the last fifty years? So many amazing miracles that only we will ever see.
A smile from a child, a kiss from a loved one, a star or rainbow, a song. It’s our Lord showing ‘his’ love to us, his attention. Mediate in those moments, those “tears in the rain” they flow into all the others too soon.
“Gaudete” [for the third Sunday in Advent]
Rejoice, rejoice, Christ is born
The Petersens sing Advent
Rejoice!
So uplifting for ones Soul to read these verses…
Hail! Hail!l The Word made flesh
Petersens, again
The White House Advent Calendar
This is the time of year when I think about PEACE, and no one has worked harder to bring peace to the world than President TRUMP, his family and administration, and our military.
This year, with all that is going on it may be a little harder to find your inner peace, so I contribute a group of prayers I found last year that might help you as they have helped me this past year.
30 Prayers for Peace To Keep You Centered When You Need It Most By Kaitlin Stanford
You have one for every day of the month from now on, or you can do them all daily or a handful each and every day. I pray for PEACE for all of us on this planet and especially here at the Treehouse.
When Yeshua was writing in the sand he was conversing with his Father.
idk how to do it but if you listen softly you can hear Him.
I tried to post that.
He tells me to enable cookies and update the OS on my phone to post.
i will not. I do not want covid tracking on my phone and I don’t want them
impeding my battery life; which is stellar as it is.
and I don’t need these features.
i fully endorse the mission but there is a back door open
and this is clearly not a serious position (the whole ‘privacy first’ thing); I mean, it went from not requiring cookies and open to any OS version and now it seems it needs Apple’s latest greatest … that is not a mission. And I have a desktop thank you but I am not always at it.
First, no need to enable cookies. Second, the mobile version is not working yet. I use my iphone for everything and am looking forward to the mobile version!
We don’t know what Jesus was writing, but there have been interesting opinions on it. https://forums.catholic.com/t/he-who-is-without-sin-jesus-writing-sins-in-the-ground/291023/5
Thank you, Sundance! This takes my thoughts away from stolen elections, mandates from tyrants, socialists in the White House and a host of other calamities that befall us, to the coming Messiah, the Son of God, who set his tabernacle among us in human form, humbled himself as a servant and paid the ultimate blood sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins leading to eternal life for all who would call upon his name.
Thank you Father for sending Jesus to save us lost souls. I cannot even imagine what this world would look like without Your love, mercy and Glory. With all of my Heart, Mind Soul and Strength,, in Jesus name, Amen.
Menagerie, you bring light to a dark time.
I hope you are well!
Retired Magistrate here: Jesus is LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS. HE laid down is life for me and anyone else who will accept HIM. HE did it voluntarily for a higher purpose; to save sinners from being eternally separated from GOD. HE took on our sin and in return gave us HIS righteousness. HE did not have to do this. HE could have taken HIS life up at anytime; however, HE died for us because HE loves us.
We are all just passing through this world. The big question is where do you want to spend eternity. I have already made that decision; with Jesus in Heaven. You too can make that decision today. Jesus loves you and wants to give you the best gift you have ever received and it will last for eternity.
Amen and Amen
Retired Magistrate here: I posted something and it disappeared. The comment said it was waiting approval. Did I say something I should not have?
Menagerie, God Bless you.
My wife and I enjoy starting our day with this Devotion.These posts give us the spiritual strength to guard us from all of the distractions to keep us from His will not ours. We are grateful every day knowing there are more of Us than those that do not see.
How refreshing to have this thread to come to, today.
As much as I love the solemn, majestic, and glorious carols, lately I find myself drawn to a piece of bouncy, disco-ish pop.
It helps remind me of the joy of the celebration. It can be hard to allow in the joy in trying times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHTCldo7uw4
BEST rendition of this EVER.
Michael Crawford – O HOLY NIGHT (1993)
??❤️?Isaiah 61:1-3?❤️??
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness [JOY] instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
“Scripture tells us that we are to take up our cross and follow Him but what does that mean? It means we are going to have pain, that we will endure trials of all kinds. There in no comfortable way to carry a cross but that is exactly what Jesus did for us – and He asks us to do the same. We need to accept and learn from our trials, not run from them. God didn’t rescue Noah by stopping the flood – He kept him safe in the waves. God didn’t save Daniel from the lions den – He protected him. God didn’t save Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego from going into the fire – He saved them in the midst of the flames. These men trusted God’s Plan. Even when God doesn’t do what we think should be done at the moment we think it should happen, we need to trust in His Plan. God doesn’t save us from trials, He transforms us through those trials.”
Proverbs31.org
Thank you, Sundance, for all you do by maintaining this site, and spreading the information we all need and want to know to understand.
Beautiful!
https://youtu.be/uTeALtgEY3s