Tuesdays Thanksgivings and Praises to God our Father, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit 12/30/14 From the Devotional, The Upper Room: Christmas Day In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.-Galatians 3:26 (Read Colossians 3:15-17) Thought For The Day: Gods children come in all shapes and sizes - and ages. Every Christmas season one of my responsibilities as music director is to prepare a cantata with my church choir for our congregation. This year we also presented the cantata at a local nursing home and invited the residents to join us in singing familiar carols. No lyrics were provided for this special performance, but when I gave the signal for the audience to join in, the residents - even those with dementia - sang with all their hearts. They needed no help in recalling the carols they loved so much. Those words of Gods love were etched into their memories, and nothing could prevent the words from bubbling up from deep within. As we sang of shepherds, wise men, and angels, we saw that although we had obvious physical differences, the residents and choir members merely belonged to separate generations of Gods family. They, the older brothers and sisters and we, the younger were all simply children of God, saved by grace. In that glorious moment of singing together, God allowed me a glimpse of a time when His entire family will sing forever in the presence of our Savior. And what a choir that will be! Hallelujah! Glory to the newborn King! Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for loving us so much. Help us to look beyond our physical differences and to realize that we all belong to you. Amen. Written by Jacob C. Schneider (Maryland) This is a perfect reminder for all of us, as Christians, both old and young, that what matters is not our differences (not size, shape, gender, age... ) but our relationship with God and with one another as His children - the two most important commandments - to love God and to love one another. Going forward into the New Year, may we all come together, to build up the Kingdom of God and each other, ALL AS THE FAMILY OF/THE CO-HEIRS WITH CHRIST, cherishing the Gift of our Savior that God has given us! Amen. In Celebration of the birth of our Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ, view our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service here: https://youtube/watch?v=roRDKeGGz3M&feature=em-uploademail
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 13:42:54 +0000