Author: princessleah

As the world stops today to open presents, and have a day off of work, let’s focus in on Jesus. Here is His birth announcement from Luke Chapter 2:1-20 from The Message.
The Birth of Jesus. About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel. An Event for Everyone. There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
Have a blessed, holy, special, meaningful, and peaceful Christmas Day! Blessings and love from my family to yours.

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John 1:14-16 The Word made flesh
Its Christmas Eve. One of my favorite days of the year! Today, many years ago, a young couple found a place to stay in a stable, and their little baby was born. Under the light of a new star, the shepherds on the hillside nearby, heard from angels in the night time sky sing the heavenly song, glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to men. Would anyone have guessed after seeing the baby for the first time in these surrounding, or hearing his first baby sounds, that this baby was God’s own Son. This baby was the promised one. This baby would change the world. This baby was born for a cause. His purpose began in the Father’s heart, was conceived in a womb, and was birthed to the earth, to be lifted up on a cross.

Jesus came to earth for you and me. He is the word made flesh, God with us, the gift of God, the prince of Peace, and the light of the world. His life bought Light to our world. His was the very essence of heaven, come to earth, to become all we would ever need by making a way for us to know the Father. The angels proclaimed the news. Light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings. Mild he lay his glory by, born that men no more may die, born to save the sons of earth, born to give us a second birth. He was the way to the Father. Through him we can be saved. Through the Word made flesh, we can know the peace that passes understanding, and experience LIFE, the abundant, zoe life of God.

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Matt 2:9-12 Wise men fell and worshiped
Phil 4:7 God’s peace shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace, which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount a guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. How can we experience that tranquil state of soul, that peace that passes understanding in a world that is stressed out? One of the best things to do, during the holiday and really anytime is to speak peace to your soul. Jesus spoke to the storm, and He speaks peace to us through His Word. We can remind ourselves of his words and speak peace to our inner man, to silence the turmoil, or even the feeling that things are out of control. Doesn’t it do your heart good to know that everything is going to be ok? Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that fact. God is our provider, protector and promoter. He is taking care of us. We know that even if the enemy attacks us, what the devil intends for evil, God can still turn it around for our good. So say to yourself, soul, be still. Speak peace to your inner man, and live fearlessly and victoriously. God has a great plan for your life and it is full of the peace that only he can give.

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It is week four of Advent, and this week’s theme is Prince of Peace. As we begin the last count down to Christmas, I hope you are living in the peace of God. Jesus came to bring peace to this earth, and as believers we can truly know the peace that passes all understanding. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. This week I hope you continue to read along with the Advent Bible Reading guide available online at agf.org. My hope and prayer is that every Christian would become diligent Bible readers! We experience peace in His Word, and in His presence, so take time this week to be still in the peace of God. Lay hurry and worry aside, and breathe in His peace. Here is your daily eword…..let’s celebrate the Prince of Peace.

Matt 2:7-8 Find this babe
It was a peaceful, silent night when Jesus was born. I bet there was a holy hush in the stable. With amazing awe the shepherd and the wise men came to worship this new little babe, called the Prince of Peace. Jesus came to be bring peace….to our hearts, to our families, to our world. We think of him as a peacekeeper, but do you know you are one too? You can be a peacekeeper. That’s who we are as believers. We are called to keep peace! The Bible tells us repeatedly to seek peace and to pursue it. We are called the salt of the earth, and one of the things salt does is preserve things. We are a preservative in this world’s system. When everyone else is in turmoil, unset, or living in chaos, we are the ones who set the standard of peace. We know a soft answer turns away wrath. We know that we don’t have to have the last word. We know that we don’t always have to state our opinion, when we know it will bring a conflicting view. We do know that we can raise the standard of righteousness by how we respond and react in any situation. We don’t fight fire with fire! We are called to bring peace, and because the Prince of Peace has come, we get to bring his message and live his message everywhere we go. So why not bring a higher level of peace to each situation you enter. Remember what Jesus came to do. He came to bring peace on earth. He brought joy to the whole world, and came as the prince of peace. Let him reign in your heart and life. You are called to peace!

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Matt 2:3-6 A special baby in an unlikely town
Isn’t it interesting that the chief priests and scribes were brought together and demanded to know where Christ would be born. Something was up for sure, the new star, and wise men questioning where the baby was born. How unlikely that a royal baby would be born in an ordinary town like Bethlehem. The important rulers knew what the prophesies foretold. Out of this little town would come the ruler of Israel. Jesus was a threat to them, even as a baby. Isn’t this an amazing example of the power there is, even in a small seed. If we think about the faith of a mustard seed, a very tiny seed can grow to be a huge plant. Here was a tiny little baby, who would grow up to change the world forever. Our faith can grow, from little faith, to great faith! God planted His best seed, and the mighty harvest that would result would be a way for those who were lost to be saved. He literally was born to die, and live again, so that we can live the amazing abundant life that Jesus promised to us.

Here is a Prayer for the Week: Father, In Jesus’ Name, Thank you for the great joy that came with the angel’s proclamation of the birth of our Savior. Thank you for using unlikely people in unlikely places in the past and present to see Your will be done on earth. Your glory is what I seek, and I glorify the baby born to be a gift from you to the earth and to me personally. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

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Matt 2:1-2 We have seen His star
I have a sign I put out during Christmas time near a nativity scene that says, Wise Men Still Seek Him. The wise men in the Christmas story noticed a change in the atmosphere. These three wise men were seekers. There was a new star in the sky, and they asked where is he who is born to be King of the Jews? My first question is how would they know that the star for for a baby, and my second question would be, how did they know who He was? No internet, phone system, not even Morse Code. God put a sign in the sky, and they knew it meant something spectacular was taking place. They started a journey to see this one, and their whole intention was to worship Him. Worship is a lifestyle, and we can worship anywhere, but most of the time we think worship happens at church. If we took the same approach as the wise men toward seeking God in the sanctuary, we wouldn’t just haphazardly saunter into church after the first couple of songs were done. We would be the first ones there, ready to worship, because we had lived a life of worship during the week. Wise men today are seekers. In fact, they seek God first. They don’t lean on their own understanding, but they have God on the top of their list. During this season of Advent, determine to be a seeker. Seek God with your whole heart, and you will find Him, and be found in Him.

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Micah 5:2-5 From a little town of Bethlehem
It is interesting to look up famous people who grew up in little towns. My husband grew up in a town of about 3,000 people in eastern Colorado. His pastor moved there when my husband Lynn was 7 years old, and began a church in his community. The church grew to reach over 10% of the community, and at their 25 year anniversary, there were 29 full time ministers around the world from that wonderful church in that very small town. Some of them have international ministries that have impacted the world, from that very little dot on the map in eastern Colorado. The Bible tells us not to despise small beginnings, and we should never underestimate what God can do through people who are committed to reaching the lost for the kingdom of God, even from an unlikely place on our globe. One of my good friends, Wendy Treat, who speaks all over the world and has international influence, came from a little town of Wenatchee, Washington. Someone very special come from the little town of Bethlehem, the city of David. He was the gift of God, and though His birthplace was a little town, his influence has circled the globe, and has carried on for centuries. No one on earth deserves the praises that we bring to Him, the Son of God, born to a virgin, in the place that was prophesied long before, the little town of Bethlehem.

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Luke 2:19-20 Shepherds glorify God
Oh come let us adore Him. I love this line from the chorus in Oh Come all Ye Faithful. The shepherds were invited to come into the presence of God and adore the new born savior. The word adore has such intimate connotations. It is wonderful to feel adored. That means that someone cherishes you. They think you are valuable and precious. They love to be around you. As faithful worshippers, when we come to adore Jesus, the perfectly wonderful Gift of God, we are saying we cherish, we honor and value Him. He is precious to us. We love to be in His presence. Because we know that God is love, we get to receive Jesus, the gift from God, as a gift of love. He cherishes, values, and adores us so much more than we could ever lavish our love back on Him. As you honor God this season of Advent, try to visualize how you can show Him that you cherish, value, and love Him. He loved us first, and placed His love on the inside of us, so we can share it with those around us. Remember to tell the ones in your world how valuable and precious they are to you. And remember to show His love even to those who you don’t know.

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Luke 2:15-18 The shepherds heard it first
Don’t you hate to be the last to know some important news? You feel like you were left out of the loop and missed out. There were some unusual people on God’s list to be in the loop when some amazing news needed to be announced! The birth announcement of Jesus coming to earth was sent to shepherds on the hillside, caring for their sheep in the middle of the night. It is interesting that God would tell them first. It proves in a beautiful way that no one is insignificant. If ever we think we are insignificant, think back to the night when Jesus was born. The people who were important in government or culture were not the ones who got the inside scoop about a new king being born. It was people who the world may think are insignificant, that not only heard the news first, but were the first ones to come and find the sweet babe who was lying in a manger. Ordinary people were on top of God’s list, and we still are. He loves each of us individually, even those of us without high rank, or many degrees after our name. What a beautiful gift was given on the night Jesus was born. We don’t have to feel left out of the loop, or in the dark, because the Jesus was born to bring light to the world. God calls us into His Presence. The shepherds heard it first, and now we can be the first to enter into God’s presence because now we are His sheep and we know His voice.

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Luke 2:13-14 Glory to God in the highest
What is your favorite Christmas Carol? I was asked that recently, and I have so many favorites, it is hard to nail it down. Near the top of the list is Oh Holy Night. We sing that every Christmas Eve at the Candle light service at our church. I love to hear my husband’s beautiful voice sing out…..fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices, o night divine, which Christ was born, o night divine, o night divine. It was a divine night, when truly heaven bent low and kissed the earth. Jesus was the kiss of heaven! He was God’s love delivered to the earth. The angels sang out and the heavens rang with praise to the newborn king. As you sing or listen to your favorite carols this season, like Silent Night, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in the Manger, The First Noel, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, and Joy to the World, remember the awesome gift that came to earth, and was serenaded by a host of angels singing glory to God in the highest. Thank God for the precious gift of Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer and our friend. Glory to God in the Highest.

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