Remembering the Glad Tidings // Days 21-29

~ Wonder ~

𝑾𝑶𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 (𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆)𝑻𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

𝑾𝑶𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 (𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏) 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒚, 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅, 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒘, 𝒖𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆, 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕, 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅; 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒚, 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.

𝑾𝑶𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.

I wonder as I wander out under the sky, how Jesus the Savior did come for to die. For poor on’ry people like you & like I…

Born to die.

The Prince of the kings of the earth.

The spotless Son of God.

Born to die.

Born to live a life lower than the angels.

Born to misery, poverty, simplicity, humbleness, shame, dislike, aloneness, pain, grief.

Born to be broken.

Born for US.

Guilty, vile, helpless we.

Full atonement—can it be?

What wonder.

Immanuel has come to thee.

~ Star ~

“𝒲𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓈𝑜 𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓎; 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑒 𝒹𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑒 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝑒𝒹, 𝒶𝓈 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒, 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓌𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇 𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈:”

Stars.

We all love stars.

We’re all fascinated by stars.

Seemingly infinite in number. Far beyond our ken. Dizzying us with their immensity. Beguiling us with their beauty.

Only God could fathom stars. 

He is wise in heart, & mighty in strength: He commandeth the sun, & it riseth not; & sealeth up the stars. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, & treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, & Pleiades, & the chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, & wonders without number.

The heavens declare the glory of God; & the firmament sheweth His handywork.

But stars don’t just show God’s glory.

A star heralded the coming of the Star of Jacob.

A star lead the wise men to the Ruler of heaven & earth.

But the star doesn’t just speak of Jesus’ nativity.

“He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, I will give him the morning star.”

Stars can also remind us of Christ’s return. Of eternity. Of rewards. Of crowns.

The star announces the birth of the Saviour, but the star can also remind us of the return of the King.

He is coming.

Be a light in the darkness.

Walk in the light instead of in the darkness.

Be a star for Him.

~ Wise Men ~

𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭; 𝐬𝐨, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐞. 

𝑾𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆; 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒂𝒓, 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 & 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒓 &  𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓.

𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯’𝐧 & 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞; 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭.

𝑩𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒂 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒎’𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏—𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏.

𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 & 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐲, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐞, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯’𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 

𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑰; 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔 𝒂 𝑫𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉; 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 & 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉.

𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬, 𝐞𝐯’𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐲, &, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞.

𝑶 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒉𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

~ King ~

Prince of the kings of the earth.

God also hath highly exalted Him, & given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, & things in earth, & things under the earth; & that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

His name is JESUS. He is great, & is called the Son of the Highest: & the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: & He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; & of His kingdom there shall be no end.

The Lord Himself has given you a sign: a virgin has conceive, & born a son, & His name is called Immanuel—God with us. & the government shall be upon His shoulder: & His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government & peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, & upon His kingdom, to order it, & to establish it with judgment & with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts WILL perform this.

He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, & reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. & righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, & faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 

& many nations shall come, & say, Come, & let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, & to the house of the God of Jacob; & he will teach us of his ways, & we will walk in his paths: & he shall judge among many people, & rebuke strong nations afar off; & they shall beat their swords into plowshares, & their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine & under his fig tree; & none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, & we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever & ever.

~ Ponder ~

𝒯𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝒾𝑔𝒽 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹; 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒾𝓇𝒸𝓊𝓂𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉, 𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉 𝒶 𝒹𝑒𝒸𝒾𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃.

It’s a day of hurry.

It’s a day of chaos.

It’s a day with lots of interaction.

It’s a day with lots of gifts & food.

It’s a day of physical things.

But don’t forget why we have this day.

Because Jesus came to save our souls.

The un-physical.

The important.

It’s a day of eternal things that won’t pass away.

It’s a day of spiritual things.

Stop.

Ponder why you’re celebrating today.

Ponder why you’re giving & receiving gifts.

Ponder why you can still have hope & joy in all the pain.

Ponder why Jesus came.

Ponder what really matters.

Ponder.

~ Jerusalem ~

𝕆 𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕞, 𝕁𝕖𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕞, 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕖, 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕪 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕙 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕟𝕤 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥!

When Herod heard about Jesus’ birth, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Jerusalem has a long history in the bible as a place of wickedness. A place where idolatry and wrong-doing ran rampant. The prophets are full of prophecies against Jerusalem. She was God’s holy city, and yet…

How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Jerusalem wanted nothing to do with the Messiah. She wanted nothing to do with God. She was after gain & profit. She wanted a religion that satisfied her conscience, but she was not interested in Jesus.

It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 

How many of us are as Jerusalem?

How many are troubled when we hear of Jesus, because we want to keep Him far away from us?

How many of us have defiled His temple?

How many of us refuse to be brought under His wings?

How many of us fell from faithful cities into harlots?

How many do we know who are like this?

Don’t be a Jerusalem.

Don’t be a Capernaum either, for thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

We are of the New Jerusalem. Live like it.

~Adore~

𝑻𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆; 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔, 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈; 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐; 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, & riches, & wisdom, & strength, & honour, & glory, & blessing.

Bless the Lord, O my soul: & all that is within me, bless His holy name. Forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

For the Lord is a great God, & a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land.

O Lord, how great are Thy works! & Thy thoughts are very deep.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon & the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? & the son of man, that Thou visitest him?

I will sing of Thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning: for Thou hast been my defence & refuge in the day of my trouble.

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty, & in his temple doth every one speak of His glory. The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.

The earth is the Lord’s, & the fulness thereof; the world, & they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, & established it upon the floods.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; & the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong & mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!

~Gifts~

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒎: 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔; 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚𝒓𝒓𝒉.

What treasures do I have?

What treasures am I laying up on earth?

What treasures am I storing up in heaven? 

What treasures am I denying Jesus?

What gifts am I presenting Him with?

What rich, valuable gold?

What beautiful, sweet-smelling perfume?

What talents that He has entrusted with me am I making into more?

𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕤𝕒𝕪, 𝕎𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕟𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕗𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤: 𝕨𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕕𝕦𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠.