MERRY CHRISTMAS
peace on earth
goodwill toward men
all men
the Nice ones
the mean ones
the peaceful ones
the violent ones
keep your eye on the prize
Jesus came down from heaven
He was God, yet CHOSE
to be human
to be fallible
but was not FALLIBLE
he was perfect
our example
No matter what people did to him...
He still CHOSE to be a servant to all
to wash the filth and dirt off of people's feet
he did weird things
like spit in mud & stick it in people's eyes
and He put his fingers in people's ears...
WEIRD
totally unconventional back then, and now
but He was FOR REAL
He healed, changed lives
People CHOSE to follow Him
He did not make them
We have a free will
No one wants to be loved by someone
That is being made to love them...
They want you to CHOSE them
People also CHOSE to walk away from Him
He still loved them
He still died for them...
He loved the most unlovely!!!
He came for us all- we all have a CHOICE
To be like Him
To love the mean, the cruel the ordinary oddballs
To love the people that hurt us...
They don't realize what they are doing
and we must forgive them
because we do it to...
We have a CHOICE to love unconditionally like Jesus did...
We have a CHOICE to choose to follow Jesus and His example
Christmas is a very hard time of year for many,
It certainly is for us...
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But we have this HOPE...this PEACE...this JOY that we should not have...
We have this HOPE as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure.
This Hope enters the inner sanctuary.... behind the curtains
So you all have probably seen the Wizard of Oz right?
Man behind the curtain, you could not see him,
but you could hear him,
he was all powerful
and did things for you
and to you......it was a sham....
Well in the Old Testament days,
There was a thick curtain that shielded
the Israelites from the Holy of Holies-
The place where they kept the Ark of The Covenant-
Which was a trunk, for lack of better words,
that housed God's Spirit...
so in essence, you were separated from God by a curtain
It was a most sacred room,
A place no ordinary person or ordinary oddball could enter
You had to be clean, spotless, pure to enter past the curtain
NO ONE except the high priest could enter
And he could only enter once a year!
Anyone else who entered the Holy of Holies would DIE.
HARSH
It was not great for a lot of people who thought maybe they were good enough,
clean enough...
...they got zapped or disintegrated...
kinda like in Raiders of the Lost Ark-
if you have seen it...
remember when the German guy wanted to open the Ark,
They do a ceremony & open it &
it appears to
contain nothing but sand.
but suddenly, angelic beings emerge
from the Ark
and float around the people
Indiana knows the Bible & its history
& warns his girlfriend to SHUT HER EYES
suddenly those angels angels of death.
a huge vortex flame appears above the Ark
& like an atomic bomb
swallows up the nazi's...
heads explode,
bodies shrivel in flames, faces are melted...
they are all doomed and die
except Indy & his girlfriend
So it was probably like that- but worse in real life
But in all seriousness..
To be in God's presence- was a scary thing
A sacred thing, not to be taken lightly
A privileged thing, denied to all but one...
Until Jesus Came
When Jesus died, the Bible says that that Veil was torn!
His body was the veil
He was torn for us to have immediate access to God
and His Holy Spirit and its power!
So now we can have pure uninterrupted intimacy with Him
We can access Him anytime,
He never leaves us
He is with us literally-
ALWAYS
We can now boldly enter into God’s presence,
“The inner sanctuary behind
the curtain,
where Jesus,
who went before us,
has entered on our
behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)
THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS
LIFE AND LIFE ABUNDANT
THAT IS WHY JESUS CAME
THAT IS WHY JESUS DIED
TO BE IN RELATIONSHIP
ONE ON ONE
NO PRIESTS,
CURTAINS,
MANS RULES IN THE WAY
JUST YOU AND JESUS
ASK HIM TODAY....
TO COME IN YOUR HEART
HE WILL GIVE YOU THE SAME HOPE
THAT WE HAVE
TO KEEP WALKING WITH BROKEN LEGS
TO KEEP SINGING IN THE MIDST OF THE TORNADOES
TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON
THE THINGS THAT ARE TO COME-JESUS!
ONE DAY WE WILL BE TOGETHER
AGAIN WITH JESUS,
WITH CALLI
WE CAN'T WAIT
BUT UNTIL THAT FINAL DAY...
WE WILL KEEP HOPING
WE LOVE YOU ALL, MERRY CHRISTMAS
WE LOVE THIS ORTHODOX JEWISH RAPPER
MATISYAHU- "Gift of God"
IF YOU CAN'T DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO ON YOUR PHONE...
LOOK UP THIS SONG ON YOUTUBE :)
MATISYAHU- ONE DAY
Sometimes I lay
Under the moon
And thank God I'm breathing
Then I pray
Don't take me soon
'Cause I am here for a reason
Under the moon
And thank God I'm breathing
Then I pray
Don't take me soon
'Cause I am here for a reason
Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around because...
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around because...
All my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day
It's not about
Win or lose
Because we all lose
When they feed on the souls of the innocent
Blood-drenched pavement
Keep on moving though the waters stay raging
Win or lose
Because we all lose
When they feed on the souls of the innocent
Blood-drenched pavement
Keep on moving though the waters stay raging
In this maze you can lose your way
It might drive you crazy but don't let it faze you no way
Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around because...
All my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day
One day this all will change
Treat people the same
Stop with the violence
Down with the hate
Treat people the same
Stop with the violence
Down with the hate
One day we'll all be free
And proud to be
Under the same sun
Singing songs of freedom like fire
And proud to be
Under the same sun
Singing songs of freedom like fire
All my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day
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