15 Days Until Christmas!
Song:“Mary, Did You Know?” by Pentatonix
Christmas Album: “These Are Special Times,” by Celine Dion
Christmas DVD: “The Muppet Christmas Carol”
Netflix Movie: “Christmas Ranch”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland”
Feeln Movie: “The Road to Christmas”
On TV:
• “Christmas in Evergreen,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Christmas With the Kranks,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 6:30 p.m., FreeForm
• “Christmas Belle,” 7 p.m., ION
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1947),” 7:45 p.m., 9:45 p.m., Sundance
• Sunday Night Football, Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., NBC
• “Sharing Christmas,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Christmas Reunion,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “Elf,” 8:40 p.m., FreeForm
• “A Royal Christmas Ball,” 9 p.m., ION
• “A Gift to Remember,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Very Merry Toy Store,” 10:02 pm., Lifetime
• “Four Christmases,” 10:50 p.m., FreeForm
Recipe: Mulled Cider
Quick Thought for Christmas
Read
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5
Reflect
Izzy simply couldn’t wait for Christmas. All year long, he bugged his Dad, begging him to speed up Christmas and get it here quickly. “How long do I have to wait?” he pleaded, over and over.
“Christmas is coming soon enough,” his Dad told him. “Just be patient.”
Patience, of course, had its limits. After all, he only wanted one thing for Christmas. Most kids had lists a mile long. Izzy just had the one thing. Certainly his folks could make an exception and get it here sooner than December 25.
He couldn’t see that his father had a plan. Izzy’s Dad had gotten the present even before his son had started asking for it, and he knew exactly when he wanted to give it to him – Christmas Eve. He would slip it simply into the house without a lot of fanfare, and place it unwrapped in the living room. And in spite of Izzy’s pleas, that’s exactly what he did.
After church on Christmas Eve, Izzy came home and pleaded once more, “Is it time?” He looked around the living room and saw wrapped presents under the tree. He ran around the living room, looking behind and under everything. But he couldn’t see that the one thing he had asked for was sitting in the middle of the room, right in front of him.
“When the fullness of time had come,” God sent His son. And when He did, the people of Israel who had been crying out for a Savior didn’t recognize that their hopes and promises had been fulfilled. They cried out for centuries, not seeing that God had a plan, and would only unveil it when the time was right to fulfill all of the promises and prophecies about the Messiah.
He has been with us now for more than 2,000 years, and still too many people don’t recognize Him, even though He’s standing right in front of them. Don’t make that mistake this Christmas. Instead of running around and filling your season with busyness, you can find true fulfillment by looking in the one direction that will really fulfill you – Jesus Christ.
Reflection copyright © 2017 by Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
