18 Days Until Christmas!
(Note: This is also Pearl Harbor Day.)
Song: “Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Steven Curtis Chapman
Christmas Album: “Finally It’s Christmas” by Hanson
Christmas DVD: “The Bishop’s Wife”
Netflix Movie: “Pete’s Christmas”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Christmas in Wonderland”
Feeln Movie: “Falling for Christmas”
On TV:
• “Toy Story 2,” 5:15 p.m., Freeform
• “The Year Without a Santa Claus,” 5:45 p.m. and 10 
p.m., AMC
• “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas,” 6 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “Dear Santa,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Christmas Cottage,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Christmas Story,” 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., TBS
• “Bad Santa,” 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., WGN
• “Toy Story 3,” 7:20 p.m., Freeform
• “Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You,” 8 p.m., AMC
• “Christmas Lost and Found,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “Mingle All the Way,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “The Christmas Pact,” 10 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Sweetest Christmas,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
Recipe: The Best Bread Pudding
Quick Thought for Christmas
Read
God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:31
Reflect
The right hand has always meant something special, not only in scripture but throughout history. In the Middle East, even apart from Israel, we know that the right side of the throne signified strength and power. In Genesis, when Jacob placed his right hand on Manasseh, and his left on Ephraim, he followed that by saying that Manasseh would be greater and more powerful than his brother. In medieval times, knights would show their right hand to prove that they weren’t armed and that they could be trusted. Today, that has been passed down into our handshakes, and in modern military salutes.
After Jesus died and rose from the dead, we read in Acts that God “exalted” him – basically, raising him to the position of greatest authority – and proved it by placing Jesus at his right hand. Being at the right hand of God allowed Jesus then, and allows him to this day, to give both repentance and forgiveness of sins. This means that Jesus was the means to salvation because repentance – turning from your sins – is necessary before those sins can be truly forgiven.
The amazing thing is that Jesus started out at the right hand of God. He had His place at God’s side from the beginning of time. But when the time came, He gave up that place in order to walk as a man, die the death of a man and be buried in a man’s tomb. Living a sinless life and dying a horrible death, He earned that seat at God’s right hand back, simply by being perfect – something none of us could do. And being there with that sinless track record, He now has even more power and authority to grant us entry into God’s presence.
If you haven’t already done it, the best Christmas gift you can gift yourself is to accept Jesus’ sacrifice into your heart so that you can one day walk the path that Jesus paved for us. Please don’t let another Christmas go by without fully understanding all of the things He sacrificed for us, and without owning them personally.
Reflection copyright © 2018 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.
