Christmas Countdown and Quick Thought – Tuesday, December 25, 2018 (Christmas Day)

Merry Christmas!

Song: “All Is Well,” by Michael W. Smith and Carrie Underwood
Christmas Album: “The Music of Christmas,” by Steven Curtis Chapman; “All I Want,” by Steven Curtis Chapman; “Joy,” by Steven Curtis Chapman
Christmas DVD: “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Netflix Movie: “White Christmas”
Amazon Prime Movie: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (B&W version); “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Colorized version)
Feeln Movie: “Christmas in Conway”
On TV:
• “A Christmas Story,” continues all day on TNT until 6 p.m. and TBS until 9 p.m.
• “Scrooged,” continues all day on Starz until 8 p.m.
• Christmas movies throughout the day on Lifetime and Hallmark
• “Jack Frost,” 9:15 a.m., AMC
• “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade,” 10 a.m., ABC
• “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year,” 10:30 p.m., AMC
• “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 11 a.m., Freeform
• “The Year Without a Santa Claus,” 11:45 a.m., AMC
• “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” 12:40 p.m., Freeform
• “The Polar Express,” 1 p.m., AMC
• “Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special,” marathon runs from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m., Comedy
• NBA: Oklahoma City at Houston, 3 p.m., ABC
• “The Santa Clause 2,” 3 p.m., AMC
• “A Christmas Carol (1951),” marathon runs from 3 p.m. until 4 a.m., FXM
• “The Santa Clause,” 4:45 p.m., Freeform
• NBA: Philadelphia at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
• “Elf,” 5:30 p.m., AMC
• “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 5:30 p.m., Disney XD
• “It Happened on Fifth Avenue,” 5:45 p.m., AMC
• “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” 6:50 p.m., Freeform
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 7:30 p.m., AMC
• “How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966),” 8 p.m., NBC
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000),” 8:30 p.m., NBC
• NBA: L.A. Lakers at Golden State, 8 p.m., ESPN
• “Four Christmases,” 8 p.m., HBO
• “Love Actually,” 9 p.m., TNT
• “The Polar Express,” 9:45 p.m., AMC
Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Luke 2:1-20

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Luke 2:19-20

Reflect

This is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible: “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

There was no way that Mary could fully have understood everything that had happened. Just ponder this in your heart.

Earlier in the year, Mary had been a normal Nazarene girl, gathering water from her well. Then came the angel’s visit, and nine months later she was a young, married mother. She was lying with her newborn son in a dirty, filthy stable, surrounded by dirty filthy shepherds who arrived with a story of another angelic visit.

In spite of the surroundings, it was clear that this child was special. The angel told her about Him being the Son of God, but in the months since then, there had to have been moments where it didn’t seem real. But here, on the night of Jesus’ birth, came a story of more angels from strangers.

So Mary received the first Christmas gift ever given: Jesus. She treasured Him and all that had happened. She couldn’t have seen the future and what God was ultimately doing, but she kept them in her heart and mind and “pondered” them, thinking through them carefully and wondering where God would lead them next.

And that’s ultimately where each of us is led on Christmas. God wants us to ponder these things for ourselves and consider what Jesus means to us individually. We all have the facts, and most of us have heard them at least once a year for our entire lives. The evidence is right in front of us. The question is, what does it mean. For you. For me.

More than anything you’ll get in a box or a bag, Jesus is the real treasure of Christmas. God is calling to you through His Son, whose birth we celebrate today. Don’t let the day pass without pondering what His birth, His life, His death mean to you. It may be for the first time, or it may be for the 50th time, but today, His birth is a chance to establish or renew your faith.