Christmas Countdown and Quick Thought – Sunday, December 13, 2020

12 Days Until Christmas!

Song: “Christmastime Is Here,” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
Christmas Album: “Christmas Portrait,” by the Carpenters
Christmas DVD: “Disney’s A Christmas Carol”
Netflix Movie: “The Princess Switch”
Amazon Prime Movie: “The Borrowed Christmas”
Disney+ Movie: “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause”
Hulu Movie: “Married by Christmas”
Hallmark Movie: “A Fairytale Christmas”
On TV:
• “A Royal Christmas Engagement,” 3 p.m., ION
• “Jingle All the Way,” 3:30 p.m., TBS
• “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “Meet Me in St. Louis,” 4 p.m., TCM
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 4:35 p.m., Freeform
• “12 Pups of Christmas,” 5 p.m., ION
• “Beauty and the Beast,” (2017) 5:30 p.m., TNT
• “A Timeless Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Let’s Meet Again on Christmas Eve,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Christmas Sitters,” 7 p.m., ION
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., AMC
• “Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch,” 7 p.m., Disney
• “The Santa Clause,” 7:15 p.m., Freeform
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8 p.m., CBS
• “Christmas Comes Twice,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Sugar & Spice Holiday,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” (1966) 8 p.m., TBS
• Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills, 8:20 p.m., NBC
• “Disney Holiday Magic Quest,” 8:30 p.m., Disney
• “The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf’s Story,” 8:30 p.m., TBS
• “A Golden Christmas,” 9 p.m., ION
• “The Grinch,” 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., FX
• “Disney Channel Holiday House Party,” 9:25 p.m., Disney
• “The Santa Clause 2,” 9:25 p.m., Freeform
• “Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “Secrets in the Snow,” 10 p.m., Lifetime Movie
• “A Very Charming Christmas Town,” 10:04 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Firehouse Christmas,” 11 p.m., ION
• “Four Christmases,” 11 p.m., AMC
Recipe: Blueberry Peach Frozen Salad

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Zechariah 9:9-13

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9

Reflect

God is very good about telling us what to expect. That was the major role for Old Testament prophets – bringing messages about God’s plans and purposes for the future. And when it came to the Messiah, God painted a very clear picture about what He would look like.

But in spite of God’s prophetic messages, people have consistently managed to overlook God’s plans and instead place their own expectations on Him. Today’s scripture is a great point.

The people of Israel desperately wanted a deliverer – someone who would overthrow and destroy their oppressors. They looked for a regal king who would be a warlike Messiah who would exact revenge for the hundreds and hundreds of years that they were kept in submission to people who had nothing but contempt for them.

But who did God tell them to look for? A good and righteous king who would come riding on a donkey.

That’s an important image because, throughout the Old Testament, kings who rode on horses brought war. But kings who rode on donkeys always brought peace. And God was telling them to expect a peaceful king who was gentle and kind.

Jesus started out life in peace and humility, and when he entered Jerusalem a few decades later, he was the prophetic picture of peace and humility – riding on a donkey. (Matthew 21)

Today, spend at least a few minutes thinking about the peace that Jesus brings to your life. If you don’t have any peace, pray for just that. And pray that the peace of Christ will reside in you throughout this Christmas season so that you can have a truly joyous celebration on Christmas Day.