Christmas Countdown and Quick Thought – Wednesday, December 23, 2020

2 Days Until Christmas!

Song: “O Holy Night,” by Andy Williams
Christmas Album: “Now That’s What I Call Country Christmas” by Various Artists
Christmas DVD: “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)
Netflix Movie: “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
Amazon Prime Movie: “The Christmas Candle”
Disney+ Movie: “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas”
Hulu Movie: “Girlfriends of Christmas Past”
Hallmark Movie: “A Christmas Comeback”
On TV:
• College Football: New Orleans Bowl, Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern, 3 p.m., ESPN
• “Saving Santa,” 3 p.m., FXM
• “Fred Claus,” 3:30 p.m., AMC
• “The Santa Clause 2,” 3:35 p.m., Freeform
• “Christmas in Rome,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Christmas on the Vine,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “Santa Hunters,” 4 p.m., Nickelodeon
• “Austin & & Jessie Ally All-Star New Year,” 4:25 p.m., Disney
• “The Best Man Holiday,” 5 p.m., BET
• “The Snowy Day,” 5:30 p.m., DisneyXD
• “Four Christmases,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Cross Country Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “The Christmas High Note,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” 6:05 p.m., Freeform
• “Last Christmas,” 6:15 p.m., HBO2
• “Kung Fu Panda Holiday,” 6:30 p.m., DisneyXD
• “The Star,” 6:35 p.m. and 8:20 p.m., FXM
• “FX’s A Christmas Carol,” 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., FX
• College Football: Montgomery Bowl, Memphis vs. FAU, 7 p.m., ESPN
• “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” 8 p.m., CBS
• “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 8 p.m., ABC
• “Silent Night: A Song for the World,” 8 p.m., CW
• “Elf,” 8 p.m., AMC
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 8:10 p.m., Freeform
• “Christmas Next Door,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “Christmas at the Castle,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “Our OWN Celebration (Christmas),” 8 p.m., OWN
• “Meet Me in St. Louis,” 8 p.m., TCM
• “Garth & Trisha Live: A Holiday Concert Event,” 9 p.m., CBS
• “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” 9 p.m., ABC
• “The Preacher’s Wife,” 9 p.m., OWN
• “Disney Channel Holiday House Party,” 9:30 p.m., Disney
• “The Polar Express,” 10 p.m., AMC
• “The Nine Lives of Christmas,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “Feliz NaviDAD,” 10:03 p.m., Lifetime
• “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 10:50 p.m., Freeform
Recipe: Perfect Cranberry Sauce

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Luke 2:8-17

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
Luke 2:15-16

Reflect

Have you ever gotten some very good advice to do something, but held up from doing it because you just weren’t ready. I can’t count the times that I should have done something, only to find out later that I missed the chance; had I acted, I would have benefitted in a significant way.

Imagine if you had $1,000 to invest on August 19, 2004, the day that Google released its initial public offering. A friend told you that it was a can’t miss investment, but instead of investing, you held on to that money because it just seemed too risky. That $1,000 would have gotten you about 12 shares of stock. But instead, you buried it under a rock. Today, your $1,000 would be worth about $1,300, adjusted for inflation. But if you’d bought just 12 shares of Google back then, your stock value today would be roughly $20,600. If only you’d moved on that unheeded stock tip.

Waiting can be costly if the time to move is right now.

On that first Christmas Eve, shepherds standing in their field were greeted by an angelic host and were told, “There’s something wonderful going on in Bethlehem that you should see!” They had a choice – they could continue to stand there in the field, watching the sheep and getting cold, or they could go and see if the wonderful thing was truly there. Few could have blamed them if they hadn’t gone. After all, it was an outlandish claim made by what could have been attributed to a hallucination.

But these shepherds saw something else. They believed what they had seen, and they decided immediately: “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They didn’t wait, and because of their immediate action, they were eyewitnesses to the most historic birth in the history of the world.

We won’t often be given such amazing spiritual opportunities. But God does frequently call each of us to some sort of action. And each time He does, we have the option to get up and move, or sit and wait it out. In these last two days leading up to Christmas, keep a keen eye and ear out for what God is calling you to do. It may be something as simple as putting a quarter or a dollar in a Salvation Army kettle. Or it may be more. But when He puts something on your heart, don’t wait. Because you may just miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.