1 Day Until Christmas!

Song: “Silent Night,” by Frank Sinatra
Christmas Album: “The Music of Christmas,” by Steven Curtis Chapman; “All I Want,” by Steven Curtis Chapman; and “Joy,” by Steven Curtis Chapman
Christmas DVD: “The Nativity Story”
Netflix Movie: “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Arthur Christmas”
Disney+ Movie: “The Santa Clause”
Hulu Movie: “A Very Brady Christmas”
Hallmark Movie: “One Christmas Eve”
On TV:
New programming in bold
• “First Christmas,” 7 a.m., OWN
• “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July,” 7:15 a.m., AMC
• “Wild Kratts: A Creature Christmas,” 7:30 a.m., PBS
• “A Miracle Before Christmas,” 8 a.m., BET
• “A Kismet Christmas,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas,” 8:30 a.m., PBS
• “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year,” 9 a.m., AMC
• “Our OWN Celebration (Christmas),” 9 a.m., OWN
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1994),” 9:30 a.m., Freeform
• “The Christmas Sitters,” 10 a.m., ION
• “Undercover Holiday,” 10 a.m., Hallmark
• “Why the Nativity?” 10 a.m., Lifetime
• “A Sisterly Christmas,” 10 a.m., OWN
• “A Date By Christmas Eve,” 10:59 a.m., Lifetime
• “White Christmas,” 11 a.m., AMC
• “Christmas Party Crashers,” 11 a.m., BET
• “12 Pups of Christmas,” noon, ION
• “A Christmas Carol (2009),” noon, Freeform
• “Hanukkah on Rye,” noon, Hallmark
• “Scrooged,” noon, MTV
• “A Chestnut Family Christmas,” noon, OWN
• “The Shop Around the Corner,” noon, TCM
• “Let’s Meet Again on Christmas Eve,” 12:30 p.m., Lifetime
• “’twas the Night Before Christmas,” 1:45 p.m., AMC
• “It Happened On Fifth Avenue,” 1:45 p.m., TCM
• “Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays,” 2 p.m., ION
• “Arthur Christmas,” 2 p.m., Cartoon Network
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 2 p.m., Freeform
• “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” 2 p.m., Hallmark
• “Reba McIntyre’s Christmas in Tune,” 2 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Great Holiday Bake War,” 2 p.m., OWN
• “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland,” 2:15 p.m., AMC
• “A Christmas Carol (1951),” 2:30 p.m., FXM
• “The Year Without a Santa Claus,” 2:45 p.m., AMC
• “Friends: The One With the Holiday Armadillo,” 3 p.m., TBS
• “The Santa Clauses,” 3:30 p.m., ABC
• NFL Football: Philadelphia at Dallas, 4 p.m., FOX
• “A Beauty and the Beast Christmas,” 4 p.m., ION
• “The Polar Express,” 4 p.m., AMC
• “A Cozy Christmas Inn,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Feliz NaviDAD,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “Baking Christmas,” 4 p.m., OWN
• “Christmas in Connecticut,” 4 p.m., TCM
• “FX’s A Christmas Carol,” 4:20 p.m., FXM
• “Friends: The One With Christmas in Tulsa,” 4:30 p.m., TBS
• “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 4:40 p.m., Freeform
• “Snow Day,” 5:15 p.m., Nickelodeon
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 5:45 p.m., Freeform
• “A Prince and the Pauper Christmas,” 6 p.m., ION
• “Four Christmases,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Love Actually,” 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., BBC
• “Jolly Good Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Dear Christmas,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “Scrooged,” 6 p.m., MTV
• “Cooking Up Christmas,” 6 p.m., OWN
• “Meet Me in St. Louis,” 6 p.m., TCM
• “Frosty the Snowman,” 6:50 p.m., Freeform
• “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas,” 7 p.m., Disney
• “The Santa Clause,” 7:20 p.m., Freeform
• “A Christmas Carol (1951),” 7:50 p.m., FXM
• “Home Alone,” 8 p.m., ABC
• “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 8 p.m., NBC
• “Celebrity LEGO Masters: Holiday Bricktacular,” 8 p.m., FOX
• “Christmas Matchmakers,” 8 p.m., ION
• “Elf,” 8 p.m., AMC
• “Gospel Superfest 2022 Holiday Special,” 8 p.m., BET
• Hawai’i Bowl: Middle Tennessee State vs. San Diego State, 8 p.m., ESPN
• “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., FX
• “A Holiday Spectacular,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “12 Days of Christmas Eve,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Christmas Fumble,” 8 p.m., OWN
• “A Christmas Story,” 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., TBS
• “The Bishop’s Wife,” 8 p.m., TCM
• “O Holy Night: Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 9 p.m., PBS
• “BET Her Presents: David and Tamela Mann’s Holiday Music Celebration,” 9 p.m., BET
• “A Christmas Story,” 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., TNT
• “Christmas … Again?” 9:30 p.m., Disney
• “The Santa Clause 2,” 9:30 p.m., Freeform
• “FX’s A Christmas Carol,” 9:40 p.m., FXM
• “The Search for Secret Santa,” 10 p.m., ION
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 10 p.m., AMC
• “Haul Out the Holly,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “The Great Holiday Bake War,” 10 p.m., OWN
• “A Christmas Carol (1938),” 10 p.m., TCM
• “A Christmas Spark,” 10:03 p.m., Lifetime
• “Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen,” 11 p.m., CNN
• “Friends: The One With the Holiday Armadillo,” 11 p.m., Nickelodeon
• “Friends: The One With Christmas in Tulsa,” 11:30 p.m., Nickelodeon
• “Meet John Doe,” 11:30 p.m., TCM
Recipe: Cider-Brined Turkey with Maple-Cider Glaze

Quick Thought for Christmas 

Read

Matthew 2:1-12

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 2:10

Reflect

I grew up in the church, the son of an Episcopal priest and a worship musician. When the doors were open, I was in church. And yet, when I was 17 years old, I still had not made a personal decision to follow Christ.

The summer before my senior year, my Mom took me to a Christian youth conference where a speaker named Billy Mayo was preaching. That night, everything seemed to click for me. It all made sense. And I had a choice to make – to dismiss what God was putting on my heart or to believe and follow Him.

That night, June 17, 1984, I made my choice – to place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And ever since then, so much changed. The music was the same. The scriptures were the same. The preaching was the same. But it all meant so much more. For the first time in my life, I truly worshiped God, “in spirit and in truth,” as they say.

For me, I first saw the Christmas star in June 1984, and my heart was filled with joy like I’d never know. We’re told that the shepherds and wise men also saw that star when it was in the sky over Bethlehem, and when they saw it – knowing what it truly meant – they “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

If you’re a follower of Christ, you know what that joy is like. But if you aren’t, you’ll never understand how truly wonderful Christmas can be. A Christmas spent following Christ is the most rewarding experience you can possibly have. And for believers, that goes on not just for one day, but every day throughout the year, every year.

This Christmas, give yourself the best Christmas present possible. Seek the star of Christ and let His joy live on in your heart.

Reflection copyright © 2022 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.