Christmas Countdown, TV Schedule and Quick Thought – Tuesday, December 5, 2023

20 Days Until Christmas!

Song: “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire),” by Nat King Cole
Christmas Album: “Merry Christmas,” by Johnny Mathis
Christmas DVD: “Four Christmases”
Netflix Movie: “Christmas Love”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Christmas in Mississippi”
Disney+ Movie: “Prep & Landing” and “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice”
Hulu Movie: “A Merry Christmas Wish”
Hallmark Movie: “A Christmas Duet”
On TV:
New Programming in Bold
• “The Polar Express,” 4 p.m., AMC
• “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” 4 p.m., Freeform
• “A Royal Christmas Crush,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Elf,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Home Alone,” 6 p.m., Freeform
• “My Norwegian Holiday,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., AMC
• “Our Christmas Mural,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 8:30 p.m., Freeform
• “TMZ’s Merry Elfin’ Christmas,” 9:02 p.m., FOX
• “A Magical Christmas Village,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
Recipe: Green Bean Casserole

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Philippians 2:1-10

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth…“
Philippians 2:8-10

Reflect
Who is the richest most powerful person that comes to your mind? These days, it might be Bill Gates or Donald Trump. Let’s go with Bill. (He is one of the richest men in the world, and he’s a lot less recognizable and less controversial than the former president…)

There are times when I’d like $100. Put a capital B on the end of that and you have Bill Gates. Yes, he’s worth more than $100 billion. (Actually, $117 billion at the last estimate.) The man wants for nothing. He lives in a 66,000-foot mansion called Xanadu 2.0 that has an underwater music system and artwork that changes on the wall at the touch of a button. He’s on top of the world and will be for the rest of his life.

Now, imagine that Bill Gates decides to do away with all of that. One day he simply disappears, leaving a note that he is going away to live a simpler life. He uses some of his money to give himself a new face and invite a new persona. Several months later, this new man appears – Tom Smith. He has a job making just enough money to make ends meet. He eats junk food. He drives an old used car.

Who would do that? I doubt Bill Gates would and I wouldn’t either.

But that’s what Jesus did, but He gave up infinitely more than if He was someone like Bill Gates or Elon Musk. He gave up the greatest riches ever known, even Heaven itself, to come and live among us. And it wasn’t just a social experiment. He did it so that at the end of a perfect life He could give that life up so that we would have a way to spend eternity with Him. His sacrifices – both in Heaven and on Earth – are our ticket to Heaven.

When you look at the manger this Christmas, take a look both backward and forward. Look at where that baby’s journey started and ended. It started at the right hand of God in Heaven. And it ended nailed to a rough-hewn cross. Those are some sacrifices worth taking to heart, and definitely worth thanking God for.