17 Days Until Christmas!
Song: “Silver Bells,” by Tony Bennett
Christmas Album: “Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship,” by Chris Tomlin
Christmas DVD: “Joyeux Noel”
Netflix Movie: “Christmas Inheritance”
Amazon Prime Movie: “The Winter Palace”
Disney+ Movie: “Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas!”
Hulu Movie: “Christmas on the Farm”
Hallmark Movie: “Deliver by Christmas”
On TV:
New Programming in Bold
• “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” 3:40 p.m., Freeform
• “Almost Christmas,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Mistletoe and Menorahs,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1994),” 5:10 p.m. and 10 p.m., FXM
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 5:40 p.m., Freeform
• “The Polar Express,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Everything Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Planes, Trains and Christmas Trees,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “College Football Awards,” 7 p.m., ESPN
• “Elf,” 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., AMC
• “Magic in Mistletoe,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Country Christmas Story,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “Frozen,” 8:20 p.m., Freeform
• “Mary Berry’s Ultimate Christmas,” 10 p.m., PBS
• “This Christmas,” 10 p.m., E!
• “Christmas in Notting Hill,” 10:01 p.m., Hallmark
• “Christmas Plus One,” 10:03 p.m., Lifetime
• “Frozen 2,” 10:50 p.m., Freeform
Recipe: Slow Cooker Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Quick Thought for Christmas
Read
Psalm 72
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
Psalm 72:11
Reflect
We live in a world where a lot of “lip service” is paid to God, but not a lot of true homage and devotion is given to Him. If you read the Bible, it doesn’t say you show your love for the Lord by showing up in church now and then and reading your Bible when the mood strikes you. Instead, we’re supposed to show God our love for Him by living according to His principles every day.
The lack of reverence for God is no more apparent than in the halls of government. And if you look back at the history of kings and queens, you’ll find that most of them – even though they were supposedly chosen by “divine right” (meaning that God hand-picked them for the job) – lived like they were God. A good example is King Henry VIII, who reformed the Church of England during the great Reformation of the 1500s. He supposedly was devout in his faith, and yet he still used the Church to justify divorces and executions so that he could find a wife to produce a male heir to the throne. Henry didn’t bend to God’s will as much as he used his authority to bend God’s Church to his will.
Today’s Psalm says that ultimately, all kings and queens – even the entire world – will kneel before God and serve Him. Paul, in Philippians, said pretty much the same thing: “…so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
In the long run, every person who has ever lived will have to admit that God is King and that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. During this Christmas season, one of my favorite images is one of Santa Claus kneeling at a manger scene outside of a home. It bridges the gap between the over-emphasis on Santa Claus and the missing emphasis on the birth of Jesus. It also fits perfectly with Psalm 72 and Philippians 2 – that everyone, even Santa Claus, will ultimately submit to the Lord.
If you haven’t already, start today to place Jesus at the center of your Christmas season. In the altar of your heart, make sure that you don’t find reindeer, snowmen or a fat man in a red suit, but instead a child born to be the Savior of us all.
Reflection copyright © 2023 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.
