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: “Meet Me Next Christmas”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Finding Joy”
Disney+ Movie: “Prep & Landing” , “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” and “Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa”
Hulu Movie: “Catering Christmas”
HBO Max Movie: “A Hollywood Christmas”
Hallmark Movie: “Magic Stocking”
On TV:
New Programming in Bold
• “The Santa Clause,” 5:10 p.m., Freeform
• “The First Noelle,” 5:30 p.m., BET
• “Four Christmases,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Home Alone,” 6 p.m., Disney
• “A Christmas Prayer,” 6 p.m., GAC
• “Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Merry Matrimony,” 6 p.m., Hallmark Drama
• “Northern Lights of Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark Mystery
• “The 12 Days of Christmas Eve,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Polar Express,” 6:13 p.m., WE
• Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison, 7 p.m., ESPN
• Conference-USA Championship: Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State, 7 p.m., CBSSN
• “The Santa Clause 2,” 7:20 p.m., Freeform
• Mountain West Championship: UNLV at Boise State, 8 p.m., FOX
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8 p.m., NBC
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., AMC
• “2025 National Christmas Tree Lighting,” 8 p.m., GAC
• “Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Christmas Shepherd,” 8 p.m., Hallmark Drama
• “A Bramble House Christmas,” 8 p.m., Hallmark Mystery
• “Jingle All the Way to Love,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• American Championship: North Texas at Tulane, 8:07 p.m., ABC
• “Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas,” 9 p.m., Hallmark
• “Once Upon a Christmas Wish,” 9:30 p.m., GAC
• “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” 9:50 p.m., Freeform
• “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “The Christmas Contest,” 10 p.m., Hallmark Mystery
• “A Christmas Cookbook,” 10:03 p.m., Lifetime
Recipe: Green Bean Casserole
Quick Thought for Christmas
Read
“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.
Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
