Saturday Poetry Corner: Heaven Cannot Hold Him ("In The Bleak Midwinter")

 

"But the angel said to them, Fear not! For behold I bring you
glad tidings of great joy which shall be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David 
 a Savior Who is Christ the Lord."
(Luke 2:10-11)

Sweet Dreams In The Manger

Greg Collins Artist

 Image courtesy: Jesus Is The Christ Prints/ via Pinterest

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter

Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him

Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When He comes to reign:

In the bleak midwinter

A stable-place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty

Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim

Worship night and day,

A breastful of milk

And a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels

Fall down before,

The ox and ass and camel

Which adore.

Angels and archangels,

May have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim

Thronged the air;

But only His mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshipped the Beloved

With a kiss.

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring Him a lamb,

If I were a Wise Man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him

Give my heart.

Christina Georgina Rossetti
(1830-1894)
English Christian poetess and
writer of religious devotionals
Portrait by her brother
Dante Gabriel Rossetti

"Heaven Cannot Hold Him"
("In The Bleak Mid-Winter")
(1872)
Christina Rossetti

Flashback Friday: If Every Day Was Like Christmas

 

Elvis, Priscilla, and Lisa Marie Presley

Image courtesy/E! News

A beautiful Christmas song and the powerful voice of the undisputed king
 of rock n' roll brings back so many great memories of the America which used to be!

If Every Day Was Like Christmas

(1966)

Elvis Presley

Shocking! What Does Hannukah Teach About The Anti-Christ?

 

Behold... a story of light overcoming darkness...

The Miracle of Hannukah!

Shocking!

What Does Hannukah Teach About The Anti-Christ?

Israel My Channel

(December 19, 2024)

What Grace, O Lord, And Beauty Shone

 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me."
(Psalm 51:10)

Image courtesy/Pinterest

What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone

Around Thy steps below!

What patient love was seen in all

Thy life and death of woe.

For, ever on Thy burdened heart

A weight of sorrow hung;

Yet no gentle, murmuring word

Escaped Thy silent tongue.

Thy foes might hate, despise, and revile,

Thy friends unfaithful prove;

Unwearied in forgiveness still,

Thy heart could only love.

O give us hearts to love like Thee!

Like Thee, O Lord, to grieve

Far more for others' sins than all

The wrongs that we receive.

One with Thyself, may every eye

In us, Thy brethren, see

The gentleness and grace that spring

From union, Lord, with Thee.

"What Grace, O Lord, And Beauty Shone"
(1839)
 Sir Edward Denny, 4th Baronet of Tralee
(1796-1889)
Anglo-Irish Baronet and composer of hymns.
He was associated with the Plymouth Brethren.

Thursday's Thoughts: Jesus Ahatonhia (Jesus Is Born)

 

"And many nations shall come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths."  For the law shall go forward from Zion,
And the word of the LORD, the revelation about Him and His truth from Jerusalem."
(Micah 4:2)

Image courtesy/Amazon

'Twas in the moon of wintertime

When all the birds had fled,

That Mighty Gitchi Manitou

Sent angel-choirs instead;

Before their light the stars grew dim,

and wond'ring hunters heard the hymn-

Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born,

In excelsis gloria.

Within a lodge of broken bark

The tender babe was found,

A ragged robe of rabbit skin

enwrapp'd His beauty round;

But as the hunter braves drew nigh,

The angel song rang loud and high-

Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born,

In excelsis gloria.

The earlies moon of wintertime

Is not so round and fair

As was the ring of glory on

The helpless Infant there.

The Chiefs from far before Him knelt

With gifts of fox and beaver pelt-

Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born,

In excelsis gloria.

O children of the forest free,

O sons of Manitou,

The Holy Child of earth and Heav'n

Is born to day for you.

Come kneel before the radiant Boy,

Who brings you beauty, peace, and joy-

Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born,

In excelsis gloria.

Said to be Canada's first Christmas carol, the lovely "Jesus Ahatonhia"
("Jesus Is Born") also known as the Huron Carol, was written  for the Huron Indians
 in their own language by French Jesuit Father Jean de Briebeuf (1593-1649)
 who lived among them as a missionary.  The carol was first sung in 1642.  

 Canadian journalist/ historian Jesse Edgar "J.E." Middleton (1872-1960)
translated the carol to English in 1926.

Mama's Fudge

 

What's better than good ole simple fudge?

The delightful Diane Leary shares her recipe for delicious homemade fudge!

Mama's Fudge

MeMe's Recipes

December 18, 2024

Wednesday's Word: Sentinel Of God

 

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end;
it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait earnestly for it,
because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day."
(Habakkuk 2:3)

"For still a little while, a very little while, and the Coming One will come
and He will not delay.  But the just shall live by faith, My righteous servant
shall live by his conviction respecting man's relationship to God and divine
things, and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it; and if he draws back
and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him.  But our way is
not of those who draw back to eternal misery, perdition, and are utterly destroyed,
but we are those who believe, who cleave to and trust in and rely on God
through Jesus Christ the Messiah and by faith preserve the soul."
(Hebrews 10: 37-39)

Habakkuk  The Sentinel Of God

(1930)

Frank O. Salisbury

(1874-1962)

British Methodist painter

and stained glass designer

Image courtesy/ The Museum of Methodism

and John Wesley's House

Habakkuk raises the question of the Lord's patience. How can a holy God tolerate
the sins of His own people?  The answer to this is provided in (Chapter 1:5-11) 
 the Chaldeans (neo-Babylonians) would judge Judah.

Habakkuk wonders in (1:12-17) why the wicked Babylonians would be used
to punish Judah when they, the Babylonians, were more wicked
 than His own sinning people.

But in Chapter 2 the Lord announces 5 predictions of doom on the man "whose
soul is not upright in him." (2:4) Judgment will come on the wicked Assyrians
and Babylonians because of their 1: aggression (2:6-8); 2: self-assertion (2:9-11);
3: violence (2:12-14); 4: inhumanity (2:15-17); and 5: idolatry (12:18-20).

In Habakkuk we see the central theme of the Bible:

"The just shall live by faith." (2:4)

This applies to both Jews and Gentiles
 (Romans: 1:17; Galatians 3:11-14); Hebrews (10:38).

This makes it possible for the individual Jew to exercise the simple faith of Abraham
(Genesis 15:6); Romans 4: 1-5) and be saved.  Trust in God, therefore, brings life.
(Genesis 15:6;  John 3: 16:, and Romans 6:23).

Habakkuk's final message recalls the Exodus and wilderness experience and God's
guiding hand of protection.  Habakkuk, overwhelmed and encouraged, knows that
judgment on Judah will soon come.  Yet, he expresses perfect faith: 

"Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (3:18)

Can you say this when trouble comes?

"The Just Shall Live By Faith"
-Charles Spurgeon

MidEast Update: Escalating Tensions, Strategic Shifts, And Prophetic Implications

 

"For the nation or the kingdom which will not serve you, Jerusalem,
shall perish. And the nations that refuse to serve shall be utterly ruined."
(Isaiah 60:12)

Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati presents the latest details on the
rising tensions in the Middle East and the prophetic significance
at this time  for the nation and people of Israel.

Mideast Update: Escalating Tensions, Strategic Shifts,

And Prophetic Implications

Behold Israel With Amir Tsarfati

Tuesday Bible Study With Les Feldick: The Mediator Between God And Man

 

"For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man
Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
(1Timothy 2:5-6)

"Inasmuch then we have a great High Priest Who has already ascended
and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast
our confession of faith in Him."
(Hebrews 4:14)

Les & Iris Feldick

Image courtesy/Through The Bible With Les Feldick Newsletter

The Mediator Between God & Man/Part One

(2001)

Les Feldick Ministries

The Mediator Between God & Man/Part Two

(2001)

Les Feldick Ministries

The Mediator Between God & Man/Part Three

(2001)

Les Feldick Ministries

The Mediator Between God & Man/Part Four

(2001)

Les Feldick Ministries

Monday Meditation: Songs Of Praise The Angels Sang

 

"Sing unto the Lord; for He hath done excellent things: this is known
in all the earth.  Cry out and shout, thou inhabitants of Zion: for great
is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."
(Isaiah 12:5-6)

Virgin and Child with Angels
(1500)

Pietro Perugino

(1445-1523)

Italian Renaissance painter

Image courtesy/The National Gallery

London, England

Songs of praise the angels sang,
Heav'n with hallelujahs rang,
When Jehovah's begun,
When He spoke, it was done.

Songs of praise awoke the morn
When the Prince of Peace was born;
Songs of praise arose when He
Captive led captivity.

Heav'n and earth must pass away;
Songs of praise shall crown that day;
God will make new heav'ns and earth;
Songs of praise shall hail their birth.

And will man alone be dumb,
Till that glorious kingdom come?
No: the church delights to raise
Psalms, and hymns, and songs of praise.

Saints below with heart and voice,
Still in songs of  praise rejoice,
Learning here, by faith and love,
Songs of praise to sing above.

Borne upon their latest breath,
Songs of praise shall conquer death;
Then amidst eternal joy,
Songs of praise their powers employ.

Hymns of glory, songs of praise,
Father unto Thee we raise;
Jesus, glory unto Thee,
With the Spirit, ever be.

"Songs Of Praise The Angels Sang"
(1819)
James Montgomery
(1771-1854)
Scottish-born English hymn writer, poet,
and newspaper editor

Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat Preaches: God's Anointed Favour

 

An inspiring message from brother Zev Porat in Israel.

Please pray for the continual success of his street ministry as he
witnesses to his fellow Jews about salvation in Yeshua.

God's Anointed Favor

Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat Preaches

messiah ofisrael

(December 15, 2024)

5.2 Earthquake Northern California/ Stress Continuing To Build/ Cascadia Earthquake Soon?

Another noticeable earthquake hits northern California as stress continues
to build in the area. Could an even bigger quake be on the horizon?

5.2. Earthquake In Northern California/

Stress Continuing To Build/Cascadia Earthquake Soon?

The EarthMaster

(December 15, 2024)

Meanwhile, parts of the Mid-South were shaken by a series
of earthquakes earlier this week....

Seven Earthquakes Hit The Mid-South In The Same Day

WREG News Channel 3

(December 10, 2024)

 

Full Cold Moon Tonight

The Full Cold Moon will rise tonight (weather pending here in my neck
of the woods) and will be the last Full Moon for 2024. 

Yesterday, the moon rose in the late afternoon just as the sun
  was setting in the West. It was a beautiful sight to see!

🌝Hope the skies are clear where  you are tonight!🌝

Image courtesy/Pinterest

 

I like days
with a snow-white collar,
and nights when the moon
is a silver dollar,
and the hills are filled
with eiderdown stuffing
and your breath makes smoke
like an engine puffing.

I like days
when feathers are snowing,
and all the eaves
have petticoats showing,
and the air is cold
and the wires are humming,
but you feel all warm...
with Christmas coming!

"December"
From the book, "That's Why"
(1946)
Aileen Fisher
(1906-2002)
American writer and poetess

Sunday Night In Uncle Walt's Vault: Toy Tinkers

 

In this hilarious Christmas classic, two mischievous "Toy Tinkers" a.k.a.
Chip and Dale attempt to steal nuts from Donald Duck using toy weapons.

Toy Tinkers

(1949)

Walt Disney Productions

RKO Pictures
Uploaded by JOEBARO9
(2016)

LA Marzulli Special Report: Drones Off Our Shores!/Is The US Under Attack?

 

There are still no answers to the question:

"What are these drones in the night sky?"

Image courtesy/Weird NJ.com

Christian researcher L.A. Marzulli gives his perspective on
the recent drone controversy in New Jersey and in other places.

Special Report

Drones Off Our Shores!

L.A. Marzulli

(December 14, 2024)

Joel Osteen Produced A Movie… What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

 

 Christian You Tuber Todd Friel, host of Wretched TV and Radio reviews the
controversial Nexflix presentation, "Mary" and points out eight issues
about the film from a biblical perspective.

Joel Osteen Produced A Movie...

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Wretched/Fortis Institute

(December 13, 2024)

A Brief History Of Roman Catholic Mariology

Wretched/Fortis Institute

(February 14, 2017)

BQSA: Was Mary A Perpetual Virgin?

Wretched/Fortis Institute

(January 26, 2020)

Come To The Manger In Bethlehem

"Out of the mouths of babes and unweaned infants You have established
strength because of Your foes, that You might silence the enemy and the avenger."
(Psalm 8:20)

"But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that
He did and the boys and the girls and the youths and the maidens crying out
in the porches and courts of the temple, "Hosanna! O be propitious, graciously
inclined to the Son of David," they were indignant.

And they said to Him, "Do You hear what they are saying?" And Jesus replied
to them, "Yes; but have you never read, Out of the mouths of babes and
 unweaned infants You have provided perfect praise?"
Matthew 21:15-16)

Birth Of Jesus

Cecily Mary Barker

(1895-1973)

 English Christian illustrator and poetess

Image courtesy/Pinterest

Come to the manger in Bethlehem,

A sweet Child lies therein,

A holy Child come down to earth

To save the world from sin;

A little Child with a heart so large,

It takes the whole world in.

But the heart of the world is far too small

To take in that little Child,

It sends Him away; there is no room

For His face so sweet and mild;

They would turn Him out if they only could

To the storm so rude and wild.

Come to the manger in Bethlehem,

Never mind the frost and snow,

We will think of the Child, and the thought of Him

Shall warm us as we go;

We will kiss His holy hands and feet,

And tell Him we love Him so!

And the more the cold world turns Him out,

The more we will take Him in,

When our hearts are full of the holy Child

They will have no room for sin;

Come to the manger of Bethlehem,

For a sweet Child lies therein.

"Come To The Manger In Bethlehem"
Children's Hymn Book
(1881)
Elizabeth Harcourt Rolls Mitchell
(1833-1910)
Welsh Christian author, hymn writer,
and poetess

The Spirit Of Christmas

 

This classic holiday presentation from the Bell Telephone Company brings
 back many Christmas memories from my early childhood and features
 Mabel Beaton's Marionettes performing, "The Night Before Christmas"
by Clement C. Moore and "The Nativity Story."

The Spirit Of Christmas

(1951)

 Bell Telephone Company

Dave Hunt: A Critique of Dominion Theology

 

Christian apologist/author/ and founder of The Berean Call Ministries
Dave Hunt (1926-2013) aptly refutes the teachings of Dominion Theology.

A Critique Of Dominion Theology

Dave Hunt

The Berean Call

(December 14, 2024)

Saturday Poetry Corner: Mary's Burden

 

"And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the secret
and purposes of many hearts may be brought out and disclosed."
(Luke 2:35)

Image courtesy/John Hilton III

My Baby, my Burden
Tomorrow the morn
I shall go lighter
And You will be born.

I shall go lighter
But heavier too
For seeing the burden
That falls upon You.

The burden of love,
The burden of pain,
I'll see You bear both
Among men once again.

Tomorrow You'll bear it
Your burden alone,
Tonight You've no burden
That is not my own.

My Baby, my Burden,
Tomorrow the morn
I shall go lighter
And You will be born.

"Mary's Burden"
Eleanor Farjeon
(1881-1965)
English writer and poetess

Flashback Friday: Come, O Come Emmanuel

 

"But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah;
yet out of you shall One come forth from Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth have been from old,  from ancient days, eternity."
(Micah 5:2)

One of the most beautiful instrumental Christmas songs ever!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

(2008)

Casting Crowns

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

 

"Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule.
His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him."
(Isaiah 40:10)

"Behold, I Jesus, am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give
to each one according to the merits of his deeds, earthly works, faithfulness."
(Revelation 22:12)

In The Clouds Of Glory

(2024)

Greg Collins
American artist

Image courtesy/Fine Art America

Rejoice, rejoice, believers,

And let your lights appear.

The evening is advancing,

And darker night is near.

The Bridegroom is arising,

And soon He draweth nigh.

Up, prayer, and watch and wrestle:

At midnight comes the cry.

See that your lamps are burning;

Replenish them with oil.

And wait for your salvation,

The end of earthly toil.

The watchers on the mountain

Proclaim the Bridegroom near.

Go meet Him as He cometh,

With alleluias clear.

O wise and holy virgins,

Now raise your voices higher,

Until in songs of triumph

Ye meet the angel choir.

The marriage feast is waiting,

The gates wide open stand;

Rise up ye heirs of glory,

The Bridegroom is at hand.

Our hope and expectation,

O Jesus, now appear!

Arise, Thou sun so longed for,

O'er this benighted sphere!

With hearts and hands uplifted,

We plead, O Lord to see

The day of earth's redemption

That brings us unto Thee.

Ye saints, who here in patience

Your cross and sufferings bore,

Shall live and reign forever,

When sorrow is no more.

Around the throne of glory

The Lamb ye shall behold;

In triumph cast before Him

Your diadems of gold!

"Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers"
(1700)
Laurentius Laurenti
(1660-1722)
German hymnwriter

Davey And Goliath: Christmas Lost And Found

 

I use to love watching this show on Sunday mornings when I was a kid!
In this special Christmas episode, skeptical Davey learns the true meaning
of the season when he gives his part in a Christmas play to another boy.

Davey and Goliath

Christmas Lost and Found

(1965)

Evangelical Lutheran Church In America

Thursday's Thoughts: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow

 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
(Hebrews 13:8)

Image courtesy/Pinterest

Yesterday's dead, tomorrow's unborn,

So there's nothing to fear and nothing to mourn,

For all that is past and all that has been

Can never return to be lived once again...

And what lies ahead or the things that will be

Are still in God's hands, so it is not up to me.

To live in the future that is God's great unknown,

For the past and the present God claims for His own...

So all I need do is to live for today.

And trust God to show me the truth and the way.

For it's only the memory of things that have been

And expecting tomorrow to bring trouble again

That fills my today, which God wants to bless,

With uncertain fears and borrowed distress...

For all I need live for is this one little minute,

For life's here and now and eternity's in it.

"Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow"
A Collection Of Joy
Helen Steiner Rice
(1900-1981)
American Christian writer
and poetess

NJ Congressman Van Drew Sounds The Alarm On Potential Threat From Iran

 

The mysterious drones over New Jersey are Iranian in origin?

Where is our military?  Why aren't they doing something
about this increasingly dangerous situation?

Rep. Van Drew Sounds The Alarm On Potential
Threat From Iran

Fox News

(December 11, 2024)

Earthquakes Continue In California And Nevada/ Japan Area Too Quiet

 

Still a lot of earthquake activity to report in California and Nevada.
Meanwhile, across the Pacific, Japan seems a bit too quiet for comfort.

Thanks again to The EarthMaster for this latest update.

Earthquakes Continue In California And Nevada
 Japan Area Too Quiet

The EarthMaster

(December 11, 2024)

Modern Day Miracle In Nazareth

Image courtesy/Heartlight.org

The terrible events which took place last year on October 7th in Israel
has not stopped God's miraculous work in Nazareth, the boyhood home 
 of Jesus, known today for its predominant Arab Muslim population.

Please pray for the safety and continual success of Home of Jesus The King 
 Church and ministry in building bridges of love and hope between 
 the Christians and Muslims and Jews living there.

Modern-Day Miracle In Nazareth

CBN News

(December 11, 2024)

What Are The Mysterious Drones Flying Over New Jersey?

 

There is something really weird happening in New Jersey.

Dozens of drones have been sighted in the night time skies and

yet officials in the federal and state governments claim that

they have no answers while decrying growing public concern.

Why isn't the government or the military intervening

 in this situation?

What Are The Mysterious Drones
 Flying Over New Jersey?

The World/ABC New Australia

(December 11, 2024)