One Shepherd, One Flock

 

Savior, like a shepherd lead us,

Much we need Thy tender care;

In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,

For our use Thy folds prepare:

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.

We are Thine, do Thou befriend us,

Be the guardian of our way;

Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,

Seek us when we go astray:

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Hear, O hear us when we pray;

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Hear, O hear us when we pray.

Thou hast promised to receive us,

Poor and sinful though we be;

Thou hast mercy to relieve us,

Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free:

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Early let us turn to Thee;

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Early let us turn to Thee.

Early let us seek Thy favor,

Early let us do Thy will;

Blessed Lord and only Savior,

With Thy love our bosoms fill:

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Thou hast loved us, love us still;

Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,

Thou hast loved us, love us still.

Author: Dorothy A. Thrupp, 1836;

Author: Henry F. Lyte, 1836

Our Good Shepherd 

Leads

Cares

Feeds

Prepares

Redeems

Befriends

Guards

Defends

Seeks

Hears

Receives

Relieves

Cleanses

Frees

Turns

Favors

Fills

Loves

Father, Our blessed LORD and Only Savior, and Good Shepherd of the Sheep, 

we are thankful to trust Your rule to redeem us by your might! 

We trust You will search out the lonely, lost and wandering, wayward sheep. 

Father, 

You are the Good and Faithful Shepherd. Your sheep know your voice and obey to follow Your lead, “so there will be one flock, one shepherd.” 

John 10

Love came down at Christmas

 

 

“Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, 

Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
star and angels gave the sign.

 

Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith for sacred sign?

 

 

 

 

Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign.”

 — Christina Rossetti

My heart is full to overflowing for experiencing the LORD’s love for us this Christmas.  I’m encouraged to know firsthand how His love envelopes loss and sadness. 

He made a promise, and He kept it! 

Ohh LORD, may You accomplish your purpose in each of us! Thank you for being on display in our hearts and home, in our family, even through our weakness!  

Thank you for coming to be with us, to overwhelm the darkness and the consequences of sin! 

Thank you for perfecting Your love in us by the Incarnate Person and work of Jesus! 

You continue to be at work, and we can trust You! 

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 

Jeremiah 17:7

Christmas JESUS

Lord, we adore thy boundless grace, 

The heights and depths unknown, 

Of pardon, life, and joy, and peace, 

in thy beloved Son. 

O wond’rous gift of love divine, 

Dear source of ev’ry good!

Jesus, in thee what glories shine!

How rich thy flowing blood.

Come, all ye pining, 

hungry poor

The Savior’s bounty taste;

Behold a never-failing stone,

For ev’ry willing guest.

Here shall your num’rous wants receive

A free, a full supply; 

He has unmeasur’d bliss to give

And joys that never die. 

Can those, who hear the Saviour's voice, 

Prefer, earth's empty toys,

(Ah! wretched souls! 

ah, fatal choice!)

To everlasting joys?

Lord, bring unwilling souls to thee,

With sweet resistless pow’r;

Thy boundless grace, let rebels see, 

And at thy feet adore. 

Anne Steele, writer of hymns and prose

We are still Christmas•ing here.  This is the morning calm before our children and their families will soon return home.  

As I sit with my Bible and Advent Devotion book, (‘cause there’s one final chapter in the  book to tie every previous day’s chapter together), I’m tired and emotional, yet I’m encouraged to know the LORD has sustained me, all of us.  We have almost made it through this change of season’s firsts-those punched in the gut type hard realities that I’m learning to accept and thank the LORD for,  because …

He came for this!!

He came to us because of sin, brokenness, loss, grief and sorrow, pain, rejection, …

He came to save us from this  threat of destructive darkness. 

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light; 

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, 

on them has light shone.

Isaiah 9:2

He came to bring us His Light, His salvation, His peace!  

He is the remedy for our sin and suffering! 

It helps me to meditate on this.

To sit and allow myself to be enveloped in what God says is full of grace and truth…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 

and we have seen his glory, 

glory as of the only Son from the Father, 

full of grace and truth…

And from his fullness we have all received, 

grace upon grace.”

John 1:14-16

Merry Christmas!

I pray we will all receive, know and continue to live in His glorious and truthful 

grace upon grace upon grace upon grace…

He is Worthy

 

"God is God.  Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience.  I will find rest nowhere but in his holy will.  A will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

Elisabeth Elliot

Photos: 

Mom loved having cut flowers in her home.  As I looked out my kitchen window this past week, I enjoyed seeing our beautifully arrayed Camelia bush, so it only made sense to bring in some of it’s beauty a little closer to enjoy.  Mom would have had a milk glass candy dish filled with Camelia blooms, but mine is packed away after changing out our dining room furniture.  I don’t have as much storage space for milk glass, but I’ll locate it, hopefully before Christmas, and fill it with additional blooms. 

Treasured Family Nativity

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iHOOvNlaz3w

Fullness of Grace in man’s human frailty

This is the wonder of Jesus

Laying aside His power and glory

Humbly He entered our world

Chose the path of meanest worth

Scandal of a virgin birth

Born in a stable cold and rejected

Here lies the hope of the world

Fullness of Grace the love of the Father

Shown in the face of Jesus

Stooping to bear the weight of humanity

Walking the Calvary road

Christ the holy Innocent

Took our sin and punishment

Fullness of God dеspised and rejectеd

Crushed for the sins of the world

Fullness of hope in Christ we had longed for

Promise of God in Jesus

Through His obedience we are forgiven

Opening the floodgates of heaven

All our hopes and dreams we bring

Gladly as an offering

Fullness of life and joy unspeakable

God’s gift in love to the world

Words and Music:

Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend, 2007

Photo: 

Because of Mom’s absence, I treasure having the Cleland family nativity, made of paper mache.   I long remember it being a part of our family Christmases, and I especially remember helping my mom set it in place each year as a young girl. 

I am oft reminded of how little significance this nativity may have for our children.  There were many others, but this was the original one.  While it’s now one of many I have collected over the years, this one will always be special because it reminds me of the great worth Jesus’ birth had in our home as I was growing up, and even up until the time Mom lived alone as a widow. 

Her joy in Jesus still gives me sweet comfort as I still miss her presence and cherish her memory! 

Jesus is the meaning of  Christmas!