Christmas Devotional Revisited 2022
December 11th
Centenary Christmas Devotional - 2009
Read Matthew 1:22-25
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Do you think we will be able to request our favorite Worship songs in Heaven? A few years ago, Steve and I saw a Christian band named Mercy Me and they performed a song called “God With Us.” I hope to see them perform this in Heaven someday, it was incredible. Here are some of the lyrics:
Like hinges straining from the weight,
My heart no longer can keep from singing.
All that is within me cries
For You alone be glorified:
Emmanuel, God with us.
My heart sings a brand new song.
The debt is paid, these chains are gone.
Emmanuel, God with us. CL# 502729620
This song led me to a greater understanding of the meaning of “Emmanuel.” Matthew explains that it means “God with us.” God for the first time sent his Son and through his Holy Spirit we would have “God with us” forever. Bart Millard from Mercy Me explained that he had the image of a dam breaking when he wrote the lyric “like hinges straining from the weight, My heart no longer can keep from singing.” This exhibits the excitement we can have in exalting God for choosing to be with us. This is definitely something to sing about!
Digging Deeper
Like hinges straining from the weight,
My heart no longer can keep from singing.
All that is within me cries
For You alone be glorified:
Emmanuel, God with us.
My heart sings a brand new song.
The debt is paid, these chains are gone.
Emmanuel, God with us. CL# 502729620
This song led me to a greater understanding of the meaning of “Emmanuel.” Matthew explains that it means “God with us.” God for the first time sent his Son and through his Holy Spirit we would have “God with us” forever. Bart Millard from Mercy Me explained that he had the image of a dam breaking when he wrote the lyric “like hinges straining from the weight, My heart no longer can keep from singing.” This exhibits the excitement we can have in exalting God for choosing to be with us. This is definitely something to sing about!
Digging Deeper
- Can you think of a time where you had this type of response to God, an excitement to exalt Him, praise Him or worship Him?
Suggested Prayer: Pray for family that will be traveling this Christmas.
A Special Christmas Gift Memory from Heather D.
My husband Ben and I dated as teenagers. Our first Christmas together, I got a glimpse of his generous spirit as he freely gave his crisp new $50 bill - a gift from my grandparents- to a homeless family he met outside a grocery store that Christmas night. Years later he told me he knew he loved me that same Christmas because I asked my parents to give me the money they'd spend on my 'big gift' and instead I bought Ben a gold Crucifix that I knew would mean a lot to him. I hadn't wanted him to know how I was able to buy it, but he kept asking what they gave me for Christmas. Looking back, we learned a lot about love and sacrifice that Christmas.
My husband Ben and I dated as teenagers. Our first Christmas together, I got a glimpse of his generous spirit as he freely gave his crisp new $50 bill - a gift from my grandparents- to a homeless family he met outside a grocery store that Christmas night. Years later he told me he knew he loved me that same Christmas because I asked my parents to give me the money they'd spend on my 'big gift' and instead I bought Ben a gold Crucifix that I knew would mean a lot to him. I hadn't wanted him to know how I was able to buy it, but he kept asking what they gave me for Christmas. Looking back, we learned a lot about love and sacrifice that Christmas.