{"id":2003,"date":"2018-12-25T09:23:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-25T15:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=2003"},"modified":"2022-01-10T21:36:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T03:36:01","slug":"christmas-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=2003","title":{"rendered":"Christmas 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Christmas is here! I have resisted the urge to blog or write about advent and simply read, meditate, and enjoy this season and its Reason the last month of 2018.<\/p>\n

I wrote early this morning in front of our fire, with all our kids home in their beds, “Thank You Lord for this nice place to gather, and for Your indescribable Gift — becoming human, to dwell with us…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In accordance with the Word of the LORD given through the prophet Isaiah and other prophets:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.\u201d (John 1:5)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFor behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.\u201d (Isaiah 60:2)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c… land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali …, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.\u201d (Isaiah 9:1\u20132)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cFor a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.\u201d (Isaiah 9:6\u20137)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThen a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, ….\u201d (Isaiah 11:1)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cTherefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.\u201d (Isaiah 7:14)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c… which translated means, \u201cGOD WITH US.\u201d(Matthew 1:23)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You can’t say it better or more succinctly than that! Scriptures about the Blessed One — given 2700 years ago and lived out 2000 years ago. God is a faithful King. Amen. \u05d0\u05de\u05df”<\/p>\n

*********************************<\/p>\n

Time to add a few photos of our new home, with a Christmas poem I was inspired to write a few Christmases ago, then join the family to enjoy this moment in a quiet and relational way, as it began on that humble day. Noel.<\/p>\n

Twice a King<\/em><\/p>\n

In Bethlehem twenty centuries ago <\/em>
\nA young boy was born and began to grow <\/em>
\nHe worked in Dad’s shop and built wooden things <\/em>
\nHe, nonetheless, was, the King of all Kings.<\/em><\/p>\n

He now sits by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth <\/em>
\nAnd remembers a time, when the Spirit of God <\/em>
\nWas sent to give Him birth.<\/em><\/p>\n

Into a life He hadn’t known <\/em>
\nA life of joy and pain He was thrown <\/em>
\nA life quite low, for a Being so high <\/em>
\nYet He bowed to His Father, and went without sigh.<\/em><\/p>\n

He helped people daily<\/em>
\nHe healed many lives <\/em>
\nBy many men worshipped <\/em>
\nBy many despised <\/em>
\nNow see what is written! What is said He did do!<\/em>
\nRemember His living — He was king then too.<\/em><\/p>\n

He’s coming again in unspeakable power <\/em>
\nAs a time is reckoned, we’re close to the hour <\/em>
\nThe whole earth will witness this most righteous King! <\/em>
\nRulers will bow, angels will sing <\/em>
\nTongue nor pen can describe what we’ll do <\/em>
\nNow worship the Christ Child, He was King then too.<\/em><\/p>\n

Within the vast expanse of space <\/em>
\nSits a resplendent, most beautiful place <\/em>
\nHome of great beings, powerful and bright <\/em>
\nIts Sovereign sits clothed with all glory and might.<\/em><\/p>\n

He is creator; sustainer of all!<\/em>
\nHe’s worthy! He’s worthy! “<\/em>
\nAround Him they call! <\/em>
\nAngels and angels, their numbers a hoard <\/em>
\nFall before Him Who’s rightly adored.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bethlehem Judea; a destiny for who?<\/em>
\nWorship the Christ Child; He was King then too!<\/em><\/p>\n

Dwayne Bell 2003
\nBased on Micah 5, Isaiah 6 & 9, Rev 5
\n[In a moment when a heart was warmed and spiritual eyes were open. Amen \u05d0\u05de\u05df ]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christmas is here! I have resisted the urge to blog or write about advent and simply read, meditate, and enjoy this season and its Reason the last month of 2018. I wrote early this morning in front of our fire, with all our kids home in their beds, “Thank You Lord for this nice place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10,12,7,14,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-friendoftheking","category-be-a-leader","category-bread-for-the-spirit","category-kingdom-events","category-travel-spiritual-growth","category-understanding-our-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2003"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2135,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003\/revisions\/2135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}