Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ.
Blessings of That Glorious Appearing
All posts by janrhodes
Blessings of Salvation
…when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord
as the law required, Simeon was there.
He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Blessings of Following the Spirit’s Leading
…there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon.
He was righteous and devout
and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
The Holy Spirit was upon him
and had revealed to him that he would not die
until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple.
Blessings Of Seeing For Yourself
When the angels had returned to heaven,
the shepherds said to each other,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem!
Let’s see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.
And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
Luke 2:15-16
Blessings of Praising God
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—
the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Blessings Of This Baby
And while they were there,
the time came for her baby to be born.
She gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no lodging available for them.
Blessings of Obedience
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus,
decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
And because Joseph was a descendant of King David,
he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home.
He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged,
who was now expecting a child.
Luke 2:1-5
Blessings of God’s Fulfillment
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Joseph woke up,
he did as the angel of the Lord commanded
and took Mary as his wife.
But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born.
And Joseph named him Jesus.
Blessings of the Inexplicable
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.
His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph.
But before the marriage took place,
while she was still a virgin,
she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, to whom she was engaged,
was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly,
so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
“Joseph, son of David,” the angel said,
“do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”
Blessings of the Prince of Peace
The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
