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12/26/2007

12-25-07 CHRISTmas Day - Unto Us 5

The Daily Blueprint for 12-24-07

UNTO US
part five

ISAIAH 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulders: and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
The day is finally here - I have changed gears just a bit - but will get back to the verse I have been using tomorrow- but today I thought I would use this verse- it conveys what CHRISTmas is all about - its about JESUS and HIS Birth -that is what this day is all about - Jesus came to Earth - from Heaven above - to live life as a mere man - a man who would lay down His life for the sins of all - He is the Prince of Peace - He brought us peace when we deserved eternal punishment - He is the Mighty God - HE came to bring HIS everlasting peace to our hearts - He did not come to bring peace on earth - that will not happen until He returns- oh and yes He is going to back soon!
Jesus came as a babe the first time -but when He comes back He will be the Almighty God and is entrance will be very different - but now lets look at JESUS - He is our whole purpose and this is the day we celebrate all that unfolded when God came near - Jesus has come - we rejoice in this! He has many names and I love that HE is called Wonderful - Christ is wonderful and His peace goes from the beginning of time to end - this is the day we celebrate the birth of God's only Son- to be sure Jesus has always been -but He entered this lowly world like we all do - through a woman! But not any woman - this woman was a virgin - she never knew a man before Jesus was born! The amazing thing is this baby was from the Holy Spirit!
He began in a manger and would end up upon the cross - and then to the grave that He would arise from three day's later - these two must be connected -we don't just celebrate a baby -but what that baby would become - the Savior of the World!Lets rejoice in what GOD has done unto us!
Lets praise HIS name and wish our Savior happy birthday!
He came from heaven to earth to save us - What a blessing!Lets celebrate JESUS - while we open the gifts - spend time with family and think about Him - we must do as Mary did and contemplate what God has done for us in the little baby in the manger and the man He would become at the cross!Merry CHRISTmas to one and all - Praise Be to GOD!
The Mighty One - the Everlasting Father -Prince of Peace - our all in all! Praise HIS name forever!

this CHRISTmas-Rejoce that JESUS was born!!

LIVIN IN THE WORD - CHRISTmas Day- 12-25-07
IT'S CHRISTmas day - the day of rejoicing for CHRIST the LORD has been born unto us!
Subject: Awesome Christmas Story
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.
Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see your busy, I'll just go." "Not without something hot in your belly." George said. He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty, "Stew ... made it myself. When you're done, there's coffee and it's fresh." Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me, be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away.
"But Mister, please help ..." The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought.

George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to him self. So he put a new one on.
"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car anyway. As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me."

George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. "Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance." The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.

He went back in to find the police man sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area." George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked. "None for me," said the officer. "Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before. "That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer. "Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt."

The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!" The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to the cop, "we got one too many in here now." He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pee shooter away."

George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can."
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer." "Shut up and drink your coffee." the cop said.
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. "Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer. "Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?" "GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man. Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran." George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. "That guy work here?," the wounded cop continued. "Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?" Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks for everything."
]
"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems." George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day." The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you." "And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories. That's all I need."
George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours." The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too, George said, Now git home to your family." The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good." "Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you come from? I thought you left?"

"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger." You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?" "Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was gettin' a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists.

The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. "That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man."
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man.

"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again."

The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.

"You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord


He who loses money, loses much; he who loses a friend, loses more; he who loses faith, loses all.

We want to wish everyone of our friends & family a Happy Holiday Season.
Be Blessed In All Ways & Keep Christ In Your Hearts & Everyday Living.
In Christ We Remain & Much Affection To Each Of You & Yours!
The Christmas Present

By: Billy M. Smallwood
I heard a knock on my door one Christmas EveAs I looked out my window, a man I could seeHe was cold and seemed so lonely And he was upon a bended knee.
He asked, “Can you spare anything for me to eat?”I opened up the door and as I helped him inHe looked up at me with such a peaceful grin.As he drank down some coffee and had a bite to eatI put more wood on the fire so he could warm his feetOver there by the fireplace he warmed his tired handsI wonder where did he come from, This quiet, white haired man?
But I wasn't at all afraid of his peaceful ways, You see, this man dressed in poor, almost as poor as me
As he left, he turned and thanked me for all I had doneBut he forgot to take his gloves, so out the door I run.He was gone in the blizzard and I couldn't hardly see,So I took his ole gloves back to the house with me
Just a little after midnight, I awoke in the dark;There wasn't a bit of fire, just glowing cinders A little spark,And where I'd placed his gloves by my little Christmas treeThere laid a brand new pairAnd a Christmas Card for me.And it read. . . .
You gave me shelter and food to keep me warm;You even tried to bring me my old gloves in the storm,So here's you a new pair,. . . the finest ever seen . . .As an angel of the Lord,I'll be sure to tell the King. . . .Merry Christmas . . .
May God fill your home with peace and your heart with quiet wonder at the miracle of Jesus.
MERRY CHRISTmas from LIVIN IN THE WORD!

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