{"id":28984,"date":"2015-12-08T00:15:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T05:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=28984"},"modified":"2015-12-07T17:13:44","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T22:13:44","slug":"shining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2015\/12\/08\/shining\/","title":{"rendered":"Shining"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23090\" src=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg\" alt=\"phssChristmasgraphic2014\" width=\"560\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg 560w, https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">The dawn of peace Christmas Eve<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">the final night the world would sleep\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Fearful of the dark<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">but there was a shining star leading <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Wise men to a humble place<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">where they would find the Gift of Grace\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Laying before their eyes<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">hope had come to life<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">The Light of the world was shining<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">The Light of the world was shining\u00a0<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em> <span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">He came just like He promised<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em> <span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">His love would not be silent<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Hearts would quake on Christmas Day<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">as they looked upon the Savior&#8217;s face\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">God became a man<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">they could reach and touch His hands\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">The hands that made the blind to see<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">that carried the weight of suffering\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">That washed away our sins<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">so we could be born again<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">The world knows Christ is born<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">oh, the King of love has come<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">And our hearts will be His throne<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">it is known, Christ is born<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Light of the world, leading us home<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Shepherd of Hearts, come for His own<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GjGcGmmGM1A?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>\u00a0Sanctus Real<\/em><br \/>\nMatt Hammitt, Chris Rohman, Mark Graalman, Jake Rye, Seth Huff<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">* \u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0\u271d \u00a0~ \u00a0\u2605\u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>On November 3, 2015, the Taurid meteor shower and the Northern Lights were possibly going to be visible in our skies. \u00a0So at 10:00 at night (when I\u2019m usually already in bed), Steve and I (and Muffin) drove out into the countryside in hopes of seeing them. \u00a0We immediately saw some falling stars which is always fun. \u00a0But I had never seen the Northern Lights so I was really hoping to see them, and felt somewhat disappointed as time crept by without a sighting. \u00a0Then suddenly the brightest falling star came coursing through the sky with a blazing tail&#8230;and it seemed that it came down right in front of us. \u00a0It was spectacular! \u00a0I did see a couple of moments of the Northern Lights but they were without color and brief. \u00a0All was amazing and we were praising God!<\/p>\n<p>As we drove home, and even into the next day, neither of us could get our minds off of the meteor that had seemed to put on a show just for us. \u00a0Yes, it died out which was disappointing but expected. \u00a0But it caused me to think of The Light of the world, which will never die out.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">His name is Jesus the Messiah, Emmanuel.<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Leaving Nazareth, He (Jesus) went and lived in Capernaum,<br \/>\nwhich was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali<br \/>\n\u2014to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:<br \/>\n\u201cLand of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,<br \/>\nthe Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,<br \/>\nGalilee of the Gentiles\u2014<br \/>\nthe people living in darkness<br \/>\nhave seen a great light;<br \/>\non those living in the land of the shadow of death<br \/>\na light has dawned.\u201d<br \/>\nMatthew 4:13-16 (Isaiah 9:1-2)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Jesus spoke to them, saying,<br \/>\n\u201cI am the Light of the world.<br \/>\nWhoever follows Me will not walk in darkness,<br \/>\nbut will have the light of life.\u201d<br \/>\nJohn 8:12<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.<br \/>\nThe true Light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.<br \/>\nJohn 1:4 and 9<\/p>\n<p>As the song says, \u201c<em><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">The world knows Christ is born<\/span><\/em>.\u201d People around the world celebrate Christmas because a special little baby was born. It\u2019s a beautiful story that is retold over and over during this season. (Take time this season to read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke+1-2&amp;version=NASB;AMP;NLT;ISV;HCSB\" target=\"_blank\">Luke 1-2<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=matthew+1-2&amp;version=NASB;AMP;NLT;ISV;HCSB\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 1-2<\/a>). \u00a0The sad thing is that many people only see Jesus as that baby; they don\u2019t see Him as The Light of the world. \u00a0They don\u2019t see that He came as Emmanuel&#8212;God with us.<\/p>\n<p>When the bright lights of the Christmas decorations are taken down, the world will seem dark again. \u00a0As Isaiah said, there are \u201c&#8230;those living in the land of the shadow of death.\u201d \u00a0For many this glimpse of Jesus will fade as well, and they will go on searching in the dark. \u00a0People everywhere are looking for peace, grace, hope, and life, just as the wise men were looking. \u00a0The good news is \u201ca light has dawned!\u201d During this season we have the opportunity to share Jesus, the True Light, with those around us who are looking for more than a month of celebration.<\/p>\n<p>God loved the world (all of us) so much that He sent Jesus to light our way to Him (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+3%3A16-17&amp;version=NASB;AMP;NLT;ISV;HCSB\" target=\"_blank\">John 3:16-17<\/a>). \u00a0And Jesus willingly came in obedience to His Father, knowing it was the only way to bring redemption to us, His creation. \u00a0Jesus said that He is that Light, and just as sunlight brings natural life to us, His Light brings spiritual life to us.<\/p>\n<p>During this Christmas season, take the time to bask in Jesus, The True Light. He is God\u2019s love and life extended to you. \u00a0Take advantage of this time of year when so many are celebrating, to share the Good News that there is one light that will not be turned off or fade away. His Name is Jesus. \u00a0He is not just a baby&#8212;He is the Savior of the world. \u00a0He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:<br \/>\n\u201cI have loved you with an everlasting love;<br \/>\nI have drawn you with unfailing kindness.<br \/>\nJeremiah 31:3<\/p>\n<p>If you personally are just learning about this truth, I pray that you will realize and accept that \u201c<em><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">the King of love has come,<\/span><\/em>\u201d and He, Jesus, wants to shine into your life and make your heart His throne.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"><em>God became a man\u2026that washed away our sins\u00a0so we could be born again<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>The True Light of the world is shining and will never fade away. \u00a0Let Him shine into your life, and then share His Light with all around you.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">* \u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0\u271d \u00a0~ \u00a0\u2605 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Dear Jesus, thank You for coming just as You promised. \u00a0As the song says Your love would not, could not, and will not be silent. \u00a0We are overwhelmed with the realization that You, our Great God and Creator, want to shine into our lives and lead us home to be with You eternally. \u00a0We pray for those who have not yet made their heart Your Throne. \u00a0May this be the time that they accept You, not just as the Christmas baby but as their Savior. \u00a0Please help us to be faithful to share You, The True Light, when we have the opportunity. \u00a0Shine, Jesus, shine in and through our lives! \u00a0In the precious Name of Jesus, Light of the world, we pray, Amen.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">(For confirmation that this was God\u2019s promised plan,<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/christianity.about.com\/od\/biblefactsandlists\/a\/Prophecies-Jesus.htm\" target=\"_blank\">click \u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0 to\u00a0read 44 of the Old Testament prophecies<br \/>\nabout the Messiah that Jesus fulfilled.)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The dawn of peace Christmas Eve the final night the world would sleep\u00a0 Fearful of the dark but there was a shining star leading Wise men to a humble place where they would find the Gift of Grace\u00a0 Laying before their eyes hope had come to life The Light of the world was shining The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":23090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4937],"tags":[221,4663,8000,3660,4775,1287,425,9768,552,554,9769,3375,3101,2502,9770,9771,9767,2889,9766,4932,8379,9764,9765,9772],"class_list":["post-28984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psalms-hymns-and-spiritual-songs","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-carols","tag-christmas-songs","tag-clella-gilbert-fox","tag-emmanuel","tag-gch","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-isaiah-91-2","tag-jeremiah-313","tag-jesus","tag-john-14-and-9","tag-john-316-17","tag-john-812","tag-light-of-the-world","tag-luke-1-2","tag-matthew-1-2","tag-matthew-413-16","tag-messiah","tag-northern-lights","tag-psalms-hymns-spiritual-songs","tag-sanctus-real","tag-shining","tag-taurid-meteor-shower","tag-the-true-light","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s39pHp-shining","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28984"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28986,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28984\/revisions\/28986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}