Living Sacrifice
Christmas is a magical time of the year, a time to be excited, astounded, but it isn’t magic that brings hope to the world. Listen in as we discuss why we have hope every season of the year! Merry Christmas!
Come on! Sip on some Cocoa and join in!
Diana’s Notes
Living Sacrifice
Welcome to the holiday season here at heartfelt conversations with Diana! Where we are talking about God’s Gifts to us!
Did I tell you it took me 4 hours to get home from work the other day due to the weather so fall has left and Mr. Winter has arrived! Christmas is coming! AHHHHHHHHH !
This is the first line of The Christmas Bells are ringing
The Christmas bells are ringing
Pearls of joy and gladness;
Their merry chime
At Noel time
Doth banish sadness
The simple and the gentle
Unite, the strain to raise,
Of hymn and joyous carol,
The new-born Christ to praise.
source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/christmascarols/c/christmasbellsareringinglyrics.html
God delivered the most precious and greatest treasure of all to all in the birth of His Son Jesus, Immanuel. God With Us
Read Matthew 1:18-23
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 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. 19 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.
20 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. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,i for he will save his people from their sins.”
22All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,j
which means ‘God is with us.’”
Isaiah 7:14 in the Old Testament tells us long before the birth of Jesus, He was coming.
Through the birth of Jesus, God demonstrates His deepest love to all humanity. God Himself delivered to us the greatest package, the greatest gift of all. Himself.
Amazon, FedEx, UPS, Everyone is delivering packages to someone somewhere. And as we remember the sweet little new born package of our Messiah wrapped in swaddling cloths, let’s remember Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world. He grew up a baby, a toddler, a teen, a young man and then He became our Living Sacrifice so that we could have the Gift of Eternal Life.
Read Luke 2:1-20 NLT
The Birth of Jesus
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 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. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 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.
The Shepherds and Angels
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 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.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Christmas is a magical time of the year, a time to be excited, astounded, but it isn’t magic that brings hope to the world - but it is our Living Sacrifice, Our Living Bread, our Living Water, Jesus - Is the Hope of the World. The Anointed One, Messiah, Emmanuel - God with us - everyone of us!
This Christmas as we hustle and bustle about, let’s not become so hurried that we forget to show God’s love to those around us- the person we greet on the street. We might be struggling financially, or have to work extra retail hours, or visit lots of relatives and there isnt enough time and the holiday’s seem to be more stress-filled than joy-filled- but we have the greatest gift of all - life - eternal life in Christ so when we burn the cookies and forgot to mail half the christmas cards, when we’ve eaten one too many homemade holiday treats, and all chaos is breaking out around us - let’s pause and think about what a sight it must have been for those shepherds working the night shift bored, anticipating the moment their shift would be over and then suddenly! they experience a life altering miraculous moment !
Sometimes, its in the quiet hours of the night when we feel the most tired and alone that God is silently working on our “suddenly” So don’t lose hope, don’t let anger and frustration steal your joy and peace this Christmas. If you have Jesus then you have the HOPE of the World living on the inside of you - AND in 2025 we will be learning together how to let our light shine!
And the good news is that if you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior then today is your day!
Repeat after me ,and the rest of you all, say it out loud in support of your new brother or sister coming to Christ in saying:
“Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to come in and live in me. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be made right before God through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born again, child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Isaiah 9:6 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.
I have put a link of Pastor Eric’s message -Hope and Light : Anticipation: The Fuel of Faith - on the notes for this week.
You can find the link of the message on -
Heartfeltconversations.com -https://www.heartfeltconversations.com/
NOW:
May the LORD bless you and protect you,
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you,
May the LORD show you HIS favor and give you HIS peace!
(Numbers 6: 24-26}
Remember: This Christmas - ABOUND IN HOPE!
God bless and see you next week ! END
Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Songs to inspire you
Chris Tomlin - O Holy Night (Live) with CeCe Winans
Phil Wickham - Away In A Manger (Forever Amen) (Official Music Video)
for KING + COUNTRY - Little Drummer Boy (Official Music Video)
Foundation Verse
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Chrisr Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living in you. “
Additional Resources
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born again, child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above, were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand new christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana and we will pass along your information for you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you!
Diana’s Home Church:
Valley Family Church - Pastor’s Eric and Alexa Jones
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
Other recommended Jesus-centered churches who teach the True Word of God:
Elevation Church - Steven Furtick
https://elevationchurch.org/
Joseph Prince Ministries - Joseph Prince
https://www.josephprince.org/
Joyce Meyer Ministries
https://joycemeyer.org/