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Christmas is Over. Now What Do We Do With Jesus?

January 5, 2024 by Lauren 4 Comments

Hi!  It’s been a minute.  We have celebrated multiple holidays since my last post and I hope they were a joy to you.  And if not, I pray that God will comfort you in your grief or disappointment.  My celebrations included both, but also many, many sweet times.  But now that a new year is in progress, I’m left to ponder where we have been and where we are going.  This is nothing new for many of us as the calendar turns over.  But I’m not talking about resolutions or restarts. 

Now that Christmas is over, I want to know what we do with Jesus?

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Maybe you have been walking with Jesus for a long time.  Or maybe your knowledge is limited.  But what struck me during the shopping and revelry is how much of the world celebrates baby Jesus (whether they know it or not).  Mainstream movies (ok, Hallmark movies.  Don’t judge.) feature religious Christmas carols and church services.  And people who don’t regularly attend church show up for the ritual or the story of the Christ child.

 

That baby Jesus feels meek and mild.  It’s even in the songs!  I will venture to say He feels harmless to us.  No threat.  It doesn’t cost us much to praise a tiny baby.  Celebrating the birth of that baby with the beautiful story of the stable and the manger is easy.  But once the nativity sets are packed away (ok, ALL of my decorations aren’t put away yet), do we still think about Him?

 

What Do We Do Now that Christmas is Over?

 

At Christmas it’s easy to imagine Jesus enshrined as a baby forever.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  Jesus grew into a man who was both worshipped and despised.  He lived a sinless life – so hard for us to understand – and died an agonizing death on a cross as punishment for OUR sins.  He made a way for us to have relationship with our holy God.  And because of all He has done, He demands our ALL.  Our obedience, our allegiance, our surrender, our lives.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa!  This is not what we think about when we light a candle and sing about “the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay”!  But even that lyric from “Away in a Manger” holds a key word.  “Lord”.  Are we truly willing to make Him Lord of us?  That means putting aside our wants and desires for His.  Seeking His glory and renown and not our own.  Loving Him through obedience to His Word.  Even the parts we may not like.  It means being counter-cultural.  Even if we look foolish to those around us.

 

Are you ready for that kind of sacrifice?  Maybe instead of setting goals for 2024 that we probably won’t keep (just being a realist), it might be time to examine our commitment to Jesus.  It was pretty easy to celebrate baby Jesus in December.  But are you ready to worship King Jesus all year long?

 

Scripture

 

“For by[a] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  Col. 1:16-17 ESV

 

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Verse Mapping Joy!

March 17, 2023 by Lauren 12 Comments

Last month I shared with you the 13 verses on joy that I am attempting to memorize/focus on this year.  (Joy is my word for 2023.)  I am also verse mapping all 13 verses to help me continue to engage my word, and to bring deeper understanding or new insight into the scriptures.

 

I wrote about verse mapping a couple of years ago when I reviewed Kristy Cambron’s NIV Verse Mapping Bible and Verse Mapping Bible Study Journal.  The journal, in particular, is an extremely helpful tool for me to dig deeper into verses or passages of scripture.  So I decided to share my map for one of my “joy” scriptures and explain the processes so that you can verse map too, whether you buy the journal or not.

 

First of all, I’m going to share pictures of my journal pages so you can see what it looks like.  But because I don’t expect you to read my messy, yet colorful scribble, I’ll break it down for you as well.

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Step One

 

Look up and record the verse or passage in multiple translations.  I usually aim for four different ones, and not necessarily the same ones every time.  Biblegateway.org is a quick and easy way to pick out some different versions.  Then note (underline, circle, box, whatever) the key phrases or words that are consistent across translations.  I chose to mark these in different colors.  And I have actually combined step one and step two for my purposes.  No one says I have to follow the instructions exactly!

 

On this day I analyzed Psalm 5:11 “But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, sing for joy forever!  And may You shelter them, that those who love your name may rejoice in You.”  

 

Step Two

 

Look up the Hebrew (for Old Testament) or Greek (for New Testament) meaning for the underlined words or phrases.  My favorite tool for this is Blue Letter Bible.  You can access it via the link I shared on desk top or by the app.  I don’t write down every single possible definition.  I would quickly run out of paper.  Instead, I look for the most appropriate or sometimes the most surprising meanings for the verse.  Then I go through and underline the possible meanings that are interesting (read different) to me.

 

For “rejoice/ be glad” I underlined the phrase “to brighten up”.  For “who take refuge”, the idea of putting trust in God or “to confide in” stood out to me.  And one of the meanings of “sing for joy” was “to creak”!  Now that I can relate to.  “May you shelter” took on new meaning with “defendest” and “shut up”.  “Your name” can be translated “renown, fame, or reputation”.  And finally, I love the picture of triumph and jumping for joy when we “rejoice/exult”.  

 

Step Three

 

Look at the verse or passage in context.  What is happening in the story?  I sometimes use a commentary in addition to reading the passage.  Straight from my page I wrote:  A flute accompanied Psalm of David and prayer for protection from the wicked.  An imprecatory Psalm (a spoken curse).  David was in the wilderness when Absalom’s forces sought to destroy him.  

 

Step 4

 

Applying what I’ve learned.  For this I have chosen to rewrite the passage using some of the alternate words or phrases found in the original language definitions.  I feel this gives me a fresh perspective and, at times, deeper insight into the verses.

 

We can be glad glad (I almost forgot to mention that the “But” and “rejoice” at the beginning of the verse come from the same Hebrew word.  That’s double emphasis!) when we put our trust and confidence in You.  You brighten up our lives.  I am overcome by You and sing for joy, which sounds like creaks in my case.  You defend us and shut up our enemies.  We jump for joy at your renown and glory.  

 

There are many, many ways to study the bible.  Verse mapping is a method I’m enjoying right now.  I hope you found this helpful or at least interesting!  If you decide to give it a try, I would love to hear how it went for you.  And if you have a study method that is giving you life right now, share it in the comments with us.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

I couldn’t choose just one post this week, so I’m breaking the rules.  I love poetry and was so charmed by Lory’s Advent/Lent:  A Poem.  And I loved Grace and Truth’s own Maree Dee’s The Best Thing to Do When Life is Difficult.  She gave us a strategy that you won’t want to miss.  I’m adopting it immediately.

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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