Unbelief: the worst kind of hypocrisy

From Spurgeon:

It is an odd product of our unhealthy nature—the fear to believe. Yet have I met with it often: so often that I wish I may never see it again. It looks like humility, and tries to pass itself off as the very soul of modesty, and yet it is an infamously proud thing: in fact, it is presumption playing the hypocrite. If men were afraid to disbelieve, there would be good sense in the fear; but to be afraid to trust their God is at best an absurdity, and in very deed it is a deceitful way of refusing to the Lord the honor that is due to His faithfulness and truth.

Christmas eve

First Rossetti's moving poem:

Christmas hath darkness
Brighter than the blazing noon,
Christmas hath a chillness
Warmer than the heat of June,
Christmas hath a beauty
Lovelier than the world can show:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Earth, strike up your music,
Birds that sing and bells that ring;
Heaven hath answering music
For all Angels soon to sing:
Earth, put on your whitest
Bridal robe of spotless snow:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Then the collect for today:

Almighty God,
who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance
of the birth of thy only Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as we joyfully receive him as our redeemer,
so we may with sure confidence behold him
when he shall come to be our judge;
who liveth and reigneth with thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (annotated)

Hark! The herald angels sing (Luke 2:13), ‘Glory to the newborn King (Matt. 2:2);
Peace on earth, and mercy mild (Luke 2:14), God and sinners reconciled (2 Cor. 5:19)!’
Joyful, all ye nations rise (Ps. 117:1), join the triumph of the skies’
With th’angelic host proclaim, ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2)!’

Christ by highest heaven adored (Luke 19:38); Christ the everlasting Lord (2 Pet. 1:11);
Late in time, behold Him come (Gal. 4:4), offspring of a virgin’s womb (Is. 7:14).
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see (Heb. 1:3), hail th’incarnate Deity (Phil. 2:7),
Pleased as man with men to dwell (John 1:14), Jesus, our Emmanuel (Is. 7:14).

Come, Desire of nations, come (Haggai 2:7), fix in us Thy humble home (2 Cor. 13:5);
Rise, the woman’s conquering Seed (Gen. 3:15), bruise in us the serpent’s head (Rom. 16:20).
Now display Thy saving pow’r (Rom. 8:11), Ruined nature now restore (Heb. 2:8-9);
Now in mystic union join Thine to ours (John 17:21), and ours to Thine (Heb. 2:11).

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface (Eph. 4:22), stamp Thine image in its place (Col. 3:10);
Second Adam from above (1 Cor. 15:45), reinstate us in Thy love (Rom. 5:5).
Let us Thee, though lost, regain, Thee, the Life, the inner man (Eph. 3:16):
O, to all Thyself impart (Col. 1:27), formed in each believing heart (Gal. 4:19).

Hail, the heav’n born Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6)! Hail the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2)!
Light and life to all He brings (John 1:4), Ris’n with healing in His wings (Mal. 4:2).
Mild He lays His glory by (Phil. 2:7), born that man no more may die (Rom. 6:6),
Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth (John 3:3).

Hark! The herald angels sing (Luke 2:13), ‘Glory to the newborn king (Matt. 2:2)!’

For more meat off this tasty bone, check out this edifying post here

God 3, Satan 0

The New Testament book of Acts in 3 minutes - clever, funny and to the point: God wins!

Wednesday laughter: only if he's buying

Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he’s buying. 

―Fran Lebowitz

Jesus' new home

Every building is built to accommodate someone or something.  If you are like me, when you drive by a new construction site you look for signs of who might be moving in.  Will it be a store, a bank, a business, or someone’s home?  We want to know who will dwell in that new building.  Well, what we learn in the Christmas story is that our humanity was built to house the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth.  The true temple of God is humanity.  God the Son moves into his temple, his house, his palace when he unites himself to our humanity in the womb of the virgin Mary.  The Father and Spirit construct a glorious house for the Son to dwell in.  And God the Son has no "problem" uniting himself with us and dwelling with us as a man because we have been created for this very purpose.

Via: Corrigenda Denuo discussing Malachi 3:1-4

Aslan's other name

As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone is this world who (1) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2) Said he was the son of the Great Emperor. (3) Gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4) Came to life again. (5) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb (see the end of the Dawn Treader). Don't you really know His name in this world. Think it over and let me know your answer!

CS Lewis, writing to 11-year-old Hila Newman

7 wonderful phrases from 2012

1) Off the cob: corny

2) Douse the Edisons: turn off the lights or close your eyes

3) Focus your audio: listen carefully

4) Bubble dance: to wash the dishes

5) In the ketchup: operating at a deficit

6) Get the mitten: to be rejected

7) Wet sock: a limp, flaccid handshake

I love numbers 2-5. What about you?

Others great phrases and others not so great, can be found here