Welcome to Christmas week my friends! I pray that the whole world comes together like never before to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the rebirth of hope and love into this weary planet. Last night, after sending out the devotional, my wife and I wrapped our kids’ presents and had a lovely night watching for King & Country’s one hour Christmas Concert that one YouTuber somehow has posted on their page. If you are looking for something positive to play in the background this Christmas, this concert was perfect. The brother’s also have a shorter, new, live performance they recently filmed for the internet, which you can watch here. This second version does not have all the big concert bells and whistles, but it is still a beautiful, comforting soundtrack to the season.
Then my wife and I did something we never do, we watched some TV. She wanted a romantic Christmas movie, I wanted a comedy, so we sat scrolling through Netflix but could not find anything we could agree on. Then we landed on Ozark, which my wife said was supposed to be a pretty popular show. And Netflix got us with their tricky autoplay. By the time I finished reading what the show was about, the pilot had done what any good pilot episode should, it had us hooked. So we sat through the first episode, mostly watching out of disbelief, trying to be able to relate to the rest of America. But after turning the TV off, I really wish I had that hour of my life back. I still do not understand how America throws so much of their life away watching garbage. We need to get better America. We need to break this entertainment entrapment we are currently in, especially in 2021. What can we accomplish as a society if we spent our free time being proactive instead of passively allowing our lives to be stolen from us?
That’s my rant for the day. I hope y’all have a nice relaxing week going into Christmas. For the first year ever, I am actually going into the holiday prepared, and not running around shopping at the last minute.
We’ve reached my top 5! Christmas songs. Starting today with my last traditional song. “O Holy Night” is my favorite Christmas classic. You can find numerous versions out there, but I love hearing a strong female voice sing this one, so why not go with my favorite female Christian singer and share Ms. Kari Jobe.
As my list traditions into all original music, this hybrid of original content mixed with the classic “Perfect Light,” is my second song on my countdown. Crowder lends his distinct voice to Chris Tomlin‘s masterpiece in our next video.
December 21
10At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” (Revelation 19: 10)
I love this reminder by the angel that we are to focus our worship on God and Jesus. I do not personally believe that God is so vain that He demands all our worship. We can still pray to Mother Mary, and the Saints, and all those who have changed the world in Christ’s name. But that’s where the line needs to be drawn. Obviously, when we start concentrating our worship on worldly idols, like sports figures, political leaders, or celebrities, we have fallen far from the worship God asks of us. So worship the Father and the Son, every single day. Worship their wonder and their power. Worship their love and forgiveness. Worship their promise of forever.
Reading plan: Revelation 21
Deeper reading plan: Malachi 3
Prayer and meditation: This week we go to nothing but thanks to God for the gift of Jesus. With heads bowed low, and hand lifted high we praise the miracle of the babe in the manger.
Fitness challenge: We’re going to start doing AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible): Do a good stretch and then do as many round as possible of the following in 15-minutes:
- 10 x Hand-release Push-up
- 10 x 4-count flutter kicks
- 10 x Wide push-up
- 10 x V-up
- 5 x Diamond push-up
Run: Monday-resistance running day. Whatever you used last week, get after it again. This week, perform 14 sprints with whatever resistance you can come up with, add a one-mile warm-up and TWO-mile cool-down.
Common Sense Reborn 