Day 5 of the 12 Days Until Christmas

Matt. 1:18-25

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

December 17, 2013

For a reading of this Scripture

Day 5 song excerpt

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King,

peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconcile.

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

join the triumph of the skies;

with the angelic host proclaim,

'Christ is born in Bethlehem'

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King.

Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

late in time behold him come,

offspring of a virgin's womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

hail, the incarnate deity,

pleased as Man with to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace!

Hail the Sun of righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,

risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,

born that man no more may die,

born to raise the suns of earth,

born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King.

Words by Charles Wesley, 1739,  adapted by William H. Cummings from composition by Felix Mendelssohn ,1840

Sung by Amy Grant, A Christmas Album

The 12 Days of Christmas 2013

In Christian love,
K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Day 4 of the 12 Days Until Christmas

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

December 16, 2013

For a reading of this Scripture

Day 4 Song excerpt

Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?

This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo

The blind will see.

The deaf will hear.

The dead will live again.

The lame will leap.

The dumb will speak

The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

Written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene

Sung by Clay Aiken, Merry Christmas with Love

In Christian love,
K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Day 3 of the 12 Days Until Christmas

John 1:14

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

December 15, 2103

For a reading of this Scripture

Day 3 Song excerpt

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high 

Sweetly singing ore the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Come to Bethlehem an see

Christ whose birth the angels sing

Come adore on bended knee

Christ the Lord the newborn King

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

See Him in a manger laid

Whom the choirs of angels praise

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid

While our hearts in love we raise

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Unknown, translated by James Chawick 1862

Sung by Avalon, God With Us - A Celebration of Christmas Carols and Classics

In Christian love,
K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Day 2 of the 12 Days Until Christmas

The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 2

December 14, 2013

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive an give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel.

For a reading of this Scripture

Day 2 Song excerpt

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Sung by Stephen Curtis Chapman, from God With Us, A Celebration of Christmas Carols and Classics

Words:  Written in Latin text in the 12th Century - author unknown, translated into English by John Mason Neale in 1851.

In Christian love,
K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Day 1 of the 12 Days Until Christmas in Song and Word

The Christmas season, a time of great joy, has somehow become very busy. With much anticipation, there is often accompanying anxiety. The best antidote for apprehension this season is to be in the Word of God.  This site is dedicated to the peace that surpasses all understanding that comes from God.  May He bless you as you read His story and enjoy the words of some of the sacred songs of the season.

I will release one Scripture and one excerpt from a Christmas song each day until Christmas. I hope enjoy the 12 Days Until Christmas in Song and Word. 


The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Audio version

December 13, 2013

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

For a reading of this Scripture

Day 1 Song excerpt 

What Child is This?

What Child is this, who laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping.

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.

Haste, haste to bring Him laud

The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Good Christian, fear:

For sinners here,

The silent Word is pleading;

Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through,

The Cross be borne, for me, for you:

Hail, hail the Word made flesh,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,

Come peasant king to own HIm,

The King of Kings salvation brings,

Let loving hearts enthrone HIm.

Raise, raise the song on high,

The Virigin sings her lullaby;

Joy, joy, for Christ is born,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sings:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud, 

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

Sung by Cheri Keaggy, from God With Us, A Celebration of Christmas Carols and Classics

Words:  William C. Dix, The Manger Throne, 1865

Music: Greensleeves, 16th century English melody

In Christian love,

K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Courage to Cry - Classroom Lighthouse Series #6

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord. (Zech. 4:6)

The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them… (Psalm 34:17)

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…and he has filled them with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge… (Exodus 35:31)

The Courage to Cry

            Courage simply defined is the inner strength necessary to do a difficult or dangerous job.  Being a public school teacher is not often a dangerous job but it quite often can be a difficult one.  One of the greatest difficulties we face is the task of being given the responsibility to teach specific objectives to students who seemingly do not have the prerequisite knowledge, motivation, or behavioral skills necessary to meet those objectives. Every year God seems to send us Goliath students or Goliath class periods of students that we can’t seem to motivate or move in the right direction no matter what old or new strategies or programs we try.  Sometimes God may even place an unmoving Goliath administrator, co-worker, or parent in the middle our professional field. What Goliath or Goliaths has God placed in the middle of your academic field this year?

            God places these Goliaths in our professional lives because He wants to be in partnership with us. He wants us to realize we can’t do this job by ourselves, that we need His presence and leadership. He gives us tasks and challenges that we can face and overcome only with his Spirit and guidance.  As we look at the Goliaths we face this year we can hear the Lord telling us, “It’s not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.”  Specifically, for us as educators, He is saying, “It’s not by more knowledge and programs, but by my Spirit.  Place your trust and faith in me, not yourself, not others, not other things, and watch what I will do. Seek me first. Come to me in prayer where you work. Agree with others in prayer where you work and watch what I will do. Cry out to me.”

            Do you remember the story of David and Goliath?  Saul tries to put his armor on David. Had David worn and used those weapons and armor, he would have been defeated.  David did not trust in weapons or armor.  He trusted in the Lord.  The Lord gave him the courage and the specific skills needed to accomplish the objective set before him. We need knowledge, skills, and programs just like David needed his sling and stones, but our trust and faith must be in God, not the skills, programs, and knowledge we utilize.

            Mrs. Long, a third grade elementary teacher faced one of these Goliaths.  Her Goliath was a class of  twenty-three students with over half of them being mainstreamed special needs children. Two had severe behavior disorders, half of them were ADD or ADHD, and the students’ reading levels varied from primer to the fourth grade levels.  She was given 55 minutes each day to teach reading.  She was being held accountable to accelerate their reading.  The district had given her no appropriate program or training to meet the challenge, but God did.  She cried out to him in prayer and He divinely gave her an original multi-level phonics, vocabulary, and fluency program that worked, that challenged every student in the room.  Mrs. Long even began marketing the program.   God made a way where there was no way. He showed Mrs. Long, in the stream bed of prayer, where to find her smooth stones. He truly was the way, the truth, and the light in Mrs. Long’s classroom that year.

            Mrs. Long recently met with a group of Christian high school teachers to pray with them at their school.  As the Holy Spirit led them in prayer, one of the instructors, a department chairperson, began to weep for students she was serving who were giving 100% effort to meet the scholastic objectives but were falling far short.  She began to cry out to God for help on their behalf.  She then picked up the Bible and prayed a passage from Exodus. She prayed, “…and he has filled him [them] with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and intelligence…”. (Exodus 35:31)  She knew that by her own power and the power of the students, the task was impossible, but this teacher worked for God first and she knew that, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)  She knew the power of faith, the power of God’s word when it is prayed, and the power of agreement in prayer with other believing teachers.   

            Take courage. Take your eyes off your academic Goliath(s) and turn them upon Jesus. Cry out to him.  Go to the stream bed of prayer. Do what he tells you. Watch what he will do through you. Give him all the glory!

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Prayer:  Lord, fill every student we serve with your Holy Spirit and with skill, ability and intelligence.

Application:  Cry out to God for answers to the professional challenges you face. Ask God for help. Listen to him and take his advice. Regularly agree and meet with other believers in prayer at your school. 

Sharing:  What was the biggest Goliath you have ever faced in your professional career and how did you handle it?  How did God see you through it? How did it strengthen you?

CLASSROOM LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: TEACHER! TAKE COURAGE!  (For inquiries contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) #6

Prayerfully dependent,

K

http://www.one16pray.com

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May God bless you with success His way this 2013-2014 school year.

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry byclicking here.

Christian Educators Association International is the only professional association in the United States specifically for Christian educators in public schools.  CEAI protects our members first in prayer, next with excellent professional liability insurance and other benefits while helping them live out their high calling as a Christian in the public school.