Scripture references;
“1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:1-5 KJV
“9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And 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.” John 1:9-14 KJV
“20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 KJV
“1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3 KJV
“3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5 KJV
“12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 KJV
“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart..” Hebrews 4:12 HCSB
“5Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah 6: 5-7 KJV
“8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:8-11 KJV
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”John 14:6 KJV
“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10 HCSB
” 24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” John5:24-25 KJV
“6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Romans 10:6-11 KJV
Below is both a language arts lesson and a devotion combined. I hope that if you take the time to complete it you will come away with a new appreciation for both Jesus (The Living Word) and the written word.
Read the above passages slowly and think about what they are saying. It is Christmas time. Countless people are pausing to think about a little baby that was born in a manger. Many will share what they believe is “The Reason for the Season”. There truly is a reason, and to know it, all one must do is read the Bible…read the four gospels ( Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)…see what the Bible says about Him…see what Jesus said about Himself.
Pray for understanding, for the Lord to open the eyes of your heart, and go back and read them again, and see if there are any new connections that you were able to make. Are there other portions of scripture hidden in your heart that are surfacing? Jesus has so many titles. Are their any titles that you can remember? Are there beautiful images or analogies that illustrate the true Christmas message?
Do you like grammar? Take one of the above verses, diagram it, and see if you can locate the subject(s) in that verse. See if the verb is an action verb or a linking verb (state of being verb). If the verb is an action verb is it transitive or intransitive? Are you a little rusty? If it is transitive that means that someone or something is acted upon. Here is an example:
1. Lisa bakes. (The verb is “bakes”. Nothing is acted on, so “bakes” is intransitive.)
2. Lisa bakes cookies. (The verb is “bakes”. Cookies are acted on, so “bakes” is transitive.)
Next look at the objects (the receivers of the action) and see who or what the object is in each one.
In sentence #2 the objects are “cookies”.
In some cases the “subject” of a sentence can be acted upon (can be the receiver of an action). Look at the example below:
“The cookies were frosted and decorated.”
Are you one of those “gifted and talented” grammar students? If you answered, “Yes.” go back and repeat the above exercises on as many of the scripture references as you can. You will be in for a real Christmas treat! 🙂
Are you an advanced Bible scholar? If you are, then get out your Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and do a word study on any words that caught your eye. Write down any relationships you find, connections you make. Then write a new post on your blog so others can be blessed.
Are you one who has little or no Bible knowledge? You are in for the biggest treat of all! Below is something I have written that will really help.
Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord? Please click here: https://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/category/about-salvation-very-important-words/ and make sure.
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just go to http://www.biblegateway.com. They have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
Moore to Ponder 