My Proper Position Before the Manger Of Christ

Meditations for the Season of Advent 

December 16, 2022

My Proper Position Before the Manger Of Christ

Every knee will bend to me,

    and every tongue will declare allegiance to me

Isaiah 45:23b (NLT)

This prophesy about Jesus from Isaiah is fulfilled by the words of the Apostle Paul:

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

Christmas is known for glitter and bows, pageants and cantatas, and decorations that range from the sublime to the gaudy. For most of our marriage, Cheryl and I shied away from many decorations in our house. Before I retired, we were always on the go through the season, and after working on Christmas Eve, we were traveling on Christmas Day to visit family. Things changed when we retired. For our first Christmas in our own home, we went all out with decorations, even though it was just the two of us, and our faithful Springer Spaniels. Our second Christmas was even more special. We both had experienced significant medical issues, and we were very happy to be alive. We thoroughly enjoyed the glitter!

Presently, our very special decoration is a beautiful crèche carved from olive wood that we purchased in Bethlehem. I love it as a reminder of our visit to Israel, but I often find myself smiling as I gaze upon it and remember the archeological site we visited near Megiddo. The artifacts there included a manger hewn out of solid rock and the remnants of what a stable would have been like when Jesus was born. It was not the pretty, quaint, and warm snuggly environment depicted on Christmas cards.

My Takeaway: I’m OK with some of the sentimental stuff, and nostalgia about Christmas celebrations have their place, if they point me to my proper position before the manger of Christ as announced by Isaiah: “Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.