My Christ's Family Tree

 Matthew 1:1-23

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.... And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

 

 For the past couple years, I have been lead to purchase Christmas devotionals for the month of December known as Advent. The word advent means: "a coming into being or use"  It goes back to Latin, meaning arrival or appearance.. (Webster Online Dictionary). In Christianity, it is the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas. Some people observe it by a season of prayer and fasting, a time to set aside for reflection and prayer regarding the foretold birth of Christ. It should hold a deeper meaning than just a religious burden and tradition.  As believers with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ- it takes another form. In my experience, I like to use the month of December as a time to draw away from all the hustle and bustle of the season, to make- prepare- room for Christ- the person behind the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place. As I set aside time each day in December- to read the scriptures of the coming- in the Old Testament- and the miraculous arrival of Christ- in the New Testament- it keeps my focus on what is the most important. In the past, it has drawn me closer to the Lord and has brought new revelation of that wonderful, eternal promise that God made to redeem mankind from death, hell and destruction; to smash the works of darkness and bring His people into the marvelous light- the knowledge, the revelation of Jesus Christ! How wonderful, how amazing, how marvelous the goodness of God that He did not leave us to ourselves, in the darkness where sin had buried us - and brought us out into resurrection light and life! How wonderful!

This season, I came across a new devotional: "The Greatest Gift" by Ann Voskamp. She goes back into the genealogy of Christ. I enjoy a Christmas devotional that takes it a bit further than just the gospel story of Christ's birth. This one goes back to the Old Testament, the promise of a coming One who will redeem us from the curse. In this devotional there is a project which you can do. I thought it was really interesting. It is called making a "Jesse Tree". She begins by taking a verse from the Old Testament that gives insight to Christ's family tree. Who doesn't like to learn about our ancestors. In the natural- it could be good or bad. But in the spiritual, it is all good because it leads up to the birth of Christ, our Redeemer, our Kinsmen Redeemer- our ancestor!

So I got into the spirit (and excitement) of it and bought a little artificial tree. My husband does wood working, so he made  wooden ornaments to hang on my little Jesse Tree- or what I am going to call, my Christ's Family Tree. Then I printed out the pictures and verses to hang the specific ornament corresponding to the day of the devotional. I am looking forward to learning more about my Christ's Family Tree as I read the daily devotional and put up the daily verse and picture ornament. I intentionally chose some natural material for this project. I bought burlap to wrap around the base of the tree. I also bought Jute cord to hang up my wooden ornaments. To me, that symbolizes how Christ came into the world- not with glitter and gold, but in a barn, a cold, dirty barn, filled with straw and smelly animals.  His life was not one of glamor and glitz- it was an ordinary one. He looked like those around Him. Nothing about Him would make you think of royalty. So my little tree- covered with elements of the earth- to me, reminds me of His lowly life and how I should live the same- not with flamboyance and lavishness, but with the humble demeanor and grace of the life of Christ.  (Though I have to admit- I sometimes mess up on the humility aspect of my walk with Christ- but His grace and mercy always bring me back on track.)

Advent- waiting for the coming of a special event or person. However you want to celebrate this year, either every day or week, set aside time during your busy schedule to read and meditate and pray over the scriptures of Christ's advent- all those beautiful promises given by the prophets of old, and then seeing them fulfilled in the gospels. Rejoice- for a Savior has come! Celebrate the most precious gift ever offered to mankind! As the days wane down in the month of December before that special day of celebration with family, friends, neighbors, your Church family- you will find yourself more at peace with the world and with yourself. You will come to a great realization that as born again believers, we are a part of Christ's Family. And if you have never fully received Christ as your Savior- a living relationship with Him- all you need to do is ask Him to come into your life, cleanse you of sin, take the reins and allow Him to lead you into a greater understanding of what this season is all about. You will be blessed by Spirit of the Lord, that will draw you closer to the One- the One and only reason we celebrate this special season. Rejoice!

Come along with me as  I post photos and reflections during this Advent season.

~Donna