The Magic Of ChristmasSample

"The Magic of the Mosaic" When I was growing up, my siblings and I had a quiet competition to see who could wow Mom and Dad with the most original gift on Christmas morning. One year, the framed picture of our parents as high school sweethearts with their names engraved had practically “won Christmas.” The next year, in an attempt to create a magical moment for my mother on Christmas morning, I gathered all of her favorite T-shirts, including my dad’s old high school football jersey, dusted off the sewing machine, and created a quilt full of memories and sentimentality. The marvelously woven quilt told a story with seemingly unrelated events collectively pieced together into a more magnificent story. The T-shirt fragments came together. Mom’s Christmas would be magical. Winning Christmas was in the bag. King David knew about crafting things together to show his love. He may not have been motivated by sibling rivalry, but the King of Israel desired to build a temple to honor the God he loved. The shepherd boy turned king longed for a place where the Spirit of God could dwell; he longed to bring the presence of the Lord near. But God had another plan to draw near to his people. He was weaving together a legacy that could not be contained in a building. The mosaic of God’s story was coming together in a way that was beyond David’s wildest dreams. And God would use David’s family to accomplish his purposes. He will reign on David’s throne
 and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it
 with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. – Isaiah 9:7 From the lineage of David, God was sending a Savior and his name would be Jesus. Like David, he would be known as a shepherd and a king, but this king would be unlike any king Israel had ever seen. He would not reside in a temple but would be the fulfillment of a promise. He would be our Immanuel—God with us. Holly Goddard Waumba Land