Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Tuesday - Happy CHRISTmas Eve Day

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

By Skip Heitzig


There’s a Christmas song that tells us how Santa Claus “sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!” The writer of this song was wrongly giving an imaginary elf the attributes of God. You see, only God knows everything. This attribute is called omniscience, and it makes Him so different, so much higher, than mere humans.

The thing about God that really grabbed David’s attention was His personal and thorough knowledge of him. He said in Psalm 139, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether” (Ps. 139:1-4). Amazingly, the God who knows everything about everything cares enough to know each of us personally.


David reminds us that God knows us inside and out. He has searched and knows us, including our thoughts and our motives. He knows when we sit down to relax and when we get up to engage in the activities of our daily lives. He can even tell what we’re thinking and what we’ll say. Knowing that God knows about us should cause us to live lives that are pleasing to Him. In the words of the Christmas song, we should want to “be good for goodness’ sake!”


David also realized that God’s thoughts toward Him were both gracious and numerous: “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You” (Ps. 139:17). God’s thoughts toward us are precious; in other words, they are loving, concerned thoughts. And His thoughts toward us are continual; they are beyond counting. If the mythical Santa was said to be watching to see whether to give or withhold gifts, know this: God is watching because He wants to give “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).


The Creator of the Universe, the Almighty God, who knows each star by name, is thinking about you. He sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake…and He is there diligently, lovingly watching over you. “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He…shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3-4).

'Twas the night before Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch

The pond was froze over & so was the branch.

The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.

The kids were all home on vacation from school, 

And happier young folks you never did see-

Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.

Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,

There came a surprise that gave them a shock! 

The power went off, the TV went dead!

When Grandpa came in from out in the shed

With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.

"Just what I expected," they heard him remark. 

"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.

Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."

"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom. "With their light,

And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right." 

The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.

Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,

Uncased his old fiddle & started to play

That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh. 

Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew

Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.

They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"

Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight. 

They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,

And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.

They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,

The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve. 

Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;

And when the kids wakened, the power was on...

"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"

Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick. 

Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,

He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!

-anonymous 
 
O Holy Night


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