December 21, 2021

Dr. John Oldham
Scenic City District
Clergy/Pastoral Counselor

Philippians 4:5- ..."The Lord is Near."

⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Devotion
"Getting NEARER to BabyJesus!"

Easter And Christmas Sundays draw the largest crowds to churches. Advent season is a time of excitement and preparation for recognizing and celebrating the birth of baby Jesus.
 
Herod wanted nearer
to Jesus to kill him and the Shepherds and three Kings got nearer to worship and celebrate the birth of the Christ child.
 
Being nearer to baby Jesus
these days means in the words of Thomas Aquinas, "Now it is a fitting time to receive Christ and to be nearer to Jesus!"
 
So to be nearer to Jesus now can mean increasing your daily scripture reading centering around the Annunciation stories in the Old and New Testament; centering daily prayers on Thanksgiving for the birth, life , death and resurrection of Jesus; doing more phone cases reaching out to the sick and shutins of your congregation; and consider at this time of Advent to participate in volunteering at local food kitchens, Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, etc. to give to others, etc.. All can be ways to get nearer to baby Jesus in these contemporary times.
 
Let us sincerely seek ways to both become both more excited and nearer the baby Jesus during this Advent Season.

Let Us Pray;

O great God and Jesus,
may we always seek to be drawn closer to thee!
 
Amen.