On Dec 10th we witnessed a lunar eclipse in our part of the earth. It was a beautiful sight to behold.The moon gradually disappearing behind a cloak of darkness and then emarging bright and luminous once more. It all took more than an hour . Scientists , researchers , students and interested people gazed at it with specialised equipment and the naked eye. The news channels did their best to show it to us at its various stages.
Below are my attempts at taking some mug shots or potshots at the moon.
(Lunar eclipse Dec 10, 2011)
It was a rare sight . The moon being enveloped by darkness and then slipping out from the shadow in all its silver luminence.
Christmas is the season to celebrate the defeat of darkness.
This is a prophecy made about the birth of Christ by the Prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before his birth.
Isaiah 9 (BIBLE -OLD TESTAMENT)
2 The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Joni Eareckson Tada says,
"God permits all sorts of awful things to happen... things he doesn't approve of.
God allows others to do what he would never do. At the same time, he hates evil.
Please don't think that God sits back and nods appreciatively at the peddling of
drugs to ninth graders. He's not the one who fired the ovens of Auschwitz and other
Nazi death camps. He does not smile when doctors slip up leaving children with crippling
defects, or high school linebackers crush the neck of the opposing team's quarterback.
He hates these things
God is truly grieved over evil. He is grieved at how we've ruined the world and
abused each other. This grief is partly why he gave the Ten Commandments: don't
murder, he says -
I hate unjust killing.
Don't commit adultery -
I despise seeing
families ripped apart.
Don't steal - society will crumble if you do.
God cannot
tolerate wrong...
This is why he sent Jesus to be born into our dark world. From the day of his birth,
the forces of darkness began plotting against the Babe in the manger. Why?
Because
the adversary and his wicked hoards knew that this was the Child who would ultimately
crush Satan and bring an end to wickedness in this world. God is so grieved over
evil, that he sent his only Son to die in order that righteousness and peace, truth
and love would prevail... in order that we might escape the clutches of hell and
be welcomed into heaven. God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he
loves.
Celebrate the defeat of darkness by singing this verse today from the Christmas
carol, "Joy to the World": No more let sin or sorrow reign, nor thorns infest the
ground; He comes to make His blessings known far as the curse is found!
God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, remember Christ our Saviorwe were gone astray,
O tidings of comfort and joy!"
===============
This is Mary' s soliloquy addressed to her new born son. Max Lucado has written it beautifully
Tiny Mouth, Tiny Feet
God. O infant-God. Heaven’s fairest child. Conceived by the union of divine grace with our disgrace. Sleep well.
Sleep well. Bask in the coolness of this night bright with diamonds. Sleep well, for the heat of anger simmers nearby. Enjoy the silence of the crib, for the noise of confusion rumbles in your future. Savor the sweet safety of my arms, for a day is soon coming when I cannot protect you.
Rest well, tiny hands. For though you belong to a king, you will touch no satin, own no gold. You will grasp no pen, guide no brush. No, your tiny hands are reserved for works more precious:
to touch a leper’s open wound,
to wipe a widow’s weary tear
to claw the ground of Gethsemane.
Your hands, so tiny, so tender, so white—clutched tonight in an infant’s fist. They aren’t destined to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony. They are reserved instead for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman cross.
Sleep deeply, tiny eyes. Sleep while you can. For soon the blurriness will clear and you will see the mess we have made of your world.
O eyes that will see hell’s darkest pit and witness her ugly prince … sleep, please sleep; sleep while you can.
Lay still, tiny mouth. Lay still mouth from which eternity will speak.
Tiny tongue that will soon summon the dead,
that will define grace,
that will silence our foolishness.
Rosebud lips—upon which ride a starborn kiss of forgiveness to those who believe you, and of death to those who deny you—lay still.
And tiny feet cupped in the palm of my hand, rest. For many difficult steps lie ahead for you.
Rest, tiny feet. Rest today so that tomorrow you might walk with power. Rest. For millions will follow in your steps.
And little heart … holy heart … pumping the blood of life through the universe: How many times will we break you?
You’ll be torn by the thorns of our accusations.
You’ll be ravaged by the cancer of our sin.
You’ll be crushed under the weight of your own sorrow.
And you’ll be pierced by the spear of our rejection.
Yet in that piercing, in that ultimate ripping of muscle and membrane, in that final rush of blood and water, you will find rest. Your hands will be freed, your eyes will see justice, your lips will smile, and your feet will carry you home.
And there you’ll rest again—this time in the embrace of your Father.
Below are my attempts at taking some mug shots or potshots at the moon.
It was a rare sight . The moon being enveloped by darkness and then slipping out from the shadow in all its silver luminence.
Christmas is the season to celebrate the defeat of darkness.
This is a prophecy made about the birth of Christ by the Prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before his birth.
Isaiah 9 (BIBLE -OLD TESTAMENT)
2 The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Joni Eareckson Tada says,
"God permits all sorts of awful things to happen... things he doesn't approve of.
God allows others to do what he would never do. At the same time, he hates evil.
Please don't think that God sits back and nods appreciatively at the peddling of
drugs to ninth graders. He's not the one who fired the ovens of Auschwitz and other
Nazi death camps. He does not smile when doctors slip up leaving children with crippling
defects, or high school linebackers crush the neck of the opposing team's quarterback.
He hates these things
God is truly grieved over evil. He is grieved at how we've ruined the world and
abused each other. This grief is partly why he gave the Ten Commandments: don't
murder, he says -
I hate unjust killing.
Don't commit adultery -
I despise seeing
families ripped apart.
Don't steal - society will crumble if you do.
God cannot
tolerate wrong...
This is why he sent Jesus to be born into our dark world. From the day of his birth,
the forces of darkness began plotting against the Babe in the manger. Why?
Because
the adversary and his wicked hoards knew that this was the Child who would ultimately
crush Satan and bring an end to wickedness in this world. God is so grieved over
evil, that he sent his only Son to die in order that righteousness and peace, truth
and love would prevail... in order that we might escape the clutches of hell and
be welcomed into heaven. God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he
loves.
Celebrate the defeat of darkness by singing this verse today from the Christmas
carol, "Joy to the World": No more let sin or sorrow reign, nor thorns infest the
ground; He comes to make His blessings known far as the curse is found!
God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, remember Christ our Saviorwe were gone astray,
O tidings of comfort and joy!"
===============
This is Mary' s soliloquy addressed to her new born son. Max Lucado has written it beautifully
Tiny Mouth, Tiny Feet
God. O infant-God. Heaven’s fairest child. Conceived by the union of divine grace with our disgrace. Sleep well.
Sleep well. Bask in the coolness of this night bright with diamonds. Sleep well, for the heat of anger simmers nearby. Enjoy the silence of the crib, for the noise of confusion rumbles in your future. Savor the sweet safety of my arms, for a day is soon coming when I cannot protect you.
Rest well, tiny hands. For though you belong to a king, you will touch no satin, own no gold. You will grasp no pen, guide no brush. No, your tiny hands are reserved for works more precious:
to touch a leper’s open wound,
to wipe a widow’s weary tear
to claw the ground of Gethsemane.
Your hands, so tiny, so tender, so white—clutched tonight in an infant’s fist. They aren’t destined to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony. They are reserved instead for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman cross.
Sleep deeply, tiny eyes. Sleep while you can. For soon the blurriness will clear and you will see the mess we have made of your world.
O eyes that will see hell’s darkest pit and witness her ugly prince … sleep, please sleep; sleep while you can.
Lay still, tiny mouth. Lay still mouth from which eternity will speak.
Tiny tongue that will soon summon the dead,
that will define grace,
that will silence our foolishness.
Rosebud lips—upon which ride a starborn kiss of forgiveness to those who believe you, and of death to those who deny you—lay still.
And tiny feet cupped in the palm of my hand, rest. For many difficult steps lie ahead for you.
Rest, tiny feet. Rest today so that tomorrow you might walk with power. Rest. For millions will follow in your steps.
And little heart … holy heart … pumping the blood of life through the universe: How many times will we break you?
You’ll be torn by the thorns of our accusations.
You’ll be ravaged by the cancer of our sin.
You’ll be crushed under the weight of your own sorrow.
And you’ll be pierced by the spear of our rejection.
Yet in that piercing, in that ultimate ripping of muscle and membrane, in that final rush of blood and water, you will find rest. Your hands will be freed, your eyes will see justice, your lips will smile, and your feet will carry you home.
And there you’ll rest again—this time in the embrace of your Father.
4 Fertilize my soul:
Dear Amrita,
Thank you for bringing food to nourish my soul.
I tend to become a little self absorbed in the month of December. It's my daughter, my mother and my,my,my...
Our common God knows what we really need, and he's giving us redemption over and over again. The word became flesh 2000 years ago.
The blessed night in Bethlehem.
Felisol my dear you are sharing God 's love with your loved ones. Trust Serina and Monten are doing good. Mother must miss you so much. Shalom and grace to all of you
Hello Amrita,
What a fabulous post.You started with lunar eclipse with lovely photos and went on to so many meaningful things in life.Prophesy,Immaculate conception,a beautiful description of Christ and our salvation.All in one wonderful post.Something to really reflect on in this season of Christmas. You are eloquent in your Christmas message.Amazing post. Yes, I am amazed how you delivered a powerful message for Christmas.
Have a wonderful day,
Joseph
I couldn't see the lunar eclipse because of clouds and rain. I believe that Jesus is the Ligth - He take me and other people out from darkness.
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