Episode 49 (Dec 16-22): "Good Tidings of Great Joy" or, A Christmas Mixtape
It's a mixtape!
Listen here:
Podbean: https://thesaviorsaid.podbean.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/433X9B4giGFPvfi6Octo6G?si=qz4wXvoZRkSn2r5l2r60FQ
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/savior-said-weekly-musing-observations-on-new-testament/id1447685351?mt=2
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/lexie-austin/the-savior-said-weekly-musings-and-observations-on-the-new-testament
Track Listing:
Song: Noel (Live) by Lauren Daigle and Chris Tomlin
Book: The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazwell
Song: God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / Angels We Have Heard on High / Hark the Herald Angels Sing By Leann Rimes
Talk: Christ: The Light That Shines in the Darkness by Sharon Eubank
Song: Light Of The World by Lauren Daigle
Song: I Stand All Amazed by Mary Kokali and Troy Lisonbee
Book: Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
Song: Angels from the Realms of Glory by Peter Hollens (feat. The Piano Guys, David Archuleta & the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
December 16–22
Christmas
“Good Tidings of Great Joy”
-We’re almost at 50k!!! Remember to check out http://www.artbygeekgirl.com/
Thank you for a wonderful year
From CFM: For some, Christmas can be a hectic time. Consider how your study of the New Testament can help bring a spirit of peace and sacredness into your life. Ponder the influence of the Savior’s birth and mission on your life, and record any spiritual impressions that come.
MIXTAPE TIME!
From: What do you know about who Jesus Christ was before He was born? (see, for example, John 17:5; Mosiah 3:5; D&C 76:13–14, 20–24; Moses 4:2).
Isaiah 9:6: 6 For unto us a achild is bborn, unto us a cson is given: and the dgovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, eCounsellor, The fmighty gGod, The heverlasting Father, The Prince of iPeace.
How does this knowledge affect the way you feel when you read about His birth?
- So amazed that something so holy and pure would descend to come to Earth, just for me.
Full text at: https://zenoch.org/mormon-stuff/favorite-stories/christmas-stories/the-littlest-angel/
Tidings of Comfort and Joy, indeed.
CFM: What do you know about why Jesus Christ came to earth?
Christ: The Light That Shines in Darkness
By Sharon Eubank
Jesus Christ is the source of our power, the Light and Life of the World. Without a strong connection to Him, we begin to spiritually die. Knowing that, Satan tries to exploit the worldly pressures we all face. He works to dim our light, short-circuit the connection, cut off the power supply, leaving us alone in the dark. These pressures are common conditions in mortality, but Satan works hard to isolate us and tell us we are the only one experiencing them.
Some of Us Are Paralyzed with Grief
When tragedies overtake us, when life hurts so much we can’t breathe, when we’ve taken a beating like the man on the road to Jericho and been left for dead, Jesus comes along and pours oil into our wounds, lifts us tenderly up, takes us to an inn, looks after us.1 To those of us in grief, He says, “I will … ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, … that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.”2 Christ heals wounds.
Some of Us Are Just So Tired
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said: “It is not intended that we run faster than we have strength. … But [in spite of] that, I know … many of you run [very,] very fast and that [the] energy and emotional supply sometimes registers close to empty.”3 When expectations overwhelm us, we can step back and ask Heavenly Father what to let go of. Part of our life experience is learning what not to do. But even so, sometimes life can be exhausting. Jesus assures us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”4
Christ is willing to join with us in the yoke and pull in order to lighten our burdens. Christ is rest.
Some of Us Feel We Don’t Fit the Traditional Mold
For various reasons, we don’t feel accepted or acceptable. The New Testament shows the great efforts Jesus made to reach out to all kinds of people: lepers, tax collectors, children, Galileans, harlots, women, Pharisees, sinners, Samaritans, widows, Roman soldiers, adulterers, the ritually unclean. In almost every story, He is reaching someone who wasn’t traditionally accepted in society.
Luke 19 tells the story of the chief tax collector in Jericho named Zacchaeus. He climbed a tree in order to see Jesus walk by. Zacchaeus was employed by the Roman government and viewed as corrupt and a sinner. Jesus saw him up in the tree and called to him, saying, “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.”5 And when Jesus saw the goodness of Zacchaeus’s heart and the things he did for others, He accepted his offering, saying, “This day is salvation come to this house, [for] he also is a son of Abraham.”6
Christ tenderly told the Nephites, “I have commanded that none of you should go away.”7 Peter had that powerful epiphany in Acts 10 when he declared, “God hath shewed me that I should not call any [person] common or unclean.”8 It is an unwavering requirement of Christian disciples and Latter-day Saints to show true love to one another.9 Jesus extends the same kind of invitation to us that He did to Zacchaeus: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if [you] hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to [you], and will sup with [you], and [you] with me.”10 Christ sees us in our tree.
Some of Us Are Splintering with Questions
Our mortal brains are made to seek understanding and meaning in tidy bundles. I don’t know all the reasons why the veil over mortality is so thick. This is not the stage in our eternal development where we have all answers. It is the stage where we develop our assurance (or sometimes our hope) in the evidence of things not seen. Assurance comes in ways that aren’t always easy to analyze, but there is light in our darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.”13 For those seeking truth, it may seem at first to be the foolish claustrophobia of windows made of stone. But with patience and faithful questions, Jesus can transform our windows of stone to glass and light. Christ is light to see.
Some of Us Feel We Can Never Be Good Enough
The scarlet dye of the Old Testament was not only colorful but also colorfast, meaning that its vivid color stuck to the wool and would not fade no matter how many times it was washed.14 Satan wields this reasoning like a club: white wool stained scarlet can never go back to being white. But Jesus Christ declares, “My ways [are] higher than your ways,”15 and the miracle of His grace is that when we repent of our sins, His scarlet blood returns us to purity. It isn’t logical, but it is nevertheless true.
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”16 The Lord says emphatically: he or she “who has repented of … sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”17 In essence: Come, let us reason together.18 You made mistakes; all come short.19 Come unto me and repent.20 I will remember the sin no more.21 You can be whole again.22 I have a work for you to do.23 Christ makes wool white.
If you feel that the beacon of your testimony is sputtering and darkness is closing in, take courage. Keep your promises to God. Ask your questions. Patiently melt stone to glass. Turn to Jesus Christ, who loves you still.
Jesus said, “I am the light [that] shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.”26 That means no matter how hard it tries, the darkness cannot put out that light. Ever. You can trust that His light will be there for you.
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CFM How does this knowledge affect the way you feel about the Savior?
I Stand All Amazed (feat. Mary Kokali) by Troy Lisonbee
CFM: How does it affect the way you live?
A responsibility to share this love with others
Matthew 25:40 them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have adone it unto one of the bleast of these my cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.
2 Nephi 25:26 26 And we atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our cchildren may know to what source they may look for a dremission of their sins.
D&C 76:22 22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the atestimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he blives!
My testimony:
- He was with us before this life
- We chose Him
- He came to Earth to feel everything we go through so he can empathize with our trials and struggles.
- He willing sacrificed Himself for us and would do it all over again in a heartbeat
- He was resurrected and has victory over death and the grave
- He lives and because he does, so can we
- His Grace is always with us, we just need to reach out for it
- He never leaves us, he is our best friend, our best confidant, our best cheerleader, our best supporter, and our best exemplar.
- He is the perfect Son of God who through his sacrifice helps bring all of us back to God again someday.
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