Christmas Vacation – Jesus as the Center – Purity 1849
Purity 1849 12/27/2025 Purity 1849 Audio Podcast
Purity 1849 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of my wife TammmyLyn under a clear blue sky and strolling along the shoreline of the Intracoastal Waterway comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene yesterday during our visit to the Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale.
Well, It’s Saturday and although I am officially on my Christmas vacation, I can’t help but to do the blog and podcast to report in and to proclaim just how good God is and to share how Jesus should be the center of our lives.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day were a whirlwind of Christmas joy and post-holiday travel, and I awaken this morning from the Nobleton Hotel hours before getting on a David Jeremiah Ministry hosted cruise headed for a tour of the Caribbean. While snow is falling in New York, the Lord through American Airlines delivered me from the storm and into the sunny environment of Fort Lauderdale and the reason the only reason I am so fortunate is because I decide to put Jesus at the center of my vacation, as much as I have tried to put Him at the center of my life.
It’s true. I have never had the compulsion to travel immediately after Christmas. In years past, I would take time off from work to enjoy Christmas and New Years at home and never thought about going to Florida or anywhere south until February, when my soul would cry out for relief from the cold of winter.
But this year, after the death of John MacArthur, I saw an advertisement for the David Jeremiah cruise and was at a place where I could pay for it. When I considered the facts that the cruise dates were what they were and that David Jeremiah wasn’t getting any younger, I decided to pull the trigger and to do something I have never done before – go on a Christian themed vacation – with my Christian wife.
I have gone on vacation mission trips before but I have never been to a big Chrisitan conference before and TammyLyn has never been on a cruise before, so with all of these factors in play, I decided that this trip was a fantastic way to celebrate our wedding anniversary, the new year, our marriage, and our faith.
Our marriage has been built on our faith in Jesus. We wouldn’t have known each other if it weren’t for our faith and I am so excited about getting on that cruise ship today to make Jesus the center of our vacation as He has been the center of our marriage.
Speaking of Jesus being the center of our lives, the Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah devotion for this weekend talks about Jesus as the Centerpiece, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage all of us the make Jesus the center of our lives as Lord, more and more. David Jeremiah writes:
A LIFE EVERGREEN: THE CENTERPIECE
Noah Webster came to faith in Christ during the Second Great Awakening, and his 1828 dictionary often used biblical examples to define the words. Under the word center, Webster included this definition: “to fix on a central point.” And he illustrated it with this sentence: “Thy joys are centered all in me alone.”
He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called…Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. – John 19:17-18
If you still have a Christmas centerpiece on your table, let it remind you Jesus was crucified in the center of the victims. But also remember Revelation 5:6: He is now “standing at the center of the throne” (NIV).
Wherever Jesus is, He is central. He is in the center. Sadly some Christians have included Jesus in the panorama of their lives, but He doesn’t occupy the central spot. Is that true for you? Yield everything to His authority today, and let Him be the Lord of all there is of you. Let Him be the centerpiece of your life. All your joys are centered in Him alone!” – David Jeremiah
He controls everything and He is faithful—why wouldn’t you want Jesus to be the center and controller of your life?
Craig Etheredge
Amen. The good news of Jesus transcends all of reality.
If we believe that Jesus‘ death paid for our sins, and that His resurrection proves that He is God, it means that He is the central truth of all existence.
God is the Creator and scripture tells us that that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all there in the beginning.
And Jesus redeemed fallen humanity with His atoning work on the cross. More than forgiving our sins, our faith in Him brings us into God’s eternal kingdom as a part of His family.
We are saved because we understood the Jesus was enough.
So, let’s not forget that, and let’s take our faith one step further to understand that Jesus is the center of all meaning and purpose to life and let’s share the love we have received by making Jesus the center of our lives.
Jesus was enough to be our Savior, and it only makes sense that He is to be the center of our lives as Lord.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Prayer – Waiting On the Lord.
Psalm 105:1-4 (ESV) Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Today’s verses fall under the seventeenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Prayer.
17. Thank God for his grace and mercy, praise him, and keep seeking his mercy.
Today’s Bible verses give us perhaps the most appropriate instructions in the Bible that we should follow:
- Give thanks to the Lord.
- Call Upon His Name
- Make His deeds known among the people.
- Sing to Hin, Sing Praises to Him
- Tell of His wondrous works.
- Glory in His name
- Rejoice
- And Seek the Lord and His strength and presence continually.
King David gives us sage advice in this psalm. They say David had a heart that was after God’s own heart and his commands/encouragements in Psalm 105 show us what it looks like to be in love with God.
If we are to make Jesus the center of our lives and to live for God’s purposes, we should follow King David’s instructions to seek the Lord, to give thanks, to rejoice, and to make His deeds known.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 348
… you must testify … at Rome. – Acts 23:11
What God determined had to come to pass. But look at the obstacles that had to be overcome in order for it to happen. The Jewish plot to kill Paul was the first—he escaped from the hands of determined men. Then came the trial in Caesarea with the possibility of being turned over to the Jews. Next there was the “Caesarem appello” of Acts 25:11, followed by the trip to Rome during which there was a shipwreck and a poisonous snake bite. But until Paul reached Rome he was immortal, because God had spoken! Nothing could stop him. How wonderful to know God’s will (known or unknown) always takes place as He determines. He is not a capricious God, but is wholly dependable. What He has decreed for you, Christian, will take place for your good and His glory. Whether you can see how, as you travel along the way, is unimportant. The crucial thing is to believe and rejoice that God’s will is unfolding in your life, even though you now have no idea where He may lead you as it does so.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 356.
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