December Devotions and Doodles – Day 21 (December 21)
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of our God’s vengeance;
to comfort all who mourn,
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,
and splendid clothes instead of despair.
And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord
to glorify him.
December 22 Devotional: Crown of Beauty
One of the first things I ever learned to doodle was a sprig of holly with berries. My mom used to doodle them on her yellow notepad lists during the holiday season. My mom has always been a listmaker; it is probably where I get that habit from. And while she is thinking, she doodles around the edge of the list.
Holly Leaves and Berries
I am passing on my Mom’s holly leaves and berries doodle to you in the “How to draw…” section of today’s post because as we get super close to Christmas I know our lives are getting busier and busier and this is a very simple doodle with a really cool meaning to help keep us focused on Jesus this season.
The Symbolism of the Holly Plant
Holly, like the fir trees that are traditional Christmas trees, are evergreen plants. They provide a reminder of the everlasting life and growth that is offered to us through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Spiky Leaves
Unlike the Christmas tree, the holly plant has broad leaves with spiky points. Early European Christians thought that these spiky leaves were a good reminder of the crown of thorns placed on the head of Jesus before His crucifixion.
Whatever suffering we go through, we know that Jesus can relate because He has suffered here on earth too. He was mocked. He was physically abused. He who was deserving of the crown of Heaven had a crown of thorns shoved into His head.
Berries of Blood
Those same European Christians looked at the bright red berries of the holly plant and remembered the blood that Christ shed for us. So our sins could be forgiven and we could be set free from the bondage of our sin.
Isaiah 61
Today’s scripture passage is a very special series of verses from the Old Testament. These are the verses that Jesus read as He stood in the temple and basically announced to the Jewish people that He was the Messiah.
The Anointed One came to heal, to comfort, to set free, to proclaim God’s Kingdom, to give.
A Crown of Beauty
I love verse 3:
To provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,
and splendid clothes instead of despair.
Jesus took on the crown of thorns so He could give a crown of beauty to those who mourn and suffer. He took the punishment and pain on Himself so He could give.
December 22 – Action Step:
Today (December 22), let’s use the holly plant (and this simple little doodle) to remind us that Jesus has born our suffering. He has felt the thorns of the mocking, hurtful crown, so that we can receive a crown of beauty.
What has your suffering allowed you to give today? Is there someone you can encourage or comfort because you have been there before? Look for those small moments this season where you can follow the example of Jesus and give a crown of beauty to someone in need.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for all the many reminders of all Jesus has done for us this Christmas season. Help us to follow His example to give to others in need today and all year long. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Drawing Tutorial – December 22: How to draw Holly Leaves and Berries
- Start with three curvy “V”s with the points pointed at one another but leave a little space in the center.
- From the outside ends, create the shape of an apple core.
- An inverted curvy “V” completes the spiky leaves of the holly plant.
- Three quick circles gives you the holly berries and your doodle is done!
Click here to check out other posts in this series: December Devotions and Doodles!