{"id":1019,"date":"2025-12-07T00:08:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T08:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/?p=1019"},"modified":"2025-12-01T20:26:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T04:26:25","slug":"dec-7-christmas-countdown-day-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-7-christmas-countdown-day-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Dec.7-Christmas Countdown\u2014Day 7"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em><u>BELIEVE!<br \/>\n<\/u><\/em><\/strong><em>Believe in the Lord your God and you will be able to stand firm.<\/em> 2 Chronicles 20:20<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Today&#8217;s Thought:<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>&#8216;Tis the season the world says &#8220;Believe!&#8221; But we believers &#8220;Believe&#8221; and stand firm in our belief all the time, in season and out of season. We believe that Jesus was God&#8217;s Gift of Love to the World, for God&#8217;s word says<em>: &#8220;For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord<\/em><i>&#8221; Luke<\/i>\u00a02:11<\/p>\n<p>So as we believe, we also need to share what we believe, especially at this time of the year.<\/p>\n<p>The world has chosen December 25<sup>th<\/sup> to celebrate Christmas. Some say is a pagan holiday, and I tend to agree as the world nowadays portrays it very commercially, not godly, as most of the stores do not carry Christian Christmas items.\u00a0 \u00a0 Yet I choose to stand firm and believe and counteract the world&#8217;s celebration by choosing to honor Jesus\u2019 birth and bring God the glory He deserves every day, above any and all worldly traditions for Jesus was born sometime on some date.\u00a0 \u00a0There is historical evidence that He existed. Even though his birth was not on December 25th, for scripture says<em>: &#8220;And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.&#8221; <\/em>Luke 2:1 .\u00a0 \u00a0<em>(Shepherds in Bethlehem would not be in the fields in December.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, even though the exact day of His birth is unknown, we can choose to celebrate His birth and give thanks to God for His wonderful Gift to us anytime we choose to! It doesn&#8217;t have to be on December 25th, we could celebrate it every day, and as believers we should!<\/p>\n<p>For, Jesus was God&#8217;s Gift to the world! Scripture says, <em>&#8221; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.&#8221;<\/em> John 3:16-17.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Today\u2019s Action:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">BELIEVE\u2014in God<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Receive Strength for He is the Almighty<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">BELIEVE\u2014in Jesus<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Receive Salvation for He is the Savior<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">BELIEVE\u2014in the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Receive Support for He is the Helper<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Only 18 days left until Christmas!\u00a0 Make each one count!<\/p>\n<p>Advent has begun!<br \/>\nVisit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smilegodlovesyou.org\/advent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Advent Blog <\/strong><\/a> to celebrate it with scriptures daily this Christmas season.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9SGLY Ministry www.smilegodlovesyou.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BELIEVE! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be able to stand firm. 2 Chronicles 20:20 Today&#8217;s Thought: &#8216;Tis the season the world says &#8220;Believe!&#8221; But we believers &#8220;Believe&#8221; and stand firm in our belief all the time, in season and out of season. We believe that Jesus was God&#8217;s Gift of Love&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1652],"tags":[1717,1723,1045,1720,1722,1721,45,1669,1661,3,3311,1507,1725,1076,234,1719,1512,98,1718,1609,1724,1716,32],"class_list":["post-1019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas-countdown","tag-2chronicles-2020","tag-almighty-god","tag-believe","tag-believe-in-god","tag-believe-in-holy-spirit","tag-believe-in-jesus","tag-believers","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-countdown","tag-daily-devotionals","tag-december-2025","tag-god-loves-you","tag-gods-gift-to-the-world","tag-helper","tag-in-christ","tag-jesus-birth","tag-john-316-17","tag-love","tag-luke-21","tag-luke-211","tag-savior-of-the-world","tag-sgly-minstry","tag-smile-god-loves-you"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Believe-John-3.16.17.jpg?fit=375%2C326&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1016,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-6-christmas-countdown-day-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":1019,"position":0},"title":"Dec.6-Christmas Countdown\u2014Day 6","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"December 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"BEHOLD! Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!\u00a0 \u00a01 John 3:1 Today's Thought: If you are a believer in Christ, remind yourself today that you are a child of God! For God's word says: But as many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas Countdown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Countdown","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/christmas-countdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Behold--1John-3.1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Behold-1John-3.1.jpg?fit=375%2C326&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1079,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-25-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":1019,"position":1},"title":"Dec.25&#8211;Christmas!","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"December 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"PEACE For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 Today's Thought: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Luke 2:14 Jesus, our Savior, came to earth bringing His peace and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas Countdown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Countdown","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/christmas-countdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Peace-Luke-2.11.jpg?fit=335%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1052,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-17-christmas-countdown-day-17\/","url_meta":{"origin":1019,"position":2},"title":"Dec.17-Christmas Countdown\u2014Day 17","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"December 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"GIFT For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of\u00a0God, Ephesians\u00a02:8 Today's Thought: God's Gift of Salvation is the best gift we will ever receive! Let's rejoice and give thanks for this Gift and be sure to tell others about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas Countdown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Countdown","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/christmas-countdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CC-Gift-2Cor-9.15","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Gift-2Cor-9.15.jpg?fit=375%2C326&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1005,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-3-christmas-countdown-day-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1019,"position":3},"title":"Dec.3-Christmas Countdown\u2014Day 3","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"December 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"ACKNOWLEDGE In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6 Today's Thought: In all your ways acknowledge Him. Acknowledge means to respond to, recognize or regard someone or something. Acknowledge is an action word, it means putting into action what we say we believe about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas Countdown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Countdown","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/christmas-countdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CC-Acknowledge--Proverbs-3.6","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Acknowledge-Proverbs-3.6.jpg?fit=575%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Acknowledge-Proverbs-3.6.jpg?fit=575%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Acknowledge-Proverbs-3.6.jpg?fit=575%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":885,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/standing-on-the-promises-wisdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":1019,"position":4},"title":"Standing on the Promises: Wisdom","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"October 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Precious Promise: Wisdom \"For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;...\" Proverbs 2:6,7 Thoughts: The scriptures tell us over and over that if we want wisdom, we need to seek God.\u00a0 As believers in Christ, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Standing on the Promises&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Standing on the Promises","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/standing-on-the-promises\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PP-WISDOM-Prov-2-6.7--Luke-21.15","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/WISDOM-Prov-2-6.7-Luke-21.15.jpg?fit=1110%2C966&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/WISDOM-Prov-2-6.7-Luke-21.15.jpg?fit=1110%2C966&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/WISDOM-Prov-2-6.7-Luke-21.15.jpg?fit=1110%2C966&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/WISDOM-Prov-2-6.7-Luke-21.15.jpg?fit=1110%2C966&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/WISDOM-Prov-2-6.7-Luke-21.15.jpg?fit=1110%2C966&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1045,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-15-christmas-countdown-day-15\/","url_meta":{"origin":1019,"position":5},"title":"Dec.15-Christmas Countdown\u2014Day 15","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"December 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"DWELL Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.\u00a0 Colossians 3:16 Today's Thought: Dwell means to live or stay as a permanent resident;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas Countdown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Countdown","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/christmas-countdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CC-Dwell-Colossians-3.16","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Dwell-Colossians-3.16.jpg?fit=375%2C326&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1878,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions\/1878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}