I pray that you have had a most holy and refreshing time celebrating the birth of our Lord.  What a glorious time to focus on the one who came that we might have “life and have it more abundantly” John 10:10b.  I know we talked about spiritual warfare last week but I wanted to give us a little ‘ammunition’ for a ‘more abundant’ walk with the Lord in the coming year.

I don’t make resolutions, as such, but I do think it is a good time to look at the past year and challenge ourselves to do better for and with Jesus in the coming year.  As the Psalmist said “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts.” Psalm 139:23 May we be willing to let God search us, try us and lead us in HIS ways.

H– Have the mind of Christ– “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…..and took upon him the form of a servant…. Phil 2”5+ To have the mind of Christ implies selfless living.  Thinking of others, if you would, being HELPTUL.

A– All in all–  “Christ is all, and in all” Col 3:11 The only way that I can have the “mind of Christ” is to have Christ Himself.  To have been born again by the Spirit of God and then I receive the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower and enable me to accomplish the work of God.  As John 4:34    says, “Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”  And Phil 4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  God equips those He call!!!

P– The power of God– “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might.” Eph 6:10 That same ability that enables me to do “all things through Christ” is God’s power at work in me, not my own.  HE will empower our living for this coming year if we will but yield to Him as we hear and obey.

P– Put on the whole armor of God– Ehp 6:10-19 “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles (tricks) of the devil………(v13)…wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God ….”  We must not go out into the world each day unaware or unprepared to deal with the enemy of our souls.  PUT ON that armor each day.  I pray through the pieces every day before I get out of bed.  We looked at this last week but I felt led to share this injunction of Paul’s again.

Y– You will be able to stand– Eph 6:13 “Wherefore take unto YOU the whole armor of God, that YE may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  You must put on YOUR armor of God—He provides it but you MUST put it on yourself.  I can tell you about it, Paul tells us about it, others have taught about it but YOU must put it on DAILY for YOURSELF!!!

N– Not against flesh and blood.  We must continually remind ourselves (via God’s word) that our battle isn’t again flesh and blood.  Eph 6:12 “For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.  Our battle is NOT with the folks around us (even the difficult ones) but with the forces of evil, the sin and curse of this world and we must focus on standing up for right but not trampling the right and truth to do it.  We are to care for the lost, the wandering, the lonely the deceived, the helpless of this world as we stand for truth.  Never compromising God’s word, but always ready to reach out and help those who are in our path, that may be ready-even eager- to receive the Good News of the gospel.

E- Evil is all about us.  As we saw above we wrestle against forces of evil, not the people around us.  Even though they may be working with the enemy—in fact they are not the real enemy.  They need a savior too.

W– WE WRESTLE!! It doesn’t say we might wrestle, we should wrestle or perhaps we’ll wrestle—it says ‘WE WRESTLE’—a fact of life for every believer.  We are now in enemy territory, pilgrims in a foreign land, so to speak, as we journey to our Father in heaven.  Don’t greet each day unprepared but remember we have an enemy .

Y– Your armor must be on.  Remember those pieces and pray them on each day-Truth, Righteousness, Peace of the Gospel, Faith, Salvation and the WORD OF GOD!!!

E– Equipped with prayer.  Eph 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…..”

A– Always “Praying ALWAYS’ (v 6:18)!!  And Paul restates this same principle in 1 Thess 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”.  Keeping our hearts in close, continual touch with the Father—not with our eyes always closed but with our hearts always open!!!  Giving “attendance” to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” 1 Tim 4:13

R– Ready.  “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” 1 Peter 3:15

I pray that this will be a great year for spiritual growth and power in our lives and may God’s grace abound in your life each and every day as you remember – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”   Matt 6:33

Thanks for spending this time with me and have a blessed and happy New Year.

What a wonderful word—CHRISTmas…   The time that we celebrate our Savior’s birth, I thought it would be nice to just take a few minutes to remember what that means.  Most of us remember the old Christmas song by Jim Reeves (and others) called “C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S”, it was an acrostic for the letters of the word “Christmas”.  Well, I’d like to take a little twist on the acrostic and look at some of the elements of “Christmas” in this acrostic form.  Perhaps it will be a bit thought provoking if not poetic like the song.

C- Is for “Christ” child!  Christ of course being the Greek word for Messiah, the anointed one, the promised deliverer from God.  The angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:20-21 “….fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins.”  And we see the first mention of “Christ” in Matthew 2:4 “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.”  And one of my favorite passages, Colossians 1:14-16  “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins; Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”  This tiny babe was the Lord of heaven come to earth to save fallen and lost man HIMSELF!!!  Praise God for His unspeakable gift to us.

H- Is for “Holy”!  Jesus, the Holy one of God (Mk 1:24), a holy God has come to man.  Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 1:16 “ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am Holy”.   How are we to be Holy? 2 Cor. 5:21 answers that question, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” –Jesus–  Peter tells us how we are to behave in a holy manner in 1 Peter 2:21-24, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered he threatened not: but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously; who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed.”  It’s by the power of the cross and the example of our Savior that we should and can walk holy in this world of sin.

I- Is for Immanuel (spelled with the “I” instead of the “E” so it would fit the acrostic…), God with us.   Matthew 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (This prophecy being the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14)  God forever with us in our hearts, Colossians 2:27 “To whom God would make known…..Christ in you, the hope of glory…”. Christ the New Covenant –imparts the indwelling Spirit to His children!!!  Christ in me—only by His power can I follow HIM!

S- Is for Savior, one who would save us from the curse of SIN!!!  Matthew 1:21 (again) “….for He shall save his people from their sins” reminds us that we need “saving” and that God has provided the way.  And John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”  Oh, I am so overwhelmed that a Holy God would love me so much as to send HIS son to live and die for me!!!

T- Is for timely—Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”, how amazing that God sent His own Son to claim me/you as his child!!!  Mark 1:14-15 “…, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel”.  The Good News—the Savior has finally come—do you believe?  Is there a need for repentance in me, in you? Time is short! Today is the day of salvation!!!

M- Is for the manger—a cattle trough, a lowly place of birth.  What a way for a king to enter the world!  11 Cor. 8:9 “ For we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”  For us!!  Philippians 2:5-8 “ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  For us!!!

A- Is for ALL!!!  Isaiah 53:6 “ For all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  And 1 Peter 2:25 tells us the result “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”   Do you belong to Jesus?  I pray that you do and if not that you will use this special time of year to call on His name in repentance and faith and let Jesus save YOU!!  NOW!!  And may we who do know Him, faithfully serve Him in gratitude for His unspeakable Gift of Salvation!!

S- Is for Sovereign.  The ruling KING of all of glory—our soon coming KING.  Are you ready to meet him or will you be “left behind”?  Matthew 2:2 “Saying, Where is he that is born KING of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to WORSHIP HIM.”  Have you come to worship Him?   I believe our King is coming soon and I pray that you belong to Him.  Acts 2:11 reminds us that “…..this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”  Look up—our redemption draws near!!!

I wish you and yours a most Holy and glorious Christmas season and trust that God will bless and grow you in Him today and in the coming New Year.

As we are busy with the hectic days around us, this week I was brought to think about the uncertainty of our lives.  We make our plans, we schedule, we make arrangements and look to the future.  The thing that came to my mind this week is something Jesus said in the “model” prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread”.    Our focus should be on ‘today’!!!

This was brought home to me in the circumstances of recent days.  I have been working at the school for the last 2 ½ weeks as a 6^th grade teacher.   I was looking forward to some rest this coming week and getting some Christmas visits made, getting my large Christmas card list ready to mail, and maybe even to getting some holiday baking done.  Well our plans were suddenly changed!!  I got a call from my sister on Wednesday evening on the way to church and she was on her way to the hospital with an abscessed colon, which would require surgery.  It was a very serious condition, even life-threatening.

Well, in one phone call our plans were changed and I knew we would need to go to Mississippi to care for my sister when she was released from the hospital.  Well God was gracious to us and the surgery went well and didn’t require a colostomy, and for that we praise God!!  We are now making arrangements to leave the middle of this week.  Then as I was making some phone calls to extend Christmas greetings (as I won’t get that Christmas card list mailed out this year), I heard of a young woman in our community who went to bed as usual and in the morning her school-age son found her dead in the bed!!!  “Take therefore no thought for tomorrow…….sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”… Matthew 6:34

I just wanted to take a minute to remind us all that God in His grace grants each day and we are only given TODAY!!!  As I quoted above Jesus reminded us in the prayer to remember to ask for “daily” bread.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.  I am to live in the here-and-now, yes but how am I to live?  Hebrews 12:1+ comes to mind,  “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”  As we walk from day to day our confidence is in Jesus and HIM alone.  I can become distracted by the things of this world and forget that I am a soldier of the Cross.   2 Timothy 2:1-4 says “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.   And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

The question that I believe we need to consider this week – “Am I a soldier of the Cross?  And if I am, am I being faithful to my Lord, my commander and chief, my GOD and KING?  Am I ready to “…give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick (living) and the dead” 1 Peter 4:5.  In 1 Peter 3:15 we’re also told “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”.  We need to be sure that we are prepared to meet our king should He call us into His presence or return for His church, as well as share while we are still here.

Is my mind occupied with the things of the world or the things of God?   Am I feasting on His word?  Hebrews 4:12-13 reminds us of our standard “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”  We must be saturated with the Word of God to meet the hostility of the world and continue to stand fast.  We are in enemy territory.  Paul states this clearer than any other passage in Ephesians 6:10-18  “ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”  And I think that is a clear call for us to stand fast and continue to stand.

Are we ready to see our King—through the “valley of the shadow of death” Psalm 23:4, or in the clouds(1 Thess 4:17)?  I pray that we will take this special time of year to assess our relationship with the Babe born in the manger and go to the cross and ask Him to search us.  I’ll close with Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:” May God truly touch our hearts and minds to hear and respond to HIS voice and obey.  His blessings on you this week.

V1#4

As we are all focused on Christmas at this time of year our minds often go to thoughts of gifts and presents.  We love to give and receive gifts but I there are some other things about gifts we may want to think about this week.  They include the “gifts” that God has given us.  There are so many we couldn’t talk about them all but let’s look at a few—the gifts that the Father has given to us.

Of course at this time of year our minds reflect on the gifts of Christmas—the babe in the manger, the wonder of the star, the glorious messengers with the heavenly proclamation, and the grace of humble shepherd who received that wondrous announcement of the GOOD NEWS that God delivered through Mary’s womb that night.  The deliverance of the baby from Herod’s sword, and the wise men that God warned to return home another way.  I love the Christmas theme and how it reveals the love and splendor of God.  As Luke and Matthew share these wonderful stories I am moved to tears to think that God Himself would come to earth to save sinful man—how could he love us so much?  How could Jesus love us so much as to leave heaven’s splendor for a body of flesh and a life in a broken world among broken people?  To fathom all His love and grace to us just overwhelms my soul.

He is  the GREATEST GIFT—THE SON!!!!

As Luke proclaims in Luke 2:11 ‘ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord!”—Jesus came to be a Savior for us, but we also see that the Savioris Christ the Lord.  A baby who came a King but gave Himself a ‘Sacrifice” for us all.  We needed the saving and God sent His son to Save us.  Praise His name for all He has done for us.

As we ponder on these things God has given us beyond the manger,  lets look beyond the stories of Christmas.  In Romans 8:32 Paul tells us “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’   Then John records for us the words of Jesus in John 14: 21 “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself unto him.”  Part of this “manifestation” that Jesus imparts to us is His own Spirit to dwell within us. The other side of this is in John 15:5 ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.”  After telling his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit (referred to as the promise), he told the disciples in Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (And after this he ascended into heaven right before their eyes!!).  By His Spirit we are empowered and enabled to be “new creatures IN Christ”.     We see in Isaiah 48:17      “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” God by His gift of the Holy Spirit leads and directs our steps.

As I think of Psalm 119:133 “Order my steps in thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me”, and 1 Peter  1:15 “But as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”,  I am reminded that we can overcome sin only by God’s grace, power and Spirit.

The Holy Spirit also imparts to us individual spiritual gifts that we might be God’s hands and feet here on earth.  Each believer receives a gift at his salvation (1 Cor. 12) and we are to manifest the work of God in and through us each day and everywhere we go—NOT just at church.  Although our gifts are given to benefit and grow the church, the church is to reach the world, as each member is a living witness of Jesus to the world around us.  May we remember that, as we are out and about during this hectic shopping and giving season?  Let Jesus be seen in us.

As we think about the gifts that God has given us may we be thankful for all that we have the opportunity to do here in this world.  We can make a difference for Jesus and let the world know that a Savior has been born and He is still in the life changing business—and that is Good News!!!!  Remember that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”….Phil  4:13.

How blessed we are to have received the gifts of—

The Father

The Son

The Holy Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit

The Love of God

The Word of God!!!

Thanks be to God—Praise His Holy name…   May His blessings overflow in your life this week and may the love of God, in you, spill over in all your steps.

V1#3

As we have all listened to the “hype” about black Friday, I thought I’d take some time to talk about “Toys”.  We’ve all heard the slogan: ‘The one with the most toys wins”…..   As we think about that for a bit, Is it our culture or just our old nature of self that haunts our fascination with “stuff”?  What does Christmas have to do with toys and giving?  Is it the glitz and glitter, the parades, or maybe the carols we sing, or candles and lights?  NO!!!  It’s not those things that we celebrate, but JESUS that is the real reason for this season that we call CHRISTmas.

I think perhaps our perspective is askew because we fail to realize that the “one with the most toys” doesn’t necessarily win, he just leaves the most behind.  Well, if we will leave all the material things behind, where should our focus be?  Let’s see what scripture says.

John 3:16 (probably the most familiar of all scripture verses) tell us “For God so loved the world, that HE gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  God GAVE!!!  Am I concerned more about getting or giving?  Clinging or contributing?  Greed or generosity?    Only “I” can answer that question, but Jesus gives us a great principle in Matthew  6:20-21 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Thinking on these passages,  I am reminded that God GAVE us the best that he has and that is Jesus.  He is the ‘WORD” (John 1:1 ), He’s the “BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED” (Matt 4:17), and He is the one “IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION, THROUGH HIS BLOOD, EVEN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS” (Col 1:14).  God gave us all we need in Jesus Christ–His birth, life, and substitutionary death for MY sin.  We have been given the greatest gift of all—Salvation that brings abundant life (“I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly”…John 10:10), eternal life (“…not perish but have everlasting life….”John 3:16), a life of purpose (“….go ye therefore and teach all nations….. Matthew 28:19-20), and a missional life (ye shall be witnesses unto me…unto the uttermost part of the earth …..Acts 1:8).    Peter tells us that there is   “…given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hat called us to glory and virtue”…” 2 Peter 1:3

If I have been born again by the blood of Jesus Christ, I already have the greatest gift of all.  But what am I doing with this gift?  Have I shared it, or have I kept it to “myself”?  Have I given other material gifts to the ones that I love and left this greatest gift unshared with them?

When we have been given so much, should we be as focused on getting rather than giving?   If it’s the “Birthday” of Jesus that we are celebrating, how is it that we give gifts to everyone except the one that we say we are honoring?  One of  the greatest thing we could do for Our Lord Jesus is to be His hands, and feet and mouth to the world around us!!!  I can give the greatest gift of all to those around me.  I can live for Jesus every day. I can be the heart of the Savior to those He has placed in my path.

Am I willing to share the Savior and miss the Sale?  To be the giver and not the getter?  To contribute so that others might be blessed instead of clinging to my own self-interest?  Is my witness one of generosity or of greed?  Those around me will see.  Would you spend some time this week seeking the face of our Lord and asking what He would have you to do to share His love and gospel with the world?  Will we be the ones accumulating more “toys” or advancing the kingdom of Lord?

Please don’t misunderstand what I’ve tried to share this week—there is nothing wrong with enjoying all the blessings that God has showered on us.  It’s not wrong to have things but it is wrong when the things “have” us.  Let’s commit ourselves to see the opportunities that God has right in front of us—to help a single mom, to give a toy for a needy child, to feed a hungry person or family, to help a disabled person shop, or decorate or just mail cards to those in jails or prisons.  There are so many that need what we can do, let’s give Jesus the best gift that we can—and that’s our heart and life (hands, and feet and resources).  Have a blessed week seeing what God can and will do through you.