The Message of Jesus Birth

The Message of Jesus Birth

             “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields,                  

keeping watch over their flock by night.”  Luke 2:8

Almost everyone knows the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.  We know how and why Jesus and Mary traveled to Bethlehem and how Jesus was born in either a stable or a cave.  We know it was a place where animals stayed because the Baby Jesus was placed in a manger.  While it’s a wonderful story regarding the birth of our Savior, there is far more to it than that.

If you really want to think deeper on this, imagine being in a place where animals stayed. The smell was surely heavy with animal dung.  I’m sure fresh hay was put in an empty manger and no doubt covered with some kind of covering, and this newborn was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  It must have been cold and probably all they had to cover themselves for warmth, was a cloak.  I often wondered if someone from the village came to help deliver Jesus or did inexperienced Joseph help Mary to deliver the Child.  It was surely a traumatic event in the life of a teenage girl and a man who knew he had not fathered this baby. 

Mary and Joseph must have tried to settle down for the night when they heard a commotion outside the entrance.  They must have been frightened, because robbery was a common thing in those days, although this young couple certainly had nothing of value. There must have been some conversation between Joseph and the shepherds before they entered the place where baby Jesus lay. Perhaps the shepherds told them what happened out on the hillside.  The shepherds were excited as they related the event that brought them to see the Baby. 

 “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”   Luke 2:9-14 

There is no mention of the shepherds seeing a star; apparently the star did not appear the night Jesus was born and we hear nothing about its appearance until we read about the wise men, whose story will be told next week.

The one thing they did was to see the Babe themselves and everything was just as the angel had told them.  They told everyone they saw about the angelic visit and the baby that was born.  When they returned to the fields, they were praising and glorifying God. This is what really happened the night Jesus was born.  Movies, books, pictures and Christmas cards give a different story of a stable; shepherds and wise men all kneeling around baby Jesus and a big star shining down on the stable.  It makes a lovely picture, although not a true one. 

Let’s look into the Old Testament at the prophecies that were fulfilled when Jesus was born.  Isaiah 7:14 tells that Jesus mother will be a virgin, Micah 5:2 says the Jesus would be born in Bethlehem; Genesis 49:10 tells us that he would come from the tribe of Judah. Prophecy also tells of his life, death by crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven. These things were foretold hundreds of years before Jesus birth.  These are just a few of many prophecies in the Bible that came true with the birth of Jesus.

 Now, let us go deeper into the Message of Jesus Birth.  The message is this:  God sent his son, Jesus to save the world and set sinners free!  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”   This is the message of the birth of Jesus Christ. 

There is no other way to be in heaven when you die, except to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and confess our sins, asking Him to forgive us.  The Bible says we must be “born again” and that means that after we invite Jesus into our spiritual heart, we change the way we lived in the past.  We put aside the worldly things that have kept us in place of discontent and unhappiness and turn to trusting in the Lord who gives us joy and strength.  You can receive this new life right now by asking Jesus to come into your life and heart.  This is the best Christmas gift you’ll ever have and it lasts for eternity.

Merry Christmas

The Message of Gifts

The Message of the Gifts

“And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

This time of year is noted as part of celebrating Christmas.  We wander through stores, search the internet and use our skills to make gifts for others.  We tend to spend money we don’t have; use credit cards, or whatever it takes to find the perfect gifts for family, friends and co-workers.  Why do we do this?

Gift giving originally was part of honoring God.  From the days of Adam and Eve, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”   Hebrews 11:4 (NKJV) We read where Abraham gave gifts and so on through the Bible gifts were given; not only to honor God, but to others.

When we come into the Christmas season, we think more about the visit of the Wisemen after the birth of Jesus.  They came bearing gifts for the newborn King.  Those gifts were very costly and truly fit for a King, but that is not why we give gifts at Christmas.  As Christians, we give because it is a way to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For those who are not Christians, they give just to give; they have parties, drinking and carousing just for the fun of it.

 Giving gifts at a time of celebration began with the Jewish Feast of ‘Purim’ and is still honored by Jews today.  In the book of Esther in the Old Testament, Queen Esther’s husband, the King of Persia set the Jews free after an evil plot to kill all of them.  This celebration is in memory of their freedom and was part of feasting, music and gift-giving to each other and to the poor.  You can read about this in Esther, Chapter 2.

God believes in ‘gifts’ because the Bible tells us that God, the Father has given many spiritual gifts to us, his children.  Some ignore these gifts, but praise the Lord for those that are open to using the Gifts God gave to them. In Matthew 7:11, the Bible tells us how much God wanted you to have his gifts:  “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

Now, back to the question above, “Why do we give gifts at Christmas?”  For some, it’s to show off by giving the most expensive gifts, and for some, they give because it’s expected by them.  While others search and search to find the ‘right’ gift that they think the recipient would like to have; some just give without thought.  Many agree that homemade gifts are the best, because it takes effort, thought and time to make them.

The truth is, that giving to those who can’t return the favor is really part of God’s plan, because it honors Him.  There are many organizations such as ‘Toy’s for Tots’ that need your help, or places like the Salvation Army.  Perhaps your church has a program to give Christmas boxes, or a family you know of that needs help.  There is no greater feeling than helping others.  Let your heart guide you this Christmas even if you don’t have much to give.  God is honored with all of it, big or small.

As for me, I love my family so much and I find such joy in giving to them of what I have. The greatest gift I can give is my love and my prayers to each of them and to my friends as well.  I would encourage you to think carefully about what gifts you are planning on giving this year.  Sending a card with kind words to those who are bound in their homes, or those far away, is a gift of love. Find someone to share with, of what God has given you. The message of gift-giving is, or should be, all about sharing the Love of God.  Happy giving!

The Message of the Tree

The Message of the Tree

“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”   Isaiah 55:12

God created trees as part of his plan and as with all his creation, they also praise him.  I love trees and am always amazed at their changing through seasons.  You may think all trees are green, but riding along a road, you will find they are such a variety of green that you can’t describe the true color. In the fall, the colors are so amazing, you may wish you were an artist to capture it on a canvas.

However there is one tree that does not change year around and that is the fir tree.  The Psalms even speak of fir trees: “Where the birds make their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.” (Psalm 104:17)  God knew the importance of the trees and throughout the Bible they are mentioned many times, such as the ‘Cedars of Lebanon and the use of making musical instruments.  In the early 1800’s, Germany being one of the first, began decorating trees with fruit, candies and candles, and putting them in their homes. Eventually the practice moved to Canada and then to the United States.

It soon became a tradition to have Christmas trees in homes around the world.  The star on the top represents the birth of our Savior and a tree top angel reminds us of the angel’s proclamation of Jesus being born.  Any other reason to have a Christmas tree is strictly a decorating idea. There was a period of time that Christians were told it was evil to have a tree in their house. It came from a scripture in Jeremiah 10:3-4, “For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple.”  Now the problem was that they didn’t read on, because in verse 5, scripture tells us to not be afraid because they can’t do any evil. 

Christmas Trees are not idols, nor are they evil; they are a tradition that brings joy to children and adults as well.  The tradition is for us to enjoy God’s creation of the fir tree and sing carols and traditional songs.  I don’t see that singing I’m ‘Dreaming of a White Christmas’ is wrong.  All carols we sing were written by men; not God. I want to share a poem written in the 1800’s by Joyce Kilmer.

Trees

I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree who looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear, a nest of Robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. 

I have loved this poem since my mother read it to me as a child.  I do not worship trees and I don’t know of anyone who personally does.  God gave us trees for many uses and one is to enjoy.  So as you decorate your tree this year, remember that God is sending you a message and it is this; we should be filled with joy, clapping our hands and singing praises to God our Father, for sending us his Son, Jesus Christ.  God has created all things for our pleasure, even the fir tree.

Fires, Floods and Mudslides

Fires, Floods and Mudslides

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”                                   Matthew 24:7-8

To come up to today’s time; this year of 2018 has seen far greater natural disasters than I can remember in my lifetime. There have been unbelievable fires and so have died because of them. So many people have died because of shootings; people killing people for little reason at all. Many have died in floods this year alone and now there is concern about mudslides coming.

If God sees every little sparrow that falls, it’s hard to believe he doesn’t know about all these disasters.  While we watch this on the news, most of us can’t do anything about it, but we can pray and God hears the prayers of the righteous.  As we gathered around our tables thanking God for his mercy and grace this year on another Thanksgiving Day, how can we not think about those who lost so many loved ones?  Thousands lost their homes and everything they had is gone forever.

The above scripture in Matthew 24:7-8 should not surprise us.  As time speeds by we see more and more of these things happening and as bad as they seem, the Bible says that, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”  You mean after all that has happened, there are worse things to come?

Have you read about “The wrath of God” in the Bible?  Revelation 16:1 “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”   There is a time coming when the true wrath of God will fall on this earth and what has not already been destroyed certainly will be. 

The times we live in today are only a preview of what is to come. These things are also a warning sign to those who are wishy washy about serving God.  I don’t say these things to scare you but to pass on what God has already told us. He has given us warning after warning in the Bible and most have not listened. What would you do if a red, blinking sign saying, Alert! Alert! Alert! Flashed across your TV screen followed by “It’s the end of the world!”  What would you do?  Would you start praying, swearing or screaming?

I think the real person you are would panic because you knew you were living a lie without Jesus.  The truth would come to the surface; you knew about salvation, but never accepted it.  There were too many fun things to do and places to go.  You never wanted to take the time to listen to what God was trying to tell you. Now is the time to listen to God’s voice, trying to tell you to turn your life over to Him.  He is your salvation; your way to escape the wrath to come; to be assured of heaven no matter of what’s to come and it will come.  Don’t wait!!!

To Everything There is a Season

To Everything There is a Season

“And a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.” Ecclesiastes 3:3

Dear friends, I have really missed writing my blogs every week, but I have been taking time to heal and build up. I had a knee replacement and expected to heal quickly like I did two years ago when I had my other knee replaced.  However, nothing is ever the same; not even two knees.  However, I am on my way up and know that one day soon, I’ll be good as new, thanks to Jesus, my healer.

During my recuperation time, the season has changed.  We went from warm and sunny to cold and gray.  I watched the little green maple tree change to gold and red to bare branches.  Now it’s sleeping through the long winter time ahead, but when spring comes it will again sprout lovely green leaves and the birds will once again sing sweet songs in its branches. 

I find that I have changed as well during this time.  I have had time for thoughtful reflection and find myself lacking in different areas.  My heart’s desire is to listen to God’s voice more and to not jump ahead of him on things.  I’m an ‘idea’ person and when I think I have a great idea I tend to run with it.

I find I am lacking in patience.  So many things I’ve not been able to do for myself and I am so grateful for my wonderful husband who has taken care of me so well, even if he doesn’t do everything just like I would.  My loving family have been amazing on checking up on me, bringing food and doing all kinds of things for me.

I found myself feeling so alone at times, but so grateful to those who prayed for me, sent cards and checked on me.  I had to question myself on why I felt lonely.  I really wasn’t alone for the last few weeks.  I came to realize how blessed I am; blessed with family and friends. 

I miss going to church most of all.  No wonder the Bible says we “Should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Hebrews10:25)  It’s really true: you feel separated from the body when you aren’t staying in touch.  The smiles; the hugs and the cheery “Good Mornings” just start the day off right for me. Before you know it the worst of this season is past and the next is just beginning.

The next season is Thanksgiving and the best part about Thanksgiving is the family getting together.  The food and fellowship are awesome, but what is so amazing is that when the family begins to come together, we all greet each other like we haven’t seen one another in a month, even if we saw each other yesterday.  Our thankfulness shines through and we remember how great the Father’s love is for each of us.  Sometimes I read a funny story I wrote many years ago about ‘A Boy’s Thanksgiving”. I’m looking forward to it this year after being in the season of healing for so long.

This year we celebrate the births of new babies amongst us.  There are now 5 generations of us; all believer’s in the one true God and Jesus, his son, as were several generations before me. What a great inheritance and I give thanks to our heavenly Father for this.  Not every family has this and there is nothing special about this family except we all believe in Jesus and have received his gift of life.

This is the thought I leave with you today, as the season of Christmas is soon to follow, set aside to thoughts of tinsel, gifts and toys.  Think instead of that tiny baby who was born in Bethlehem one Christmas night and of the message of the angels. “Born today in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

            May the Lord bless each of you now and in the days to come.

The Thrill of the Ride

The Thrill of the Ride

Revelation 3:15-16 (NLT) 

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold.

 I wish that you were one or the other!
But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

Have you ever ridden a roller coaster?  It might have been a very frightening experience for you, but at the same time, a great thrill.  An amusement park does not hold the attraction for me that it once did when I was younger.  I loved all the different rides, no matter how dangerous they looked; the thrill was greater than the fear.

Of course you could not get into an amusement park without it costing something.  We saved our money for the time we could go and then our rides were limited, so we relished every tingle and goose bump we experienced.  In a few minutes the ride was over and so was the thrill.  The only way you could make it an all-day thrill, was to ride over and over again and who could pay the price. It’s funny about amusement parks; it costs a great deal to run them.  If everyone rode for free, it wouldn’t be long and the park would have to close.

Have you ever heard the term, “Cruisamatics”? These are Christians that go from church to church, fellowship to fellowship, conference to conference.  They just cruise around looking for a spiritual thrill and after a while, they get bored and say, “Where is the thrill?  I don’t feel anything anymore.  I’m not being ministered to.”  Then off they go. It reminds me of going to an amusement park for thrills. When the ride is over, where is the thrill?

There is a missing element here - cost!  The ride was free, but was it?  If it was free, why didn’t it last?  If we are to grow spiritually and keep the thrill, there is a cost.  The bible says in Luke 14:28-30, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.”

It seems as though new people come into a church or a ministry and they get excited.  They just love the Praise Team and the music.  They are so thrilled by the move of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps what makes them the most excited is the pastor.  It may be his preaching, or it may be his vision.  Whatever it is, they are ready to jump in, get on the band wagon and go for the ride.  This may thrill them for a while, because in the short term, there is no cost, no commitment, no digging in the trenches.

Time passes and some weeks or months later, they begin to grumble and find little things they don’t like.  They’ve lost their zeal and begin to back off.  You can almost always tell when someone is getting ready to cruise on to another church or ministry.  They move back a few rows, instead of sitting as close to the front as they could.  The next move is generally in their giving. They feel if they give, they agree, so they hold back part of their tithe, maybe giving to another ministry.  The next step is they move to the back rows.  Let’s face it; they don’t have so far to go when they leave.  It just makes sense to sit closer to the door.

About this time, they hear of another church or ministry where things are really happening.  Why not go over there.  The thrill is gone from here.  They don’t “feel” anything anymore.  I guess I would have ask, “Did Jesus pack up his presence and go to another place?”  Even the Lord knew about people’s restlessness.  He said in Matt. 24:23 “At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.” Of course there is more to this scripture, as it speaks about following false gods and religions, and that is truly a danger for those who are always looking for a greater thrill.

We were called by God to love and worship him with our whole heart, strength and mind and to love others as ourselves.  This is the cost of serving God; love and worship.  When we do this, we won’t be looking for the thrills, but as Ps.119:165 tells us, “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.”

There are some who when they are saved, believe that all they have to do is sit back and wait for heaven.  They forget that Jesus paid it all; the cost was great! Can we get off that easy?  It’s true - salvation is a free gift from God.  You might say that it took faith to believe; to accept Christ as your Savior its true, but there are two things you need to know about faith. The first is this, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--” (Eph. 2:8) Even the faith to believe is given to you by God, so you can’t pat yourself on the back for that. 

The second is, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.”

(Eph. 2: 17-20)   My friends, there is a cost for belonging to Christ.The cost is this - we must give of ourselves; our time, our talents and our money. Yes, God does expect us to give more than a couple of hours on Sunday morning.  There are 168 hours in a week and if we tithed our time that means that we would give 16.8 hours of our time and talents to God’s work.  It also means that we would give 10 percent of whatever we earned into the storehouse (church). Just like an amusement park, the church cannot function or keep its doors open, unless the people share the cost.  The thrill of the ride is over when people get bored.  They become bored when they aren’t doing anything.  Busy hands and hearts make work light.

Why do we have pastors, teachers, and leaders?  (Eph. 4:11-14)  “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

If you’ve ever had small children, you know they can wear you out with their running here and there, or crying for a bottle. You wish they would grow up enough to stop the whimpering and crying; at least be able to eat some solid food.  After a length of time, you become tired of fixing formula and bottle feeding these babies.  Some of them may already be walking and talking, but still want their “baba” (translated bottle).  One of the hardest parts of raising these children is when they learn to walk and talk, they want to wander off.  You have to keep your eyes on them constantly or they will get lost.

Christians who are not mature behave the same way.  They want to be bottle fed and as soon as they think they can walk the walk and talk the talk, they’re off running.  The problem is, one or two shepherds do not have time to bottle feed or constantly watch all of these people.  It’s an impossible task.  It takes others to help. It takes committed, mature Christians who are willing to give of their time, talents and money to further the work of the Kingdom.

           No one said it would be easy; no one said it would always be fun or thrilling. Even a roller coaster has its ups and downs; that’s what makes the heart race and the goosebumps rise up.  If the track was flat and level, there wouldn’t be any reason to ride it.  If you want whatever God has for you, climb on; buckle the seat belt and hang on.  Enjoy the thrill of the ride, but remember this, it will cost you something.  Are you willing to pay the price?  Jesus did!

The Word Was God.

The Word Was God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3

I gave this message in church last Sunday and decided to share it on my blog.  I pray that you will receive this message as a Word from God.  I make sure that you can check out each message on my blogs so it lines up with the Bible.  If you find any errors, please contact me at writter484@charter.net.

In Exodus 20:18-19 when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking.  When the people saw it they trembling and stood far off.  Then the people said to Moses, “You speak with us and we will hear, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.

How would you have liked to be in the presence of God on that day?  Why was it that way?  When God spoke he got their attention! His Word is so powerful that when we speak the Word of God, we don’t really know what we are saying.  Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every Word of God is pure!”  This means that the Word is fresh and not evil or malicious in any way.

The Word of God is life.  In Matthew 4:4, it says, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' If we don’t know what that means, we never will unless we read and study the Bible.  The fact is, we have to eat or be nourished some way in order to live.  If we want eternal life, we must take the Word of God into our innermost being.  I have dined on the Word for many years, but still find that when I read it for the 30^th or 50^th time, it speaks something more to me. Let me show you.  

            Psalm 51:10-13:  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you.”

“Look at that last sentence.  It says THEN I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners shall be converted to you.  I read this for years and then one day when I was reading this again, the Word ‘Then’ stood out at me and I understood what it was really saying to me.  “Lord, keep my heart clean and help me stay near to your presence and rely on the Holy Spirit, remembering the joy when I received my salvation.  Only THEN will I be able to lead others to salvation and become Christians.”

It isn’t just the word, ‘then’, but the understanding that God gives to you when you are hungry for him.

This is why we must accept Jesus as our Savior, because when we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God is present and gives us understanding of the Word of God.  Jesus promised that when he left he would send us a Helper, who is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help us in many ways and one is Understanding.  Acts 1:18 tells us that, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”. You see, that power is given to the Believer by the Holy Spirit.

  and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit.”  I hope you can get this, ‘the Word of God is Alive’.  How do we know this?  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word Was God! (John 1:11)  If you don’t get anything else out of this today, get this.  Say it together, “The Word was God!”  God and the Word are One!

Now, catch this.  When you curse and swear and use the Lord’s name in vain, you are cursing God.  How do you think that goes over with God?

God spoke this world into existence, in Genesis 1:1.  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Then in verse after verse, He tells how he did it by saying “Then God said.”  When God finished he saw that everything was good and he blessed it.  Do you believe God created the world and everything in it????

Let us go back to God speaking to the people and them begging that God not speak to them anymore.  It was terrifying even to Moses that he said, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling."  Why do some of you not believe that the Bible isn’t relevant to your everyday life?  What holds you back from the Word of God?

There is so much power in this book.  The more you read it, the more you can understand it.  Within these pages are the power of life and death. God answers prayer, if you ask him and if you believe. He has given us, as Believers, power to use his Word, if you believe.  It used to be that when the Word of God was spoke, people would stand or kneel for hours in the presence of God’s Word being spoken.

Times are coming when the only sure thing we have is the Word of God. If I had time, I would share some things of the near future, but perhaps another time, but now, today, you need to give your heart to Jesus if you haven’t already done that.  Then ask God and the Holy Spirit help you to understand why it’s so important to read the Word of God and understand it. Pray daily because God hears every word you pray.  It’s never too late to change your heart.  God never changes. He is the same God as he was yesterday, today and tomorrow. He still loves you.

Now, don’t look at the Bible on your phone or notebook.  What will happen is that you glance over it and go right on, not getting what it really says.  You need to shut down the digital word, read the Bible itself and sit a minute to think about what you just read.

I’m a very fast reader and can scan over a page or paragraph in seconds and know what it said, but did I spiritually get anything out of it? No.  I challenge you to take one verse from the Word of God and think about what it really is saying to you.  Open your heart and listen once again for God to give you understanding.

“Help us, O God, to turn our thoughts to you and give us understanding to know what feels like to stand in your presence.  Help us to know that you are so powerful that all you have to do is speak and it will become live.  Let us be aware of each word you have spoken and thank you for who you are.  Amen!”

God Has a Plan for You

“God Has a Plan for You”

“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good not for disaster, and to give you a future and a hope.”   Jeremiah 29:11

  

Are there times in your life when you feel like you’re all alone and you don’t know what you should do with your life?  I think most of us have felt that way sometime.  However, we must make decisions everyday of our lives; either positive or negative.  One decision you make is to either follow God or not. If you don’t choose to follow God, the enemy of your soul will soon have his hooks in you.

God has plans for our lives as it tells us in Jeremiah and when we don’t listen to Him, we can make some pretty big mistakes.  Many times I have jumped into things I shouldn’t have without asking God about it only to find I should have waited.

Right at this moment while you are reading this, you may be struggling with an issue that calls for an answer.  You may feel all alone in making a decision about it, but you are not!  God has the answer because as it says in Jeremiah 29, “God has good plans for you and not bad ones.”  His plans are for the present and the future, because the decisions you make today will affect your future. 

There are several ways to find out what God wants you to do.  First, pray about it.  Second, read the Bible and thirdly, “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”  (Psalm 27:14) It is so hard to wait if there is something you want or need right now.  Why is it so hard?  Because you’re not sure if God will give you the answer you want from Him.  We must remember that there is ‘our timing’ and there is ‘God’s timing’.

This age is known as ‘The Instant Age’.  We like micro-wave meals, quick drive-ins, drive-ups, quick buys on Amazon and sending quick messages on Face-book; doing on-line banking, paying bills and connecting on the internet.  We want it now! God doesn’t always do things quickly, but in His own time because He knows what we need and when we need it.  There are times when he answers immediately and times when it’s a long wait. 

King David, in the Old Testament struggled many times trying to fit in with the plans God had for him, but he finally learned a little and wanted to share it with others.  In Psalm 37: 5&7, he gives this advice.  “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” What he suggests is to give it over to God and trust him to take care of it.  Then he goes on in verse 7, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently”. Yes, folks; God wants you to be patient.

It makes me think of the song, “Cats in the Cradle”.  It’s about a father and son and as the son was growing up, he asked his dad to do things with him like playing ball, but the father was always too busy.  In the early years, the boy always said, “I’m gonna be like you, Dad.” The son grew up and went to college and when he came home his dad wanted to sit and talk a bit, but the son wanted to do other things.  When the son got married and had his own children, his dad called and told him he would like to see him, but his son said he was too busy. The father hung up the phone and it occurred to him that his son had grown up just like him. It’s a sad song, but so true.

           

To put it in a spiritual sense, whoever you trust in and spend your time with, is who you’ll be like.  Our heavenly Father always has time for us and is always available.  He has great plans for you if you pray and then wait.  He will direct you in the way you should go.

A Study in Psalms - #20

From a Laywoman’s Perspective

“In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry.  May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.”   Psalm 20:1

What a reassurance that we have a mighty Father in heaven that watches over us.  I dare say that if the truth is known, we have been in the valley of death more times than we can imagine.  How many times have you had close calls when driving and even wondered yourself how you managed to get out of being in a terrible accident? God’s angels are always nearby and I for one am so grateful for such protection.

Yes, people die, have accidents and diseases, but my answer to this is in verse 7, “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.” (NLT).  Our heavenly Father has told us to trust him for everything in our lives. How can that be?  Because we have free will and make poor choices.  How often do we give our problems to Him?

As for myself, I’ve made many wrong choices and decisions without praying about it and I’m sure you’ve done the same thing.  When we do that, there is often a price to pay.  Let me reassure you God will help you.  In Matthew 6:26 it tells us, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”  Then it goes on to say, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

When King David wrote this Psalm and left us with this prayer, “May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.”   People have misunderstood this Psalm and misguided others with verse 4.  Now let’s look at this verse with a little more understanding.  First, if our desires are ungodly and out of God’s will, common sense tells you that God will not give it to us.  On the other hand, if our hearts desires are in the will of God, he will not hold back from us.

I knew a godly Christian man who loved motorcycles and he really believed that when he gets to heaven there will be a beautiful motorcycle waiting for him to ride all over heaven.  I really don’t believe that is what heaven is like.  Let’s read this again; “May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.”  First of all, it is talking about a time on earth, not in heaven.  Secondly, God wants to make our plans succeed, and because God wants us to succeed, it must be a part of God’s plans for us.  If there is any victory in God’s plans for us, it will include God’s victories.

There have been times in my life when I sincerely called out to God.  One snowy winter’s evening I was on my way to our church for rehearsal for a Christmas play we were doing when suddenly my front wheel drive caught in the snow and spun my car into a ditch.  I cried, “Jesus, help me.”  My car was on its side and then it settled down and although I was headed in the other direction, I was able to pull out of the ditch and turn it around and headed back toward the church.  What was amazing is that when my husband stopped by, he look at my car and the mirror on the passenger side was broke and hanging there; the whole side of the car was dented in and the tire was totally flat.  I didn’t even know it and had driven about five miles more after my accident.

God is faithful! Never be afraid to cry out to Him

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