This is the Christmas story; the real one. The real gift we all received that day. All anyone has to do to enjoy the gift is to accept His love, which He gives freely to us all. The gift we can give in return is to share His love with others.
Luke 1:26-35 (NIV)
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
God is Amazing!
God is truly amazing! Just look at what He's done for you.
Sometimes we don't recognize what He's done for us, instead we focus on what He didn't do for us. Stop. Think. He made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave up is Son for us, for our forgiveness. All we have to do is accept that fact. Right? So what stops us from completely trusting in Him?
We sometimes don't realize that every action has a consequence, some good and some not so good, both of which can be lasting. Decisions made early in life have can have consequences lasting a lifetime. For example, if I decide that college isn't for me, then the statistics tell me that my income will be significantly lower over the course of my work-life than one who holds a college degree. We don't always consider the consequences. Here's another example; my dad decided to start smoking at an early age and kept smoking for 40 years. The consequences presented themselves almost 20 years after he finally did quit. They came in the form of throat cancer and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Decease). When he quit, he thought it was the right choice, and it was, but it was already too late.
These are may be dramatic examples, that illustrate the dilemma. We don't consider the long term consequences of every choice. I don't think it's possible, I know that I'm just not that smart.
Here's the amazing part--God loves us, no matter what our choices are. He loves us and wants to have an intimate personal relationship with us. We are already forgiven by His sacrifice. Friends, this is the true grace of God. We don't deserve His love, His forgiveness, or His peace but we can have it anyway.
God is truly amazing!
Sometimes we don't recognize what He's done for us, instead we focus on what He didn't do for us. Stop. Think. He made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave up is Son for us, for our forgiveness. All we have to do is accept that fact. Right? So what stops us from completely trusting in Him?
We sometimes don't realize that every action has a consequence, some good and some not so good, both of which can be lasting. Decisions made early in life have can have consequences lasting a lifetime. For example, if I decide that college isn't for me, then the statistics tell me that my income will be significantly lower over the course of my work-life than one who holds a college degree. We don't always consider the consequences. Here's another example; my dad decided to start smoking at an early age and kept smoking for 40 years. The consequences presented themselves almost 20 years after he finally did quit. They came in the form of throat cancer and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Decease). When he quit, he thought it was the right choice, and it was, but it was already too late.
These are may be dramatic examples, that illustrate the dilemma. We don't consider the long term consequences of every choice. I don't think it's possible, I know that I'm just not that smart.
Here's the amazing part--God loves us, no matter what our choices are. He loves us and wants to have an intimate personal relationship with us. We are already forgiven by His sacrifice. Friends, this is the true grace of God. We don't deserve His love, His forgiveness, or His peace but we can have it anyway.
God is truly amazing!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
When your in the battle. . .
As a follow-up from the previous piece -
Since the Lord helped me identify what the problem is, that my procrastination, distraction, and anxiety were the result of spiritual attack, the Lord has provided (as He always does) ways for me to be victorious in battle. Here are a few of the scriptures He's given me. With God's word and the support that my sisters at church unknowingly provide, I am more aware of the enemy and his methods. I am not only aware, but I'm also relieved and free. Yes, to some this may sound crazy, but if one believes in God, why wouldn't they also believe that there is an enemy? We just don't have to allow him to have a stronghold in our lives. For that, we have Jesus.
All are from the New American Standard Bible:
Ephesians 6:13
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Psalm 37:3-4 Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:25, 33 The Cure for Anxiety
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Psalm 91:2-3a Security of the One Who Trusts in the LORD.
2I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper.
Since the Lord helped me identify what the problem is, that my procrastination, distraction, and anxiety were the result of spiritual attack, the Lord has provided (as He always does) ways for me to be victorious in battle. Here are a few of the scriptures He's given me. With God's word and the support that my sisters at church unknowingly provide, I am more aware of the enemy and his methods. I am not only aware, but I'm also relieved and free. Yes, to some this may sound crazy, but if one believes in God, why wouldn't they also believe that there is an enemy? We just don't have to allow him to have a stronghold in our lives. For that, we have Jesus.
All are from the New American Standard Bible:
Ephesians 6:13
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Psalm 37:3-4 Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:25, 33 The Cure for Anxiety
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Psalm 91:2-3a Security of the One Who Trusts in the LORD.
2I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Am I under Attack?
I haven't posted anything since June 29th. Why?
Distraction is how the Enemy attacks. Why do we always have something pressing, something that must be done, something that just can't wait?
Procrastination is how the Enemy attacks. How is it that I could find anything more important than obeying God immediately?
Doubt is how the Enemy attacks. Why do I doubt myself, my ability, my worth when God has made me with all the competence I'll ever need to do what He has planned for my life?
Anxiety is how the Enemy attacks. Why do I have the tight, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach?
God has been working on me for months to get back to writing. I enjoy it very much and it's helped lead me to have open discussions about Christ with others. So, why haven't I obeyed?
I didn't really recognize what was happening until that sinking feeling began. Only for a minute or two, once in a while. I didn't connect the dots until I started a Bible Class at Church a few weeks ago. All of this time, I was being attacked.
I began to realized that I got distracted with the Summer routine when we are away most weekends. I stayed in the Word, but not as much. The study group I was attending on Monday nights dissolved, and other activities took its place. Because I was away a lot, I lost touch with my Church family; I wasn't there on Sunday to attend church. That's distraction.
I thought of great topics to write about. I had God things happening in my life and wanted to write about them, but... My computer crashed, so without that my office became a storage room so much that I couldn't even get to the desk. I had to take care of my garden and, oh how I love my garden. That's procrastination.
Some people at work asked about my blog and I invited them to visit it, but then began to be guarded in what I wrote. I though, am I worthy of writing about God, about my Christian walk. Am I truly a good example of how a Christian should behave. I didn't want to sound like I knew it, because I don't. That's doubt.
The Bible study I'm attending in on Philippians and Colossians. At the second class one of the ladies said our Church must be doing something right because a lot of our members are under attack. We have many with new health, financial issues. These events seem to be occurring in the midst of a renewal our Church is experiencing. WOW! That made my whole perspective change. I finally connected the dots.
That sinking, anxious feeling started right around the time school started. That's when our weekend excursions start winding down. We're in town and back at church. Then I joined the Bible study, which requires the purchase of an inexpensive study guide. The first week found me putting off that purchase until I really had no time to adequately prepare for the second class. Then she said it, a lot of us are under attack, we must be doing something right.
The Enemy attacks to come between us and God. He doesn't want us to build that all important relationship with Him. He attacks our health, finances, and emotions. He's been working on me in all areas. My finances were first a few years ago, but we've over come that. My health recently, and that is under control. Now, my emotions in the form of this anxious feeling.
I recognized it because it wasn't the first time. I had experienced it about two years ago, when I joined the study group that met on Mondays, I mentioned earlier. It was very strong then, but with my team members, my Pastor, and focus on the Word the feeling quickly went away.
I must be doing something right. My relationship with God is growing and the Enemy doesn't like it. Well, that's OK, because I'm not fighting this battle alone, and neither are you. God is always on our side.
Distraction is how the Enemy attacks. Why do we always have something pressing, something that must be done, something that just can't wait?
Procrastination is how the Enemy attacks. How is it that I could find anything more important than obeying God immediately?
Doubt is how the Enemy attacks. Why do I doubt myself, my ability, my worth when God has made me with all the competence I'll ever need to do what He has planned for my life?
Anxiety is how the Enemy attacks. Why do I have the tight, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach?
God has been working on me for months to get back to writing. I enjoy it very much and it's helped lead me to have open discussions about Christ with others. So, why haven't I obeyed?
I didn't really recognize what was happening until that sinking feeling began. Only for a minute or two, once in a while. I didn't connect the dots until I started a Bible Class at Church a few weeks ago. All of this time, I was being attacked.
I began to realized that I got distracted with the Summer routine when we are away most weekends. I stayed in the Word, but not as much. The study group I was attending on Monday nights dissolved, and other activities took its place. Because I was away a lot, I lost touch with my Church family; I wasn't there on Sunday to attend church. That's distraction.
I thought of great topics to write about. I had God things happening in my life and wanted to write about them, but... My computer crashed, so without that my office became a storage room so much that I couldn't even get to the desk. I had to take care of my garden and, oh how I love my garden. That's procrastination.
Some people at work asked about my blog and I invited them to visit it, but then began to be guarded in what I wrote. I though, am I worthy of writing about God, about my Christian walk. Am I truly a good example of how a Christian should behave. I didn't want to sound like I knew it, because I don't. That's doubt.
The Bible study I'm attending in on Philippians and Colossians. At the second class one of the ladies said our Church must be doing something right because a lot of our members are under attack. We have many with new health, financial issues. These events seem to be occurring in the midst of a renewal our Church is experiencing. WOW! That made my whole perspective change. I finally connected the dots.
That sinking, anxious feeling started right around the time school started. That's when our weekend excursions start winding down. We're in town and back at church. Then I joined the Bible study, which requires the purchase of an inexpensive study guide. The first week found me putting off that purchase until I really had no time to adequately prepare for the second class. Then she said it, a lot of us are under attack, we must be doing something right.
The Enemy attacks to come between us and God. He doesn't want us to build that all important relationship with Him. He attacks our health, finances, and emotions. He's been working on me in all areas. My finances were first a few years ago, but we've over come that. My health recently, and that is under control. Now, my emotions in the form of this anxious feeling.
I recognized it because it wasn't the first time. I had experienced it about two years ago, when I joined the study group that met on Mondays, I mentioned earlier. It was very strong then, but with my team members, my Pastor, and focus on the Word the feeling quickly went away.
I must be doing something right. My relationship with God is growing and the Enemy doesn't like it. Well, that's OK, because I'm not fighting this battle alone, and neither are you. God is always on our side.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Realize that you are blessed!
Job 5:17-19
17 “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
18 For though he wounds, he also bandages.
He strikes, but his hands also heal.
19 From six disasters he will rescue you;
even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
Realize that you are blessed.
God’s discipline can be harsh, but when it gets our attention and we turn away from whatever it is that forced His hand, the rewards are great. It is in the realization of His love for us that the discipline is becomes effective, even welcome. It helps us realize that we are blessed.
When we put something between ourselves and God, preventing the close relationship He wants to have with us, we need to give it up. Sometimes, when we don’t do it on our own, God gets tired of waiting for us to act. He rains down His discipline on us until we give Him our full attention. Until we ask for His help in the form of relief from whatever stress He’s placed upon us. Once convicted, we must repent asking for His forgiveness, and we need to turn away from the wrong we are doing. Then we can experience the rewards He has in store for us and truly realize that we are blessed.
A while back, my husband and I bought a business. We leveraged almost everything we had to make the purchase and then found out that the income initially projected just wasn’t there. Oh ya, and we bought it just before the big economic melt down, too. Our timing wasn’t the only thing off though. Our whole plan was off, right from the start. You see, our plans didn’t include God. We didn’t pray about it, we didn’t’ seek confirmation that this was the right business for us, or the right time in our lives. We didn’t even consider how or if we could recover from a catastrophic failure, but we soon got the opportunity to find out. We didn't see the blessings we already had.
Well, everything that could happen did. We were robbed, someone drove through the front door, equipment failed, and sales crashed. I believe all of this was God’s way of helping us decide to sell the business, which we did at a considerable loss. The great thing is that we recovered to experience life in a renewed way. We are out from under that burden and closer to God, and closer to each other than we have been in years. We finally realized that were were blessed.
Having the business was not good for us, it separated us from God, but He got our attention by disciplining us harshly for going down that road without Him. But the rewards have been great. We have been blessed with a stronger faith, a closer marriage and we’re in much better financial shape than we’ve been in for quite some time.
God is good. Don’t leave Him out of your plan but, instead, ask Him what He has planned for you. I guarantee you that His plan will always be what’s best.
Realize that you are blessed.
17 “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
18 For though he wounds, he also bandages.
He strikes, but his hands also heal.
19 From six disasters he will rescue you;
even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
Realize that you are blessed.
God’s discipline can be harsh, but when it gets our attention and we turn away from whatever it is that forced His hand, the rewards are great. It is in the realization of His love for us that the discipline is becomes effective, even welcome. It helps us realize that we are blessed.
When we put something between ourselves and God, preventing the close relationship He wants to have with us, we need to give it up. Sometimes, when we don’t do it on our own, God gets tired of waiting for us to act. He rains down His discipline on us until we give Him our full attention. Until we ask for His help in the form of relief from whatever stress He’s placed upon us. Once convicted, we must repent asking for His forgiveness, and we need to turn away from the wrong we are doing. Then we can experience the rewards He has in store for us and truly realize that we are blessed.
A while back, my husband and I bought a business. We leveraged almost everything we had to make the purchase and then found out that the income initially projected just wasn’t there. Oh ya, and we bought it just before the big economic melt down, too. Our timing wasn’t the only thing off though. Our whole plan was off, right from the start. You see, our plans didn’t include God. We didn’t pray about it, we didn’t’ seek confirmation that this was the right business for us, or the right time in our lives. We didn’t even consider how or if we could recover from a catastrophic failure, but we soon got the opportunity to find out. We didn't see the blessings we already had.
Well, everything that could happen did. We were robbed, someone drove through the front door, equipment failed, and sales crashed. I believe all of this was God’s way of helping us decide to sell the business, which we did at a considerable loss. The great thing is that we recovered to experience life in a renewed way. We are out from under that burden and closer to God, and closer to each other than we have been in years. We finally realized that were were blessed.
Having the business was not good for us, it separated us from God, but He got our attention by disciplining us harshly for going down that road without Him. But the rewards have been great. We have been blessed with a stronger faith, a closer marriage and we’re in much better financial shape than we’ve been in for quite some time.
God is good. Don’t leave Him out of your plan but, instead, ask Him what He has planned for you. I guarantee you that His plan will always be what’s best.
Realize that you are blessed.
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