Living in Christ

“Born Unto Us This Day!” Scripture: Luke 2:8-14 Introduction: When you think of Christmas, what comes to mind? Many of us would remember the Christmas’s of the past, of the joy and the love we shared as we gathered with family and friends to celebrate the occasion by delicious foods and gifts unimaginable. We might remember that special gift that we asked for and, to our astonishment, received. We might think of the response from someone close to us that opened a gift we gave to them. The joy and wonder in their eyes as they opened their treasure. We might think of the wonderful lights and beautiful displays that would meet our eyes as we wondered from neighborhood to neighborhood. And, of course, who could forget the tree? Splendidly decorated to our fancy and our taste as we prepared to celebrate what has become a retailer’s delight. Oh yes! The wonders of Christmas! The sights, the sounds, the smells! But, may I say to you that this should not be the significance of the day kno

  What goes through our minds at this time of the year?  Are we concerned and worried about financial and material stuff?  I thought that it would be appropriate to list what should be on our minds at this time of year! "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." John 3:16 KJV "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11 NIV. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 NIV. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law

   I would like to ask all of us just how much trauma we are going through this holiday season?  Not with gifts and such, but with lost jobs, marital and family problems, illness and the like.  There can be so many things going on that we actually forget to celebrate the joy and comfort of what we celebrate at this time of the year.  Many of us celebrate the birth of our Savior and still others of us celebrate the new life that a new year can bring.  But what of the darkness that haunts many of us knowing that even after the holidays, the darkness still remains? "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.  He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  Even though I walk in through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:1-4 NIV.   As we face our trials and struggles,

  Millions of us around the world are now celebrating the gift-giving season.  We watch all the commercials on our televisions proclaiming to us to buy this product or by that product.  Thousands of us have decorated up our yards and homes to celebrate Santa Claus or Frosty the Snowman.  Thousands of us will sit around and have conversations with our spouses and other family members about what bills we should not pay this month in order to run out and by our teenager a droid cell phone, which in my opinion, no teenager needs.  We will spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars, that many of us do not have, to buy gifts that will end up sitting around forgotten or broke in a few weeks.  And all of this in the name of Christmas.  If any of us would care to check our history books we would discover that the Christmas season started out as a pagan holiday full of idol worship, sacrifice, sexual immorality and the like.  Then those of the church stepped in and decided that to counter the idol

  Have you ever failed at something?  How did it make you feel?  Were you downtrodden and depressed and did you decide not to attempt it again and walk away?  Did you decide that try and try again until you accomplished what you failed at?  I believe that many of us attempt things in our own strength and this is the reason that most of us fail at things.  The Bible teaches us that we can do all things through Christ.  The Bible also tells us that it is not by our might but by the might of the Lord.  And, often times we fail because we seek the counsel of the ungodly before we seek the counsel of the Lord. "When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch."  Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.  But because You say so, I will let down the nets."  When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break." Luke

  It is sad to think that there are still those in the Christian faith that have doubts about the events the Bible teaches us.  Especially if those events have to do with Jesus.  Today I stumbled upon a video of a young man that used to be a youth pastor in a Christian church.  He has since converted to Islam and in the video he stated that the Bible had a lot to do with his converting to Islam.  I do not really have anything against the Islamic faith, to each individual the right to choose is their own, but this young man was making statements about the death and resurrection of Jesus that I found really quite ridiculous. The evidence of Christ is more than right before our eyes, all one has to do really is look at the Apostles. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other." Matthew 24:9-10.   Jesus said in His own w

  If you pay attention to your world and yourself today, you would notice just how much condemnation we place upon others.  We judge others behaviors and actions, and are very quick to condemn and impose punishment upon others.  This is especially true of Christians.  I have often said and will continue to say that Christians can be the most brutal in judging and condemning others, especially others of the faith.  However, we must consider what is written in the Scriptures, over and over the Bible tells us that we should not judge our fellow man as we will be faced with the same judgment.  True, we are not to love sin or sinful ways, but who are we to place judgment upon someone for things that they are partaking in?  We have to make a distinction between the criminal acts, those that are against the law, and spiritual acts.  Yes, it is true that we are all commanded to obey the laws of the land and criminal acts deserve judgment and punishment.  But, what of other acts?  Many of us ar

  Did you know that our Lord never conceals His expectations from us?  We never have to guess how we are to live our lives.  His expectations for us are clearly outlined in His Word, our Bibles!  In response to many of the misguided ways that people were seeking out to please God, the prophet Micah explained what God does and does not expect of His people.  The people asked: Should we come to God with many offerings?  Should we bring a thousand rams and ten thousand rivers of oil?  Would God be pleased if we gave Him our firstborn child to express our devotion to Him?  And, like the people then, I hear many of us asking similar questions about pleasing God.  Micah gives us a pretty good answer to the questions then, and now, about how we are to please the Lord. "He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8.   In the Book of Micah, Micah listed three things that

  In our society today, we are surrounded by a great many things.  There is so much around us that gets our attention over our Lord, there is so much we "worship" over our Lord.  The people in the days of Paul were in a similar situation.  They worshiped things around them.  They worshiped idols!  There was no idol more revered in Ephesus than the goddess Diana.  This statue was placed in a magnificent temple and was also recognized as one of the wonders of the world.  Would you believe it if I told you that idol-making became a business?  There was so much idolatry in the day that making them became a livelihood for many people. "When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.  Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.  A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.  When they calculated t

Would you like to know what one of God's greatest desires for us is?  It is to fill His people with His Spirit so that others around us will recognize His powerful presence in us.  The presence of Christ in the life of a believer should be quite obvious.  When the Spirit of almighty God fills us, we should not be able to go on living as we did before.  We should want to live our life for the glory of almighty God in us.   We should have such a desire to live and serve our Savior that we can't ignore His presence in our life, and that presence should be seen by others.  Others should see Christ through us! "This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" Zechariah 8:14.   God used Zechariah the prophet to tell His people that His presence in them ought to make a difference in their

I thought I would try something different this week with our posts.  I want to have an ongoing dialogue this week with all who follow this blog.  This week I want us all, regardless of where we might call home, to put a comment in that speaks about our thankfulness and what we are thankful for. "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:4-5.   Many of us forget where we come from, or where we were when we found Christ.  Our stories are very relevant to tell to others around us that they would come to know Jesus and the love and power He brings into the lives of all who choose Him.  I believe that this would be a good way for us to share some of our testimony---through writing something about thankfulness and what we are thankful for this season.  Just click on the comments tab and please write.  All a

As many of us are aware here in the U.S., the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us! Soon, many of us will be traveling to be with the ones we love. We will gather around a great banquet full of all sorts of delicious foods and drinks. We will make merry and be happy, telling stories as we fill up our bellies to overflowing, then sit back and nap while we dream of leftovers! This has become the "norm" here in our nation. We are very good at taking for granted everything that God has blessed us with. Many of us forget to be thankful for all that God has given us, and the one question I always have at this time of year: Why do we only spend one day being thankful when we all should spend every day thanking God for all things in our life? It is very sad for me to see other "Christians" that make a big deal out of Thanksgiving, but do not have a thankful heart the rest of the year, but instead either complain about there life, or give credit to themselves for the things in th

In his book, First Things First, author Steven Covey employs two images to emphasize living by priorities--a clock and a compass. The clock represents our daily commitments, appointments, schedules and activities. The compass represents our vision, values, principals, conscience, and direction. For most of us, there is a huge gap between the two. Most of us will readily admit that we want to live by certain priorities, but that really isn't reflected in our daily agendas. "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:7-10. Paul wrote to Timothy from prison instructi

At church today I was blessed when a friend came up to me and gave me a word that I didn't expect to hear. He blessed me with words of encouragement in an endeavor that I am undertaking. I was filled with joy and appreciation as his words poured over me in such a blessing that the rest of my day has been filled with peace and joy. As I drove home, I wondered if many of us speak words of encouragement over others, or are we too quick to tear others down by the things we say, even if we don't mean to. "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus , my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs." Philippians 2:25. Some people know just what to say and do to encourage others that are going through difficult times. They have the words to give strength to those of us that are discouraged and comfort to those of us that are grieving. I believe that these people are sensitive to God's voic

Are we noticeably different to those around us? There should be no mistaking a life that has been transformed by Almighty God! If we have allowed God to cleanse us and make us new in His glory, those changes should be evident to others, even if we never say a word. The way in which we conduct ourselves should give testimony of the transformed life we are now living through Christ our Lord. We should have such an "aura" about us, that it would cause others to stop and ask, "What does that person have in life that I don't?" We should be living lives that stand out in the crowd! "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13. Take a look at the disciples when they first started following Jesus, and as they walked with Him. You will notice over and over that they were vain and fearful. They had doubts, they e

Has your life been changed by Christ? Do you keep it to yourself? Why? These are questions that we hear all the time from other believers. The changes God has made in us should be evident to others around us through our countenance and our actions, but what about our words? I see so many of us in the "world" that are quiet about the things that God has done for us and too us. Many of us have been dramatically changed by God, but the only place anyone hears our testimony is in church. Shouldn't we be giving our witness to those around us that do not know what Christ can do for them? "Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers." 2 Chronicles 19:4. There isn't much written about Jehoshaphat in the Bible. But, what we do learn is that the Lord was with him. He walked in the ways of David and he sought God and His commands throughou

I wonder if any of you are anything like me? I have a hunger to serve the Lord! I am passionate about the ministry opportunities that He has allowed me to partake in, I am thrilled whenever I am asked to give my testimony, I rejoice whenever I see anyone grow closer to Christ through something I may have written or said. However, there are times when I get so caught up in the "moment", that I forget that I am a part of something that is way bigger than me. I forget that what I am participating in, in not just for my benefit or growth, but also for others around me. I forget that what I am doing, God is already in control of and allowing me to participate in for His glory and honor. Are you like me? "Then He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Issac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God." Exodus 3:6. One of the things in my walk with our Lord that I am always learning is that

Have you ever received a command from Jesus? If you have, did you obey it? Did you do what Jesus commanded you to do, or did you make excuses like so many in the Bible have? Thinking about this over the last several days, I noticed that there are many of us that say that God has called us to do something, but then we make excuses for not doing it. Do we have a problem with stepping out in faith? Do we doubt what we are supposed to believe? I find it interesting that when our supervisors, our leaders, even our spouses give us commands, most of the time we are quick to obey. However, when Christ commands us, many of us do not follow the orders. "And He sent two of His disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make prepar

One of the gifts that God has given to me to use for His glory is the ability to tell it like it is. The ability to speak on the hard things; the things that others do not usually want to speak about. One thing is certainly true today, we are living in days that are becoming more and more wicked each day. All one has to do is go outside their door and take a look around at what is happening before our very eyes. We have suddenly become a society that quickly acknowledges things that we know in our hearts are morally wrong. We have become quick to reject things in society that we know are morally right. We have become a society that rejects God and His righteousness and embraces the evil and vile things of the enemy. Some may say the I am being too harsh, or that I am making unnecessary judgments. But I would say to those that we have been warned that these things would be happening, and that many would accept them, even when it is in our very pulpits! "For the time will come when

I have heard a great worship song several times, although I cannot think of its name, one line from that song continued to jump out at me: "I wanna sit at Your feet." Going back to Scripture, I found several instances when the disciples probably sat at Jesus' feet. However, the one instance that catches my attention is found in Luke chapter 10. Jesus and His disciples were traveling and they came to the house of Martha and Mary. Martha opened her home to Jesus and His disciples. She loved Jesus dearly and, I believe, would have done anything for Him. But her struggle came in being still! "She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that has to be made. She came to Him and asked, "Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10:39-40. Martha spent so much time serving Jesus that she didn't h

Many of us, even after coming to Jesus, continue to struggle with sin in our life. We allow the things of this world to have control over us. We give in to temptations too easily. But, the Bible teaches us that a Christian has died to sin. Before we were Christians we were very susceptible to sin. Sin held us in its grip. Did you know that even though temptation can present itself persistently, a corpse will not succumb? The Bible says that when we became Christians, our old self died. That means that sin now has no more control over us than temptation has over a corpse. We have died to sin. We can still sin, but we are no longer in sin's power! SO why is it that so many of us continue to sin? It is because we allow sin to have power over us even though we have been freed from its grasp. When we choose to succumb to temptation, we are rejecting the freedom from sin that Christ gained for you by His death. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that

As elections draw near in our country, we are seeing a constant slue of advertisements asking us to vote for this candidate or that one. One of the things we are seeing over and over is the constant badgering as one declares we should vote for them because they can do the job better than the other. Are we listening to any of those ads? I started thinking about the wisdom of each political ad, and then my own wisdom about things and was lead to a remarkable conclusion: One big hindrance to hearing a word from God--might be our own wisdom! "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." Luke 10:21. Wisdom, like success, I believe can delude us to think that we should take the role of teacher rather than student. Our knowledge leads us to believe that we hav

I want to say that I think that if we count ourselves followers of Christ, we must have elements of humble service in our lives! We must be people of the towel! What does it mean to be people of the towel? The Disciples asked this same question one night as they were having supper with our Lord. Jesus sat down with His Disciples one last night before His crucifixion. During the course of the meal, in one simple act, Jesus taught them, and us, what it is really love and serve. "So He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him." John 13:4-6. Teaching His people to love was one of Jesus' overall purposes in the Upper Room Discourse. He had one question for them: "Do you know what I have done to you?" Jesus was the one that everyone thought was going to restore Israel as a powerful na

I have been stuck on time for the last couple of days. But, not my time, God's time. I am learning to understand that God's timing is always perfect timing! This is something that we need to wrap ourselves around and understand! When God speaks, the time to respond in obedience is right now! Many of us act as though we have all the time in the world to respond to Him, to obey Him. However, may I say that history has shown that it doesn't wait on our commitments. And, there is no such thing as postponing a decision with our Lord! There are only two choices--either we obey or we disobey. That's it! It's either faith or unbelief, or obedience or disobedience. "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of