Trust...Monday

12/8/14

 I think one of the most valuable lessons I have learned as a Christian is to trust in the Lord without reservation. It is a lesson I have learned mostly through experience and validated by the Word of God. As a new believer, trusting did not come easy for me. I had a stable ...childhood with a very faithful and loving mother. However, my dad died when I was three years old. Perhaps his absence made it more difficult for me to feel that God would be there for me as an adult. At any rate after years of God showing Himself strong on my behalf and coming through for me in every possible circumstance, I can emphatically say that God is indeed trustworthy! He shows up in every situation, orchestrating the details of our lives with loving care and creativity. In our darkest trials He is faithful to comfort us and work those miracles we need. 

“Trust me in your time of trouble, 

and I will rescue you and you will give me glory.” 

Psalm 50:15 (NLT)

I was pondering about the birth of Jesus this season. It came to me that the Christmas Story began with God asking the Saviour's earthly parents to trust in Him unconditionally. Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel and was told that she, a virgin, was to conceive the Saviour of the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. This was an honor that truly required faith! 

Similarly, Joseph was told by an angel in a dream that his fiancee, Mary, had conceived the child in her womb supernaturally. He was instructed to marry her and care for this Christ child. Thus, the birthing of the King of Kings into this earth realm began as journey of trust. To become a follower of Jesus, the first requirement seems to be that of faith and trust.

When we believe in and rely on Jesus we can begin to truly see His character and attributes. He is loving, compassionate, merciful, forgiving, pure, holy, righteous, just, steadfast, changeless, true, magnificent and “altogether lovely.” When we gaze upon the Lord in worship and adoration we are changed into His image and likeness.

As we honor the Lord this Christmas season let us pray for others to experience the joy of trusting wholeheartedly in Him.

Written by
Cathy Friberg

BLINDERS... Sunday

Devotional for 12/7/14

Blinders are the little flaps on horses' bridles by their eyes that keep them from seeing things to the rear and sometimes to the sides.  They are often used with the horse and carriage industry or with driving horses in harness competitions to keep them from seeing things that might distract or frighten them.  Blinders on hoods are also used on racehorses to keep them focused on what is in front of them, the race rather than the wild crowds watching and cheering them on.  

We've seen a lot of people going through life "with blinders on" lately.  Some would say that those rioting in the streets over black suspects dying when being approached by white cops have blinders on, because the protesters only see it from the narrow view of racial profiling, or police brutality, or a conspiracy to eliminate young black men.  Others would say those supporting the white policemen have blinders on, because they can only see it from the perspective that cops are good and trying to protect the public, that more young black men commit crimes, or that the suspects did things that deserved the force used by the police. Those blinders are formed by many things, such as the family we were born into, how we were raised, our experiences in life, and what the media chooses to focus on.  Perhaps both sides need to take their blinders off and see that there is some truth on both sides of the argument, to some degree.

Humans have had blinders on throughout history, all the way back to Adam and Eve.  When Eve was approached by the serpent, she could only see the "desirable" things that Satan spoke about instead of God's command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Adam did the same thing when approached by Eve.  Because of this fall into sin, all people have the same propensity to see things with blinders on - falling into sinful actions by only focusing on the supposed desirable aspects and forgetting God's commandments and the unmanageable life results of our shortcomings, or even worse of not having faith and believing in God.  We all have our own blinders on at times.

Ever since God sent the Savior, there have been people with blinders on when it comes to accepting Jesus as the Christ. Even the chosen Jewish people did not all accept that he was indeed the promised one. The prophecies in the Old Testament have been pointing to Jesus long before his birth.  Even in the garden the words of Genesis 3:15 foreshadowed the coming Christ:

In this time of Advent may God take our blinders off so that we can be good witnesses and point others to Jesus.  May He help us to see the physical and spiritual needs of others and give us the desire and ability to help them.  At the same time may our own faith be fortified in Christ.

written by Jan Andersen

CLEAR DIRECTIONS...Saturday

                                                                            

"In my Father's house are many rooms; 

if it were not so, I would have told you.  

I am going there to prepare a place for you." 

John 14:2

     

     I like have a Garmin device in my car so when I need directions they are clear and accurate.  It's no fun becoming lost when trying to get someplace.

     When you take a friend's address you expect it to be accurate so you can arrive at your destination.  You do pay attention to the directions or you won't get there.  People would rather rely on this sort of mapping device than taking directions from God.

     
      
     Christians are accused of being narrow minded to say that Jesus is the only way of salvation, the only way to God's house.  But God couldn't have been more clear to us as He wants us to be there with Him.  He sent His Son to procure salvation for us and then give it to us as a free gift for faith in Jesus.  Then Jesus rose from the dead to give us eternal life.  Then He ascended into heaven to the Father's house to get our rooms ready for us.

     

     This couldn't be more clear.  God is prepared to welcome His children home.  He doesn't want us to get lost on the way.  Why do so many people reject God's clear directions?  If you insist on doing it your own way you'll never reach your heavenly home.

Written by 
Carol Steficek

Share Your Joy...Friday

December 5, 2014
 

One of my wonderful sisters gave me a calendar a few years back with a daily reading on it.  It is one of those that can be used any year, as it has only the date on it.  It is titled “Always My Sister”.  Well, I have never had it in a convenient spot to see and read it every day until recently.  I finally figured out that I should put it on my desk at work, since I happen to be here every day, except weekends, so it works quite well.  I love it!  December 2^nd reads as follows:

“To act lovingly is to begin to feel loving, and certainly,
to act joyfully brings joy to others,
which in turn makes one feel joyful. 
I believe we are called to the duty of delight.” 

Dorothy Day

This is so in tune to what my thoughts and goals have been lately.  Coming out of a very tough time of depression relating to where I am in my life, I have really been reaching out to my beautiful God to guide me in the right direction.  Committing to serving where needed in order to keep me connected in the right places, as well, as spoiling myself with fun times with my girlfriends.

It is unfortunate that my general disposition is to be despondent, and I sometimes have to force myself to see through it; however, even then I still have so much joy to share with all others, because He has given me so very much!!    I say ALL others because currently I have been pretty hurt by a couple of them, and it is so hard for me to be nice to those people, let alone share joy with them!  Also, it can be a real challenge to share joy with people that are just not nice in general.  But, you know what, that is what God wants me to do, and what I need and want to do in order for me to be happy in this life on earth.

Take delight in the Lord,

    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

 

What better reason to have joy that to know that we are honoring our highest King.  Also, there is no better time of year to start or to continue sharing that most precious joy than as we are celebrating the birth of our Savoir, Jesus Christ.  Join me in sharing the forever joy of our hearts with all people we encounter in our daily life.  It will make a difference to everyone you pass by, and the greatest joy is that you could very well even save a life, just by using your smile and words as a transporter of our heavenly Father’s gift of joy!

Written by 

Kelly Dobyns

The Reason, Part 2...Thursday

12/4/14

This past Tuesday I wrote about the beginning of the Christmas happenings. I mentioned SAVING CHRISTMAS, the movie that Kirk Cameron brought out in the middle of November. His brother in law in the story was upset because he felt that Jesus had been left out of Christmas. He felt that all of the modern traditions were of pagan origin or just made up nonsense. He proceeds to set his brother-in-law straight by explaining the connection that the present things done at Christmas had their origins in the early years of Christianity. 

Here are some of the misconceptions that were cleared up. The familiar images of lights and trees carry a rich and biblical theological significance. These ideas did not originate with the Druids or other pagan influences. There is actually a very good reason to celebrate Christ’s birth in December? Also, St. Nicholas was not a pudgy mythical character who got lost in the Arctic and discovered flying reindeer—he was a champion of the faith who helped preserve the integrity of the Bible. 

A couple of the explanations really touched me. He talked about the swaddling cloths that Baby Jesus was wrapped in after His birth and said that it was a forward look towards the clothes found in the tomb after the Resurrection of Jesus... which makes me think of being born again. 

There was also the comparison of the first Adam and Jesus, the second Adam. In the garden Adam sinned by removing the forbidden fruit from the tree. His human transgression could only be erased by a sinless human who was also God, who put himself on the tree of the cross...the fruit returned. There are several theories about the date of December 25th. It was settled on in the fourth century. In the Catholic Church the Annunciation (when the angel told Mary she was going to be the mother of a special baby) is celebrated on March 25. December 25th is nine months after the observation of the Annunciation. The pope chose that day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. These are just a few of the things we do that have their root in ancient reality of the story of Jesus.

There is one more thing to think of. God gives us lots of gifts for our pleasure and loves to see us enjoying life. To celebrate things that seem to not obviously connected directly to Jesus is not a sin or even ignoring the earth changing occurrence. In the back of our minds Jesus is never far away at this time. As we go about our chores and parties we are totally aware of the miracle of Christmas. To do the things that we do around our traditions is fine as long as we are also continuously aware of the fact that Jesus IS the reason for the Season. 

Written by
Corinne Mustafa

"God Answers Our Heart's Cry"...

12/3/14

I love the fact that our Heavenly Father is always Faithful and He is never a God that He should lie. When God tells us something in His Word, He will bring it to pass.

 

A specific verse that caught my eye today was out of Mark 11:24. It says...

 

"Therefore I say to you 

whatever things you ask when you pray, 

believe that you receive them, and you will have them." 

What is captivating to me in that verse is that when our lives are in order with God and the things we ask of are in line with His Word and His will for us, He promises that He will absolutely answer.

 

He tells us that whatever we ask we shall have, if we will but believe and receive them, they shall be fulfilled. It doesn't say maybe or possibly or hopefully, but His verse says that we will have those things that we have asked for.

 

That is Good News to me!! We serve a God that truly hears and answers our prayers! I anticipate God's Greatness as I pray in every new day!!

 

In His Wonderful Love, 

Sandy Billingham

The Reason...Tuesday

12/2/14

As I drove across town to go to my Bible Study this evening it looked as if half of the town had turned on the lights. It is so festive, and as usual I reverted back to the starry eyed child who could not wait to see the houses lighted up. My dad would wait for a snowy night and we would pile into the old Austin, pull blankets over our laps and legs and head off in search of the familiar lighted displays that we always looked forward seeing.

Those were simpler days, and people relished the customs built around the celebration of the gift of Jesus coming to the human race to bring salvation. In recent years people have become jaded about Christmas. To hear about the plethora of Black Fridays and Black whatever day. The ads and come ons are out of control and a tad annoying if not disgusting. There is very little going into stores and feeling the merchandise and finding just the right thing.  They order online and even ship straight to their giftee letting the cardboard box the treasure is packed in to be the "gift wrapping."

Another thing...it is a bit two faced when people proclaim about how Christmas has become a time when the Reason for the Season is forgotten. In many ways that is true because people do not even bother to think much about the miracle that happened when Jesus was born. However, there are many customs that have their advent in the earliest events that happened around the birth of Jesus. I was of that mentality, and although I think about Jesus and His coming a lot, I looked around and criticized the materialism and the rush that exhausts during this time.

I saw a movie a week or so ago that I really enjoyed. It was called SAVING CHRISTMAS. Some people that I know did not care for it, but I really liked it. Kirk Cameron plays a person who loves Christmas with all its trappings which he lists to the audience sitting in front of a huge, beautifully decorated Christmas tree. He goes to a party and his brother in law is having a non party at his wife's party where he ends up with him sitting in the car sulking about the fact that Christmas is not much about Jesus any more. He is really on a roll with his thoughts against the current style of seasonal celebrations. The Kirk character sits and tells him about the ancient origins and reenactments of things from Biblical Days. 

I am doing the devotional for Thursday and I will enlarge on this theme. Until then I ask you to pray to the Lord and ask Him to help you to see how you can enjoy the current celebrations without forgetting that.....

Written by
Corinne Mustafa