Month: December 2020

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

Luke 2: 8-17

Sometimes I think that we have too many choices. We have to make constant decisions and that can be exhausting. What to do, what to eat, what to read, watch and who to see. With so many choices, it can become confusing and that, coupled with exhaustion, can make a person just give up and go with the flow.

This type of attitude spills over into everything in our lives. If it takes a decision, best not to do so in case you make a mistake.

The problem with that attitude is that you don’t stay static, you fall further and further away from truth. The status quo is what we think it is.

It is important to sort decisions that are important from those which are not. What you wear and eat are not earth-shaking in their concept.

There are decisions that are momentous and those are the ones to focus on. Who you spend time with, what you read and watch have impacts on your view of the world and of God.

So much of what is out there today is anti-God. It is very easy to take these things in but it is not easy to remove them once they have taken up space inside you.

The most important decision in your life is that of accepting God. A non-decision equals a rejection. The status quo, in that case, dooms your soul to eternity in hell. The only way out is to reach out to the God who created the universe and everything in it. He is waiting for you with his hands held out.

Don’t consider that you have all the time in the world to make this decision. You may not have any time longer than this moment. We are not promised long lives, in fact, we are not promised anything at all as far as the world goes.

What we are promised is that if you reach out to Jesus, accept him as your savior and let his sacrifice wash away you sins, you will be forgiven. That means you will spend eternity in heaven with God.

If you don’t make this decision and your life ends, you will not be given a do-over. This isn’t a video game or a movie or television show where we get more and more chances to get things right.

We are given whatever time we have in life to look to God and see how dreadfully evil we are without him. We can’t save ourselves no matter how strong or competent we feel.

Not one of us measures up to the standard of holiness of God. Not one, no matter how good you think you are or how much good you have done in your life. Who we think we are and what good things we have done, absent salvation, is not a measure of holiness.

What is important is the decision to accept salvation. That is the only yardstick we can measure. We can’t make ourselves good enough. It takes the washing of our sins for us to measure up.

It isn’t what we did but what Jesus did for us that is important. It is this sacrifice that will save us from ourselves. Please make the decision to accept this free gift and know that, regardless of what happens in the world, your spirit is held safe in God’s hands for eternity.

Joshua 24:15

If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Frustration is something that we all need to deal with. When things don’t go our way or when something happens that turns your day or even our lives upside down, it is frustrating to say the least.

Along with frustration often comes anger. Sometimes there is a distinct object or individual that those feelings are directed towards. Sometimes, it just seems like life itself has it in for you. Then the feelings are directed to the world at large.

There is a slippery slope that we travel when we become angry. It can lead to all sorts of trouble and evil. It is in our minds and hearts to do evil. We inherited it from our ancestor, Adam.

His actions against God condemned mankind to their loss of spiritual connection with their Maker. When that happened, all the good that mankind had was instantly turned upside down. Good become evil.

We all have those thoughts and it is really easy to move beyond a momentary thought of anger to hate and then further to actions to get retribution against those who are or who seem to be holding us down.

We scream Justice, we want Justice. We think it is our right to demand that others change how they are to suit us. It is one thing to take someone to court to obtain justice when a wrong is done and it is another things to take into your own hands.

The gamut of this type of retaliation runs from being a bully to becoming a murderer. Really, who would think that this is the way to solve anything? However, in the world today, it doesn’t seem that unusual.

We are evil and we are becoming used to the evil to the point where many have begun to think that evil is good.

That’s giving in to the master of this world, Satan. He wants us to become as destructive as possible and to wipe mankind off the face of the Earth. He knows that he lost the war but he wants to take as many of us down with him as possible.

That is why he influences people to hate those who tell the world about the love of God and the salvation of Jesus Christ. That is what is behind the move to silence Christians these days.

It isn’t that those who are against Christianity have a better answer. They just don’t want the word of God to shine a light into the darkness of their souls. They don’t want others to experience what they have decided they don’t need for themselves.

It is a time when those who truly follow Jesus Christ learn to stand up for God. It’s not that he needs vindication, it is that we need to tell others about him so that they, too, can be saved.

It is our job to do so, it is our calling and it should be our joy. No matter what the repercussions, you cannot deny Jesus to suit the world.

We have been told that our lot won’t be easy and it isn’t. We know that persecution and evil are going to come against us.

Stand strong and know that God has won this war and that he will support us in our battle. We are not alone. He is there and he will give you peace and joy in the midst of what is happening and what is coming.

Lean into him and hold on, no matter what.

Romans 1:16-17

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

I look around and see so much confusion in the world. I don’t feel it myself and am, instead, filled with peace. The peace that I feel is not of my own spirit but from that of God.

In the midst of turmoil, I know that he is holding me in his hand and that his plan for the future is going forward. I’ve experienced this since I became a Christian.

Three times in my life, I was assailed, to the end of my own strength, by the enemy. Once, as my first marriage fell apart, another time when I became ill and was expected to die that day. The third time actually came between these two events.

It was when my firstborn, my only son, became ill, struggled to fight his vicious form of leukemia and then died after a successful bone marrow transplant.

It wasn’t about me, but I remember shaking uncontrollably when they moved him to ICU. I sat in the waiting room as my husband spent time with him. I would take my turn after a bit.

It was during that time that God sent an angel in the form of a man. I don’t know that he was an actual angel but, interestingly enough, afterwards, no one remembered him or knew who he was. The child he was visiting had no relatives to visit with him though he identified himself to me as the child’s uncle.

He told me he came to spend time at the young boy’s bedside. When my husband came out to change places with me, the man asked if he could pray for our son and for us. He put his arms around us and asked that God’s will be done and that God give us his peace and understanding.

I stopped shaking immediately and was filled with peace. He left immediately after the prayer and I went to spend time with my son. David passed away within ten days of that event and, during that time, I never felt that fear again.

I felt peace in his life and in his death. I felt peace as I grieved for my own loss of my son. I knew that David was in heaven and was no longer in pain and that he was infinitely more happy.

That lesson has come forward with me. When I was told that I was going to die, I accepted it and asked God to give peace to my family. I didn’t ask for healing but my husband did so and continues to do so every single day.

God had a plan for me and so, my life has continued.

Having had this peace at the worst points in my life, I can face the future and the turmoil and confusion that abounds. Whenever I feel the enemy (Satan) trying to attack me, I hand it to God and ask him to restore my peace and to stop the demons from attacking me.

It never fails. The situation may not change but my attitude towards it does. I see what is happening and know that it is part of God’s plan. You can see Bible prophesy coming to reality.

Yes, we are in the End Times. We have been in those times since Jesus ascended to heaven. Jesus may return for his church in the next second or it may be hundreds of years. I will live as though it is about to happen as that is what he told us to do.

Fellow Christians, be ready, be in right standing and fear not.

If you are not a Christian and the cares of the world are overwhelming and confusing you, turn to God and ask Jesus to save you. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you his peace. If you do so with your whole heart, you will be saved, you will have your relationship with God restored because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit will fill you with the peace of God.

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]