LESSONS OF CHRISTMAS--JESUS

Jesus. The whole reason for the season. Christmas, the night of his birth. The night God gave up His Glory so He ouuld experience life in our shoes. As a child, when we felt wronged by someone my grandmother would say, "Walk in the other person's shoes for a mile." God walked in our shoes for a lifetime!!
Does Jesus jump from being an infant to twelve years old to a man of 30 years before he starts being a person to you? If you meet someone as a child or young adult or when we are in the latter portion of our life are they any less a person to us? Oftentimes, we say, if only we had more information of the missing years we could better relate to him. We could better believe he was for real. God gave up His Diety to become man. To experience life as man, to have the same emotions. The fact we don't have information on several years of his makes him no less real.
All too many times, Jesus goes from the cradle to picking his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. We rarely picture Jesus having his diapers changed, falling as he learned to walk, having tummy aches, getting his first tooth, having his mother teaching him life lessons through her eyes, learning life lessons at Joeeph's knee, learning a trade from his father. What other things did he learn from Mary and Joseph?
Paul tells the Philippians that Jesus, "being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." And, to the Corinthians he says about Jesus, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He (God, I added) became poor, so that you through his (Jesus, I added) poverty might become rich." For you, for me, God came to this earth as man; experienced everything we experience, suffered a death worse than we can ever think of experiencing, rose from the dead, and sits at the right hand of God so we might have life, and have it abundantly.
Sarah Young in JESUS CALLING helps us to see Christmas from Jesus's viewpoint, "I accepted the limitations of infancy under the most appalling conditions--a filthy stable. That was a dark night for Me, even though angels lit up the sky proclaiming 'Glory!', I became poor so that you might become rich."
God came to this earth as a baby, Jesus, and walked this earth for 30 years doing the very same things you and I do every day. Then, for three years Jesus taught and healed and showed us how we can fulfill the purpose God created us to fulfill. Never before or since in the history of man has a god become man! God became man so we are able to have a relationship with Him. Allow this to soak deep into your soul. Ostwald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest asks the question to consider for this Christmas lesson, "Have I allowed my personal human life to become a 'Bethlehem' for the Son of God?"

GOD'S GIFTS

No, I haven't discontinued my series Lessons of Christmas. The remaining lessons concern groups associated with after Jesus' birth. Therefore, today I'd like to focus on blessings or, as I like to call them, God's gifts.
In a few days, the majority of us will be be opening presents given by friends and loved ones. All to often we miss the most important gifts of all; the ones given to us by God. His most precious gift is Jesus. "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16, NIV. However, God gives gifts to us every day. Some people call them blessings. Personally, the word "gift" seems to be more applicable this time of year. Those totally unexpected, unexpected, unexplained events which happens that benefits you. Money, healing, a car moving just in the nick of time; any one of many occurrences that occur in our daily life.
Many times we attempt to explain them away or they go by completely unnoticed because we are not in the habit of looking for them. Unfortunately, all too often we are like children. On Christmas morn the children are excited to open their presents. They gleefully, thankfully receive them. They are overjoyed. And then, time passes. We go into their room or their play area and there the once treasured gift lays on the floor, dirty, broken, sullied, forgotten. Or we may be the child who absolutely must know how a toy works so he takes it apart and there it lays strewn all over the floor, unable to be put back together again. The healing we prayed for over and over, the answer to the long asked why He finally answered, the relationship He healed, the marriage He healed, the job He guided opened the doors to, and the list goes on. Which one are you?
From this moment forward, when we receive a "gift" from our Heavenly Father let's not fling it aside, tear it apart, or allow it to gather dirt in the recesses of our life but thank Him for it, tell others what He gave us. It is these experiences that comprise our "story", our testimony of how Jesus or God interacts with us in our life. It is one of the many reasons we know Jesus is our Savior.
This Christmas if you haven't accepted God's most precious gift, Jesus, I pray this Christmas you will  accept him as your Savior. Marry Christmas!! Happy Birthday, Jesus!! See you next week with another Lesson of Christmas--The Magi.

LESSONS OF CHRISTMAS--SHEPHERDS

Ah!! The Shepherds. As mentioned in my first post of this series the shepherds would be equivalent to today's homeless. Some of Israel's greatest heroes were shepherds; Abraham, Moses, David, Jacob, and his son Israel. However, mostly shepherds were hired and were not very reliable. So why were shepherds the ones God chose to be the first to hear about His Son's birth? Maybe, by looking closer at the duties of a shepherd we can discover the answer.
It was the responsibility of the shepherd to move his sheep from meadow to meadow so they would have nourishing food to eat. The shepherd had to water the sheep and if water wasn't nearby, it was there duty to take the sheep to a well and dip a pouch into the well. If the flock was large, this could take many hours. He had to protect them from snakes that could bite them as they fed or thieves that might steal them at night or wolves wanting one for its evening meal. To protect his sheep, at night he would lay across the opening to the sheepfold literally laying down his life for his sheep. If a sheep was killed under the care of a shepherd, by law he was required to show proof it was an animal that killed him and not the shepherd. (Was Jesus referring to this law 33 years later when He told His Father, he had not lost one). Was God showing us what was expected of His Son?
It was the shepherds who were the first to spread the news concerning the birth of a Messiah, a Savior, the Lord. After finding the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (this identified where the baby could be found) they went and spread the word, telling everyone what had happened to them and everyone was amazed.   Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:27, "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak of this world to shame the strong." Was Paul thinking about the shepherds when he wrote this?
Or was God pointing us to the day Jesus speaks about when he says, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered all nations and He shall separate them one from another, as a SHEPHERD divides his sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left." The ones on His right will be blessed and the ones on His left will be told to depart from Him. For we know His birth point to His death, His death to the resurrection, and the resurrection to the promise of His return.
Finally, upon returning to their fields, we find them :  "glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." That's a very busy, very eventful time for the shepherds. We don't have their individual names but as a group they probably performed the second most important act of the evening, they did as they were told; they obeyed. And because they obeyed every year we will read about them. Ordinary people who did extraordinary things because they said "Yes" to God.

LESSONS OF CHRISTMAS--MARY AND JOSEPH

Matthew and Luke tell us the events leading to the birth of Jesus. Some of us have read these verses many times; for others of us, it's the first time. Six months apart, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and then to Mary. To both of them he said a son was going to be born. Zacharias responded with disbelief. Under the same circumstances, most of us would have reacted in the same manner. A young, betrothed, virgin does not react with disbelief but questioned why she was being addressed in this manner, then questioned how, and then assurance. So be it! Never giving any consideration to the reality of the very good possibilty of being stoned to death. She knew God would protect her.  Put yourself in Mary's sandals: She is approached by a total stranger, told she is favored by God, then told she is going to become pregnant with the Son of God. Can we come up with a crazier scenario for not believing it's God talking to me? We question if we can do what God is asking of us? Many times we are like Zacharias and respond with complete and total disbelief. It is the disbelief that silences Zecharias until the birth of his son John.  It is our disbelief that silences us, that cripples us with inaction. Mary believed Gabriel immediately. Federica Mathewes-Green in the book,  Lost Gospel of Mary says: "It is this same woman, so holy and God-loving, so real and human, who is lauded with extravagant praise. She is held up as the example for all Christians to imitate. She is honored for one particular moment in her holy life: she said yes to God." Mary was an ordinary woman who became extraordinary by saying "Yes" to God. Mary teaches us to surrender ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually to God and God will give us the necessary tools to complete His assignment.
Joseph hearing of Mary's pregnancy was also filled with questions: I didn't, then who? What do I do now? He couldn't believe Mary would be unfaithful, but she was pregnant. I don't want her stoned, but how can I marry her now? I'll be the laughinstock of the whole village if I marry her? Lord, what do I do? Help me here!! We know well how Joseph feels. The circumstances may be different but the questions are the same. We have been in this very same situation. We are told, "It is God!!" But if you follow through with it, people are going to think your crazy. But, just a minute, God didn't leave Joseph with questions and He's not going to leave us with questions. We need to ask. We need to converse with Him. We must earnestly seek God. We must be completely open to receiving God's answer. When Joseph was given the complete picture by the angel he no longer cared what others thought, he knew what he had to be done. Joseph surrendered physically, emotionally and spiritually to God.and God gave him the necessary tools to complete His assignment.
Once surrendered, Mary and Joseph were given the strengeh, the tenacity, the courage necessary to birth God's Son. Mary and Joseph, ordinary people able to perform an extraordinary feat by saying "Yes" to God. This Advent Season chosoe to say "Yes" to God.

LESSONS OF CHRISTMAS

Here we are, once again, preparing for Christmas. The Christmas Scriptures may be excitingly new or boringly old. Some of us have heard them so many times we could almost repeat the Christmas story word for word from memory. What else can we learn from hearing the story again? During this Advent season we are going to focus on five groups of people that can teach us valuable lessons to apply to our lives.

First take the small family of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Through them God explodes the box we keep Him in and chooses a young, poor, virgin and a carpenter to bring His Son into the world and to raise him. The righteousness of two ordinary people glorify God as they obey, as they say Your Will not mine,  and as they spiritually, emotionally, and physically surrender themselves to Almighty God.

God shocks us again when the angels announce His Son’s birth to the lowliest of the low, the shepherds. Really, SHEPHERDS today that’s like announcing it to a group of homeless people. But wait. He chose Abraham, a shepherd, to father nations. He chose David, a shepherd, the one who had a heart like God’s, to be the line in which His son would be born. Then there was Moses, a shepherd, He chose him to free His people from Pharaoh. Through these three shepherds we learn ordinary people can do extraordinary things when we are obedient to God.

King Herod, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law were seeking the Messiah for the all the wrong reasons. Here was a group of people who were seeking the Messiah intellectually but refused to bend their knees to the sovereignty of God, the power of God, or the Son of God. The sole purpose in seeking the Messiah was to deny and kill him. The lesson here is a difficult one. God will not show Himself to ones whose sole purpose is to deny Him, His power, or His sovereignty. We do not find the Messiah with our mind, it is only through our heart we can find the Messiah.

The Magi are not important for who they were but for the reason they traveled the great distance they did to see this Child. These men recognized this Child as the Messiah when the Jews could not. The Magi illustrate that we must diligently and purposely seek out this baby called Jesus, Immanuel (God with us), Savior before we can discover the gifts He has for us.

Finally, we come to the synagogue to meet Simeon and Anna. Two people who waited a lifetime to be able to see this “babe wrapped in swaddling clothes” who was the Savior, the Son of God, the Promised One. Through these two we learn patience and trust is rewarded by God. “God is who He says He is and God will do what He says He will do.” (Beth Moore, Believing God)

Join me next week as we look closer at Mary and Joseph. Do they have more to teach us?

WALKING WITH GOD

Deuteronomy 8:6, "Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him"

2 John verse 6, "And this is love, that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His commandd is that you walk in love."

So much violence is happening in our world. Beheadings, mass executionss, crucifixions, mass shootings, parents killing children, children killing parents; how are we to live in a world such as this? Its not easy. But, we forget, life wasn't easy when these words were written. God's people, His chosen people were being persecuted, killed, beheaded, crucified. 

It's easy for us to say, "If there is a God, why would He allow this to happen? He could have stopped this horror?"and go on our way content we have proof once again that there is no God.  We forget it is man who chooses the path of violence, the path of evil. God did provide us with a way to stop this wickedness, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ withstood the evilness of this world as men placed the crown of thorns on his head, as his skin was torn from his body as it was being scourged by the whip of wickedness, as he walked the path created by this world to the crucifixion man (His creation) screamed for carrying the cross bearing our sins of disobedience, he too questioned God, he too thought God His Father was forsaking him.

Yes, God could have stopped the horror and come to  His Son's rescue but if He had, where would we be today? Where would be our hope? Could we bear the sting of death? Who would be there to help us on our path as we traverse the difficulties of this life? All the power of creation was in Jesus when He overcame death and gave US eternal life, eternal hope, eternal assurance we are loved no matter the circumstances .  

My prayer for ALL who have had loved ones killed or injured in any of the horrific ways previously mentioned feel the arms of Jesus comforting them, supporting them, healing the wounds caused by these atrocities either physcially, spiritually, or emotionally. You are not alone!! Followers of Jesus Christ of Nazareth are upholding you in prayer.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Genesis 3:8-9, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of The Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from The Lord God among the trees of the garden. But The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 

Satan wants us to believe God was bellowing angrily as He stormed through the garden looking for “the man and his wife” so He could harshly reprimand them. The fact of the matter is He was probably walking leisurely through the garden, enjoying His creation, when He quizzically called out, “Where are you?” After all, it had been their daily routine since Creation. He knew where they were and He knew what they had done. Yet He still wanted to walk with them.  He still wanted to enjoy their companionship. Was He angry? Most likely, He was saddened; He knew the relationship between them had changed forever and He knew it was necessary to lovingly discipline “the man and his wife”.  There is a great lesson to be learned here. “The man and his wife” had committed the ultimate sin. God had told them they could enjoy the garden, do anything they desired, but you must not “eat fruit from the tree in middle of the garden and you must not touch it…” 

At this point in time there was no greater sin.  Many of us feel if God knew how we had lived, knew the many sins we had committed, knew the deep dark secret we’ve kept locked up deep down inside; He could not love us.  He would not desire to walk with us ever again. However, these verses show The Lord God does forgive us, He already had a plan in place to redeem us. The Creator of the Universe does still love us. Even knowing “the man and his wife” had committed the ultimate sin, He still wanted to walk with them. Come on, He returned to walk with them. He knows how you have lived, He knows the sins you have committed, and He knows that deep dark secret you have locked up in the caverns of your soul, AND THE CREATOR STILL LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO WALK WITH YOU!!  Do you hear Him calling, “Where are you?” Are you going to answer?

PERSONAL ZYGOLOGY

A sermon I once heard was titled “Church Zygology”. If nothing else, the title alone catches your attention. The word may not be remembered by many; however, I’m sure the definition will be remembered. What is zygology (pronounced zig-ol-o-gy)? It’s the science of binding, of holding objects together. In the extra-cellular matrix of our body is found proteins called laminin. Laminin are what holds us together. They are cell adhesion molecules that hold one cell of our body to the next cell. Laminin is a vital for the maintenance and survival of tissues. Defective laminins can cause muscles to form improperly, leading to a form of muscular dystrophy, a lethal skin-blistering disease, and defects of the kidney.

The wonder of laminin is the shape of it. Laminin is formed in the shape of a cross. The cells that hold our bodies together are in the shape of a cross.The psalmist David recognized God’s hand in his creation when he states in Psalm 139, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.“ God bound our bodies together by a cross and He bound us to Him by a cross. The very cross Jesus sacrificed himself on for the forgiveness of our sins. Laminin is zygology of our bodies but Jesus is the zygology of our very soul.

The time we spend reading Scriptures, in prayer, worshipping, helping others are only a few ways we can strengthen the ties that bind us to our Savior and our Heavenly Father.

PRAYER

Matthew 26:41: "Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
John 10:3-5:"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger, in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize the stranger's voice."
Conversing with God, some have no problem at all spending time with Him. They feel it is like talking with an old friend. Ones have described it as: sitting and having a cup of coffee with an Old Friend, going into the "war room" to speak with the Commander-in-Chief, spending time with Jesus.... For others of us though, it is difficult. It's hard for us to hear His voice....how can a conversation occur with Someone we can't even hear? What do I say to Him? Me, who am I to speak to the Creator of the universe?
Sometimes, it is easy to relate to one or a part of each of these questions. By becoming a sheep in the Good Shepherd's sheepfold His voice becomes audible. By totally and completely surrendered ourselves to The Good Shepherd, His voice became recognizeable. A few sentences later, Jesus tells us how it is possible:  "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.They will come in and go out, and find pasture." God made us to have a relationship with Him. Now understand, there have been times I wished I could NOT hear His voice. However, it has been worth obeying every command He has given me. The Amplified Bible says my sentiments well in Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ (the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him) be the controlling factor, in your hearts (deciding and settling questions that arise). To this peace indeed you were called as members of one body (of believers). And be thankful (to God always)." The answer to any situation is to surrender all to the only One who can overcome any problem.

SORRY

I'm terribly sorry I haven't posted here in the last few days. Please bear with me. I'm leading two studies and they are in their final weeks. This week is the last week and there is extra work in summarizing and preparing reports for church office.  I will returrn to writing next week. Please be praying for me as God and I finalize this week and prepare for our next study. Thank you very much!!

LOVING YOURSELF

Isaiah 43;18-19,  "Do not remember the former things, or pongder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even put roads in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Amplified Bible

"Loving yourself isn't hard when you understand who and what yourself is. It has nothing to do with the shape of your face, the size of your eyes, the length of your hair or the quality of your clothes. It's so beyond all those things and it's what gives life to everything about you. Your own self is a treasure." Phylicia Rashad

Many of us have done things in our past that brings us shame. It doesn't matter how many years have passed, what we have accomplished, the act or acts still haunt us. For us, it brings nothing but condemnation and guilt. We are fearful that even God can't forgive us. Worst yet, we can't forgive ourselves. It's always there.

Yesterday, I read a post by a journalist I had met in my travels. Her name is Pat Bean. She made the comment, "The truth is, I didn't even like myself when I was 21. But I do love the plump, sagging, old broad I am at 76. The years haven't always been good to me, but they've certainly been good for me." These statments made me stop and ask myself, "Do I love me?" I definitely agreed with her statement about not loving myself at 21, but did I love myself now? I could also agree with her next statement but could I say I loved myself. 

Later in the day, I was studying, Priscilla Shirer's, Discerning the Voice of God, and was released from the feelings of guilt and shame when she wrote of this very problem. She states she suffered from guilt and shame over things she had done in her past and was released when in her Scripture studying she ran across the verses in Isaiah 43 and they spoke to her heart. Furthermore, she states, "The Lord reminded me that He seeks to deliver me from the guilt of the past and move toward the promise of the future." That is our God. He is love. He loves us so much He sacrificed His Son so we could lay these very sins at the feet of Jesus Christ so we no longer live in condemnation but love. Love of God and yes, we can love ourselves; without guilt, without shame.

THE ROCK

Isaiah 26:4 "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." NIV
                   "Trust (confidently) in the Lord forever (He is your fortress, your shield, your
                     banner), for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock (the Rock of Ages) AMP

There is so much happening in the world. We have mass shootings, beheadings, crucifixions, floodings, hurricanes, and the list goes on. In the last year, I personally have had two friends who have had members of their family murdered in horrible and cruel methods; one close friend die of cancer, several are fighting or have fought cancer this year, one suffered a heart attack. In the last week alone my next door neighbor had her two neices killed in a horrific car accident and a friend who had very close friend whose daughter died in another horrific car accident. Some are asking, "Where is God?" Others are saying, "If there is a God, why did He allow this to happen? Why didn't He stop it?"
When I was young, we had dogs. My father kept insisting he hated dogs. However, when our first dog died, my mother was able to shoot a picture of my father sitting on a log crying. When these horrific, sad events happen I picture God sitting on the log, His arms arounds us, crying.

CONFORMED/TRANSFORMED

Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transfored by the renewing of your mind."

Like our friend here, do you sometimes stand out in the crowd? That's not always a bad thing. Unfortunately, too many times though we desire to give in to our "earthly desires: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5, NIV).. Paul goes on to tell us we must rid ourselves "of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other..." (Colossians 3:8,9). Now its probably fairly safe to say if the first group doesn't apply, there is something in the second group that fits.  Unfortunately, I didn't even make it through the first group of no-no's. You see, there is a certain coffeemaker I have been eyeing for some time. Recently, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time checking online comparing prices and availability at different stores. I don't mean just once or twice. I mean everytime I turned on my Ipad I would look. After all, the prices could have changed overnight. I was even going to stores to check (well, the prices could have been wrong on the internet). It became an idol that stood between me and God. I believe that is called idolatry.  Yes, that is standing out in the crowd for all the wrong reasons. Hey, just a minuate you say. If no one knew than how can you be standing out in the crowd. Ah, from God's perspective, I stood out in the crowd for all the wrong reasons. I was allowing the ways of this world to conform me.

The good news is the minute we become/became Christ-followers we were given the Holy Spirit. Priscilla Shirer describes the Holy Spirit as "God's control tower". He sees the end from the beginning and seeks to guide us through this life." When I allow God's messages to get through the "control tower" I am able to be "transformed by the renewing of your (my) mind".Then when I stand out in the crowd, it is as a "light" bringing praise to my Father in heaven. 

PEACE

John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you. Don't let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." NIV Bible

Peace is defined as freedom from disturbace, quiet, tranquility, calm, restfulness. Several years ago, I was on a bus tour of Switzerland and met a thirteen year old young lady and her father from Israel. We were enjoying the morning on the top-deck of a touring boat on Lake Lucerne. While her father was in discussion with others on the tour, I happened to mention to this young lady how beautiful and peaceful it was this morning. It was a beautiful crisp, Fall day with a gorgeous blue sky overhead filled with fluffy white clouds; much like in the above picture except the mountains of the Alps were surrounding us. When I mentioned the word "peaceful" she looked at me very puzzled and asked innocently but very seriously, "What's peace?" In her young life she had never experienced peace. She lived with wars, bombings,  and snipers all her life. She didn't know when her father left in the morning if she would see him that night. She didn't know if when left for school if she would come home that night to her mother and brother in a their house.
Is your life filled with unrest, turmoil, or anxiety. Whether we are Christ-followers or not we can have times when we are filled with one or all of these emotions. Last Sunday, the husband of a very dear friend experienced extreme weakness to the point, a neighbor had to assist him into the house and into bed. He has lymphnomic cancer on top of having Alzeheimers. She called to ask for prayer. Her husband was hospitalized later that night. During the next two days he received a blood transfusion and had tests to determine the cause of the bleeding. During this time she could have been filled with complete unrest, extreme turmoil, and experienced extreme anxiety but none of this occurred. Why? Because she knew God was in control. Her Savior had told her "Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you. Don't let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid." She believed Him. Last night, she brought her husband home from the hospital with no new complications.
Beth Moore in her study "Believing God" tells us "God is who He says He is and God can do what He says He can do?" This Peace, God's Peace, is available to everyone 24/7. All you have to do is believe God is who He says He is and believe God can do what He says He can do. It truly is as easy as that.

MISCONCEPTIONS VS. TRUTH

Misconception is defined as a view or opinion that is incorrect because it is based on faulty
thinking or understanding. The Enemy has sold the world  one misconception after another and the people of the world has believed him.. As an old saying goes, we’ve been sold a “bill of goods”. The Enemy has told us  we will go to heaven when we die if we lead a good life, if we help others, even if we attend church every Sunday. He’s even  told us nothing really happens to us when we die; its just a bunch of nothingness. Our bones will turn to ashes and then that too will blow away. Moreover,  he’s told us hell is really a big party that will last forever; there’s no such place as hell. In those times when you have been at your lowest point and you feel God is distant and not answering your prayer; Satan tells you, God is too busy for you, He doesn’t love you; if there was a God He would care. Another lie Satan propagates God and Jesus is a fable to keep the masses under control.  He’s told us hell is right here on earth so there can’t be a hell after we die. What’s really unfortunate? People have believed the lies, the misconceptions, the deceit. Why? Because Satan has convinced people there is no hell. There is no place where there is gnashing of teeth, where there is screaming so horrifying the scariest horror movie cannot duplicate it, where there is darkness so dark it cannot even be described, it can only be felt. People, I’m here to tell you there is a place called hell; there is a place where every single one of these things occur.  I’ve seen the darkness, I’ve heard the screams. I’ve heard the gnashing of teeth.
I’ve also seen the “Light of the world” that brings a peace unlike anything one can find in this life. I’ve been to where there is no night, where no lamp is needed to see, where there is no need for the sun, for the Lord God gave the light. I’ve seen  “a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was a tree of life…There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.,,,” (Revelation 22: 1-2 Amplified Bible). Years later I read these words and understood for the first time what I saw. What I experienced was not a dream, was not a hallucination. It was real, as real as you are this very minute.
If you are in a dark place, feeling alone, believing the lies of this world, the lies of Satan HEAR ME when I tell you: “There is someone who can bring you peace, who is the Author of eternal life, who can give you strength to face this day.” His name is Jesus Christ, “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”(Revelation 22:13, New International Version Bible). He is the Bridge from this horrible darkness to the Light of eternal Peace. Believe Jesus when He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. (John 8:12, NIV). Jesus tells you, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6-7, NIV). The most powerful, the greatest action of my life has been believing those words and acting upon them.

PATHS OF LIFE, CHOICES

There’s a commercial on Pandora with 2 men talking. They want to schedule a time for playing golf the following week but their calendars are so full they need to postpone a bad cut on a hand, a sprained foot is scheduled for Tuesday, the hand is going to be re-scheduled to Wed. It’s a commercial for The Villages Hospital Urgent Care; however, it’s a very true reflection on how our lives are. Whether we follow You Jesus or not we pack our days, our weeks so full; we leave You out of it. Yet, if we are as faithful to keep our time with you as we are a golf date, a lunch date, a shopping date, a doctor’s appointment, etc; we would have more Peace, more Joy, more contentment, more happy marriages, happier children in this world. You have told us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Do you need some "rest for your soul"? Many times my day becomes so busy, my heart becomes heavy, my soul becomes weary. It is at these times, I stop. I seek Jesus out. I ask Him to "give me rest". It is then, I feel the gentleness of my Savior.
I need to return to the basics  1) Spending good, solid time with Jesus every day; 2) Praying—sharing my innermost thoughts, fears, joys, etc.; 3) Listening—shut up so I can hear You; 4) Study the Word of God or about the Word of God. This is how I seek Jesus out. This is how He "gives me rest". This is how I discover how gentle, how loving, how personal, how real Jesus is to me. How do you discover these things about Jesus? How do you find your "rest"?

SEWING LESSONS

A few years ago, I made a coverlet to use in the summertime on my bed.  It really has become more a  decoration than anything else. When I was making it, I constructed it as a quilt. However, I was afraid to use the decorative stitches on my new sewing machine, so it wasn't until two years ago I decided to quilt it using one of the decorative stitches. Suddenly, there before me was an illustration of our walk with God. When the machine and I worked together in perfect sync with one another the stitches made a perfect design. However, when I attempted to move the fabric at my pace, the design was all askew. When we work in sync with God as He guides us through the hardships, through the challenges, through the illnesses, through the stresses of everyday life, our  life is a reflection of Christ.
There is a story about an individual and many other souls as they faced their Maker at the last judgment. Before each of them laid their lives stacked as squares of a quilt in many piles and behind the piles was an angel sewing the quilt squares together which became a tapestry of each soul's life. As his angel took each piece of cloth each square was very  ragged and empty. They were filled with giant holes. Each square represented a part of his life that had been difficult, or challenges he had faced in everyday life. The hardships he endured comprised the largest holes of all. Looking around he noticed everyone else's squares were rich with color and only little holes here and there. Once again, he looked at the squares of his life and became disheartened. However, his angel continued to sew his ragged pieces of cloth together even though they were so threadbare it was like binding air. Finally the time came for each of them to display their quilt, to be held up to the light and the scrutiny of truth would be revealed. As each one held up their quilt, he could see the rich lives they had lived. Then the time came when the angel nodded for him to hold up his quilt. His gaze dropped to the ground in shame. He hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. He had love and laughter and there had been trials of illness and wealth, and false accusations. He had to start over many times and often struggled with the temptation to quit. However, somehow he always mustered the strength to pick himself up and begin again. He spent many nights praying, offering the difficulty, trial, illness to the Father asking for guidance. Now, the time had come and he had to face the truth: his life was what it was and he had to accept it for what it was. Slowly, he rose and held up his quilt and when he did one large awe-filled gasp filled the air. Confused, he gazed upon his quilt and much to his surprise, all the light flooding through the many holes created the image of the face of Christ. Then The Lord stood before him and with warmth and love in His eyes He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, till there was more of Me than there was of you.
In the same way I had a picture in my head of what the quilt would look like when it was completed, God has a picture in His head of what we will look like when we are completed. For that picture to happen each one of us has turned or must turn to the Master Potter, and as the song says you must ask the Potter to "Have Thine own way, Lord! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will... Fill with Thy Spirit 'till all shall see Christ only, always living in me!"

THOUGHTS, STRONGHOLDS, ARGUMENTS AND PRETENSIONS

2 Corinthians 10:4,5 NIV
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every though to make it obedient to Christ.
AMPLIFIED BIBLE
For the weapons of our warfare are not physical (weapons of flesh and blood), but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.
Inasmuch as we refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the (true) knowledge of God, and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

When I was freed several years ago from a terrible bondage in my spirit because of a stronghold, I began praying these verses every morning using the NIV. The stronghold had been so huge, so imprisoning, I never wanted to be imprisoned by a stronghold ever again. Every morning before I did anything, I prayed, “Father God, I place You in authority over me  this day. Father, I demolish every stronghold,  argument and pretension that sets themselves up against the knowledge of God because I do not fight with the weapons of this world but with divine weapons that can demolish  strongholds
and I bring each and every thought and make it captive and obedient to Your Son, Jesus Christ.” Sounds good, right? I was now ready to face the day with the knowledge my relationship with God was protected. That’s what I thought anyway until this morning. When I prayed it this morning the Holy Spirit nudged after I prayed about demolishing the arguments, pretensions, and strongholds; but when I got to bringing “every thought and making it captive and obedient to Jesus Christ” I was brought to a complete halt. I mean my mouth was shut; unable to pray anything else.  “Really! So that’s what you did yesterday? You brought every thought you had and made it captive to My Son?” Smugly I replied, “But I prayed. I put it in Your hands.” It was the Holy Spirit showed me,  it wasn’t up to God to make my thoughts captive and obedient to Christ, it was up to me and I hadn’t. Not once and as a result I had a horrible day, a very angry day. In my dealings with certain people I had not brought my thoughts under the captivity and obedience of Christ and my day went from terrible to horrible.
The “we” that is used in these verses does NOT mean God and I; it means “you and I” “us”. It is our responsibility to use the divine weapons God has given us to demolish the arguments, pretensions, and strongholds. It is our responsibility to bring each and every thought and make it captive and obedient to Christ.  The divine weapons Paul is referring to are found in Ephesians 6:13-18: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Holy Spirit, The Word of God, prayer and supplication. I hadn’t fought with the divine weapons to stop the arguments against God. I hadn’t brought each and every thought and made them captive and obedient to Christ. As a consequence, I had a horrible day. Now the verses I prayed as a supplication, I now pray as an affirmation. The way it should have always been prayed.