Finding time...

I am sitting at my desk in the office, getting ready to start work on this week's message, and I've just noticed that my Bible is open to the reading for the week, sitting off to the side of my desk. That's a good thing. I should be ready to go.

What's not good is that my planner is sitting on top of it. It struck me the irony of that scene. How many people have the desire to spend time in God's word, only to have their hectic schedules keep them from fulfilling that desire.

Perhaps we can make an entry in that planner for spending time with God's word. Perhaps we can make it more of a routine to spend time in daily devotions – every day. Perhaps we can do our best to reign in out of control schedules that interfere with our time with God.

Don't let your schedule take you away from your Bible. It can be very difficult to get the Bible back!

Assembling Christmas...

Yesterday was actually Christmas Sunday. The Christmas Season is complete for another year. How do you feel? A little run down? A little tired? Maybe even a little depressed?

The message for this week was on how to assemble a Christmas that will leave you refreshed and invigorated. And how to keep the Christ-child at the center of it.

To read the message now, click on the title below...

12-28 - How to Assemble a Merry Christmas

Thanks for reading!

God so loved...

For many, Christmas is a secular holiday to spend with our families, a time of exchanging gifts to show our love for those close to us.

But for the Christian, Christmas is a time for love. For remembering God's love for us. And that He demonstrated His love in such a powerful way.

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)

His Son was first given in the form a helpless baby, born in a manger. But when His Son grew, he became our sacrifice. The sacrifice for our sins.

The strongest evidence of love is sacrifice...

The Spirit of Christmas...

I know that Christmas can have a dark side. The pushing and shoving we hear about on Black Friday, the competition for just the right gift, the tired feeling we can get when we've been at the store all day, and how we sometimes treat others, both those close to us and those store clerks we'll never see, when we don't find what we're looking for.

But Christmas also has a good side. There is hope. It is a joyful time of year. The peace of the Christmas Season blesses people. Goodwill abounds. The Christmas Spirit is infectious, and it spreads to others, bringing the goodwill and joy.

But the Christmas Spirit is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christmas is the Spirit that Jesus sent to His believers on Pentecost. It's the same Spirit.

Why can't the goodwill and joy of the holiday season be with us all year? It can. When we abide in the Holy Spirit.

Mary's Response...

Sunday's message was a look at Mary's response to the news given by the angel Gabriel.

What if we were visited by an angel, and given the same news? What would our response have been. Would we have been as strong in our conviction as Mary was?

To read the message, click the title below:

December 21, 2008 - Mary's Response

Thanks for reading...

Living our faith when it's not easy...

I have been preparing the message for Sunday, and I am really struck by the simplicity of Mary's response to the visit of the angel Gabriel.

There are very few passage in Scripture where we see that conviction of faith. In a very simple response, Mary said, “May it be to me as you have said.” Facing what could have meant a death by stoning as an adulterer, she stuck with God. She stood firm, and never wavered.

I'm not sure I could have done that. We have it pretty easy, and it's particularly easy to say that we would stand firm no matter what, as long as it's never tested. Mary's faith was tested. And she passed the test – she remained strong in her faith. She trusted God. Simple faith. Not worrying. Just believing.

How much simpler would our lives be if we could share Mary's complete trust in God. If we could be filled with such simple faith, rather than trying to over examine every little what if that came our way. If we could stop worrying, and just believe.

I think that's the lesson we can learn from Mary. That if we allow God to be that close, just a step ahead of us, and we obediently follow Him every step, we, too, can live a life of simple faith, never worrying, just believing. And the God that we love, the God that we trust beyond all doubt, will be with us.

God's timing...

In the book, Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby, he impresses on us that God is not “out there” somewhere, he is here, with us. He works through people to do His work. And when we see signs of His work, we are invited to join in with Him in what He is already doing.

That impresses me for two reasons, first, because I tend to be like so many, who get very busy doing things for God, without always checking to see if He is working there or not. If He isn't, I probably shouldn't be, either.

But the other reason that impresses me is because I get so amazed when I see God working. Even after ten years in ministry, it is still amazing to see God at work. This morning, we had a gentleman come in who is a member of the Masonic Lodge. They had put together a very large number of care boxes, mostly fruit and snack items, to deliver to the area shut-ins. He stopped by here because he had three extra boxes, and was wondering if we could find someone in need to give them to.

It just so happened that just a few minutes before he arrived, a couple of ladies on our Missions Committee had left. They were in to get some things from our Food Pantry for three of the families that we are sponsoring for Christmas this year. They went to the grocery store to get some more things for a Holiday Food Basket that will be delivered with the Christmas gifts. These boxes from the Masonic Lodge will give these families just that much more.

And as always, I am amazed at seeing God work so clearly, and with just the right timing!