Today we celebrate the day Jesus came to earth. But, did you know He was coming to that stable to be wrapped in cloth strips and laid in a manger long before humanity ever needed Him?
Paul writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Eph. 1:3-4)
Before you ever needed Jesus, God was providing. Before you ever messed up, God had your back. Jesus was coming to rescue you long before Adam and Eve were ever thought of, let alone you.
Christmas is about the Solution coming long before things went sour in your life. Jesus has a greater commitment to your holiness than you do. Think on that truth the next time you feel like quitting on your walk with Him. Have a blessed Christmas – the Solution is already present!
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It doesn’t matter that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25. What matters is that He was born! And when He came as a baby in Bethlehem, He brought gifts with Him. Two such gifts were confidence and joy, something we all need in times like ours, especially our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, France and here in California.
Fear is the opposite of confidence and joy. Fear of what others think and do or of what might happen can turn even the strongest into cowards and smiles into frowns. Joseph was “afraid to take Mary home” as his wife. We get our word phobia from this word fear. He was terrified at what could happen to him, Mary and the child.
Yet the answer to his fear was that very child, whom he was told to call Jesus or God saves and would be called Immanuel or God is with us. Joe was reminded of God’s promises. He was told that God would be with Him. He was told this child would save him and others from their sin.
These truths allowed him to exchange his fear with confidence and joy as he took Mary home. Ray Stedman wrote, “The chief mark of the Christian ought to be the absence of fear and the presence of joy.” Jesus is with you! In the “interesting” days in which we live, let confidence and joy truly reign in your thoughts, words and actions! You as well as those around you need to see Jesus in you.
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“Jesus wants all or nothing. The thought of someone calling himself a Christian without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd.” (Francis Chan)
Jesus Himself said, “My sheep listen to My Voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”  He didn’t say those who can quote the Bible back to Him nor those who did a lot of “good works”. He said He knows those who listen and follow. And Scripture definitely says you want to be known by Jesus.
On the other side of the grave there will be many who will say to Jesus, “I sure did a lot of ‘good stuff’ in Your name;” and yet, Jesus will say to them, “Get away from Me as I never knew you.” May that never be said of you!
Perfection comes on the other side of the grave when we see Jesus face to face. On this side of the grave, however, His followers, those He knows, will make steady progress at listening and following Him each day everywhere they go.
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It’s been said, “In business, your profit may exceed the effort invested, or may be less. In spiritual matters, the yield is exactly equal to the effort expended.” Did you notice what’s wrong with this statement?
It kind of sounds like Galatians 6:7, “A man reaps what he sows,” which is in the context of becoming more like Jesus. You sow seeds of doing what you want to do, you’ll reap your character. If you sow Jesus seeds, you’ll reap Jesus’ character. It does take effort on our part to produce Christ like character.
So far so good. You sow good seed in good soil, you will reap good fruit. When it comes to Jesus, however, He can produce a lot more in us than the effort we bring to the table. Jesus tells two stories on this issue. One, in John 12:23, states that if a seed dies it can produce many seeds. He also states in Mark 4, when seed is planted in good soil, it can produce a lot of fruit, much more than the effort it took to plant that seed into the soil.
Truth, we get nothing if we make no effort to plant something. Truth, if we plant Jesus seeds, we will see our lives changed. Truth, our God is so good, gracious and great that we certainly get more bang for our effort’s buck…if we are willing to die.
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Ever have doubts and felt guilty about it? Do so no longer! Doubts are not bad if they lead to answers and a deeper faith. It so happened that even the Apostle Paul had doubts. He didn’t quit, though. He worked through them by seeking out the Jerusalem leadership “privately for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.”
The Lord had given Paul both his mission and message. In pursuing that mission, doubts overcame his mind and heart. Instead of slowing him down. It lead him to seek out godly counsel to keep going forward, which is exactly what he did.
If left to themselves in your heart and mind, doubts can lead to your drugs of choice. It’s not a sin to doubt. It only is if they lead you to sin. So stop beating yourself up and take your questions to the Word of God Himself, Jesus. He may solve your dilemma all by Himself or He may use someone who’s been where you’re going. Either way, your faith grows deeper, your walk richer and your life a whole better.
S“E”t Free Nowww