God’s will toward men!

This week we will be celebrating Christmas, while we all remember Luke's account of the birth of the Messiah I have found a different word picture from this account.

Luke 2: 8-14
⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

You see in the last line of the above passage we see that this new babe that was born would bring peace on earth and good will toward man. The babe that was born was the Messiah, Emmanuel; God with us.
In reading this passage today it occurred to me it was not only goodwill toward men but was God's will toward men. God sent down his son to live among us to make atonement for the sins of the world. Our pastor pointed out today that this would be the first time since the fall in the garden that we would truly have peace on earth, not among men, but between man and God.
Christ was sent to make final atonement for our sins so we would not have to make a sacrifice every year to have our sins covered but would have them forever wiped away by this baby that was born in Bethlehem.


That is why the Christmas season is so special!

Have a blessed week!

When we give who does it benefit more, the person who is receiving, or the one who is giving?

Isaiah 9:2
The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Last week we talked about what we are celebrating and what Christmas means to us. This week we are continuing with our month long celebration of the birth of our Lord. As I was researching the writing for this week, I thought about the saying "it is better to give than to receive". I had always thought it was one of those sayings that everyone thought was in the bible, but was just an old truth passed from generation to generation when in fact it is in the bible, although I can't find where it was prior to this appearance, it is in the book of Acts.

Acts 20:35
I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

If we think about this we have all said it but not really thought about what the saying means although it seems so self explanatory. If we think of a gift that we have given or have been given throughout our lifetime, what emotions come to mind?

I find myself looking at this through my Dad's eyes. Growing up he had a rough life he was raised just after the depression and didn't always get things, not just toys or things he wanted, he didn't always have shoes, food, or adequate clothes to wear. Now hearing that you would think I was going to talk about how he was a miser and always kept his money close, as that is often what happens when people grow up with nothing. That is not it at all. I was spoiled beyond spoiling, Dad always spent everything on his kids. I never really thought about it until I started writing this week and looked at it from a different way. I apologize now and will understand if you can't read the whole thing but I can't really get the point I am trying to make across without sharing a Christmas story from my past.

When I was eight years old my Dad and his friends Clark Nash and Rule Goodman went quail hunting every available minute they had and I wanted to go as well. I only had a .22 caliber rifle, which made bird hunting impossible. All that year we looked at shotguns and I just knew I was getting a .410 for Christmas. December rolled around, our tree went up, and there was a nice forty inch by ten inch box under the tree, I knew it was my gun. I had other presents but never even noticed them as I was focused on my gun.
Christmas morning came and of course I dove for my box with my gun in it. To my surprise, or I should say disappointment, there was not a gun in the box but instead it was filled with Avon bottles. You see the other gifts that I hadn't noticed were all pieces to a shotgun each wrapped individually. My Dad truly enjoyed giving more than receiving but with a little surprising twist to make things interesting. Looking back on things I would have bet my face wasn't big enough to hold my smile and I know my Dad's smile was even bigger.

Take the time to think about this story and who was the one who truly received the gift, was it the son; or the father that gave?

You see my Dad gave without condition to bring enjoyment to his son, our Heavenly Father gave without condition to give the world salvation and grace; through His Son.

Have a blessed week,
Billy

Your true meaning of Christmas

Last week we posed the question what is Christmas?

The next two weeks we will explore through God's word, what Christmas means to all of us.

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Christ came not only as our Savior to redeem us and save us from eternal damnation, he came to give us life free from all of the chains of sin that each of us were born into. That is the reason that the wise men, the shepherds, the Jewish people, and even king Herod, were so interested to hear of his coming.

Matthew 2 :1-4
¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

The Jewish people were told throughout the bible of a Messiah that would come to deliver them from oppression and bondage. This is the reason the wise men and shepherds were so jubilant when they saw the star and were told by the angels what it was to lead them to. On the other hand it is also why King Herod was so concerned as he knew that the Messiah would free man from the darkness of the present world and that a truly free people could never be ruled as he had ruled them in the past.

I see Christmas as a day of celebration not only as it is the birth of our Savior, but I see it like a day a hostage or prisoner would remember and celebrate as their day of release. The next few weeks I will share more scripture recounting the birth of our Lord. Feel free to share what Christmas means to you.

Have a blessed week,
Billy

Respect and Honor

This past week while at my son's Cub-scout pack meeting, I was hit square in the face with the realization that honor and respect have become a thing of the past. The pack leader was working so diligently to get the kids quiet for the Bear Cub achievement awards ceremony, but there were several kids who could care less what he had to say. The disheartening part was their parents were too busy texting away on their smart phones to make them pay attention.

Then when I got home I turned on the news and saw images of the occupy protesters. I will not give a political opinion as that is not what this ministry is all about. It is about honoring God first, our parents, our elders, our country, and then as is stated in the Bible, authority. I believe right, wrong or indifferent we should honor one another no matter what side of the issue we find ourselves on. We can disagree but at the end of the day we should respect and love the other person enough to treat them as brothers and sisters.

I believe that it all starts with honoring God and keeping his Word. If we as a nation would get back to the truths that are in the Bible, all of the strife we are feeling would cease. Paul speaking to the Christians in Rome told them to show respect and honor to the authorities. I wasn't living then but I am pretty certain that living in Roman times would have been a little tougher than what we are witnessing today, yet they were still instructed to pay their taxes, customs, and to honor the governing authorities. Today many have been brought up believing that if we disagree then we not only shouldn't show respect and honor, but that it is almost our right to show disrespect. That is not what I find when I read the following passages.

Next week we will finish Romans 13 as the rest of this chapter truly guides us on how we should treat one another.

Have a blessed week,

Billy

Romans 13:1-7
¹ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.  ⁵Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ⁷ Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

1 Peter 2:13-17

¹³ Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— ¹⁶ as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1-3
     Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith is not just believing in something but knowing that what you believe will happen. Jesus said " if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you".
It is through our beliefs and knowing that what we ask and command in Jesus name, that we truly experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Some people think that things happen for others because they have a stronger faith when in fact when we accept the Holy Spirit in our lives we were all given the same measure of Faith and we were given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. What we believe to be true affects the things in our lives. If we accept what the world tells us we are putting limits on God's blessings.

Romans 4:19-25
 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
  Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Over the past few weeks I have been lead to a deeper study of faith and not only the belief in God's Word but knowing beyond any doubt that God does what he says in his Word. In the passage above Abraham was told he would be the father of many nations even though he was in his old age. Through his faith he believed what God told him. In the passage above it states " Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was IMPUTED to him, but also for us." Being heirs of this promise we are able to not only have hope in God's Word but we can know that what is said in scripture will come to pass.

This week take some time to get alone in a quiet place and meditate on God's word and allow him to speak to you. In our quiet times we are able to have our beliefs strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us. By doing this we stop limiting what God can accomplish in our lives.

Have a blessed week,
Billy

In this world but not of this world

Hello Everyone,

I know many people think when they accept Christ that all of their problems go away, nothing can be further from the truth. It actually gets harder because we live in a fallen world where lies and deceit are more common than truth and integrity. In the book of John Jesus tells us we are not of this world but merely living in it and also warns us that we will be persecuted, but he also tells us not to worry or have fear as he will send the Helper or the Spirit of Truth that proceeds from the Father to comfort and care for us.

John 15:18-21
 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

That does not mean we can't live a full abundant life while we are in this world, Jesus said "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." We must turn from the ways of the world and turn to Christ.

How many of you watch football and wonder why there is instant replay? Ever notice how the players rush to the line when they know they didn't make the play. People do the same thing at retail stores when they return things they know they have used. We have instant replay and return policies at our stores because the way of the world is lies and deceit. These are the things our children are getting taught everyday. We must meditate on His Word and put our trust in God and tell Satan the King of lies that he has no place in our lives.

When you think about it we could eliminate many of the worlds problems by following the simple truths written in the book of John. I have included a few passages from this book but would encourage everyone to read through and meditate on Jesus' teachings.

Have a blessed week and share the Gospel of Christ with someone,

John 15:9-13
 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Do not be ashamed!

Hello Everyone,

Over the last few weeks I have talked about some topics that are very relevant today, deception, fear, anxiety, doubt, and the answers to those words, Faith, Hope, and Love.
We are being fed a constant diet of doubt, fear, and deception by many people that are doing it unknowingly and actually think they are doing us a favor by the things they are telling us. Jesus warned us that these things would take place, but he also told us not to fear.

1 John: 1-6
¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵ They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

I believe that deep in the heart of everyone is a place where the Holy Spirit resides. Unfortunately for many of them they have not given the short simple invitation. They have not said " Jesus I believe you are my Savior and came to earth to live among us, was crucified for the sins of the world, then rose the third day to prove to the world that you are Christ. I ask you to come into my heart and reside in the place that was made just for you."

Romans 10:10-13
¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Today is a day we must remember and not be ashamed of who we are or where we live. We must proclaim to the world we are Americans and we are Christians.
Pray for our country and for those that have paid the price for us to have the right to make this proclamation.

Have a blessed week,
Billy