True, we don't know exactly when He was born. But we know that He was, and what He taught us, and that He died and rose again that we might have life in Him. And that's the best of reasons to celebrate Christmas, and every day! My our Lord continue to bless you abundantly.
"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
-1Corinthians 13:13
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Stick a fork in me--I'm done
Oh yeah, I am done indeed. I've been playing around at following God for a very long time now, and I've had it. I don't want to be fitting God into my life any more; I want Him to be what I'm about in whatever I am doing. I have an ark-load of reasons for hanging on to stuff that has kept me comfortable with giving the Lord the easy things; but when it comes down to putting it all on the line I've been reluctant to give it ALL over to Him.
Jesus calls us to follow Him, regardless of where we are or what we might be giving up. And while it seems to me that things aren't going very well in the world these days, that really shouldn't be our main concern. No matter what's up, we have a Savior who goes far beyond the problems of this world.
Take comfort in knowing that the Lord of all is concerned about You. Indeed, God loves you, and He will keep you close. You know Who your Lord is, and no matter what's up, follow Him.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
-Psalms 3:5-6
Jesus calls us to follow Him, regardless of where we are or what we might be giving up. And while it seems to me that things aren't going very well in the world these days, that really shouldn't be our main concern. No matter what's up, we have a Savior who goes far beyond the problems of this world.
Take comfort in knowing that the Lord of all is concerned about You. Indeed, God loves you, and He will keep you close. You know Who your Lord is, and no matter what's up, follow Him.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
-Psalms 3:5-6
Friday, December 12, 2008
Step One - PRAY!
In just about any endeavor, something is going to go wrong.
Am I a pessimist? No, just seeing this world as it is. This isn't heaven, it never will be, and the chances are that whatever we are up to, something is bound to come up that we weren't expecting--be it a minor inconvenience or a major foul-up. And while we needn't dwell on what might go wrong, we shouldn't ignore the reality of our fallen world.
Some things are easy to plan for (or against, if you will). For me, it was working on my car. It took awhile to catch on, but I finally came to realize that even when doing something simple, there was most likely going to be a nut that wouldn't come loose, or the wrong-sized whatever, or a part that would drop into the black hole that forms beneath any engine that is being worked on. So I learned to make provisions for these things. I rarely had it all covered, but it did make things easier than assuming that Everything was going to work out as hoped.
What I'm getting at here is having a plan, whether it's about working on something, heading off to the store, or just getting out of bed in the morning. Not everything needs an elaborate plan, and indeed some things don't seem to need any forethought; "I've done this a thousand times before; what could go wrong?" The answer? Probably nothing; but possibly anything. So it really does help to make a to-do list, a project analysis, a plan of attack.
But here's the Main Thing; even the simplest plan should start out with "Step One-Pray About It." Discuss the situation with the One who knows-for-Sure what's going to happen. Not only will starting things out with prayer give us our best shot at keeping everything in perspective, but the Lord wants to be included in everything we are up to. Don't wait until things go sour to seek His assistance. Let's make Him a part of all that we do.
"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."
-Colossians 4:2 NLT
Am I a pessimist? No, just seeing this world as it is. This isn't heaven, it never will be, and the chances are that whatever we are up to, something is bound to come up that we weren't expecting--be it a minor inconvenience or a major foul-up. And while we needn't dwell on what might go wrong, we shouldn't ignore the reality of our fallen world.
Some things are easy to plan for (or against, if you will). For me, it was working on my car. It took awhile to catch on, but I finally came to realize that even when doing something simple, there was most likely going to be a nut that wouldn't come loose, or the wrong-sized whatever, or a part that would drop into the black hole that forms beneath any engine that is being worked on. So I learned to make provisions for these things. I rarely had it all covered, but it did make things easier than assuming that Everything was going to work out as hoped.
What I'm getting at here is having a plan, whether it's about working on something, heading off to the store, or just getting out of bed in the morning. Not everything needs an elaborate plan, and indeed some things don't seem to need any forethought; "I've done this a thousand times before; what could go wrong?" The answer? Probably nothing; but possibly anything. So it really does help to make a to-do list, a project analysis, a plan of attack.
But here's the Main Thing; even the simplest plan should start out with "Step One-Pray About It." Discuss the situation with the One who knows-for-Sure what's going to happen. Not only will starting things out with prayer give us our best shot at keeping everything in perspective, but the Lord wants to be included in everything we are up to. Don't wait until things go sour to seek His assistance. Let's make Him a part of all that we do.
"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."
-Colossians 4:2 NLT
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