Volume 15: "Christmases Past"

In the news of our nation, I just saw where two people won a total of 636-million-dollars by guessing the "right" numbers playing the lottery. I have news for the "winners". All of their new-won money will not buy them peace. Peace isn't found in new money. Peace is found in an old manger.

You know what I miss most about "Christmases Past?" I miss the sense that everyone was content and grateful with what they had. I know that ever since the beginning of Creation people have been grasping for more and more, however, when I was a boy at Christmastime, it seemed that most all of the families in our community were more content and grateful with what they had rather than desiring more monetary gain. People seemed more at peace with their own lives, more glad for their health and less focused on others' wealth.

Call it the naive perspective of a child, because maybe that's where my memories of "Christmases Past" originate? If so, then, I want to be more like a child these days, like I was in those days. I don't want success in my mind to be defined as more and more financial accumulation, but in more and more faith saturation.

As I write these words, December 18, 2013, my Dad is in the Greenville, North Carolina, Medical Center in severe pain. A few days ago, he learned that he has a tumor at the base of his spine. Operating is not an option because it could paralyze him. So, while we await the results of a biopsy taken yesterday, Dad's pain is severe. Hopefully, today, a desired diagnosis will be discovered and some form of treatment to reduce the size of the tumor and find Dad some relief will begin to happen.

In talking with Dad early this morning, he said tenderly, "I am in great pain, son, but I have good peace." In our conversation, financial accumulation had no relevancy. The only things that matter now pertain to internal and eternal priorities. Remember, it's our faith, family, and friends that deliver to our lives the essence of true peace.

Good News! It's "Christmas Present!" Don't focus on money and "winning" some big, complicated Jack-Pot. Simply, fall at the manger and find everlasting Jesus-Present, and LIVE at Peace with God and with yourself this Christmas and beyond!

Grateful            

See God Behind Everything!

Faith is the inborn capacity to see God behind everything! It is the wonder that keeps you an eternal child! Beware always of losing the wonder.
-- Oswald Chambers

Lord, I want a faith that goes beyond believing that You had the first word and you will have the last word. Yes, I want a wonder-filled faith that believes You will also have the next word. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

If We Give Up On Christmas?

In the wake of these December school shooting in Connecticut, USA, some are asking if Christmas should just be cancelled? Should we turn off the decorative lights associated with these year-end Holy Days?

I say, "Please don't cancel Christmas. And please don't turn off the lights, because right now our dark world needs all of the light it can get."

If we give up on Christmas, we give up on Faith, Hope and Love.
And we will sadly give in to hate, violence, and darkness.

Father God, thanks for giving to us Your Son and for giving through Him Your Peace that is not of this world, but is for this world.

Click here: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day - YouTube

 Grateful

What We Feel is Not Who We Are

Our emotional lives move up and down constantly. Sometimes we experience great mood swings: from excitement to depression, from joy to sorrow, from inner harmony to inner chaos. A little event, a word from someone, a disappointment in work, many things can trigger such mood swings. Mostly we have little control over these changes. It seems that they happen to us rather than being created by us. Thus it is important to know that our emotional life is not the same as our spiritual life. Our spiritual life is the life of the Spirit of God within us. As we feel our emotions shift we must connect our spirits with the Spirit of God and remind ourselves that what we feel is not who we are. We are and remain, whatever our moods, God's beloved children.
-- Henri Nouwen

Click here: Rich Mullins: The just shall live - YouTube

As God's beloved children, let's live by faith in Him,
...not by our own feelings or every whim.
Grateful

Live in the Light

Recently, during my sacred private time in the secret prayer chamber, I was seeking the Lord's help with The Good Book open in my hands. These twelve words recorded in 1st John inspired me deep within to live always and forever among those who are called The Keepers of the Light:

Nothing will destroy the faith of those who live in the light.
-- 1 John 2:10b (GWT)

Click here: Dc Talk - In the light - YouTube

Let's Live in the Light, brothers and sisters!
Grateful

Even Demons Believe There Is Only One God!

(18) Suppose someone disagrees and says, "It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds."I would answer, "Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them." (19) You surely believe there is only one God. That's fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear. (20) Does some stupid person want proof that faith without deeds is useless? (21) Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. (22) Now you see how Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did. (23) This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, "Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him." That's how Abraham became God's friend. (24) You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. (25) For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way. (26) Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead! "

-- James 2:18- 26 (CEV)

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)

Grateful

Don't Be Discouraged By The Way Things Appear

Lord, help me to trust in you and in what you are doing and can do and not be discouraged by the way things can appear.
-- A Young Believer named Jessica from Bulgaria

Indeed, our lives are guided by faith, not by sight.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:7 (GWT)

Click here: We Still Believe/Kathryn Scott/Hard To Watch Faith Video

Live By Faith! Die In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

...And Trust Him...

Pure faith is believing God can give us what we ask for, but trusting Him even if He doesn't.

I will ever love and trust Him! In His presence daily live!
-- From The Hymn, I Surrender All

Deo Volente (whatever God wants/wills),
Grateful

Do You Still Belong To Yourself?

The biography of the life of Oswald Chambers is titled Abandoned to God. What a declaration to live by!

Oswald Chambers often used words like this in his preaching and teaching to define his own life and to challenge others concerning their lives: I have given up my right to my own life, to God.

Have I, have you, done that yet?

When we Abandon to God, God purifies our hearts by faith. We are then among God's sanctified, God's saints. A saint is simply and profoundly one who can say from a totally surrendered life-stance, I have abandoned totally to God. I am not my own at all. I belong exclusively to my God.

Have you asked Father God for the purifying, indwelling Gift of His Holy Spirit? Have you abandoned to God? Have you given up your right to your own life to God? Do you belong to God or do you still belong to yourself?

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself...
-- 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT)

Will you be crucified with Christ? Will you embrace His Cross with Him and release your life to Him?

Click here: - Crucified with Christ/Embrace The Cross/Steve Green

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

God is Real!

If there were no God, there would be no atheists.
-- G. K. Chesterton

But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that He rewards everyone who searches for Him.
-- Hebrews 11:6 (CEV)

Click here: Crystal Lewis- Lord I Believe In You w/Lyrics

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Earthquakes in Many Places? Inescapable!

As I reflect over the past year or so, I am immediately reminded of three earthquakes around the globe, literally -- Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan. These words from the lips of our Lord are inescapable:

(7) When you hear about wars and threats of wars, don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. (8) Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. There will be earthquakes in many places, and people will starve to death. But this is just the beginning of troubles. (9) Be on your guard! You will be taken to courts and beaten with whips in their meeting places. And because of Me, you will have to stand before rulers and kings to tell about your faith. (10) But before the end comes, the good news must be preached to all nations. -- Mark 13:7-10 (CEV)

Click: Need Perspective? A Thousand Questions

And I said: Here am I, send me.
-- Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)

On Christ The Solid Rock We Stand!
Grateful

Absent from the Body=Present with the Lord

(7) For we live by believing and not by seeing. (8) Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:7-8 (NLT)

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! -- Revelation 22:20b (NIV)
Grateful

Why Worry?

Let's hear and heed the words of Jesus concerning worry.

(22) Jesus said to His disciples: I tell you not to worry about your life! Don't worry about having something to eat or wear. (23) Life is more than food or clothing. (24) Look at the crows! They don't plant or harvest, and they don't have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. (25) Can worry make you live longer? (26) If you don't have power over small things, why worry about everything else? (27) Look how the wild flowers grow! They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of these flowers. (28) God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't He do even more for you? You have such little faith! (29) Don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. (30) Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. (31) But put God's work first, and these things will be yours as well.
-- Matthew 6:25-31(CEV)

Click here: Lauryn Hills/CeCe Winans/His Eye is on the Sparrow

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

A Saving Passion For Sanctified People

The Holy Spirit cannot conquer the world with unbelief, nor can He save the world with a worldly Church. He calls for a crusade, a campaign, and an adventure of saving passion. For this enterprise He wants a separated, sanctified and sacrificial people.
-- Rev. Samuel Chadwick

Lord, I want to be in this world but not of this world. Yes, by faith, please include me in the adventure of Your saving passion. Make me (by the indwelling presence of Your Holy Spirit) to be a separated, sanctified, and sacrificial saint for Your glory, that is, make me exclusively Yours. In the Name of Jesus, I ask these things. Amen.

High Priestly Prayer of Jesus to the Father for His Disciples:
(15) My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. (16) They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. (17) Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. (18) As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (19) For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. -- John 17:15-19 (NIV)

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Souls Ablaze for God

Spirit-filled souls are ablaze for God.
They love with a love that glows.
They serve with a faith that kindles.
They serve with a devotion that consumes.
They hate sin with fierceness that burns.
They rejoice with a joy that radiates.
Love is perfected in the fire of God.
-- Rev. Samuel Chadwick

Back and forth they talked. "Didn't we feel on fire as He (The Resurrected Jesus) conversed with us on the road, as He opened up the Scriptures for us?" -- Luke 24:32 The Message

Holiness Unto the LORD!
Grateful

Worries, Cares, & Problems?

Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about and watching everything that concerns you.
-- 1 Peter 5:7 (TLB)

And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust Him, too, for each day's problems: live in vital union with Him.
-- Colossians 2:6 (TLB)

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Count it "ALL JOY!"

Two words tucked away in the New Testament Book of James, chapter 1 and verse 2, have been anchor words for my soul for many years now. The two words? "ALL JOY!"

This sacred, signature Scripture of mine has come back into my thoughts with invigorating intensity over these past few days, and along with the invigorating intensity an even deeper desire to rediscover for myself (and to disclose more fully to you) the verbage and verses that surround these two words.

What I am saying is this. Few people understand the full implications of me saying "ALL JOY" so often. Perhaps a deeper and wider view, yes a more intentional reading beyond the two words, that is, taking a more lengthy look at James, chapter 1 and verses 2, 3, and 4, will bring a more radiant light illuminating more clearly the two words I always embrace and continuously offer to others:

(2) My brethren, count it "ALL JOY" when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. -- James 1:2-4 (NKJV)

"ALL JOY" to your world! Count it "ALL JOY"...
Grateful

The Father Doesn't Cringe When His Children Cry. He Cares.

After vulnerable and encouraging e-mail exchanges with two separate friends last evening about my blog entries over the past two days on the topics of "Expecting God's Answers" and "Trusting God Without Understanding", my thoughts were beautifully stirred in the same vein once again this morning as I saturated in the Psalms:

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. -- Psalm 5:3 (NLT)

My Prayer: When I cry Lord, you don't cringe at my sobbing, because as My Father, You know children cry. So, I expect Your constant help and rescue. You are my Father. I know You want me to expect You to come and comfort me when I cry. You will answer my cries In the way that You, my Loving Father knows is best. Help me to trust Your answers, even though Your answers are not always understandable to me. Remind me often, Father God, that You do not cringe when I cry. You care. In Jesus' name. Amen.

An early 1980's Gospel song comes to mind now:

Just remember Jesus cares.
He cries when you cry.
And He lifts your case;
To the Father up on high.
Place your trust in Him today;
For there is no other way.
And remember Jesus cares;
Just remember Jesus cares.

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Fully Trust Without Fully Understanding

Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6 have been chasing my heart for many years, but in the last few months the Lord has absolutely been using Proverbs 3:5 to tell me what He totally expects from me as a fully devoted believer in His Name. Hear the verse, then I'll explain further:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
--Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)

In light of these words, the Lord is telling me to fully trust in Him and His Goodness, even when, especially when, I cannot fully understand what's going on and what He's up to.

So I pray: Loving Lord, I want to be a believer who fully trusts in You and Your ways, especially when I have no idea what's happening. I want to be willing to wait for Your revelation in every situation of life. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Do You Really Expect God to Answer?

Two verses in the New Testament Book of James really challenged my faith recently:

(6) But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (7) People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
--James 1:6-7 (NLT)

In the wake of these two verses, I can only cry out with the father who came to Jesus on behalf of his demon-possessed boy. Yes with him I echo...

"I do believe, but help me not to doubt!"
-- Mark 9:24 (NLT)

Perhaps this "Third Day" classic song will encourage:
Click > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeGNgBwPTMA

Lord, add to my feeble faith an abundance of anticipation, yes an enhanced expectation that believes when I cry out? You will answer! In Jesus' Name. Amen.

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful