Jesus is the central Focus and Key to whatever you’re looking for or desiring to have in this life…
The void you feel in your heart can only be filled with the One who Created you and Authored everyday of your life (read Ps 139:16).
I particularly like this version of Paul’s message in Romans 12…
Romans 12:1-2 J.B. Phillips New Testament
We have seen God’s mercy and wisdom: how shall we respond?
12 1-2 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him.
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____________________________
15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen.
We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created.
For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.
He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.
And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end.
From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone.
So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding.
Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. ____
Christ is the originator of creation (“in Him,” v. 16a)...
“All things”-in every place, of every sort, and of every rank-originated with Him.
God mediated the beginning of life for the entire universe through His Son (cf. John 1:3, 10; Heb. 1:2).
Christ is the Architect of creation.
Paul listed various ranks of angelic beings, namely, “invisible . . . rulers” and “authorities.”
Jesus is eternally existent (an attribute that can only be true of God) because He is before all things.
Jesus is also the powerful Sustainer of the universe. Because of Him all things hold together.
His power guarantees that the universe is under control and not chaotic.
Colossians 1:15-16 is one of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Christ found anywhere in the Bible.
Jesus is not only equal with God (Philippians 2:6), He is God (John 10:30, 38; 12:45; 14:1-11); as the visible image of the invisible God, He is the exact representation of God.
He not only reflects God, but He reveals God to us (John 1:18; 14:9); as supreme over all creation, He has all the priority and authority of the firstborn prince in a king’s household.
He came from heaven, not from the dust of the earth like Adam (1 Corinthians 15:47), and He rules as Lord of all (Romans 9:5; 10:11-13; Revelation 1:5; 17:14).
He is completely holy (Hebrews 7:26-28; 1 Peter 1:19; 2:22; 1 John 3:5), and He has authority to judge the world (Romans 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1).
Because Christ created all and rules all creation, including the spirit world, we must believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (that Jesus is God).
Without this core belief, our Christian faith becomes hollow, misdirected, and meaningless.
We must oppose the belief that Jesus was merely a prophet, a good teacher, or one of many ways to a relationship with God.
Whatever your need is today, whatever you’re seeking, make it your first priority to seek Christ and to draw closer to Him, because in that Union you will have everything that goes with that relationship!
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____________________________
Monday, Dec 26 The Winning Walk by Dr Ed Young
THE THREAD THAT HOLDS US
A Danish philosopher tells the story of a spider that dropped a single strand down from the top rafter of an old barn and began to weave his web.
Days, weeks, months went by, and the web grew.
It regularly provided the spider food as flies, mosquitoes and other small insects were caught in its elaborate maze.
The spider built his web larger and larger until it was the envy of all the other barn spiders.
One day, as this productive spider was traveling across his beautifully woven web, he noticed a single strand going up into the darkness of the rafters.
I wonder why this is here, he thought. It doesn’t serve to catch me any dinner.
And with that, the spider climbed as high as he could and severed the single strand that was his sustenance.
When he did, the entire web slowly began to tumble to the floor of the barn, taking the spider down with it.
The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus Christ is before all things…and that in Him all things hold together.
He was present at creation. He is the head of the church. He is the first born from the dead, and it is in Him that all the fulness of God dwells.
When we try to sever our lives from the sustaining thread of Christ, everything falls apart.
Every man or woman who has clipped the strand that unites us with God and sought to find meaning and satisfaction and sense in life has been disappointed.
There is simply no coherence in a life lived out on our own terms with no reference to the divine.
Memory Verse
Colossians 1:17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ____
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve.
He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away.
It was just another day to him. He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate.
He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.
Instead of throwing the man out, Old George, as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up.
“Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger.
“I see you’re busy, I’ll just go.”
“Not without something hot in your belly.” George said.
He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger.
“It ain’t much, but it’s hot and tasty. Stew… Made it myself.
When you’re done, there’s coffee and it’s fresh.”
Just at that moment he heard the “ding” of the driveway bell.
“Excuse me, be right back,” George said.
There in the driveway was an old ’53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front.
The driver was panicked. “Mister can you help me!” said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent.
“My wife is with child and my car is broken.”
George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.
“You ain’t going in this thing,” George said as he turned away.
“But Mister, please help …”
The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside.
He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside.
He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting.
“Here, take my truck,” he said. “She ain’t the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good.”
George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night.
He turned and walked back inside the office.
“Glad I gave ’em the truck, their tires were shot too.
That ‘ol truck has brand new.”
George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone.
The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it.
“Well, at least he got something in his belly,” George thought.
George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start.
It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been.
He thought he would tinker with it for something to do.
Christmas Eve meant no customers.
He discovered the block hadn’t cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator.
“Well, shoot, I can fix this,” he said to himself. So he put a new one on.
“Those tires ain’t gonna get ’em through the winter either.”
He took the snow treads off of his wife’s old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn’t going to drive the car anyway.
As he was working, he heard shots being fired.
He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, “Please help me.”
George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic.
He knew the wound needed attention.
“Pressure to stop the bleeding,” he thought.
The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels.
He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. “Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin’,” he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease.
“Something for pain,” George thought.
All he had was the pills he used for his back.
“These ought to work.” He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills.
“You hang in there, I’m going to get you an ambulance.”
The phone was dead.
“Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car.”
He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.
He went back in to find the policeman sitting up.
“Thanks,” said the officer. “You could have left me there.
The guy that shot me is still in the area.”
George sat down beside him,
“I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain’t gonna leave you.”
George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding.
“Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through ‘ya.
Good thing it missed the important stuff though.
I think with time your gonna be right as rain.”
George got up and poured a cup of coffee.
“How do you take it?” he asked.
“None for me,” said the officer.
“Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain’t got no donuts.”
The officer laughed and winced at the same time.
The front door of the office flew open.
In burst a young man with a gun. “Give me all your cash! Do it now!” the young man yelled.
His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.
“That’s the guy that shot me!” exclaimed the officer.
“Son, why are you doing this?” asked George,
“You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt.”
The young man was confused. “Shut up old man, or I’ll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!”
The cop was reaching for his gun. “Put that thing away,” George said to the cop, “we got one too many in here now.”
He turned his attention to the young man.
“Son, it’s Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain’t much but it’s all I got. Now put that pea shooter away.”
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time.
The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry.
“I’m not very good at this am I?
All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son,” he went on.
“I’ve lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week.”
George handed the gun to the cop.
“Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can.”
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop.
“Sometimes we do stupid things.”
George handed the young man a cup of coffee.
“Bein’ stupid is one of the things that makes us human.
Comin’ in here with a gun ain’t the answer.
Now sit there and get warm and we’ll sort this thing out.”
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. “Sorry I shot you.
It just went off. I’m sorry officer.”
“Shut up and drink your coffee ” the cop said.
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside.
A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn.
“Chuck! You ok?” one of the cops asked the wounded officer.
“Not bad for a guy who took a bullet.
How did you find me?”
“GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread.
Who did this?” the other cop asked as he approached the young man.
Chuck answered him, “I don’t know.
The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran.”
George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.
“That guy work here?” the wounded cop continued. “Yep,” George said, “just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job.”
The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher.
The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, “Why?”
Chuck just said, “Merry Christmas boy … and you too, George, and thanks for everything.”
“Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there.
That ought to solve some of your problems.”
George went into the back room and came out with a box.
He pulled out a ring box. “Here you go, something for the little woman.
I don’t think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day.”
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw.
“I can’t take this,” said the young man. “It means something to you.”
“And now it means something to you,” replied George.
“I got my memories. That’s all I need.”
George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next.
They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. “Here’s something for that little man of yours.”
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier.
“And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with?
You keep that too,” George said. “Now git home to your family.”
The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. “I’ll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good.”
“Nope. I’m closed Christmas day,” George said. “See ya the day after.”
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned.
“Where’d you come from? I thought you left?”
“I have been here. I have always been here,” said the stranger.
“You say you don’t celebrate Christmas. Why?”
“Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn’t see what all the bother was.
Puttin’ up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree.
Bakin’ cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn’t the same by myself and besides I was gettin’ a little chubby.”
The stranger put his hand on George’s shoulder.
“But you do celebrate the holiday, George.
You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry.
The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.
The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists.
The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself.
“That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man.”
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said.
“And how do you know all this?” asked the old man.
“Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing.
And when your days are done you will be with Martha again.”
The stranger moved toward the door.
“If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned.”
George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe.
A golden light began to fill the room.
“You see, George … it’s My birthday. Merry Christmas.”
George fell to his knees and replied, “Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus”
What is the meaning and historic significance of Hanukkah?
The Source of Light A Chanukah Meditation by John Parsons
Did you know that Yeshua observed the Chanukah festival?
“Now it was the Feast of Dedication (i.e., chag Chanukah) in Jerusalem, and it was winter, and Yeshua walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch..
Then the Judeans surrounded Him and said to Him,
“How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
And Yeshua answered them: “I have told you, but you do not believe.
The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
“I and My Father are one” (John 10:22-30).
Those of faith see the light of God.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
“God is Light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
Yeshua said: “I am come a light into the world, that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46).
The ultimate message of Chanukah is eschatological and full of hope.
This world is passing away and the Kingdom of Heaven will one day be established upon the earth.
We live in light of this blessed hope (Titus 2:11-13).
The world’s rulers are “on notice” from God Almighty: their days are numbered and they will surely face the judgment of the LORD God of Israel (Psalm 2).
We must stand against evil by refusing to conform to the world around us (Eph. 6:11-18).
Now is the time…
“Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
Followers of Yeshua are made part of His Dwelling – extensions of His Presence in this dark world – and during this Chanukah season may we remember the call to rededicate our lives to Him! יְהִי אוֹר – May your light shine! ____
Come join the Adventure and have a Merry Christmas!
33 “If you grow a healthy tree, you’ll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you’ll pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.
34-37 “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded?
It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.
A good person produces good deeds and words season after season.
An evil person is a blight on the orchard.
Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you.
There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”
____
Even the Pharisees should have admitted that the Lord had done good by casting out demons.
Yet they accused Him of being evil.
Here He exposes their inconsistency and says, in effect, “Make up your minds.
“If a tree is good, its fruit is good and vice versa.”
Fruit reflects the quality of the tree that produced it.
The fruit of His ministry had been good.
He had healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, and the dumb, had cast out demons and raised the dead.
Could a corrupt tree have produced such good fruit?
Utterly impossible!
Why then did they so stubbornly refuse to acknowledge Him?
12:34, 35 The reason was that they were a brood of vipers.
Their malice against the Son of Man, evidenced by their venomous words, was the outflow of their evil hearts.
A heart filled with goodness will be evidenced by words of grace and righteousness.
A wicked heart expresses itself in blasphemy, bitterness, and abuse.
What if everything we have ever said were to be played back for all to hear?
Jesus reminds us that what we say reveals what is in our hearts.
What kinds of words come from your mouth?
They reveal what is in your heart.
You can’t solve your heart problem, however, just by cleaning up your speech.
You must ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with new attitudes and motives; then your speech will be cleansed at its source.
Jesus solemnly warned them (and us) that people will give account for every idle word they utter.
Because the words people have spoken are an accurate guage of their lives, they will form a suitable basis for condemnation or acquittal.
How great will be the condemnation of the Pharisees for the vile and contemptuous words which they spoke against God’s Holy Son!
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
____________________________
Sunday, Dec 18 GOD CALLING by Two Listeners
SEE WONDERS
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man…bringeth forth good things: and an evil man…bringeth forth evil things.” — Matthew 12:34, 35
Think your thought-way into the very heart of My Kingdom.
See there the abundance of delights in my storehouse, and lay eager hands on them.
See wonders, ask wonders, bear wonders away with you.
Remember this beautiful earth on which you are was once only a thought of Divine Mind.
Think how from your thought one corner of it could grow and become the Garden of the Lord, the Bethany-Home for your Master, a place to which I have a right to bring My friends,
My needy ones, for talk and rest with Me.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25 ____
God works through history-making governments and anonymous people like shepherds to accomplish His saving purposes.
Joseph, barely introduced in 1:27, enters center stage.
Taxation followed his lineage, so he obediently traveled the ninety miles to Bethlehem, David’s home, where the Scriptures said Messiah would be born (Mic. 5:2).
Finally, we see Joseph, too, can trace his family tree to David.
Joseph did not make the trip alone.
Mary, still only engaged, not married but pregnant, joined him.
Perhaps, she, too, like Syrian women over age 12, had to register for the census and pay taxes.
Luke surprises us with his next statement, just as the event must have surprised Mary and Joseph.
Jesus’ appearance time had come.
Simply, Luke reports, she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Following the practice of her day, Mary wrapped the baby in strips of cloth to keep his arms and legs straight.
Jesus’ first crib had usually served as a dining table for animals.
Where they had eaten, he now slept.
Why? Because all normal lodging places were full. Or perhaps because Joseph found a small one-room house with just enough room for him and his wife.
The only available space for the child was in the animal trough attached to the wall that their room shared with the animals’ quarters.
The promised king came to His people but did not have enough power to secure a resting place for His birth.
The descendants of David descended to a stable to find a place to lay the head of the King of kings.
This is how God used earth’s lowest to bring salvation from heaven’s highest.
Medley: No Room & Have You Any Room for Jesus?
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____________________________
Saturday, December 17 Anchor Devotional
ROOM FOR JESUS
“And she gave birth to her firstborn a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” — Luke 2:7
When Mary and Joseph entered into God’s plan, they likely didn’t think this would involve a 90-mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
And they certainly weren’t expecting there to be no room to physically give birth to the promised Christ child.
But here they were.
Though the Bible doesn’t mention an innkeeper, we have to figure that there was someone present who let Joseph and Mary know that there was no room at this inn.
And of all the travelers who came through that night, this ordinary couple is the one history would remember as they bore not just another Jewish baby, but the very Son of God.
We do learn from this character whose name and even whose presence are not expressly written into the Christmas story, this innkeeper we’ve imagined.
We learn that where we least expect to find God, He comes most fully.
He invades our lives; He goes where there is no room so we might find a home in Him.
The One who had no home is making a home for us (John 14:3).
The One who had no place to lay His head is our rest, our comfort, our joy. ____
God has a plan and a purpose for each of Our Lives…
The key is we must learn to walk in obedience and faith, down the path that God has laid before us, and as we walk by faith, God’s Destiny will unfold before us along that very same path.
This is true even though at times it may appear as though our lives are not tracking the way we had hoped they would, and often we may feel as though God has abandoned us.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:9, that even though…
“A man’s heart plans his way, but it’s the Lord who directs his steps.”
Yes, God knew each of us before He laid the foundation of the world and He has a plan and purpose for each of us.
The Bible even tells us that God choreographed each day of our life before we were even born.
Psalm 139:15-16 Living Bible
” You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!”
And then we turn to the New Testament and we find out how we are each predestined…
Ephesians 1:3-12 The Message
The God of Glory 3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is!
He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him.
Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.
Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ.
(What pleasure he took in planning this!)
He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds.
And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!
He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making.
He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.
Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. ____
When he wrote this letter, Paul had been a Christian for nearly 30 years.
He had taken three missionary trips and established churches all around the Mediterranean Sea.
He had been a missionary in Ephesus for more than two years, and many people had become followers of Jesus.
When he wrote Ephesians, Paul was under house arrest in Rome (see Acts 28:16-31).
Paul’s life after Jesus called him into the ministry was not an easy road.
2 Corinthians 4:7-15 The Message
7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.
That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.
As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at.
We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.
What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives!
Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us.
While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life.
Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe.
And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive.
Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! ____
The supremely valuable message of salvation in Jesus Christ has been entrusted by God to frail and fallible human beings.
Paul’s focus, however, is not on the perishable container but on its priceless contents—God’s power dwelling in us.
Though we are “fragile clay jars,” God uses us to spread his Good News, and he gives us power to do his work.
Relying on God’s power, not our own, will keep us from pride and motivate us to stay close to him, our power source.
If you do this, many will see God’s Spirit shining in you and be drawn to him.
They will notice that, although you have normal struggles and challenges, there is something appealing about how you handle them.
They will be able to tell that you rely on another power source, and they will want to know more.
Paul reminds us that though we may think we are at the end of our rope, we are never at the end of our hope.
Our perishable bodies are subject to sin and suffering, but God never abandons us.
Because Christ has won the victory over death, we can have eternal life.
All our risks, humiliations, and trials are opportunities for Christ to demonstrate his power and presence in and through us.
We must ask ourselves, Could I handle the suffering and opposition that Paul did?
The drive for success in human terms can ruin effective ministry.
From an earthly perspective, Paul was not very successful during his lifetime.
However, God worked through him mightily and used him to impact countless lives for Christ.
Like Paul, we must carry out our own ministries, looking to God for strength.
We must bear in mind that God’s purpose in all of this, as we read in Romans 8:29-30, is that we be conformed into the image of His Son.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____________________________
Tuesday, Dec 13 God Calling by Two Listeners
PERPETUAL GUIDANCE
The Joy of knowing that every detail of your lives is planned by Me, but planned with a wealth of tenderness and Love.
Wait for Guidance in every step.
Wait to be shown My way.
The thought of this loving leading should give you great Joy.
All the responsibility of Life taken off your shoulders.
All its business worry taken off your shoulders.
It is indeed a Joy for you to feel so free and yet so planned for.
Oh! the wonder of this a God-guided life.
To think anything impossible in such circumstances is to say it cannot be done by Me.
To say that is surely a denial of Me.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25 ____
Israel’s apostasy had to be punished, and the prophets gave stern warnings of impending judgment with a call to national repentance, but God in His grace promised to save a small remnant, although the nation would have to pass through an extended period of fire and water and be dispersed among the nations.
God sent a message of hope to Israel despite their persistent unbelief and blasphemous idolatry:
“The Lord Himself would give them a sign,” which would authenticate the arrival of His anointed Saviour, the Seed of the woman, the Messiah of Israel, and royal descendent of the great king David.
And He would save His people from their sins.
What a glorious pronouncement was made on that day.
A virgin would conceive and give birth to their Saviour Who would be called Immanuel, God with us, God incarnate.
The immortal, invisible, eternal God was to be born into the world as a tiny baby and He would save His people, Israel, from their sins.
And through Him, all the families of the earth would be blessed.
Isaiah 7:14 Explained
Max Lucado’s Life Lessons…
Isaiah recalled the commission God had given him.
Isaiah carried a message of both hope and judgment.
He described and predicted the coming Messiah: Jesus Christ.
We are commissioned to tell others about God and His plan for salvation.
When [Isaiah] Sees the holiness of God, Isaiah does not boast or swagger.
He takes no notes, plans no sermon series, launches no seminar tours.
Instead, he falls on his face and begs for mercy.
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have Seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).
The God-given vision was not about Isaiah but about God and His glory.
Isaiah gets the point. “It’s not about me. It’s all about Him.”
He finds humility, not through Seeking it, but through Seeking Him.
One glimpse and the prophet claims citizenship among the infected and diseased—the “unclean,” a term used to describe those with leprosy.
God’s holiness silences human boasting.
And God’s mercy makes us holy.
Look what happens next.
“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’” (6:6, 7).
Isaiah makes no request. He asks for no grace. Indeed, he likely assumed mercy was impossible.
But God, who is quick to pardon and full of mercy, purges Isaiah of his sin and redirects his life.
God solicits a spokesman. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (6:8).
Isaiah’s heart and hand shoot skyward.
“Here am I! Send me” (6:8)!
A glimpse of God’s holiness and Isaiah had to speak.
As if he’d found the source of the river, ridden the rage of the canyon.
As if he’d Seen what Moses had Seen—God Himself.
Albeit a glimpse, but a God-glimpse nonetheless.
And he was different as a result. Holy different. (From It’s Not About Me by Max Lucado)
Have you known someone for some time but have never shared Christ with that person?
Create an opportunity to share about the most important aspect of your life. ____________________________
Monday, December 12, 2022 Anchor Devotional
PERFECT SETTING AND TIME
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” — Isaiah 7:14
When we peek in on Mary, we find her among a people mostly cynical about the promises of God.
They were ruled by Romans, divided by religious groups, and jaded by the corruption in Caesar’s palace and among the religious establishment.
In some respects, this setting sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
If the Jewish people hadn’t lost hope, they had at least grown apathetic about it during generations of apparent silence from God.
Yet into a dark world where many had lost heart, God broke in to announce the coming of the Savior through a young girl named Mary.
His eternal plan of redemption would be initiated in the most unlikely of circumstances.
What a surprise to Mary and her family!
But it was no surprise at all in the realm of heaven where God assigned Gabriel the awesome duty of making the announcement He’d planned long ago, before the world even began (see 1 Peter 1:20).
Gabriel visited Mary exactly “when the fullness of time had come” (Galatians 4:4), when God’s plan from all eternity would reach into our world and into our lives. ____
Mind you God is the same yesterday, today and forever; and as Amos 3:7 tells us, “He does NOTHING without He first speaks to His servants the prophets!
God in these last days is attempting to awaken the church out of its lethargy!
1 Peter 4:7-19 The Message
7-11 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted.
Stay wide-awake in prayer.
Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it.
Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.
Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it:
if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help.
That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
Glory Just Around the Corner 12-13 Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job.
Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced.
This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.
14-16 If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate.
It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others.
If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter.
But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought.
Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!
17-19 It’s judgment time for God’s own family.
We’re first in line!
If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message!
If good people barely make it, What’s in store for the bad?
So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride.
Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it. ____
Emma Stark
Emma is a prophet who operates with authority and authenticity as she ministers and teaches around the world, giving clear and direct prophetic input to leaders, churches and ministries, equipping the body of Christ to better hear from God and to apply His revelation to transform lives, communities, cities and nations.
In this chapter Paul dealt with another problem in the Corinthian church.
He affirmed that the Christian faith rests upon the resurrection of Christ and has a sure conviction of the resurrection on the final day of all who believe in him.
Having dealt with a number of problems related to worship in the church at Corinth, Paul turned to a doctrinal controversy over resurrection.
Some teachers had entered the church at Corinth, denying the possibility of bodily resurrection.
They did not deny the fact of life after death, but probably suggested that we would simply be spirit beings and not have literal bodies.
The apostle here gives his classic answer to these denials.
Paul reminds them of the good news which he had preached to them, which they had received, and in which they now stood.
This was not a new doctrine for the Corinthians, but it was necessary that they should be reminded of it at this critical time.
It was this gospel by which the Corinthians had been saved.
It was by the gospel of the resurrection that they had been saved—unless, of course, there was no such thing as resurrection, in which case they could not have been saved at all.
The “if” in this passage does not express any doubt as to their salvation, nor does it teach that they were saved by holding fast.
Rather, Paul is simply stating that if there is no such thing as resurrection, then they weren’t saved at all.
In other words, those who denied bodily resurrection were launching a frontal attack on the whole truth of the gospel.
To Paul, the resurrection was fundamental.
Without it there was no Christianity.
Truly Christians are to be pitied more than anyone if our hope in Christ ends in death.
Especially given all the hardships endured for the sake of faith, a resurrection-less end would be a disaster.
Have you ever been offered a guarantee on something which you have committed – either with money or talents?
You commit to something on the promise that the guarantee is true. For example:
Buy this car, then you will receive free oil changes for two years.
Take this pill and you will be guaranteed to lose weight.
Do what we ask and we can guarantee your safety.
There are all kinds of offers which people will pitch to you.
But if you notice what works the most in the guarantee is personal testimonies.
People will claim that these offers have worked for them, so it will work for you.
I can trust the eternal lifetime guarantee of Jesus because He proved it.
Jesus is the only One to raise from the dead.
You know that you trust the mechanic who has repaired and replaced many parts before.
You trust the doctor who has successfully completed many surgeries.
You can trust Jesus who has the eternal experience that is necessary for overcoming death.
You know death is a frightening prospect.
Like a surgery, or some other traumatic broken experience that you and I may go through, we don’t look forward to the prospect of dying.
It’s frightening in a way to think that when your heart stops beating, that you will stop existing.
I can’t make myself come back to life. I can’t see what is beyond death.
Even Jesus needed God’s help in being resurrected.
But now that Jesus is resurrected, He can help me.
“In Christ, all will be made alive.”
That is not a spiritual, allegorical interpretation.
I will be made alive. But that can only happen because Jesus was made alive.
He was given the keys to death. He knows how to unlock it.
Like a locksmith who comes when the doors are locked and you can’t get your keys, God made Christ exclusive keys over death.
When you come to death and you wonder how the afterlife will be unlocked for you, you just need to trust Christ.
He will unlock the keys of death for you.
“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
In view of all of this, let us be confident today in our faith because of what Jesus has done.
He broke the power of death so that we might have eternal life with Him.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____________________________
Thursday, Dec 08 God Calling by Two Listeners
MY KINGDOM
“But now it is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the Resurrection of the dead.” — 1 Corinthians 15:20-21
And greater works than these shall ye do, because I go unto My Father.
While I was on earth, to the great number of those with whom I came in contact, Mine was a lost cause.
Even My disciples only believed, half-doubting, half-wondering.
When they all forsook Me and fled it was not so much fear of My enemies as the certainty that My Mission, however beautiful they thought it, had failed.
In spite of all I had taught them, in spite of the revelation of the Last Supper, they had secretly felt sure that when the final moment came, and the hatred of the Pharisees was declared against Me I should sound some call to action, and that I should lead My many followers, and found My earthly kingdom.
Even the disciples who had eyes to see My Spiritual Kingdom had thought material forces had proved too strong for Me.
But with My Resurrection came hope. Faith revived.
They would remind each other of all I had said. They would have the assurance of My Divinity,
Messiahship, the lack of which had hindered My work on earth, and they would have all My Power in the unseen – the Holy Spirit – to help them.
Remember, I came to found a Kingdom – the Kingdom.
Those who lived in the Kingdom were to do the work — greater works than I was able to do.
Not a greater Power shown, not a greater Life lived, but, as men recognized My Godhead, opportunities for works in My Name would increase.
My work on earth was to gather around Me the nucleus of My Kingdom, and to teach the Truths of My Kingdom to them.
In those Truths they were to live and work.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25) ____
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 