FAMINE!

By Shirley Wiggins

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord.”     Amos 8:11 (Amplified Bible.)

Famine:  “an extreme scarcity of food.”   What would you do if you knew a famine was coming into your life? 

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.” ¹

“God has always warned the world of coming judgments in order that it may not bring them upon itself.   He warned

·       Noah of the coming flood (Genesis 6:13ff.);¹

·        Abraham and Lot of the future destruction of Sodom (Genesis 18:17; 19:14);

·       Joseph of the seven-year famine (Gen. 41:30);

·       Moses of the ten plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7:1ff.);

·       Jonah of the destruction of Nineveh (Jonah 1:2; 3:4);

·       Amos of the downfall of Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Israel (Amos 1 and 2).

Various prophets were told in detail about the final events in connection with the captivities of the chosen people, and in every case the warnings were startlingly executed.

Jonah announced the destruction of Nineveh, but judgment was postponed following repentance.  When later generations of Ninevites backslid and reverted to extreme wickedness, the warning of Nahum was carried out completely against them. 

Christ’s coming was foretold throughout the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi.  Equally plain and inevitable of fulfillment are the warnings of Jesus and the prophets concerning the future that each day comes nearer to every nation on earth.”¹

The written Word of God is preserved today in millions and millions of copies.  Yet, in some parts of the world, there is an ongoing famine of hearing the word of the Lord.  Bibles are banned and churches are being persecuted for their belief in Jesus Christ.

In America in this present day, as in many nations around the world, the Bible is still available, but many people do not avail themselves of it.  Remember:  “God has always warned the world of coming judgments in order that it may not bring them upon itself.”

The Bible is the Word of God.  Jesus Christ, the Word of God, came in the flesh to live upon the earth for a time.  His Holy Spirit is in the world today, still revealing the words of God. ²

What are we being warned about in our present generation?  Do we know what the warnings of God are for us in our own generation?  Does anyone have time for the Word of God?

“For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”  Hebrews 4:12-13.

God reveals the truth to people that we may know and follow His will.³   God desires that all people be rescued from the inescapable wages of sin.  Sin has invaded the earth and all people are sinners until they come to know and believe in His only Son, Jesus Christ.⁴ 

Jesus told about the events surrounding His second coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.   Peter asks a most important question in 2 Peter 3:11, to remind readers of every generation of what kind of people we ought to be since  the day of the Lord’s final return will come, and there will be devastating destruction.

But, when will He come back?  The Bible teaches that no one knows the date except God Himself. See Matthew 24:36.  “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:13.

How will we know the day is approaching since we won’t know when to expect it?

Throughout the Bible we find many references to what the end times will be like and things we can watch for to know that the time is growing near.⁵ 

Paul writes in many of his Epistles of “The Day of the Lord .”⁶    Second Timothy 3 describes “terrible times in the last days,” and talks about the characteristics of the people who will be living on the earth in those days and times.

Jesus told about these same things and described what His day of return would be like.⁷    He told the disciples that first, He would suffer many things and be rejected by His generation.  Not only would He be hated and His words of love and warning be repudiated, that generation would seek to murder Him.  They would mock Him and treat Him shamefully, and spit upon Him.  “And after beating Him, they would hang Him on a cross of shame until He died.⁸  

Jesus promised them, that on the third day, He would rise from the dead.  And, He did.

He declared to them that He would return again to the earth and gather His people to Him because where He is, He wants His people to be there with Him also.  See John 14:1-6; John  17.

Jesus describes His return to earth one day as being highly visible:  “like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”   

Jesus said that the days on earth at the time of His final return when the Son of Man is revealed, will be just as they were in the days of Noah and as in the days of Lot.

 “People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage…buying and selling, planting and building...”   However,  on “the day Noah entered the ark… the flood came and destroyed them all; ”  and that “the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from the heaven and destroyed them all.⁹

Days of busy business!  Not to mention rampant wickedness.   In the days of Noah:  “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.”  Genesis 6:5-6.

Sounds a lot like today, doesn’t it?  People busy living life day to day, consumed with the demands of life, and so many who believe the lie that they are just too busy to have time to read the Bible, attend church, or devote time to their spiritual lives.

 For so many people today, every ounce of time and energy is being given to keeping up with what is believed to be the most important requirements of life:  physical life only.

And, yet we know that physical life can be suddenly snuffed out:  poof!  Like the blowing out of a candle, or turning off a light.  Suddenly, the physical life can go dark.

All of those busy, busy people in the days of Noah and Lot  were destroyed – suddenly and irrevocably.   Jesus gave a strong warning:  “Remember Lot’s wife!” Luke 17:32.

When we consider the story of Lot’s wife, I believe we would be wise to take the point to heart that her heart’s desire sealed her eternity.  Genesis 19:26.

Her husband, Lot, was Abraham’s nephew, and when the two had to separate their living arrangements, Lot chose to take his family and live near Sodom where “the people were very wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.”  You may read the story of Lot and his wife, and the very unwise choices they made to live in the midst of wicked people in Genesis chapters 13, 18-19.

The Lord made provision for salvation, warned Noah and Noah and all his family were saved; Lot’s family came to a tragic end, in spite of the warnings of the Lord.  God provided the way out for both men and their families, but individual choices affected their final destiny.

Jesus Christ is our Ark of Salvation.   Remember that God still warns us today that we need not bring down judgment on ourselves, our families, and our descendants.  Hebrews 2:1-4 warns us specifically to pay attention so that we do not drift away from God’s salvation and lose our eternal lives because of our inattention to the things of God.

For suddenly the day of the Lord will come and the soul’s eternity will be sealed forever, either to live forever in the bliss of heaven as God’s dear children, His own rescued people,  or in the eternal torment of hell as only His creation, those who rejected Him as Lord and Father.

Those who today reject God and His only means of salvation – Jesus Christ – His Son are as much without excuse as those who’ve rejected Him down through the ages.¹⁰

God has promised and provided rescue from sin, but we must choose to hear His warnings and to obey His word.  Remember:   “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar;  the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and  everything done in it will be laid bare.”  2 Peter 3:9-10 (ESV.)

Do not needlessly and tragically endure a famine of God’s word.  Instead, choose the feast of His continual presence, peace, protection, and provision!

¹ Footnote  “l”, page 8 related to Genesis 6:13; and  Footnote “a, ”page 1019, related to Amos 3:7, in the Amplified Bible®. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987, by The Lockman Foundation.

² John 15:26-16:16; Revelation 22:20. 

³ Deuteronomy 29:29. 

⁴John 3:16-21, and 14:1-6; Romans 3:21-31 and 6:23.

⁵Matthew 24:1-51, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:5-36 describe some “Signs of the End Times.”

⁶ 1 Thessalonians 5, and 2 Thessalonians 2.

⁷ Luke 17:20-37.

⁸ Luke 18:31-33 (ESV Bible).

⁹Luke 17:24-30

¹⁰ See the Book of Jude; and  2 Peter 2:1- 3: 18.

FAITH LIKE GEORGIE

By Shirley Wiggins

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”                (Hebrews 11:1 NIV 1984.)

How would you define “faith?”  How would you describe your faith?

Consider Georgie, a ten year old who lived in Chicago and wanted a stamp album for Christmas.  His grandma who lived elsewhere had promised to send him one.

Christmas came and went, but no stamp album arrived.   Each time Georgie was asked about his Christmas gifts, he always listed the stamp album from his grandma as one of his gifts.

Finally his mother asked why he continued to name the album when he had not received it.  His answer taught his mother “a rich spiritual truth,” as Georgie assured his mother that grandma had not forgotten and he was absolutely certain that the stamp album would be coming to him.

After a month went by, and his mother mentioned again that perhaps grandma had just forgotten, Georgie mailed a thank-you letter to his grandma.  In just a short time, her reply came back explaining that she had ordered his album from New York and it did not get to her until after Christmas. It was not the one Georgie had asked for so she had to return it.  Since the other one had still not arrived, she enclosed money in her letter so that Georgie could purchase the album he wanted in Chicago.

             “As he read the letter, his face was the face of a victor.  ‘Now, mamma, didn’t I tell you?’ came from the depths of a heart that never doubted that, ‘against hope, believed in hope’ that the stamp album would come.  While he was trusting, grandma was working, and in due season faith became sight.”

             “It is so human to want sight when we step out on the promises of God, but our Savior said to Thomas, and to the long roll of doubters who have ever since followed him: ‘Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.’”  --- Mrs. Rounds.¹

I have to confess that too many times my sin of disbelief and doubt in the face of a long-awaited hope has been more evident than my firm, faith-filled belief that the promises of God would absolutely be fulfilled.

“Have faith that whatever you ask for in prayer is already granted you, and you will find that it will be.”  Mark 11:24.

Consider Abraham:  “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.  This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’  The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in Him{God} who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He {Jesus} was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”  Romans 4:18-25 (NIV 1984).

 “True faith counts on God, and believes before it sees.  Naturally, we want some evidence that our petition is granted before we believe; but when we walk by faith we need no other evidence than God’s Word.  He has spoken, and according to our faith it shall be done unto us.  We shall see because we have believed, and this faith sustains us in the most trying places, when everything around us seems to contradict God’s Word.

The Psalmist … believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of living (Psalm 27:13).  He did not see as yet the Lord’s answer to his prayers, but he believed to see; and this kept him from fainting. 

If we have the faith that believes to see, it will keep us from growing discouraged.  … we shall watch with delight to see how God is going to open a path through the Red Sea when there is no human way out of our difficulty.  It is just in such places of severe testing that our faith grows and strengthens.

Have you been waiting upon God, dear troubled one, during long nights and weary days, and have feared that you were forgotten?  Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on its way to you.  --- Life of Praise.”²

Hope, based on a wish, an earnest desire, is not faith because it is not based in belief, but only on a hope.  Hope must see before it believes.

Faith, the hope based in belief because it counts on God, believes before it sees.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. … And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”  Hebrews 11:1 ,6.

 We walk by faith and not by sight because “thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”   2 Corinthians 2:14.

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”  1 John 5:4-5 (NIV 2011).

Is there some problem in your life to solve,

Some passage seeming full of mystery?

God knows, who brings the hidden things to light.

He keeps the key.

Is there some door closed by the Father’s hand

Which widely opened you had hoped to see?

Trust God and wait—for when He shuts the door

He keeps the key.

Is there some earnest prayer unanswered yet,

Or answered NOT as you had thought ‘twould be?

God will make clear His purpose by-and-by.

He keeps the key.

Have patience with your God, your patient God,

All wise, all knowing, no long tarrier He,

And of the door of all thy future life

He keeps the key.

Unfailing comfort, sweet and blessed rest,

To know of EVERY door He keeps the key.

That He at last when just HE sees ‘tis best,

Will give it THEE.”      ---Anonymous.³

What have you asked God for that is founded on His holy Word but that everything around you seems to be contradicting that holy Word?  Then believe to see it!  It’s on its way! 

¹Streams in the Desert Compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman; ©1965 Cowman Publications, Inc.; page 55.

² Streams in the Desert Compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman; ©1965 Cowman Publications, Inc.; page 54.

³ Streams in the Desert Compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman; ©1965 Cowman Publications, Inc.; page 11.

THE IMPOSSIBLE TASK

By Shirley Wiggins

How do you achieve the impossible tasks?

From the beginning of this new year of 2013, I have felt the excitement growing in me that this could be the year for me.

That means that this is the year I kick out the ‘old’ me and welcome into the world the new me:  the me I can be if I let  God chisel to His Heart’s content that I might finally become the woman He created me to be:  obedient and unafraid, living life just as He always meant me to do.  And, oh yes:  organized.

Full of life, vigor, excitement, confident that by His grace and help I may now accomplish those tasks which will line up with His will for my life in the world in my generation.

I will blog faithfully, expanding my love of writing about Him and His Word.

I will be faithful to my roles as woman, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, daughter-in-law, sister and sister-in-law, aunt, friend….

Uh-oh.    The first thing I notice is that this is an impossible task!   I get tired just listing all those roles and feeling the weight of the responsibilities that each one inherently entails.

Where do I start?!  And, how on earth will there be enough time to take care of everything?

 I am unequal to the task. Not only to my task of all my to-do’s but equally to the task of surrendering my selfish will to Him daily to be transformed  by His powerful love.

For an agenda of this size, I am going to need the Lord, my God.

Even before I picked up Mrs. Cowman’s precious devotional, Streams in the Desert¹, and read her encouraging words I knew that if the things on my list are to come to anything, it will be simply and completely by the grace and help of the Lord.

I was encouraged and strengthened immeasurably to read Mrs. Cowman’s words based on God’s words to Joshua recorded in the Book of Joshua.

“But the hill country shall be yours; though it is a forest, you shall clear and possess it to its farthest borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.” Joshua 17:18 Amplified Bible.

Joshua.  Now there was a man with a seemingly impossible task!

The theme of the book of Joshua, according to the introduction in the Amplified Version Bible², is “the establishment of Israel in the promised land” of Canaan.

“Canaan … …. a land flowing with milk and honey.”  “Here Israel was planted to represent God among the nations.”³

“Canaanites” was a general term for all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, which was the land God had promised originally through Moses to the Israelites, God’s chosen people. Before Moses died, Joshua had already been selected to carry out the task of leading the Israelites into the land of promise and to possess it in every sense of the meaning.

The Lord gave Joshua some strong commands and reassuring promises in Joshua 1:1-9 concerning his task.  Over all, the Lord told him to be strong, courageous and unafraid for just as He had been with Moses, so now He would be with Joshua in every way.  The Lord promised to make him successful and his way prosperous, but Joshua must mediate on the words of God day and night and obey His guidance and instructions.

The Israelites’ task was to stand strong against the Canaanites, and to go in and take possession of the land and all that it had to offer.  It had a lot to offer, for it was “a land flowing with milk and honey.” 

Both the Canaanite people and their pagan idols were to be destroyed completely… nothing left to distract the Israelites from their commitment and devotion to the God who gave them their lives.   He was their God and they were His people and He strictly warned them about losing sight of that important foundational truth and wandering away to intermingle with a pagan people who worshiped pagan symbols who were not  gods at all.

He told them exactly how to go in and take possession of what He was giving them.  He told them up front that they would have to do battle to ‘possess’ what He declared as theirs.

“For an agenda of this size, I am going to need the Lord, my God.”  Can’t you just imagine that would be the thought of Joshua and every single Israelite in the face of God’s directives?

They would need a plan and some discipline to follow the plan.  He promised them that He would be with them every step of the way and they were to be fearless in the process.

That is still the need of our lives today.  We need the Lord our God, Who gave us our lives as well, that He might be the constant companion of our days and our nights.

God has so many promises in the Bible of all that He will do today for us and in us if we will be strong, courageous, and unafraid.  But we, too, must meditate on His word day and night, and  obey His commands.

The ‘Canaanites’ in my own life are as strong as “iron chariots.”  They are my enemies of opposition.  They are those things, large or small, which distract me from God’s purpose and plan for my life; those things which though urgent may not be important but would keep me from accomplishing those things which are both urgent and important.

Our cluttered forests can be cleared and our way forward to the farthest borders can be opened that we may possess what God declares is ours.

I must not be too busy to read His Word since without Him I can do nothing.  But, with Him and through Him, I am able to accomplish all that He has called me to:  “With God, all things are possible.”

Ø  Step 1:   Start and end each day with the Lord my God. 

Ø  Step 2:   Take each day one at a time.  Slowly and intentionally, as step by step, He leads me to each new thing.

Ø  Step 3:    Praise Him loud and long, soft and strong!  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” 

Ø  Step 4:   Thank Him in everything and for everything.  He is God and there is no other. 

Ø  Step 5:   Prayerfully repeat steps one through four each day for the rest of my life. 

What is your excitement?  What is your calling?  What is your assignment?   Take out His love letter to you, the Bible, and ask Him to show you. 

Let’s encourage each other along the way.  I will pray for you, and please, would you pray for me, too?

¹  Streams in the Desert compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman,©1965, Cowman Publications Inc.; pages 49-50.

² The Amplified Bible ®; ©1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

³ Halley’s Bible Handbook ®, Copyright ©1965; Pages 3,37.



DISTRACTING PURSUITS

by Hallie Gipson

 I would imagine that everyone reading this can relate to what I call ‘distracting pursuits’ – those things that distract us mentally or physically when we are attempting to focus on the Lord in our quiet time.

How easily I can get caught up in the ‘tyranny of the urgent’ . . . the ringing phone I won’t leave unanswered; the pile of laundry I insist on doing now; the family problem I continue to mull over endlessly in my mind; the grocery list I mentally compile. Even though our lists would be different, I’m sure each of us could name many distractions that compete with our quiet times on any given day.

Several months ago I had just one of those days. Everything seemed to cry out for my attention and I allowed each distraction to delay my time with the Lord. It was almost bed time when I finally sat down and got still before the Lord. It was then I realized I was bringing the Holy Father the ‘leftovers’ of my day when what He had for me was “the finest of wheat” (Psalm 81:16 NASB).

My mind had been anything but focused on the Lord and I offered a prayer of repentance, asking the Lord to forgive me for allowing the distractions to take my focus off Him. I had to admit that even the frustrating phone calls would have been easier to deal with had I spent time with Him first.

God’s word says: “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10 NASB). But the people of Israel did not listen and I did not listen either! His provision for me is nothing but the best – “But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” (Psalm 81:16 NASB)

I am increasingly aware that too often my actions do not display a heart focused on my relationship with the Holy Father of the universe! I lean on the words of others and don’t read God’s word with the hunger I once had.  My habits can become stale and I can be far-removed from the close relationship I desire to have with the Lord.

As I sat in the quiet that evening a prayer I have titled “Leftovers” flowed from my pen onto the pages of my journal.

“Leftovers”

I don’t mean to offer You leftovers, Lord, it just “happens”. An unintentional act (or is it?) to delay spending time with You. Were those phone calls that urgent? Was it reason enough? They seemed to be at the time.

And now, here I am, at the end of the day and my excuses are lame to be sure. There is a hollow, vapid ring to my words and they rise up from a heart that feels flat.

My lips are unable to pray and yet I am aware of You in the sounds and senses of the night – the chirping crickets, the cool breeze wafting through the open window, the smell of evening as darkness settles over Your creation. You are everywhere even when I don’t stop to notice.

Why do I settle for leftovers, Lord, when I have the privilege of reaping in Your fields as one of Your children – reaping the treasures found in Your word; reaping the joys found in Your Presence; reaping blessings from knowing You; reaping the benefits of salvation that can only be obtained through a personal relationship with the Savior.

Praise You, Father, that I am Your daughter and that affords me the privilege of reaping Your treasures, Your Presence, Your blessings, and the benefits that come from a personal relationship with You! May I reap a bounty in You today, Lord!

Dear reader, may the Holy Father plant in you a hunger for the “finest of wheat”. May the Lord fill you to overflowing with the meat of His word!

Priorities

by Hallie Gipson

January 9, 2013

The New Year is only 9 days old and already I feel the crush of a calendar over-flowing with appointments, activities, deadlines, things to accomplish, and places to go. At a glance things look orderly enough. But I am aware that all things are not as they seem. What looks orderly and well planned is actually a minefield! The Enemy has laid the minefield and is waiting to discourage, derail, and defeat me. He wants me to believe I can accomplish things in my own power and when I fail, he is standing by to accuse and condemn.

I have strayed into his minefield more than once and have felt his accusations and condemnations when defeated. But praise the Lord, He doesn't allow me to stay in the minefield! He gently reminds me that He is to be my number one priority and without time in His Presence each day, I will be discouraged, derailed, and defeated.

Priorities

The day was upon me before I arose

with things to be done and places to go.

I knew I should start my day with a prayer,

but my mind wouldn't rest as I sat in my chair.

Appointments to keep, people to please . . .

the list would go on so I sprang to my feet.

I quickly accomplished tasks one through four,

dressed for the day, and ran out the door.

I scurried about and completed each chore,

finished the errands, and returned home once more.

“Home at last”, I thought with a sigh.

The hour was late, the day had flown by.

My heart felt a prick as I glanced at my chair,

that place where I sit and cast all my cares.

There lay my Bible, my journal and pen --

reminders I’d placed other things before Him.

The day was fast slipping, the sun sinking low.

As I sat in my chair I knew just where to go.

To my Father in heaven, the Lord of my life,

Who can order my days and bring peace to my nights.

                                                                                                     Written by Hallie Gipson

“How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts. He will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.”    (Psalm 65:4 NASB)  

My prayer for you, dear reader, is that you will not stray into the Enemy’s minefield! As we begin this New Year, resolve to place your relationship with our Lord and Savior as your number one priority.

Father, forgive us when our priorities are not those You would have for us. Thank You for the order and peace you bring into our lives as we surrender our time to You.  Amen.

WHAT GOD HAS DONE ON OUR BEHALF

By Hallie Gipson

December 1, 2012 – do you feel rushed, stressed out, exhausted, and stretched to the limit even though it’s only the first day of the month? The list of descriptives about how we ‘feel’ at this time of year could be endless. And by the way, do you have your Christmas tree trimmed and your home decorated for the Season of Celebration? I know, I know, I didn’t have to bring that subject to mind!! But since I did . . . yes, my tree is trimmed and the decorations have been carefully placed, thanks to two of my precious granddaughters. Their excitement was contagious, to say the least, and they were all too eager to get busy decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. How do you say ‘no’ to those sweet faces and those little voices brimming with excitement at the thought of opening Nana’s boxes of decorations?

The highlight for me came as we were placing several nativity scenes around the house. There is the fragile one with angels that is placed on the piano, a large wooden one complete with stable on the hall table, and a small one (just the right size for small hands) made of olive wood on the sun porch. The curiosity they have about how baby Jesus looks in each nativity scene always touches my heart. The other people and animals in the nativity scenes are not what they are focused on. It’s the tiny Christ-child that commands their attention. My 5 year old granddaughter had to hold each baby in her hand. She was especially drawn to the large wooden carving of the baby Jesus. She held the wooden Baby in her small palm and caressed the smooth wood – the desire to grasp Him almost tangible.

Have you ‘grasped’ Jesus? Have you stopped to think about all God has done for you through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ? Christ is God’s provision for us – sent on our behalf!!

As I think about what I have through Christ, I’m drawn to both Old & New Testament passages. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) has given Psalm 103 the heading of “Praise for the Lord’s Mercies”.

 

Vs. 1 begins:

          “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name.”

This verse reminds me that God is holy and worthy of my praise and that I am to bless Him with my whole being.

Vs. 2:

          “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits;

          Who pardons all your iniquities,

          Who heals all your diseases;

          Who redeems your life from the pit,

          Who crowns you with loving-kindness and compassion;

          Who satisfies your years with good things . . . “  (underlined emphasis mine)

As these verses sink in, I am immediately humbled and grateful that God sees fit to rain His grace down into my life.

In the New Testament Titus 3:5-6 tells us:

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness,

But according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by

the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

As I think about all God has done for me through Christ’s sacrifice, a feeling of praise wells up within me – and when I begin to praise God for Who He is, worship is a natural out-flow of that praise.

Worship is our act of expressing respect and reverence for God and is an all-important element in our relationship with God. Oswald Chambers has said that “Private worship is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness” and I would agree with him whole-heartedly. For me it is the key that seems to unlock my ‘joy’ in the Lord.

Joy in the Lord enables us to experience God’s peace when we face trials that come in many forms -- sickness, day-to-day stress, loss of a loved one, a prodigal child, caring for elderly parents, financial setbacks . . . (you fill in the blank). Each of us has something that would rob us of our joy and tempt us to forget how much God loves us. Some situations might even divert our attention away from our purpose – which is to love, serve and worship God.

I challenge you during this busy season to fix your gaze on The One who can heal your hurts, bind your wounds, and accomplish what concerns you. It is our marvelous God who has made provision for our salvation through His Son, Christ Jesus.

          “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,

          that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)

And when you feel your joy-meter dipping low, run to the scriptures and drink in the love of Jesus and the joy of the Lord. It will truly nourish, console, exhilarate and refresh your thirsty soul.

          “Praise the Lord!

          For it is good to sing praises to our God;

          For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.”  Psalm 147:1

Holy Father, may we truly ‘grasp’ Jesus for who He is – the Savior of the world! And may we ever say with the psalmist “All my springs of joy are in you.” (Psalm 87:7)