TO HUG A CACTUS

By Shirley Wiggins

Even if you’ve never actually hugged a cactus, you can imagine what fun it would be, can’t you?    I’m not talking about a light, barely touching hug, but, a pull up tight and close cause I love you kind of hug.  Think about that:  how much love would it take to hug a cactus up close and personal?!  I’m thinking a lot of love – what about you?!

If life is anything, I’ve found it to be full of multi-colored experiences:  some large and small, fun and pretty, some scary and ugly, a really mixed up bag of tricks and treats, for sure.

Life experiences can range all the way from the reasonably expected, through the totally out-of-the-blue and extraordinarily unimaginable.

One of the reasons for that, I think, is due to the uniqueness of people.  “Unique” is the polite word for quirky, strange, peculiar, different, or just downright difficult  personalities that come encased in human skin.

God is delightful, isn’t He?  The Bible says He fashioned each heart “individually.”  That surely means that while we humans share many characteristics, we each remain our own individual and “unique” self.

Now, I don’t know about you, but in my lifetime, I have encountered some very unique individuals!  And, let me hasten to add (before someone who knows me does it!), that all these folks I have encountered have encountered the queen of unique:  me! J

So, having said that, may I ask you a question?  Do you now know, or have you ever been associated with, or perhaps even related to, one of these folks that are so unique that just to be in relationship with them is a bit like trying to hug a cactus?

You have to be very careful how you approach them, what you say and how you say it, or else they break out in thorns!  And, when the cacti spines are in full bloom you know you are walking on egg shells!

And, isn’t God delightful?  He actually expects us to love these folks!  To be kind and patient and loving with them even when their thorns puncture our own sensitive, yet cacti-spine-filled skins too!

Of course, the great thing about this is that He also expects them to be kind, patient, and loving with us, too!

So, why don’t we humans try to have a little more love in our hearts for those of us who are as unique as me?

Please forgive me for hurting you, and I will work at forgiving you for hurting me.  You probably only accidently hurt me when I accidently bumped into you and pricked you with one of the million little cacti-spines protruding from my sensitive little sting-ray-type skin.

Let’s all just love one another because God loves each and every one of us!

Isn’t God delightful?  He is God.  He is the God of love.  He invented love and then He just poured it all out all over all of us.  “…God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  (Romans 5:5b.)

God demonstrated His own love toward us in such a personal and proof-positive way:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. …  But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:6,8.)

This was no easy death.  Not for Christ, nor for God, His Father.  It was unimaginably painful in every way.  The anguish of the cross is soaked in blood.  The blood that was required to be poured out (shed) for the payment of sins:  death-blood.  The penalty for sin is death and not one sacrifice would do except the shed blood of the sinless One:  Jesus Christ.

He paid the price, He died the death that we might go free from the penalty of our sins. 

There was no other way, there was no other One, and so, when Jesus asked if there could be another way, He knew the answer was no, and so He told His Father:  “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.”  (Luke 22:42-43.)

The death was a death of love, a death of penalty-paying of the price.  He came to die and die He did:  His mission fulfilled, He died with a prayer on His lips for those for whom He died – for us, for the humans whom God has fashioned with individual hearts, with a capacity to know and love each other, to know Him and love Him, if one would only choose to do so.

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  (Luke 23:34.)

“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:44-46.)

He breathed His last breath on earth.  He was buried, the sacrifice was finished.  So was death.

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”  (Luke 24:1-3.)

No, the women did not find the dead body of Jesus Christ, for He had risen from the dead. 

Read the beautiful and fact-filled account of all that happened on earth as Jesus sent word by the women to His disciples of what to do next and where to meet Him when.  For, He was going back into heaven until the time when He will come back to earth and gather the redeemed ones home to heaven to be with Him once for all time.

Read the Bible.  Don’t rely on someone else’s account of the glorious story of God:  Read the Bible for yourself and encounter the Living God of the Living Son of Man, the Savior of all who will receive Him as such¹. (See John 1:1-18.)

The Bible is the story of the Word God has sent to us to tell us what to do now, what to do next and where to meet Him when.  You won’t know what to do, how to do it, or where to meet Him, if you don’t know Him and read His Word.

 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed His love among us:  He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love:  not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.”  (1 John 4:7-12.)

“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever!  Amen.”  (2 Peter 3:17-18.)

Love is the story.  We are the cacti.  God is the God of love and He hugs us closely and tightly and still whispers into eternity, “I love you.”

  

¹ To be a child of God, you must first have a relationship with Christ. 

John 3:16 says:

            “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever

            believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord of your life, you are  invited to pray a simple prayer confessing your sin and asking Jesus to cleanse you of that sin.   If  you repent and turn from your sin to Christ, and “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. (Romans 10:9)

 If you have just prayed to receive Christ, tell someone and go to church!

 

God's Attributes and Names

By Hallie Gipson

“ . . . even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You . . . ”  John 17:21 (NASB)

It is important how we view God and what we believe about God. It is essential that we have right-thinking about God and that we reserve our highest praise and adoration for Him alone.

As we focus on more of God’s attributes and names, God’s word comes alive as we hear:

• Who Jesus tells us He is
• how the Psalmist describes the Lord
• how the crowds refer to Jesus as He enters Jerusalem before His crucifixion
• what the Apostle John tells us from his eyewitness account and his close relationship with the Lord
• the name Moses calls the Lord after the Lord empowered the Israelites to defeat the Amalekites.

Beginning

Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word as with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched --- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

Beauty

Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.”

Blessed

John 12:12-13 “The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Blessed is the King of Israel!”

Banner

Exodus 17:15 “Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.”

Proverbs 18:10 says: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” 

There is strength attributed to His name and protection. His name is the place where we can rest in the knowledge that God is who He says He is. Who do you say that He is?

Father, Your name alone is great and worthy to be praised! Thank You for the precious gift of Your word that speaks of who You are. Amen.

God's Attributes and Names

By Hallie Gipson

It’s hard to believe that we have passed the mid-point of January 2015 and are well into the New Year! But for some of us who can get a bit behind at times, I’m still thinking about the ‘new-ness’ of the year and what that means in my life.

The New Year is definitely about new starts, new resolutions, and new projects. It can also be about new ways to approach ‘routines’ that have become lifeless and without the same energy and passion we once had for them.

My quiet time is definitely in need of a new start and a fresh approach! I know God is always near, but my problem is approaching Him in a focused and Christ-centered way --- dwelling on who He is in order to prepare myself to approach His throne.

This is not a new problem for me, but one I have struggled with more than once in my journey with the Lord. In the past, I found it helpful to use the alphabet to jump-start my alone time with the Lord. And that’s what I will be doing through the blog in the next several weeks. I will be taking the letters of the alphabet in sequential order and listing some of God’s attributes or names along with Scripture that corresponds.

I hope you will join me in this fresh approach and that God will use it in a powerful way in your life!

My prayer as we approach God in this New Year comes straight from His word:

“Establish your word to your servant, As that which produces reverence for you.”  Psalm 119:38 (NASB)

Alpha

Revelation 21:5, 6  “And He who sits on the throne said . . . “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” (NIV)

Revelation 22:13  “I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  (NIV)

Awesome

Psalm 47:2  “How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!” (NIV)

Psalm 66:5  “Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works on man’s behalf.” (NIV)

Psalm 68:35  “You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary.”  (NIV)

Psalm 111:9  “He provided redemption for his people; he ordained His covenant forever –- holy and awesome is his name.” (NIV)

COME, SEE FOR YOURSELF

By Shirley Wiggins

“…But Philip said, ‘Come, see for yourself.’” John 1:46 (The Message Bible)

Today is the first day of the New Year 2015.   I’ve been blessed to see many of these new years’ days - an ordinary woman, but one who has been extraordinarily blessed by the awesome God, the Giver of all Life.

This day dawns crisp:  clean, smooth, and a bit “stiff” in its newness, it is clear and cold:  33⁰ outside.  In its first light, everything is still, quiet and serene, with no signs of anyone stirring yet.

I love being the first one up at my house!  I sit wrapped in a warm robe, holding a hot cup of coffee, while the fire gently warms the room.  My devotional books wait on the table beside me, two Bibles nearby and pen in hand, I wait once again for the Word that will speak to my heart.  I will write it down, with its Scripture reference recorded in my journal, so I can find it again and receive from it all the richness that I know it will add to my thoughts for today.

What would my life be like if the Living Word was dead to me?  If He did not talk to me, how lonely and dreary my existence here on this earth that is not heaven would be! 

But God does speak to me!  He hears me, too, as I talk with Him throughout my day and sometimes during those odd hours of the night when I wake up for no apparent reason.  His peace-filled Presence comes to me and stays with me because He is always near.

So close:  His Word abides in me, and I remain in Him because I am in Jesus, Jesus is in me, and Jesus is in God because God abides in Jesus.

Beautiful plan!  God is grand!

I read earlier this week in the Bible (which has been preserved for the unfolding of Truth),  about Philip, who when he had discovered the identity of the long awaited One written about by Moses and the Prophets in the Old Testament of The Holy Bible, looked until he found Nathaniel to tell him the good news of his discovery.

As amazing as it sounded, Philip had found out that He was actually “Jesus of Nazareth, the “legal” son of Joseph, the carpenter!”

Nathaniel was skeptical and surprised and replied, “Nazareth!  Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip made this reply, and though I had read it before, this time it spoke to my heart:  “Come, see for yourself!”

That is my desire for each individual:  the opportunity to discover Jesus.  That we would stop forming our opinions of Jesus Christ based on what others are saying about Him, but that each of us would personally discover the truth about Him.

He is real, literally alive.  He actually came to the earth born as a Baby, lived for 33 years and died as a Man, on a cross, and was buried.  Astoundingly, He did not remain dead in the grave.  Because His father was not Joseph – His Father was the God of the Bible, Who raised Him from the dead in great resurrection power.

 Not everything written and orally declared about Jesus is actually true; but everything written about Him in The Holy Bible is real; it is Truth: absolute Truth.

 Come!  See for yourself!

Let this be the year of the Bible:  The year when each one of us will explore Truth.  The year when millions of us will come into its pages in the multitudes of its languages and its translations; in spite of the fact that Newsweek magazine has an article coming out in the January 2, 2015 issue that implies, among other things, that no one can read the “real” Bible, because it has been so changed. 

 Come!  See for yourself!

Discover what countless others have found:  Truth!

Truth, like priceless treasure hidden deeply, yet clearly available in The Holy Bible.

  What a paradox!  What an open secret, just waiting for us to find it and be:

·       As astounded as Nathaniel,

·       As delighted as Philip,

·       As convinced as Peter,

·       As willingly obedient as Mary, mother of Jesus,

·       As eager to know it in its details as Apollos,

·       As dedicated to teaching it as Aquila and Priscilla,

·       As hungry for it as Cornelius and his family,

·       As determined to tell it as Paul, and

·       As ready and willing to die for it as Stephen.

God’s truth, once embraced, ensures that we will never be the same again.  Because the Truth of God is Jesus Christ and God has hidden all of Truth’s knowledge and Wisdom in Him. 

Oh, that we might be willing today to know the Truth!   That all would be willing to truly come to know Jesus Christ this year that no one would die without Him!

Oh, that no one would doubt His existence when He has so willingly proven Himself for each of us.  Oh, that we would no longer deny His love since He died to prove it by demonstrating God’s love publicly on the cross of shame.

Oh, that not one of us would deny ourselves a lifetime of joy and peace on this earth, and afterwards an eternity of alive “time” in  His glorious Presence forever in the new Heaven – Zion, that Holy City which has been prepared for those who love Him.

Every person (man, woman, boy, and girl) who desires to know the truth may know the Truth.  Would you open the Bible and discover truth for yourself and your loved ones?  You truly can read the Bible and understand it with the help of the Holy Spirit of God Himself.

 “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”  Deuteronomy 29:29 Amp. Bible.

“But it is from Him (God) that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God – revealed to us a knowledge of the divine salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as our Righteousness – thus making us upright and putting us in right  standing with God, and our Consecration making us pure and holy, and our Redemption providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin.”  1 Corinthians 1:30 Amp.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words: 

“As for myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or mystery and secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of people] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom; For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified. …. So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy) but in the power of God. … Yet… it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away..  but rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden from the human understanding and now revealed to us by God – that wisdom which God devised and decreed before the ages…. To lift us into the glory of His Presence.

None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. 

But on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him – who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed,

Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny). …  Now we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God, given to us that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly bestowed on us by God, … …For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge?  But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.” 

How awesome is this Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of truth!? 

 In the interest of space, I  have left out much of what Paul has written between First Corinthians 1:1 and 2:16  (in The Amplified Bible), so I urge you, open up the preciously preserved Word of God (The Holy Bible) and explore it to discover the life-saving Truth of God Himself for yourself!

Happy New Year!

THOUGHTS ON PSALM 105

by Hallie Gipson

Psalm 105 is the place my Bible opened to as I was preparing for my quiet time recently. In the NASB translation the heading is “The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.”

As I read that Psalm, it was impressed on me all that the Lord did to display His majesty in seeking justice for His people, and how the unbelievers hardened their hearts to each act and miracle until “Egypt was glad when they departed” (v. 38). Yet when God delivered them, it was with silver and gold lining their pockets! Verse 37 says: “Then He brought them out with silver and gold.”

What a precious reminder of how You, Father God, save and rescue completely with a richness of plan! Your rescue is always sweet even if the circumstances are difficult.

V. 43 And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.”

You delight to save and to rescue Your children, Father! May those who are being rescued not resist. If they hear Your word today, may it fall on fertile ground --- may they receive it with eager hearts for it is “able to save their souls”. 

(James 1:17 NASB)

Thank you for the provision of Your Son, Jesus Christ –- Your gift to a world lost in sin. Amen.

As we each celebrate this Holy Season of Christ’s birth, may we pause and give thanks to The One who humbled Himself and came as a Babe so that we “shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB)

Blessings and wishes to you, dear readers, for a joyous and Merry Christmas!

DARE WE DREAM?

By Shirley Wiggins

Here I am today in my little “world within walls” – a place in space with time to contemplate and reflect on life.  With time to sit beside my fire on a cold December morning and enjoy a second cup of coffee,  I struggle against feeling that I am living life cut-off from meaningful activity.  Like one who can only wait at home while others go out to actively engage life on the front lines!  

“It takes courage to be still when the world is rushing past.  …But until the Lord makes clear what is the way forward, we’ve got to pause and wait.”  Dr. Charles Stanley.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”  Psalm 27:14.

And, I am, but… one of my  dreams hasn’t come true yet, and time seems to be running out on me.  That specific dream I truly believe came from the Lord  - do I dare continue to dream the dream?

 Dare “to have enough courage or confidence to do something:  to not be too afraid to do something that is difficult or that people are usually afraid to do.”

Dream “a strongly desired goal or purpose, something that you have wanted very much to do, be, or have for a long time.”

Do any of us dare to dream?  Dare we be bold enough to dream a dream and brave enough to display it --- walk it out from start to finish, despite the obstacles? 

Obstacle:  the thing “that blocks your path” forward; the thing that makes doing the difficult “not easy to deal with or manage,”   The thing which would make my dream look like nothing but a pipe dream!

My dream is “a strongly desired goal or purpose,” something that I have wanted very much to do, be, and have for a very long time.  A three-fold dream:  do, be, and have!

Sometimes when I think about it deeply, it sounds preposterous!  What some might call a “pipe dream!”  But a pipe dream is only “an illusory or fantastic plan, hope, or story… a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality.”

Do you have a dream, friend? 

We who “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”  - earth dwellers - we need to know that we may dare to dream.  Many of us probably have closely held secret dreams that few would even guess are in our hearts.

Some of us likely dream of a world based in “objective reality”- the reality that is “based on facts rather than feelings or opinions.” 

Facts should be indisputable truths.  Today we live in a world where even truth is often debated and outright disputed. 

Everyone has a right to individual opinions, but when no one can agree on just what the truth is in any situation, we end up in a world of chaos where the only certainty is uncertainty! 

We are living in a time when pipe dreams are exalted as highly as solid dreams based in truth’s reality. 

The truth is: there is Truth.  Truth never changes its standard, nor its facts, though too often truth is unrecognized. A man once asked a Man, “What is truth?”

The man’s name was Pilate and he seemed to ask out of a sense of hopelessness that anyone could determine truth.  The Man’s name was, and still is, Jesus.   He was the Truth but He was rejected outright by many, and was ultimately put to death by some.  See John 18.

His death was not without purpose, nor without consequence.  The outcome of His death was threefold:  1) His victorious resurrection from the dead, 2) death’s defeat, and 3) the resulting liberating freedom for those who all their lives had lived under the fear and penalty of death.  See Hebrews 2:9-15.

Dare we dream?  Absolutely, yes!  However, we must be bold and brave and dream the dreams of fact-based reality.   Lay aside the pipe dreams based solely on fantastical wishes , but embrace the faith-filled dream of certain reality, founded in the truth of God in Jesus Christ.   

If you find yourself this Christmas season holding tenuously to a dream that seems ready to die,  strengthen your grip by remembering to always cast your cares on the One Who loves you enough to have died for you, and cling tenaciously to your confidence in Him.  See Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7.

Who is that One Who loved so much that He died?  Christ Jesus, the Lord.

He is the Baby Who was born on Christmas Day!  He grew up in the world as a Man:  fully human , yet fully divine:  Jesus, son of Mary, Son of God!

He is the resurrected Savior of the entire world full of people who will dare to choose to believe wholeheartedly in Him!   If He isn’t your Savior and Lord, what a perfect time to secure your eternity in Him:  Christmas! 

Because of Christmas, I dream, and I dream big!  My God is real and He is Sovereign.  He is the Ancient of Days, and as relevant today as the air we breathe. 

He is God and there is no other.  “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all,…” 1 Timothy    2-5-6 a.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”  John 3:16-19

“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.  … The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. …For with God nothing will be impossible.”  Luke 1:30-31,35,37

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. …That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  John 1:1,4,9-14.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

 “… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  Romans 10:9-10

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”  Romans  8:1

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right of the Majesty on high,”  Hebrews 1:1-3

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”  Hebrews 7:25

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.  To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”  Hebrews 9:28

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by and a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  …Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: …we are … of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”  Heb.10:19-20, 22-23, 35-36, 39

“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”  1 Peter 5:6-7

“And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. …For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome.   For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”  1 John 2:25; 5:4.

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S!!!

 

 

 

 

FOCUS

By Hallie Gipson

Once again the busyness of Christmas is upon us! Each year I vow to be prepared earlier than the previous year. However, events always seem to conspire against me! I still find myself in a last minute rush to complete those tasks I feel necessary to accomplish in order to feel prepared for Christmas.

My focus is on purchasing the perfect gifts for those on my gift list, baking enough cookies, attending all the parties I’ve been invited to, sending out Christmas cards, scheduling time for get-togethers with family and friends, planning the menu for Christmas day dinner . . . sound familiar? But in all the frenetic activity, I’m likely to leave out the most important part of Christmas – CHRIST!! How do I keep my focus on Christ in the midst of preparations to celebrate His birth?

Of the many definitions Webster has for the word ‘focus’, two of them have particular application for me:  “a point of concentration”; “to direct your attention or effort to something specific”.

If I apply those definitions to the issue at hand; i.e. focus on Christ, then Christ must be who I concentrate on and where my attention and effort are directed. At the risk of sounding simplistic, I have written an acrostic using the word ‘focus’. Now when I see the acrostic or remember what it says, my thoughts are drawn to our Savior.

Fixing

Our

Consciousness

Upon the

Savior

The passage from Hebrews 12:1, 2 (NASB) goes hand-in-hand with the acrostic to remind me of what Christ accomplished through His coming to earth.

“. . . let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing (emphasis mine) our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

As you experience Christmas this year, I hope that your thoughts are consciously fixed on our precious Savior, who gave His all so that we might have eternal life.

If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I pray that you will take to heart the words of John 3:16: “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.”

What better gift to give back to God than to place your faith and trust in His Son! Why not today?