Wow! Christmas has come and gone, and people are gearing up for New Year's eve bashes and celebrations. Some have begun to set goals and write resolutions, but most thoughts of the priceless gift of the Messiah's birth, life and death are drifting in holiday returns, leftover dishes, and hours back in the work place. Jesus' birth is the greatest gift mankind has ever received, yet many people overlook what great price this gift cost. Imagine our sovereign and holy God had to release His only Son to be born to a world that was filled with hatred, evil, selfishness, and ingratitude so that we would have a chance to repent, be forgiven , and live a life that pleases our Father. Can you visualize the pain and agony our heavenly Father experienced as His darling Son, Jesus left heaven's holiness, love, safety, and glory to become tortured, ridiculed, and murdered by mankind. What parent would turn over one child's life so that the other children might choose to do the right thing and live?
It is a remarkable demonstration of love. God so loved a sinful and dying world that He would sacrifice Heaven's best so that we could choose to love and honor Him. God sure took a leap of faith in humanity. Since Jesus accepted our Father's task to die that we may live, what can we the other children offer in return? There is nothing we could buy, create, or give to pay the price for our blessed Savior. It would seem impossible for a mere human to match a holy God in giving. But God still has faith in you and me. He still takes leaps of faith in our favor.
Romans 12:1 says, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. God has been merciful, loving, and given much grace for us. In return our Lord expects us to make sacrifices for Him. We must choose to use our bodies for God's honor and glory. That means we must watch how we use our tongues, hands, and where we allow our feet to travel so that we present ourselves as holy gifts that God can accept. The Bible tells us that God sees this as our reasonable service.
The devil tries to make us believe that it is hard to serve God or that the world just has to much fun to offer that we cannot possibly give it up. But God's priceless sacrifice requires us to give up our own worldly, fleshly desires and to long for a faithful and righteous life that pleases Jesus. In the upcoming days, you will be given many opportunities to present your body either to the world or unto God. Choose carefully because this may be your last chance to make a reasonable decision!!! Hint: Go with God, He won't fail you. The world will leave you tired, empty, spent, hurt, or maybe even dead. But in Christ is eternal life!!!
Be Blessed!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Unexpected Storms
If it weren't for the pictures, I still would be in disbelief. In the middle of a fairly normal December, South Louisiana was suddenly covered with snow. It isn't that I am among the many who get excited at the thought of the slightest snow flurry, but it is the fact that at the end of an airy, damp week out of nowhere arrives this season's snow storm.
The weather forecasters were preparing their viewing audiences for a sudden snow storm. In the broadcast, they stated that we didn't need rain, nor did we need the temperature to drop below freezing. We only needed the conditions to be right in order to get a snow storm. I started thinking about the magnitude of this forecast in our lives. What does it mean to have the right conditions for an unusual storm?
Things can be seemingly normal, life can be going well, or it could be the end of a season and out of nowhere an unexpected storm may arise. It may seem unusual that when you are doing well, praying and serving God with a pure heart, and obeying the scripture to the letter, the conditions may be just right for an unusual storm. These unexpected storms are allowed into our realms to shake up the atmosphere. They are not permitted to destroy you or to even disable you; they are under the watchful eye of God who knows the beginning and the end. Perhaps God has hand selected you, His beloved child, to encounter an unexpected storm.
The funny thing about this temporary condition is that it is powerless. It came in with a force and a measure of strength, but the storm did not have staying power. As quickly as it came in, the sun came out and sent that snow creeping back beneath the earth. Hallelujah! The storm that the enemy is huffing and puffing your way is powerless; it doesn't have staying power. It may come in feeling like a surge, but as soon as you look to the Son, Jesus, you will see the enemy defeated and that storm will disappear from your life!
Rejoice, and again I say rejoice! For there is no storm that can sustain the power of the Son, Jesus Christ. So as you face these temporary conditions began to declare the word of God over your family, your situation, and your territory because we serve a mighty God and He has all power over heaven and earth in His hands!
Be Blessed!
The weather forecasters were preparing their viewing audiences for a sudden snow storm. In the broadcast, they stated that we didn't need rain, nor did we need the temperature to drop below freezing. We only needed the conditions to be right in order to get a snow storm. I started thinking about the magnitude of this forecast in our lives. What does it mean to have the right conditions for an unusual storm?
Things can be seemingly normal, life can be going well, or it could be the end of a season and out of nowhere an unexpected storm may arise. It may seem unusual that when you are doing well, praying and serving God with a pure heart, and obeying the scripture to the letter, the conditions may be just right for an unusual storm. These unexpected storms are allowed into our realms to shake up the atmosphere. They are not permitted to destroy you or to even disable you; they are under the watchful eye of God who knows the beginning and the end. Perhaps God has hand selected you, His beloved child, to encounter an unexpected storm.
The funny thing about this temporary condition is that it is powerless. It came in with a force and a measure of strength, but the storm did not have staying power. As quickly as it came in, the sun came out and sent that snow creeping back beneath the earth. Hallelujah! The storm that the enemy is huffing and puffing your way is powerless; it doesn't have staying power. It may come in feeling like a surge, but as soon as you look to the Son, Jesus, you will see the enemy defeated and that storm will disappear from your life!
Rejoice, and again I say rejoice! For there is no storm that can sustain the power of the Son, Jesus Christ. So as you face these temporary conditions began to declare the word of God over your family, your situation, and your territory because we serve a mighty God and He has all power over heaven and earth in His hands!
Be Blessed!
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