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We have now entered the Advent season. Across the U. S. as well as the Christian world, people spend time getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Why do we go through this time of advance work?

Church choirs work to make themselves ready to sing Christmas cantatas. Children’s ministries departments prepare a children’s play to present to their churches. Churches decorate for the season. Some plan a special service-Hanging of the Greens- in order to accomplish the task. Other churches have committees that work to make their churches beautiful for the season…  ( Click for more )

“He restores my soul” Psalm 23:3a

I read Psalm 23 recently and found myself focusing on this phrase. King David penned these as a testimony to the greatness of God.

My husband and I live in what is called an economically depressed town. Two divisions of an automobile corporation closed down in the early part of this 21Century. These two divisions were mainstays of our city’s economy. As we drive through town we see houses empty due to foreclosure, and vacant business buildings. A lot of these businesses are closed because their clientele has had…  ( Click for more )

Christians are people who believe in Jesus Christ; and yet, they also can be people in great need. Our first and foremost need is a vital relationship with the Lord. People of Jesus are not from any walk of life; they come from all parts of society. I met a gentleman at our church who had been homeless. He was diagnosed with Cancer and lived in a nursing facility. He was faithful to be in church on Sunday and on Wednesday nights. As the congregation ministered to him, the people learned from him.

We need to learn to learn that all we can do is nothing in the eyes of…  ( Click for more )

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Father of mercy and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV)

This past summer, I learned a new term-Eucharisteo. It means He gives thanks and comes to us from the Greek and has as its root word-charis, meaning grace1. This goes along with my choosing the word grace as my word for 2013.I have learned things about praise and about God’s…  ( Click for more )

“But when time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman,” Galatians 4:4 (NIV)

Sometimes we, as children of God go through times of trial that seem to hang on forever. We want the tough times to go away but they don’t. We pray and ask God to take them away from us. But this might be the wrong thing to do.

From time to time, God allows hard events to happen to us because He uses those trials to foster our spiritual growth. When we ask Him to take that issue away from us, we might impede some work He wants to do in our lives.

Likewise,…  ( Click for more )

Back in the 1960’s, a comedian on television had a sort of a trademark line he used in his monologues; he’d look into the camera and say, “What you see is what you get.” When he uttered his phrase the audience, those in the studio and the TV watchers, would laugh.

In our present day world, we hear preachers speak of authenticity. One of the associate pastors we had spoke of our need to be ‘the real deal.’ In living the life God desires for us, He spells out how we are to live our lives. God gave us Ten Commandments to try to shape our…  ( Click for more )

What kind of faith is mustard seed faith? Mustard seeds are very small but Jesus tells us those tiny seeds grow into trees.

What does the mustard seed have to do with our faith? Our faith sometimes is small. Jesus tells us that even the smallest amount of faith will become stronger if we obey the Father.

What does faith involve? We have to trust the Lord with everything we have, we are or we want. In order to learn to trust, we have to learn to surrender our wants to the Lord.

When the rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked Him, “What must I do to inherit…  ( Click for more )

Choices

“. . . choose this day who you will follow . . . for me and my house, we will follow the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

Joshua called together the twelve tribes of Israel at Shechem. He reminded them of all the things God had done for them as a nation.

He gave the people a choice. They could serve the gods their forefathers served across the river or the gods of the Amorites in the land they were at that time. OR, they could serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and, Jacob as he and those in his household would do.

In our 21Century, we have…  ( Click for more )

What do we mean by intercession? When we pray for others, we go before the Lord on their behalf. This is intercession. The one who prays feels a burden to take others before Jesus; then He takes those needs before the Father.

A prayer warrior senses a need someone has and commits to pray for that person. Sometimes the prayer is said right then. Other times, the one praying will wait and include that request in their nightly prayers.

Jesus interceded for his disciples and for us in John 17:6-19,20-25. “He prays for protection for his disciples. They will need…  ( Click for more )

As we go through life we might decide we are on a journey. We don’t get to pick where it takes us. But, we must walk that road that God has laid out for us. When we accept the direction of that road without grumbling, it is easier to travel.

Our road may take us through difficult times during our childhood. We may or may not become rebellious during our teen years, making bad choices. Self-destructive habits may take root and cause us to have serious health issues as we mature.

We marry and have families of our own. What might happen is we go through…  ( Click for more )

“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him.” Exodus 15:2 (NIV)

As a child, whenever I felt weak, I wanted to give up. I found myself just ignoring things that pertained to the particular activity I had been pursuing; I craved lots of encouragement.

As a young mother, I attended an area meeting of the church I attended. My church hosted the sister churches in the county and one or two in the next county to the north. The meeting was set up with small workshops. One of the titles referred to a Spiritual…  ( Click for more )

Do we realize that we represent Jesus in our daily activities? Do we realize that people watch how we handle ourselves in times of crisis? Yes, we are representatives of Jesus Christ when we go to the bank, the grocery store, pay our car insurance, by gasoline, and eat out in restaurants. God expects us to represent His Son.

Can we teach new Christians and our young people that they represent Jesus to others? We should be training new Christians and our young people how to be disciples for Jesus. We are the only Bible some people read. People don’t always remember what…  ( Click for more )

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name

in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:3-4

Our focus passage reminds us to always act from our love and compassion for those around us. We should have these qualities in our hearts. King Solomon, the smartest man in the world, penned these words. We have times where it is difficult to react in love to our surroundiings, but that is how we are to react.

In our 21Century world, we need to…  ( Click for more )

“I am the almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Genesis 17:1 (KJV)

The word holiness seems to have fallen into disuse in our 21Century world. It has roots in both the Hebrew and Greek languages. When we speak of holiness, we speak of being separated from the world, set apart for God. Unger’s Bible Dictionary explains: “Holiness is a general term used to indicate sanctity or separation from all that is sinful, impure or morally imperfect; it is moral wholeness.” We can apply the word to persons, places, or things.

The Sanctuary--…  ( Click for more )

Prayer, Trust, and Guidance

One of my closest friends loaned me a book entitled, Hudson Taylor God’s Venturer by Phyllis Thompson.2She and I received different messages from this book. She realized that we are never too old to be used of God in a way He chooses. Its message to me told me I don’t pray enough about my personal circumstances. I also found myself caught up in Taylor’s last words, “We should trust Him fully.”

I am an intercessor-I find it very easy to pray for others. My prayer lists are filled with names of those on our church’s…  ( Click for more )

I follow Ann Voskamp through her blog, A Holy Experience (www.aholyexperience.com) When I read one of her books, I fell in love with a word she uses eucharisto. It means giving thanks.In the United States, at the end of November we celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving. Our neighbors in Canada celebrate their Thanksgiving holiday in October. We spend considerable time during this month thinking about how God has blessed us. On my blog, I devote November to the theme of giving thanks. In actuality, we should spend time throughout the year in the mode of thanks-living.

When…  ( Click for more )

As children of God, we have times where we have to commit a person’s circumstances to God’s care. Aren’t we always in His care?

When we pray for a friend who needs special guidance from God, we may ask Him to wrap His arms of love around them. Our next request asks the Father to draw our friend close to Him. Then we beseech our Creator to whisper words our friend needs to hear. Sometimes we speak in specific terms, other times, we ask God to convey the words our friend needs.

At my dad’s funeral, our pastor ended his final prayer with…  ( Click for more )

I participate in a small group that is presently reading a collection of stories entitled A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. The book, a collection of stories about the women in the lineage of Jesus Christ, has study questions at the end of each section.

After each story there is a part devoted to studying the scripture on which that story is based. This week, after I finished the third story, that of Ruth, I spent time doing the study. In the section on Reputations, I ran across the sub-section called Finding God’s Way For You. The first question, ”What does…  ( Click for more )

“Be in pray at 5:00” The co-lay leader of our church spoke those words to me as I waited to shake hands with our pastor on a Sunday after worship service.

I knew why she asked for prayer. On two separate occasions that past week, I heard her ask for prayer for an unspoken request. I responded to her comment. “ I know about that need and I will continue to pray.”

The need was great. I felt the weight of the circumstance when it came to my attention on Friday. The basic information came to me through my reading our local newspaper, making the…  ( Click for more )