12 Days of Christmas: Obey Without Question

Mary is given a lot of attention with the memory of Jesus' birth. Joseph deserves a lot of credit as well in my book.

Here was a pretty great young man who thought he was about to marry a pretty awesome girl only to have her tell him that she's pregnant. He could have easily outed her to her friends and family and brought her under some severe scrutiny. Yet, Joseph was such an honorable person that he decided just to have Mary sent somewhere privately to have her avoid shame and ridicule.

However, when the angel of the Lord showed up, Joseph believed God's Word. He saw that the child Mary was carrying was of the Holy Spirit. He took Mary as his wife and did not consummate their union until she had Jesus.

God's plans are often no where near what our plans are. I'm sure taking care of a brand new wife and a child that wasn't his was nowhere in Joseph's plans. Yet, he was obedient to the Lord even to the point of taking the family to Egypt to avoid Herod's wrath. He literally picked up and moved away from his family, friends, and community without question.

When God places something different in your pathway, do you readily follow after His will? Are you willing to obey even to the point of moving entirely out of your comfort zone?

If God is showing you His plan for your life, don't question, analyze, delay, or ignore it. Just obey! Your obedience places you on the pathway of purpose. Your compliance to God's will sets you up for amazing experiences, joys, and accomplishments you will never know if you just stick to what you're familiar with.

Today, tell God that you will obey His word no matter what.

Verse of the Day: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost... Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. Matthew 1:20, 24-25

12 Days of Christmas: Jesus' Choice

This is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

I'm home this morning recovering from this cold that finally seems to be leaving my body. It feels good to just sit and rest instead of running here, there and everywhere like I normally do.

Today, our blog is officially 12 days from Christmas! (No, I haven't gotten a single present yet.) This time of the year is important for Christians because it marks our remembrance of Christ choosing to come to the earth to save mankind.

Can we meditate on that for a moment? Jesus - God's Son, full of power, seated in glory, with the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence only God can have - chose to come down to earth. He chose to take on a body made of the dust of the ground. He chose to shed His glory. He chose to give up His life of splendor.

All to save your life.

He loved us so much that He was willing to risk it all on the chance that you would make Him your Lord and be saved from sin.

Amazing.

No matter what you do or don't get for Christmas this year, you've already gotten the best gift. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose to come down to earth and be put to death as a sacrifice for your sins.

As you go about your day today, think about the weight of that decision that Christ made. Get a new perspective of the deep love that Jesus has for you. Honor that love by showing great love to someone else that you may meet in your travels today.

Jesus chose to come to earth to save you!

You must be pretty special.

Verse of the Day: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8

Thanksgiving Friday!

The struggle is real... But we are overcomers! Today, I'm thankful for the healing power of Jesus that is coming swiftly to my body! I will not be taken down by this huge headache! So, Lord I thank You that You are healing me as I type. No weapon formed against me will prosper!

This week I'm also thankful that I am able to be a blessing. You know, being a blessing is much more rewarding than receiving them more times than not. Seeing how God can use you to impact someone else is amazing. Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to touch someone else's life this week!

I'm also thankful for my friends. I have some great, God-fearing folks in my circle. And they often go out of their way to show me love. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about my friends gossiping about me, backstabbing me, or doing me wrong in any way. That is truly a blessing!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Verse of the Day: ...for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psalm 43:5b

Forgive Yourself

We are all human beings. Therefore, it is inevitable that we are going to mess up. We are going to make a mistake. We are going to sin. We are going to disappoint, fail, and let someone down somewhere in our future.

It's pretty much guaranteed.

But what do you do when you fail? Do you dwell on your mistake? Do you give up on your dream? Do you allow yourself to remain in the bondage of regret?

We serve a forgiving God. He loves us so much He sent His Son to save us from all our sins anticipating that He would forgive them. He knows that we are fallible. He knows that we will say one thing and do another. And He cares enough about us to give us another chance. With the Lord, we will always get another chance no matter what.

So, why are you beating yourself up? Why are you holding yourself back because of some mistake you made? God is willing to forgive you and move forward. Why won't you do the same?

Don't allow your past mistakes to keep you from continuing in your purpose. Don't let your disappointments keep you from building kingdom relationships.

Take your failures to the Lord, receive His forgiveness, and move forward. Turn your mistake into an experience that informs your future. Realize that you are wiser and stronger because of that event.

Today, take some time to enjoy the forgiveness of the Lord. Then, forgive yourself and move on. You're still here! You've got a lot left to do.

Verse of the Day: For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11, 12

Afternoon Ti: Speak Life!

I'm irked to no end when people call each other by detrimental names. Calling someone 'stupid', 'crazy', or 'psycho' does not sit well with me, even if the words are in jest. I take it to heart that our words have power.

Our Heavenly Father gave us the example of the power of words when He created the heavens and the earth. All He did was speak, and life sprang up. His words also changed the fates of Adam and Eve. With God's words, the ground would make Adam work for a harvest and Eve had to endure pain during childbirth.

The same life-giving power that the Lord has, we have as well in our mouths. We just have to learn how to combine our words with faith and be patient to see the manifestation of what we say.

Joshua's words held the sun and moon in pause position, so he could defeat his enemy in battle. (Joshua 10:12, 13) When Abraham was tasked with sacrificing his son, he put out words of faith with his actions that culminated in his son's life being spared and God providing a ram in the bush. (Genesis 22:8)

Jesus' life was full of examples of how our words can work. He healed with His words. He caused storms to cease with His words. He raised Lazarus from the dead with His words.

What are you doing with your words? Are you speaking life, or are you causing hurt because of what you are saying?

Your words hold power. What you say does have an effect. Don't allow yourself to fall prey what you yourself put out into the atmosphere. Speak life!

Verse of the Day: Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:21

Afternoon Ti: Inconvenience Yourself Today

Today, I'm going true devotional style and opening with our verses to meditate on:

...Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven... Nehemiah 1:2-4

And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. Nehemiah 2:5  
This passage of scripture relays Nehemiah's response to hearing of the physical and emotional brokenness of the city of Jerusalem. This man was so moved that he asked to leave his place of palatial comfort and peace to go back to Jerusalem, a place of conflict and sacrifice, in order to restore it to as safe haven for his people.

How many times do we hear of different churches, Christians or cities that have fallen? It may be a scandal, sin, tragedy, or some other affliction that rocks them to pieces. Yet, how often do we hear the news, shake our heads, mourn the downfall of society, and then just go about our day?

To bring it even closer to home, how often do we hear of our own friends, co-workers, family members, and other people we are close to who fall prey to difficulties? And what do we do in response? More often than not, we probably shake our heads and go on with our own agendas.

Yet, as believers, hearing of another person's struggle should move us into action. Our hearts should be sensitive to the needs and hurts of those around. We are to be the shining lights of Jesus' love, hope, help, and peace in the midst of a storm.

Whenever Jesus encountered people in need, He reached out and did what He could to help. Even when He was tired and hungry, Jesus allowed Himself to be inconvenienced to minister to those who were hurting, in the midst of scandal, and facing tragedy.

Don't be so wrapped up in your own story, that you miss out on influencing the lives of those around you. Don't allow your heart to become callous to the cries of a world that is in pain. You may not have the money, knowledge, or means to fix every problem you hear of, but you do have the ability to pray. You have the ability to give your time. You have the Holy Spirit inside Who can help you to bring comfort and peace to any situation.

Today, allow yourself to be inconvenienced in order to bless someone who is in need of God's love.

Don't Get Cut Off From The Vine!

Yesterday, many Christians sat down to hear a word from the Lord in their local church. They shouted "amen" and "hallelujah" as they agreed with the words the preacher was saying. Many felt convicted about certain issues they knew they had to get right with God, and lots made resolutions in their hearts to "do better".

And here we are this Monday morning... How many of us are making the effort to put into action the word that we heard? How many of us are walking out the truths that God has revealed to us in His Word?

Far too often we hear the word and do not obey. We hear God's call to come up to a higher level in Him, agree that we've got to change, but fail to make those changes that we ourselves see are necessary.

But just hearing the word and not doing what it says sets us up for failure. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we're okay. We use all the knowledge that we know to comfort our hearts. We know what God says about living holy. We know all the scriptures on tithing and giving. We know that our first priority as Christians is to evangelize the lost.

With all our head knowledge, we just know that God is pleased with all of the wisdom we've gotten.

God could care less about what you know. He's looking at what you do. Jesus Himself said that any branch of His that did not produce fruit would be taken away. (John 15:2) Too many of us have deceived ourselves thinking that because we're attached to Jesus, the vine, that we, the branches, are okay.

Today, take inventory of your actions. Are you reflecting the Word of God that you've heard? Are your actions mirroring what you know? Make sure that your branch is producing fruit! Don't let your own deception get you taken away from the vine!

Verse of the Day: For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. James 1:23, 24