5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Happy New Year! Well another year is coming to a close. A time to turn from bad things and start turns toward new things. New hopes, dreams, possibilities. A time to let go of hurt, pain and anger and embrace good. 

I always love making a list of new years resolutions and do my best to keep them. This past year, out of ten, about five were kept. It is a good time to purpose in your heart to try something new or change something bad. 

Isaiah 43:19( NIV) says 'See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and springs in the wasteland.' 

Are you ready to let the Lord have your past and do something new?

PRAYER: Today is the end of a year or successes and failures of joys and sorrows but also a chance to start new and make right the wrongs and focus on you Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.

FRIENDS ARE SO IMPORTANT

As I get closer to the New Year I reflect back on the joy of friendship. I have learned much throughout the years about what to do and not to do with some people. I have had joys and I have had sorrows. A friend can make you or break you as well. There is a Bible verse that simply says 'Bad company corrupts morals' (1 Corinthians 15:33). Another verse says 'A companion of fools suffers harm' (Proverbs 16:20).

I like the saying "If you want to be a friend you have to show yourself friendly". That is oh so true. Don't wait for someone else to make the first move. We can make friends in very unique places and ways. The good thing is to keep prayer in the center of making friends.

Jesus is of course, or should be, your very best friend. Is he? A best friend is someone you want to be with and spend time with. A friend is someone who loves you, warts and all. That is how Jesus loves us. A friend listens and does not put you down and hurt you. A friend is there when the world runs out on you. A friend understands and does not judge you. A friend hurts when you hurt. I could go on and on. This is exactly the kind of friend Jesus' is.

James 4:8 says 'Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.' Luke 6:31 says 'And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.'

Jesus wants you to want to hang out with Him. Often as we rush through our days we barely give him a thought much less sitting down to be still and quiet and "talk" to Him.

Revelation 3:20 says 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.' Are you ready to be a real friend of Jesus today?

PRAYER: Lord God thank you for the blessings of friendships. Thanks for being my best friend. Forgive me when I have ignored you. I want to be a better friend. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

INSTANT JESUS!

Today in 2013, those growing up, at least in America hardly know what it is like to wait. No more waiting for film to be developed to get pictures. No more waiting to hear from a friend via snail mail as email and texts are prevalent. In an instant gratification world it can be difficult to teach children how to wait. In order to grow up healthy and whole it is very critical to teach children the value of waiting.

We can get to a point in life with lack of patience when we expect Jesus to hear us and answer us NOW! My friend it does not work that way. Patience is one of the "fruits of the spirit" mentioned in the Bible in Galatians 5:22-23. Patience is a vey good virtue to teach children. Have you ever heard the saying "Good things come to those who wait"? There is truth in that.

When a woman is pregnant she has to be patient until the baby is ready to be born. Making it come into the world too early will either result in death or other problems.

Isaiah 40:30-33 says 'Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.'

PRAYER: Help me Lord as I seek to be patient and wait for your timing in things. Guide me to do and say the right thing and keep my heart from evil. In Jesus' name. Amen.

EVERY DAY CAN BE MERRY

Christmas is now officially over. All the Christmas greetings by total strangers of "Merry Christmas"  has stopped. Normalcy returns, For many this fabricated happiness is anything but  merry. In our little "Merry Christmas cocoons" we often are unaware of the hurt and pain of many who dread this day. Expectations to live up to. Facing huge bills in 2014. Some may have experienced the hurt of a relationship ending or a death in the family. I don't mean  to be "Debbie Downer" , a Saturday Night Live character, but to let you know not everyone feels jolly.

Are there days you lack "merriment" the other 364 days? Maybe you feel God does not care or hear as a certain prayer has not been answered. You CAN be merry and you can have the joy of the Lord. Satan specializes in making some Christians mad at God. He keeps them from wanting a closer relationship with Him. You may feel this way or you may have a family member who is away from the Lord having no desire for fellowship. I referred to them in early writings as "Christians in Name Only". Understand I am not saying this to judge, as only God knows the heart of man.

Websters defines merry as "giving pleasure or full or gaiety". The Bible says in Proverbs 17:22(KJV) that "a merry heart does good like a medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones.'  Don't be afraid to laugh as laughter is good. Proverbs 15:13 says 'A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache rushes the spirit.'

The way you think can make you merry or gloomy as well.  "As a man thinks so he is" it says in Proverbs 23:7.

So what is it going to be? Maybe a good New Years resolution should be a cheerful heart no matter what!

PRAYER: I know at times there are things that make me sad, but overall Lord I want to have  a merry heart and not have to wait til Christmas to prove I am merry. Help this spirit of Christmas stay with me throughout the entire New Year. In Jesus' name. Amen.

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY? NOT ALWAYS!

The big day has come and gone. Many are standing in line for sales today or taking back gifts they did not like or which did not fit. Relatives are packing up suitcases to head home. Many are signing up for Weight Watchers to shed those extra pounds from food they ate too much of.

This time of year is not happy and joyful for many. Some have lost loved ones recently. Others have received a bad medical diagnoses. Some families have members in jail or prison. Perhaps it was a job loss. Many people are depressed this time of year as perhaps they feel they can not live up to the worlds' expectations that they have to be happy when they just  do not feel up to it.

Our joy has to be beyond our situation and our "stuff". It can not be based on feelings. It has to come from the inner person. You receive this type of joy only from one thing. Jesus! Gifts, promotions, money, status and all the rest are fine but they do not bring true joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 says 'The joy of the Lord is your strength.' Is He in fact your joy? He can be. Start each day reading a Psalm and asking God to reveal Himself to you through His word. It is possible to have true joy regardless of the things around you.

PRAYER: Lord I know people are hurting more at Christmas because of let downs and missed expectations. Help me Lord to show your love and joy to those around me. Lead me to someone who needs to know you Lord and give me the words to comfort them. In Jesus' name.Amen.

Click on link below for a wonderful song of joy.

http://youtu.be/tC3SwhJsLqU

DARKNESS VERSUS LIGHT

Christmas is behind us for another year. Hopefully those reading this had a joyful Christmas no matter where you were. For many it is a big letdown and they are relieved it is over.

It  is always nice hearing the Christmas carols such as "Oh Little Town of Betlehem". The words of one verse speak lots to what is going on today.  "Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light". Think on that for a moment. Darkness represents bad and evil and light represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Our world indeed is inundated with evil. Faster and faster we are sliding down that "slippery slope" by pushing God and the Bible out of our lives. The country was founded on the Bible yet enemies of the cross of Christ more and more try to stifle those who have convictions and want to speak the name of Jesus. "Tolerance" is getting us to ignore sin and coddle sinners. Keep in mind that according to Romans 3:23 we all have sinned, so do not get "high and mighty". 

Isaiah 5:20(NIV) says 'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.'   We can not continue flippantly uttering "God Bless America" when we do not even obey His  holy word, The Bible. Is Jesus' light shining in your life?

PRAYER: I am sorry Lord if I have caved into the worlds' idea of right and wrong. My standard is and always has been the Bible. Guide my steps to stay on the right path. In Jesus' name. Amen.

FROM MANGER TO CROSS

Today is Christmas Day. Long awaited by anxious children. Long anticipated by those in the Christian community as the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus. His birth would change the world. Imagine if you will a king born to a virgin in a stable. Sounds like the plot for a Hollywood movie. God's only son sent here to save the world from their sins.

As his short life went on many mocked Him, ridiculed Him, were cruel to Him yet not once did He retaliate. He performed miracles and today miracles still do exist. His life ended on a cross with him uttering "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."(Luke 23:34). As a follower of Christ, if we are truly living for Him, many will hate us too. John 15:18(NIV) reminds us '"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.'

Isaiah 53:3-5(NIV) says it all.　'He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.'

Are you excited about this day? Is it for the right reason? Truly Jesus is the reason for this season. Happy Birthday Jesus!

PRAYER: What a great day this is. The opportunity for many to be with family but for the true reason we celebrate and that is to say Happy Birthday to our Savior. Help me Lord this day to forgive those who may be too caught up in Santa and just remember that I am here to show love and mercy just like you do. In Jesus' name. Amen.