Category: Colossians

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Beauty, Joy, Praise

This morning I was thinking about the disciples. What a sad and dark day this must have been for them. For three years they had been following Jesus. They gave up friends, family and business attachments to be one of his disciples. And now He was gone.

Perhaps you are experiencing a similar loss. Possibly you’ve just received some devastating news. You need comfort and there seems to be none. I want to bring you good news today. News that will beautify, news of joy, a reason to praise.

Where did the disciples go once Jesus was in the tomb? Did they all stay together? I’m sure they feared for their lives. If the Jewish leaders had killed their Teacher, would they be coming for the disciples next? The Scripture is silent on these issues and only leaves room for speculation. But we can assume that they were disheartened, misplaced and full of sorrow.

They loved Jesus and now He was gone!

As I put myself in their shoes a verse came to mind.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has chosen me to bring good news to poor people. He has sent me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent me to tell those who are being held and those in prison that they can go free. 2 He has sent me to tell about the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day our God will bring punishment. He has sent me to comfort all who are filled with sorrow. 3 To those who have sorrow in Zion I will give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. I will give them the oil of joy instead of sorrow, and a spirit of praise instead of a spirit of no hope. Then they will be called oaks that are right with God, planted by the Lord, that He may be honored.” Isaiah 61:1-3 NLV

The disciples had heard Jesus preach these very words. It was a part of every message that He gave to people everywhere He went. This was His mission; the reason He came from heaven. And now when the disciples needed to hear it most where was Jesus? He was in a tomb.

But…

He didn’t stay there! He rose victorious. He defeated death and destroyed Satan’s power.

“O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? 56 The pain in death is sin. Sin has power over those under the Law. 57 But God is the One Who gives us power over sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. We give thanks to Him for this.” I Corinthians 15:55-57 NLV

“Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:14-15 ERV

However, on the day before the resurrection the disciples were at their lowest point. Maybe that’s where you are today. Has life left you with sorrow? Are you mourning a loss of some kind? Have your dreams been shattered and all hope seems to be gone?

I wanted to bring beauty to the blog this morning. That’s why I chose this picture of Calla Lilies. They are a sign of resurrection, purity, holiness and new life. They can be a reminder of God’s amazing love and His promise of restoration.

If your heart is heavy, pour out your disappointment and heartache to the Father in prayer. He promises to take the all you give Him and replace it with beauty, joy and a reason to praise. His resurrection promises that!

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Proper Input

Last winter while I was working on my book, The Best Gifts of Christmas, I had a time of keyboarding that reminded me how important it was that I pay attention to what I was doing.

I had some handwritten notes and I was reading that text, inputting it word for word, or so I thought until I looked up and saw that my hands had been on the wrong keys. Seriously? I had several pages of jibberish! Absolute nonsense, not one word made any sense.

Our minds are much like the computer I am using to message with right now. They can only produce on screen or in memory what we input. Our minds can be our most valuable ally or our worst enemy, it just depends on how we use it.

God won’t force us to do things against our will. He won’t force us to accept His wonderful gift of salvation, even if it means we will eventually go to hell, and He won’t force us to accept His blessings that He is pouring out in this life either. We must willfully accept all of His provisions for them to work in our lives.

It becomes our responsibility to input the correct information. We move our minds from an adversary to an ally by what we consider. We can think on things that can make us angry and bring fear or we can focus on God’s promises and be filled with peace and joy.

“So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. 2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 ERV

The Apostle Paul instructs us to give ourselves over to the Lord and He will change us from the inside out. By changing our input and our minds will be renewed.

We should be considering what life will be like in heaven and all that Jesus did to provide this for us – if that’s our focus, we won’t have time to be “considering” thoughts that are contrary to God’s way of thinking.

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

It’s imperative that we guard our minds more than we guard our wallets. The damage caused by wrong thinking is more detrimental than loosing our cash. In fact, it’s very similar to spiritual identity theft. Thinking like the world thinks will keep us from realizing all the wonderful blessings that God has provided.

“We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 ERV

Counteract the world’s influence today and live with the proper input.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7

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Time to Play and Pray

What a wonderful weekend!

We were with our youngest daughter’s family; Kaci, Stephen, Sam and Kristine. It is such a joy to live closer to our daughters and be able to spend time with them. Those years in Montana had us living too far away. We can be to everyone in just a couple of hours, even our son is only a couple hours by air.

This last weekend was NASCAR weekend in Phoenix. As you know, Dave and I are big race fans. That’s how we roll. The kids all grew up knowing the names of car drivers and their team owners. So, this race was special. It was Kaci’s first time to a NASCAR race. She compared it to going to the Super Bowl for someone who grew up in a football family. Stephen enjoyed it as well. It was a great day!

Saturday night was play time with the grandkids. Sam had been telling me on the phone that he wanted us to watch Lightning McQueen when we came. Now most of you with littler children may have seen the Disney movie, Cars, but we hadn’t. Sam had several favorite spots and wanted to make sure we saw them all. Little Kristine would shout “go, go, go” during some of the race scenes and then dance with the music. It was a family event. Sam knew we were going to the race the next day and I think this was his way of joining in.

This was one of the first times I had seen the grandkids since my back procedure and it was so special to be picking them up, having them crawl over my lap, wiggle and squirm and playing toys on the floor without pain. Thank you Lord!

But the best time of all was putting them to bed, getting them in their jammies and saying prayers. Kristine cuddled in during prayer time, gave tight hugs and kisses and then she was off to sleep. Sam picked out a book to read and then we had prayers. He prayed along with me. He had so many things on his mind he wanted to thank Jesus for, people he wanted to pray for and things he wanted to pray about. We were in no rush. There was plenty of time to make sure everything was covered in prayer.

What a blessing!

I couldn’t help but think that our heavenly Father’s heart must have been filled to overflowing with the love and childlike faith of my little grandson. I know mine was. Such a joy to see the love for the Lord that this little man has. It was definitely a weekend of making family memories.

These two verses came to mind as I was thinking on our time together.

“Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right.” Proverbs 22:6 CEV

“Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” Colossians 3:16-17 CEV

Whatever we do can, and should, be a time to thank the Lord for His love and provision. It may be something as simple as watching a movie, going to a race or saying bedtime prayers. They are all opportunities to give thanks.

What small things are you going to praise the Lord for today?

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Keep Looking Up

Hope and excitement. Child like expectation!

There are days that we lose that hope because of what we see happening in the world around us. What should we do?

Keep looking up!

This is the instruction we receive from Jesus, King David and the Apostle Paul.

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

Do you see that? Keep thinking about heaven…so, let’s do just that. Think about heaven for just a minute or two. Close your eyes right now, see Jesus sitting at the right side of our heavenly Father. They have prepared this perfect place for us. The Holy Spirit is praying for us – constantly. It’s what He does.

“In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people. 28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.[a] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose,” Romans 8:26-28 CEV

This is such an encouragement.

King David knew what it was like to live in perilous and godless times. He constantly faced physical battles and also emotional ones. He kept looking up – he found his hope and victory in turning his eyes upward.

“Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 8 Who is the glorious King? He is the Lord, the powerful soldier. He is the Lord, the war hero. 9 Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 10 Who is the glorious King? The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King. Selah” Psalm 24:7-10 ERV

Lift up our heads – no, that doesn’t mean to turn our head up but it is an attitude of the heart. Turn our focus heavenward. Looking up is looking beyond ourselves and looking to someone higher, looking to God the Father. “ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.” Psalm 24:8-10

Are you looking up today? Are you looking beyond yourself and finding God’s directive on how you should function today? It’s easy to get discouraged and even depressed with all the world’s happenings and Jesus knew that these days and times we are living in would be taxing to our mental peace and could make us heart sick. He gave us this command.

“There will be special things to look for in the sun and moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be troubled and will not know what to do. They will be troubled at the angry sea and waves. 26 The hearts of men will give up because of being afraid of what is coming on the earth. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and much greatness. 28 When these things begin to happen, lift up your heads because you have been bought by the blood of Christ and will soon be free.” Luke 21:25-28

Don’t let your heart fail or become fearful – keep looking up. Lift up your head for your Redeemer is near!

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Coming In First!

Don’t you love being first? It is such an honor – being the first to get a phone call or text with really important news – getting the first piece of cake on your birthday – the first dance at your wedding – the first lick of an ice cream cone – the first ride on a motorcycle – the first kiss… I could go on and on.

Most of us will probably never be first in the Olympics or first in the Daytona 500 or first at the NFR but we all celebrate the “first” we have in our lives.

Did you know that the Lord celebrates “first” too? We worship on the first day of the week, the day Jesus was raised from the dead. We bring Him the first of our offerings because He deserves to have first place. And in Exodus we find that there is another first.

“The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Dedicate to me the first-born son of every family and the first-born males of your flocks and herds. These belong to me.” Exodus 13:1-2

When the first is dedicated to the Lord he knows He has the heart of the family. It’s a way of showing honor to the Lord for the blessing of life and the first of the flocks (our livelihood) represents our well-being and prosperity. But there’s more…

“Each year during the month of Abib, celebrate these events in the following way… Then on the seventh day you must explain to your children that you do this because the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

9 This celebration will be like wearing a sign on your hand or on your forehead, because then you will pass on to others the teaching of the Lord, whose mighty power brought you out of Egypt. 10 Celebrate this festival each year at the same time…

12 From then on, you must give him every first-born son from your families and every first-born male from your animals, because these belong to him…
14 In the future your children will ask what this ceremony means. Explain it to them by saying, “The Lord used his mighty power to rescue us from slavery in Egypt…
16 This ceremony will serve the same purpose as a sign on your hand or on your forehead to tell how the Lord’s mighty power rescued us from Egypt.” Exodus 13:1-16 CEV

The dedication of the first-born was a reminder of what the Lord had done for them by delivering them from Egypt.

We too have been delivered from an evil king and the slavery of his rule.

“I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. 13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who forgives our sins and sets us free.” Colossians 1:12-14 CEV

So celebrate today – Remind your children and yourself that there is One who deserves to be first in all things – your heart, your decisions, your focus!

“Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command.” Matthew 22:37-38 ERV

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No More Patches

Quite often Dave and I will use a line from the movie Lonesome Dove when it comes to our wardrobe. “No point in givin’ up on a garment just cuz it’s got a little age on it”. Well, the other day I had to do just that – give up on a garment.

I had a pair of jeans I’ve been wearing for the last ten to twelve years. They were just so comfortable and fit me like a glove. The hems were worn off where I had walked on them with my boots, the back pocket rivet had pulled away from the fabric and they were patched where I caught them on a barbed wire fence. The belt loops were pulling free but the final determination came when the zipper broke. They served me well and I hated to see them go but go they must.

This morning I was reading in Mark 2 and I had to stop and ponder, I love that word, what Jesus was saying here.

“No one patches old clothes by sewing on a piece of new cloth. The new piece would shrink and tear a bigger hole.” Mark 2:21 CEV

When I read that I thought of the pants I mentioned above and in my heart I said “Lord, but I loved those old patched pants”. What am I supposed to be learning here? As soon as I asked that question this thought came to mind.

“For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.” II Corinthians 5:17 NLV

When we accept Christ as our Savior we receive an entirely new life. God doesn’t take our old life and patch it up; He gives us something completely new. Now, if you’re like me and those jeans, I was glad to have them patched because I was comfortable with them. I liked the fit. It was ok they had a few patches.

But God has better things in store for us. He has designed a life for us using the things we love, our talents and abilities. He gives us something new and wonderful. It fits better and looks better and He gives it to us as a free gift. This new life is designer quality and custom fit.

“When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him because of your faith in God’s power. God’s power was shown when he raised Christ from death.

13 You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins.” Colossians 2:13ERV

Christ is our example of what this new life looks like. He showed us how to love the Father and love the people that God created. He showed us how to walk in forgiveness and victory.

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

Amazing! I have a new life. A life where all my sins are forgiven. God isn’t condemning me for my past. He has wiped that out and has given me a new life in Christ.

Thank you Father that you didn’t patch up my old life. Thank you for giving me something completely new!

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Big Announcement – Great News

This is the best news you will ever receive. God loves you and He’s on your side!!

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:31-32 ERV

In my reading this morning the Israelites were crying out to the Lord because they were being treated so badly by the Egyptians. God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people He had heard their cry and was sending him, Moses, to bring their deliverance.

Great News!

God is in the Good News business. When Jesus birth was announced by the angels they said this was “good tidings of great joy” – good news. Jesus even said that he came to bring good news to the people.

“… ‘We must go to the nearby towns, so that I can tell the good news to those people. This is why I have come.’” Mark 1:38 CEV

The good news that Jesus brought to every town was healing the sick, delivering those who were demon possessed and forgiving sin. Jesus came to establish a reconciliation between man and God. Very good news!

You can imagine how excited I got when I started reading these verses in Colossians. I know this is a lot of reading and I don’t normally give lengthy Scriptures for you to read but this is really GREAT NEWS!

“I ask God that you may know what He wants you to do. I ask God to fill you with the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. 10 Then your lives will please the Lord. You will do every kind of good work, and you will know more about God. 11 I pray that God’s great power will make you strong, and that you will have joy as you wait and do not give up. 12 I pray that you will be giving thanks to the Father. He has made it so you could share the good things given to those who belong to Christ who are in the light. 13 God took us out of a life of darkness. He has put us in the holy nation of His much-loved Son. 14 We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.

15 Christ is as God is. God cannot be seen. Christ lived before anything was made. 16 Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth. He made everything that is seen and things that are not seen. He made all the powers of heaven. Everything was made by Him and for Him. 17 Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. 18 Christ is the head of the church which is His body. He is the beginning of all things. He is the first to be raised from the dead. He is to have first place in everything. 19 God the Father was pleased to have everything made perfect by Christ, His Son. 20 Everything in heaven and on earth can come to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s blood has made peace. 21 At one time you were strangers to God and your minds were at war with Him. Your thoughts and actions were wrong. 22 But Christ has brought you back to God by His death on the cross. In this way, Christ can bring you to God, holy and pure and without blame. 23 This is for you if you keep the faith. You must not change from what you believe now. You must not leave the hope of the Good News you received. The Good News was preached to you and to all the world. And I, Paul, am one of Christ’s missionaries.” Colossians 1:9-23 NLV

God desires that we know His strength, experience His power and be filled with His joy. Christ came to make the relationship between us and God perfect. By his death on the cross we have peace with God. God, the Father, isn’t mad at us; He loves us!

Great News!

Because of his death on the cross, Jesus brought us to the Father cleansed, holy and pure, without blame. God sees us pure because of Jesus. Christ made everything perfect and made a way for us to come to the Father. Our sins are forgiven.

Great News!

Extra, Extra read all about it! God loves us and He’s on our side!!!



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Doing the Hard Things

How many times did I/have I complained about the work that was laid out for me to do each day? I’m retired now, but just a few years back I was getting up and heading off to work each day like many of you. Somedays I would go with excitement and anticipation and others would find me complaining and grumbling.

Not a good scenario for someone who said they were a Christian and wanted to honor the Lord.

“In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master.” Colossians 3:23 ERV

A few days ago I gave you a recap on the life of Joseph. This morning’s Bible reading was Genesis 39. It starts out with Joseph being sold to Potiphar. Look what it says:

“The Lord helped Joseph become a successful man. Joseph lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.

3 Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did. 4 So Potiphar was very happy with Joseph. He allowed Joseph to work for him and to help him rule the house. Joseph was the ruler over everything Potiphar owned. 5 After Joseph was made the ruler over the house, the Lord blessed the house and everything that Potiphar owned. The Lord also blessed everything that grew in Potiphar’s fields. The Lord did this because of Joseph.” Genesis 39:2-5 ERV

Imagine this, a seventeen year old had been handed over to slave traders by his brothers. Now those traders sold him to the captain of the guard in Egypt. There were many slaves who took care of Potiphar’s possessions but it didn’t take long for him to notice Joseph and promote him to man who ruled Potiphar’s house. Why?

The Lord was with Joseph!

Profound comment. However, the Lord is with us too. Why then is it we don’t see the same results that Joseph saw? Could it be our attitudes? We haven’t been sold into slavery but we are under authority in the workplace. We need to honor and respect those who have authority over us. We need to work diligently, not complain or gossip about our bosses. We need to honor the Lord!

So what happens when we do our job right, have a good attitude, go the extra mile and our co-workers lie about us and try to get us in trouble?

“She told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here tried to attack me! 18 But when he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”

19 Joseph’s master listened to what his wife said, and he became very angry. 20 So Potiphar put Joseph into the prison where the king’s enemies were held, and that is where Joseph remained.” Genesis 39:17-20 ERV

The backbiting and persecution we feel at work really can’t be any worse than this. Joseph was accused of rape by a spiteful woman who was married to Joseph’s boss. He wasn’t fired; he was thrown in prison. How do we keep a good attitude when something that unfair happens? We take our example from Joseph, we trust God and go on.

Even when we are forced to be in a situation that isn’t of our own making we can trust the Lord to bring good things to us.

“The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph. 22 The commander of the guards put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Joseph was their leader, but he still did the same work they did. 23 The commander of the guards trusted Joseph with everything that was in the prison. This happened because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did.” Genesis 39:21-23 ERV

Joseph served with humility. He definitely didn’t slack off or become offended by his situation. He kept doing all he knew to do to serve the Lord and the Lord showed him kindness and caused him to succeed.

“Do not let kindness and truth leave you. Tie them around your neck. Write them upon your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good understanding in the eyes of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not trust in your own understanding. 6 Agree with Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:3-6 NLV

It’s easy to trust God when things are going good and all seems right with the world. The real test of our faith comes when things don’t go as planned and things somehow go awry. I’m sure it wasn’t in Joseph’s plan to be sold into slavery. Yet, he continued to honor the Lord with each step.

Honoring the Lord by keeping a right attitude is hard. I know because I often fail. When I do, I ask the Lord to forgive me. Then I get up in His strength and go forward with new determination.

“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” Philippians 4:13 ERV

I can do the hard things in life because He gives me the strength!

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Standing On Solid Rock

It’s interesting to look back. Yesterday I was in the hot tub with our oldest daughter Kim and two of her friends. I was telling them about when we first got our hot tub. It was four years ago on December 26.

So why am I using an image of a rock pile this morning? I’m glad you asked. Talking about that reminded me it was only a few days after the hot tub was in that we took delivery of 20 tons of rock. We then spread it across our front and back yards. I’m not sure how anyone else would relocate and spread 20 tons of rock but we did it by filling the wheelbarrow, literally hundreds of times, dumping it and then leveling it with a rake. It was one of the hardest physical project I have ever done.

It took days!

When we are going through things like this, things that try our patience and our stamina , we sometimes loose sight of the big picture. We are tempted to complain, take short cuts and quit. But if we persevere, if we continue to labor on, the rewards are great!

The same holds true for our spiritual lives. God has chosen to do a work in us and He won’t quit, He won’t give up until He has accomplished what He set out to do.

“And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. 5 This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. 6 God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:4-6 CEV

This is the good work that God is doing in our lives.

“God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. 13 Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. 14 Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

15 Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful.” Colossians 3:12-15 CEV

These verses from God’s word are the foundation that we should be building our lives on. Jesus said that His word was the solid bedrock for our existence and that when we are built on His word we will be able to stand secure in life’s storms.

“Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 CEV

When God makes us a promise it will last forever. God cannot lie and once He has given His spoken Word he doesn’t change.

“God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. 19 This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls.” Hebrews 6:18-19 CEV

Let me take you back to that 20 tons of rock that we had delivered. Before it was brought in, our yards were a mess after every rain. The soil in our area is clay based and so it makes a very sticky mud. It’s almost impossible to wash it off your shoes when you walk through it. However, once the rock was spread over it that has no longer been a problem. We have sure footing even in the heaviest monsoons of the year.

“I love you, Lord God,  and you make me strong. 2 You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector,  the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter. 3 I praise you, Lord! I prayed, and you rescued me from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1-3 CEV

Take time to look back today. What areas have been a sticky mess for you? Let God’s word be your rock, claim His promises which last forever, and stand firm in the storms.

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Pondering Christmas

This morning I’m sitting alone and enjoying the thoughts of Christmases past. Remembering times when the kids and grandkids were little. It’s a blessing of life to remember.

Very soon the tree and all the decorations will come down but the memories will remain. In the last few days we have visited with the kids and grandkids on the phone, learned of presents that were opened, traded texts and emails with those we love and then saw on social media the pictures that so many have shared.

With a heart filled with love, I began to think of Mary. Everyone of you mothers can remember what it was like to wake up the day after one of your children were born. Going over and over in your heart the emotions of the day, those that came to visit and once again holding that tiny child in your arms – counting every finger and toe.

What do you imagine must have been going through Mary’s heart that morning after Christ’s birth? She’s in a stable, with a man who has shown her unconditional love and she has a child in her arms who is God’s gift to mankind. How blessed – how in awe!

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:16-19

All through the night hours my thoughts have been filled with what Christ has done for me! I was unworthy of God’s love. I have done nothing to deserve His mercy and His grace. That’s what makes it so amazing!

Mary must have had these same thoughts. What did I do to deserve God’s favor; why was I chosen to birth the Messiah? It was all by God’s grace – giving to us the goodness of His love that we can’t earn and don’t deserve.

“But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.

8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:4-10 ERV

We are the recipients of a wonderful gift; the gift of God’s grace. That gift came to us in the form of a baby, Jesus Christ. God did this to show His kindness to all who are in the world. This gift is available to all.

My life, the blessings and all the good that is in it, is because of God’s love for me. It’s almost beyond words. I am overwhelmed by His goodness.

“When you became a Christian, you were set free from the sinful things of the world. This was not done by human hands. You were set free from the sins of your old self by what was done in Christ’s body. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried as Christ was buried. When you were raised up in baptism, you were raised as Christ was raised. You were raised to a new life by putting your trust in God. It was God Who raised Jesus from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins, you were not set free from the sinful things of the world. But God forgave your sins and gave you new life through Christ. 14 We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:11-14 NLV

These are the things that I dwell on each day. God’s goodness and love!

What will you “ponder” in your heart today? Is Christmas over and now it’s on with the daily routine or will you take time today to be thankful that Christmas has life-changing, glorious meaning for every day of the year?

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