THE FIRST CHRISTMAS PRESENT

“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life." John 3:16

I worked for awhile in a department store, in a large mall in Atlanta during Christmas time - the huge crowds in the store and parking lots did not convey the Christmas spirit. I remember a Christmas a few years ago when I learned what Christmas 'gifting' was all about.

I had six children in my house at the time, all girls, 11-15 years old. On this Sunday morning before Christmas, getting ready was proving more difficult than usual. We had to be at church an hour before the first service at 9 a.m. so the children could get ready for the Christmas play. We were hurrying around, getting costumes together, fixing hair. When two of the girls were resistant (throwing tantrums), a couple were moving slow, and a couple didn't want to get out of bed, and I was at my wit's end after a week of homeschooling. I think we were all just tired of each other. We finally got out of the house and to church on time, where I was told I was not needed. I didn't know how to react because I was never without 'my girls'.

In a rare show of independence, I decided to go by myself for some coffee at the chicken place down the street. We rarely went out to eat, except once a month to 'Micky D's', or once a year, after I got my student loan refund, to a real restaurant. But here I was, middle of the month, middle of the semester going out by myself. I had about 30 minutes, sitting, sipping coffee, nothing to do, no place to be. Then it was time to go back to the churgh for the play. As I walked into the darkened sanctuary, one of the lead male singers began to sing, "...what a way to save the world..." . It's a song about how God used an ordinary man and woman for His purposes. Behind him on a screen were scenes from the movie 'Jesus of Nazareth'. It was real sweet, the singer had a nice tenor voice, the scenes were scenes we are accustomed to at Christmas - the nativity scene, Mary and the baby Jesus, close up of the Shepards. I was comforted and peaceful. As I witnessed these scenes, suddenly the movie cut to a grown Jesus on the cross, close ups of Mary, a mother watching her son die, crying as her heart literally was breaking. And then suddendly something let go in me, I felt a release of the stress I'd been under and cried out involuntarily. I realized how selfish I had been. I thought how I had dared to complain because of the children God had given me, when He had also given me His only Son, who then died for me and rose again - for me, because He so loved me. I could never repay Him - and I would never know how much it cost, to see my sins on that cross.

'For God so loved 'me' that He gave His only begotten Son...' This was the First Christmas Present...

PATIENCE

GOD GAVE ME A SCRIPTURE YESTERDAY THAT WAS RIGHT ON TIME, I'LL SHARE IT WITH YOU - HEBREWS 10:36

"For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

IN ESSENCE - YOU NEED PATIENCE, SO THAT AFTER YOU HAVE DONE THE WILL OF GOD - DONE WHAT GOD ASKED YOU TO DO - AND WHEN GOD LITERALLY USED YOU TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL AND PURPOSES - IT IS THEN THAT YOU NEED PATIENCE SO THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT HE HAS PROMISED.

Isn't this good? God knew where I was spiritually and physically - I was on the marta train, late for work, and wondering why am I doing this. I also was 'wondering' about raising the girls. I knew without a doubt that I did what God wanted me to do in the raising of them, and also how He wanted me to do it. But what now? So without asking, God is telling me to wait on Him, have patience...

Tony Evans (The Perfect Christian, How Sinners like Us can Be More Like Jesus) states that "...patience is doing what you're supposed to - sowing the seed and strengthening your spiritual life - while you wait without complaint for God to send the rain that will produce the growth."

We should learn to not complain about the people and circumstances that God has placed around us, but ask Him to give us patience. (Remember the story of little 'Much Afraid"?)

Do you ask God - "Why me Lord?" or do you say "I know God is doing something good in my life."

In talking about patience we must also add the experiences of Job. Look at Job's reward for His patience.

"And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before." Job 42:10

Also consider Mary and Martha after their brother Lazarus died. Before Jesus raised Lazarus from death, He said -

"...Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" John 11:40

This is one of my favorite verses. It all comes down to believing God.

ARE YOU AT A PLACE IN YOUR LIFE WHERE GOD IS TELLING YOU TO WAIT?
IF SO, BE PATIENT, AND BELIEVE GOD ...

Thanksgiving

Thanking God for What He Has Done.

We do not need one day a year to thank God, just as we should pray unceasingly, we also thank God at all times for all good things that come into our life.

Memorize Psalm 100:4.

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

What To Thank God for -

Make a list of things your family is thankful for and keep adding to your list all year long. Be sure to include the following:

• His Love and Free Offer of Salvation -
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

• His Provision -
"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

• All Good Things -
"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father." (James 1:17)

You can thank God for anything and everything good, including safety during the storm, a found parking space, safety during a near accident that you avoided, good news from a friend, or the beauty of the day.

• Unasked-for Blessings -
"For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep." (Psalms 127:2) We are His Beloved...

We can thank the Lord for those things we have received without specifically asking for them. "...More than we can ask or imagine..."


So Be Continuously Thankful...

(From the Teaching Home Newsletter)

Purpose

I was reminded this morning, while reading a passage in Oswald Chambers', "My Utmost for His Highest", that it is all about God's purposes. Which means we must stop dictating to Him. This is a hard lesson, because we are accustomed to long prayer lists, telling God exactly what we want, when, where, and how.

He does wants us to come to Him, to seek Him with all our hearts, but there is a difference between seeking Him and His Will for our lives, and telling Him how we want it done.

LEARNING TO SEE OURSELVES AS GOD SEES US

In looking over the previous post on self concept, I was reminded of a little book that I read some time ago on this subject, by Hannah Hurnard, Hinds Feet on High Places. It is an allegory of the journey each of us must take before we can live in 'high places', new heights of love, joy, and victory, based on Habakkuk 3:19. This is living in the Kingdom. The character, little Much-Afraid goes on a journey with the Sheperd, Jesus, with two companions, Sorrow and Suffering. Little Much-Afraid had a twisted mouth and crooked feet, and was afraid of everything and also had a longing to be loved. She goes through many difficult places and dangers, sometimes rising on the heights, and at other times going through the valley. Her journey takes her along the shores of Loneliness; agony of disappointment and frustration in the wilderness; the Forests of Danger and Tribulation, and through great storms and the times when she almost turned back when the heights seemed so far away. Until she finally comes to the High Places. This was after her heart of flesh and human love was replaced with the heart and love of Jesus. Jesus gave her a new name, Grace and Glory - and her companions, were also transformed from Sorrow and Suffering to Joy and Peace.

Jesus called her Daughter of the King (Psalm 45:10-15) He tells her to "...forget your people and your father's house; and the King will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him...". Now that she is with Him on the High Places, she can go where He goes, and share in His work in the valley below, with her companions, Joy and Peace. Her crooked feet were transformed to 'hinds feet'.

What she learned -
-to accept with joy all that He allowed to happen to her and lay down her own will;
-to bear all that others were allowed to do against her, and to forgive without bitterness;
-that everything, all circumstance in life, no matter how ugly it may seem to be, if it is reacted to in love and forgiveness and obedience to God's Will, it can be transformed; and
-that Jesus never saw her as she actually was, lame and weak and crooked and fearful, but He saw her as she would be when He had done what He promised and brought her to the high places.

Oswald Chambers said that sometimes God has to break our hearts to get us to the place where He can us. In which case we should shout -

'Break my heart Lord so I can be used by You!"

SELF CONCEPT

Knowing who you are in Christ…

We will explore who you are in Christ and learn what it means to have your self concept based on who God says you are. Self concept can be loosely defined as a person’s view of themselves. How they ‘see’ themselves. This will in turn determine how you act and behave and how you relate to others. It is not based on what you do (job, successes or defeats in life), and it is not in pleasing other people, or in other people’s opinions of you. It is based on accepting who God says you are, and seeing yourself as God sees you. This begins by accepting His truths, and rejecting the lies of the devil.

Many people may feel a sense of hopelessness about themselves, their relationships, and about life in general. Regardless of how they are loved and treated by others, regardless of how many Bible studies, church services, conferences, or counseling sessions they participate in, or how many times they go down to the altar in response to invitations from preachers; they may still have negative beliefs that will decide how they respond to love and truth. There are many reasons for this state, which could include family background or past experiences.

God’s light must penetrate down to our deepest beliefs about ourselves. This could possibly be a very painful experience when we admit that we do feel negatively about ourselves and we then allow God’s light and truth shine on how we see ourselves. This will take time, it has taken possibly years to develop negative habits, but God’s love, expressed through His people, His Spirit and His Word, can bring healing to our deepest hurts and give us an appropriate sense of self-worth.

God created us, He knows how we are made, and He knows what we need. Trust Him.

Answer the following questions, to examine your self-concept.

Define self-concept or self-worth.
Are you glad you are you?
Do you have a healthy self-concept?
(From The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee)

Repeat the following affirmations daily, look up the accompanying scriptures, and pray for openness and honesty before God as you accept these truths of who God says you are.

((Whether or not we feel it is true, we still need to believe it. Jesus is the truth, the Holy Spirit is truth, and the Word is truth, so we should speak the truth in love. The Bondage Breaker, by Neil T. Anderson))

-I am blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)
-I am chosen by You, my Father (Ephesians 1:4)
-I am Your child according to the good pleasure of Your will. (Ephesians 1:5)
-I am an heir. (Ephesians 1:11 & Romans 8:17)
-I am saved by Your grace. (Ephesians 2:5)
-I am Your workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)
-I am a citizen of heaven. (2:19)

YOU ARE A DAUGHTER OF THE KING, A CITIZEN OF THE KINGDOM.

NEVER FORGET THAT.

GOD LOVED YOU SO MUCH THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON FOR YOU.

BELIEVE IT!

Redeemed

TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN REDEEMED

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3
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This is a Psalm of David and it talks about God’s care of the poor and those who have waited on Him.

We will talk here about those who wait on the Lord and the meaning of redemption. Redeem means to set free, rescue or ransom, to save from a state of sinfulness and its consequences, to make up for.

There are THREE POINTS I will cover that address waiting on God and the aftermath and purpose of waiting –

1. Waiting patiently-
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”

Waiting patiently for the Lord – (Hebrew - in waiting, I waited) many times blessings cannot be received unless we go ‘through’ the trial of waiting.

Psalm 27:15, 14 states - “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.”

The land of the living means now. David was going through a trial, but he was still confident that God would see him through the trial in this life.

David knew what it was to wait for God. He was anointed king when he was 16 years old, but he didn’t actually serve as king until he was 30. David had to wait on God for the fulfillment of God’s promise for him to reign as King. During this time he was chased through the desert by King Saul. Now Saul also had a lesson in waiting on the Lord, which he failed. Saul had to learn that obedience was better than sacrifice; this was after he disobeyed God and then tried to make up for it by offering a sacrifice. Obedience is very important to God.

I also know from experience that waiting for God is not easy. A pastor from my home church use to say “…God does not have to do anything by Friday”. I’ve had situations, usually involving paying a bill by a promise date or a date set up by Bell South or Georgia Power, and I’ve prayed and asked God to please send me the money by that date. But God is God, the God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth; Omnipresent, Omnipotent God - He does not work by man’s time tables. He “…does not have to do anything by Friday”.

Sometimes it seems as if He is not going to answer or does not hear us, or He does not understand the urgency of our situations. Lamentations 3:22-26 shows us to hope and wait for the Lord because often God uses waiting to refresh, renew and teach us. Jeremiah knew from past experience about God’s faithfulness, and that He would keep His promises. This is one reason why we should trust God, and also seek what God is trying to teach us in the midst of the trial.

2. God will bring you out -

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

(Hebrew - a pit of noise – the pit often is noisy, it may be hard to find peace during this time of waiting.)

After waiting on God, God lifted David out of his despair and set his feet on a rock, a firm foundation and established his goings. After waiting 14 years, he took his place as king.

Psalm 69:2:14 states - “Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters”.

A lot of times this ‘mire’ may be of our own making, such as financial messes, family discord, or relationship issues. At other times it may be part of what God is taking us through to make us more like His Son. The operative word is ‘through’. He will deliver us out of and ‘through’ the messes.

Even while we are in this ‘mire’ He will keep us safe - Psalm 27:5 “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

This should also encourage us, remember what He has done in the past. As I researched this message, I looked through one of my older Bibles, and next to this passage I have listed prayers from 13 years ago, which included prayers for success in grad school, with my classes, and internship, prayers for a job, and for my children, etc. a multitude of prayers, and you know each of those prayers were answered.

3. God gave me a new song

God put a new song of praise in David’s mouth.
Psalm 33:3 “Sing unto him a new song: play skillfully with a loud noise.” David was a skillful musician and often commissioned music for temple worship (1Chronicles 25)

Fifteen years ago, I had an operation on my thyroid; the surgeon thought it was cancer. After the operation, they sent the tissue sample to the hospital lab, they couldn’t determine if it was cancerous, so they sent it to a cancer lab on the east coast, and then a lab on the west coast, but they also couldn’t determine if it was cancerous. During this time I prayed - 'Lord I don’t want to have cancer, or even recover from cancer, not now'. I knew that God had plans for my life and at the time I had seven children in my home, while I worked full time, there were things that I had to do. I felt the hand of God on my life. I trusted God, not the surgeon, I listened to God. I sold everything I had, left family and friends and everything I knew and every support, and took my children and moved across the country to start a new life once I decided to totally follow and trust God. When we trust God we give Him space to work in our lives, it becomes not our will, but His Will be done. I could never have imagined what He would do in my life.

Now I have a ministry of praise and worship, I have a testimony that if we wait on God, He will lift us out of the miry clay, and give us a new song, even a song of praise to Him.