Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas!

May the peace of our savior be with you during this Christmas. As you spend time with family and friends, remember His birth--The Greatest Gift Of All.



The Light

Behold the Lamb of God has come
The light of the world
The bright and morning star
Jesus, Yeshua, Adonai

Arise, shine for your light has come
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you
From the north, south, east and west
He is calling His own to arise and shine

The light is breaking through the darkness
Healing, delivering, restoring all that are His
Come all who are weary and heavy laden
And He will give you rest

Open wide your gates
and let the King of Glory come in
Let Him fill you with His light
And let His light shine forth                                               -Sherri Scott, 12.17.17


A little gift from my friend, Melissa Houtz. . .

I wrote this song many years ago at Christmas time. I have always been amazed that the virgin Mary didn't really question or defy God's plan even though she didn't understand, but instead she just pondered everything that was happening to her and treasured her place in it. How beautiful...

 

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas,

Kim

God WITH Us

“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7.14  NLT)

Immanuel. Hebrew for “God with us.” Jesus as foretold by the prophets hundreds of years before His birth. And who He is to us as believers today. But it’s more than that. . .

He’s not just with us. . .He’s WITH us. Jesus is invested. Cares about us. He’s got our back. 

“. . .And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.20 NLT)

This quote from Jesus is so we know in our knower. Convinced. With no doubt so our lives will be lived standing on rock-solid assertion. Confidant assurance that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are truly WITH us.

“. . .For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence, ’The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. . .” (Hebrews 13.5-6 NLT)

Yet we struggle.

The enemy slings confidant assurance interrupters our way. Whether it's core lies of the past or circumstances from the present, satan will do anything to make us cower in fear.

Yet Hebrews 3.6 assures us that God is our helper. That we can stand with confidence. So why is it I often end up in the fetal position, trembling with fear?



The Cowardly Lion (of Wizard of Oz fame) is known for his lack of courage. But he was his own worst enemy. In this example, he talked himself into a fear-filled frenzy over spooks in the woods that were a figment of his imagination.

Don't we do the same?

We let fear supersede our good judgment and firm resolve. Then the belief of ‘God WITH us’ goes out the window faster than flying monkeys after Dorothy. 

Like the Cowardly Lion, I can slip into fear mode in a nanosecond. When faced with the choice to either go down the path of panic or reach out in faith, often I choose the latter.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, certainly found herself at a crossroad with a choice to make. How easily she could have given into panic. . .

“Gabriel appeared to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!’ 

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 

(She must’ve been quivering in her sandals.)

‘Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (Luke 1:28-33 NLT)

Oh dear.

Here was a young girl (mid-teens), recently engaged to the love of her life, and gets a visit from an angel (enough to freak anybody out) who delivers the worst possible news.

“Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can this happen? I am a virgin."

"The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”  (Luke 1.34-35 NLT)

The implications of this dilemma surely had Mary in a tailspin:

• What would her parents say? Such shame and embarrassment for her family. . .
• And what about the local gossip-mongers?
• Oh, good grief. Joseph. Would he cast her aside? He could even have her stoned!
• Would everyone think her crazy?

She was faced with a choice:  Faith or fear.

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’ And then the angel left her. (Luke 1.38  NLT)

Without hesitation, she chose to not give in to fear but stand on faith and believe God was WITH her.

We can learn much from a humble teenage girl.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31.8 NLT)

On The Prowl

During a recent TNT (Time-Limited, Narrowed Training) class, Paul discussed forgiveness.

Forgiveness is central to God’s love and He expects us to do so with a sincere heart—not just give it lip service.

In Matthew 18, Jesus was asked how many times we’re required to forgive. His response was to tell a story. (I love it when He does that—makes this writer’s heart sing.)

He talked about a man who was forgiven all his debts by the king but showed no mercy to someone else indebted to him. What a double standard! Things didn’t end so well: When the king found out, the guy’s pardon was rescinded and he ended up in prison along with the man he showed no mercy to. Sure hope he didn’t end up as the guy’s bunkie (cellmate.) Talk about a bad day…

The moral of the story? If we don’t forgive, there will be consequences:

• God can’t forgive us if we don’t forgive others
• Unforgiving words can bind us
• It prevents the work of the Holy Spirit
• We are robbed of peace
• Opens the door for attacks from the enemy. (Guilt, shame, self-hatred, etc.) 

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1st Peter 5.8 NLT)

Scary.

My cat, Liberty, stalks when on the trail of unsuspecting prey. Low to the ground and razor-focused. On a mission. Then when he catches a mouse, bird, or baby bunny, he plays with it for a while and more often than not, does a "catch and release." (Or brings it to Mom as a present.*blech*)

Satan uses the same tricks. *shudder*



The Good News
  
Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. 
(1st Peter 5.9 NLT)

We go on the offensive as opposed to being caught unaware. We pay attention when enemy stalks us. We do this by asking, "Is it a heart issue?"

Time for some self-evaluation.

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4.23  NLT)

Maybe there were wounds from the past that have festered over time, creating a bitter root judgment. Lingering resentment we haven't dealt with. Or did our flesh rise up and snatch the bait of offense? Do we need to establish heart boundaries to prevent negative reactions?

As we check ourselves, it becomes easier to show mercy and compassion to others. Forgiveness doesn’t let the other person off the hook for their stuff but we can stop an unforgiving spirit in its tracks with a preemptive strike.

 Or better yet, preemptive forgiveness.

Preemptive forgiveness is deciding to forgive before any offenses are leveled our way. It also helps us stay alert for the prowling enemy who’s looking for someone to devour. Whispering, "Father, I choose right now to forgive anyone who sins against me today," will help us restrain from acting in offense. And keep the devil off our trail.

Forgiveness is for us, not the other person. It frees the encumbrance of an unforgiving heart and brings peace to our spirit. The Father wants us reconciled to one another and forgiveness is the doorway. (See Matthew 5.21-26.) It's also about balance. Where one thing agrees with another to make views compatible and facts can exist simultaneously. On-going, forgiveness brings two willing people to a place where they can live in agreement while allowing each other the freedom to be different.

And I’m sure the enemy hates it.

Now who’s on the prowl?