Merry Christmas

Luke 1:35

“The Holy Spirit will come on you,

And the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

 So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

The very Life of God Himself…

Conceived in a young girl.

What a wondrous thing!

1 John 3:1

How great is the Love the Father has lavished upon us

That we should be called children of God

For that is what we are.

The very Life of God Himself…

Conceived in our own hearts.

What a marvelous thing!

He just never seems to stop……

Bringing Life……

His Life….

In us...

Father in Heaven, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit

Thank You for our most precious gift…..

Your very Life in us to pour out through us.

I pray we all be continually filled and poured out today

And evermore.

Amen

I Just Thought You Should Know......

1 Timothy 1:16

But for that very reason

(that I was the worst of sinners)

I was shown mercy,

So that in me, the worst of sinners,

Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience

As an example for those who would believe on Him

And receive Eternal Life.

Have you ever been in love?

Maybe romantic love…..Or maybe just…….

Love for something… an activity… or an experience.

Me…….

I love lots of things….

I love my wife…

I love my children….

I love teaching…..

I love writing……

I love coaching a team….

I love spending time with friends….

I love thinking somehow……

In some way……..

Maybe….. I have been a part…….

A part of what Jesus is doing in this world.

It’s curious to me…….

How the things I love……..

Well… they’ve changed me.

Now, I’ll tell you….

I am not quite sure

I would describe myself as……

“The Worst of Sinners”

Before I received the Life of Jesus…..

But I am quite sure……..

I was a sinner.

I was lost.

I was broken with no hope of fixing myself.

There was not Life…..

There was only existence.

Pain, rejection, anxiety, striving…….

Even…… self-loathing.

Ah, but then there’s Jesus.

Jesus…..

The one who loves the helpless.

The one who reaches out to the rejected.

The one who offers Love…. and Hope….. and Life…...

Even to the worst of sinners.

Jesus……..

I fell in Love with Jesus.

Loving Him has changed me.

Loving Him continues…… to change me.

I am a New Creation…..

I have been reborn….

I have a Father….

I am a Child of The Great King….

And yes…..

The very Life of the Creator….

The Creator of all that is or was or ever will be…..

His Life……. Flows through me.

Oh now,

Please don’t misunderstand……

I know I still sin…..

But I am not a sinner.

No…… at my deepest core……

I am in Christ.

He has given me a new heart…… A good heart.

A heart that is alive, and able…..

To Love.

I love Jesus for that.

I just thought you should know.

Father, Lord Jesus, Spirit of The Living God,

Thank You that even in my ugliness You Loved me.

Thank You for pouring Your Own Life out for me and  into me…..

So that.....

I may truly Live.

Amen

Psalm 146 The Heart of God......In Us!

Psalm 146:6-9

The LORD Who remains faithful forever….

He upholds the cause of the oppressed

And gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free.

The LORD gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.

The LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the alien and

Sustains the fatherless and widow.

The Heart of God was known……

Even before the advent of our Savior.

He has always cared for the downtrodden.

He has always sustained the fatherless.

He has always set prisoners free.

This is the Heart of God…..

That is now in you.

Guys…..

As Christ lives in you…

You sense it don’t you…….

He has given you His own Heart…..

His own Heart…… to care…..

For what He cares for.

We do not do these good things from a sense of duty.

We are not compassionate because we are supposed to be.

No…… there is something much greater at work in us.

It is truly the Very Life of our Father…….

The Spirit of the Living God….

Christ Himself…..

In us.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

 I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees…..

Thank You Lord God Almighty

That You have given me Your Good Heart.

I pray it be so powerful in me that all else fade to nothing.

Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yoegDcm3w8

Psalm 137 Yes.... We Can!

Psalm 137:4

How can we sing the Songs of The LORD

While in a foreign land?

They only had memories.

We have Christ.

They sang from their memories….

They sang with bitterness in their hearts.

Us……..

You and I……..

We can sing……..

Yet not just from memories…..

And not with bitterness in our hearts.

No, none of these.

Us……

You and I…….

We can sing…….

Yes, we can sing…...

From the Life of our God……

Yes……From the Life of our God…. In us.

Let’s do it guys….

Let’s go have some fun……

Let’s go live the adventure…….

Let’s do it……

Let’s sing….

Let’s live.

You know we can.

Yes……. You know……..

We can!

John 15:5

Jesus said,

“I am the vine, you are the branches.

If you remain in Me and I in you,

You will bear much fruit…..”

Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

Thank You for the gift of Your Life in us

So that we might go out into this foreign land

And yet live!

Amen

Psalm 132 God's Dwelling Place- In You!

Psalm 132:4

I will allow no sleep to my eyes,

No slumber to my eyelids,

Till I find a place for The LORD;

A dwelling for The Mighty One of Jacob.

The Psalmist seems haunted……

Compelled……

Even obsessed……

Obsessed with finding a place for God.

Somehow it feels like all of my life……

Yes….

All of my longings and desires……

All of my hopes and dreams….

Yes…………

All of my very life……..

Somehow has been a journey……..

A journey along the path of this same obsession.

What about you….

Do you have a place for God?

You do know there can be no peace….. Right?

No peace…. no rest……. no slumber for our souls…….

Until……

Until our Creator…….

The One who brought us to life……

The One who breathed life into our very spirits…..

Has His rightful place……

His rightful place in our lives.

No peace………

Until Christ Himself becomes……

Our Life.

Colossians 1:27

……the glorious riches of this mystery,

Which is Christ in you,

The hope of glory.

Father, Lord Jesus, Spirit of The Living God,

Thank You.

Thank You that more and more

 I am coming to realize You …….

You, right here in me.

Thank You that My Life has become a dwelling place

For The Mighty One of Jacob.

Thank You for the Life in that.

Amen