Beauty and the Beast 12/31

“Ice storm 2000 hits Atlanta with a relentless rage!” The headlines on our local papers were similar to this, and proceeded to tell how devastating this particular storm was to our city.

I knew nothing of this, however, when I awoke Sunday morning and viewed the attractive scene outside my window. The snowy ice was layered on the trees and grass, and the icicles decorated the bare branches with majestic beauty. The view was so lovely and serene that I was drawn outside to absorb more of this splendor. The appeal soon left me, however, as I saw the devastation which had occurred, beginning on our own street. Pine trees were bent with weight which the ice had put on them, and many limbs had cracked and were scattered over yards and roads. Magnolia trees seemed to be the second hardest hit, and I saw many other trees damaged and broken by the ice. The most damaging aspect of the storm, however, was the loss of electrical power. This occurred when tree limbs crashed upon power lines, bringing them down and rendering them useless. How could something that seemed so beautiful and appealing to me at first actually be so devastating? This was truly a case of beauty and the beast!

Sometimes secular life draws me to it, just as my first appealing glimpse of the icicle trees had. The glamour and appeal are very strong and seem to say, “come on., venture out, join the fun?” But once I am out there, ”involved” , so to speak, I can see the beast of the situation. Just as the ice bent and broke the trees, so can secularism bend and break your moral integrity and split and render useless your Christian stand. The worst thing of all, is that sometimes the overbearing weight of secularism will cause you to topple over on you “electrical source” of spiritualism,-- the one which keeps you united with Jesus. When this happens, God is willing and able to help you get reconnected.

The Georgia Power service men worked relentlessly to repair the disrupted electrical service. Likewise, God will send helpers to assist reconnecting you to the greatest source for all our needs- Jesus. These believers will be faithful in praying for you and supporting you any way possible. Also, the Holy Spirit will be waiting for you to ask Him for His help to get this “power’ charged again.

I am thankful our God is so loving, that even though we may sever our relationship with Him, He is available for the reconnection to occur.

…..Marion Smith (noles65@aol.com) by way of “Christian Voices” (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.com)

My Comments: Sometimes there is an appeal to be interested in the things of the world: fashion, television, things that others have, etc., that leads us away from the primary focus we need to have in the Lord. The Lord desires to be our first love; our purpose in being is to glorify Him and serve Him. This doesn’t prevent us from having fashionable things or doing “fun” activities, but it does mean that our primary focus is to be on what pleases God and what will honor Him in our lives. This certainly isn’t always easy or my first desire, but I pray that God will show me when I fail in this area. I want to glorify Him with my life.

Our Help and Our Hope 12/31

(by John Fischer) 
[Edited]
"O God our help in ages past - 
Our hope for years to come..."
This is the time of year when we focus on God and thank Him for getting us through another year. Remember Y2K? We were wondering if we'd survive the turnover to a new century. Hard to believe that was eight years ago.
As the hymn writer has reminded us, God is both our help and our hope - two four-letter words that pretty much sum up what we need to move into 2008. First, we look back on how He has helped us in the past.
The greatest thing about this is you can go back as far as you want into the ages past and still find God there, thinking about you. "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." (Ephesians 1:4). (By the way, we are so thankful it says without fault "before Him," because we have plenty of faults in other people's eyes, including our own.) The point being, you can never go too far back to not have anyone to worship. ("In the beginning, God...")
But right now, it would be good to focus on just this last year and think about how God has specifically helped us. What do you have now that you didn't have a year ago? Think in terms of personal growth, experiences, and people God has blessed you with. How do you know God better than you did at this time a year ago? What more do you know about Him? What more do you know about yourself that He has revealed to you? What struggle has He helped you overcome? Is there anyone in your life who wasn't there a year ago that you can honestly thank God for? What has He helped you to accomplish? How has He been faithful to you even when you have been faithless?
Now think about this next year and how God is our only true hope. Think of specifically where you need to apply some of that hope. What are you afraid of? Where are you feeling inadequate? What do you want to change, and how can God help you? How about your plans? [Are they God's?] How far are you willing to stretch? For all of this, He is our hope. And for all that we will face this next year that we don't know anything about right now, He is our hope.
And He will be enough.
Laugh & Lift at http://www.laughandlift.com/list.html
My Comments: This has been an incredibly hard, yet growing, year for me. So many changes in my life, some good, some not so good. I know that the Lord brought me through the year with His grace and mercy. I must hope and trust in Him for this next year... and all those beyond.

You Will Never Be Sorry... 12/27

...for thinking before acting.
...for hearing before judging.
...for forgiving your enemies.
...for being candid and frank in love.
...for helping a fallen brother.
...for being honest in business.
...for thinking before speaking.
...for standing by your principles.
...for closing your ears to gossip.
...for bridling a slanderous tongue.
...for harboring pure thoughts.
...for sympathizing with the afflicted.
...for being courteous and kind to all.
...for loving Jesus with all your heart.

My Comments: Sometimes it is hard to do right, then we regret or are sorry for the wrong we do. These are good reminders for what we should do.

Christmas Love 12/20

(By Candy Chand)
Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations -- extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six-year-old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production.
Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there would be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in 10 minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row -- center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.
As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message: "CHRISTMAS LOVE."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her -- a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down -- totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W." The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake.
But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W." Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.
A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood -- the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.
For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRIST WAS LOVE."
And, I believe, He still is.
"'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'" John 3:16-18

My Comments: This reminds me so much of the true Christmas message that Christ came into this world to save sinners. He loves us each more than we can love any other. What a sacrifice He made that we might all be made free. How important it is that we share this good news with those we know who haven’t heard or made a decision for Christ.

Reconciliation This Christmas Season 12/11

(By David Massey)
The Christmas season is fully upon us. Just what was God's plan in bringing about Christmas? Why did He decide to manifest Himself as a human being? Why did He provide this wonderful plan of mercy, grace and love that I often cannot begin to comprehend?
Jesus came to reconcile man to God.
(Hebrews 2:17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
He came also to reconcile us with each other. Throughout the Bible, we find examples set by Jesus and others, of reconciliation between individuals. Jesus must have thought that reconciliation should be a high priority in our lives. Nowhere else in the Bible can I find an instance where a teacher instructs someone to leave the church and make up with someone before giving an offering.
(Matthew 5:23-24) (23) Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; (24) Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Esau and his brother Jacob were reconciled:
(Genesis 33:4,11) (4) And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. (11) “Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” And he (Jacob) urged him (Esau), and he took it.
Luke tells about the reconciliation of Herod and Pilate:
(Luke 23:12) And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.
This is hard stuff. It is difficult to do. But it is Biblical and I have seen it work in both my own life and other people's lives. So let's just go through this next passage and see the steps Jesus lays out for us to take, when trying to restore a relationship.
Matthew 18:15-17 (15) Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (16) But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (17) And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Step One is the most difficult one. Jesus is saying for us to go to the person with whom we have a problem, share our feelings and do it in private. Our natural inclination is to go tell everyone we know, except the person that we feel has wronged us. Before long, the situation has been stirred and changed into something even worse than the original version. And more harmfully, the telling of others can turn into gossip.
I am not a very confrontational person. Therefore this first step is very difficult for me. I have written short notes to people, and at other times called them on the phone. I once came out and asked for a private meeting face-to-face. But in the few times that I have invoked the Matthew 18 principle, the dispute was settled after Step One. The dispute never went any farther. Please don't think that all this happened very quickly. One reconciliation took me ten years to complete. Often we become paralyzed with anger and can never take this initial step, but if we really want to live as fully-devoted followers of Christ, we must try.
The second step, if necessary, is to take one or two people along with you to serve as witnesses to the process. I am assuming that this other person or two would help mediate the matter and provide unbiased opinions of the situation, in order to help start a process of healing and understanding.
The conflicts that I have seen, have been resolved with Step One, so hopefully the third step in this plan will not be necessary. When needed, its purpose is to shed light on the dispute. It serves as a way to reprimand the guilty party while hopefully setting up a means to restore him back to fellowship with others and with Christ. I recently witnessed a successful example of this step in action. The situation was somewhat different as it involved a church member and a pastor. The pastor had committed a sin. Another pastor confronted the pastor, who denied the charge. The pastor and an elder of the church then confronted him. Though the evidence against the pastor was overwhelming, he was still unrepentant. However, he did resign. The church was told of the reason for the Pastors' resignation and the healing has begun.
So there you have it -- a simple yet profound, three-step Biblical plan of reconciliation, given to us by none other than the great Reconciler himself, Jesus Christ. Now the question is: Are you ready to take the first step? Try it; it works. What better time than now, to start on a path of reconciliation with someone in your life?
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Father-thank You for giving us such an amazing book, the Bible, which contains Your word and Your instructions for doing life right. Help us make this Christmas season a season of reconciliation. Just as You sent Your Son to reconcile us with Yourself, help us to follow His example. In Christ's name, Amen.

My Comments: It is so hard to take that first step. I think we are often paralyzed by fear or anger. We know it must be done to be right with God, but it can be so difficult.

Seven Things to Include for a Joyful Journey to Christmas 12/7

By Michael A. Halleen

"Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened..." (Luke 2:15)

People. Attend services and other events that celebrate the day, even if you are far from home. The journey is best taken in the company of others.

Tradition. What "makes" Christmas for you? Handel's Messiah? A special ornament on the tree? For many, it's the food. (I can't imagine Christmas Eve without meatballs, rice pudding with an almond in it, lingonberries and root beer.) Some tell stories, some re-enact the stable scene. Honor your traditions hold on to them. They add warmth to the journey.

Music. Turn off the television and put on some of the great music of the season. This journey is along a road filled with singing. Let your voice be added to the chorus.

Generosity. Obey any impulse to be generous, even to those who are not expecting generosity from you. "When in doubt, shell it out," one of my crazy uncles used to say, and he was right. Tip freely. Christmas is a time for liberality. It makes the journey to Bethlehem easier for others and more fun for you.

Healing. Take the opportunity to restore a lost personal relationship, to mend a broken friendship. Take the initiative without worrying about who was right or wrong in whatever it was that divided you. Get past it, and forgive. Best to travel light on this journey.

Discipline. Keep your wits about you. Do everything in moderation, the Bible says, like eating. We can overextend ourselves in a hundred ways on this journey, thinking other people's joy somehow depends on us. In fact, we simply add hazards for ourselves and others on what is meant to be a road of peace and joy.

Smiles. Erase the frown of worry from your face for the season. Think about what children see when they look into your face, and consciously make it a smile. Determine that only kind words will come out of your mouthno criticism, no complaints. Decide to let more love into your life love for God, for God's children, for life itself. It was for them that that he came and for you. Smiles carry us far on this journey.

Let's go to Bethlehem!

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You can contact Mike at mhalleen@att.net to be added to his weekly devotional email list, "Monday Moments."

My Comments: I received this message last year and again this year. It is so important. I am working out how to implement a number of these ideas in my life, even while traveling and staying with family. There are a number of ways we can bring our focus back to God during this very busy season. Hope this encourages others.

Jesus Changed My World 12/5

He changed my world, He set me free,
He cleansed my heart, that I might see,
The wondrous grace, in spite of me,
Yes, Jesus changed my world.

He changed my life from deep within,
He changed my path from ways of sin,
And so today I walk with Him,
Yes, Jesus changed my world.

My heart was filled with deep despair
His words of hope left comfort there,
With others now His words I share,
Yes, Jesus changed my world.

When trials come, He takes control,
His loving care will guard my soul,
And heaven high with Him my goal,
Yes, Jesus changed my world.

He taught me love, He gave me peace,
I find each day my joys increase,
My praise for Him will never cease,
For Jesus changed my world.

Yes, Jesus changed my world.

Yes, Jesus changed my world.

Words by Joseph Rojahn, Music by Lee Dengler


My Comments: I heard this song in church tonight. It is a good reminder of what Christ does for us at salvation and throughout our Christian lives.

God's Grace 12/4

(By Wendy Greiner Lefko)
I did not know His love before, the way I know it now.
I could not see my need for Him, my pride would not allow.
I had it all, without a care, the "Self-sufficient" lie.
My path was smooth, my sea was still, not a cloud was in my sky.

I thought I knew His love for me, I thought I'd seen His grace,
I thought I did not need to grow, I thought I'd found my place.
But then the way grew rough and dark, the storm clouds quickly rolled;
The waves began to rock my ship, I found I had no hold.

The ship that I had built myself was made of foolish pride.
It fell apart and left me bare, with nowhere else to hide
I had no strength or faith to face the trials that lay ahead,
And so I simply spoke His name and bowed my weary head.

His loving arms enveloped me, and then He helped me stand.
He said, "You still must face this storm, but I will hold your hand."
So through the dark and lonely night He guided me through pain.
I could not see the light of day or when I'd smile again.

Yet through the pain and endless tears, my faith began to grow.
I could not see it at the time, but my light began to glow.
I saw God's love in brand new light, His grace and mercy, too.
For only when all self was gone could Jesus' love shine through.

It was not easy in the storm, I sometimes wondered why.
At times I thought, "I can't go on." I'd hurt, and doubt, and cry.
But Jesus never left my side, He guided me each day.
Through pain and strife, through fire and flood, He helped me all the way.

And now I see as ne'er before how great His love can be
How in my weakness He is strong, how Jesus cares for me!
He worked it all out for my good, although the way was rough.
He only sent what I could bear, and then He said, "Enough!"

He raised His hand and said, "Be still!" He made the storm clouds cease.
He opened up the gates of joy and flooded me with peace.
I saw His face now clearer still, I felt His presence strong,
I found anew His faithfulness, He never did me wrong.

And now I know more storms will come, but only for my good,
For pain and tears have helped me grow as nothing ever could.
I still have so much more to learn as Jesus works in me;
If in the storm I'll love Him more, that's where I want to be!


Reproduced with written permission. For further information about this poet and to read more of her poetry, please look at the following link to Family Christian Inspiration: http://www.famci.com/

My Comments: If I had tried for years, I don’t think I could express more clearly than this poem, what the Lord has done in my life in the past few months. This is a wonderful picture of God’s work of grace and mercy in our lives through trials. Thank the Lord, for “marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:14

All that Falls Away 12/1

(Click on the title to listen to the song.)

Like a work in a sculptor’s hand
Before You, Lord, I stand
Will You carve away each part that You don’t need,
And though there’s pain with every blow
Your grace has let me know
I can trust You as You shape Your will in me.

And with all that falls away I want to please You, Lord.
Remove the part of me that can’t reflect the heart of You
Though I won’t always understand, I will trust Your loving hand
And leave behind all that falls away.

The deeper that You go, as You chisel to my soul
The more my blemished heart is clearly seen
And yet You labor on, and with every flaw that’s gone
The likeness of Your Son is seen in me.

And with all that falls away I want to please You, Lord.
Remove the part of me that can’t reflect the heart of You
Though I won’t always understand, I will trust Your loving hand
And leave behind all that falls away.

Though I won’t always understand
I will trust Your loving hand
And leave behind all that falls away.

Written by Mike Harland and Anita Renfroe © Centergy Music, BMI

This song can be purchased on CD ($15) by CenterPoint (Karey & Kelly Nickel) at this website: http://www.nickelmusic.com/onlinestore.htm

My Comments: I heard this song this week on the radio. It really touched my heart, as it says exactly what I have been working through by the grace of God over the past few months. I need the Lord to continue, in every area of my life, to remove the things that do not glorify Him. It can be painful and difficult, but Oh, so necessary!