Author: © Christian National Church of Christ

Little, or beloved children, let no man deceive you. In this important matter, by vain words, however serious and plausible they may seem to be. For a being, himself immutably holy, can never dispense with the want of holiness in his intelligent creatures. Focuses mostly on the concept of love. Because of His love, God not only calls us His children, He actually makes us His children. John also explains how sin, including hate, is never the result of a proper relationship with God. 1 John 3:4–10 strongly condemns sin, and leaves no excuse for it. While this warning is often interpreted as a ”litmus test” for salvation, John’s specific audience is actually Christian believers. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do, living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. Let’s read Romans 7:21 – So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.In Roman’s 7 explores the relationship between the law of Moses and human sin. Paul insists that the law is how he came to know and understand sin, in general, and his own sin specifically. Our flesh so wants to contribute to our holiness. That is the flesh of self effort or trying to will ourselves into a state of righteousness. That cheapens what Christ did on the cross. And saying that only some of our sins were forgiven (the ones leading up to our asking God to forgive our sins), would make it to where Christ only died for some of our sins. If He died for only some of our sins, then the cross isn’t finished, and He would need to go back on it each day to die for more sins and future sins. Doesn’t make sense! Not at all! Just saying!
So we sin as children of God. We learn to hate sin more as we grow. He has covered ALL of our sins. Our will and self effort cannot save us or keep us saved. Finding my identity in Christ has been freedom from bondage. Saying NO to sin! Is totally awesome! Saying YES to righteousness is our freedom from self! The only thing that angers God is sin. In fact He hates it.
The Lord isn’t angry at Christians. He cannot be. You might ask how that can be?
It’s simple. The cross of Jesus and His shed blood was enough to satisfy His requirements for atoning for sin. Therefore because of Who He is and what He has done, nothing of us, He satisfied His demand. What God demands, only God can provide for. That’s why He is no longer angry with us. He cannot be. Even when we sin. I believe He says there she goes again! Will she ever learn not to sin? Don’t you think that when we do good and are growing in the Lord Jesus, He bless’s us and is very proud of us as we walk with Him.
It reads in Romans 3:25:
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past.
It reads in
Romans 8:33
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one, for God himself has given us right standing with himself.
I was reading 1 John 3 today (1st verse is my new sword for when I’m feeling attacked by the enemy). This part really confuses me though: 7) Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8) He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9) No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10) This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. Also, verse 15 reads: Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is the NIV, by the way.

So, as I read these verses, I really felt as if it’s stating that we don’t have eternal life if we sin, and if we continue to sin, we are not really Christians. It makes it sounds like works are necessary to have eternal life. But of course, we all continue to sin in some capacity, and because of God’s Grace and what Jesus did on the cross, we still have eternal life. Can I maybe clear up what the third chapter of 1 John focuses mostly on the concept of love? Because of His love, God not only calls us His children, but He also actually makes us His children. John also explains how sin, including hate, is never the result of a proper relationship with God.

{Let’s Pray
Father God, I thank You and praise You for Your word that helps me to grow in Your Goodness. I thank You and praise You that I am a child of God, and that the life of the risen Lord Jesus is dwelling within me. I believe as You assist me to live and work to Your praise, honor and glory. I will cast off the works of darkness and be clothed in the armor of light and right, so that others may see Christ working in and through me. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
The good man can look forward to happiness, while the wicked can expect wrath.
Proverbs 11:23

Luke and Matthew both place Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. These are the only references in the New Testament to Bethlehem as Jesus’ place of birth. There are problems with those claims, and I’ll come back to them in a moment. First, let’s look at Mark, the first gospel written, and John, the last gospel written. Jesus’ birthplace and hometown. Where was Jesus born? In the Bible, Jesus’ birthplace is identified as Bethlehem. This scene from the Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel in Padua by the Italian artist Giotto shows Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the Bethlehem stable. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, but you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. However, we cannot know for sure the month and day Jesus was born, but there is evidence to believe He was born in 3-2 B.C. Joseph and Mary left their hometown of Nazareth, which was located in lower Galilee, and traveled to the city of Bethlehem in the south part of Judah. The primary reason the birth of Jesus took place in Bethlehem was to fulfill the prophecy given by the minor prophet Micah. He stated, “And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are being least among the thousands of Judah, out of you He (Jesus) shall come forth (be born) to Me, that is to become Ruler in Israel . . .” (Micah 5:2) In Luke 2:39-52, we have the only reference in Scripture to the years between Jesus’ birth and the beginning of His ministry when He was about 30. Some of the apocryphal gospels that circulated in the early centuries of the church contain fanciful and miraculous legends from Jesus’ childhood. One of the most fascinating facts about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is how God used the powerful but sometimes brutal Roman Empire, coupled with a Jewish fixation on their ancestors, to fulfill a 700-year-old prophecy! “Awesome quote by © Thomas Dekker: “The best man That e’re wore earth about Him was a Sufferer, A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit: The first true gentleman that ever breathed.”
Makes you wonder just what kind of God we worship. He influences great power and wisdom. He willingly humbled Himself for our salvation. Jesus died in time a criminal’s death on the cross. He walked, worshiped and lived on this earth with us. People was blessed by Him, People ridiculed Him, people spit at Him, people worshiped Him because He was God’s common good. Jesus suffered for us and died for us. As Jesus first came as an ordinary baby, around ordinary people. God turns to ordinary people today as you pray and believe. You may not feel important. God says you are His and worth Dying for. Be confident and courageous, because Jesus will come to anyone who receives Him and believes in Him. When ordinary people decide to follow Jesus, He can accomplish amazing things through them.
Let’s read Luke 2:39-52
And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spoke unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I can understand how You came to earth as a baby in a manger to prove to all of us that righteousness is more effective in forgiving sinners and growing them into Your light to walk right. As Jesus walked perfectly right. God the Son would lay aside His heavenly glory and be willing to come to earth, be born as a little baby, and live a perfect life, so that He could die a sacrificial death for the sin of the world. I thank You and praise You for Jesus’s wonderful example of obedience to You and thank You demonstrated to us how to live a life that’s totally dependent on You. I believe that like the Lord Jesus, I would grow in grace and increase in wisdom and understanding, for Your praise and glory. I thank You and praise You that You give sinners a second chance at walking right and You are a forgiving God. I believe that I would learn to say, without hesitation, “Lord Your will not mine be done in all things. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
I bless the Lord: O Lord my God, how great You are! You are robbed with honor and with majesty and light. Psalm 104:1

I find it interesting in Luke 2:21-38 The narrative begins eight days after the birth of Jesus and the visit from the shepherds. The baby is named and circumcised, a rite that marks Jesus as Jewish, as part of the people that God has called. Circumcision is the sign of the covenant relationship that God established first with Abraham (Genesis 17: Physical circumcision is, without a doubt, the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. It indicates death to the flesh, a testament to man’s inability to accomplish God’s will in his own strength. Hence, God ordered Abraham to physically circumcise his son Isaac, the father of the Jewish people. For other nations, circumcision may be a sign of purification, but for Abraham and his descendants it was to a sign of a unique relationship with God. The meaning of circumcision for Abraham is very simply a sign that this person is a member of the covenant people. It was a sign of the covenant. But since baptism (the sign of the New Covenant) does not require the male reproductive organ, both males and females may joyfully receive the sign of the new covenant. Circumcision also foreshadowed Christ’s death. Circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham (It reads in Genesis 17:9-27: And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.” Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. ). What relevance does it have today? As God Shaddai establishes his covenant with Abraham for the generations to come, he asks for a response.) and then with his descendants, the people of Israel.
“Let’s Read Luke 2:21-38
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the LORD, every male that opened the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting’s and prayers night and day. And she is coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spoke of him to all of them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for the beautiful Psalm of praise that fell from the lips of old Simeon, when he saw the baby Jesus and took Him in his arms and praised You for His goodness, grace, and faithfulness. I thank You and praise You for sending Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the whole world. I believe that I may develop a similar faith as Simeon who lived by faith, trusted Your Word, worshiped, believed and waited confidently, for You to fulfil all that You promised. I thank You and praise You that Your Word is altogether true and stands fast for ever in learning righteousness. I thank You and praise You for Your promise to me, that one day I will see Jesus and be made like unto Him, for Your greater honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
The works of His hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure.

Psalm 111:7

Let us seek to learn the meaning and the application of the Savior’s birth, as recorded only by Luke, the divinely inspired historian. Luke chapter 2 has three major sections.

Verses 1-20 depict the birth of Jesus, and the worship and witness of the shepherds. According to the Bible, Jesus was born to save mankind from sin (from his disobedience to God, his wrongdoings and wrong thoughts). Jesus was born purposely and with His consent – as God’s unique son – to pay for the sins of mankind by dying in place of mankind, or so that people could be saved from an eternity apart from him. Jesus is Born Jesus is Born (Luke 2) Main Point: Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world. Key Verse: She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. Matthew tells us about the visitation of the angel to Joseph, prior to the birth of Jesus, which caused him to marry Mary, rather than to put her away privately, as he had originally intended. He also informs us about the visit of the magi, of Herod’s attempt to kill the baby, and of the flight of the holy family to Egypt until after Herod’s death.

“It reads in Matthew 1:18-25: This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph’s son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the LORD had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate (faultless) their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

“Let’s read Luke 2:1-21:
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You that just as in the times of Mary and Joseph Your plans and purposes for mankind could not be thwarted by Satan’s evil manipulation nor blocked by the work of evil men and their corrupt governments. Thank You and praise You that today You remain in ultimate control of all things. Although the some in the nations conspire against Your people Israel, rage against Your church family, and seek to break free from God’s righteousness.Which choosing between right and wrong might seem hard. It is not. Your church family praise You and thank You that You remain in control and that the day is coming when You will break the nations with a rod of iron ; and dash them to pieces like pottery. Until then we believe that You will use us and bind Your light with in all of us and finalize the unity in Christ. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Chapter is describing how living according to the world’s wisdom has led to great conflict among James’s Christian readers. They were fighting with each other because they couldn’t get what they wanted. James says that living that way is adultery. It’s ”cheating” on God. Do not speak against one another, brethren He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. Specifically, James’ use of the word “neighbor” (4:12) probably shows that he has in mind the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. Judging your neighbor (in the sense that I have explained) is not to love him. It is rather to set yourself up in a position that belongs to God alone. The entire passage leading up to this verse has been about the difference between earthly, worldly wisdom, and heavenly, godly wisdom. Most recently, James has pointed out that speaking about human plans without acknowledging the influence of God is evil. A Christian is to live a life of complete trust in God. God should be the friend you wake up to in the morning. He is your first neighbor, first love and He loved us first. So God should always be first. If it wasn’t for God, I would not of woke up this morning to do this video. Amen!
{Let’s read James 4:1-17}
From whence come wars and fighting’s among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss ” means not quite right; inappropriate or out of place.”, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resists the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judges his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judges another? Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeared for a little time, and then vanished away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I can honestly say that my heart bleeds and cries for others when they are hurting and there is nothing I can do. Pretty much how You feel when we mess up or ignore You like You aren’t even here. Judging You wrongfully. I know how that feels when others judge me for something I didn’t even do and all I did was try to be a light. I am sorry for all the wrongs in my life when I ignored You and went my own way. Help me to stay humble before You and draw me away from worldly stinking thinking. I know worldly thinking grieves the Holy Spirit. I am totally believing to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness and to be careful of needs of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe I may think of others before myself and ask that I may truly die to my own desires and any judgmental thought that enters my mind erase it! Jehovah Rapha thank You for Your continued healing, strength and blessings in others’ lives and my own. Let Your will be done. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
“The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. “Proverbs 11:6

I took a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it. one day.
And as my fingers pressed it, still,
It moved and yielded to my will.

I came again, when days were passed,
That bit of clay, was hard at last,
The form I gave it, still it bore.
And I could change that form no more.

Then I took a piece of Living clay,
And gently formed it, day by day.
And molded with my power and art,
A young child’s soft and yielding heart.

I came again when years were gone,
It was a man I looked upon.
He still that early impress bore,
And I could change it never more.
(Author Unknown)

One of the most powerful analogies in the Bible regarding our transformation and sanctification in the Lord has to be the analogy of the potter and the clay. The Bible says that God is the Potter and we are the clay. It is up to God to mold, transform, and sanctify us as we journey through this earthly life.

“The Sculptor”
One of the most powerful analogies in the Bible regarding our transformation and sanctification in the Lord has to be the analogy of the potter and the clay. The Bible says that God is the Potter and we are the clay. It is up to God to mold, transform, and sanctify us as we journey through this earthly life. Isaiah 64:8 it reads: But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Romans 9:20-21 it reads: But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?'” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Jeremiah 18:2-6 it reads: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for sending Jesus in Your image so we could learn to walk right with You. I come to You in humility of heart and ask that You make and mould me into a vessel that is pleasing to You. Let me be a light that no one can contain through Your glory and honor. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Isaiah 45:9

{In 1 John 4:16 it reads: And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.} I this verse John wants us to understand how much God loves us and to believe how special we are to God, our faith in how much He loves us. The fact that God is love is repeated from verse 8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” To emphasize how complete God’s love is toward us. The verse ends with the fruit of this kind of love and unity. Abiding in God and His Love . The spirit of truth and protection against the spirit of error. The fact of false prophets and the need to test the spirits. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In other words, love for God and others is the way to remain growing in the Lord. And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. John includes both himself and his readers as believers in the beginning of this verse. His words clearly state that both knowing and believing are important. In many modern churches, believing has been emphasized apart from knowing God. This can lead to people who accept Jesus yet do not live for Him. These people may be “born of God,” but they show no signs of “abiding” in Him.
Both “to know and to believe” are essential in the life of a Christian believer. We must believe in who Christ really is, for salvation. We must “know” Him through obedience, worship and uniting with believers, to be accepted in our actions, and to be blessed by Him.

{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I praise You and thank You for Your heart of love and compassion that is open towards me and others. I thank You and praise You for the many ways that You shower Your love into my life. I am believing to be ever mindful of Your never-failing love and ever-abiding: presence in my heart. Use me I pray, to stream Your gracious love through my life and out to the weary and thirsty souls that You place in my path. Let me be Your light this day and every day. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” 1 peter 4:8

God’s purpose is God’s plan according to His will. God wants something. To attain what He wants, He has a plan that is according to what He wants, according to His will. This plan of God that is according to the will of God is what the Bible calls the eternal purpose of God. According to the Bible, our purpose, the reason we are here, is for God’s glory. In other words, our purpose is to praise God, worship him, to proclaim his greatness, and to accomplish his will. God’s purpose is the one that lasts. “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). The lives of men and women are but a vapor; however, God’s purposes can be fulfilled throughout multiple generations.
The good work is your unique purpose here on earth and in the Kingdom of God. God has a unique role for you to play in His divine plan. Knowing your God- given purpose will give your life direction and fulfillment. It will also shape the course of your life.
It reads in 1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
“We are God’s children, unique and very much loved by Him.”
It reads in Ecclesiastes 3:1: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”
It reads in Genesis 8:22: While the earth remained, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
So many verses in scripture come back to the foundational truth that God knows best and wants us to trust Him in all things and at all times.
It reads in Psalm 138:8: The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me, and Your love. O Lord endures forever. Do not abandon the works of Your hands.
{© C.S.Lewis said it best: “(In the Psalms) I find an experience fully God-centered, asking of God no gift more urgently than His presence, the gift of Himself, joyous to the highest degree and unmistakably real.}

{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You that You forfill Your purpose in all lives to bring us back to You. I thank You and praise You that You know the end from the beginning and that everything under heaven is within Your authority. I thank You, that You are in control of all that is happening in my own individual life and the whole world in general. Let my heart, mind, body and soul keep trusting You through all the circumstances of life and as I seek Your face in prayer, praise and worship. I am believing to learn more and more to pray and walk with You every moment knowing You are right here with me always. I am believing if there is someone out there in this world who don’t know You. They would open their heart and mind to Your truth and seek Your face. I am believing thy will be done in my life and throughout the world.” . I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Psalms 1:1

This is a beautiful statement about what Paul saw as his purpose in life. He planted the church in Corinth and led many of them to faith in Christ. Many volunteered, gave of their time, talents and treasures in their true belief. As a result, Paul thought of himself as a “spiritual father” to them. He wrote that he would not take money from them for his personal needs because parents ought to provide for their Small Children, not the other way around. Paul would gladly “spend and be spent for [their] souls.” Paul saw his life as a resource belonging to God, available to be used up or distributed in order to save and nourish the souls of others. It was more than a mission, though. Paul gladly did so because he loved the Corinthians. He had genuine affection for them.
In this verse it reads: “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”

(2 Corinthians 12:15)

It reads in 2 Corinthians 11:21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit in whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

It reads in 2 Corinthians 1:21-23:
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

In this passage “2 Corinthians 11:21” of scripture, Paul announced earlier in this section that he would “boast” as his opponents, the false apostles in Corinth, would brag to glorify themselves. Paul’s “boasting,” though, has consisted only of listing ways in which he has suffered in his mission to bring the gospel to people around the world. His intent is to sarcastically mock the false apostles and even then his words are not self-promoting. Since Corinthian culture valued strength and success above all, Paul’s boasting likely came across as very strange or as a mockery of true boasting. Paul clarifies what he has been doing. If he is going to boast, Paul writes, he will boast only of things that show how weak he really is. This may have been the exact opposite of what the Corinthian believers were hoping to hear. They want an apostle who, like the lying teachers living near them, appears strong and capable and confident in himself. Instead, Paul is describing all the ways he is weak. This is meant to show how strong God is through him. In the Corinthian terms, suffering for any reason was a sign of weakness. In Christian terms, suffering is one of the ways believers identify with Christ and learn to grow in their dependence on him. Their testimonies help them to overcome and also show God’s favor and light in their lives to others finding their way in Christ.
It reads in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10:
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Good way to really know “I besought the Lord” That is, Christ, as the next verse absolutely proves, and the Socinians ( a supporter of the beliefs of Faustus and Laelius Socinus, who rejected such traditional Christian doctrines as the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, and original sin, and held that those who follow Christ’s virtues will be granted salvation.) themselves confess. If Christ be an object of prayer in such a case as this, or indeed in any case, it is a sure proof of his divinity; for only an omniscient Being can be made an object of prayer. An to Jesus Christ we overcome and believe for others a plea to God not only for protection from one’s enemies, but also from temptation to sin. To see what awesome work does in a believers life is awesome. Just saying.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for Your great goodness, and I thank You and praise You that Your grace is sufficient to bring me through whatever difficulties, dangers, persecution, or pain that I may suffer. I thank You for all Your healing and encouragement through the years through others prayers and my own. That You are with us always keeps me confident and bold. Let’s others who are hurting today feel Your presence in their heart and soul and bless them. I thank You and praise You for the wonderful testimony and teachings of Paul and the truths that have become mine, by faith in Christ. I am believing to finish the course You have prepared for me to do, and help me to be ready and willing to participate in the suffering of Christ as I pray and believe the best Holy outcome for others as they overcome and believe in You also. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge, do not give me over to death. Psalm 141:8

We notice the first people to receive the announcement of Jesus’ birth, a group of shepherds tending their flocks at night in the fields not too far from Bethlehem. This is the third time in the opening chapters of Luke that we encounter the angel of the Lord.
The Shepherds Visited Jesus According to Luke 2:8-20, on the night of Jesus’ birth there were humble shepherds watching their sheep in the fields nearby Bethlehem. A host of angels suddenly appeared to these shepherds and told them of the Messiah’s birth. The central portion of this passage is, of course, the angels’ message and song, the former of which proclaims the transcendent fact of the Incarnation, and the latter hymns its blessed results. But, subsidiary to these, the silent vision which preceded them and the visit to Bethlehem which followed are to be noted. No good business person leaves 99% of her or his inventory at risk to recover 1%. Thus the shepherds in Luke 2 should also be seen as foolishly leaving their post to follow this sign. The Nativity, the Incarnation, invites, nay empowers us, to do foolish things that result in wondrous outcomes!
“The Shepherds and Angels”
Let’s read Luke 2:8-20:
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You that I have peace with God, and as Your born-again child, that I have received Your grace, not only now but eternal life. I thank You and praise You that because I am positioned in Christ and clothed in His righteousness, I am identified with Him, have found favor in Your sight, and the peace of God in my heart. I know that without Jesus there is nothing I could have done to warrant peace with You, for I acknowledge that I am a sinner, deserving of death. I thank You and praise You for Your forgiving heart and Your willingness to give second chances with no strings attached and freedom in Christ. Glory and honor to God in the highest, that peace has been granted to men with whom You are pleased. I thank You and praise Your holy name that both peace with God and the peace of God, is available to all who place their faith in Jesus. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
(Luke 2:11)