*The Christmas gift *
Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

*The reason for the Christmas gift *
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. (John 3:16,17)

*The Christmas promise *
For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:11-13)

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!  (2 Corinthians 9:15)

How shall we endure

As the secular world moves ever forward in its thrust to eradicate the Lord God Almighty from daily life and continues to ridicule and demean Christianity, how will we endure as persecution levels rise?

 

By faith, in faith and through faith…filled with the Holy Spirit, abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

May my life be a sacrifice of praise and may my worship be pleasing…For the loving-kindness of the Lord is everlasting, His mercies are new every morning, great is His faithfulness.

The Son of God appeared for this purpose...

1 John 3:8 …the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 

What is the greatest destructive work of the devil - creating separation between man and his Creator. Jesus came to restore that breach - thus destroying the work of the devil. By Jesus' sacrifice the veil of separation was torn in two, from top to bottom, thereby restoring what had been separated, atonement had been made - complete restoration of that which the devil had instigated.

Sin is what separates us from God and it is the devil's longing that we be separated from Him. But the good news is that Jesus paid the price for our sin and we no longer have to live separated from God - the devil loses!

Jesus destroyed the works of the devil - do you believe it?

what do we really need?

We need Jesus.
We seriously need to have a spiritual awakening - an awakening with Jesus once again becoming the full and exclusive center of our lives, families and churches.
Our attempts to be clever, cute and attractive to the world have born poor fruit.
Jesus is our only hope - Jesus our source of life, Jesus our answer to the pitiful life condition this world is facing.
We at World Challenge live for this singular purpose: to make the glories and riches of Christ known to a lost and hurting world.

Gary Wilkerson

forsaking the Lord God

A people that has forsaken God and His manifold blessings shall be granted their desire.

As a result of their turning away from Him the blessings of His grace and His truth shall indeed be removed and hidden from their midst. They shall seek truth and not find it. They shall desire blessing and their shall be none. Their enemies shall advance and bondage will ensue.

Yet, shall He mercifully uphold His remnant in times of trouble.

Standing in Grace and Truth

We see all around us, more and more frequently, that those who believe in and follow Christ are being pushed to the proverbial ‘back room’ of daily life and are told that our faith should be practiced only in private. So, in that context what are we, as believers in Christ Jesus, to do? How has our calling in Christ changed? Might we be ‘vived’ (for ‘revived’ means that we have already been there!)?

I have said for many years that the persecution of those who truly follow Christ would come upon America and I, for one, did not believe that this would be a terrible thing for the body of Christ! We have become so lethargic and blasé about our faith, in the context of our daily lives, that the only way to ‘wake up’ the church was for a level of persecution to come about so that we might see and understand how precious our faith in Christ really is…Well boys and girls the pressure is mounting – that day is coming upon us.

There is much persecution of the church around the world today and it appears to be growing. Whether it is in Asia or the Middle East or Africa, the church is facing mounting resistance (persecution) and believers are paying a price for declaring their faith.

As the pressure mounts in our own country how shall we react? How shall we respond?

 

Stand firm as we boldly proclaim His grace and truth…abiding in Him…in the power of His Spirit…by the word of our testimony.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony… Rev 12:11

into battle

The wiles (death, lies and destruction) of the enemy are ever present amongst us in this world...it is the blatancy of his evil acts that allow us to vividly see his efforts…working his wiles through a people held hostage and consumed with the darkness that is him.

And we appear to be in a period of time where those with spiritual eyes to see are intensely aware of his present workings in and amongst mankind…a tremendous onslaught wrought by the enemy as his time draws ever closer to an end.

So what are we to do?

As Christ's disciples, we are called into battle - the spiritual battle that is fought only upon the battle ground of prayer…an army of knee-bound warriors interceding for all of those around us who live in darkness and are entangled by the shackles that are the enemy's lies….

May we be open to Your leading Lord Jesus and the power of Your Holy Spirit that by Your strength we will stand firm against the enemy of man's soul, fully engaged in battle by the power of Your blood as we fight the good fight of faith.


Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.          

(Eph 6:10-12)

the fear of God...

There is no fear of God before their eyes…

Fear of the one true God – where has it gone? We live in a time where the central theme of our day is that there is no need to fear a God who does not exist and even if God does exist there is no room for Him in the affairs of our daily life – keep Him private and to yourself at home or in your church on Sunday! The prevailing message of those who make it their livelihood to persuade’ others through our media channels is persistently anti-God (more precisely the Judeo/Christian God) – there is surely no fear of God before their eyes!

And how does that affect our world?

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; the fear of God is what keeps man from utterly destroying everything that is within his reach; the fear of God is the catalyst for the achievements of future generations; the fear of God is what brings grace and mercy to a lost world; the fear of God provides the atmosphere within man to institute and incubate freedom and liberty among men – without the fear of the One True God there is rampant chaos, anarchy, strongholds and enslavement. Watch what is happening in our world today and you will see that humanity has little fear of the One True God.

its today again

Lord Jesus, I pray today for Your wisdom and Your grace while I stand upon Your truth. And by the power of Your Holy Spirit may my flesh be restrained so that I might proclaim Your glory. For You have called me out of darkness and into Your marvelous light.

quote for consideration...

The devil is not fighting religion. He's too smart for that. He is producing a counterfeit Christianity, so much like the real one that good Christians are afraid to speak out against it. We are plainly told in the Scriptures that in the last days men will not endure sound doctrine and will depart from the faith
and heap to themselves teachers to tickle their ears. We live in an epidemic of this itch, and popular preachers have developed "ear-tickling" into a fine art.

Vance Havner, Playing Marbles With Diamonds

preparation

Trials and Tribulations = Preparation...so that we may be an example of faith and trust to this generation

 "Your Father is preparing you to be a veteran of spiritual warfare, an example of faith and trust to this generation.

There is only one way to endure your present troubles:
-       Remember that your heavenly Father delights in you.
-       He has a plan at work, a great investment in you."

David Wilkerson

Here I am

Lord Jesus here I am this day,
as I come before Your throne,
fill me with Your wisdom,
may Your Spirit indwell my whole being,
lead me on Your paths,
make my way straight,
guide me to Your still waters,
for You are my Lord and You are my Savior...
may I ever honor and praise and give glory to You

I am the LORD

And I will dwell among the redeemed of the LORD,
And I will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God,
Who picked them up out of the miry clay that has separated us,
For I will surely dwell among them,
I am the LORD their God.

The veil has been removed from the place of My presence,
By the blood of the Lamb the price has been paid,
All the redeemed of the LORD may enter and I will dwell with them,
I am the LORD their God.

Come My beloved, walk and talk with Me all through the day,
For you are My child and you are My joy,
I am the LORD your God.

full of grace and truth

Full of grace and truth....that is our Lord and Savior.... 
And, as His child, we are being conformed into His image..... 
Are you His child? 
Are you full of grace and truth? 
Born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
but by the Spirit of the living God . . . 
Living grace and truth dispensers for His glory. 

  And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Who I am in You…

Do we know, realize and understand who we are in Christ?  That we have been adopted and made heirs for eternity, that we are invited into His mercy and filled by His grace, we are redeemed by His love and restored by His righteousness, precious in His sight, His child…His beloved.

Even if we do know who we are in Christ, this life that we live daily in our flesh can distract us and we can lose our way and forget who we are in Him. And the enemy of our soul wants us to believe his lies - that we are so unworthy, that we have no place in Him who is Lord and creator of all.

Who are you in Christ?

Listen to this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BqyC-NjM5w&feature=related

life of a disciple

By faith, through grace, in truth – this is the life of a disciple 

Disciples we are called, followers of Grace and Truth revealed
Spirit indwelt to be steadfast, we have been sealed
Given a measure of faith to persevere
A hope not bound by fear

Upon a solid foundation that had been concealed
The chief cornerstone was graciously revealed
Truth appeared in the midst of lives that were caught in bondage and despair
The promised way’s fulfillment made clear, the breech restored, mercy declared   
A people redeemed from their sin and their iniquity
The price was paid, the ransom made for all of eternity

By faith, through grace, in truth it was made clear
Joy and new life came to those who would draw near

What’s love got to do with it?

As we look at the world today and see how man has abandoned righteousness, rejected truth and seeks to worship and honor the world of materialism (the creation) - what’s love got to do with it?
Man seems to believe that he always has a better idea, rarely considering the reality that his wisdom (the world’s)  is derived as a result of his fallen condition. As a result, the constant struggle that each person deals with in this life emanates from three areas: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life. And those three areas, which created the chasm of separation between man and his Creator, constantly clouds and distorts man’s ability to find, understand, implement and adhere to true wisdom.
The separation that occurred between man and his Creator left a void, an emptiness that lingers in and torments man’s soul. It is an emptiness, a longing, a desire to be restored and redeemed fromhopelessness. There is a deep desire and longing for a close relationship with his Creator that man’s soul knowingly or unknowingly searches for to fill. And man, in his wisdom (along with some covert assistance from the enemy) has sought many earthly venues in an attempt to fill that void.
Always searching yet never finding that 'missing link' that will finally fulfill him. And what might that 'missing link' be and what's love got to do with it?
Love - love has everything to do with it! The love of God poured out for a lost people. For God first loved us. And this is love; that God gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him might have eternal life - the chasm of separation overcome.  The emptiness replaced, the longing removed, redemption and hope given, the void filled - man's relationship with his Creator faithfully established, not by man but by God.
That is what love's got to do with it…

I AM

The Great I Am....

Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself.

He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel.

He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread."

He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light."

He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door."

He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd."

He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and

the life."

--J. Sidlow Baxter (Australian born English pastor and theologian)

Check out this song -

I AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-HIKxnSZSA&feature=related

may I be...

May I be a humble man, Lord
that my words would encourage and edify

May I be a steadfast man, Lord
that my walk with You would be faithful

May I be a patient man, Lord
that my actions might witness unto You

May I be a man of perseverance, Lord
that all may see the trust that I have in You

May I be a man filled with grace and mercy, Lord
that You would be glorified in my life

the answer is...

The answer is -

Spirit lead, Word of God based, Jesus Christ focused discipleship

The question is -

What is missing from the body of Christ today?

Looking at the following scriptures from the book of Acts, Saul (soon to be Paul) shortly after his conversion to faith in the risen Lord Jesus, already has ‘disciples’! When we look at the body of Christ today we seem to be missing this component. We are all, as believers in Christ Jesus, called to disciple in the power of the Spirit, using the Word of God, standing firm on the foundation which is Jesus Christ the Lord. It is not just the role of the pastor or the Sunday school teacher to disciple.....it is the calling of each and every believer - we are all called to go and make disciples!

Acts 9:23-25 And when many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, but their plot became known to Saul. And they were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; but his disciples took him by night, and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket

our righteousness

Our righteousness comes through the power of God by His saving grace which is the gospel....
and it is only by FAITH that we can live a righteous life before God......

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."
Romans 1:16,17

Be Still

As I come into Your presence Lord
May I be still before You

As I bow down before You Lord
May I be still before You

As I listen to Your voice Lord
May I be still before You

As I lift my petitions to You Lord
May I be still before You

As I start this new day Lord
May I be found faithful because I was still before You

And may Your glory shine through me
That You will be exalted


Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10

leaving Eden

We are all leaving Eden…
This world is not our home…and the vapor that is this life is quickly passing us by…
And this world is filled with trials and tribulations…for sin abounds and the evil one prowls…
Are you preparing for home…a grace and truth dispenser emptied for the lost…
We are all leaving Eden…one more step each day…
One more step away from this world…one step closer to home…
And there is no place like home…


Check out this song on YouTube: Leaving Eden By Brandon Heath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=329dui5yFrg