Christmas ponderment:

May the joy and hope and love of our Christmas celebration bring you ever closer to Jesus Christ our Lord - for it is He who is the joy and hope of the world because of His love for us…and the reason that we celebrate!

May our souls magnify Him as we celebrate our Messiah's coming as was promised from the foundation of the world…for God so loved the world.

Rejoice, the Lord has come - Emmanuel, God with us...and He shall be exalted and His name lifted high forever and ever!

Luke 2:13-14 

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

you have heard it said.....

You have heard it said -
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

But I say -
All it takes for evil to triumph is for men of faith to ignore and diminish the power of prayer...

we are to....

We are to -
Fear the Lord, resist the devil

But we end up -
Resisting the Lord and fearing the devil...

do we boast....

Do we boast in our arrogance; 
For all such boasting is evil. 
James 4:16 

Submit therefore to God. 
Resist the devil 
Draw near to God
Cleanse your hands, 
Purify your hearts, 
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, 
And He will exalt you. 
James 4:7‭-‬8‭,10 

He gave...for us....

He gave Himself for us to 
- redeem us from every lawless deed, and 
- to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. 
Titus 2:14 

do we....

Do we "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect"?
Titus 2:10 

my struggle....

On the one hand -
To deal with the disappointment and frustration of where the last ten years has taken me; no job, no income, savings used up, retirement and college provision vanished, debt increased, no remaining goals or dreams, ambition erased, enthusiasm gone, pride in my abilities and capabilities destroyed, no focus, no accomplishments, hardship brought upon my family (financial, physical, emtional), five months of sickness and a major life-changing operation, being tired of being tired of dealing with all of this....

On the other hand - 
I have an amazing wife and kids that love me, we have been able to financially survive and not lose our house, we have food to eat, cars to drive, clothes on our backs, enjoy bountiful Christmas and birthday celebrations, I survived my sickness, found a part time job (although that is a two edged sword), have the ablility to still work out, emily and natalie graduated from college, benjamin and maggie are doing well...

The continued back and forth of dwelling upon these issues of life that I deal with each and every day...but the most difficult for me are the lack of my financial stability (ability), the loss of my dreams and goals AND the ever present question to the Lord  "why and what am I to do".....

So I struggle on day to day trying to make the best of it...desiring to love my family the best I can while retaining hope in the Lord...some days I do better than others...

A pondering word for today

You who fear the Lord, 
trust in the Lord...
Psalms 115:11 

Many fear (revere, honor, acknowledge) the Lord but how many truly trust in the Lord? 
Living out their daily lives totally trusting in Him (His grace and truth and power) and not the ways of the world....

renew my strength...

...renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
Psalms 51:10 

Oh Lord, my worry and concern are wearing me down...my strength is fading...my joy is waining...my drive has evaporated...my hope diminished. 
I attempt to put on a good face but I am 63 and I have no dream nor vision nor any hope of financial stability - humiliation overflows me for being so incapable, incompetent. 
Oh the failure that I am...and the enemy rejoices in his battle to destroy my spirit. 
Renew my strength and my hope...restore my joy...heal me from all that plagues me - body, mind and spirit. For only You alone can do it.

understanding....

Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it... 
Proverbs 16:22 

Understanding the grace and truth of God is the fountain of life! Being transformed by the power of the Spirit is the key. Ceding the wisdom of the world for the truth of God is the way. By faith we shall walk in His wisdom that we might gain His understanding and drink from His fountain of life. 

where are we living....

but one thing I do....

It is difficult to forget what lies behind, pondering upon the mistakes and errors and failures in my life. The decisions and events that have led to the place where I am today. 
The 'should have', 'could have', 'would have' and 'if only'. As well as the affect of the wear and tear that it has had on my family. 
Along with waking up in the middle of the night with all of these thoughts of what lies behind pummeling through my brain, disturbing my sleep. And the ever present frustrating dreams of never being able to reach the goal. 
But Paul encourages us to forget what lies behind and reach for what lies ahead. The hard part is that I have no idea what lies ahead. No dream, no plan, no inkling of what the steps of my path should be! 
So here I sit asking and earnestly seeking what shall I reach forward to Lord? 

...but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead... 
Philippians 3:13 

who is our life....

made complete....

...in Him you have been made complete.
Colossians 2:10

We are complete in Him...

We have been made complete...

Do we believe it?

Or are we still listening to the voice of the world that ever reminds us that we are somehow lacking.
In Christ we have everything for life and godliness...He is our all in all. 

Yet the world tells us that there is more. Brothers and sisters don't allow the voice of this world lead you astray. Only in Christ are you complete and only in Him will you be fulfilled.

In Christ alone we take our stand everything else is sinking sand...

the veil of the temple was torn...

And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.
And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Mark 15:37‭-‬38

The true significance of this verse is overlooked.

This is the power of the gospel.

The relationship was restored. Our sin no longer separated us from His presence.

The price was paid, redemption completed.

And His resurrection was the culmination of our restoration for those who believe.

walking in newness....

Walk in newness of life...
Raised from the dead (our sinful flesh and it's penalty of death) to new life in Christ.
As new creations in Christ we now have new life and we are to walk in this newness of life - not by our own power but through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit.
It is all to easy to hang on to our old lives and walk in the way of the flesh (death) because it is what we are used to and it's seems easier and it does not conflict with the world.
But if we do let the "old man" rule we are missing out on the true fullness of the newness of life in Christ...missing out on His amazing kingdom life and all that it entails - including the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4 

the Passover Lamb of God...

As another Passover is celebrated
The foreshadowing of what was to come
Celebrating a future fulfillment of the promise
A promise made from the foundation of the world
The Passover Lamb of God

His broken body would be pierced for our transgressions
He would be crushed for our iniquities
By His scourging we would be healed
He would be poured out even to death for our sin
His blood would be shed to overcome death’s sting
The Passover Lamb of God

And yet, He was despised and forsaken of men
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him
The Passover Lamb of God

The Righteous One who came to serve
His sacrifice made, the price paid that many might be set free
Redemption accomplished through an act of His loving-kindness
Grace and mercy interceding for our transgressions
The Passover Lamb of God

Salvation is among us, liberty and life anew
Rejoice for He has risen, Rejoice for He is alive
Our Passover Lamb of God
Our Redeemer, Our Savior, Our Lord
Jesus

in the power....

In the power of the Spirit - how powerful is the Spirit of God?
Within the body of Christ we seem to have some concerns regarding His power working in our lives today. If He is the same yesterday, today and His power does not and has not and will not change.
God has graciously given us His Spirit to abide in us and His Spirit comes with power - the power of God to fully preach and live the whole gospel of Christ. It is not a watered down spirit that has been somehow minimized for our day...it is the power of God in all its miraculous working.
Might we fully trust in the Lord and the power of His might allowing the Spirit to work the works of the Lord in and through us to reveal the miraculous power of the gospel of Christ in our daily lives.

...in the power of signs and wonders,
in the power of the Spirit...
I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Romans 15:19 

now is the time....

Now is the time.....
for the darkness is raging as the voices of evil attempt to claim their ground...

whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

whiners and complainers and murmurers...

Abounding in thanksgiving....

Overflowing with gratitude.... 

Rejoicing with praise and worship....

For His mercy and grace and lovingkindness...

We have really become a nation of whiners and complainers and murmurers who focus on what we see as wrong or unjust or irksome to our sensibilities. We seem to have picked up the pace of this attitude over that last several years where it permeates just about all of our lives.

As one who serves an amazing God it has become clear to me that we must move from whining and complaining to praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, worship and Spirit lead prayer....honoring the Lord for all of His lovingkindness and mercy and grace and provision and providence in our lives. As my wife is founding of saying "complaining doesn’t change the problem, only prayer will".

Have it your way?

The struggle with living the authentic, Jesus filled, abundant life has to do with the worldly forces that capture our attention from the moment we awaken in the morning. The draw of the world, its time schedules, its appointments, its daily setbacks, trials and frustrations along with its overly obsessive ways keep us from truly following His Way. And then you have the enemy's deviousness that ensnares us and trips us up from following His Way.

I am reminded of the Burger King commercial - "Have it your way". That is the way that we live in this world - attempting to have it our own way. But having it our own way is not the blessing of abundant life. It is not fulfilling the calling that our Lord has upon our lives. When we set out on the path to have it our own way we no longer live in our new life in Christ, we return to the grave of our hopeless life.

We may believe that living our life His Way will be too onerous, to risky, and might seem foolish to the world. Or that the Lord really doesn’t care about our everyday life - He is just interested in Sunday mornings or when we find ourselves in some sort of a jam. And this calls to mind the old Ford Motor Company commercial - "We have a better idea". How can we have a better idea for our lives than the One who created us? Yet we strive on somehow believing that we have become intelligent enough and so full of wisdom that we do have a better idea than He does for the way we live our lives.  

We need to be either cold (live our way) or hot (live His Way) and not attempt to be luke warm (trying to straddle the line between both worlds). Are we committed and convinced that we need to live our life in Christ - His Way - or are we going to be a fair weather friend who only comes around in time of need? I want to encourage you that now is time to live His Way and that He has promised that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us - what more could we ask?

and....

Who are we: 

a new creation...

in Christ Jesus...

living and walking by the Spirit...

our faith working through love...

full of grace and truth...

a light shining in the darkness...

for this I know.....

This I know, that God is for me. 
Psalms 56:9 

Do I truly believe this after the struggles and difficulties that I have been through? Experiencing first hand the destructive wiles of the enemy.
If He is for me why have I gone through this long, long season of frustration, struggle and continued disappointment? 
Can I truly say "though He slay me thus will I trust Him" and believe that and live it as I walk upon this fallen earthly path?
Lord help me to stand steadfast in Your truth no matter what the tempests of this life may bring...for this I know that God is for me! 

amazing power...

Joshua and Caleb had to endure the cost of eight other's disbelief in God’s word and power. Forty years of wandering in the desert. Forty years of waiting to enter into the promised land. 
This is a lesson for us today.
Let us not allow those who do not believe in the amazing power of God and His word keep us from moving forward in the promises of God.

striving...

Is striving now consider a professional sport?

We seem to be experiencing quite a bit of striving in our day. Struggling with the reality of modern life and all of its encumbrances and entrapments. And I have quite a bit of personal experience with striving over the last several years!
The Lord tells us to cease striving...are we willing to listen? To believe by faith that He is in control and He will be exalted in all things.
Our striving can become an idol in our lives affecting our relationships with everyone, especially the Lord. Striving places our struggles and ability to resolve them (or lack thereof) above the Lord's capacity to deal with our striving - thus trusting in ourselves to have all the solutions - idol alert!
So, might we cease striving and rest in Him knowing that He cares for us and loves us with an everlasting love...and He has all of the answers!
Come, behold the amazing and mighty works of the Lord.

"Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalms 46:10 

are we listening....

What is the Spirit saying to the church today? Are we listening?

Worship Me in spirit and in truth, love one another as I have loved you, allow My Spirit to fully empower you, listen attentively to My still small voice...
Shine My light of grace and truth into the world's darkness...

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:6

know and believe...

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.
1 John 4:16

Who is our first love? 
We spend our days dealing with and distracted by so many things of this fleshly life. Our time just seems to evaporate each day - the tyranny of the urgent ruling over us. The constant tug and pull of our modern lives.
Add to this we have our routines that we become mired in and there can be little time that remains for that which is truly important.
In the hustle and bustle of every day living we can end up neglecting our first love...even begin to take Him for granted. Setting Him aside for when things get tough and struggles arise.
Lord, I do not want to do that any more! Forgive me for taking You for granted, for setting You on the back burner of my life at times.
I know and believe the love that You have for me...let me not allow the issues of this world to distract me from what's truly important...because You first loved me!

Glory....

Glory of the Lord come....
And the people will be amazed...
And His children will rejoice as never before...
And Jesus will be exalted by their praise...
And the world will know.
Amen and amen 

the depth of the riches...

As we step forward into the start of 2018 might we begin the year by pondering upon this truth - 

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. 
To Him be the glory forever. 
Amen. 
Romans 11:33,36