Christmas Giving

CHRISTMAS: it has been dubbed as, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," yet for many it is quite the opposite. Christmas can be a time of stress and dread. It can be a time of frustration, heartache, anger or even pain.

There are many families, orphans, widows and widowers who will not celebrate a Merry Christmas this year. The reasons are as different as the people themselves. Some may not have the monetary resources to have a big celebration. Some may be dealing with loss. Some may have lived through Christmases with huge disappointments that time has failed to heal. Some may have family members who will not be with them this year, for one reason or another.

What can we possibly do to help?

The first and most important thing Christians can do to help is to pray. Pray that God will bless those in need in a very special way this Christmas. Pray that God will send help to those in need. Pray that their hearts would be open to receive the gift God has for them. Pray for God to heal and bind up the wounds of those who are hurting.

Next, you can put action to your prayers. If you know of a need and are able to fill it, go ahead and do so. Do not wait for someone else. God may have laid them on your heart for a purpose-not just to pray, but to bring them some joy.

To accomplish this may mean giving of your time, money or other resources. It may seem trivial or just too hard, but it could bring about big changes to the landscape of eternity.

If you are wondering what you could possibly do, I have a few suggestions if you will allow me.

1. Gather some friends and go carolling through town.

2. Go carolling at your local senior's centre.

3. Give to the Salvation Army, Food Bank or Soup Kitchen or other group that helps the needy of your money and/or time.

4. Give to a local family in need: provide them with a Christmas feast and gifts.

5. Go to the hospital and sit with, read to or talk with someone who is lonely.

6. If you are blessed with money this season that you were not expecting, donate it to a family in need or an organization that helps those in need.

7. If you want to do something that is on-going, sponsor a child.

These are but a few things we can do to make an impact. Be prayerful and ask Jesus to show you what you can do. What better way to spend Christmas than to help a neighbour in need? What better gift could you give Jesus this year?

"For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to Me."

Matthew 25:35-36

Each time we help someone, we are showing the love of Jesus and shining His light. May your light shine this Christmas season and all year long, lighting the path for those in need.

What's in a Name?

"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 NASB How do you think about Jesus this time of year? Is He a baby in a manger? Is He simply another decoration in your home? Or does His name stir something deep-down within your heart and soul? The names of Jesus in this passage of Scripture gives us a picture of the Lord we serve. He is not just a baby, born of a virgin in a stable so many years ago. He is our Wonderful Counselor. Jesus lives within each one of us, abiding in us through the Holy Spirit He sent to dwell within believers. We have access to be counselled by the best if we would listen and wait for His wisdom. Jesus is our Mighty God. Who else could heal the blind, lame and sick? Who else has the power to raise the dead? He is also our Mighty God. Mighty are the things that He does. "Nothing is impossible with God," Matthew 19:26 (paraphrased). Who else is that mighty? Jesus is our Eternal Father. He was there when the foundations of the earth were put together. He is here now and He will be here when the earth passes away. He is the One who is, who was and who is to come. He will be there always in all ways. That is a Promise you can count on. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He came into this world to give us peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). If you do not have His perfect peace, take the time to claim it for your own. It is there for the asking. All we must do is ask and in faith believe and receive. What a wonderful gift this Christmas to accept. The love and peace that only Christ can give us. Dear Lord, Thank you for the many blessings of my life. Father I pray in the name of Jesus that You would reveal Your truths to me in simple and clear terms. Father, I release my will and my ways and accept Your will and Your ways. Cover me with Your peace and joy You alone can give. Fill me with the fruits of the Spirit that I may be complete in You. Father, let me look past the baby in the manger and see the Man, Jesus who is here with me now, who always has been and always will be. Thank You for all You are. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Blessed Endurance

“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and see the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful,” James 5:11 (NKJV). The Christian life is not all peaches and cream. There are some blemishes and pits. Christians walk through trials and fires, just as anyone does. However, we have a secret weapon: faith. Where God is, there is hope. Sometimes, hope is all we have to cling to. Do you know the song that goes, “for the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley…”? Going through the valleys of our lives is where we grow. Stop for a minute and think of the valley. In the valley is where the lush green grass, fruit trees and flowers take root, burst forth from the ground, grow, blossom and bear fruit. This is the place where it all happens for us too. We long for mountaintop experiences, yet our growth of faith and endurance come from being tested in the valleys of our lives. When you have reached a mountaintop experience, take the time to enjoy it. Take it all in and bask in the glory that is God’s alone. But don’t tarry there too long. Pray, believing God’s promise to “never leave you nor forsake you,” (Hebrews 13:5), and head wherever He takes you—even if another valley is what awaits you. It is often difficult to explain to someone who is struggling with physical, emotional or spiritual battles that they are being blessed, but it is true. Take Job for instance: He had it all, he lost it all, and through it all he never lost his faith in God. In the end, he regained it all with more added to it. God blesses those who endure. Will you take the time to praise the Lord for being with you, whether in a mountaintop or valley experience? Will you allow Him to lead you into the valley and follow, without hesitation? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths,”(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).

Trusting, Trusting

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord. Do you find that a difficult task? Do you sometimes think you should be able to handle it—whatever it is—all by yourself? Many times we trust in our own abilities and brilliance to get us through. This passage of Scripture tells us different. We can put our faith in Jesus Christ and then trust in Him with ALL our heart. This is what He desires of us: our whole heart. As a race, humans can get headstrong and independent. We think we have all the answers to all the problems of the world; yet when it comes to our own lives, they may be quite a mess. Leaning on the Lord to give understanding is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Having the ability to admit to our shortcomings is a gift. We are unable to do it all, or know it all. However, with the presence of the Holy Spirit who dwells within each believer, we have the power to seek guidance from the Lord about any and every situation in our lives. When we look to Him for direction and guidance, we are admitting to our inability to do it all on our own. This is a positive step. This is the kind of humility God can use. There is tremendous freedom in allowing God to take the lead of your life. I have found there is much less stress in my life when I allow Him to take the driver’s seat. Whenever I get independent and think I can do it alone, fear and frustration set in. Yet, giving the lead back to Him results in peace that I cannot explain. Whatever we do, we can make a choice to keep God at the front. Give Him all of your cares and concerns then trust His decisions. He will direct you and take you places you could not imagine going. Remember to acknowledge Him in all you do. Take the time to listen to what He is saying to you. He will amaze you.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord I give You thanks and praise for who You are.

Take my life Lord and lead me in Your way.

Mold me and make me into Your image. Forgive me for being headstrong and independent.

Heal my heart and guide my life. Lord, I give You control and trust in Your will.

In Jesus' holy and mighty name I pray, Amen. If you are not a Christian and would like to understand more, scroll down the page to my blog post titled, The Greatest Promise.

Powerful Prayers

“Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him,” (1 John 5:14-15 NKJV). Have you taken the time lately to stop and think about the prayers you are praying? What is it you are asking for, and why? What do you hope to happen as a result to your prayers being answered? Jesus gave us the perfect model for prayer when He gave us The Lord’s Prayer. You can find it in Matthew 6:9-13: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen,” (emphasis mine NKJV). Sometimes we think of prayer as a magic chant or magical method of getting what we want, yet that is not what prayer is about. Prayer is our line of communication with our Lord and Savior. It is a way to deepen and strengthen our relationship with Him. When we pray according to God’s will, things change. We may not always want to pray His will be done, because for the most part, human beings want what they want, when they want it. We live in an instant society. Instant coffee, instant potatoes, instant stain remover; we desire instant gratification… You get the picture. Not all of our prayers are answered instantly. Some may not be answered at all. Yet, we are to continue on, praying, knowing and believing that God is sovereign. Having said that, we can go back and examine; praying in His will. His will; will be done. So how do we learn to pray in His will? We seek Him first. Spend time in prayer sharing and also listening to what He is saying to you. I have been known to go to the Lord with a checklist. I want this, this, this and this and I want it done in this way. Selfish? Oh, yes. Is this what He desires for His children in prayer? I don’t think so. Learning to pray His will simply means going to Him and asking what we desire, but in the end of it all; simply pray, Lord, not my will but Yours be done. This can be extremely difficult for those of us who like to feel some kind of control. When we surrender our will to His: that is faith. Remember, His desire is to give us the great things, not just the good things. When we truly stop and take time to follow His way and His will, we will be blessed with the great things. God knows what we need and the best way to give it to us. Will you pray, Your will be done, and let God be God?

If Peace is a Promise – Why am I Worried?

Peace is a strange thing. We desire it, we want it, we strive for it, yet it can be elusive. Why? Maybe we are trying too hard. Jesus’ peace is a promise He made over 2000 years ago. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” (John 14:27). Jesus left His peace with everyone who would choose to become one of His children. Many times we spend our days striving to “find” peace, when it is right there for us to grab hold of. Peace is a free gift God holds out to you. It is like the most beautiful gift, wrapped in shiny gorgeous paper, with ribbons and bows flowing from it. He holds it out to you right now, even in this very moment. Like every gift the Master holds out to us, we must be active in our acceptance. Accepting the gifts He has means taking them, unwrapping, and using them. What good would a birthday or Christmas gift be if you took it home and put it on a shelf unopened? Even if it was a book with the answers to all of your questions, or all the money you could ever want or need, it would not do you one bit of good unless you opened it and used it. Each day is new, filled with promises and hope. Reach out to Jesus, accept His gift of salvation and all the promises He has for you. Do not make the mistake I did and think that everything would be perfect without trouble or glitches. Realize that Christians also have trouble, yet we can have “peace that surpasses all understanding” when our hope and focus is on Him. Give Him control of your life and trust that He wants more and better for you than you can possibly think of or hope for. It is not easy to relinquish control, yet it is possible. What is peace to you? Have you ever really thought about your expectations? What would a peaceful life look like to you? Seek the will of Jesus for your life, keeping your focus on Him and He will fill you with His peace in all circumstances.

Happy Thanksgiving

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 NKJV Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving. Have you thought about the things you are truly thankful for? In each one of our lives, there is something to give thanks for. It may be something small or something huge, but we can all find at least one thing to be thankful for. Take some time this weekend and record some of the things you are thankful for. The promise of an eternal life in heaven with Jesus is something I am thankful for. Knowing that everyone is on level footing and all are welcome is something to be truly thankful for. Forgiveness, grace, mercy, peace, hope, and wisdom; these are all promises to His children. Isn’t that cause for thankfulness? When we enter into His presence, we can do so with boldness knowing that our prayers will be heard. We can enter with thanksgiving because He is and always will be. We can make the conscious choice to praise Him even if we don’t “feel” like it. If you are going through a bad time, take a moment and praise God for something. Find one thing He has done and praise Him for it. Remember, His truth does endure. Pray that He will give you understanding and a discerning heart to hear from Him.