Luke 2: 1-20

Wow today is Christmas Eve!! I can't believe it!! Merry Christmas everyone!

Luke 2:1-20

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  And everyone went to his 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 to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, and 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 room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherd living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. And 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 of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ 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, and on earth peace to men 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.

Luke 1:46-56

Here is another section from the birth story of Jesus.

Luke 1:46-56

"And Mary said," My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blesses, for the Might One has done great things for me - holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Luke 1:26-45

I am going to take sections of the Bible telling about Jesus birth since Christmas is two weeks away! Please follow along with the story for this is one of the greatest stories in the Bible. 

 

Luke 1:26-45

 

 

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 

 

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what king of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most Hight will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth you relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

 

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blesses is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of you greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blesses is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."

 

 

Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

I pray that God will give me joy and peace while I am trusting Him right now. It can be hard at times to have joy and peace when you don't even know what God is or going to do in your life. I ask God, "how can I have joy when I can't see anything You are doing?" You don't need to see what God is doing in your life in order to have joy. That is why the verse says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him." That is what God wants us to do. He wants our joy to overflow with hope as we trust our Heavenly Father with our dreams.

So today, whoever reads this post, I want all of us to do a challenge of not worrying but trusting God. No fear comes from the Lord, only Satan. Let's surrender everything to God and trust Him as He gives us joy and peace in our lives.

Ask God to lead you down the right path and trust Him as you walk the path He picks for you. It might be confusing at first, but He'll later reveal why He took you that way. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

These are one of my favorite verses. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. It can be challenging at times to trust God when you can't see what He is doing in your life. I am struggling right now to not lean on my own understanding. I want to take things into my own hands and not trust God with His plans for my life. I can't do that though. I need to acknowledge Him and then He will make my paths straighter and then He will fulfill His plans for my life. We all need to give our dreams to God and He will give us our dreams in His wonderful time. And when it happens, we will be happy we waited on God and didn't ruin the promise He will someday give to us when He thinks we are ready. So let's trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and not lean on our own understanding.

Patience

Today I want to share some verses on patience. Patience is the key on waiting for God to open another door in our lives. Right now I am in that season of patiently waiting for my Heavenly Father to fulfill His glorious promise to me. While I am waiting though, I need to trust God and focus on deepening my relationship with Him. And when He gives His promise in His time, I will be rewarded for my patience. Let's not jump ahead and ruin what God has for us. Let's be patient and wait with a happy heart and God will fulfill His promises to us in His time.

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self - control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

"Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience." Colossians 1:11

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

Being Thankful

Since this week is Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a few verses on thankfulness.



- "Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song." Psalms 95:2

- "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." Psalms 100:4

- "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done." 1Chronicles 16:8

- "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

- "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." 2 Corinthians 2:14

- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

- "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

- "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." Hebrews 12:28

This Thanksgiving, let's thank God for the many blessings He has given to us this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Whatever You're Doing by Sanctus Real

It's time for healing time to move on

It's time to fix what's been broken for too long

Time to make right what has been wrong

It's time to find my way to where I belong

There's is a wave that's is crashing over me

All I can do is surrender

 (Chorus)

Whatever You're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos somehow there's peace

It's hard to surrender to what I can't see

but I'm into something heavenly

Time for a millstone 

Time to begin again

Revaluate who I really am

Am I doing everything to follow your will

or just climbing aimlessly over these hills

So show me what it is you want from me

I give everything I surrender

To....

(Chorus)

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos somehow there's is peace

It's hard to surrender to what I can't see

But I'm giving into something heavenly

Time to face up

Clean this old house

Time to breathe in and let everything out

That I've wanted to say for so many years

Time to release all my held back tears

(Chorus)

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos but I believe

You're up to something bigger than me

Larger than life something heavenly

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos but I believe

You're up to something bigger than me

Larger than life something heavenly

It's time to face up

Clean this old house

Time to breathe in and let everything out

Click here to listen! Enjoy!

Matthew 6:33

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you." Matthew 6:33

I think we as Christians tend to misunderstand this verse often. I know I have many times. When we seek His kingdom for something we want for example a good job, we can't just seek Him only to give us a good job, but seek Him everyday with everything in our lives. Then all these "things will be given to us." God rewards us when we seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." 

Now when God doesn't want this certain thing for you, don't give up and stop seeking our Heavenly Father because He didn't give you what you wanted. He has a different plan for you and wants you to find it. He will began to open the doors that He wants you to go through when you ask. I have done this many times and feel bad for giving up on God because He wouldn't give me what I wanted. But now I look back and I am glad God never opened the door for me because I would not be seeing the wonderful things He is doing in my life right now. The doors He has and still is opening for me. So today, seek God in everything circumstance and ask Him what He wants in your life. And He will reveal His wonderful plan for you.

The Power of the Cross

Once in darkness, now in light

Once blind, now you see

Once a sinner, now a saint

Once bound, now free

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

That's the power of the Cross

See the chains fall

Once a stranger, now a child

Empty, now filled

Once condemned, now reconciled

Broken, now healed

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

Yeah, the chains fall

Once a prodigal, now home

Once lost, now found

Once an enemy, now a friend

Once poor, now crowned

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

That's the power of the cross

See the chains fall

See the chains, your chains fall

Wow, I really like this song. The words are absolutely amazing! God touches my heart every time I listen or sing the words to this song. When we lay down anything such as pain, hurt, suffering, guilt or sin at the cross, we can see God removing the chains from us. What a wonderful Father we have for Him to willingly take everything that is in our hearts or mind and take it away from us. He takes our burdens upon Himself to free us from our chains that have held us back for so long. I pray that anyone who reads this post will praise God for His awesome work in our lives. If it wasn't for our Heavenly Father, we would be lost in sin with no way out.  But thanks to God, we are free from all of it.

1 Samuel 12:16

"Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!" 1 Samuel 12:16 NIV

I came across this verse the other day. It truly has a powerful message in its own little way. If you think about it, when we sit still and wait for God, we can see the great things He is doing or about to do in our lives. But when we want to take things into our own hands, we can't see God work. It takes us on a path of destruction. The path that we want to take might seem great at first, but in the end, it only hurts. I have been there many times. I took paths that I wanted to take knowing it wasn't what God wanted for me. I felt Him speaking to me, but of course I ignored Him. I was practically telling God that I wanted this, and He needed to follow me. Wrong answer. In the end, I got my heart broken.

So what I am trying to get with this is, stand still and wait on the Lord. He is about ready to do great things in each of our lives. We just have to be willing to take the paths God wants us to take. We have to surrender all of our dreams to Him, and then the best part is watching Him do great things.

Romans 4:16

"So people receive God's promise by having faith. This happens so the promise can be a free gift." Romans 4:16 NCV

If you can't tell, the book of Romans is my favorite book in the Bible. I had to ponder this verse for awhile asking God to reveal to me what He is trying to tell me. How can you get the promise from God for free? I mean going through all these test and trials, how can you get God's wonderful promise for free? It seems to me that I practically have to work to get the promise from God. But that isn't what He is doing to me or you.God takes us through these test and trials to make our faith stronger. So in turn, it builds our faith to receive the promise from God for free.


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves." 2 Corinthians 13:5

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exist and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

Romans 4:18

"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed." Romans 4:18

I read this verse the other day and God truly spoke to me. Against all hope, I need to believe in what God says. No matter what the world, circumstances, emotions, or people might say or do, I need to put all my trust in God. Even if He has told you to be still and wait before Him doesn't mean that He is done with His promise. At that moment, He wants all your focus to be on Him until He tells you to move again. But He will still want your full attention to be on Him as you move ahead too.

I can say God wants me "to be still and know that He is God." There must be something that He wants me to strengthen in my daily walk with Him. So to find out, I need to spend everyday in His word and ask Him to speak to me. He will. Either through His word, speaking to my heart, or in a vision or dream. 

Whatever promise He has made to you, don't give up hope when life seems to take you in a different direction. God knows what He is doing. He may lead you somewhere far away from His promise. But don't worry, He obviously wants something done first before His promise happens.

I read this phrase somewhere and would like to share it. "Replace worry with faith." How powerful is that. I ask God to help me live like that daily. For when you worry, it doesn't make things any better. Replace your worry with faith while you sit back and watch God work.

 

 

 

"God always keeps His word. When He makes a promise, He fulfills it in His timing and in His way." Taken from the book: In Step With God by: Charles F. Stanley.

Mark 11:22

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered.

Isn't that so true? In order to receive anything from God, we must have faith in Him. Like it says in Hebrews 11:6a, "And without faith it is impossible to please God." We must have faith with everything we ask for. Whether you are wanting to get married, you need a job, or you need healing spiritually and physically, just have faith in Him. He will answer your prayers in His time. It could be a week or it could be many, many weeks, but never give up. Have faith always!

Hebrews 4:7b

"Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." Hebrews 4:7b

This verse spoke to me the moment I laid my eyes on it. There have been many, many times when I hardened my heart to God because I wanted this or that. I didn't want to listen to what God wanted. Only me. I learned it made me feel worse about what I was doing, not any better. I had no pleasure in the things He told me no to. I began to feel farther away from God. As if He was in the other room and wouldn't let me in. But the whole time it was me who locked God out and made Him distant by disobeying Him. 

God wants us to soften our hearts when He speaks to us. Not harden our hearts and not listen. By doing that, we can start seeing the wonders He wants to show us. And eventually He will reveal to us why He lead us to this certain path. God doesn't take you where He can't protect you. Let Him guide you with His gentle voice and you will sure be glad you listened!