A Savior is Born

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 are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind 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 High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called, the Son of God." 

Luke 1:26-35

It's Christmas time and we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Although we may not know the exact date of his birth, it doesn't really matter? The point is that He was born! The creator of the universe came down from His much more comfortable surroundings and became one of us. He became one of His own creations. He lived among us – loving us, teaching us, and preparing us for greater things.  Then the unthinkable happened – He died (taking our sins with Him). But most importantly -  He rose from the dead fulfilling His purpose and giving us a new hope and a new beginning. That's the greatest gift we could ever receive!!!

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 49

Happy "one week until Christmas day" to you.  What better way to celebrate the season than with some presents - specifically the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Sure, you've probably already memorized this verse but just in case it's been awhile - dust off the package and unwrap it.  Enjoy it once again.

I think we sometimes take all the characteristics of this gift for granted.  We simply throw them all together and label them "good behavior" traits.  But they're more than that.  They're not simply a way to act but a way to live.  

We can all act out these traits from time to time.  But acting them out and being filled by them so completely that they change our very nature are two different things. Without this gift, we couldn't possibly exhibit them on our own. 

We can't, however, expect the gift to supernaturally change us.  The gift is given.  We must nurture it and allow it to grow.  Things like anger, jealousy, and hatred will stunt the growth of our gift easier than just about anything.  We must feed the one and eliminate the things that would suppress it.  Only then will true transformation happen.

Have you noticed that each one of the traits listed are characteristics of God?  He is so abundantly filled with them that He cannot behave in an opposing manner.  How beautiful to know that He has given us a bit of Himself so that we may learn to exhibit the very nature of God.


See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

Sunday Blogvotional: Knowing Our Stuff

"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him."  Matthew 2:2

Every year at this time we get a refresher course on the story of Jesus' birth.  We pull out the Bible and read the story of the nativity and learn all the main characters.  As a child my knowledge of the magi was limited at best.  They were simply wise men from a far away land that brought expensive gifts (only one of which I could pronounce).

These foreigners who had no direct connection to the Israelites recognized the significance of a special star in the sky.  They knew their stuff.  And when that star appeared they knew exactly what it meant.  They knew the promised king to the Jewish people had been born (or was about to be born) and they set off to worship to Him.  

The sad thing is this story is that the Jewish people, themselves, would not have even noticed had the magi not shown up on Herod's doorstep.  Herod gathered his own "wise men" who then had to go look the matter up in the archives.  How embarrassing is that?  Strangers from a distant land had to tell them their savior had been born.  

Encouragement for the week: Yes - the Jewish people were caught unaware but what about us today?  Do we know our stuff?  If the Holy Spirit acts, do we know it?  If something goes against what the Bible teaches, will we catch it?  Do we go through life unaware of God's teaching and His plan? Let's make sure we don't let the world put us to shame.  Let's know our stuff.  We don't want to miss out on something big.

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 48

Good Wednesday to you.  I hope all is merry and bright.  'Tis the season after all.

The last couple of verses have been a little long.  It's time to lighten the load just a bit.  However - just because this verse is short, don't mistake it for being short in the message department.

We've all heard this verse before.  Reading it will probably even start you singing a popular tune.  It's an easy verse to remember.  But - remembering it is the key.  Plant this verse so deep in your heart that you'll absolutely never forget it.  When you're down in the dumps, repeat this verse to yourself.  When you feel sad and alone, repeat this verse.  When you feel overwhelmed by the struggles of life, repeat this verse. 

There will never be a time in your life when God is not "for" you.  He is always on your side.  He is always your biggest champion.  He wants you to thrive more than you want to thrive.  And we have seen through past verses that nothing can separate us from His love.  Believe it!  It's true!

The verse also says "who can be against us?". I'm sure you have no trouble conjuring up someone or something in your mind.  When we look at things with human eyes, we see danger all around.  But from God's perspective all of those dangers are nothing but nuisances.  Even the devil (as powerful as we think he is) is more akin to a powder puff than any real threat.  There is no force, no evil, no one that can truly be against us with God on our side.

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 47

Happy Thursday everyone.  It's been a week since Thanksgiving.  Are you still feeling full?  Well, we only have a few more weeks of our Memory Verse Challenge series.  I hope and pray it's been encouraging to you.  God's words have that affect on us if we just tap into them.

This week's verse is another one that says so much in just one little verse.  Check it out.

Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have.  It makes sense, doesn't it, that when we revere God in our hearts, hope is a natural by-product.  Revering Him means we have seen His truths - His promises and we believe in His almighty power and love.  Revering someone also indicates we feel safe and protected.  He will not let us down.  Our hope, our trust, and our faith is in His hands.

It's true - sometimes it can be difficult to share our faith.  But this verse tries to simplify things for us.  We shouldn't try so hard to explain things logically (from our brain) in an effort to make others understand intellectually.  All we have to do is share God from our hearts.  How does He make you feel?  How has He made a difference in your life?  What would your life be like without Him?

The last part of this verse says to give an answer with gentleness and respect.  Like I said - God works through people's hearts more than He works through their minds.  Trying to debate someone into believing in God will do much less good than building a heart connection.  Don't worry that you may sound crazy.  Since when has love ever made sense?