The True Meaning for Today

Luke 2:1-20
1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

May God bless you all today as you celebrate the birth of the Savior!

Knowing Your Place

Have any of you seen the US Postal Service commercial for Christmas? It's a pretty funny little commercial.
See, there's a reindeer that stands in someone's yard, and he starts to talk to a package that has been left sitting on the porch. He says something like, "Hey package, are you lost? This isn't the post office."
The package says, "I know, but the woman is really busy, so she just left me sitting out here."
Then he proceeds to tell about how the mail person will come right to your door to pick up packages if you schedule them online. Just then the mail person gets to the package and picks it up, and the package says, "See?"
And the reindeer says, "That's fine, you go. My place is here...with the snow people."
It's a cute little skit, and I think the Post Office did a pretty good job showing what options they have. But it made me think of something completely different. (Of course, don't you guys know that my mind works differently by now?)
Anyway, it made me think about knowing my place. Not my place to stand, but my place to serve God. See, I want my life to be used of God. And in order to be used by Him, I must constantly be seeking His will. Seeking to be right where He would have me to be.
Check out this verse from Psalm 40:8, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."
The psalmist delighted in doing God's will. And did you see that second part? God's law was in his heart. In order to be in God's perfect will, we must store His Word in our hearts.
So, during this Christmas season, as I'm searching to find my place, I'm going to spend a bit more time storing God's Word in my heart. What about you?

Joseph's Lullaby

This is a post I originally posted last Christmas season. Things are a little hectic around here, so I figured this song was worth sharing again! God bless you all during this season of celebrating the birth of Christ!

The song "Joseph's Lullaby" is one that touches my heart in a special way. I believe this song off of Mercy Me's Christmas CD will become a standard.
The words are so powerful. I'll just share them all since the songs pretty short:

Go to sleep my son, this manger for your bed
You have a long road before you, rest your little head.
Can you feel the weight of your glory?
Do you understand the price?
Does the father guard your heart for now
So you can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my son, go and chase your dreams.
This world can wait for one more moment.
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of heaven is lying in my arms tonight
Lord I ask that He for just this moment, simply be my child

Go to sleep my son, baby close your eyes,
Soon enough you'll save the day, but for now, dear child of mine,
Oh, my Jesus, sleep tight.

Have you ever wondered about the baby Jesus? This tiny boy had the weight of the world upon Him. What about Mary and Joseph? They were the parents of the Savior. They knew God's eternal purpose for their child. They knew he wasn't their own.
Think about the Father in Heaven. He sent His son to earth. He knew what would happen to Him. He knew Jesus would be crucified. Yet, He allowed Him to come. He loved us so much that He sent His son.
The miracle of Christmas is in the awesome gift God sent us through His son Jesus. The gift of eternal life. On this holiday remember Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

You Need the Key

Have you ever had one of those "DUH" moments. You know one of those moments where you feel like your brain apparently just stopped working for whatever reason?
I had one of those moments last night. See, I have one key to the house, and Tracy has one key to the house. Yesterday at lunch I loaned my key to my brother-in-law so that he could go to the house and pick up some stuff.
I was going to their house last night for supper, and I was SUPPOSED to pick up the key then. Guess who forgot her key? That's right...moi. This wouldn't have been such a problem if Tracy had been home, but she had a Christmas party last night for her work, so I had no way into my house.
So I had to drive 20 minutes back to my sister's house to get my key. And I was mentally slapping myself in the head the whole time thinking, "Hello, you KNEW you'd need a key!"
My problem was that I'd overlooked the obvious. In my rush to get home, I'd forgotten to insure my way into the house. This problem was resolved easily enough.
Unfortunately many people go through life rushing about, and they never stop and make sure that they have the key to the life beyond. What is that key you might ask?
Salvation through Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY way to heaven. Just as I couldn't get into my house last night without the key, I can't get into heaven without Christ.
Look at this verse from John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
We can't get to the Father in heaven unless we go through the Son. Christ is the key. I've secured my key. What about you?

Lay Down That Heavy Load

This past Friday night I got to go to Disney on Ice with my niece, nephew, sister, bro-in-law, aunt and 2 cousins. We had such a fun time watching the monsters from Monsters Inc skate across the ice. And the adults had a fun time watching the little ones enjoy the show.
We also had a little entertainment all our own. My aunt's youngest daughter, Abby, is almost 5. And she is TINY. We're talking not much bigger than my almost 3 year old niece, Raegan.
But because she is older, Abby thought she should be able to hold Raegan. So she picked up Raegan and attempted to carry her around the suite. We all laughed so hard we almost cried because there was Raegan her feet maybe 2 inches off the ground, looking right into Abby's face as Abby tried to carry her around.
My Aunt Pat made Abby put Raegan down, informing her that Raegan was too big for her to be carrying around.
It's so easy to see the ridiculousness of one small child trying to bear the weight of another small child. It's easy to realize that a child can't carry such a load.
But when it comes to our own burdens, we don't see the need to lay them down. Jesus doesn't want us to carry around our heavy burdens. He wants us to give them over to Him. He loves us and cares for us.
Look at this verse from I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
Are you struggling today beneath the weight of a heavy burden? Turn it over to Christ. He wants to handle your problems. He wants to show you just how much He cares for you!

Rest in His Promise

Childhood is a time of bliss. A time where you don't realize all the bad things that COULD happen. I'll never forget the night that part of that bliss was ruined for my little brother, Ben.
My sister, Crystal, and I were already in bed. We'd made a habit of trying to get to sleep before Ben's annoying, I mean adorable little hamster, Teddy, decided to get his nightly excercise. Teddy would stay on that squeaky wheel ALL. NIGHT. LONG.
So Crystal and I were in our room trying to get to sleep when all of the sudden Ben came in and hysterically said, "Teddy's dead."
That wouldn't have meant much to us except for Ben was crying uncontrollably and speaking through sobs. What Ben said sounded like, "Daddy's dead."
Crystal and I joined Ben in his hysterics and began to scream, "NO!"
It was on this scene that my mom walked in and asked what in the world was going on. We told mom what Ben had said, and Ben said, "No, I said TEDDY. Not Daddy."
Crystal and I quickly calmed down, but Ben couldn't get any rest that night. He ended up coming into our room and making a pallette on the floor. See, he'd never realized before that Dad could actually die.
It's a sad thought when you think about how you'll be seperated from those that you love dearly. But the great thing about living life in Christ is that the seperation won't be an eternal one. If those loved ones believed in Christ, we will see them again.

Look at John 11:25, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"

Did you see that, "though he were dead, yet shall he live:" If we are in Christ we have the promise of life. Eternal life. A life beyond the realms of this physical body. I'm so glad for that promise.

Have you rested in that promise? Have you believed on Him?

Out in the Cold

I'm sure that lots of you out there have dogs. In fact I know that some of you do. I've seen pictures on your blogs. My cousin, Tracy, who recently moved in with me has a little Jack Russel terrier named Ellie.
Ellie's really sweet, and she LOVES to be outside. Well, let me rephrase that. MOST of the time she loves it. So long as it isn't raining or really cold. In fact she jumps at the door until you let her outside usually.
Early last week here in NC it was between 65 and 70 degrees. Nice and warm for the end of November, first of December. So, Ellie would go outside and bask in the sunshine. However, we had a cold snap at the end of the week.
Of course, being a dog, Ellie knew nothing of the cold snap, so she ran to the door and jumped up and down to be let outside. Of course as soon as she was out, she realized her mistake. She realized that it was FREEZING out there, and that she had liked it much better inside the nice, warm house.
I realized the other night that I'm just like Ellie sometimes. I live inside of God's will, and things are great, but then something strikes my eye outside of His will, and I jump at the chance to get to it.
Sometimes it's nice for a while. Things seem to go smoothly. Then all of the sudden out of the blue, the wind changes, and I see things for what they really are. And I realize that I never should have left the safety of God's will.
But you know what the great thing is? If I run to God, He takes me back, no questions asked. He loves me that much. And He forgives me even when I don't deserve His forgiveness. He won't leave me out in the cold.
Check out this verse from I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
So if you are "out in the cold" run to Him, and He'll forgive you no matter where you've been!