A CHRISTMAS TO DO LIST

Many times in the story of Christmas, the center of attraction is on the main characters: Mary, Joseph, and surely, Jesus. But through the brief account or narrative in Luke 2:8-20, we learn from the shepherds four things that should be at the top of our to-do list this Christmas.

BELIEVE

The angels announced in a breathtaking fashion that the Messiah had been born. As soon as the angels departed, the shepherds looked at each other and said: What are we waiting for? Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.

There is no debate. There is no procrastination. They don't decide to sleep on it. They don't go to the local library for research. They just believe it. That's faith. Scripture says that without faith it's impossible to please God. The angel said, "Peace on earth among people with whom He is pleased." Who is that? It's those who respond to God's gift through faith. Scripture says, "For by grace you are saved, through faith …."

Faith means you say yes to all that God did through Christ. Yes, He is the Savior of the world. Yes, He came to die for my sins. Yes, through Him I find forgiveness and new life. Yes, I want to follow Christ as Lord. Faith is not a spectator sport; it is an active embracing of everything that God has promised in Christ.

OBEY

The shepherds did exactly as they were told. Sometimes we think of Christmas as a routine or monotonous holiday. We think of sweet little baby Jesus asleep on a bed of hay. Everyone loves that because it's so innocent and safe. But Christmas isn't safe! That baby is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He has come to usher in a kingdom that rivals the kingdom of self. That's threatening. He bids those who would follow him to take up their cross daily—to lay aside our own right to rule ourselves, to surrender to his rule.

The world loves to celebrate the birth of Christ, but they hate to obey Him as the Lord of their lives. Everyone wants to keep Christ in the manger. But the manger is meaningless apart from the Cross. As one writer put it many years ago: "This little babe, so few days old, is come to rifle Satan's fold; all hell doth at his presence quake, though he himself for cold does shake." Christmas is a time for obedience.

TELL

When the shepherds arrived in Bethlehem and saw the child lying in the feeding trough, "they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child." They weren't preachers; they weren't missionaries, but that didn't matter. They had heard and seen something that meant salvation for the whole world.

Christmas trees, eggnog, and exchanging of gifts are fine, but if we do all that stuff but don't talk about Jesus—if we fail to speak of the real meaning of it all; if we neglect to tell someone that this child was born as Savior and Lord, that he was sent by God to die on the Cross to purchase with royal blood our own deliverance from sin, death, and the devil; if we neglect to publish that elsewhere, we've failed to do Christmas right. The angel said that this is good news of great joy which shall be for all the people. Share the joy.

EXPERIENCE

The shepherds were overwhelmed at the angel's announcement. They experienced holy wonder.

How can you partake in holy wonder? Maybe that means you stop in the middle of your shopping, sit down, and read the Christmas story. Maybe that means you gather your children around a nativity scene each night and unwrap a different piece and talk about the role it plays in the Christmas story. Maybe that means you wake up early one morning and find a place you can watch the sun rise as you meditate on Luke 1:79.

The work of holy wonder is treasuring and pondering the fact that God invaded planet Earth on a perilous rescue mission. Amidst all the activity, stop and treasure all these things. Meditate and reflect on them in your heart. Engage in some holy wonder.

JESUS SAVES

LETTING GOD LOVE US

by R.T Kendall

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." —Lamentations 3:22-24

Someone once told me that my main theme of my preaching could be summed up in one word—vindication. I didn't know what to think of that, but I think it could be summed up in the words "letting God do it." Then I realized something: I wished it could be said that my preaching was summed up in this phrase: "letting God love us."

There is a connection between the principle of vindication and the principle of letting God love us. "Vindication" means to have your name cleared. God alone wants to do that. The moment you and I start to clear our own names, God backs off and says, "OK! Now you do it!" Immediately we are in trouble, and we see the absurdity of trying to do it ourselves. So unless we let God do it, it won't really happen in the right way.

The same is true when it comes to this principle of letting God love us. In much the same way, we don't let God love us. Instead, we compete with Him by trying to perform for Him so that we feel worthy of that love. This message is intended for those who feel that God doesn't love them because they haven't matched His standards and feel, therefore, they don't have His approval.

You see, there is so much wrong with all of us, and if we knew just how much, we wouldn't hold our heads high. How is it that we manage to get through the day? How do we manage to come to the Lord's Table when we are all so unworthy? It's because Jesus shed His blood on the cross, and that means infinitely more to God than our getting it right. At the end of the day, despite all our obedience and our efforts to please God, nothing matches the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Any one of us can hold our heads high in the presence of God, not because in ourselves we have come up to standard, but because of what God has done for us.

You see, that is what makes God, God. He's different. It's a wonderful thing when we come to the place where we just let God love us without our having to perform.

NEVER GIVE UP ON PRAYER

by R.T. Kendall

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. —Luke 18:1

Did you ever let go when you had a struggle? Did you ever feel you were taking the right course of action, only to hear someone suggest otherwise, and so you gave up?

There comes a time when we all need to be confronted with the fact that we don't know God as well as we may think. God has a way of putting us in our place lest our preconceived ideas and our small way of thinking keep us from seeing Him when He comes.

Reading church history reveals that God turns up in different ways. Take, for example, Hebrews 11. Not one of the people described there—Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Elijah—could have the luxury of seeing God as He had appeared in previous times. They each had to accept that which was different to them and be regarded as a fool. That is what made faith, faith.

We have to come to the place where we see when God is at work for ourselves, and if no one else believes it, we do. That is how real God must become to us. The difficulty is that in knowing Him a little, we assume we know God better than we really do.

Perhaps you are seeking God, and someone, perhaps a person whom you greatly respect, has persuaded you to give up. Perhaps you have prayed about something, and because God didn't answer you within a short time you gave up. Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you had held on?

The point Jesus made in the parable of the importunate widow was to keep praying and not to give up. Wrestling in prayer isn't all that much fun, and I wonder how many of us have given up too hastily, feeling God was not going to answer.

God graciously comes again. Seek God again with all your heart, and you will find Him.

ONE TICKET PLEASE

By Pastor Marquis Boone

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 is so powerful and filled with nuggets to help us as we face this thing called spiritual warfare. See I have learned that when God is moving in your life, that’s an indication to get ready for the warfare. When things seem to be going great, that’s a representation to get ready for the warfare. Just ask Job. When you’re doing what God said, get ready for the warfare.

I don’t know about you but it seems like since the start of this year the warfare in the believers’ life has intensified. To intensify means to make something greater or stronger, or to increase in strength.

When you break the word warfare down it becomes two words. The first word is “WAR,” which means conflict, struggle and battle. The next word is “FARE,” which means charge, price, cost and ticket. Basically the amount charged for a journey. When you put the word back together it is the battle price, the struggle ticket. No matter how you say it or what you’re going through, you're a paying passenger.

This spiritual warfare is the amount you charged for your journey; your conflict is the amount you charged for a journey; your struggle is the amount you charged for a journey; your battle is the amount you charged for your journey.

You want to know why spiritual warfare is necessary. You pay a fare to ride a bus, plane or train with a destination in mind. After you have your ticket anything can happen. There could be a delay, a crash, or just a smooth ride, but at the end you still get to where you wanted to be.

I just want you to know that even though you are going through this spiritual warfare, trust God, and know that you are on your way to your destiny.

Spiritual warfare – the amount charged for a journey.

Scripture Of The Day: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” - 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NKJV)

SPIRITUAL SOLDIERS

By Jothany Blackwood

One of the realities we all come to is that sometimes we are in the right fight but with the wrong people. We believe we are really at odds with a co-worker, another church member, or even the person we are in a relationship with. But when we come to the realization that it’s not the individual we struggle against, but the spirit that is controlling them we can shift our approach.

When we focus on it being the person, then we fight them in the flesh where we can never have victory. Because the enemy is masterful at things of the flesh it’s an uneven match. You can’t bring a knife to a gunfight and that’s what you do when you think you’ll give that person back what they are giving to you.

But when you understand that you are dealing with the rulers of darkness that are strategic in their assignments to destroy and kill you, then we have to know what weapons to fight with and protect ourselves. The fact that they rule in darkness indicates that they cannot handle the light. And the light is the Word of God, which is why Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

When the Scripture acknowledges that there is wickedness in high places that tells you that the enemy does have power. So it would be unwise to believe you can face such a formidable foe on your own strength. Your strength will come from the Word of God and He prepares us strategically for being spiritual soldiers.

God clearly directs us on how to protect ourselves, yet rather than put on the belt of truth, many of us are spiritually sagging. You can’t be prepared to defend yourself from the world when everything about you reflects the world. And as we guard our chest, we are really being protective of what is placed in our hearts for there we find the seat of our conduct and character. And character is simply what you will do when you believe no one is watching.

Then He tells us that our feet should be fitted in Christian cleats so we can hold our ground, despite the elements that seek to make us lose our footing. And that shield of defense against the advances of others is surely made from the promises of God.

The enemy is relentless and if he can defeat us on the battlefield of our minds, our flesh will easily follow. But we must be clear that the fight is not physical, it’s not against the person in front of us; it’s one of spirit and in that we have the confidence that we have already been given victory. But we can delay or forfeit the promised end when we do not rely on God’s strength. We have all been prepared for these ceaseless battles and as spiritual soldiers, we should be tireless in working towards hearing “'Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Scripture Of The Day: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes…" - Ephesians 6:11-17

THE ISOLATION CHAMBER

by Os Hillman

"Be still and know that I am God...." Psalm 46:10

There is a time and place in our walk with God in which He sets us in a place of waiting. It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value. It is a time of such stillness that it can disturb the most faithful if we do not understand that He is the one who has brought us to this place for only a season. It is as if God has placed a wall around us. No new opportunities--simply inactivity.

During these times, God is calling us aside to fashion something new in us. It is an isolation chamber designed to call us to deeper roots of prayer and faith. It is not a comfortable place, especially for a task-driven workplace believer. Our nature cries out, "You must do something," while God is saying, "Be still and know that I am God." You know the signs that you have been brought into this chamber when He has removed many things from your life and you can't seem to change anything. Perhaps you are unemployed. Perhaps you are laid up with an illness.

Most religious people live a very planned and orchestrated life where they know almost everything that will happen. But for people in whom God is performing a deeper work, He brings them into a time of quietness that seems almost eerie. They cannot say what God is doing. They just know that He is doing a work that cannot be explained to themselves or to others.

Has God brought you to a place of being still? Be still and know that He really is God. When this happens, the chamber will open soon after.