Devotions - Prayer

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. (Luke 2:…10)

The Birth of Jesus.
Luke 2:1-20
It’s a familiar story. A young Hebrew teenager is told by an angel that she has been chosen by God to bear a very special child.
Her fiancé threatens to cancel the wedding.
The same angel interrupts his plan. She visits her relative Elizabeth, who is much older and also pregnant.
She returns to Nazareth to wait for her child’s birth, only to be required to make the ninety-mile journey to Bethlehem close to her due date.
With no room in the inn, she gives birth in a manger and uses an animal feeding trough as a bassinet.

*A strange story? Yes.
*A story full of surprises? Yes.
*A story that affects us today? Another yes!
This little baby – JESUS – was a gift to all humankind. Our Healer. Our Savior. Our Lord.
**No story is more beautiful, more astounding, more life-changing. The little baby born in a stable was God’s Son!!!

The birth of Jesus on Christmas is the fulfillment of a prophecy that God promised throughout scripture.

*The Miracle:
1.  Born of a virgin named Mary, Jesus was fully God and fully human.
2. God becoming flesh. Matthew 1:22-23.  It’s amazing to know that the God of the universe came to us in the form of baby born in a manger (Luke 2:5-7).

*The Meaning:
1.  Peace on Earth – John 14:27. If you want peace, you need to receive God’s greatest gift.
*The peace Jesus brings is inside of us, in spite of or circumstances not because of them. Christmas is about Hope
Where do you put your hope, job, career, people, family, money? The only place where our hope should be put is in Jesus. Everything else will let you down.
2 God’s Favor – “…goodwill towards men on whom his favor rests.” All have sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory. But his greatest gift is SALVATION through his Son, Jesus.

*The Message:
***Receiving IT – Unless we receive “GOD’S GREATEST GIFT”, it does us no good!

Although Jesus was fully human, He never sinned. His death on the cross, as a perfect sacrifice, bought OUR freedom so WE could become the sons and daughters of God the Father.
** As followers of Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory (Romans 8:15-17).

“The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” Luke 2:11
*The angels used 3 words to describe the New Born that will bring Great Joy to ALL people!!
*The Savior: Roman term that referred to an emperor who delivered his people from oppression and harm.
*The Messiah: Reference to O. T. Promises of a God. A given Leader and deliverer, translated “Anointed One”.
*The Lord: Title meaning “master” or “ruler” used of God from the very beginning of Hebrew Bible (150 times in Genesis alone).

If you know the Lord Jesus, YOU HAVE the greatest gift God can give to a person. Out of the richness of your life you will find yourself gladly sharing from all that you have with those who have less, that there may be the ringing out of joy and thanksgiving in a season like this.
***What are you giving Jesus this year for his birthday?
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” Luke 2:14
THANK YOU GOD, FOR THE WONDERFUL GIFT OF YOUR SON, JESUS CHRIST.
AMEN
Merry CHRISTmas everyone!
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17

How can I have Eternal Life?
* And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. (John 17:3)
*Jesus is the greatest gift we could ever receive.
*God is passionate about relationships. *Right relationships means nothing is broken-everything is right. *Righteousness is right relationship.

*If you don’t do one thing this Christmas you need to take the TIME to truly praise God for the offering of His Son. Not just a prayer before opening presents but a true sacrifice to the Living God for the birth of His son, His death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
*Christmas the celebration of Jesus Birth becomes of special significance when you see it through the lens of Calvary. *Those who were met with angels were called to be witnesses for Jesus.
*The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men could become Children of God.  WE ARE HIS Children!

Each of us faces the same dilemma. We have a sin debt that we owe to God but no way to pay for it.
We are addicted to sin and None of our solutions – living a moral life, being religious, or doing more good deeds – can take care of our problem.

**GOD Himself has provided the solution – one that both satisfies His justice and grants us mercy.
*GOD sent His Son, Jesus  to pay the penalty we owed.
*Jesus was qualified to be our substitute because He never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21).
*Jesus willingly took our place on the cross and experienced the full measure of the Lord’s wrath against OUR sinfulness.
*In dying for us, Christ secured our salvation by paying the debt for ALL our past, present, and future sins.
*When we trust in Jesus and surrender our life to Him, He becomes our personal Savior and Lord.

The great tragedy is that many have heard the gospel and rejected it.
* Some are like the rich ruler who placed his trust in material possessions and turned his back on the Truth.
* Others have refused to even Listen.
* Another group is convinced they are heaven-bound, based on erroneous confidence in their Own Good Deeds.

***Only those who have entered into a Personal Relationship with Jesus through faith in Him will be welcomed into heaven.
If you’re still wondering, How can I have eternal life? There is only one answer: “through faith in Jesus Christ- Knowing Jesus”!!!
John 14:6  Jesus said to him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

We have an Enemy who actively seeks to blind people to the truth.
(2 Corinthians 4:3)
* Pray that many who are separated from the Lord will trust in the Savior and gain everlasting life.
* Pray that this Christmas the True Meaning will be revealed to millions around the world.
*Let’s Bring Jesus Back this Christmas: to our homes, families, friends, work!!
Let’s Make Jesus #1!!
**” And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth”. (John 17:3)

If we are faithful to do our part, God will always be faithful to do His!
The more we read, meditate on, and absorb His word, the deeper our longing for Him grows as the Holy Spirit speaks to us.
Then we will begin to seek more of Him and desire to get to know Him more.
* We learn that He wants us to know Him intimately and that we can hear His voice. Then we can walk fully in His plans and will. Then we can give Him glory the best that we can.

John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
*It is the Holy Bible that the believer should make a lifetime commitment to study for the perfecting of their spiritual growth.
Moses was a friend of God, and he met God face to face. “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Ex. 33:11a).
So often, we view others for what they can do for us, instead of who they are.

God wants us to seek Him for our every need. However, there is a higher calling for every believer. That is to seek God’s face, and to see Him for His LOVE and Tenderness toward us as His children. *He can provide for our physical needs, BUT when we see Him face to face, we are changed.
* We no longer see Him as one to be feared as much as one to know intimately.
* We no longer view Him for what He can give to us, but for what He already has given for us.
**When we see Jesus face to face, we are no longer slaves, but friends. We do not fear Him as a slave fears his master. We have entered a new kind of relationship-a relationship that has mutual respect and care.
**Today, Jesus is calling you to seek His face, not just His hand. When you seek His face, you will know His provision and His mercy in all aspects of life.
** Seek His face today and become a friend of God.

The more like Christ you become, the more you exalt Christ and not yourself.
*What God did on the first Christmas and what he does in forgiving and changing people today he did and does in utterly free, sovereign mercy, so that ALL his people will end  of their lives with the words like 1 Timothy 1:17: “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

I thank you Lord for your care and love for all my loved ones and all of the Devotional readers these past two years . I thank you for each and every one of them Lord.  I thank you for your shield on their lives.  I thank you for your goodness and your mercy toward them.  I thank you Lord for your provision for them and I thank you Lord for health and healing in their lives. I thank you Father for being so good to each one of them. I thank you Lord for comforting the broken hearted and I thank you Lord for providing for the jobless.  I thank you Lord for open doors and opportunities.
I thank you Father God for everything that you are doing in each of their lives. *What I thank you most of all for Lord is I thank you Lord that you are drawing
each and every one of us closer to you “to Know You”.  I thank you Lord that you are opening our eyes and our ears, that you Lord are making yourself KNOWN to us and we are basking in Your presence.  I thank you for each dear soul today, Save whole families Lord, and bring restoration, healing  and renewal in great measure this Season to ALL– for Your Glory and our Joy. Bless your great name. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Deeds of real love are those God inspires within our hearts. They are not  performed from a sense of duty, but rather spring forth as the natural result of loving God.
* “…because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Romans 5:5

“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by or like a watch in the night”. Psalm 90:2,4

That’s the difference between time and eternity, the mountains were born, the earth and the world were brought forth, that’s a past tense.
But when the psalmist turns to God he says, “From everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Not, “You were God,” but “You are God.”
With God there is never a past tense, never a future tense. God doesn’t indwell time; He indwells eternity.

Eternity is not just a very long period of time;
*It’s a different mode of being.
* It’s something from another world.
* It’s higher than time.

With God it’s always, you are. His name is, “I AM.” And from the serenity and the heights of eternity He beholds time.
Isaiah 43:13 “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
The psalmist says that “a thousand years with God are just like a day that’s gone by or a watch in the night.” The night, in biblical times, was divided into four watches of three hours each, so a thousand years with God is just like three hours that have passed in our experience.
That’s what it is to be related to God. *It’s to have a relationship that extends out of time into eternity, that’s not subject to the changes and fluctuations of time, that’s anchored in the very being of God Himself.
A thousand years are nothing to God’s eternity: between a minute and a million of years there is some proportion; between time and eternity there is None.   All the events of a thousand years, whether past or to come, are more present to the Eternal Mind, than what was done in the last hour is to us. AWESOME GOD WE HAVE!

Do not put your emotions before your purpose. If it did not work out, there is a greater purpose God has for you. In some cases the dream is still underway but our timing is not God’s timing. The bible says;
2 Peter 3: 8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
*Ninety percent of those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit.

Release yourself from the bondage of fear and worry.  When your faith is in the Lord, He will carry you in the flow of His Spirit.  But, you must not hang on to the things of the world or put your trust in natural things.  Your faith is substantive and vital to your success in any endeavor, and you must put it to work by actual belief and not just hope.  I Believe the Lord is  looking for a people who have a strong and working faith whose actions demonstrate His kingdom.
*Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Look forward, finally, and hope for the coming of the Lord. Your best things are yet to come. The second coming of Christ will soon be here. The time of temptation will soon be past and gone. The judgment and reward of the saints shall soon make amends for everything. ***Rest in the hope of that day. Work, watch, and look forward–one thing, at any rate, that day will make abundantly clear. It will show that there was never an hour in our lives in which we had our hearts too thoroughly focused on Christ.

God I am sorry for my weakness and I thank You for being patient with me. Help me to catch on faster in those areas I need to change. Thank You for being Patient with me. Amen

*The presence of trouble does not mean the absence of God.
*God is also our strength to endure the pain and hurt that we are experiencing.
*Get some rest! – Rest in Him not the things around you.
*Recognize God in your life and meet with Him through Scripture and Prayer.
+How does God call you?
+How does God speak to you?
+How does God feed you?

“Be Still, and Know”
Psalm 46:6, 9-10 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; [God] lifts his voice, the earth
melts…. [God] makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters
the spear, he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be
exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
There’s a scene of tremendous uproar. Nations are in uproar. Kingdoms are falling. How
true that is today but, in the midst of it, God’s voice comes forth. *God speaks.
* God intervenes.
*God lifts His voice; the earth melts.
*God intervenes against the forces of iniquity and evil.
***And then He speaks a word to His people in the midst of all the confusion and
turmoil and uproar.

***God says this: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
As we all can see and feel—We are in a situation not far from that today.
Nations are in an uproar, kingdoms are toppling, war is threatening on every hand, but in
the midst of it God speaks to His people and says,
*“Be still, be quiet, don’t be upset, don’t get restless, don’t get nervous. Be still and
know that I am God. I’m still in control!!!!
* God’s purposes are going to work out. He says “I’m going to be exalted over all
nations. I am going to be exalted in the earth.”

Let me give you that advice today. Be still and HEAR the voice of God.
He created all, holds all, knows all, loves all. What could I possibly. do or say to make it
better. NOTHING! I Praise Your name FATHER.

To close things out, the writer speaks God’s admonishment, “Be still”. *Sometimes the
battle has worn you down.
* Sometimes you look up and there is nothing left.
**No matter how hard you try, you can’t press forward. By all accounts, it seems as if the
enemy has finally won.
*You try to pray, but the words don’t flow forward with any fluency.
*You turn to friends, but you find them complaining too.

*You turn to mother, but mother is incapable of producing any relief.

**At this moment of despair, GOD steps in and simply says, “BE STILL, I’ve got it from
here.

Although we are promised trials and persecution, we know that Abba is still in control.
Jesus has been given all authority under heaven and earth. Trials are temporary.
We can rely and trust in Abba. Although we may not understand why trials happen, we
know that ALL is for His glory.

There are many distractions in the world, many so easily take our focus away from God
and on to ourselves, or to our circumstances.
**We must keep our eyes only on God, the One who saves, delivers, shows us mercy and
grace.
*No other person, no other god, no other thing, can do this.
As we go about our day, let us remove those distractions, lay them at His feet and trust
His will.
1. God is able
2. God is all power
3. God is a healer
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!!!!

Refuse to give in to the frustration that has come as a result of dealing with hindrances.
Instead, set yourself to seek the Lord for wisdom and clarity, for HE will give you the
grace to accomplish what He has set before you. This is certainly not a time when you
should get discouraged and give up. You are on the brink of breakthrough. Keep
pushing. Keep trusting. Keep the faith! *Isaiah 58:8 Then your light shall break forth
like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go
before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Lord, I will be still and know You are God…You are my Counselor, Father. Speak to my
heart, spirit, and mind…Lead me, Guide me, Show me…thank You, Jesus…Let me praise
Your Glorious Name!