Criticism....

        One businessman keeps a fairly large stone on his desk. The stone is mounted and lettered with one word: "First." This acts as a constant reminder to him of Jesus' words, "He that is without sin . . . let him first cast a stone." When his employees enter his office and there is reason to criticize them for their lack of achievement, the man looks at the stone and recalls his own shortcomings. He deals with his employees in mercy and grace.

       The Scripture does not teach us to look the other way when people sin. It does not teach us that we ought to condone adultery or any other crime. What it does teach us, however, is that it is not the responsibility of a Christian continually to be on the lookout for sin in other Christians--or anyone else for that matter. If we have lived a perfect life, we can be watchdogs on others who have not lived a perfect life. But we have enough trouble keeping ourselves in line; we need not constantly be critical of the way others live. Jesus was teaching the critical religious leaders of His day that although the woman was a great sinner, she was no greater a sinner than they were. We must remember the same as we meet others today.

Every need met...

A man was struggling to climb a very tall ladder that leaned up against a wall. The rungs were far apart, and there were people in front of him. But he was consumed with making it to the top. He climbed every rung, stepping over people along the way. When he got to the top, he looked over the wall and saw nothing.

That’s exactly where the pursuit of worldly wealth leads you. Years ago, a book was written by Psychologist Douglas LaBier called Modern Madness. In it, LaBier discussed what the quest for more and more can produce in a person’s life. He suggested that as people pursue wealth more and more, they lose both their self and their personhood.

In other words, when wealth becomes a person’s focus over and above their relationships with others and with God, they essentially check out relationally. They put family and friends on the back burner only to focus on things that, in the end, mean absolutely nothing.

The deepest needs of your life aren’t going to be met by the pursuit of wealth. That’s the lie of the enemy. So instead of searching for happiness in worldly possessions, remember who you are in Christ. Find your identity in Him alone and He’ll meet your every need!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”    Matthew 6:33

Gifts - just for you!!!

Jesus is the greatest person who has ever lived; each year we celebrate His Birth as the coming of our salvation.
Salvation is the greatest gift of all.
Salvation is the only gift that everyone really needs.
Salvation is presented to us as the ultimate Christmas gift in what is perhaps the best known verse of the Bible.
 
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This Christmas do you have that greatest security? Do you know that you have received the greatest possession of all—Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Sometimes Christmas is especially hard for those who compare what they want with what others get. But the good news is that as a Christian, God has given us everything in Christ.

All we have to do is unwrap and experience all that He has given to us.
OPEN THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS
Because of our sin—we are all debtors to God's Righteousness; so we need forgiveness.
OPEN THE GIFT OF JUSTIFICATION
Because of our sin—we are all guilty convicts in God's sight; so we need justification.
OPEN THE GIFT OF REGENERATION
Because of our sin—we are all dead in our trespasses and sin; so we need regeneration.
OPEN THE GIFT OF RECONCILIATION
Because of our sin—we are all enemies of God; so we need reconciliation.
OPEN THE GIFT OF ADOPTION
Because of our sin—we are all strangers to God; so we need adoption.
OPEN THE GIFT OF REDEMPTION
Because of our sin—we are all slaves to unrighteousness; so we need redemption.
OPEN THE GIFT OF SANCTIFICATION
Because of our sin—we are all defiled; so we need sanctification.

 Slowly as you understand and lay hold on these truths a life-changing transformation take place in our minds, and then in our emotions, and finally throughout our entire life as we live each day based on God's eternal truth.

A Christmas illustration.....

There was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays.
His wife, however, did believe and she raised their children to have faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ despite his disparaging comments. On one snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their 2 children to a special Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about the birth of Jesus that night. She asked him to come along just like she had done so many times before, but he refused her once again…
“That story is nonsense!” he barked. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!”
So she and the children left, and he stayed home.
A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He then sat down to relax before the fire for the evening when he heard a very loud thump… Something had hit the window…so He looked out but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.
In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. And a couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention by waving a lantern, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn, but they still didn’t catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the the opened barn doors. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.
“Why don’t they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?”
He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud. Then he had an idea! He went into barn, got one of his own geese and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it.
His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn — and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety. He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed loudly in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier that evening. “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!”
Suddenly it all made perfect sense to him. That is what God had done! We were like the geese–blind, lost, and perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way, and save us!
As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Jesus Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer:
“Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!”

A Thankful Heart

We are given amazing privileges when we trust in Jesus. Recalling these promises is a good way to maintain a thankful heart, even when facing challenges in other areas. Consider four such blessings:

1.Christ’s gift of salvation. No matter what trial we’re facing, it is microscopic next to the enormity of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. The cross was a steep price to pay, but the Savior willingly took our place in order to offer us forgiveness and eternal life.

2.Assurance of God’s love. The Lord cares for us unconditionally—that is His very character (1 John 4:16). Unfortunately, the storms of life can cause us to question this, but Romans 8:31–39 unequivocally tells us that nothing can separate us from God’s love.

3.Answered prayer. We have the awesome privilege of talking to the Father about anything burdening us—and He never grows tired of listening to His children. Our omnipotent, omniscient God is not only able to help us in any situation; He also knows the best possible way to do so.

4.A personalized plan. The Lord has a will, plan, and purpose for our lives that He will accomplish if we obey Him. No one is exempt from adversity, but we can trust God to bring good from everything He permits to come our way.

Hardships, temptations, and tests will touch us all, but the Lord allows difficulty for a reason—even when we don’t understand why (Rom. 8:28). Therefore, submit yourself to the Father, thank Him for His wisdom, and be confident that He will accomplish His purposes for you..

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;    I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.     Psa 9:1,2

His thoughts for me.....

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Job 23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desires, even that he does.

Pss 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Pss 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are your wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order to you: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isa 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country: yes, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, said the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isa 55:10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: >>
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Isa 55:12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Zech 1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so has he dealt with us.

Zech 8:14 For thus said the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, said the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:
Zech 8:15 So again have I thought in these days to do well to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear you not.

God is our Helper!

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills--from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psa 121:1,2). 

Where does your help come from? The psalmist lifted his eyes to the hills. The most stable, secure thing the Jews knew were the mountains around Jerusalem. Then the psalmist lifted his eyes higher and said, "No, I don't get my help from the hills. I get my help from the heavens. God is my Helper." Whatever your need or task is today, your help will come from the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. A God big enough to make this world and keep it going is big enough to help you with your problems today.

God is also our Keeper. "He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (vv. 3,4). This is a dangerous world we live in. Enemies would like to attack and destroy us. But as we walk in the will of God and depend on His power, He is there as our Keeper and Preserver. "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil" (v. 7). This verse doesn't say we won't have pain. It doesn't say we will never suffer or sorrow. Though we may be hurt, we won't be harmed. "He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore" (vv. 7,8).


God is your Helper and Keeper. No matter where your path in life leads, if you walk in His will, He will preserve you. Walk with confidence today. You have a Helper, a Keeper and a Preserver, who will see you through.