God’s Message of Love

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host

appeared with the angel, praising God and saying.

‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace

to men on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:13-14 (NIV)



God sent us a precious gift, His son. He came wrapped in cloth strips and came to a manger in a stable. Although we don’t fully understand why, it was His plan.

God had made himself absent from their lives for four hundred years. All of a sudden the angels were singing and telling shepherds, the poorest of the poor, the good news of Jesus’ birth. These people, the first to hear about the birth of the babe were frightened.

The shepherds hurried into Bethlehem to see for themselves what the angels told. Once they verified the news, they told others about the angelic visit and the message and the gift from God.

How do we celebrate the coming of Christ? We give gifts. Our gifts are all wrapped with pretty paper or placed in neat looking gift bags. The wrapping paper is nice but it’s torn off and disposed of quickly. The gift bags, we save to use again. God’s gift came in rags. The gifts we give and receive among our families and friends get broken, out grown, or fall out of style. But the Gift God gave us is for all eternity.

Preparation for Christmas

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

Make His paths straight.” Isaiah 40:3 (NKJV)



Over the years people in our society have devoted a quantity of time getting ready for Christmas. People make time for shopping for the ‘right gift.’ They decorate their homes with numerous Christmas trees, wreaths, mistletoe and colorful centerpieces. Mothers bake cookies and make candies for their families and friends. I think these things are nice if the people do them with the spirit of Christ in their hearts.

Sometimes, in all of this preparation, People push Christ aside. Interesting enough all this preparation consumes more time than the holiday itself.

Due to the economic issues facing our nation, people seem to be doing the preparation in a down-scaled fashion. Because of all we hear about the financial state of the banking and the automotive industries, people don’t know where they stand with their incomes and their insurance coverage.

Some questions come to the forefront of this blogger’s mind:

1. Are we preparing for Christ at all?

2. Do we honor Christ with our lifestyle?

3. Shouldn’t we reflect Christ as we prepare for His birthday?

4. Shouldn’t we live for Christ every day?



The thought of keeping Christ in Christmas intrigued me when, as a child, I saw a banner hanging on a small building set up for bell ringers. It read “Keep Christ in Christmas.” I didn’t know what they meant.





Now, as I watch television and read the newspaper, I notice the commercialism of Christmas. On television, I hear local businesses as they wish us “Happy Holidays.” I heard one particular business say “Merry Christmas.”

I read recently where a company that sells sporting goods has rethought its approach to how it advertises for Christmas. The buying public contacted the corporate office and voiced its concern of the nonuse of ‘Christmas’ in the company’s print and media advertisements. I think this is a small yet positive beginning for a change to bring Christ back into our observance.

We Give Thanks To God

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.”

1 Chronicles 16:8



Thank You, God, for who You are-our Lord, our Savior, our King.

Thank You, Lord, for Your works in our lives our salvation, our talents,

and our skills.

Thank You, Father, for what You have given us our families, our friends, our occupations, our homes, our very lives.

Thank You, Lord, for our health and well-being, our safety.

Thank You, Father, for our nation, wherever we live.

Thank You, God, for Your guidance and direction as we go through this life.

Thank You, Lord, for being there with us what ever we face in this life.

Thank You, Jesus for Your presence in our lives.

Invited to Praise

“Come let us sing for joy to the Lord,

let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.” Psalm 95: 1-2



When we receive an invitation to a gathering how do we react? Are we happy, indifferent, or blasé? This passage is an invitation to praise the Lord our God.

In this passage we are asked to praise Him by singing for joy, by shouting an ‘amen’ or ‘praise the Lord’ or ‘Hallelujah’ When we praise God in worship we become a participant in the honoring of Who He Is.

What would happen if we each chose to worship our God with vigor? Would He be pleased? I believe so.

At the bottom of our church’s bulletin is the statement, “This service is subject to change by the leading of the Holy Spirit.” It does happen.

What would our personal lives look like if we were to praise God in our daily lives? Would we have difficult times as often in our homes? Would we be as subject to stress induced disorders? I think these conditions would lessen.

Overflowing

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,

continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him,

strengthened in the faith you were taught and overflowing

in thankfulness” Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)



Paul tells the church at Colosse to stay in Christ- to live stable lives, to add to them His teachings, and to become fortified by the faith they were taught, saturated to the maximum with thanksgiving.

The apostle speaks to us, as well. When we invite Christ into our hearts, we are tp to live for Him. Our lives become showcases for others to see Jesus.

Our extra time, beyond working and caring for our families, should be spent studying God’s Word. We would see our faith grow if we practiced this daily. And our hearts would be full, completely full and overflowing with thanksgiving and praise.

Thanksgiving comes from a heart full of His love and blessings. We should spend time in thanking Him for His kindness toward us.

In my writing for Him, I try to communicate that there is always something for which to give thanks, no matter how I feel physically or emotionally.

1.) Sunshine 6.) God will be with me.

2.) Fall Foliage 7.) He will guide me.

3.) God’s presence 8.) He will keep me safe.

4.) Praying People 9.) He answers prayer.

5.) Close Friends 10.) He provides for us.



I have to practice this overflowing with thanksgiving in my daily life as well as in my writing.

What Do We Say?

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

His love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say this

Those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

Those he gathered from the lands, from east and

west, from north and south.” Psalm 107:1-2 (NIV)



When we asked Jesus to enter our hearts, He redeemed us from our sinful ways. In essence, He bought us back from the evil path we were walking.

Each of us has benefitted from God’s enduring love. He protects us from sin. He guides us in the way He wants us to go.

I remember, as a child, hearing adults remind their children to say thank you by asking, “What do you say?” I remember prompting my son the same way.

I participate in a prayer group. We petition God for the salvation of those who are lost. When we pray we also give thanks for our own salvation. When one of us does others all add our thanks while praying.

As God’s children, we sometimes might need to be prompted by the Holy Spirit to say ‘thank you.’ But we would please our Father if we said it automatically, without His having to prompt us..

With Thanksgiving

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7(NIV)



Paul shares with us a lesson we all should review. He tells us to pray with thanksgiving. I personally have had times when my request was not anything I wanted to thank Him for. But, I believe that we are to thank Him for the fact that we have Him to help us and guide us through the issue.

We can also thank Him for what He is going to do to resolve the circumstance before He does. We have instances when we know God is the only one who can remedy a problem; in fact, the majority of the issues that confront us can be solved by God’s intervention in our lives. When God chooses to mediate in our stresses, He either handles the facts himself or he instructs us what we need to do. Somewhere along the way we have to remember to thank Him.