Thought for the day...

Ready For His Return

We get the word ‘Advent’ from the Latin ‘adventus’ or coming. The Israelites waited 400 years for the coming of the promised Messiah.

Today, we, too, are in a waiting room of sorts. Believers are anxiously awaiting Christ’s return – when He will right all wrong, do away with sickness and wipe every tear.

But as we wait, let’s do so in anticipation and readiness, like the five wise virgins in today’s passage. They took with them jars of oil, not knowing when the bridegroom would arrive. When Christ our Bridegroom returns, let’s be ready in the repentance He offers. Like the five foolish virgins, let’s not be found unprepared and preoccupied.

Like them, we can’t buy or borrow spiritual preparedness. On the outside, they looked ready for the arrival of the bridegroom. But, clearly, they didn’t care enough about his coming to prepare themselves on the inside.

We don’t know when He will return. But let’s be ready in the redemption Christ offers.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Christmas reminds me of when You first sent Your Son into a broken world. As the bride of Christ, the church, we look forward to His return. I anticipate the promise that He will wipe away every tear. I pray, that I will not live in any pretense. I will, instead, live in preparedness. Help me be found in Christ when He comes again. Amen


“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
Matthew 25:1‭-‬3 NIV

 

December 10, 2019
Verse of the Day
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10 NIV

 

December 11, 2019
Verse of the Day
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 NIV

 

December 12, 2019
Verse of the Day
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 7:9 NIV

 

Bless the next generation
By Linda Buxa
“He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands” (Psalm 78:5-7).

For thousands of years, millions of believers have been teaching children to put their trust in God and remember everything he has done for them. Now it is your turn to keep up this vital work of teaching the next generation.

Yet it can be a long slog, a thankless job. On the hard days of being a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, or family friend, you wonder if your work is making a difference. On the days you watch your teens question if God is really who he says he is, you pray like crazy. There are days you want to yell instead of modeling God’s faithful, patient discipline. Through it all, the Holy Spirit is ridiculously busy, taking the Word you speak and planting, nurturing, and growing it in young hearts. God is using you, and the gifts he has given you, to bless the next generation.

The people you tell today are the ones who get to tell the next group of people yet to be born. Someday our children will be telling their children about their Savior, knowing God’s Word and his story of grace, because you model it and share it every day. Because you put your trust in God.

 

He Is On The Throne

Caesar Augustus – the name itself inspires a certain awe and authority. For sure, the decrees of this first Roman emperor were not to be trifled with. Joseph probably had little choice but to follow the Caesar’s decree and head to Bethlehem for the census.

He had to take a long difficult trip with a young, pregnant wife. But, despite what it seemed like on the outside, God was orchestrating every detail. Despite the seeming unknowns, God knew every step. He was in perfect control. In fact, Caesar was just being used to fulfill prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

Yes, sometimes our lives may seem a meaningless series of mishaps and misfortunes. It may seem like the “powers that be” are twisting the very fabric of our lives to suit their purposes. But, it’s amazing how God works in the background to fulfill His plan. He has put those powers and authorities in place and He is far above all. Yes, the government shall be upon His shoulders!

Prayer

Father, as I read about the Christmas story and the marvelous unfolding of events prophesied hundreds of years before that, I stand astounded by Your power. You are the Alpha and the Omega. Nothing and nobody can thwart your plans, Lord. Help me be confident in Your power! Amen

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Luke 2:1‭-‬4 NIV

 

flew in to 0. Hare IN 1998, how time flys by.

 

December 13, 2019
Verse of the Day
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NIV

December 14, 2019
Verse of the Day
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalms 42:11 NIV

 

Magnificat: The humble will be lifted up
By Pastor Mark Jeske
Billie Holiday’s most famous song was a bitter lament that people were stuck in their life destiny—“Them that’s got shall get; them that’s not shall lose.” It sure does seem that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, doesn’t it?

Except when God reverses everything. Mary must have laughed out loud to herself at the outrageousness and absurdity that the King of kings should be born to a poor commoner like her. “He . . . has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:52,53). She didn’t know the half of the humble part—she was probably expecting to give birth in Nazareth with her mother and aunts around as midwives to help her with the delivery. Her baby, though, would come during an unplanned overnight “camping” stop in a stable in Bethlehem, attended by only her scared husband and the animals.

But God guided all of these humbling circumstances, and the baby was fine. As she predicted, humble Mary was indeed lifted up. Though she probably never became wealthy, this little “Nazareth nobody” has become the most famous woman in the history of the world.

God enjoys making great things out of small things and using ordinary people for extraordinary missions. If you feel small and insignificant, Mary would counsel you to not look surprised when God taps you for something big

 

did you know Lewis Grizzard was a pilot ??

 

December 15, 2019
Verse of the Day
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2-3 NIV


December 16, 2019
Verse of the Day
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 5:18

 

Not Just A Regular Nice Guy

This is a familiar passage about a really good guy – Joseph, the man pledged to marry Mary. Things must have been going great for Joseph. Perhaps his carpentry business was doing well and he was ready for the next stage of his life – to marry the woman betrothed to him.

Then Joseph’s plans fell apart. He found that his wife-to-be was already with child. The gospel account in Matthew records that since Joseph was a righteous man, he planned to divorce Mary quietly. That was till God spoke to him in a dream.

Joseph then stopped being a regular nice guy. He became an obedient follower of God – even when he didn’t know how things would work. He became a risk taker for God. He didn’t just do the good thing. He did the godly thing. He didn’t just do the right or reasonable thing. He did the righteous thing.

What is my response when God calls me to do the unexpected? Do I shrink from obedience because of fear? Or, like Joseph, do I follow the righteous way because I trust that God knows what He’s doing?

Prayer

Father, thank you for the example of Joseph. Thank you that when You call, You also equip. Help me to remember that Your grace is sufficient for me, that Your power is made perfect in weakness. Help me to always choose the path that puts You first, no matter what the consequences. Amen

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:18‭-‬21 NIV