“That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from of the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who He is, because you will find Him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.” Luke 2:8-12

This is one of my favorite verses in the word that proclaims about Jesus! A savior has been born for us! Our King humbled himself to come to earth as a child, just like each one of us. He knew every aspect of human pain as He was a man also and saw so deeply into our needs, we were lost without a savior. “God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten son, that whosever believes in Him, will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” John 3:16

This is a solid reason to accept Him as your Lord and savior. We were all lost in sin, until He came.

This is a second chance for each one of us. He lived the life that we could not live and stepped under the burden of all humanity’s sin, and died instead of us. He died, then rose again so that if we believe in Him, we are forgiven and set free from the pain of death, in fact we will live again, just as He does right now! He is a living, risen savior! This coming Christmas, remember the real reason that “This Child Is Born”, accept Him as your savior today!

Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

You were made by God, every one of us were created by God for a purpose. God had our life plans developed from the foundations of the earth. He sees the whole picture, where we, as mere men can only see what He allows us to see.

Many people are so gifted naturally yet they allow man to discourage them away from what their natural, God created path was meant to lead them to.

Galatians 6:4-5 Reads: ” Do your own work well, then you will have something to be proud of. But don’t compare yourself with others. We must carry our own load.”

2 Corinthians 10:12 Reads: “We don’t dare compare ourselves with those who think so much of themselves. We don’t brag about something we don’t have a right to brag about. We only brag about the work God has sent us to do, and you are a part of that work.”

Phil. 4:11 Reads: “I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have.”

Phil.2:3 Reads: “Don’t be jealous or proud but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves.”

Romans 6:12 Reads: “God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have.”

Romans 12:2 Reads: “Don’t be like the people of this world but let God change the way you think.”

The world pushes competition in every area of our lives, so we are always exposed to these attitudes all around us. God tells us not to be like the world! He also teaches us through scriptures the way we should think, think to edify each other, not ourselves. He tells us the importance to constantly change the way we think, which I wrote about in my book “Choose Well: The Choices That We make Affect Our Destinies”.Our thoughts should lift up our faith and our abilities to love each other as this is what God wants us to do. We need to fill our hearts with His word, building up our faith, so that all those gifts that He has graciously given us will come flowing out from us with faith, and power to affect the world for Christ.

If you do not know who Jesus is -He was born on earth as a man, John 3:16 “God so loved the people of this world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him, shall never perish, but will have everlasting life!” God’s plan for our redemption was to sacrifice His very own Son, so that we may have a second chance to receive eternal life. He took upon Himself all of our sins, died, then rose again so we may live again too. Ask Him to come into your heart and forgive all of your sins, and fill you with His power, and presence the Holy Spirit, so that you are set free from comparing yourself to the things of this world. WE need to compare ourselves to the likeness of Him, and Him only!

Ecclesiastes 3:1 Tells us: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Everyone blooms in the spring,

It’s time every new growth begins flowering.

What was thought to be dead-

Now bursts to life instead-

At this time of new beginnings,

Seems like all things around us are winning.

That tiny jade shoot has now grown to a tree-

Every flower planted budding best it can be.

Yes, you will make it says the flower to the tree.

Time to mature and reach for the sky-

This green season births the corn and the firefly.

Now trees make rainbows in the woods-

Chill in the air, breaks out the hoods,

Watch those squirrels pack the nuts away,

Farmers fill their barns with last cut of hay.

Snow is creeping into our nights,

This time of rest will be alright.

Some waited all year to see the snow fall,

While others may never see snow at all.

What season are you in today?

New beginnings, or does maturity make your day?

Or maybe it’s a season of rest-

With God each season will be our best.

Jesus is the reason for every season!

Ask Him into your heart today!

By Margaret Marie

Psalms 139:14 “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” I love how God loves to tell us how valuable we are to Him! Thank you, Lord that You tell us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

1Peter 1:18-19 “For I know it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” What an honor.

Galatians 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has also made you heir.”

John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” We are royalty according to His word, princes and princesses to the King of all Kings!

God’s promises affirm our worth, our value. There are many! Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” I have had moments in my life where I have felt completely alone, abandoned, yet he gave me another promise in Psalms 34:18 ” The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” He has never left me, maybe I withdrew from Him, but as a good, good Father, He has always been right there with me. Sometimes reaching out to others can help us to see our value. We may learn to value ourselves as we value others, reaching out to give love when inside we feel that we have nothing left to give. I paint children’s faces, when I reach out to brighten the life of a child, it makes every burden drift away, reaching out to someone else can provide for that person exactly what they need.

Philippians 2:3″ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.”

We do not have to worry about how we may increase our own value, or even how we may be able to value others as we approach our days. All we need to do, is surrender our day to Him, and ask Him to have His will be done in each of us, everyday! When we understand who we are in Christ, it is a place of great royalty, we are His children, we lack nothing.

Jesus gave us all a second chance, by His obedience to lay His life down for all of us, no we do not deserve what He did! He loves us and values us so much, that He died for all of our sin, shame, and bondage. He rose again to life, which is also a gift that His sacrifice has given to us, but we must believe that he did this for us, ask Him today to forgive you of all sin, and invite Him into your life to make all things new for you. Ask His Holy Spirit to also live within you, guide and give you strength for every day.

He will never leave you or forsake you as the scripture says, He shows you the way to embrace your value in Him.

Ephesians 4:31-32 reads: “Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.”

Proverbs 11:17-19 reads: “Kindness is rewarded-but if you are cruel, you hurt yourself. Meanness gets you nowhere, but goodness is rewarded. Always do the right thing, and you will live; keep doing wrong, and you will die.”

Jesus came to earth as a man like we are, John 1:14 reads “The word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw His true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From Him the complete gifts of undeserved grace and truth have come down to us.” Jesus died so that we may have another chance at life, eternal- that right had been lost when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and disobeyed God. Our Father God loved us so much, was so ultimately kind to us, that He chose to sacrifice His only Son as atonement of our sinful nature. Even those who ate with Him, saw the many miracles that Jesus had performed for them, even those same people condemned Him to die on the cross. Jesus told the Father, Luke 23:34:”Forgive them, for they know not what they do,” such an act of kindness in the very depth of His suffering with the weight of our sin upon Him. He was doing what His Father sent Him to do, He obeyed the Father, yet interceded on behalf of those who condemned Him to death, a strong message of mercy and kindness.

Jesus took upon Himself all of our sins, all of our shame, sickness, bondage when He willingly died for us to give the ones who did not deserve what He had done for them, a second chance for eternal life.

He also rose again to demonstrate to the world that death had been defeated by His obedience to do the will of the Father.

All we need to do is ask Him to forgive us of all our sins and believe that He did all of this for each one of us and ask Him to be Lord of our lives. He also sent His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all we should do. I honestly know that I would have perished long ago if I had not made this very important decision to become a believer in what Jesus had done for me, He renewed everything in my life, He has been so kind to me! Ask Him today to make your life new!