Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
Martin Luther
Northeast Iowa CEW Christian Experience Weekend |
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Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given; While angels sing with tender mirth, A glad new year to all the earth. Martin Luther
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This is why we celebrate CHRISTmas. Not because we want to give and receive presents but because God gave us the greatest gift ever, His Son. Celebrate the Birthday of Christ this weekend. Be Blessed!
The Birth of Jesus Christ] Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV) Lord touch my heart with your loving hand
Reach down and soothe my soul The Spirit dwells within these walls, But your touch will make me whole A simple prayer I send to you! A simple plea I raise; That You will make Your presence known In the life I lead today. With this now done, I can go on To face the tasks at hand; Your strength is with me as I go To accomplish what You planned. I found this prayer this weekend in a little booklet I read while at church this weekend. I thought it's a great reminder that the spirit lives within us and as we go through life, so busy and rushed, to take the time to feel the presence of the Spirit in everything that we do. Also to feel the strength of the Spirit to get us through each day with each task that we face as part of God's master plan for us. May the peace of the Lord be with you today. Tanya
No One is Beyond the Reach of Truth
2 Dec 2010Lysa TerKeurst
"...I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me..." Romans 15:18a (NIV) I'm more convinced than ever that people don't care to hear about our Jesus these days until they meet the reality of Jesus in our lives. Don't skim past that last sentence too quickly. Our history with Jesus is our most effective salvation message to share with others. If you look at the word 'history,' it's interesting to break it in half and see the words, "His story." That's the thing this world is dying to hear- how His story has been woven into our story. People can debate and argue theology all day long but they can't argue what Jesus has done personally in our lives. Truth lived out is the best sermon. And while I find people are a little more receptive at Christmas to talking about Jesus, I still find it stressful sometimes with friends and family members. Do you? I think it's important to think about. We've all got people in our lives who need us to break past our hesitations and share the reality of Jesus. I was profoundly reminded of this a couple of weeks ago when I spoke at a Pregnancy Care Center dinner in Florida. At the end of the night, the center's director asked a board member to come forward and close the evening in prayer. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this board member was a guy I'd known in high school. Well, let me clarify that. I knew who he was. He didn't have a clue who I was. He had been in the uber popular crowd - star athlete who dated the beautiful girls. I was one of those girls in high school who was easy to miss. I felt sort of invisible back then. And judging by the blank look on his face when I made the connection we'd graduated the same year, my assessment was pretty accurate. He apologized profusely for his wild behavior in high school and acknowledged that he could have been voted, "Least likely to grow up to be a pastor." I agreed. But then again, I wasn't exactly on the fast track toward ministry back then either. After we chatted for a few minutes, he got a very serious look on his face. Then he said something I won't soon forget. "You know what is really odd, Lysa? All those years of high school and college, I was a very visible person. I had lots of friends. Then I got a college scholarship to play basketball at a major university and there were even more people who knew me. But no one - no family member, no peer, no girlfriend, no teacher, no coach, no professor, no fan - no one - not one person ever told me about Jesus. All those years, all those people, and not one time did someone try to tell me the truth. Finally when I was 21 years old, someone took that chance to share with me how they met Jesus and it radically changed my life." His statement startled me. And I hope it startles me the rest of my life. No one is beyond the reach of truth. Not the wispy, invisible girl who thinks of herself as nothing more than a little background noise. And not the star athlete revered by thousands. Everyone deserves to hear about Jesus sooner rather than later. And we must never assume that surely someone else would do a much better job than we would. Who is in your sphere of influence that needs to hear a bit of your HIS-story this week? Don't let Satan whisper that this message is meant for other people. It's not. If you read this, it's meant for you sweet sister. And don't fret trying to figure out how to arrange the perfect situation to connect with that person that came to mind. Just tell Jesus you are willing. He's very capable of handling all the details. Our job is obedience. God's job is results. Dear Lord, thank You for loving me before I even knew You. Give me Your eyes and Your heart to be able to see anyone who needs to know about You today. And give me the right words and the necessary courage to share with my friends and family members. In Jesus' Name, Amen. |
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