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 12/8/98 Good morning.... +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ Christians need each other and we all need Christ. +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ +†+ Hi Dear Friends!! Hope this finds your holiday season going wonderfully well! Mine is going really well... The boys are very excited. My five year old is doing the "count down" thing. He keeps me straight! ( laughing ) Without him, I wouldn't even know today's date! ER, what IS today's date? ( here ) I pray this devotional ministers to those seeking a fullness in their walk. Methinks I see yet another key that I would like to share with you precious folks! Please, read on and be blessed!! See ya at the end! Phil 2:7 There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her faith and mocked her religious observance of Christmas. One snowy Christmas eve she was taking the kids to the Christmas eve service at church. She pleaded with him to come, but he firmly refused. He ridiculed the idea of the incarnation of Christ and dismissed it as nonsense. "Why would God lower himself and become a human like us?! It's such a ridiculous story!" he said. So she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As he looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. And another thump. He looked outside but couldn't see. So he ventured outside to see. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but got caught in the snow storm. The snow had became too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just fluttered their wings and flew around in circles around the field blindly and aimlessly. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, "The barn would be a great place for them to stay! 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 barn doors for them. He waited, watching them hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But they just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them, run after them, and chase them toward the barn. They only got scared and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm! How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them!" He thought for a moment and realized that they just won't follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them! Then I could save them! They would follow me and I would lead them to safety." He stood silently for a moment as the words that he just said reverberated back to himself in his mind: "If only I could become like one of them --then I could save them." He thought about his words, and remembered what he said to his wife: "Why would God want to be like us? That's so ridiculous!" Something clicked in his mind as he put these two together. It was like a revelation, and he began to understand the incarnation. We were like the geese -- blind, gone astray, perishing. God became like us so He could show us the way and make a way available to save us. That is the meaning of Christmas, he realized in his heart. As the winds and blinding snow abated, his heart became quiet and pondered this thought. He understood what Christmas was all about. He knew why Christ had come. Suddenly years of doubt and disbelief were shattered, as he humbly and tearfully bowed down in the snow, and embraced the true meaning of Christmas. "The Geese" <>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§>< Christian perfection is not, and never can be human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship to God which shows itself amid the irrelevancies of human life. -Oswald Chambers- <>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§>< In the Garden I come to the garden alone, And He walks with me He speaks, and the sound of His voice, And He walks with me I'd stay in the garden with Him And He walks with me -C. Austin Miles, 1912- <>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§><<>@<><JE§U§>< Hi again Friends! I find myself reflecting on something a "Dear Sister" recently shared with me. She was expounding on the fullness of God's blessings upon her life recently and as she was sharing, she mentioned that she knew why this was happening. Well, naturally I was curious, so I asked point blank..."Why?" She stated it was due to a past conversation that she and I had, and I asked her to refresh my memory. The conversation in question was focused on dedicating our day to the Lord. She said, "When I get up in the morning, I give my day to the Lord. I say, 'Lord, this is Your day, I give it to you. Use me as You see fit,' and then my day turns out totally different when I do this." As I sit here at this moment and ponder those words, I can see that the life springing forth from them was indeed no coincidence, or even an accident. I note in my own heart that this is a direct result of a person heeding this passage: Rom 12:1 My friend started her day without her own agenda. She yielded to the agenda of God Almighty, and in effect, drew water from the Well of Life. Have you ever had a day, when you either had no plans, was just gonna lay back and relax, or perhaps you just presumed on a workday that it was gonna be a same ole humdrum day? In other words, the agenda for the day was basically filled, as far as your mind was concerned. With your natural eyes, you could only see the upcoming day as either something you dreaded, or something that was going to have a familiarity to it because that's just the way your life is? If this is you, allow me to gently impart a nugget from one heart to another. I pray even before you read the words, that God is already at work, preparing the groundwork so that you can be free from the humdrum of a "rat race" lifestyle, and begin to partake of the blessings that have been waiting for you all along. When you wake up in the morning...what is the first thing you think about? Now that is something that you would have to answer on your own, for I know that there are many out there with individual lives and individual circumstances. However, I want to give you something to chew on, in this area. When you get up in the morning, purpose in your heart to do as my friend did. Dedicate your day to God. Make it a well known fact between you and God, that this day is His. Release your own plans, no matter how airtight they may be. Release your worries, and your circumstances to Him before that first cup of coffee or tea. Ask Him to take the reins of your life, and do as He will. In other words, "present your bodies as a living sacrifice" to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I realize that many emotions are on rollercoasters during this holiday season. Some of you that are reading this are going through depression, financial woes, or just plain "life burn-out." I beseech you today my dear friends...don't allow Satan to get a foothold in the door of your life. Give it back to the Lord, dedicate every fiber of your being to God, and yield yourself unto Him. He is there, waiting to pour His Heart into your own, and guide your steps onto His life-producing path. Why wait until morning? Why not do it right now? Perhaps you are reading this in the afternoon or evening. Go ahead and begin this habit that will renew your mind by transformation. Rom 12:2 Ever notice how God's Word brings a "refreshing" upon us, as we press in past the flesh and reach toward the Spirit? If we could see in the Spirit how a washing is taking place, we would begin to understand how reading His Word complements our prayer life. Ps 51:7 I say this to impart another nugget. Let His Word become YOUR Word. These are not just words on a page of a book. These are inspired words of God, and they cleanse us and participate in the renewal process. No matter how busy this holiday season is in your life, make an effort to "bathe yourself in His Word daily." Read a portion and ask God to reveal it to you by His Spirit, and ask Him to use it in your life as He sees fit. Friends, as we do this, and when we get to the place where the only heart motive we have is to know Him even more, the blessings will supernaturally come, because that's just the way God is. He yearns for fellowship, for intimacy with us, and as our hearts respond to His, the heaviness lifts, the clouds lift, and the only thing that is important is God's Presence in our lives, because He is the Prince of Peace. Let's face it, we all desire peace in our hearts. He is the only avenue to LASTING peace. There are other ways that bring temporal peace, but those are counterfeits and they always have a price tag attached. God's peace is lasting, and it is more fulfilling than you can possibly imagine. Whatever you do today, do it as unto the Lord. Col 3:23 Whatever your profession in life may be, do it as unto the Lord. If you are a stay at home mom, clean your house and take care of your children as if you are doing it for the Lord. Are you a secretary? Be one as unto the Lord. Are you a teacher? Teach as unto the Lord. If you are a carpenter, build your house as if you were building it for Jesus. Whatever your profession is, do it as if you were doing it for God Himself, and watch a change come over your attitude, and even your life. Whatever your lot in life is, do it as unto the Lord. This takes us one step further. We not only dedicate our lives to the Lord, but we dedicate our doings. Don't think that you or your job is insignificant. When God has the reins, and you see past the worldly part of your life, He will open doors that you didn't even realize were there. He will use you in ways unimaginable. Let go of the strivings of the flesh, and allow His Spirit to have complete control...and you will have total peace and insurmountable blessings.. Something else too. We can't give this a shot, and then decide that we can't make the grade just because we mess up. Go back up and read the quote by Oswald Chambers. The things that are impossible with man are possible with God. ( Luke 18:27 ) Failures can be viewed as stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks when we are open for God to give us a view in the spiritual realm. Here are some scriptural references to apply as we commit our hearts to God just for today, and then tomorrow we wake up and do it again. Remember, this is a day by day walk. Lord I dedicate my eyes to You this day: Ps 101:3 Lord I dedicate my mouth to You this day: Ps 141:3 Lord I dedicate my ears to You this day: John 10:4 Lord, I dedicate my hands to You this day: Job 17:9 Lord I dedicate my feet to You this day: Rom 10:15 Lord, I dedicate my heart to You this day: Ps 141:4 Ps 51:10 Lord I dedicate my mind to You this day: 1 Cor 2:16 Ps 139:23-24 Whew! That's a good ole bath, huh? My Dear Friends, I dedicate myself to prayer this moment, for every eye that sees this. May God do a work in your heart, and release the chains that have so heavily engulfed you in this area. Be free, my Friends, in Jesus Name!!! Let us savor the Saviour, and enjoy the celebration of His birth the way He intends, and embrace the new birth in our own lives. Amen? God Bless you all..!! God Bless you all sooo much!! In Christ!!
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