We woke up to a snow covered landscape this morning.
It made morning chores interesting.
Getting the kennel gate open for the dogs afternoon run was a challenge.
There will be lots of shoveling tomorrow!
But the dogs love the snow. It is a joy to watch them play in it.
The garden has almost disappeared!
My garden angel is keeping watch.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.
Isaiah 60:1-6
We have celebrated Christmas with the manger, the angels, the shepherds and the star. We have read the story in the Gospel of Luke.
Today we read the story from the Gospel of Matthew. How wise men came from the east to worship. Upon seeing the child, they fell down and worshiped, and presented gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
What will you give Him?
Will you worship?
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
John 1:1, 14
These are the images that come to mind when we think of Jesus’ birth in the stable.
I’ve heard them talk of the “sweet smelling hay” in the manger bed.
Have you ever been in a stable? One with animals in it.
A barn full of hay can be “sweet smelling” if it doesn’t make you sneeze.
But put a donkey in there and add a cow, a sheep, a horse and it isn’t going to be sweet.
I have a feeling that Mary and Joseph would have traded that stable for a clean bed.
But that was not God’s plan.
Jesus was born in a stable, in a manger, under the shadow of a cross.
This is a stable.
This is a manger.
On this last day of the Christmas Season remember that He was born to die.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
And it came to pass,
as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel,
that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold,
the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
Exodus 16:10
This picture touches something deep within me.
It reminds me of the God I serve.
He is holy;
He is just;
He is merciful;
He is righteous;
He is all mighty;
He is all knowing;
He is ever present;
He is GOD
and
He loves me.
Psalm 103 reminds me of all that He is.
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.
Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking.
Oswald Chambers
“My Utmost For His Highest”
God speaks to me through a sunrise.
A sunset
The beauty of a flower
The promise of a rainbow
The smile of a child
The lives of our animals.
We can easily see God in these things. Good things. Wonderful things.
But what about the hard things?
Are we looking for God in the difficult circumstances?
Nothing touches me that doesn’t go through God first.
That means He sent it or He allowed it – FOR HIS PURPOSE.
I believe that with all my heart.
When I find myself dealing with something that is hard I remind myself – God is in this.
I am learning to see God in the struggle to control my blood sugar.
He is teaching me to trust Him.
I have to do my part. Eat healthy foods. Get plenty of exercise.
Avoid the triggers.
But when I do everything right and the numbers still are off I trust Him.
Trust Him.
By faith Abraham,
when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed;
and he went out,
not knowing whither he went.
Hebrews 11:8
Each morning we greet a new day.
We don’t know what awaits us, but God does.
Just like Abraham, God invites us to trust Him.
God invites us to “go out,” not knowing where it is God will take us.
Will you obey today?
Lord, we thank You for this new day, for all of the possibilities it holds.
Help us to live with our eyes wide open.
Help us to see Your hand at work in every situation we encounter this day.
God is good!
All the time!
All the time!
God is good!
It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3: 22-23
This first day of the year of our Lord twenty-nineteen began with gray skies and cold temperatures.
We are reminded that although we did not see the sun shining, it was shining above those gray clouds.
Just as there are times when we cannot see God at work in our lives, yet we are certain that He is working out His plan for us. Because God is faithful.
We begin this new year with a clean calendar.
It may be a wall calendar . . .
It may be a desk calendar . . .
It may be a pocket calendar . . .
It may be a calendar on your smart phone . . .
But each one has a space for each day of this new year.
Three hundred and sixty-five days to serve God.
And when we mess up – you know you will –
We confess, we repent, and we begin anew.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Thomas Chisholm – 1925
Great Is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Though changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Pardon for Sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Refrain
Great Is Thy faithfulness,
Great Is Thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!
New Year’s Eve.
How quickly the year seems to pass. People used to tell me that time goes by faster the older you get. Well I can attest to that fact after 67 years, 9 months, and 2 days!
Olin and I both expected to have aches and pains as we aged and to not be able to do everything that we used to do. We just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
I found myself having to take a break when mowing the yard this summer. It now takes me two days to do what I used to do in one. The same is true for him.
There are many things in this world that could be of concern but as the sign says, “Let your faith be bigger than your fears.” We don’t know what the new year holds for us but we do know the One in charge of our future and we trust in His plan for us.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Colossians 3: 16-17
Let us ponder these words as we come to the end of 2018. As we look ahead to what 2019 holds for us, we can purpose in our hearts to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
How would that change the way we live? Would you act differently if you knew that your actions would be seen as acts of Jesus? Would the reputation of our Lord suffer from your actions, your words, your thoughts?
Oswald Chambers writes in “My Utmost For His Highest” –
The sign that God is at work in us is that He corrupts confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but remnants of what God created man to be. We will cling to the natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us into contact with the life of Jesus Christ which can never be described in terms of the natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. God does not build up our natural virtues and transfigure them, because our natural virtues can never come anywhere near what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every bit of our bodily life into harmony with the new life which God has put in us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26-28
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:9-11
Dying to self daily and living for Jesus is what we are called to do if we claim the name of Christ. We cannot do this on our own but only the Holy Spirit working in us can accomplish this. Allow God to transfigure you, to form Christ in you.
–
Prayer.
Lord, I know that on my own I can do nothing but with Christ all things are possible. Guide me moment by moment. Show me when to act and when to stand still. Show me when to speak and when to keep silent. Show me when to question and when to trust. And whatsoever I do in word or deed, may I do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen
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