Seasons Greetings to the Hurting, Grieving and Lonely

      As the Holiday Season is upon us, here are a few thoughts to make this time more festive.

     The Holidays are a real challenge to a lot of people. The season, to them, is a stark reminder of loss. It is a gut punch screaming to them that things can never be the same. We all understand this, at least to some degree. During this time meant for rejoicing, we all feel the pangs of longing for those who are no longer here to share this special time.

     However, God intends this season of advent to be a reminder of His nearness to us. It is a time to celebrate a Savior Who came to give us peace and goodwill. It is a notice of His unfailing love, His marvelous grace and His generous gift of salvation. It prompts us to look forward to a time of reunion with those we lost, made possible by the gift of God’s Son so that we can spend eternity together in the presence of Immanuel, God with us!

     So come, let us adore Him. Give and receive gifts recalling the glorious gift of His love. Sing the songs with joy. Work toward peace on earth and goodwill to men. Gather with your church family to worship the newborn King.

The World’s Vain Philosophies

     Having been immersed in our culture, that is, our systems of the arts and humanities, education, media, entertainment, sports, places of employment, etc., we have all been indoctrinated to some extent with the world’s vain philosophies.

     Compare the time the world influences us in a given week with the time we are influenced by God’s Word through devotional reading, Sunday school, church and Bible studies, and we find that our spirits are not being nourished nearly enough.

     If we spend 30 minutes per day in studying our Bibles and in prayer, and another 4 hours per week in church settings, we would be feeding our souls a total of about 7 ½ hours in a week. That is actually pretty good. But, in watching the news, taking in a few TV shows, going to a movie, a sporting event, and reading the newspaper, about 30 hours in the week are given to secular input.  

     Do you see the disparity in our intake of information? It’s no wonder that worldly philosophy, like a weed, strangles out the good seeds of our faith.

     Cleary, most of our current culture has little to no Scriptural input. There is no exposure to the biblical world view if people are not in church and don’t open a Bible. Considering this, it is amazing to me that we actually have any moral fiber left in America.

     Consider the words of R.A. Torrey, spoken over a hundred years ago: "For eighteen centuries and more the opinions of scientists and philosophers have come and gone, today regarded as the final and absolute wisdom, tomorrow regarded as the sheerest folly. But the teachings of this Book have stood fast amid the wreck of centuries of man's thinking. The experience of eighteen centuries proves that the man who banks on the Bible is wise."

     Imagine what future generations will think of ambiguous and bizarre gender pronouns, men being pregnant, or a supreme court justice not being able to give the definition of “woman.”

     The hammers of unbelief lay broken in piles, but the anvil of God’s Word remains unchanged.

Am I Fit Enough to do Specialized Work for the Lord?

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 

Would/could we be called upon to be this fit person to carry out this important task? 

Would we have the:

*Mental Acuity to navigate the wilderness while seeing to the well being of the goat?

*Common Sense to deal with the eventualities?

*Spiritual wherewithal to tune in to the Lord's leading? 

*Physical fitness to make the arduous journey? 

God is looking for folks in shape to do His will. Could we qualify?

How to Have a Better Church by Next Sunday

 

1)     Look forward to church & pray for the preacher, yourself, church family and visitors

2)     Show up with an attitude of praise and worship

3)     Be anxious to receive God’s Word & encounter Him

4)     Bring a friend/family member/workmate with you

5)     Be friendly, greet others, be positive

6)     Participate! Sing out, say “Amen!” when you agree

7)     If the message spoke to your heart, respond.

Where to Look in these Troublesome Times

Look to the Lamb – for Salvation,  John 1:29,36

Look to the Book – for Growth (doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction),  II Tim 3:16 

Look to yourself –for  Personal holiness,  II John 8,9

Look to others – for Soul-winning and missions, Matt 9:35-38

Look to the Rapture – Hope, Titus 2:13