It's all about Him

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But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (Phil 3:7-9 NIV)

Merry Christmas

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the Lord -- has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others -- the armies of heaven -- praising God: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors." When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. (Luke 2:8-16 NLT)

Wise men seek him

• This is the time of year when Jesus' birth as a human being is acknowledged. Some professing Believers choose to focus more on materialism or secular celebrations than on Jesus. Others want to argue details, e.g., "He really was not born this time of year."
  
  In my opinion, most important, is that He was born, He lived, He died as the atonement sacrifice for our sin, He was resurrected, and He is alive now and forevermore.
  
  In order to die for our sin, He first had to be born. Do not let the hustle, hassle, social pressures, and commercialism of this season rob you of time to contemplate and honor all that Jesus did for us.
  
  Though cliche, this is true: "Jesus is the reason for the season."

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This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:12-14 NIV)

Encouragement

• If you have had to live without encouragement, you know how precious any encouraging word can be--like water in the desert. I have been there before, and I am deeply grateful for those who encourage me now. (Especially my wife--the most positive, encouraging person I have ever known--truly a gift from God!)
  
  There are many ways we can encourage each other; it could be as simple as a smile or a kind word. Sometimes, just listening to someone can be a great encouragement because it shows that you care.
  
  
• From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. (Acts 14:26-27 NIV)

Perspective!

We may not be able to avoid rejection or keep it from hurting when it happens, but we can keep it in perspective. There is One who will never reject us. In Psalm 27, David wrote: "My father and mother may abandon me, but the LORD will take care of me." (v. 10, GNB)

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"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.' "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." (John 13:18-20 NIV)

Change!

• Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
  
  I want to learn from the past and not repeat the same mistakes over and over. I can learn from history and other people's mistakes, of course. However, if I am truly honest with myself and ask for God's help, I can also learn from my own.

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For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. (1 Cor 10:1-6 NIV)

Soul Winning!

Have you ever felt like a failure because you could not "win" someone for Jesus? It is easy to do; we live in a predominantly uncompassionate, results-oriented world.

However, if you feel that way, you should re-examine those feelings, because producing the results of our obedience to God is not within the scope of our ability or responsibility.

I believe that the only way we can fail Him is to disobey Him. The results of our obedience are His, and His alone.

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"When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. 'Quick!' he said to me. 'Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" (Acts 22:17,18,21 NIV)