December 2024

MERRY CHRISTMAS! In the late '60s, I'd flash the peace sign while saying "groovy" with my heart in fear and turmoil while ignorant of the meaning of peace. I thought it had something to do with getting out of the Vietnam War since most of us desired peace instead of war. The thought of mental peace wasn't even a concept in my mind, much less the reality of true-Spiritual peace with God. Listen to the angel of the Lord:

"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord . . . Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace [Spiritual peace], goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:10,11,14, NKJV).

Jesus, Our Peace & Savior Is Born . . .

Do you lack a sense of peace in your heart and in need of Jesus, our Savior?

Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27, NKJV).

Who or what are you trusting in to save you from the turmoil going on in your heart today? It could be a movement, a political party, a cult, a mate, another country, a bunker, a job, money or yourself. You may even be willing to lay down your life or it could drive you to commit a horrific crime or suicide. God forbid! Believe me, that choice is dumb, when the goodness of God is available as bad as it may seem to be, " . . . as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3, NKJV).

For myself, I ended up serving a cult leader, looking for love and acceptance within a group of scallywags. I already had unconditional love from my family and their God, but I didn't realize it. I was lacking a true identity while blinded with pride and greed, which are the roots of a rebellious and disobedient heart. In Proverbs, King Solomon wrote six (6) times about deadly pride, that we are ". . . to hate evil, pride and arrogance" (8:13). "When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom" (11:2). "By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom" (13:10). "In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise will preserve them" (14:3). "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (16:18). And, "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor" (29:23, NKJV).

Finally, in 1975, the Lord brought me to my knees when He lit a spark of faith in my heart. In the Bible, the word "save" is from the Greek word "sozo", which has a broad meaning: to heal, rescue, liberate, free, deliver, protect, preserve, do well and be made whole, ". . . for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10, NKJV). The apostle Paul wrote: ". . . that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15, NKKV). He also proclaimed that, ". . . whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved" (Romans 10:13; Joel 2:32, NKJV). And, ". . . according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5, NKJV). The apostle Peter proclaimed, "Nor is their salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12, NKJV). And lastly, Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NKJV).

THEREFORE, having been justified [made righteousness] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2, NKJV).

Walking By Faith, Not By Sight . . .

You'll notice that I share Biblical Scriptures in order to build your faith in the Truth, because ". . . faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ" (Romans 10:17, NLT). Unless someone is speaking from God's Word about the centrality of Christ and the Cross, be careful what you hear! I was totally ignorant of the Truth in the '60s, ripe for deception. So don't listen to a "Charlie" or whatever name, unless they are sharing the Scriptures about Christ -- the forgiveness of sin, His righteousness, healings, resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit for regeneration. [For example, meditate, Titus 3:3-8].

The Christmas Story in Matthew, chapter 1:18-25, is an example of a couple walking by faith and not by sight, who heard the Word, acted upon it, and brought Jesus, our Savior, into the world. "This is how the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiance, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

"As he continued this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. 'Joseph, son of David,' the angel said, 'do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus [which means 'The LORD saves'], for he will save his people from their sins.'

" All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14]: 'Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they shall call him Immanuel, which means 'God with us.'

"When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus" (NLT).

Let's Just Praise The Lord . . .

In agreement with God's Word, Mary brought forth the son of David, who sang to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and Saul. He sang, "I love you LORD, you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior, my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies" (Psalm 18:1-3, NLT).

After the birth of Jesus, "Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others -- the armies of heaven -- praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is well pleased.' When the angel had returned, the shepherds said to each other, 'Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'

"They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often" (Luke 2:8-19, NLT).

Oh, that we would keep the Word of God in our heart and thoughts and tell the world around us about Jesus; praising the Lord like Mary and these shepherds for what they had witnessed. The people were astonished when they heard the Good News about the birth of their Savior. "The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angels had told hem" (v. 20). It has been said that praise is our language of faith in Jesus Christ, Who we know personally as our Lord, Savior and Righteousness.

"All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen" (Revelation 1:5b-6, NLT).

Why We Should Praise God . . .

The Abounding Love podcast episode #192 shares when you come into the realization of the eternal life you've received from God, and all that gives you; you will want to praise God. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32, NKJV). All things -- all good things. ". . . as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue . . ." (2 Peter 1:3, NKJV). That's something to praise God about! PRAISE HIM, saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ . . ." (Ephesians 1:3, NKJV).

When Jesus rose from the dead, He gave us "every Spiritual blessing" and all the good things of God. He has even given us the desires of our heart in Christ. Jesus tells us: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10, NKJV). More abundantly than what? What the world, the flesh and the Devil [the thief] gives us. Prior to having Christ in your life, you may have believed your life was "abundant," but actually it was built on a lie, on sinking sand, and not on the eternal life that Jesus promised you.

In this message, we're going to look at twelve (12) addition Scriptures to give us a foundation of why we should praise God. For example, #1: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV). In Hebrew, the word for peace [shalom] means far more than just a lack of conflict. It means "wholeness" -- health and prosperity, nothing broken nor missing, and a life guarded from conflict. We should praise God because we have peace with God, which exceeds all our understanding. Peace is the "soil" where the Word of God is planted, so we can produce the fruit of God. Join me as we look into these verses, building our faith so we can produce Godly fruit. Selah! [Click here for the Abounding Love podcast #192 "Why We Should Praise God", dated 11/22/'24].

A Prayer For You . . .

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

"So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

"I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation -- the righteous character produced in your life by Christ Jesus -- for this will bring much glory and praise to God" (Philippians 1:3-11, NLT). Amen!

(Also pray Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21, and Colossians 1:8-14).