Making the Most of Time

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

making the most of the time. (Eph. 5:15-16)

What is a year? 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds. Much more than that, it’s a gift. Like life itself, it comes to us undeserved from the hands of God.

Consider the nature of the time allotted us.

1. Every man, woman, and child has the same twenty-four hours a day, but the total amount given to each individual is uncertain.

2. Once given it cannot be stopped. There’s no way to slow down, turn off, or adjust

the march of time.

3. Lost time cannot be regained. When gone, it’s gone.

4. Time wasted is time lost forever.

No wonder, then, that the Apostle, Paul, associates wisdom with “making the most of time.” At the beginning of this new year let us remember that time is among our most precious possessions and resolve to use it wisely.



Best wishes for a happy and blessed New Year from your friends at ChurchSupplier.com!

 

God's Christmas Gift

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.  Isaiah 9:6

 

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Some might mention a piece of expensive jewelry. Others a handmade gift from a loved one. Still others, aglow with love, might mention the birth of a child.

On Christmas day we celebrate God’s gift to the world, the gift of his one and only son: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.

 Don’t miss the import of those two wonderful words: unto us. The Christ child is a gift that is offered each one of us personally. He was given not to condemn, but to forgive, bless, and save.

Some gifts are neglected or underappreciated. They get consigned to the back of a closet or the attic. This Christmas let us be sure that God’s gift to you – the best gift ever -- receives the attention, care, and gratitude it deserves. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)

Merry Christmas from your friends at ChurchSupplier.com

The Spiritual Pathway of Christmas

I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. Luke 1:38

                                                   

She is a young woman, most likely a teenager. She lives in an obscure village tucked away in the hills of Galilee called Nazareth. She is engaged to a man of the tribe of David named Joseph. Hers is an ordinary life in every respect except that her world is about to be turned upside down by an unexpected visitor.

The angel, Gabriel, has come to announce an event that will change the course of human history, but in order for it to happen he needs Mary’s consent: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

Scripture says Mary was deeply troubled. How could she, a virgin, give birth to a child? How could she explain the situation to Joseph? What would the people of the village think when they discovered she was pregnant and unmarried?

The salvation of the world hung in the balance as she pondered.

Mary’s response is an example for all:  I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. This is the spiritual pathway for all who desire to be Christ’s disciples: to take our place as servants of God, to believe his Word (even if seemingly impossible), and then to yield to his will saying, Let it be. In this way Christ is born in us and lives the miracle of Christmas through us every day.

Mary's response is an example for all.

The Gift of Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

John 14:27

To think of Christmas is to think of peace. It’s featured prominently in the Nativity when the choir of angels appears to the shepherds proclaiming, “Peace on earth, good will to men.” We sing of it in Christmas carols as we adore the Christ child by candlelight on Christmas Eve: “Sleep in heavenly peace.” The prophet Isaiah foresaw a time when lions would lie down with lambs (Isaiah 11:6) and swords would be beat into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4). And of course, Jesus himself, is hailed as the Prince of Peace.

 

All of this is in striking contrast to the world around us. Terror threatens many lands, including our own. Nations are divided into armed camps. Incivility and bitter division pervade our politics.

What a blessing, then, to remember that peace is a gift from God: “My peace I give to you,” said Jesus. It's a gift the world cannot understand, much less give. The Good News is he wants to share it with us. So as we experience the joy of giving and receiving this Christmas, let us keep Christ’s gift of peace foremost in our hearts.

Christ desires to share his peace with us.

I Will Come to You

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

 Advent is the four week season of spiritual preparation leading up to the celebration of Christmas. It comes from the Latin word, Adventus, which means “coming”. During this season we focus on the coming of Christ in three ways:

First,  we look back to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago: “What Child is this who, laid to rest On Mary's lap is sleeping?”

Second, we look forward to the coming of Christ in glory at the end of time: “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”

Third, we look to Christ's coming in the present. When Jesus said to his disciples, “I will come to you,” he wasn’t referring to the Second Coming, but to a many-splendored spiritual coming.

Among the ways he comes to us spiritually are the following: in providential events and deliverances, in answers to prayer, and in mysterious visitations of the Holy Spirit. He also comes disguised in the faces of the poor and needy (Matthew 25:40).

This Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ in the past and focus our hope on the coming of Christ in the future, let us not neglect his spiritual coming here and now. For this is his promise: I will come to you.

Let us not neglect his spiritual coming here and now.

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