Why was Jesus born?

Wishing you a Merry, Blessed and thoughtful Christmas in 2016.  And, have a Happy Eternity!!

Unto you is born this day ...

Luke 2:8--11  And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
10  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Behold, the new has come

Ephesians 4:22-24   ...(to) put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
23  and (to) be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24  and (to) put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Make a joyful noise to announce His coming!

   Psalm 98:4  Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing  praises!

Sins made white as snow

Isaiah 1:18  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Do Not seek Revenge

Romans 12:17-21 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 

18-  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

19-  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

20-  To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 

21-  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Living Waters

..... Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"
                                                                                                                                    John 7:37-38

REJOICE, be PATIENT, be CONSTANT

Romans 12:2-28  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ....
12  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Do Not Be Anxious

Luke 12:22-24  And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 
23  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 
24  Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 

Listen

                                                      The Parable of the Sower

Luke 8:4-8  ".... and some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

                                                       The purpose of the Parables
                                                              See Luke 8:9-18

Blessed without seeing

Then he said to Thomas, "......... and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  John 20:27-29



   

 

PRAISE THE LORD !

Psalm 113:3  From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.

I Know the Plans I Have For You, says the Lord

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,
plans for welfare and not for evil,
to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 
John 8:31-32

 
 

All Glory Goes To God

                
                     So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
                                                                                                          1Corinthians 10:31

The promise of eternal life

                  1John 2:25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.              
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.           John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The most important race

  And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.   Mark 16:15
   Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,// looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1, 2  

BELIEF - FAITH - ETERNITY

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Acts 17:2-3  .... "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ."

Hebrews 13:8   Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

True Freedom

John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 

  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13

  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Peter 2:16

Bloom where God plants you

  For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!  Amos 4:13

  For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.  Isaiah 61:11

  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,   Ephesians  2:8

  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10

Isaiah 45:18  For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other. 

Slave to Sin or ?

  And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he

were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.  Luke 17:1-2

  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

  But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient ...  

and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:16-18

Power in God's Word

Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Matthew 7:24, 26  "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

Matthew  12:37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:44 "Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men."
Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
John 5:46, 47  For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 8:47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

John 12:47, 48  If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

John 14:24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Remember

I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

Genesis 9:13-16

 

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 

 Psalm 105:4-5

    

Why Worry

Luke 12:22-23  And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.

  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Train Up a Child

  Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
                                                                                                                        Proverbs 22:6
Psalm 25:4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalm 34:11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Psalm 86:11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

Psalm 119:33  Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Proverbs 9:9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

 John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Titus 2:1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
 

Follow Jesus

   And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
                                                                                             Matthew 4:19

Do not quarrel -- Be a servant of God - not of the devil

2Timothy 2:19-26

... God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."....  So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies;  ... And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, ...

 

Wait for the LORD

 

Isaiah 40:31
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Psalm 31:24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!
Psalm 38:15  But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer
Psalm 62:5  For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my  hope is from him.
Psalm 130:5  I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
  

The good Shepherd wants all to come

John 10:11  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ...

 

John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Love within the great comandment

1Corinthians 13:1  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1Corinthians 13:4-7   Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Matthew 22:37  And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Don't be decieved

Deuteronomy 11:16  Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them;

Colossians 2:8   See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

           1Corinthians 15:33  Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals."   

The present world is passing

1Samuel 2:8  .....  For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and on them he has set the world.

1Corinthians 7:29, 31  This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. ....31 ......  For the present form of this world is passing away.

Job 14:18-19 "But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place;

  the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; ......

2Peter 3:8-12  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ...10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. ...
12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

Empty Cross, Empty Tomb HE IS RISEN -- HALLELUIAH !!

John 3:17-18 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. Mark 16:6 And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.Matthew 28:7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, ... Luke 24:33-34  ....And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together  saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"


      Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

     John 11:25  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

    Matthew 22:31-32 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:  'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

    John 20:28-29 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

FOR OUR SINS

 

Mark 9:31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."

John 3:17-18  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.


1 Corinthians 1:18  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.     

God's eternal power and divine nature revealed in Creation

                     
                              To see God - merely look at His creation
Romans 1:20   For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. ....