Celebrate 2021

Happy New Year 2021! 

Happy New Year 2021

Wait – “happy?”

Can we safely celebrate 2021 and actually be happy? After the year we’ve just had?

You bet we can.

All is not lost.

Our hope remains in Christ.

Daniel’s vision in the Old Testament gives us a glimpse into Bible prophecy and affirms this hope and trust for the ages.

The Lord never changes.

His divine plan hasn’t changed either.

When Jesus returns in all His glory and majesty, we are given the Kingdom.

But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. – Daniel 7:18 (NASB).

That is great news!!

Celebrate 2021 – New Blessings On the Way

Last year has been very tough . . . on everyone.

But, each New Year brings with it new possibilities and new blessings.

Who knows what God has in store for those of us who love Him?

With that in mind, I love Pastor David Guzik’s perspective on this.

As he describes below, here are just a few of the things we can look forward to in the New Year:

– New mercies, new grace.
– New blessings.
– New opportunities.
– New responsibilities.
– New conquest over stubborn sins.
– New faith replacing old fears.
– New people coming into His kingdom. – David Guzik, Christian pastor and author.1

As mentioned above, “New faith replacing old fears” is important.

It makes me sad when I hear about people cowering in their homes because of the fear of this virus.

No doubt, caution is a good thing, but cowering in fear over a virus as if God is surprised or has lost control is not good.

Don’t buy into the “everybody panic” reports that some in media, politics, and elsewhere are spreading. They are purposeful in their bad intent. Know that God will take care of all of this in His timing. 

Trusting Him in the Darkness

Our faith will continue to be tested, but God knows exactly what He is doing.

His ways and timing are ultimately for our good, even if we don’t understand the whys of each trial we face.

Focus on Jesus and pray for strength.

May you feel God’s blessings of grace and peace.

With all confidence in the Lord and in His plans,

we wish you and yours a very Happy New Year 2021!

# # #

1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

2 Quotation from Christian pastor David Guzik. “All Things New.” December 30, 2018, Weekly Devotional, para. 7. Web. Accessed November 30, 2020. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/all-things-new/

Share

Merry Christmas 2020

Merry Christmas 2020

Merry Christmas 2020

 

Merry Christmas 2020 to you and yours!

Around the globe, our brothers and sisters in Christ are celebrating the perfect gift.

Glory to the Newborn King!

This perfect gift doesn’t arrive wrapped in fancy paper with a bow on top.

Instead, the Savior of the entire world was wrapped in cloth in a manger.

The Creator of all things loves us!

With love He gave us the perfect gift – His only Son, Jesus Christ.

If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: “God with us.” We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth! – John MacArthur, Pastor and bible teacher, Grace To You.

Wishing you a blessed Merry Christmas 2020!

# # #

1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 John MacArthur quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

Share

Imagine A King

Who Would Imagine A King – Matt Bloyd’s Heavenly Version

Christmas Time is here

Have you watched any good Christmas movies yet?

I don’t know about you, but there are some older ones that I look forward to every year.

One of those is, “The Preacher’s Wife,” starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington.

I love that movie and especially one of the feature songs, “Who Would Imagine A King”.

The first time I heard it, I was awestruck at how beautiful it is, even to this day.

You can’t top Whitney’s vocals in the movie, but I did find another version of this lovely song that I couldn’t wait to share with you.

This duet by Matt Bloyd and Shoshana Bean is nothing short of magical.

Okay, I know it’s from 2017, but I just found it.  🙂

This is what I love to do when I hear this song – close my eyes, turn up the volume, and imagine myself humbly witnessing that blessed moment – right after Jesus was born.

Hope you enjoy.

There go the happy tears of joy again!

Imagine A King – Our King, Lord of Lords!

All glory to the King of Kings

In Luke Chapter 2, the gospel writer gives us a glimpse at the amazing scene.

19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. – Luke 2:19-20. (NASB).

Many people read those words without giving them a second thought.

But, if you really think about it, when something spectacular and joyful happens in your life, don’t you love to replay it in your mind, over and over again?

I’m talking about those special life-changing moments that you will treasure forever in your heart.

Mary and Joseph saw the hand of God working through the miraculous birth of our Messiah.

Everything they saw, and everything they were told was proven true.

We have reason to celebrate.

The newborn Christ of Christmas grew up to save us from our sins.

Someday, we will meet Him!

Now that’s a blessed truth to ponder.

All the glory to our King of Kings!

Isaiah 25:1

# # #

1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Share

The Christmas Spirit

A Great Video To Get You Into The Christmas Spirit

Asking for a friend 😉

Is it okay to have a crush on the gents of the musical group, “Gentri”?

Gentri "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

I’m telling you – these extremely talented guys get me right in the heartstrings with their music every single time, especially during the Christmas season.

First off, their voices are gorgeous, blending together in perfect harmony.

But, there’s more to it.

In my opinion, what launches them above many other artists who release Christmas songs, are the captivating videos The Gentlemen’s Trio release on YouTube.

The storylines behind their music can make you cry happy tears, or at least bring a smile.

This year, the group is back again with another winner to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Gentri just recently released an endearing version of the beloved Christmas song, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” which premiered on Thanksgiving Day.

As of this writing, the video has already gotten over 2.7K views. Their take of the classic song provides a delightful look at the meaning of Christmas through the eyes of children.

Where did they find these adorable kids?

Watch this and you’ll see what I mean . . .

Didn’t you love it when the children were describing the gifts the wise men could have brought Baby Jesus?

“Baby things, like Onesies!”

So precious.

What I See This Year

Do you see what I see?

This year, I see a Christmas full of “change” that nobody wants, and one that looks different from any other Christmas I’ve ever experienced in my life.

But will you hear what I hear?

In churches, we should hear a time-honored message of redemption that never changes – no matter what.

The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit Will Live Forever

As church goers across the country celebrate Christmas in person, and in some cases, watch the service live stream – the story of Christ’s birth will continue to be told.

Our Savior was born in a manger, and He came to save mankind.

It’s a gift – so the choice is up to us whether to accept eternal happiness, or be sentenced to a godless existence without Him.

The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.1
– J.I. Packer, Bible teacher, author, and speaker. (1926-2020).

# # #

1 Gentri opening photo, courtesy of GENTRImusic Facebook post, 15 October, 2017. Accessed November 29, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/671696182913440/photos/a.694415133974878/1481638765252507/?type=3&is_lookaside=1

2 J.I. Packer quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

Share

Who You Know

It’s Not Who You Are, But Who You Know

Who is God

Do you know who God is?

If you were to search for the answer on Google, you’d have to wade through about 2,080,000,000 results!!

That’s over two billion web pages for review – delivered to you in about 46 seconds time.

who you know, not who you are

For the truth-seeking person who wants to learn more about God, that would be an exhausting and frustrating search.

How would he or she possibly know which web pages offer the truth about God, and which ones promote a false gospel to stay away from?

Here’s the time-saving answer:

We can learn about God through His inspired Word.

In other words, “it’s in the Book!”

His sovereignty, His mercy and grace, and His never-ending capacity to forgive – it’s all right here in the precious Word of God.

God’s glory embodies everything praiseworthy and everything we ought to desire. It is the centerpiece of heaven’s joys, so radiant and all-pervasive that it totally eliminates the need for any other source of illumination in the realm where God dwells (Rev 21:23). Heaven will never be boring or monotonous precisely because God’s glory will be on full display throughout every detail of the new heavens and new earth. In short, no other charm or pleasure could conceivably provoke more wonder, interest, or delight. Best of all, God’s glory will never lose its appeal or its luster.1 – John MacArthur, Pastor and Bible Teacher, Grace To You.

 

learn about God through His Word

People Are Searching For God

Friends, I don’t know about you, but praying for the lost is a big priority for me this year.

The eternal stakes for the unsaved are high and they either don’t realize it, or worse, they don’t care.

Sadly, and as Christians, we know that there are people around us who mistakenly believe that “being a nice person” is all that it takes to receive eternal life.

The truth is, a good personality is admirable, but it isn’t what gets you into Heaven. 

A person may be a good parent, an understanding boss, a happy volunteer, a consistent winner of a congeniality award – but none of those descriptions matter when it comes to their eternal salvation.

What does matter is the truth on how to obtain it.

It’s not who we are and how good we think we are, it’s who we know.

Salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by any of our own efforts.

To think otherwise diminishes His death on the Cross for our sins, and His triumphant Resurrection.

Considering everything the Lord went though on that horrific cross, He still forgives.

There are so many broken people out there who don’t know that God can forgive them no matter what they’ve done in their past.

Their lives are worth saving, if only they’d come to the saving knowledge of our Savior.

Watch as this encouraged young man finally receives that blessed hope.

Grace Beyond Measure

It’s beyond comprehension that Jesus Christ died for our sins knowing that we will sin again.

We are so unworthy of a love like that.

But, He does love us.

How many chances does He give us to turn from our sins and turn back to Him?

Way more chances than we deserve.

In fact, a lifetime of chances to ask forgiveness from Him every time we sin.

The Character of God

As Christians, we’d do well to remember that, when we reach Heaven, it’s not because of who we are, but who we know and because of who He is.

Thank You Father for who You are

# # #

1 John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of The One Passion Blog via One Passion Ministries. “The Reason For Everything.” 7/27/2015. para. 12. Web. Accessed November 28, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.onepassionministries.org/blog/2015/7/27/the-reason-for-everything

Share
1 … 39 40 41 42 43 … 105