Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!!!

Giving Thanks, God Loves You,

Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas with our family and close friends, I cannot help but remember the greatest gift who is so often forgotten.  Jesus Christ is the reason that we celebrate every December 25th, not because that was his actual birthday, but because God sent Him as a redemptive gift that we can received for free.

I love the lyrics “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him” from the very popular Christmas favorite “O Come All Ye Faithful.” I absolutely love hearing these word because it sets my soul on fire; encouraging me to stop everything (all of the craziness or this world) and go worship Christ Jesus.  At the end of the day that is all that really matters.

In Matthew, three Wise Men also called Magi (Magi were men who were the advisors to kings in some countries; often asked to interpret the kings’ dreams and gained much of their wisdom by studying the stars) dropped everything they were doing in order to go and worship the coming “King of Jerusalem” (Somehow, when a very special star appeared in the sky, they knew they should follow it).

These Magi were chosen by God to seek out and bless His only begotten Son.  We have been given by God, the indescribable gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior, Redeemer and Friend.  We have the privilege of relationship with Christ, and the opportunity to receive His unfailing love.  Oh Come Let Us Adore Him; the word adore, according to Webster’s is 1) to love and respect (someone) deeply;  2) to worship or revere.  Oh Come Let Us Love, Respect, Worship and Revere Jesus Christ our Lord:

-We Love Him because He first Loved us, giving His life on the Cross for ours.
-We Respect Him because He didn’t come to earth to be served (He deserves it) but to serve each of us.
-We Worship Him because He is the Great “I AM,” King of Kings, & the Messiah; who deserves worship.
-We Revere Him because everything about Him is all together lovely & as He is so are we in this world.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him Jesus Christ our Lord!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus

When Passion Hinders the Message

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Numbers 11:27-29New King James Version (NKJV)

27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!” 29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

For a little while now I have been doing a study on Joshua. My first born is a Joshua and I know that God gave me specific direction to name him accordingly well before he even showed up. Therefore, when I don’t have a clue about his purpose and what lies ahead for his future….the Word of God can fill in some voids for me. One, is the fact that so often God reminded Joshua to “Be strong and of good courage.”  Therefore, like Timothy, fear must have been something that Joshua dealt with. Another is the fact that even before Joshua became the leader of Israel, he was often in the Lord’s presence, both with and without Moses. There is no better place to be and he was witness to many leadership strategy sessions, discussions, worship….and God’s glory. It had to be awesome seeing what he saw and receiving what he received. I love to see this in the Word, because I trust and believe that it will have relevance in my son’s life as well.

So why this verse? Well along with the great things, comes lessons learned along the way. I could only imagine all that Joshua had access to; the knowledge and wisdom of God’s counsel as well as the heartbreaking murmurs of an ungrateful people. So when Moses smiled I’m sure Joshua did and when his heart was broken, I’m sure Joshua fumed. It is not strange then, when others started to prophesy (or speak by inspiration of a divine spirit in this case the Spirit of God), Joshua immediately assumed that Eldad and Medad were trying to usurp Moses’ authority and spread some message of their own. Therefore Joshua calls for immediate forbiddance (restriction; restraint, shutting-up) of their message and voice. Joshua was passionate about protecting Moses so much so he did not care what Eldad and Medad had to say or even who had them say it. He just wanted it squashed.

How often do we do the same, maybe on behalf of our Pastors or favorite ministers? Maybe it is our loved ones or it could even be our own voices and beliefs. If it does not come from these sources….it cannot possibly be right, wise or beneficial. Hmmmm; doesn’t quite sound right does it? Look at Moses’ wise response. “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them.”

Moses got it!! But of course he would, he had a pressure on him that was so great. The very thought of God using others to share and spread God’s direction, purpose and vision was not only pleasing, but a relief to him. We should be excited when others are used by God to do anything, because ultimately it edifies the rest of the Body of Christ and it empowers and blesses the individual being used (God always blesses the vessel). Many people criticize our current Pastor and I used to be one of them years ago. However, the anointing on his life and the impact of his ministry is undeniable. It took maturity to get me to the point to not only change my mind about my pastor but to allow his ministry to impact my life as it has my son’s. Oh and did I mention the hundreds that give their lives to Christ every Sunday? Don’t be so quick to disregard other voices of those being used by God.

Now I know that many people that claim to be speaking for God are clearly not… and often it is readily apparent, but sometimes it is not so easy to see. The apostle, John, gives us more detailed direction on how to respond in 1 John 4:1:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that[a] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God

Don’t let your passion keep you from receiving from God’s messengers/ministers.

Don’t Fear Destiny…Check Your Receipt

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Numbers 14:4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

Who said these words? Was the leadership so bad that an immediate change at the top was needed? What was so bad that a return trip to Egypt was imminent?

This was a quote from the children of Israel, after a select group of 12 leaders were sent into the Promised Land. They were sent to prepare an assessment of an unfamiliar place they were destined to occupy; a promised gift from their leader. Oh did I mention that the leader they so anxiously wanted to replace was Jehovah God, the very God who’d created them. Yes, Moses was the human put in charge, but the people knew he was merely a figurehead as all of his direction came straight from the mouth of God.

Don’t be so quick to judge; how many times have we latched on to someone else’s leadership (especially our own) and gone in the opposite direction of God’s leading? Yeah, we’ve been there….each and every one of us. Even though God’s not speaking to us like He did with Moses, in a cloud during the day and fire at night, we’ve chosen our ways as better than God’s.

Well why they were so opposed to God’s plan, that they would even consider going back to the enslaved life of bondage and despair they’d recently been delivered from?????   They were PETRIFIED of their destiny and could not believe that God loved them enough to keep His promise. Fear will challenge faith and distort reality. The devil knows that fear hinders faith; which is why God’s perfect love casts out all fear. The Israelites felt they we’re a mess, a failure, weak and insignificant. There is no way they could go up against the Giants of this new land and win. There is no way this unbelievable land, new homes and gorgeous resort style country could be for them. God could not possibly love them enough to keep that promise he made back when they left Egypt. After all, they’d broken His commandments and complained. He would never follow-through on His promise because they did not deserve it.

That was their mindset, it was what they believed about God. Oh, it’s hitting home now isn’t it?? You’ve felt like this before, maybe even right now. I’ve been there. With all of the wrong that I’ve done in my life, how could God possibly want to see me “living the dream?” The dream that is salvation, freedom, blessings, health and prosperity….you know the blessed life. I do not deserve it…..but God loves me so much (John 3:16).

You know what we have that the Children of Israel didn’t? A receipt for God’s promise. Jesus Christ is our blood stained receipt for God’s love and destiny for our lives. God has paid for our future, one of eternal life with Him, by giving His Son as a sacrifice for all of our sin, past and future. So God knew our future before we started our past and just like us He knew the promise for the Children of Israel. They did not see God as Joshua and Caleb did (we’ll dig into that a different time).   It’s time for us to check our receipt and know that because of Jesus’ work on the Cross, the destiny God has given us is paid for. Although there are giants occupying that place now, they will fall because Our God is Greater, Stronger and More Loving than anything that will ever stand in our way.

Change your mind and like Joshua and Caleb say, “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’   Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

There Is No Where Else To Go!!!!

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Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life….(John 6:68)
I’ll admit it; I’m trapped and I’ve got no place to go.  I cannot move and cannot get away from God’s love (Ps 139).  I tried!!!! I tried to fight it; I’ve tried to run and even tried to replace it, but all to no avail…He’s got me in His hands and will never let go (John 10:29).  The Sin that I would do, as Paul reminded me (Rom 7)…always failed me in the end (Prov 14:12).  There was a good feeling for a minute; fleeting as it was there were moments that made you smile….but in the end sadness always prevailed  Sadness because it was either wrong or unfulfilling (Rom 7).  For as an infant knows nothing but the love of his mommy/daddy so should we as Christians know the everlasting love of our Super Daddy (Rom 8:31-39).

At the end of the day all of the hurt, pain, depression and despair that the devil provides…those things that seem fun and exciting leave you in a place where you’re left in Jesus presence saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,”  and those words are Love, Peace, Joy, Healing, Purpose and Blessing.   Where will you go??

Great Potential For The Quickly Approaching School Year

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I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.  Psalm 27:13 In a recent post, I mentioned transitioning our children from homeschooling to public school.  Our boys have attended public school before, but the experience will be totally new for […]

https://thelegacyoffaith.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/great-potential-for-the-quickly-approaching-school-year/

God’s Attracted to You

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Matt 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

I heard a lyric during praise and worship today and it just resonated with me for the rest of the service. It spoke of being attractive to God. Can I just tell that you are so very attractive to God. Whether you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior or you’ve been serving Christ for years, God is attracted to you.

You are attractive to God and He will do anything to be with you. Guess what it is that is so attractive to God…your Sin!!! What!!! Sin does not attract God but it disgust Him. God absolutely hates sin and that is why He will do anything to free you from it. For the person that could care less about Christ, God sent his Son and then gave His most prized possession so that they can be with Him forever. The Sin in your life attracts the Grace of God to you. Matthew shows us here what Jesus said “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” You are His mission, He wants to love you out of Sin.    This is great news…But there is even better news

Once you’ve acknowledged Christ as your Savior, you are His forever and God goes as far as to say “Heb 13:5 For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God always wants to be with you and the only thing that is as attractive to Him as you; is when you get together with another believer. Matthew goes a little further to tell us how Jesus feels about this “Matt 18:20 where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” You’re attractive to the Lord, He really desires you and when you get with other believers He can’t stay away!!!!

God loves us so much, He’s willing to go above and beyond to win our heart and be with us forever. So the next time the Devil tells you that God will never accept you or that He is angry with because of your sin; you tell him and whichever person, preacher or family member that “I’m even more attractive to now!”

Preach Jesus and let Him Move the Church

Church Leaders, God Loves You

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Today we began what we hope to be our final home church search, as we have settled in the Houston area for good. As far as we know what God’s plans are. We don’t always look forward to this because it has very often been a very long and arduous process for us, because Jesus Christ and His finished work is not the focus of many churches out here today.

We’ve been to plenty of churches to tell us what we need to work on and how we can be better. They focus on the person in the pew, but I cannot help but believe that the One who sits on the Thrown should be the topic of the sermon. Once we know and believe what He has done on the cross for us, everything we do will from then on will be based on the solid rock. Lets look at John 4…

This is the end of a very familiar bible story: The Woman @ The Well. This woman, known by all of the town as a sinner, was literally sneaking up to the well to get some water. Sneaking so that the other town women would not see, judge and embarrass her. Instead this day she ran into the one person who would truly love “the mess” out of her.

Jesus rested at this well, where he would meet this Samaritan woman. Jews did not deal with the Samaritans or “Half-breeds” so she was being shunned by the very people who were shunned by everyone else. She could not possibly feel that good about herself, which may explain much of her behavior. Ahh but now she would meet a man that, in her own words, would “tell her all the things she ever did.” Yet He still loved and adored her, He still gave His life for her. He still had a plan for her. She still meant something to Him.

You see this is why it has been difficult for us to find a place to call home. We may be picky, but we need a place that will remind us about this great love, because when we realize how loved we are. How regardless of the mess we’ve made of our lives, or the mistakes we still often make; that God will never forsake us. That we have a Lord and Savior who cares just as much about us as today as He did when He went to the cross and that God loves us just as much as He loves Jesus….We will do just what that Samaritan woman did, we will immediately get up and go tell everyone how wonderful He is and all that He’s done for us. We will serve, bless and feed others and we will be the church….the one so many of us head out to go find every week.

The sheep don’t need to know how bad they are and what to do to make themselves better or how we can protect ourselves and stay out of trouble. They just need to follow their shepherd and eat where and what He leads them; when they do that they live a successful, joyful and abundant life. Not because of what that have done, but because they trusted and followed the shepherd. (Psalm 23).

The First Happy Meal

Giving Thanks, Spiritual Food,

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Today we began what we hope to be our final home church search, as we have settled in the Houston area for good. As far as we know what God’s plans are. We don’t always look forward to this because it has very often been a very long and arduous process for us, because Jesus Christ and His finished work is not the focus of many churches out here today. Anyway that is not the topic of today’s blog.

In the message we heard today, the preacher gave an illustration using some of McDonald’s old jingles and other fast food chains. I could not help but think of the Happy meals I used to each as a kid and now my kids enjoy. Well at least my daughter, my boys feel “too old” for those kid meals.

Today’s verse really serves as a reminder to me about just how grateful we should all be that Jesus gave us the first “Happy Meal.” Let me show you:

Prior to this verse, the disciples were with Jesus and departed to go find food. They were in the middle of a 70 mile trip from Judea to Galilee. So after leaving Jesus to rest at this well, they came back with a meal for Him, so He could be replenished.  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. What they did not realize is that Jesus had already had a Happy Meal of His own. I use the term Happy here because the Hebrew word for blessed (Esher) means Happy or Happiness and it blessed Jesus to do God’s will and to finish His work. But really it blesses us for Jesus to do God’s will and Finish His work. Because that work was finished on Calvary’s cross and redeemed us all. Jesus’ great act of love is what feed Him. This was truly the first Happy Meal….Praise be to God!!!!

It’s Not My Past I’m Worried About…..What About My Present?

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Rom 8:1-2 “Free from Indwelling Sin” 8:1 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

I was all set tonight, I got a lot of work done earlier in the day and evening so I could sit and watch the game unabated. Then I received a devotional with this text and was reminded about not being weighed down by my past. I thought that was pretty cool, but as I read more, I thought I’m good with my past, as a matter of fact I embrace that I was a mess and have been redeemed by Jesus’ blood. My concern and struggle at times is my present….I still mess up and fall. I know that I’m by myself because everyone else that is saved keep it all together. J But I will share why this text is so valuable to me.

Even the heading; “Free from Indwelling Sin” speaks volumes. Indwelling means to be permanently present in (someone’s soul or mind); possess spiritually. We are free from the indwelling of Sin, sin is no longer present in us when we are saved. Jesus died on the cross for all of our Sin, past…present… and future. This is the blessing, God provided a way for all of the guilt and regret of sin to be destroyed forever. On The Cross

We no longer have to deal with the guilt and regret of Sin because Jesus took it from us and placed it on His shoulders. God then destroyed them both and put them in their place….Hell with Satan. Which is why Satan always attempts to give it back to us. When we sin, Satan tells us we’re dirty, filthy and deserve to die for what you did. BUT GOD tells us to “look at the cross and remember what Jesus did,” He goes on to say “you’re Holy, Anointed and greatly loved.” When we know this to be true, “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”

Be Blessed!!