Month: December 2018

GET TOGETHER – OUR CHRISTMAS TREE AND SANCTIFICATION

 

Joh 17:19 “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. Ac 20:32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified

 

            Well a couple of weeks ago I shared with you guys about what a powerful time that I had with the Lord that they that I was trying to help J.J. by putting the Christmas tree up by myself.  She didn’t have the same spiritual experience that I did when she saw it. 

            Instead she focused on a few things that I apparently didn’t pay quiet as much attention to. She asked me why there was one whole clump of lights at the bottom that were not burning.  She didn’t buy that they represented the people that were still walking in darkness and that needed to come into the light of Christ. And by the way there are a whole lot of people like I was at one time still walking in the darkness and needing to come to Christ. Also there were a couple of ornaments that did not survive the  one time that the tree almost fell over. 

            So, I must admit that J.J. did take some time and make the tree look a whole lot better. She put some red tinsel like stuff around it. That reminded me of the Blood of Jesus that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.  She also removed the clump of lights that were not burning and put some more in their place. That tree really looks good now. 

            This morning I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me an illustration from what has taken place with our Christmas tree.  Before I put the tree up, we did not have a tree. But once I put the tree up although it was not perfect and had  some dead spots it was still a Christmas Tree.  Before we came to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were not people of God. But when we repent of our sins  and put our faith in His shed blood we become children of God: “1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

            And yet just like our Christmas tree looked when I put it up there are still some places that need work in our lives.  Just like some of our ornaments that got broke that day some of us have had our hearts broken. We all have some of those places that just like that clump of burned out lights that need some new light and new life in those places.  We need God to remove the darkness of sins and to replace it with the light of Christ. 

            That is where the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit comes in.  The Greek term in the passages that I opened up with is hagiazo, hag-ee-ad’-zo. It means to cause someone to have the quality of holiness.  Sometimes holiness gets a bad rap. Holiness isn’t how big a frown that you can put on. It isn’t seeing how religious that you can look. It doesn’t mean that you can never laugh again or have a sense of humor. 

            I believe that holiness is God removing those dark sinful things in our lives that inhibit us from becoming more like Jesus. Holiness is being consecrated to God. Holiness is being salt and light as Jesus has called us to be. 

            It is sort of like that Christmas tree was.   It the dark places being made to shine.  It is the broken places being healed. And like the power that makes the lights shine on the tree. The power of the Holy Spirit enables our light to shine in a dark world that needs the light of Jesus Christ so much. 

 

Lets Us Pray

Lord Jesus as we look at all the lights that shine this Christmas season, we pray that the Holy Spirit will work in our lives removing old sinful habits and attitudes.    Lord Jesus please come and heal the damaged and wounded places in our lives in order that our lights shine in a more powerful way. 

 

IN JESUS NAME

AMEN

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your Kinfolk/Friend

Preston

GET TOGETHER-          THE BEST GIFT IS ETERNAL 

Eph 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

 

           Well I must admit it. I have done only a tad of Christmas shopping so far. Shopping is not one of my favorite things to do.  I have from time to time done well when buying for those that I love. And at other times I must admit I have made some bad mistakes in picking out a gift, or gifts that I thought would be a blessing to them. 

            One year I think that I bought J.J. a case of her favorite bottled honey flavored tea.  I thought because she enjoyed that brand that it would make a good Christmas present. Wow! I was big time wrong on that one! Let’s just say that I am still doing some make up calls on that mistake.  

            If we were all honest, we would all admit that we do enjoy the part of Christmas that is associated with giving and getting gifts. We also know that many of these gifts will be in a yard sale in a few years.  I am not sure where my bicycle is that I got as a child. I am not sure where my little football suit is that I got as a child. And most of us probably can’t remember exactly what we got ten years ago. 

            There are some gifts that I remember giving. I remember in 1980 giving J.J. an engagement ring and a rabbit coat.  I am thankful that she still has the engagement ring. I am thankful that the Lord has given us thirty-eight Christmas’s together. Well as far as the rabbit coat goes let me say this.  They were really in style in the winter of 1980-81. But where that rabbit coat is today neither of us have any idea. 

            When Jesus came to earth over two thousand years ago, He came to give a gift to all humanity.  It is the gift of salvation. It is the forgiveness of sins. It is the gift of eternal life The Bible tells us in Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  There is only one way that a person can be saved from their sins. That is through repenting and placing our faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ to save us. Ro 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

            The Greek term for gift in Ephesians 2:8 is  doron,  do’-ron. It means a present, or an offering.  This is a present that won’t be in the yard sale in a few years. This is a present that will never lose its value. This is a present that is given freely to those who will repent of their sins.  And unlike the year that I made the mistake and purchased J.J.  a case of her favorite tea it will never be the wrong present. And unlike the rabbit coat in won’t be in style one year and out of style the next. 

             Have you received this gift? If you have, I pray that you will celebrate His birth and remember the day that you received the precious gift of becoming a forgiven child of God. And that you will glorify Him in every area of your life If you haven’t, I pray that wherever you happen to be  reading this that you will pray the following prayer.

 

Lord Jesus I confess that I am a sinner. I come today to repent of my sins. I come today to put my complete trust in Your precious blood to save me from my sins.  I believe that by faith in Your blood is the only way that I can live eternally. I surrender my life to you now.

In Jesus Name

Amen

 

If you prayed to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today please let me know. I would like to give you some direction on how to live out your commitment to Him.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

 

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

 

GET TOGETHER- Christmas: A Time To Celebrate And a Time To Remember Jos 4:7 “Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Lu 2:10,11 Then the angel said to them, “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.

This past Saturday J.J. was at her Mom and Dad’s. And by the way we thank you for all your prayers for her Mom and Dad. So, I called her and told her that I would decorate the Christmas Tree this year. I got it done although there are a few spots in there that would keep us from winning this year’s the tree of the year award.

While I was getting it done, I really had a very worshipful time with the Lord. Rather than turning on a ballgame I decided to listen to Christian music while I was decorating. I had the music turned down a lot lower than I normally listen to it. And I really felt the Lord’s presence in the room with me.

Through the years J.J. has bought lots of ornaments with the different years on them. As I was hanging them on the tree, I saw the one that she bought in 1981. That was the first year that we were married. There were years that marked the years that our children were born. There were ones that marked the year that we gave our hearts to the Lord Jesus. Some of the ornaments were pictures of our children doing various activities at some point in our lives as a family together. There were years that marked the first year that we went into the Pastoral Ministry and that was also the Christmas that came just eleven days after my Daddy’s death.

There were other years that marked significant events in either our lives, friend’s lives, or the churches that we have had the blessing to be a part of. Some of those events were wonderful things. Some of the events were tough things such as someone in our congregation having a child leave this walk of life at an early age, or some other tragedy.

I must say that it was truly a worshipful time for me. No, I was not worshipping the tree. I only worship the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

When Joshua was leading Israel into the promise land, he stressed how important it was for them to put down twelve stones and to remember what God had done for them. When I looked at those ornaments, they reminded me of how God has been with us in some very awesome and wonderful times. They also reminded me of how in some of those years we were going through some tough times and that He was with us then as well.

The angel told the shepherds that night that they had some good news for them. It was good news that they could delight in. The New Living Translation says it like this in Luke 2:11 “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! The word Messiah means Rescuer, Deliverer, One who saves. Jesus is all of that.

This Christmas if you are a Christian take some time and thank Him for what He has saved you from. Take some time to thank Him for what He has done for you. Remember those twelve stone moments in your life.

Perhaps you are reading this, and you were like I was at one time. Christmas is a lonely time for you and you try to medicate it with drugs and alcohol. God has something better for you. He is ready to let 2018 be a year that you can buy an ornament and remember in the future that it was the year that you got saved from hell. My year was 1990. You can say this was the year that I met the Savior of the world. His name is Emmanuel. That means God is with us. When I looked at those ornaments, I knew that God had been, and was with us, and furthermore will always be with us. Let Him change your life this year. Then you will thank Him not just during the Christmas Season, but every day for the rest of your life.

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You for coming to the earth to die for our sins. We remember the awesome things that you have done for us. We thank You that You allow us to celebrate Your birth in such a great and glorious way. For any reading this that have not accepted You as their Lord and Savior we pray that just as those shepherds went to see You in Bethlehem that these would seek You and find You as well.

In Jesus Name

Amen

I did have one little accident when the tree fell over. But the Lord sure did a good job from keeping those ornaments that were so special from breaking! God is good!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston