by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Christmas
Christians depend upon the truths found in the Word of God and in the forgiveness that is given in Jesus’ name, this brings them a great peace. Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” “Law” (torah) is used twenty-five times in Psalm 119 in parallel with various other words with the same meaning. The word in itself is an active verb meaning to love the instructions in a general way from the Lord. It means loving the ways, customs and directions from God as David so longed to know and love the Lord’s ways.
There are those who develop such close relationships in Christian marriages, with Christian parents, with friends, co-workers and spiritual overseers, that they long to be around these Christians for instruction and guidance in the Word of God. These Christians will deny themselves certain pleasures in life to prayerfully read and study the Word of God. They pray not only revelation of God’s Word, but illumination of the Word so they can have the Lord’s strength to live it out. These Christians find themselves getting victory over the flesh, overcoming the world, and exposing the lies of the devil. They find peace in the way they use the Lord’s provision, talents, and abilities He has given them. The guidance of the Holy Spirit as He illuminates the Word of God in their lives enables them to walk victoriously rather than stumbling over the temptations and in the trials of life.
The Holy Spirit wants Christians to know the joy of Christmas by becoming like Jesus, letting Him clear their hearts of any guilt, take their grief upon Himself, and free them from all that would keep them from a close fellowship with God. This is accomplished by prayerfully reading the Bible, through painstaking study of God’s Word so the Holy Spirit can bring to ablaze the truths found in the “law” (torah) of the Lord.
Join those who say in their hearts, “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.” (Psalm 119:4-7) Find peace in the counsel of God’s Word!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Christmas
The Christ of Christmas wants all to have the gift of eternal life. Everyone is going to die someday. The Bible says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27) Everyone who has ever been conceived in his mother’s womb has eternal existence. It is up to each individual to decide just where they are going to spend it. The choice is heaven or hell. The fact is everyone is going to spend more time on the other side of this life than is spent here. Some will live fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety and maybe even a 100 years on this side. The other side is forever.
Romans 6:23 says, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) The Devil is a paymaster and he will make sure you suffer the consequences of sin. Those wages are death, and eternal separation from God. Through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit Christians enjoy the gift of eternal life in heaven.
Christianity is not the stage that someone has reached but always the direction of life that a saved man is heading. Instead of living a life that is bondage to sin, it is a life reaching out to and obtaining righteousness. It is a life fed by the Word of God and Illuminated by the Holy Spirit. A man’s talents, abilities, possessions and Holy Spirit gifts are spent for the glory of God, and not on self and the accumulation of worldly wealth.
There was a poor drunkard who awakened one morning in a strange kind of bed. He felt something near him that was warm and soft, which was much different from his usual sleeping place in an alley somewhere. Finally it dawned on him that he was in a stable lying right beside a cow. He heard those familiar Christmas bells that rang every year on Christmas morning. He realized that he had spent Christmas Eve night in a stable. His thoughts turned to that story of Christ being born in a stable and at that moment chose to get down on his knees and invite Jesus into his life and heart. He chose to receive the gift of free forgiveness, a Savior who could understand and minister to him right were he was in life. He found Christ at Christmas and immediately determined to live for the Lord, a changed life sold out to Jesus Christ and His will. Live for the sake of Christ!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Christmas
There are many benefits for those who grasp the truths of Christmas, one being forgiveness. Acts 10:43 says, “All the prophets testify about [Jesus] that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
A little boy wrote Santa Claus saying, “Dear Santa, there are three boys who live in our home. Jeffery is two and he is good some of the time. David is four and he is good some of the time. Norman is seven and he is good all the time, I am Norman.” (Rick Warren, Christmas Message)
The Bible tells one truth that must be grasped there are no Normans in this world. If we could tap into the brains of Christians and recall all they thought and did this last year and project it upon our big screen there would be some extremely embarrassed Christians. There are no Normans in this world. Thus, even today we are in great need of God’s forgiveness and mercy, both available in Jesus’ Name.
A Christmas card sent to Pastor Rick Warren said, “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness so He sent a Savior.” The greatest need for all of mankind is forgiveness and the greatest need for Christians is the continued forgiveness that can be found in Jesus’ Name.
“Forgiveness” (apheseoes) in Acts 10:43 means to release one’s sins from the sinner. This required Jesus’ coming as man so the sins of the world could be cast upon Him. Thus He can take the punishment of sin upon Himself. He did this because His Father sent Him, and He came voluntarily. The reason this forgiveness needs to be a continual forgiveness is because the children of God are not delivered from the presence of sin when they get saved. Thus, Christians will slip into sin. However, sin will not have dominion over them because the Holy Spirit will convict them of sin and draw them to repentance. In Jesus’ Name they will be forgiven. Let Christ’s forgiveness benefit you!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Christmas
Christmas is the time of the year when many cling to those church traditions of the birth of Christ. Luke writes of a time when God used those outside the conjecture of man, the church structure to bear witness of the birth of Jesus Christ. Humanly thinking, Jesus being the King of kings, one would think He would be born to royalty. Jesus being the King of the Jews, one might look for Him to be born in the holy city, Jerusalem, not Bethlehem, and surely, not born in a stable and laid in a manger.
There is much debate, speculation and misrepresentation about the birth of Christ. Grasping the Biblical truths will help you proclaim the birth of Christ like that of the shepherds. The Bible says, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ [the Messiah] the Lord.'” (Luke 2:8-11)
First: These shepherds were men who can grasp the things of God in their mind and hearts with a servants attitude. In the written account of the public proclamation of the birth of Christ we read, “…When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” (Luke 2:15-16) Life application for us – “Christians, who stir themselves up to be about their business for the Lord in their callings are able to receive divine revelations from the Lord as long as they know Him, love Him and are willing to obey His Word.” Second: Not only did their spiritual hearts enable them to get divine revelation, they were enlisted into His service. The Bible says, “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2: 17-18) Many call the shepherds the first evangelist, they were not ashamed of the Gospel, not allowing it to be watered down with religious slogans or over shadowed by the issues of the day, but proclaimed what the angles had told them, “The Messiah has been born.”
One way of understanding Scripture is to take a look it from the time of which it was written. We do know that flocks owned by Temple authorities raised unblemished lambs for sacrifices in the Temple. These flocks were pastured near Bethlehem. It is not out of reason to think that the shepherds, the Angel of the Lord spoke to, over-saw the Temple flocks from were the sacrificial lambs were chosen. If that be the case, what a lovely thing for the Lord to have allowed these shepherds to be the first to see the lamb of God, Jesus in the manger, Who was born to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.
When focusing on Jesus being the reason for the Christmas season, one has to ask; What was in the hearts of the preachers and teachers of Jesus’ day, that kept them out of the loop of such an heavenly announcement. What viewpoint had such a control over governmental affairs that excluded them from hearing the public proclamation of the birth of the King of kings of Whom all will someday bow their knee too. One has to ask, “Do I have the heart of the shepherds?” One whom God could trust with the public proclamation, God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ was born on that first Christmas day.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Christmas
William Shakespeare penned these words in his play, As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances…”
Most of us have seen a wide variety of Christmas plays and pageants in our lifetimes and perhaps have even been in one or more of them ourselves. We enjoy seeing the tiny tots program—Mary in her blue dress and white veil; Joseph in a too-large bathrobe; both kneeling beside a manger with the “Baby Jesus” and the little angel choir with crooked tinsel halos heartily singing “Away in the Manger” behind them. We perhaps, too, have seen or participated in elaborate Christmas pageants with huge casts and conceivably thousands of dollars spent on costumes, backdrops, live animals, with professional sound and lighting. Both of these, in its own way, characterize that first great “Casting Call of Christmas.”
For His cast, however, God the Father signed on and coordinated the innocent and the majestic, the humble and the proud, the unlearned and the scholarly, the good and the evil in widely diverse characters for roles in that first great Christmas drama. God’s choice of players includes:
MARY: It is Christmas! Here in America we have the freedom to learn and talk about the reason for the season, Jesus Christ. Today, we want to consider the heart of the virgin Mary – A young woman, pledged to be married to Joseph, finds herself visited by the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel announces to her that she will become pregnant. To overcome her confusion since she is a virgin, the angel explains to Mary, “…you are highly favored! The Lord is with you. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.” Though under Jewish law Mary knows she can be stoned to death for being pregnant outside of marriage and knowing that her husband-to-be will probably not understand, she bravely responds, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Traveling to Bethlehem while heavy with child, she ends up giving birth there in a stable. Since they could find no room in any boarding houses, Mary ends up laying her precious firstborn child in a feeding box for animals.
There is a life application here in this Christmas truth. There are no more miracle births to come of this order. The Bible says Marry was “highly favored” (χαριτόω charitóō) means she was approved of God for the call He has laid before her. (The Complete Word Study of the New Testament) The heart beat of this approval, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 2:38) Do you have this heart beat? Do you have the heart to walk in obedience to His Word for you? Are you able to understand His call upon your life?
There is a Divine call upon your life. Having the heart of Mary will open the door of revelation to you and enable you to be seen as approved of God for the call He has upon your life.
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