Happy New Year!
Well, 2008 is passed and '09 has arrived with so many promises. I am excited for what this new year has to offer. Yes, we all hold our breath a little at the beginning of a new year and maybe a little more at the onset of this one. There is so much craziness in the world and gloom but it is in these moments where God shines the brightest. The church is the hope of the lost and dying world and I do believe that God is shaking this earth once again to get our attention on what really matters.
So look up and look out and believe that God will move in your life in 2009! From the staff at Abundant Life Church we pray you have a blessed New Year.
PJ
This time of year can be so overwhelmingly busy. I am guilty of letting this time of year take total control of my life. Every day and night of every single day of the week starting at Thanksgiving is filled with some type of event. School Plays. Christmas Parties. Family Gatherings. And the list could go on for about a mile. We all become so inundated with holiday happenings and many times lose the true meaning of Christmas. I know we've all heard hundreds of times that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season", but it is amazing to me that year after year I still need to stop, in the midst of the chaos, and remind myself of why this time of year is so important. So i challenge you today. Stop for a minute. Take a timeout and dwell on the reason we celebrate Christmas. I think you'll find it to be quite beneficial.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
I don't know about you but I love to give! I have been like this since as long as I can remember, I don't know how or when it started really but I do remember loving to buy candy for my oldest brothers and sister. Even if it was nickel or penney candy (do they even have penny candy anymore?) am I getting that old so quick? Anyway, I still love to give where I can, whether it be of my time, sharing in God's Blessings to my family and I, or even my talents and natural abilities. I can't imagine my life without givng something on a regular basis.
My 4 1/2 year old daughter loves to give.It almost brings tears to my eyes to say it, but I experienced it a couple weeks ago. She came up to me and asked if she could have a dollar and so I gave her one without a thought in mind. (I know dangerous right? Wait until she's a teenager!) Later on the same evening she came up to me and asked for all the pennies in my pocket and even later on she came back and asked for all my change and then proceeded to run back into her room laughing and giggeling. This time I quietly followed her back to her room and stayed in the hallway to observe what she was doing with the money. I watched as she dug out a tiny little container overflowing with change and a few dollar bills. I watched as she looked at it with great joy as she added to her cash stash. I walked back into the kitchen and waited for her there. When she came into the kitchen I asked her what she wanted all the money for, "What are you going to buy?" I asked. "A barbie, a new movie, earrings?" She laughed as if I told her the funniest joke she has ever heard and proceeded to tell me she was going to give it to all the people that don't have very much so they can buy food, clothes, christmas presents, stay warm etc... I was inspired to ask God at that moment "Lord what more do you want me to give?"
As we celebrate Christmas and the Ultimate Gift, Jesus Christ, what more does God want you to give? More time with your family? More time with your heavenly Father? Blessing someone in need with a financial gift or fixing something for them so they can save money? Volunteering? Wherever and whatever it may be, I leave you with these words of Matthew 25:40: "'I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant [they seemed], you did for me.
Be Blessed & Be a Blessing
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Do you know what your name means? Have ever discovered the meaning behind the name that you where given at birth? Isn't funny when we meet someone and find out there name we many times say, "you look like a _______"(fill in their name) Before Jesus was even born some 700 years before His birth God had a name picked out for Him. As a matter of fact He was given multiple titles because of the greatness of who He was going to be.
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
His name has so many meanings that fit perfectly with what Jesus came to do on this earth. His name is power to the believer, a threat to governments, the guarantee of prayer and menace to the devil. We can all so easily get overwhelmed this holiday season may we remember who Jesus is so that we can have joy in spite of a hostile world, peace in the midst of the storms, and realize that He takes in account all that we don't know because He already knows about it all! He came for you and for me that is why God gave Him the name that is above every other name, Jesus who came to seek and save the lost. That is the real meaning of Christmas.
PJ
You know what I did this weekend? (Ok, so you read the title!) I'm going to tell you anyway, I cleaned my garage. I know super exciting, right. Believe me when I say it was loooong over do! It had just got to the point that I couldn't live with the mess and disorganization anymore, something had to be done! So my wife and I asked a friend to come over to help and we set the weekend aside to take on the task of cleaning and re-organizing our once spotless garage. We organized, set up shelfs, put boxes in storage, moved large items toward the wall (so we can park our car in the garage), vacuumed, made a couple runs to the dump to get rid of a lot of STUFF we don't need or that was broken. It reminded me a lot about peoples lives, we have stuff in areas of our lives that we know shouldn't be there, either were too lazy to clean it out or we don't want to let go of it quite yet. There was some stuff that I really wanted to hold onto, but I knew it would cause more harm than good sitting in the garage.
Do you ever think about what attracts you back to the "STUFF" (sin) that has once been removed from your life? Try to pause for a moment every once in a while or however often you feel the need and think about the stuff you keep putting back in your life, that you really need to get rid of. When I cleaned out my garage this weekend I didn’t vacuum up all the dirt, spider webs, old leaves, dead creepy crawlies and then wait to the garage is spotless clean and then go open up my vacuum cleaner and dump all the garbage back into my garage! That would be silly! It makes no sense; it has no rhyme or reason. But yet some of us do it in areas of our lives all the time! Maybe it's why Christ tells us:
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." Romans 12:1-2
With God's help you can inventory that STUFF in your life and ask Him what needs to go and what needs reorganized. For the stuff that needs to go, do yourself a favor, throw it away and walk away!
Be Blessed!
