When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage.  When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.  When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.  But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award – yet receives such a gift anyway – that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor.  This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.                     

1. W. Knight

Ephesians 3:12

 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Give it some thought.

Gary

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Would We Know?

If we had been the shepherds one night long ago,
I wonder if we’d recognize the star or if we’d know
the reason for His birth and if we’d really go
to worship at the manger. I wonder, would we know?

Is it really any different than if Jesus came today?
I wonder, would we recognize His face in any way?
Or would we turn away from Him
not knowing what to say?

If Jesus walked among us in our hurried, busy pace,
I wonder if this stranger would really find a place?

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Purposes of the Incarnation:

To do the Father’s will…

John 6:38

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

To bear witness to the truth…

John 18:37

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

To bring light to the darkness…

John 12:46

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

To bring true judgment…

John 9:39

 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

To bring abundant life…

John 10:10

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

 Give it some thought.

Gary

It Cost …

• It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home during a long period of exile in Egypt to protect the little babe.

• It cost mothers, in and around Bethlehem, the massacre of their babies by the cruel order of Herod.

• It cost the shepherds the complacency of their shepherd-life, with the call to the manger and to tell the good news.

• It cost the wise men a long journey, expensive gifts and changed lives.

• It cost the early Apostles and the early church persecution and sometimes death.

• It cost missionaries of Christ untold suffering and privation to spread the Good News.

• It cost Christian martyrs in all ages their lives for Christ’s sake.

• More than all this, it cost God the Father His own Son—He sent Him to the earth to save men.

• It cost Jesus a life of sacrifice and service, a death cruel and unmatched in history.

                                                            Source unknown

Hebrews 9:28 

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Zig Ziglar tells about his brother who was traveling, came to a hotel and asked for a room for the night. The manager told him that they were fully booked and there were no rooms available.

Ziglar’s brother asked, “Now be honest with me. If the President of the United States walked through that door just now and requested a room, would you have a place for him to stay?” The manager replied, “Well, if the President needed a room, we’d find one for him.” Ziglar’s brother said, “That’s great. I know for a fact that he’s not coming, so I’ll take his room.”

We read this about the birth of Jesus:

Luke 2:7

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Unfortunately, for many there still isn’t room for Jesus.

Give it some thought.

Gary

A bishop of a century ago pronounced from his pulpit and in the periodical he edited that heavier-than-air flight was both impossible and contrary to the will of God. Oh, the irony that Bishop Wright had two sons, Orville and Wilbur! Wright was wrong. Sure of himself, but wrong. 

–       Robert P. Dugan, Jr., Winning the New Civil War, p. 38.

How can people say they know the will of God without a revelation from God?  The Bible doesn’t say anything about airplanes, submarines, or hula hoops. Why do religious people just make it up and pass it on as truth?  Everyone seems to be susceptible and evangelicals are not exempt.  Make sure your statements are based on Scripture.

1 Peter 2:15 

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

John 7:17 

If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

Give it some thought.

 Gary

You cannot put one little star in motion;

You cannot shape one single forest leaf,

Nor fling a mountain up, nor sink an ocean,

Presumptuous pigmy, large with unbelief!

You cannot bring one dawn of regal splendor,

Nor bid the day to shadowy twilight fall,

Nor send the pale moon forth with radiance tender;

And dare you doubt the One who has done it all?

–       Sherman A. Nagel, Sr.

Psalm 16:11 

“You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Psalm 23:4

 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

Give it some thought.

Gary