A Christmas Card For You: December 25, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 25, 2015

 

A CHRISTMAS CARD FOR YOU!

Today is Christmas and our family wishes you and your family a most BLESSED DAY as we all celebrate the birthday of the King of Kings our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Remember:

• JESUS was born in a manger, because there was no room in the Inn.

• JESUS was born in Bethlehem because He was born of the house and lineage of David as prophesied in the Old Testament.

• The angel spoke first to the shepherds (the poorest of the poor) who were tending their sheep in the fields, about the birth of JESUS.

• And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying:

“GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE GOODWILL TOWARD MEN”

Our family of six children, their spouses, twenty grandchildren, one great granddaughter, granddaughter-in -law and a grandson- in-law, all wish you a wonderful and blessed day.

Ken and Dottie Phillips

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

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Christmas Eve: December 24, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 24, 2015.

 

CHRISTMAS EVE

We invite you to join our family tonight as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and our Christmas Eve celebration.

Every Christmas Eve our family, children, spouses, grandchildren (two have spouses now) and this year our first great granddaughter get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The younger children have costumes that Dottie made years ago and they act out the events of that special day over 2,000 years ago. One of the grandchildren is picked to read the script and the others are the angels, shepherds, the three wise men, the animals and Mary and Joseph with a baby doll in the manger.

At the end of the play the older grandchildren lead us all in reading the Christmas story as found in Luke 2:1-14. Here it is to read with your family tonight:

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirnius was governor of Syria. So all went to be registered everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 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.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

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. And this will be a sign to you: You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN”

From our family to yours we wish you a BLESSED CHRISTMAS and remember to give God the glory for the gift of His only Son and remember whose birthday it is that we celebrate.

Ken and Dottie Phillips

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

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Humility: December 23, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 23, 2015.

 

HUMILITY

DEFINITION:

The quality or state of being humble; modest opinion of one’s own importance; meekness; neither proud nor arrogant.

SCRIPTURE:

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3.

Therefore, as the elect of God, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another. Colossians 3:12.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. I Peter 5:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Humility does not come naturally or easily. If we are doing something that we consider “right” when others are doing something that we think is not “right” or we have more success in doing something than another person, it is easy to think that we are a better person. This is pride which is the exact opposite of humility.

The Apostle Paul cautions us against the idea of thinking we are better than others by saying that we are to consider others better than ourselves. We must understand that our worth comes from God. We are all sinners and really not worthy of God’s favor. But God reached out to us in love to give us worth and dignity despite our sins and short comings. We must always remember that we are just sinners saved by grace and it is only by salvation that we become worthy of God’s Kingdom.

We must also remember that any success or any accomplishment we obtain that is fruitful is because of the Lord’s blessing. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Our goal should be to become Christ-like and to serve the Lord. In order to be Christ-like we must have the quality of humility. Jesus humbled Himself, setting aside heavenly glory to become a man to save us from our sins. He did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). As Christ’s representatives in this world we are to be kind, humble, meek, patient and peaceful as Christ was (Colossians 2:12).

There are two issues concerning humility as it relates to our lives. We first must be concerned that we are humble before God. God expects us to come to Him daily with a humble servant like attitude. We should be in awe of God and the magnitude of His power, His love, His Sovereignty, and His blessings and go to our knees in humble adoration of Him.

The second issue is whether we exemplify Christ-like humility in our relationship with our family, friends, and neighbors. Do we appear prideful and boastful or do they see us kind and caring and putting others before ourselves in true Christ-like humility. If we have a daily relationship with the Lord, a humble spirit will be exhibited in the way we relate to others because of this relationship.

It is amazing what one can accomplish when one does not care who gets the credit. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase?” It is not easy to remain humble when God allows you to be successful. Can you stay humble while enjoying success?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

PRAYER:

Help me to get rid of my selfish ambition so that through my words and deeds others may see Christ. Give me a humble spirit and a servant’s heart.

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Innocence: December 22, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 22, 2015.

INNOCENCE

DEFINITION:

Free from moral wrong, without sin and without evil intent or motive.

SCRIPTURE:

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Genesis 39:9

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent and separated from the sinners and the undefiled, exalted above the heavens. Hebrews 7:26

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In the first eleven verses of Genesis 37 we read about Joseph’s life as a young boy. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son and his brothers resented him for it. The older brothers were off attending their father’s flock and Jacob would send Joseph to check on them. Joseph found them doing bad things and had to give his father a bad report. This added to the brother’s resentment of Joseph. Joseph was innocent. All he was trying to do was to be right in his reporting to his father.

Joseph had no evil motive or intent when he told his family, including his brothers, about his God-given dreams which portrayed that he would someday rule over them.

Although Joseph was completely innocent and intended no wrong, his brothers plotted to kill him but settled on selling him to slave traders. It is important to note that this was in God’s plan for Joseph. His brothers took his robe from him and put blood stains on it and returned it to their father as evidence that Joseph was dead. The slave traders then sold Joseph to Potiphar, a high Egyptian official. At the young age of about 17, Joseph was separated from his family and living in a strange country far from home and as a mere slave.

In spite of all the hardships and temptations that Joseph had to face, he kept his innocence and remained faithful to God and God blessed him.

It was Potiphar’s wife that tried to seduce Joseph but he refused saying, “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against my God?” (Genesis 39:9) She then lied to Potiphar and falsely accused Joseph of trying to seduce her. Jesus was thrown into prison even though, once again, he was innocent.

Joseph is seen as a type of Christ; an innocent person who suffered because of the wickedness of others to bring salvation. It was through Joseph that God’s chosen people were delivered from certain death. Joseph’s silence as his brothers debated his fate reminds us of the silence of Christ before those who were judging Him.

Jesus was falsely accused and innocent of any wrong doings as was Joseph. Joseph was thrown into prison. Jesus was crucified and by His death, Jesus delivered us from eternal death when He gained the victory over death by rising from the dead. And today, Jesus is alive and is our High Priest, Holy, innocent, and undefiled.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the reminders You give us through the account and details of the life of Joseph in Your Word to stand firm in our faith in God in spite of what others may do to us. Keep my family away from the evils of this world and help us to strive daily to be innocent of wrong doing always honoring Your name.

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Hospitality: December 21, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY DECEMBER 21, 2015.

HOSPITALITY

DEFINITION:

The friendly reception and entertainment of guests, friends or strangers in a generous and kindly way; cordial treatment of others; the act or show of welcome characterized by warmth and generosity.

SCRIPTURE:

Share with God’s people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans 12:13.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Most of us have had the opportunity to host and provide hospitality to someone. Maybe it was a friend, family member or an acquaintance. Hospitality could include a meal, an overnight stay or a midday social event.

Timothy shares with us a list of qualities that all believers, bishops and pastors should develop in their lives. In I Timothy 3:2 he speaks to the Bishops and pastors telling them to be kind and welcoming to those who they meet. These qualities are for believers as well because we are representatives of Christ. Timothy tells us to be hospitable, blameless, temperate, sober-minded, and able to teach.

In Matthew 25:35-36 Jesus describes acts of hospitality that we all can do that will demonstrate to others our love to the Lord. He said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Jesus says in verse 40 that whatever we have done for others it is as if we did it for Him.

May we interrupt this devotional by saying to each of you that read these devotionals, if you know Jesus as your Savior; you need to think about what Jesus is saying to you in these verses. Have you recently provided food for someone hungry, water for someone thirsty, clothes for someone needing clothes or shoes, medicine for someone sick, Bibles for someone looking to grow in their new found faith? If not we challenge you to act now. Go to our web site --- www.thehungersolution --- and you can partner with us by responding to an opportunity we offer.

Now back to hospitality: In Luke 11:5-8, we read about a parable about hospitality that Jesus used in teaching His disciples how to pray. He tells about a man coming to another man’s house for food and shelter for the night. The man welcomed the man to his house but he had no food so he went to his neighbor’s house. It was midnight and the neighbor friend did not want to be disturbed because it was so late.

Jesus went on to say that because of the persistence of the neighbor in need the other one finally helped. We as believers need to learn from this parable that God wants us to give hospitality to those in need and who are looking for a friend.

Hospitality means more than inviting one into your house. It is the character trait of showing warmth, kindness, caring and generosity to others. It means to help a needy person in their time of need. It could be a ride in your car because of an emergency, a few dollars for food, or just a kind word to one who is lonely and hurting. There are many acts of kindness that one can do. It is sharing God’s love.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

PRAYER:

Help me to be hospitable to those that I meet today. May I realize that my talk and actions at times show whether I am hospitable or not. May my family join me in having a welcome attitude to those who need some sort of hospitality.

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