Colossians 3 ~ Word of Christ

Colossians 3

3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 

 put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones,

holy and beloved, 

compassionate hearts, 

kindness, 

humility,

 meekness, 

and patience, 

13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, 

forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, 

so you also must forgive. 

14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

 

16 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

The Shepherds encountered this:

1 Corinthians 15

57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And once the Shepherds were changed and had seen Glory of God in the Highest.

Luke 2

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.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Our Abba,

You are the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

You make  me lie down in green pastures,

You lead  me beside quiet waters,

Jesus refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Uplift those I LOVE and people that are given. Bless them to have Wisdom.

Watch over, lead and guide our Churches, Communities and Nations. We look in Expectation of Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

John 1 ~ From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

John 1

And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.


This amazing year is the Movie release of "Dunkirk" from 1940. A miraculous year in England's fierce and magnificent desire to Overcome Evil. There won't be a time youngsters won't discover the Christmas Truce of 1914. World War I stopped for Christmas. Pope Benedict XV, who took office that September, originally called for a Christmas truce, an idea officially rejected. Roughly 100,000 British and German troops created unofficial cessations of hostility along the Western Front. The 'first' truce started on Christmas Eve 1914. The Events so inspired Dwight Eisenhower - he started many Peace Initiatives.

Christmas has seen more of love and mercy and fellowship of the Hatfields and McCoys. Joe Bidden - has never shined any brighter. Has never been more compassionate. Joe Bidden has given all of us hope for families with any trauma. And for any with Cancer. Joe Bidden has opened his arms to John McCain and Meghan McCain. One Nation under God. God grant His Blessing on the Bidden Family for more Joy and Peace. God grant His Blessing on the McCain Family for their Love and Help. We ask in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

And just like the Louisiana Navy of 2016-7 and the Texas Navy of 2017, the goodness of people calls to the Light of Mankind in Jesus Christ is us all - and the amazing and miraculous occur.

Just as Houston's Second Baptist formed Houston and the surrounding cities into grids of ALL Churches in the entire area of Houston and surrounding cities - 40,000 refugees from Katrina were fed for a year from Church Casseroles. For the entire year beginning in 2005.

Nourishment.

It's not just dinner. We are fed.

Jesus Christ fills us.

Nourished. Our Soul is able to fuel our lives in Christ Jesus going directions of Goodness. We find Hope, Faith and the needed Love to do our very lives and to complete our good God given works. We run the Good Race being so encouraged. This is a Christmas Message. When Mary and Joseph had been on the road for 80 miles - they found shelter in a barn. An incredible shelter and Love changed the world. All of Heaven was seeing this event.

As the business of Christmas brings us forward doing all the goodness, all the chores, all the events, all the conversations, all the flavorings of the original Christmas - strife, overcoming, Hope, generosity, Faith, and the mercy Love brings - let us remember to bless where we are Blessed. Steadfast Love, Encouragement, Redemption, Mercy. The Light Father God has for us.

Let's not forget to bless the Churches were we are nourished with our Christmas gifts.

Abba, Abba, Abba,

We ask Your Blessings and receive Your Willingness with Joy.

Your Word gives Life:

3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

Abba, You are able to make all grace abound with Your Holy Spirit, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, Blessing Your Beloved to abound in every good work.

Your Word Promises:

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

We pray these Blessings upon this fire on California to stop. We saw victory yesterday and ask Your Word to provide this Blessing in Jesus we ask. We ask Your Heart to open for the incredible numbers leaving their homes and lives. We ask the wind to stop. We ask for rain.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We seek Your Loving Lavish Mercy, Abba.

Bless us this Season. With God's Love filling the people we love. God's Joy filling the People You have given us. God's Grace filling the Nation. God's Abundant Good Will helping the World and asking You.

And all Your Beloved say Amen expectantly with Jesus.

Fed and Nourished in Jesus. Alleluia.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Luke 2 ~ Glory to God in the Highest

Father God created the Universe. The Solar System. The Orbit of the Planets by His Word. We will never have a day we remember - where - we were in charge of even the moon orbiting the planet. And God goes so far to tell us we are Loved by our Father God. How High God is and how much He does not need us - He Loves and enjoys us. Our Father God is so intricate and so vast - we barely grasp God Himself. What Love He has lavished on us. Giving us Jesus.

Luke 2

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

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven

Jesus announced what He gave Father God for Christmas:

Revelation 21:1

Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away

Jesus gave us His Christmas Joy

Ephesians 2

The incomparable riches of his grace

Expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith
—and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.


Jesus has made sure, He has given unto us this Promise: We will never be parted with our Loved Ones. Jesus has given us each other for eternity as we believe in the Promises He has given. Jesus gave us Life and our families, our Loved Ones. This is Christmas.

Ephesians 3

Abba, Father:

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven
and on earth derives its name.

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love,
may have power,
together with all the Lord’s holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure
of all the fullness of God.


20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power
that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
for ever and ever! Amen.

We pray continued successes of the California fires, Lord Jesus.

And with Jesus our Savior, we will say Alleluia and Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Matthew 2:1-15 ~ rest over the place where the Child is

Tissot's - Visit of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-15

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”


Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.


Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”


God loves a Cheerful giver.


2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.


We have reached - for many - the busy time. But listening to public television - some people have begun to panic. Others have realized the Most Wonderful Time of the year is a bunch of overwhelming details and the family is older and going different directions.

What we are fighting here is the Tradition of Mankind. Because what God hopes for us is not paper cuts from gift wrapping.

Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Tenderness and devotion,
Comfort and delight,
Perseverance and tolerance,
Affection and graciousness,
Generosity and rightness,
Fidelity and dependability,
Kindness and carefulness,
Dignity and balance.

This is the Tradition Father God has for your willingness to celebrate God's Invitation to His Kingdom and Home for the giving of His Son, Jesus, and your invitation to His Heart.

We live in an era of convenience. We can order online - when people from Europe visit Texas - particularly Italians - they rush to our stores to buy Christmas Garlands and Wreaths and Trim. Europeans say American Christmas shopping for Christmas is unheard of. Magnificent. Decorations in Europe are used for decades and generations. (Making European Decorations Amazing.) In fact, for most of us, we have boxes and boxes of Christmas. The goal is to delight our loved ones and welcome God. This gets to be difficult when the kids have the flu (pray for us, one of our favorite people was here at our house and now has the flu!!!) This gets to be difficult when you get the news the grown kids are going to be out of town. This gets to be difficult when the kids all go to college and you work full time.

Man's tradition. The Joy of Celebrating vs. "How did we get all this stuff??? How many days is it going to take?" "Did you wrap that, or do I have to?" Oh, My Favorite - sons say, "Mom, given the bogie is at 12 O'clock, could you wrap my ten presents - I didn't have time to get gift bags. Do the Girlfriend Gift best you have. Thanks. I don't wrap well."

(Note to self - 24 extra gift bags - that is all.)


Well...

Forest Hill Church Charlotte, NC

We could speak about the Christmas Tradition I've thought about, since thinking about camels and long roads - when gift wrapping. The Magi would certainly appreciate the adventure - CHRISTMAS CAMPING!!! (C'mon honey, it's like the Festival of Booths and you can't pack the Christmas Tree...) Or Christmas Cruises. We can't discount the Magi traveled by ship...



We have watched our son go off to Michigan for Law School. He is doing well. And he has found something his God given talents have provided. On the last full day in Michigan,  Edward and I decided it was time to go get coffee. For 4 or 5 hours, we silently wept at our son going across Continent. God was surely parting with Jesus to see Him off on His earthly journey. We let our children grow up. We want them to find a path in life all their own. We don't let them see you both crying at the coffee shop staring at beautiful Michigan State University. Talking about the gift of letting your child grow up and even clearing up your voice to answer the phone  - - - why you aren't unpacking.










The gift of being gracious to grown children. Here is a real hint. When you are invited to auctions from public schools, private schools, Churches and Volunteer Organizations - what is auctioned off first is - is - is - "The Vacations." And sometimes the other 'treasures' do not get a bid. Hence Camping. People do a lot of routine. They want the new experiences for a really good reason. If prompted to see something new - new thoughts and conversations have time to happen. Memories are made.

People are actually accumulating less of the collections their parents collected. They don't have the time for treasures when they are busy. Going with the flow - helps us to keep up and make Christmas Meaningful. Explain the need and go to Church. Read the Scriptures. Have Adventure. Even if it's camping in the backyard for a night. The kids aren't hoping to dress up, say thank you and eat food. They want something different. Teenagers require sandblasting and things like Hibachi Grill Dinners out, get them thinking this isn't dull. Fly fishing might work for 1.15 hours.  Marshmallows and fire pits. Home movies and videos. We have ready access to public tennis courts. One of our neighbors decorates the Garage - puts out the huge TV and the Garage Door is up. Is this new? Yes and no. Festival of Booths.

We have the reason to think about new. We have new weather patterns.

We've seen fire and
We've seen rain.
We've seen sunny days that we thought would never end.

Houston has seen flooding three times in two years. We had two Great Lakes worth of water for Hurricane Harvey. We have some major camping being done in campers already. In the driveway while the house is cleared up. Christmas ornaments - hard to get to or gone. And for these of the diligent to repair - we know - they have the joy and gladness of help and of survival. The Gift of Life itself. Certainly Christmas.

We saw the Historic Drought of 2011 and 3 County fires. We know fire. We know miracles happened to save many, many homes from the One Mission of 2011. 30 local Churches prayed and fasted in January. 800 people gathered to pray. The firefighters said it must have been miracles shifting the winds to leave so many houses merely scorched. It was absolutely terrifying. Unable to take relief materials to the shelters because the shelters were moved constantly to avoid the fires.


We read these Scriptures together each day. I've learned reading the statistics for years, we have the most readers in Texas. Then California. California has a lot of Believers and a lot of unusual legislation is repealed and not voted in. California is Struggling Mightily. The Highway fire video is unimaginable.

California has lost 1 million acres due to fire this year. Astonishing. Napa. Incredible.



One thing we can say, being from Houston and being part of feeding the Katrina Refugees for a year, the Churches of the Houston area did this - and living through the 2011 3 County Fires were the largest fires in the USA for 2011. 2015-16 Texas had one of the worst Red Tides of 15 world wide occurrences.

We can count on sunny days again. We can count on The Texas Navy and The Louisiana Navy. We can count on a year of casseroles for 40,000 Katrina Refugees from Churches.

We can count on the USA for doing the best we can for our children in recovery. We are survivors. 80% of this Nation prays and expects our Good and Loving Father to hear.

We know recovery. Texas believes in the California Recovery. Texas has been praying for the California Recovery since Napa.

The Gift of Christmas is knowing the Reality of Hope, Faith and Love.

The Scriptures are Real.

Mary and Joseph worked hard for the Holy Day, it was work. Even the Wise Men had tricky situations. Jesus and His siblings had 'seasons' and Jesus believed in endurance. Jesus and His Disciples had 'seasons.' When Archangels arrive - we have - trepidation. If Archangels can see things go south and still see Victory - then with Emmanuel - Go forth in Hope, Faith and Love!!!



Abba,

We ask Your Blessings, in Jesus.

In this season of gifts, we give thanks for grace. You have saved us through faith. And this is not our own doing; This is the gift of God.

With Your help, we will be strong and courageous. We will not be frightened of events, nor dismayed. For the Lord our God is with us wherever we will go.

Cover us with Your Blessings, Love and Mercy. Cover our Loved ones. We lift up the trauma of fire in California and ask You to end the fires. We lift up our Churches. Communities. States. To the Nation. And Your gracious Plan to save the world in Jesus Christ. We ask more Heaven on earth for the people praying around the world. In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †