Good Things Come In Small Packages

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

Christmas is one of the main times of the year that people receive presents, the other occasion being a birthday.  I remember when I was a child that my first response about the presents I would receive was based on the size of the present.  When it was my birthday or Christmas, and presents were coming my way, I would look to see how big the package was.  If the package was big I expected a big gift, and if the package was small I would almost get disappointed.  But, I learned over the years that a present does not have to be big to be good, good things come in small packages too.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, this was God's greatest gift to the world.  But, when Jesus arrived on the earth it was not with a lot of fanfare or some big elaborate display of majesty.  When Jesus came to the earth He came as a baby, not as the conquering king that most of the Jews were looking for.  The birth of Jesus was not what many people expected for the arrival of the Heavenly King.  People knew about Isaiah 9:6, but they mainly focused on the second part of the verse that talks about Jesus ruling and reigning and not the part about the Child being born; but good things do come in small packages. 

Jesus' humble birth and beginnings on the earth were no reflection of His true identity or destiny.  Just like many people only expect big things from big packages, many people miss the real significance of Christmas because they focus on the baby born in the manger.  We talk about angels. wise men, and a baby and sometimes miss the real importance of Christmas.  This Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus let's make sure we don't forget that Christmas not only marks the arrival of Jesus in a small package but it also signifies the arrival of our Savior; He is Wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!

Activating What You Need

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress: My God, in Him I will trust."
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil shall befall, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-11 (NKJV)

Over the years I have done a fair amount of traveling and often I travel by airplane, which of course means going through an airport.  Most airports and their bathrooms are modernized and many things are motion activated, like doors, escalators, sinks, and hand dryers.  But, while these things will operate automatically there is still something that is required to activate the "automatic" function.  A door will not open unless you walk towards it, the escalator will not move until you step on to it, and the water in the sink and the hand dryer will not work until you put your hands in the proper place.

We can read in the Bible about how good God is and how God provided so many things for us through Jesus.  But, why is it that we don't always see these things in our everyday life?  The reason is that while God has indeed provided many wonderful things for us, these things require us to do something to activate what it is that we need.  Psalm 91 gives us a good example of this and shows us that by doing and saying something God is able to do what He wants to do.  It does not say that just because God is so wonderful that these things happen, but they happen because of something we have done in response to what God has provided.

In Psalm 91 it talks about dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and saying that God is our refuge and fortress.  Later in this same Psalm it says that because we have made Him our dwelling place and because we have made Him our refuge all these blessings of protection become ours.  This is why it is so important to learn about what belongs to us as Christians and then to do our part to activate the blessings of God.  For salvation, healing, protection, and provision we need to do our part to activate the blessings that God has already provided for us through Jesus, it won't just happen automatically, we have a part to play.

Be Careful How You Hear

Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. 
Luke 8:18 (NKJV)

Our sense of hearing is very important to us.  But, if you want to stop hearing certain things you can use earplugs or maybe some headphones to cancel out the noises around you, or to listen to something else.  This could be a problem, however, if you are hearing one thing when you should be listening to another thing, or if you have blocked out all the sounds around you.  One simple example of this is if you are being given instructions on how to do something, but you don't get the necessary information because you either did not hear what was said or you were listening to something else.

In Luke 8 Jesus talked about the importance of what we hear and He also emphasized the importance of how we hear it.  Jesus had just told the parable of the sower and how the same seed had different results, based on the soil where the seed was sown.  Jesus explained that in this parable the seed represented the Word of God and the soil is talking about the people who heard the Word.  The Word of God, the seed, is always good but depending on the person, the soil, there will be different results.  We need to hear the Word of God on a regular basis and be careful how we hear it.

Some people hear the Word, but because they are listening to something else that they allow to be louder in their life than God's Word, the truth of the Bible does not make the impact that is should in their life.  Some people listen to what God is saying with the wrong kind of attitude and because of who is speaking or because of what they already believe they do not accept the Word and there are no results.  We must be ready and willing to receive the Word, no matter how it comes to us or who speaks it, and then apply it to our lives.  This is how we grow, produce fruit in our lives, and do great things for God.

You Are Here

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"
Ephesians 2:4-6 (NKJV)

Have you ever been at a shopping mall or in an airport where you were trying to locate a certain place?  Whenever I have had this experience I looked for one of those location charts that are posted in places like malls and airports.  Once I found the location chart, I first found the marker that showed where I was, the "You Are Here" spot, and I then looked for the place where I wanted to go. It might be that I had already found the location of where I wanted to go, but I could still have a problem getting to my desired destination if I didn't know where I was currently located.

Our spiritual location is far more important than our geographic location.  One of the most important things Christians can learn about is their location, their spiritual position, with God.  Some people put an emphasis on their natural location and might even believe that they live in the best part of town.  Some people base their identity on their past and what they have experienced in life.  Others view themselves through their education, natural background, or even the church they attend.  But none of these things matter if we are in the wrong spiritual location.  The Bible is the place we need to look to find out about our true spiritual location and identity.

No matter who we are, where we come from, or where we are located geographically, our position with God is the most important thing of all.  When we are born again we are placed into the body of Christ.  The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:6 that spiritually we are seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  Just like a location chart in a mall or an airport, the Bible shows us in places like Ephesians 2:6 the "You Are Here" spot we need to find.  Once we know our spiritual location we can move towards where we need to go in life and what we need to do.  We must base our identity on our spiritual location to be able to live the life God has planned for us.

A Lifestyle Of Thanksgiving

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."
Psalm 107:1 (NKJV)

The things we do on a regular basis can become a pattern and a way of life.  Things we do often enough can become a habit, which can be good or bad.  There are some things we can do so frequently that they almost become an automatic thing, something we can do without giving it much thought ahead of time and without an excessive amount of effort.  Our patterns in life, our habits, and the things that become almost automatic in our life could also be called our lifestyle.  On the other hand, we would not say something we rarely do or only do infrequently are a part of our lifestyle.

We can all develop and maintain good habits that will benefit us and that can become a regular part of our life, being thankful is one of these things. Having a lifestyle of thanksgiving will help us live a successful Christian life and enable us to be a greater blessing to those around us.  Unfortunately, a lifestyle of thanksgiving is not the standard for most Christians.  We need to be thankful no matter what circumstances we are in, no matter how we feel, and no matter what things look like.  While we cannot control all of the things that happen around us or how others act, we can control whether or not we will be thankful.

We need to be thankful for what we have instead of being unhappy about what we don't have.  We need to find things to be thankful for, and we could even make a list of these things to refer to when we don't feel so thankful; reminding ourselves about what we have to be thankful for can be a big help.  Having a lifestyle of thanksgiving helps us to keep focused on God.  We do not give thanks just to get something back from God, but we give thanks as a part of our lifestyle and our relationship with God.  Start being thankful today and make thanksgiving a part of your lifestyle!

Finding Your Gift

"As each one has received a gift, minister to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV)

When I was a child I looked forward to Christmas because I would always receive some gifts.  We of course realize that Christmas is most important because it is the date that we celebrate the birth of Jesus on the earth, but usually children don't focus on that too much.  For children, presents are the main thing.  In my family there were four boys so we would have more than just a couple of gifts under the tree.  My biggest question was like most children, which is mine?  It did not matter to me what my brothers were getting because I was mainly interested in finding my own gift.

The Bible is very clear that God has a plan and a purpose for each and every person's life. In 1 Peter 4:10 it tells us that each one has received a gift and each one needs to be a good steward of that gift, we all have a gift from God and we all need to use our gift from God in the right way.  The problem with many people is that they either do not know that they have a gift or they do not know what their gift is.  Some people think that it is just the pastor or some church leader who have a special gift and everyone else is an unimportant part of the group, but the Bible says we each have a gift from God.

How do we find our gift?  The first and best step we take to discover God's gift and how to best use it is to look in God's Word and get to know who we are in Christ.  Second, we can take time to talk to God in prayer about our life and what direction He wants us to go.  Another way we can learn which gift God has given us is to take a look at our life to see what talents and abilities we have and also look at what it is that we find joy in doing.  It is one thing to recognize and appreciate gifts that others may have, but just like a child on Christmas we want to find out what our gift is.

Will You Sing For Me?

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."
James 5:13-14 (NKJV)

Everyone likes to be a winner, no one likes to lose.  If you lose at some game or sporting event you can be gracious about it and accept the defeat, but that does not mean that you enjoy it.  However, when you are on the winning team, or if you accomplish some victory on your own, the thrill you have is unmistakable and you are ready to jump and shout.  At that point you don't need anyone to motivate you to be excited, you are ready to celebrate on your own.  We would find it strange to see someone on a winning team stand silent while having someone else celebrate in their place.

Over the years that I have been a Christian I have met and talked with many people who were going through some difficult situation.  Often these people will ask me to pray for them or maybe give them some biblical advice on what to do about their problem.  This is certainly something we see in the Bible as we are told to support and pray for one another.  What I find interesting is that while I often have people ask me to pray for them when they dealing with something difficult, I cannot recall a time when someone asked me to sing for them when they were happy.

James 5 says that when we suffer we should pray, when we are happy we should sing, and if we cannot help ourselves we should call someone to help us.  It is easy to sing and celebrate when things are going well and we are happy, but it is not so easy to pray when things are tough.  If we can always do the singing for ourselves then shouldn't we also be able to do some praying for ourselves, at least sometimes?  While it is fine and right to go to someone else and ask from prayer in a difficult situation, we should also get to the point in our spiritual development that we are not just looking for someone else to always help us but we are in the position to help others. 

Clear Out The Clutter

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."
Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

When I was a child I was not so neat or organized, at least not as much as I am now.  In the past there were times when my room was very messy and some things were hard to locate.  At the time it did not matter to me where I put something because I knew generally where it was.  As I grew older I learned that it is better to have things in order and to be organized because it is not only much easier to find things when they are needed but having things neat and organized is nicer than having things messy and cluttered.  What I had to learn and practice was how to clear out the clutter.

One thing I learned in my process of becoming more neat and organized was that I had to part ways with some things and not hang on to everything forever.  I also learned that I had to be diligent with myself to continue doing what I knew needed to be done or I would slide back into the world of messy and cluttered.  This is exactly the same way we as Christians need to work on renewing our minds.  The Bible has a lot to say about the mind and it even gives us the guidelines we need to know what thoughts to keep or remove and how to continue having the right kind of thoughts for the rest of our life.

People often have problems in their minds because they do not think on the right kinds of things; God's Word will help us get the clutter and mess of wrong thoughts out of our minds.  Our thoughts need to be continuously monitored to make sure any wrong thoughts do not get into our thinking.  Wrong thoughts lead to the wrong kinds of words and actions so right and godly thoughts are vital to living the kind of life God has planned for us.  We all need to have a steady diet of the Word of God to help us have the right thoughts and to identify the wrong kinds of thoughts.

What Are You Here For?

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 6:38 (NKJV)

Have you ever had the experience of walking into a room and when you got there you didn't remember exactly why you were there?  You find yourself unsure of what to do next because you forgot the reason for why you are in the room.  Some people say that is just something that happens when people get older, but it can happen to anyone because we can all lose our train of thought or get distracted.  No matter how something like this might happen, the issue is about not knowing the purpose for being somewhere, without a purpose you can feel lost.

When Jesus was on the earth He made many statements about what He was doing here and why He was doing it.  For example, Jesus said He came to do His Father's will and not His own will (John 6:38), He came to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17), to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).  Jesus knew why He was here and what He was here for, the question is if we know why we are here what we are here for.  If we don't know what our God given purpose in life is, then our top priority needs to be to find out.

The best way to discover God's purpose for our life is of course to read and study God's Word and to talk to Him in prayer.  A great way to learn more about our purpose is to get involved in our local church and by helping others.  Our purpose from God does not revolve around ourselves and it will only be seen in relationship to others.  God has a plan for each and every person and He has given everyone some gift and ability to use to glorify Him and serve others, our task is to discover this gift and then to make the best use of it as God directs us. 

Watching The Master

"Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of the servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us."
Psalm 123:1-2 (NKJV)

Recently as I was out shopping, in the town where I live in Germany, I saw a man walking his dog.  As I came up to and then passed the man and his dog I noticed that for nearly that entire time as dog was walking along it was looking up at the man, who I would assume was the dog's owner.  What caused me to take notice of this particular dog was that except for one or two very short glances forward the dog was staring at their owner the entire time and still walking along fine.  The two thoughts I had were that this is a well-trained dog and that the dog is smart enough to know that the man is the master in the situation, so he was watching his master.

God is our loving heavenly Father and we are His children, but in Ephesians 6:9 and Colossians 4:1 it talks about our having a Master in heaven.  While Jesus was on the earth, His disciples called Him Master, and that word master could also be translated as teacher.  We know that our Father God and Jesus do not treat us as slaves by demanding harsh servitude, but we still cannot emphasize one aspect of our relationship with God over another.  While we do need to develop the relationship that exists between us as children and God as our heavenly Father we also need to develop in our relationship with God as His being our Master and Teacher.

As we go about our daily life, do we expectantly look to our heavenly Master knowing that He is truly our source of supply for everything we need or do we just move forward not even considering that He may have something to say about what we do and what happens in our life?  Just like the dog in my example who had learned to walk forward while all the time looking at his master, we need to learn to live our life with our eyes continually on our Master in heaven.  No matter who we are or what we might do in our lives we need to be watching our heavenly Father knowing that He has the best plan for our lives and He knows which direction we need to go.

Flip The Switch Christians

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. 
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

We have all seen different types of switches.  We use some switches to turn lights on and then turn them off when we leave the room or are finished with our work.  While the power that makes the light work is always available, the power is not put into use until the switch is turned on by someone who wants to have some light.  We don't really think about whether or not the light will work for us because we always expect the power for the light to be there.  But what if the power was not available?  How would we know until we turn on the switch?  If we can be sure that the power for the light is always available, then we can be confident that the light will always work for us.

Our relationship with God, our faith in His Word, and the Word of God itself are intended for full-time use, not just when we think we are ready for them.  We cannot just turn our relationship with God and His Word on and off when it is convenient for us.  Jesus said to be His disciple we need to abide, to live, in His Word.  Often we have the idea that because God is all powerful and God is always present we can just flip the switch, so to speak, and things will work the way we want them to.  If we have this mentality, then we are putting all the emphasis on God and His part in our life but we are ignoring our part in our relationship with Him and our being a doer of His Word.

While it is certainly true that the Christian life is not based on our works and we do not earn any of the blessings of God it is also true that God is not a vending machine that we put our money into when we want something to come out.  God and His Word in our life is not just something that is meant for our convenience but for a daily walk and relationship with Him.  As we spend time growing in our relationship with God and living a life that is focused on Him, that is when all the things we need are added to us (Matthew 6:33).  We must have a lifestyle of Christianity and not just a life of running to God when we have some type of problem that needs to be solved.

So Much More

"And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.
Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist."
Ezekiel 47:3-4 (NKJV)

There are some well-known sights that people are very familiar with and the places where these famous sights are located are often known for them.  For example: Paris, France is known for the Eiffel Tower, California is known for its beaches, and Switzerland is known for the Alps.  But while all of these places are known for these things, that is not all that there is to them.  Paris has other sights to see besides the Eiffel Tower, California has more than just beaches, and there is more to Switzerland than just the Alps.  If all you know about these places are the famous sights, you are missing a lot that these places have to offer.

One wonderful thing with God is that no matter what we have experienced with Him, no matter how much we know about His Word, and no matter how long we have been in our relationship with God there is always more.  Some people know about the goodness and love of God, but there is so much more to God than just that.  Some people have experienced miracles and mighty moves of God, but there is so much more to God than just that.  Some people have spent time reading and studying God's Word and have achieved a level of spiritual development that others do not have, but there is still so much more.

Some Christians have been taught well and are very knowledgeable about the Bible, but there is always more to learn about God and His Word.  Some have done great things for God and can't imagine that what has happened in the past can be surpassed in the future, but with God there is always much more.  Some believers have only waded into the things of God and then for some reason they believe that they have reached their limit with God.  But, we all need to go on to "deeper waters" with God.  As Christians we should never get to the point of complacency with God, because there is always so much more that we can experience with God, learn about God and His Word, and do for Him!

How We Walk In Love

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty, only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
Galatians 5:13-16 (NKJV)

Knowing what to do is one thing but knowing how to do it is another thing entirely.  You can hear about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle of eating right and exercising but exactly how you do that is something else.  People can give you advice on the benefits of investing and saving money but where do you start with that and how do you do it effectively?  If you only know what to do but you don't know how to do it you are not really going to be able to succeed in what you need to do, we need both the what and the how of things.

Most Christians understand the idea that we are supposed to be kind and patient and walk in love with everyone.  But, if you ask believers how to do that you will get a lot of different answers.  We are told in Galatians 5 that we need to serve each other through love and that love fulfills that law, but exactly how does that work?  How can you walk in love with everyone, including the people that seem to do nothing but annoy you?  The good news is that God not only shows us what we need to do but He gives us the guidelines necessary to be able to do what He tells us to do and the help of the Holy Spirit to do it.

Galatians 5 tells us what to do and it also tells us how to do it.  We are told that if we only focus on our liberty, our side of things and what benefits us, we will just end up biting and devouring one another.  Insisting on our own rights and ways is yielding to our flesh.  But, if we follow the direction of the Spirit of God and follow the guidelines that God gives us in His Word then we will serve one another and not fall prey to the lusts of our flesh.  If we follow the flesh we will have chaos but if we follow the Spirit we will walk in love and produce the fruit of the Spirit.  The choice of what we follow is up to us and will determine if we walk in love or yield to the flesh.

Don't Go Down The Wrong Road

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."
Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)

In my phone I have an app for maps that also works as a navigation system.  When I am driving somewhere I can put in the address of where I am going and the navigation system tells me how to get to my destination.  What is interesting is that the navigation system also shows me alternate routes that take me to my destination, and while they may take longer these other roads still go to the same place.  But, not every available road is a road that will take me to my destination.  Some roads may have a nice name or look good but they will not help me reach my goal so I actually need to stay off of them to avoid any problems.

Proverbs 16:25 gives us some very good advice, some ways might seem good but they won't take you where you want to go, these wrong roads can lead you to trouble!  The Christian life has been compared to a race (Hebrews 12:1) and in any race there is a course.  No matter how the race is done, whether it is automobiles, bicycles, or a foot race, there will be a course to follow.  If someone goes off course they will not only fail to finish the race but their wrong route could lead them into danger.  As Christians, there are many ways we can do things in our life but the only guarantee of true and lasting success is to live a life based on the Word of God.

There are a lot of things people will tell you that you need to do to be a successful Christian, but if those things do not line up with the Bible then they will lead you down a wrong road.  Some people will tell you about things they say worked for them, but unless those things are Bible based there is a danger of going the wrong direction.  God has given us His Word and the Holy Spirit to direct us in life and if we follow what God has given us then we are guaranteed to have success.   If we follow other things, no matter how nice they may seem, we can be traveling down the wrong road and miss God's best.  God has a great plan for our lives but we will only find it by traveling the path He shows us in His Word.

Do You Have All The Puzzle Pieces?

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
Acts 17:11 (NKJV)

There are many different kinds of puzzles that you can put together to create a picture, usually these are called Jigsaw Puzzles because of how the pieces have been cut up.  Some puzzles are very simple and especially designed for children but other puzzles can be very complicated.  Some puzzles have very few pieces and some have thousands of pieces.  But, no matter what kind of puzzle or how many pieces it may have, the one thing that all puzzles have in common is that to get the right picture when the puzzle is completed you need to have all the pieces in the right place.

Although the Bible is not really a puzzle, in a way it is like a puzzle, to have the correct view of it you need to have all of the right pieces in the right places.  Too many people, including Christians, do not really know what the Bible says and so they struggle to understand who God is and what they need to do in their lives.  Acts 17:11 tells us about the Bereans and how they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they were hearing was really so.  They did not just rely on someone else to tell them what the Bible said, they found the puzzle pieces for themselves to get the right picture. 

These people in Berea were searching, daily, to check what was in the Bible and to have an accurate picture of God and His Word; they were checking to be sure that they had all the puzzle pieces necessary to get the right picture.  Too many Christians are not looking in the Bible daily, or even on a regular basis, and this only leads to problems.  We all need to determine that we will get a complete view of everything that God has said by having a regular time of reading and studying the Bible.  This is how we will have all of the pieces in the right place to get the right picture of God and His plan for our life!