I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and to remind each and every one of us the real reason for this season.

Holiday:

So many make Christmas about a day off work or about getting together with friends and family, giving and receiving gifts, sitting around eating turkey and all the fixings. None of these things are bad or wrong. But Christmas is so much more than all of these things.

Holy day:

Christmas is really about celebrating, acknowledging the birth of the Savior of the world, that God came to us as a little baby, grew up, and sacrificed Himself for every one of us. It’s really about God and the Lord Jesus. Without Jesus coming, none of us would be able to have a relationship with God — the God of the Bible, not a fictional god that someone has made up. There are so many fake religions in this world, but there is only one that is right and real.

The way:

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6 KJV). That’s who He is — all man, all God, God with us. So, as we come to December 25, let it be about celebrating Jesus and what He did for all of us. He was willing to lay down His glory and come down to earth to save anyone who chooses to believe in Him.

Let’s really celebrate His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Let your family know, let your children know that the real reason for Christmas is Jesus and what He did for us.

Just a thought & Merry Christmas,

PSS

Peace is at the heart of what everyone wants.

An elusive dream: 

We all want peace — peace in the world, peace in our lives, and peace in our relationships — and we will do just about anything to get it. And while peace is our greatest hope, it’s really an elusive dream. We catch glimpses of it, but as soon as we do, it’s gone. We seek world peace — it will never happen. We live in a fallen world: 5,500 years of recorded human history and only 290 years without war. People tend to seek peace where it cannot be found, and if it is, it is only temporary.

God’s peace:

The peace that can be attained in us, in our hearts and minds, is described in Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT). Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. We are told God’s peace will keep our hearts and minds. This is the place where true peace can be found. “Heart” is referring to our emotions, “mind” is referring to our thinking. Worry is wrong feeling and wrong thinking. The word “keep” means to stand guard over.

Everlasting peace:

If we want a peace that is not temporary, we will need to make Jesus, the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). Then His word, as we know it, will stand guard over our hearts, minds, emotions, and thinking, and give us peace. Peace is hope and calm in the heart and mind, despite the fact that we may be experiencing difficult things in our lives. Hurtful things, experiencing setbacks, God can and will provide us peace that keeps us going, serving Him, and possessing a peace that passes all of our understanding.

If you want the Prince of Peace, call on His name today and pray and ask Him to come into your heart and save you.

Just a thought,

PSS

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2 ESV).

No regard:

A scoffer is someone who laughs, mocks, and speaks about a person or idea in a way that shows that he thinks that person or idea is stupid or silly — a person who has contempt for something. Here are people who have no regard for the word of God or the things of God. They hate God and His ways.

Evil speaking:

We see it all the time when people ignore the word of God for their own desires, when they speak evil of God, when they say things like, Can’t we just change the Bible? or, The Bible isn’t for today, or, God understands why we don’t do what He commands. These types of people we are to stay away from. We need to stay away from, and not listen to, those who discredit or ridicule the word of God.

Friendship with the world:

Our friends, family members, associates can have a profound influence on us, often in very subtle ways. If we insist on friendships with those who mock what God considers important, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God’s will. This attitude is the same as scoffing, mocking. It’s your choice!

We may need to do an inventory of our relationships and whom we allow to have influence on, or speak into, our lives. When we do, we should distance ourselves from the scoffers so we can experience the joy of serving and obeying God’s word.

Just a thought,

PSS

In order to serve God, we must all realize it is going to cost us something. It will at times cost us our desires, our will; at times it will require a sacrifice.

The sacrifice:

A sacrifice is not really a sacrifice unless something means a lot to us — unless we really want to do something. It’s something we give up for someone or something else. If it doesn’t mean anything to us, it’s not really a sacrifice at all.

He paid it all:

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20 NLT). Following Jesus will not always be easy or comfortable. It will often require great sacrifice of what we want, and doing what God’s word teaches. Following Christ, to do what He asks, may cost us popularity, friendship, leisure time, or convenience.

Pay the price:

The price of following Christ is saying and doing, Not my will, but let His will be done. It is our choice! Too many of us believe we can follow Christ, and do whatever we want. We follow Christ, and do what He requires us to do. It is our choice. Whatever we are unwilling to let go of may be the very thing that costs us our eternal salvation.

Being a disciple of Christ may not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. Again, it is our choice.

Just a thought,

PSS

Gratitude is one of many positive emotions. It’s about focusing on what’s good in our lives, and being thankful for the things we have. Its learning to notice, take inventory of, what we have and not take things for granted — things like a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family, maybe even having a phone, being alive!

Gratitude:

Gratitude is a virtue because we must choose to celebrate rather than to resent. When we are grateful (gratefulness and gratitude mean the same thing), it is almost impossible to be hateful, angry, and fearful. We should all strive to be more grateful. So many people today are full of hate and bitterness because they feel left out, uncared for; they may even feel as if God doesn’t really care for them.

Comparison: 

I believe a lot of dissatisfaction comes from people comparing themselves to others. When we do this, we will begin to believe that we are being left out, that others have more, are better off than we are. Comparing ourselves to others, I believe, is one of most destructive things we can do.

Thankfulness:

What we need to practice is being thankful for what we do have, being grateful for what we do possess. For some, this will take practice, something we need to do daily. We must retrain our thinking to not meditate on what we do not have, but learn to be thankful for what we do have.

Gratefulness leads to peace and joy, while being unthankful leads to anger and resentment. You always get to choose!

Just a thought,

PSS