Peace To Men On Earth (Merry Christmas)

Luke 2:14-“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests"

The Birth of Jesus

 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ``Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, 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.”

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

 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ``a pair of doves or two young pigeons.Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

 ^``Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
   you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
   and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. Amen!

May the  God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 

Merry Christmas,wishing you the best of everything good this season and in 2011, enjoy the favour of God and peace to you, I pray that you will prosper in all things even as your soul, spirit and body prospers. Best Wishes and thanks for being part of this Blog!

Comments from you: What verses or insights stand out to you in this reading? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

Shalom

Enim

                                  

A SIGN

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

The LORD himself,will give you a sign,behold a virgin shall conceive,and bear a son in a small town, called Bethlehem, and His name will be Immanuel "עִמָּנוּאֵל " meaning "God is with us".God came in the form of a little baby wrapped in a sheep's manger. Great things sometimes come in small packages.Though your beginning may be small,yet your end shall be exceedingly Great! Greatness is inside you!Are you ready for signs and wonders in 2011?

Don't quit yet, something good is about to happen to you dear one! I declare again something good is about to happen to someone somewhere if only you believe.There is a blessing  for you with your name written boldly on it in the coming year!

The barren shall be given a sign says the LORD, the waste land shall be a rich dwelling for the remnants of faith. Rivers will pour forth in the desert, the weak will be made strong and the old men shall run with a new energy. The young men shall see visions of the most High and dream dreams. There will be shouts of Joy in the city and they will All sing a new song, a song of victory.My arm will uphold the needy and fatherless. I will make a way where there seem to be no way.Kings and Princes will rise up in this generation. Rise up O yea sons of the living God, for your Light has come and your salvation is at hand, the day of redemption is now, for my Spirit will do one more thing again says the LORD and twice it shall be known, I will stir up again, I will show my wonders like I did in Egypt and many will come to know me, the One and Only true God, I will visit my people again. All you need to do is to embrace the baby Immanuel. The tiny seed inside you will spring forth with power and might, and yea it shall be great”. The LORD is raising Giants in this generation full of the fear of the Lord.

“It doesn't matter what you've done and where you've been all these years, the Lord will wipe away All your iniquities with his own blood, like the prodigal son and give you a sign and a new name. You will be called "Blessed", you will be become as white as snow, a sign of newness, a sign of turn-around, a sign of greatness, a sign of change and increase.Your going out will be blessed as well as your coming in, I will be your banner says the LORD and though men may look down on you now, there is a rising up in your spirit now, and it is the doing of the Lord and it will be marvellous in the sight of men. The stone the builders rejected shall become the Chief corner Stone!” To Adonai be the praise forever, for God has visited his people once more and will give his people a SIGN!

May the  God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 

Scripture for Meditation: Isaiah 7

Comments from you: What verses or insights stand out to you in this reading? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

Shalom

Enim

                                           

The Fearless: The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself.

2 Timothy 1:7 (King James Version)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Where are the brave men and women? Men of steel, the courageous fellows, the lions of our day? Men, who killed bears and tigers with their bare hands, topple giants, conquered kingdoms, administered justice, who shut the mouth of lions, quenched the fury of flames, escaped the edge of swords, whose weakness were turned into strength and became powerful in battle routing foreign armies. Men, who were tortured for their faith, faced jeers, flogged, put in chains and imprisoned? Men who were put to death by being dragged to pieces, fried in oil, stoned, sawed in half and beheaded by the sword? The extraordinary men with extraordinary faith who moved mountains in their day? Brave men are men of faith and men of purpose, with unshakable belief in the one and only true God, Jehovah!

Little faith always produces great fear (Matthew 8:26).When we lose our purpose in life, we give room to fear. Faith and purpose always goes together hand-in-hand. Brave men are men of purpose, who have discovered what to die for in this life, rather than wallow in the valley of despair. To these brave men, fear is imaginary and doesn’t exist in the real world; so they act in spite of their fears. So what is fear then?

Fear: This is a paralysing feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger. Other words closely related to fear are fright, dread, terror, horror, panic, alarm, dismay, consternation, trepidation. Let’s take a look at the associated words closely:

Fright is the sudden, usually momentary, great fear:

Dread is the strong fear, especially of what one is powerless to avoid:

Terror is the intense, overpowering fear:

Horror is a combination of fear and aversion or repugnance

Panic is sudden frantic fear, often groundless:

Alarm is fright aroused by the first realization of danger.

Consternation is often paralyzing, characterized by confusion and helplessness.

Trepidation is dread characteristically marked by trembling or hesitancy.

Given the increasing climate of war, terrorism and natural disasters, and the associated paralysing effects of fear in the face of trauma many people especially Christians have given up all hope. Too many people take their cues from the news and these days, the news feed fear. What we hear is more and more bad news about job losses, cuts in pay, stock market downturns and negative forecasts. Regrettably bad news sells more. God's people can conform to the world and allow fear to limit what God wants to do in, through, with and for them. But God is calling us to live in faith, not in fear.The just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10:38).We need to learn more of what it means to obey the command "fear not" even in light of a shaky economy and all the negative media reports. We are living in an unfriendly time, an unfriendly environment where governments aren't "pro-Christ", and are increasingly becoming unfriendly to the gospel and the Christian faith. Therefore overcoming your fears is a major step to victory as a reigning Child of God.

Roots and Effects of Fear

2 Timothy 1:7- For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. This defines the root of fear, as not coming from God. Fear doesn't come from God but rather emanates from the kingdom of darkness, from unbelief and lose of purpose. Fear is a spirit sent from hell. Fear makes a big thing out of nothing. Fear will cost you more than you can pay, take you further than you can come back and keep you longer than you’re willing to stay. God never gave us a spirit of fear, but of power, purpose, love and a sound mind! Fear will always prevent you from reaching the Promised Land, discourage you from fulfilling your God given vision and make you hopeless without any purpose. Fear will grind your destiny to a halt. Fear will close the door of grace and usher you into the gates of disgrace! Fear comes from sin and sin comes from disobedience ( Genesis 3:10). Fear gets into your spirit through the gate of your ears and eyes and finally forces you to make a negative declaration with your mouth, so that the devil can destroy you with your own mouth. To guard against fear, you need to guard against the information that you feed on, because every information that gets to you will either inform or deform you!

Lesson: Purpose in your heart that you will undertake something that you've never done before  concerning your dream in life. Act out your fears and don’t let it stop you from doing what you desire most, your God given vision and purpose in life. Break the back of fear once and for all with an unshakable faith in the  LORD Almighty, and take a step of boldness, a step into victory! The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Scripture for meditation:  Romans 8:15-17 -The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for your Spirit of Boldness, which conquers every spirit of fear in our spirit and life in general. Empower your people to see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, think the unthinkable and do the impossible in the mighty name of Jesus Christ     (Yeshua) , the anointed one. Father make your sons fearless souls, burning for your kingdom, just like John the Baptist, who was a burning lamp, and grant us victory over the world , Amen and Amen! Will a Strong fearless man or woman please stand up?

Comments from you: What verses or insights stand out to you in this reading? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

Shalom

Enim