Week in Review

Writing Assignment #7 – Synthesis (part 3)

Prison Fellowship believes that crime is rooted in moral and spiritual brokenness. Therefore, the best solution to crime has to start with the changing of people’s hearts. This is true with changing any person’s life for God, there has to be a change of heart. Prison Fellowship does not overlook the innocent victims of crime, the children of prisoners. Prison Fellowship work with churches to present gifts, camping and other items to the children so they do not feel forgotten.

The church reaches outward (externally) to the lost and those in need of hearing the truth of God. This is the mission of the Church, to reach the lost. The internal benefit of the church is to grow brothers together. Roberts states, “If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. If one soul is in destitution, those who have, are ready to supply his necessities” (1). The Love of God grows within the heart of the believer and it helps one to have love toward his brother or sister in Christ. “We love Him so greatly that we instinctively love His true friends. Those who walk in the light have fellowship for each other. They find each other out, and their hearts naturally run together. Rays of light, coming from the same source, easily mingle. Living streams, however widely separated, unite at last in the ocean. Holy persons feel that union of spirit, which is properly called, the communion of saints” (Roberts, 2)

One takes the offering of salvation to be set free from death’s grasp when one understands his need to be liberated. When a person receives this gift from God, there are changes that the Holy Spirit must make within the heart. The believer must willingly release the control of their life over to God’s Spirit. This release allows the Holy Spirit to change the heart and root the believer in Christ. “No other religion but that of Jesus will enable a person to do this. There may be the semblance. Anger may be suppressed by force of resolution. But God alone is able to make us really love our enemies, and honestly strive to promote their welfare. The Holy Spirit will enable us to hate sin, and love the sinner” (Roberts, 3). This is why God changes the heart’s of men. Man is placed into a right relationship with God because of his love for man. He offers this love to assure man of an eternal reward, but also so that man could then offer this love to others in need. The church is the avenue that God’s love flows through. Man is not saved only for himself, but so that men can do as the scripture says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Work Cited

Alter, Margaret Gramat. Christianity Today: The unnatural act of forgiveness. Vol. 41 Issue 7, P. 28, 3p 2c. 1997. 22 February 2006. http://library.macu.edu.

ccci.org: How to know God personally. 2006. 22 February 2006. http://www.ccci.org/wij.

Howard, Richard E. Newness of Life. United States of America: n.p., 1975.

Josh.org: Previous Questions -Christianity. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.Josh.org/apologetics/.

McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

Palau.org: Scripts – Encourage One Another. Palau, Luis. 2005. 22 February 2006. http://www.palau.org/ryw_new.

Pfm.org: Prison Fellowship. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.pfm.org/AM.

Phillips, J.B. Your God is Too Small. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Rheenen, Gailyn Van. Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation (PART 3)

God’s word shows man’s history with God from Adam and Eve’s time in the garden through the Israelites and their journey. It shows God’s plan for mankind and how God will eventually close the curtain on time, as we understand it. Part of that revelation was that he would send his son into the world to redeem it. Therefore, Jesus’ entry into the world fulfills the promise God gave to his people. “Even though God could no longer allow them to live in their cozy paradise, he still sent them off with promises of love, protection, and of a savior who would one day win back for them and their descendants the gifts that they had thrown away. A strange God, indeed, when you consider the idea of gods that people worshiped at the time the Bible was written” (Girzone, 14).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). “Likewise, the truth and authenticity of the New Testament cannot be understood if the advent of Jesus of Nazareth is detached from the universal picture of the entry of God into the world, for the very fact is that the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth implies from man a previous comprehension of the mystery of God and the progressive revealing of Himself” (Dotolo, 18). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). God revealed himself through his son to show men not only his love of them, but to show them the way in which they should walk. Jesus became the living example of what God wanted from all men. “The synthesis of this is realized by Jesus Christ, Word made flesh. With Him the historical peculiarity takes on a character that goes beyond the limits of time and space in becoming good news for every man” (Dotolo, 21).

When men understand how God reveals himself, through nature and all that he created, it draws men to ask deeper questions about themselves. As men begin to question the world they live in, it gives an opening for individuals to hear the calling of God. When God has gotten the attention of individuals that he goes seeking for, they can be reconciled back to a right relationship with God. It is in this personal walk, that men can learn more about God through their experience and insight. “Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going…Religious experience is part of that deep perception that man has of the truth and of the sense of his being and existence, of what he does and of the global destiny of his history. A perception of inhabiting the world and the history that conceals a meaning, a truth that cannot be reduced to how much a person can succeed in perceiving, but pursues him so that in the care of himself, of the world, and of the other, he might start a journey, or make an exodus, called by the Mystery that innervates reality. In the original context of the religious experience, man does not live the dream of knowledge as simple control of what is different, whose result can consist either in the magic manipulation of such knowledge or in the declaration of it as not pertinent to his existence. Rather, religious experience allows an open relationship that produces a different way of being and existing, because it puts man at the heart of reality itself, from an angle of observation in which the things themselves appear supported by other perspectives in comparison with the only human logic” (Dotolo, 9).

It is through this personal experience that one acquires a deeper understanding of God and his attributes. “Perhaps the most important statement of the approach may be found in Emil Brunner’s Truth as Encounter, which sets out the idea of revelation as a personal communication of God – that is to say, a communicationor impartation of the personal presence of God within the believer. ‘The Lordship and love of God can be communicated in no other way than by God’s self-giving’…Revelation concerns the conveying of God’s personal presence, rather than mere information concerning God” (McGrath, pp. 204-205).

Why does God take such care in revealing himself to mankind? This question can be answered in many ways, yet any answer would lead back to his love for man. God loves mankind enough to pursue them and reveal his mysteries to them. God reveals himself to those that are in relationship with him and gives them guidance through his Spirit. His Spirit empowers them to discern what is truth and what is not. God does all this because of his love for mankind. God uses many ways to show himself to men. Believers hold to God’s word as the most important way of understanding God. The Holy Scriptures were given to guide men and women. As one encounters other ways in which God reveals himself, the believer always compares these understandings with the word of God as the guideline for understanding. It is for this reason that God reveals himself to men, “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17). Even though this verse is referring to the use of scripture, it can be said that all that God does for men, is to equip them to walk worthy of his ways.

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning.

West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Christmas Photo Gallery

After our trolley ride, we went into the resort to see their Christmas display.









This display was one of the many ones we saw inside the resort.










There was also a display of gingerbread houses. This was one that was extremely detailed. This was one of our favorites.







We took a trolley ride after dinner on Christmas to see the Christmas lights that were on the property. The tour took about 15 minutes but everyone had a great time.






When we went on a sleigh ride, we saw the horses at the "Barn".









It was cold on the ride, but we made sure we dressed for the weather.













When we checked in, we decided to take family pictures in front of the fire place.





It was nice having us all together for the holiday. The girls enjoyed their older sister being home from college.

Words of Encouragement

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. - Psalm 105:1

Reflections. Year in review. We have come to the end of this year. As I sat the other day thinking about this year I thought about how much I need to thank God for what he has done. I want to be transparent today so that maybe someone may find hope as 2009 approaches.

In 2008 I faced many difficulties. I faced emotional difficulties. I had to seek God to help me through some of the emotional difficulties that have surfaced from my past. At times during the year things would come upon me and the enemy of my soul would try and used these things to condemn me and to make me doubt what God could do in my life.

I would have to battle through these times but it was God's word that would help me overcome them. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Cor. 10:3-5

I would hold on to the word of God to remind me that this battle is not mine and it will not be won through natural warfare. I go into 2009 with the hope and faith that all the emotional hurts from 2008 and before will be completely healed never to rise again. All the scares will be completely healed. I have seen how God has healed many of the hurts from my past and how he has grown me in the process of the release. So today I send encouragement to someone facing emotional hurt. That which is a reality now does not have to stay that way. What has hurt you or burden you (even if for years) does not have to have the power over you anymore. God's power is what releases the captives from all the hurt. Make that a pray of yours as you go into the new year. Ask God to release you from any emotional hurts that hinder you from worshipping him fully. Now when he does, be reminded that in order for the healing to take place, the hurts must first be revealed. They must be uncovered. It will be difficult to allow God to do that at first, but know that he does it so that you can find total freedom in him.

Another area that I reflected on was my financial difficulty this year. I do not mean that I simply did not have money for "stuff", but I mean there have been months where I did not have enough money to buy food or to pay my bills. These last few months have been the most difficulty. I have stood in the refrigerator looking at the emptiness and wondering when this season would pass? Yet let me share with you what I have learned in this year. In the earlier part of spring the Lord asked me about my fear. The fear he wanted me to look at was regarding tithing.

I know we often look at tithing as a "money thing", yet God wanted to show me something greater. The Lord showed me that fear was keeping me from total trust. He showed me that my fear about my finances was making me become doubtful. That doubt was leading to lack of trust or faith in what He could do. I made up my mind at that very moment I would not allow doubt or lack of trust (faith) to ever be what stood in the way of my total trust in God.

At that moment I began to give my tithes (regularly) no matter what my situation looked like. I also knew that I could not do this all by myself, so I asked a friend to be my accountability partner. I told her what my struggle was and asked her to call me each month before church to make sure I had my tithes. I was willing to be transparent and not worry about what others would think about me because I wanted to have the freedom from this fear.

I want to be clear I would tithe before, however whenever things become hard I would battle about giving my tithes and sometimes I wouldn't because I did not have the money. At that point that the Lord showed me about hindering what he wanted to do in my life, I have tithe no matter what my situation has looked like. It has been difficult, yet God has been faithful.

I give you an example. Christmas. I had no money and I was not sure what I would do for my family to help us have a wonderful time together. I didn't even have money to get the fixings for dinner, but I knew I would trust God. I was invited to dinner on Monday the 22nd so I was thankful because we were able to eat for the first day of that week. Before we got to Christmas, I had pretty much decided that if we could just be together that would be good enough. We had talked about it the year before, about trying to go somewhere but that was not going to happen. Until some friends became an avenue of blessing for us.

Some friends invited us to Lake Geneva for Christmas. We were able to go and only had to pay $21 for the cleaning fee for the usage of the place for two nights. They provided breakfast and dinner and we had a great time. I thank God for allowing us this opportunity to have a great Christmas. I shared this because I know that there is someone else out there that is struggling financially. You do not know where your money is going to come from. You do not know if you will be able to pay your rent, get food for your family and your situation looks bleak. I want to encourage you to make your prayer for 2009 one for God to show you his hand in your situation. Give thanks to God for even in the difficulties God still shows he cares for those he love.

My situation has not changed, but I have. I have learned to trust God. I have even been able to help those in worse situations than myself. Not out of my abundance, but even out of my own need and lack. That's God!

The last thing I want to share in hopes of helping someone else is my walk this year. There are times when things seem to be going well and you feel the presence of God in everything you do. There are also times when you feel as if you are alone and wonder is God still with me? I have had those times this year. I have wondered, Lord am I effective? Do the words I say or the encouragement I try to give do they really matter? Is what I'm doing relevant? At those moments of self-doubt the Lord has been so wonderful to me. He has reminded me that my obedience is pleasing to him.

When I have had to complete the difficult assignments and others did not understand me, he has reminded me that he knew my heart and that I was pleasing to him. When I have felt like I have had to stand alone, he reminded me he was there with me.

So why do I share this struggle with you? I share it for this reason, the enemy of our soul wants us to feel we are useless and that we have nothing to give to others. I come to encourage you that you do. God requires obedience from us. If we willing give ourselves to him he will and does wonderful things in us and through us. God helped me through the battles I have had regarding doing the Words of Encouragement. I have often battled the thoughts that no one really wants to keep reading what you have to say. The enemy has even said, look you are not getting the amount of traffic to your site like this person or that person. So he says, you might as well stop.

Then God reminds me you keep giving what I have given to you. You cannot see the changes or the affects your encouragement has had on others. You keep trusting me and out of your obedience I will make changes. So even thought I cannot see the difference I am making, I keep on because I know God wants me to be obedient to him. So today let me encourage someone to keep on giving what God has placed in you to give. Make your prayer for 2009 one of more service unto God. We may never see in our lifetimes how or what we do and how it affects others. Yet by faith we must continue to trust in God and make known to all the world what God has done.

So this week as we approach the new year I pray that God would continue to strengthen you and grow you in your walk with him. I also pray that something that I shared in 2008 helped you in your walk. I also pray that if God says so that in 2009 whatever I share with you in the Words of Encouragement would help you to become more of what God has determined for your life. If that is true, then I can rejoice in knowing that I too am fulfilling what God has purposed in my life, to spread the truth about him. God bless you.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation (PART 2)

The people understood that God was unique from all other gods. He was a faithful and trustworthy God. “This God has a distinct character — he is who he is — to which he will be faithful and which he reveals in his historical actions. Not only does God name his presence as active being, but his name also discloses his essentially relational nature. The Baptist scholar Gwynne Henton Davies explains that the Hebrew words ‘have the quite practical meaning I am who and what, and where and when, and how and even why you will discover I AM. I am what you will discover me to be’…God already is in himself what he intends and promises to be in his deeds through and among his people. The text implies that this is and will be the case and that it is and will be manifest historically; hence we can expect to be able to ‘read’ his acts as an assertion of his character and as leading to the fulfillment of his promise. Using language from speech act theory, we can say that God’s revelation of his name is assertive of his being, and a commissive promise to act in faithfulness to his being. God’s nature is expressed in his unbreakable word: that he means to be his word is implied by his promise, and that he will keep it is implied in his self-assertion” (Moore, 167).

God revealed himself to the Israelites and their history became available for all to understand God’s move in times past and what it means for today. “…the history. God’s revelation becomes part of the concreteness of daily life, in the language and in the mentality of a people, showing what the meaning of the flowing of days is. “History, therefore, becomes the arena where we see what God does for humanity. God comes to us in the things we know best and can verify most easily, the things of our everyday life, apart from which we cannot understand ourselves” (Dotolo, pp. 20 – 21). God also showed himself to the Israelites to establish a relationship with them for their good. “In establishing a priesthood for Israel, God assured that the priests would provide guidance for his people, especially with respect to their continuous instruction in his law. This priesthood and their assistants, the scribes, were the teaching authority, or the official magisterium, of the religion God set up for them. As long as the priests and scribes remained loyal to God, they were also faithful in communicating God’s wishes to his people. However, at times when the teaching authority slipped away from its responsibility and did not reflect the will of God for his people, God then bypassed the religious authorities and used prophets to deliver messages directly to the people” (Girzone, pp. 15 – 16).

“In time past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe” (Dotolo, 20). God also reveals himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Before touching on Jesus, one must first look at the Bible or the word of God as he reveals himself to humanity. God showed himself to the Israelites and thus began the process of writing down the word of God as he revealed it to individuals. The author, Norbert Max Samuelson in his book, Revelation and the God of Israel states, “Whatever the view is of God in general, the deity affirmed as the sole deity worthy of worship in these religions is the creator of the world, the revealer of sacred scriptures, and the redeemer of humanity. For Judaism, at least God as the creator is revealed both through the Hebrew Scriptures (especially the opening chapters of Genesis) and through nature (especially physical cosmology and cosmogony). The deity known in this way is a God of natural law whose will, identifiable with that law, is concerned equally with every creature, without differentiation, and primarily with the whole rather than any of its parts, be they animal, mineral, or vegetable. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of justice. In contrast, God as the revealer is known through the words of the Hebrew Scriptures and the tradition of the interpretation of those words in biblical commentaries. This deity is a God of moral law whose will, identifiable with that law, has special concern for the Jewish people, with whom he has a special love relationship, comparable to that of a loving spouse or parent. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of love. Whether or not it is coherent to claim that the same being is both the deity of universal law and the deity of concrete love is not obvious, and much of the discussion of theology in rabbinic texts deals with ways to reconcile these two characterizations of God” (12). Scripture confirms itself in these verses, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning.

West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment #7 – Synthesis (part 2)

The believer now begins the transformation process. None of this is possible without God’s spirit. Roberts states, “We have seen that there can be no true holiness without the love of God. Neither can there be without love for our fellow men. The two are joined together. The second great commandment is, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’ – Matt. 22:39” (1)

One of the changes in the new believer is in fellowship. The relationship between God and the new believer has been restored. The relationship between the new believer and others has also been made new. Howard states, “Sin produces a double alienation – on the vertical and horizontal plane. ‘But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ’ Eph. 2:13…this is double reconciliation – between man and man, and man and God” (74).

The new man now must give control over completely to God so that the transformation can begin. Sins were forgiven but an instant change in man’s behavior and thinking did not occur. Howard states, “Life by the Spirit is a personal relationship that must be cultivated and maintained…The experience of most men reveals the need of constant renewal and revival – it is an essential part of humanity” (179). The new man begins to transform into the image of God. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

In this growing process, one must be amongst other believers. This is the importance of the church. The church is made up of the believers coming to worship together, encourage one another and fulfill the mission of God. What is the mission of the church? In the book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Mission, the author Gailyn Van Rheenen states, “The church is not a human organization. It is the result of a mission or a sending that began with God. The mission of God, initiated through Jesus Christ and continued through his disciples, led to the formation of the church” (29). “The Church is God’s people called out from the world to be his witness in the world. As an institution, it appears fallible and weak, but paradoxically it has outlasted states, nations, and empires” (Rheenen, 30). So the mission of the church is God ordained. The people of God come together to worship and evangelize because of the instruction given by God and not due to man’s wishes.

Josh McDowell on his web site, answers the question what hope does Christianity offer the world, in this manner, “We are living in a day in which people are pessimistic about the future. There have always been pessimists, but now there is a general feeling of hopelessness regarding the future. Against this pessimistic and fearful backdrop, Jesus Christ offers real hope. He gives mankind the opportunity to become right with God and his fellowman. Thus Christianity offers a full life to those who will accept Jesus” (1). Some of the disillusionment in men is in their unrealistic and selfish expectations of others and in God. J.B. Phillips, the author of Your God is too Small, states, “God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use Him as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort, for his own plans. God has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to co-operate with His own purposes” (49).

The church is an important part of God’s plan in presenting truth to the world. The church is to be God’s light, like a beacon calling all towards it. “Because most people in this modern age have almost no sense of God there is also almost no sense of ‘sin’ – for in human experience there is a significant connexion between the two. Where the sense of God becomes something like a reality there springs up, sooner or later, a sense of guilt and failure” (Phillips, 97). The church, through the keeping of God’s ways, shows the world what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. “The follower of the new way is therefore called to do all he can to spread ‘the good news of the Kingdom,’ but to realize at all times that the success or failure of the Kingdom can never be judged by simple reference to statistics of ‘Christians’ at any particular time” (Phillips, 123). Believers are to spread the message of salvation but not to get held back by what looks like failure or success. Phillip states the success of this mission is known in the “real time” which is eternity.

The church is vital to get the truth to the world. Josh McDowell agrees with this in his statement, “All religions cannot be true at the same time, because they teach many things completely opposite from one another. They all may be wrong, but certainly they all cannot be right, for the claims of one will exclude the other. As to matters of salvation and the person of Jesus Christ, only historic Christianity recognizes Him as the eternal God becoming a man who died for the sins of the world and arose again the third day. Salvation is obtained only by putting one’s trust in this Jesus” (2). The Christian church is the only avenue that is founded on this truth of the Bible, that Jesus is the only way of salvation.

It is important to the church that believers encourage one another. Luis Palau suggest this on his web site, “Having a part in leading a friend or acquaintance to faith in Jesus Christ is exciting. Actually praying with someone who wants to make that decision is even more exciting. Yet I’ve seen Christians panic when someone comes to that point of decision. Take the time to encourage and help each other learn to lead someone in making that decision” (1). The church is significant in educating believers to be able to share the Gospel. This can be an intimidating idea. It is important for believers to be trained and then walk along side another believer to teach them.

The church in sharing the message of salvation must be willing to go outside of the church building. Scripture calls for us to reach out to the lost of this world, because when we do it to others we do it unto the Lord. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (Matthew 25:35-36). One such organization that holds to this belief is Prison Fellowship. Their goal is to exhort, equip and assist the church in its ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. This is what their web site states regarding their mission, “Our foremost calling is to be in daily fellowship and communion with Christ. But we are also called to go beyond an exclusive ‘Jesus and me’ relationship; Christ calls us to be a light to the world around us, an instrument through which He can work to restore and redeem broken lives and a broken culture” (1).

Work Cited

Alter, Margaret Gramat. Christianity Today: The unnatural act of forgiveness. Vol. 41 Issue 7, P. 28, 3p 2c. 1997. 22 February 2006. http://library.macu.edu.

ccci.org: How to know God personally. 2006. 22 February 2006. http://www.ccci.org/wij.

Howard, Richard E. Newness of Life. United States of America: n.p., 1975.

Josh.org: Previous Questions -Christianity. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.Josh.org/apologetics/.


McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

Palau.org: Scripts – Encourage One Another. Palau, Luis. 2005. 22 February 2006. http://www.palau.org/ryw_new.

Pfm.org: Prison Fellowship. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.pfm.org/AM.

Phillips, J.B. Your God is Too Small. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Rheenen, Gailyn Van. Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.

Words of Encouragement

A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. - Proverbs 18:16

Christmas presents. Gifts to Christ. This week I want to do something different. I want to give us a week of prayers, presents if you will unto Christ. We often think of Christmas as what we receive from one another. The greatest gift we have received is the gift of salvation through God.

So this week of Christmas let us present our gifts to God. When we do the scripture tells us today that it will usher us into the presence of the great. That great is God. So let us present our presents together.

MONDAY

Gift of Love. Lord today we thank you for your love. We are thankful for the love that you gave to mankind through the gift of your son. You loved the world so much that you send your only begotten son to come and die for my sins and the sins of the world. Lord because of your love I am now able to love others. The gift I give to you this Christmas is my love. I give you my complete love as well as to love your people. Help me to love your way. If there are those that I have anger in my heart against now, help me to let it go so that I can come to Christmas presenting you my complete heart free of anything that would hinder me from giving you my love. This I ask, Amen.

TUESDAY

Gift of Sacrifice. Today Lord I present to you my life, myself and all that I am. I come to present myself as a living sacrifice which is my reasonable service. I have prayed all year and ask you to help me in my life, but today my prayer is not about me but about you. I come to present myself to you so that you can use me as you desire. Help me as the new year comes to be more yielded to you. Those things I did this year that were for myself or based on my own desires, help me to see more clearer next year how to let go of my ideas or my thoughts and do things more your way. This is my present to you so that I can be ushered into the greatness of you. Amen.

WEDNESDAY

Gift of Outreach. Lord you have given so much to me. You have placed me on the hearts of others that have blessed me or planted into my life. Help me to give you the present of outreach. That means I will allow you to use me to reach others. Not simply over seas but even those in need that live right next door to me. Help me to give encouragement to those in need of encouragement. Help me to pray for those that are in need of prayer. Help me to walk with someone that needs me to walk with them. Help me as the new year comes to have more of a heart to touch the lives of others than I have in this past year. Help me to do this because this gift will draw me closer to you and closer to my purpose. Amen.

THURSDAY

Gift of light. This Christmas day we celebrate the birth of Christ. Help me today to allow Christ to be alive in me. I belong to you and if I have allowed your light to dim, renew your light, renew my excitement about you. Help me to share the truth about Christmas to someone new. Lord help me to be like that star that led the wise men to where Christ was. Help me to be a greater light in the midst of this dark world. Help me to led many to you this year. Help me to be that light that moves someone along the way to where you are so that can come and bring gifts of themselves to you. Help me this year be the light of God to someone in darkness. Amen.

FRIDAY

Gift of prayer. Lord help me to present my gift of prayer to you continually. Help me to pray more this upcoming year. Not simply for my own needs but for the needs of the people you love. Those people that are yours by creation and yours by redemption. Help me to pray for the lost that they may come to know you. Help me to pray for those in bondage that they may be set free. Help me to pray for those in need that you may fulfill their needs. Lord help me to present my prayers to you so that I can be drawn closer to you. I want to see more of your greatness exhibited in my life. Help me as the new year approaches to become more like your Son so that I can be a true gift to this world as I lead others to the greatest gift, Jesus Christ.