Angel Quiz (Part II)

Answers to last week’s Angel Quiz:

1. How many people were visited by an angel leading up to Jesus' birth?   3

2. Who were each of the individuals? Joseph (Matthew 1:20-25) Zechariah the priest (Luke 1:8-20) Mary (Luke 1:26-38)

3. How many of the angels are named?  1

4. What are their names? Gabriel (Luke 1:19 & 26-27)

5. How many times is it recorded that an angel appeared to Joseph before and after Jesus’ birth? 3-4 (Matthew1:20-24, 2:13-15, 2:19-20, 2:22-23)

After Jesus’ birth, who else was visited by an angel? Yes, the shepherds.

Luke 2:8-20   ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ 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.”

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.

The shepherds didn’t get to quit their job, get a new job, retire early, or change their immediate circumstances in any way. However, they rejoiced in who God is and what He had done! They also spread the excitement of this truth to others!   

Have you and I responded like the shepherds? As we get to know God and His Word, do we spread the Word to others? Even when our own circumstances don’t change, do you and I glorify and praise God for all He has done, just as He promised? That’s real joy.

Alice

Being Needy

But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    you are my God, do not delay.  Psalm 40:16-17

We all have needs.  At Christmas time, my daughter has numerous things that she wants for Christmas like dolls, a tablet, and a bike.  As a parent, I must be wise to remember that while those are things she would love to have, she has needs like a winter coat, new boots, and books that will teach her what she needs to know.  We all have our responsibility to focus on those things that we need and not be indulgent as to what we want.  The problem is discerning what exactly that we truly need.

As my wife and I prayed last night, my focus went to my dependence on God.  He has given me so much, but yet, I found myself humbly needing more.  Not more things. Rather, a greater depth and understanding of His purpose for my life.

A true relationship with Christ should find us needing more of Him each day.  Our daily lives are filled with demands on our time from work, family, and other duties.  Too often these become our priorities.  This is not to say these things are to be left idle or diminished.  However, we should realize all that we have is given to us by God.  Each of our responsibilities are blessing from a God whose wisdom is beyond understanding, love is without limits,, and mercy is overwhelming.  Those are the things we need, and in the 40^th Psalm, David clearly understand this.

Without God, we have very little in life worthwhile.  One of my favorite hymns when I was a child says, “I need Thee, oh, I need thee.  Every hour I need thee.”  The song speaks of a relationship so powerful and intimate that one cannot imagine living without it.  That is what a healthy growing relationship with God emulates.  Is your relationship with God a wanted one or needed one?  What priorities in your life need rearranging to create a closer relationship with God?  My prayer is that in our relationship with God, we are intentionally needy.  Amen. 

Tues Devo: Christmas love?

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (NASB)

Hello,

As we are in full swing of the Christmas season, I can’t help but notice the distraction. Everywhere I look instead of the message of God’s love at this time, I hear claims about the hatred of Christians. I see claims that those who follow Jesus are discriminating, narrow minded, not relevant. While these claims always bother me, this time of year it seems to be especially irritating. But how are we respond? How can we yell louder and better than the others?

We do it by following the example God gave us through Jesus. We act. God showed His love not just by claiming it loudly – but by putting motion behind His words through sending His Son to this earth  - not just to tell us things, but to show us such great love He knew Jesus’ death would be required.

How do we follow this example? We show love – and what better time of year? We need to do this in real and personable ways – not in mass scream to those who can hear it but cannot experience it.

As you show love in this way, when the detracting message reaches the ears of those who you have showed love to they will stop on wonder why they didn’t think that way about you – and prayerfully will come and start asking you questions. It is the direct 1-1 communication that provides the best opportunity to share who Jesus is and His loving offer – free of the distractions of hate placed in the world by the enemy.

Some things to think about:

How can you show God’s love if you never interact with unbelievers? (You can’t…don’t be a hermit, share with those around you!)

How can you show love if you are always focused on yourself? (You can’t…..let God handle your needs, seek out how you can serve Him by loving others)

How can you show God’s love if you never speak to Him or read His Word? (You can’t…..make the time!...you already make time for everything else)

Have a blessed day as you share God’s love!

Will Hill

The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment (Part 2 of 2)

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part two of “The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment”

This week we’ll conclude our series pertaining to the judgments of God upon the unbeliever…

The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment

The "lost" or unsaved person – unbeliever – who has rejected Jesus Christ will be judged at the "Great White Throne" for their personal rejection of Jesus Christ’s atonement for their “sins” on the cross of Calvary.

The Great White Throne Judgment

This Judgment is for the “lost” person as it relates to the degrees of "punishment" in which they will be “judged according to their works” and will suffer the “second death” in the “lake of fire” for all eternity future:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire – Revelation 20:1-15

This will be a terrible time for these eternally “lost” souls.

If you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, your name is written in the “Book of Life” and the Bible promises that you will be cleansed from ALL “sins” – past, present and future! You will be with Him forever in Heaven! However, if you have rejected Jesus Christ, the Bible promises that you will be forever damned. It will be an eternity of conscience, physical suffering and torment, separated from the Lord – forever.

In Closing:

There is a difference between The Judgment Seat of Christ and The Great White Throne judgments of God and the Christian can be assured of his eternal destiny in Jesus Christ… And the “lost” will perish without Him in the “lake of fire” – This is the second death…

Closing prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to do works for Your glory and in Your power, in preparation for the coming Judgment and to study your word so we can walk in Your paths of preparation, purity and productivity.

Praise the Lord!

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate The Great White Throne of God to better understand the Lord’s perspective concerning His future judgments on all of humanity… Believers and Unbelievers.

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

Blessings!

Shane <><

Who Built It?

5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”  Exodus 19

These words really stand out to me and encourage me.  The whole of everything belongs to God.  The land, the animals, the plants, the people, and everything that we create within it.  Treading lightly in a political realm here, but the statement President Obama made a few years(?) ago regarding, "You didn't build that," completely applies.

I'm not saying whether he was right or wrong, but look at that same statement from a biblical perspective.  God created you.  You are his.  Is there anything that you can build that you can take full credit for?

Look at what else God says.  The Israelites will be his treasured possession, and be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  That applies to us as well!  We are his treasured possession among all the items on the earth that are his. Also, we are all priests in his name and act as a holy nation for him.

So the next time you're "building" something, think about whether you're really doing this for God, as a way to be a priest for him.  This could be something you're doing at work, at home, at church, at a volunteer organization, or anything at all!  

Thursday Devotional - Angel Quiz

In past years, I've done a couple quizzes at Christmas time to see if we really know the details surrounding Jesus' birth as well as we think we do. So, this year, I was led to put together a quiz to see what we know about the angels surrounding His birth.

1. How many people were visited by an angel leading up to Jesus' birth?

2. Who were each of the individuals?

3. How many of the angels are named?

4. What are their names?

5. How many times is it recorded that an angel appeared to Joseph before and after Jesus’ birth?

I'll post the answers next week. Or, for those who can't wait, you can figure them out now on your own by reading the Matthew passage below and Luke chapters 1 and 2!

Matthew 1:20-24 "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."

God came to live among us and in us! God incarnate, as Jesus, came to live among us. After Jesus death on the cross, to save us from our sins, we have God the Holy Spirit to live in us as believers. As we've been studying the last few Thursdays, God is always with us!

Alice

Godly Intention

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
 
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.  Acts 9:15-19

We all have a clear understanding of the saying ‘cause and effect.’  In science, it is about the laws of physics (Newton’s Law of motion), but in life, many refer to it as karma.  While there are fundamentally clear explanation on the physics side (a ball being hit by a bat in baseball, or one person pushing another who is standing still), I get amused when I hear similar explanations on an intangible level (ex. you get out of the world what you put in).  I have always believed that things happen for a reason that God always intends for.  The typical outcome for a teen dad such as me is often a long and difficult path. However, the birth of my daughter (cause) became the transformative moment that helped become the foundation for my faith (effect).  I realized then there truly was a God, and that He is always watching over me.

God always acts with long term intention, and our goal is to both understand and act on it.  Today’s verses focus on a disciple named Ananias.  While we are not sure of all of the circumstances surrounding Ananias’ life, we know that he was called on by God in this very important part of spreading the gospel.  He is directly instructed by God to confirm to Saul that indeed it was Jesus who spoke to him.  The ‘cause’ of this meeting set forth the ‘effect’ of Saul being baptized, changing his name to Paul, his spreading of the gospel to all nations, and writing a vast majority of the New Testament.  That’s not karma.  That is the power of Godly intention.

Listening to God’s intention changes others’ lives.  We may never know how our story may change the fortune of another, but if we listen to God like Ananias, we may be the start of a God inspired movement.  After all, very few people ever heard of Mordecai Ham, but one person converted over to Christ because of him.  That person was Billy Graham.  Coincidence? Karma?  I think not!  Do you understand God’s intention for your life?  Are you spiritually aware of God’s movement in your own actions?  My prayer is that we have clarity on Christ’s intentions in our daily activity.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Feeling helpless and useless

2 Peter 1:4-10 ”For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.” (NASB)

Hello,

This last week I had an interesting flight experience where the pilot attempted a landing in 100mph wind….we didn’t make it and landed somewhere else. During that time I could hear the warning bells in the cockpit and could feel the pilot fighting against the wind. As we were being tossed right and left, many thoughts were running through my head. But the biggest one – I was helpless and useless. I had no control, I had no expertise – I was at the mercy of whatever happened.

The more I reflected on that, the more I thought about how that is similar to many other situations I find myself in. While others I may control some bits and pieces, and have a little influence – much of what we walk through we do not have any control in – except how we respond. Want to be useful, and not helpless? Respond in your situations with the qualities given in 2 Peter. We are told that if we continue to grow these qualities “they render you neither useless nor unfruitful”.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment (Part 1 of 2)

Hello Friends!

Welcome to a new 2-part Daily Devotionals series titled “The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment”

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon summarizes what life should be all about:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all – Ecclesiastes 12:13

Thus, the conclusion of the “whole matter” of life is to "fear God" and to "keep His commandments" in honoring Him with our Christian walk – life style.

Although King Solomon wrote this entire book to ultimately remind us of what he sums up in three little words – “all of life is vanity!” He also faithfully warns us of this sobering truth:

For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil – Ecclesiastes 12:14

Yes, even the “secret things” we do will be brought “into judgment.” All our of deeds – “good” or “bad” – will be brought into God’s Holy and Righteous judgment. This truth will be very real to each of us at the judgment of God we will all face… One day…

Please join us over the next couple of weeks as we learn more about this very important topic. Today we will consider the judgment of God upon the believer…

The Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne Judgment

The Word of God is very clear. Every person's works – whether that person be “saved” or “lost” – will be brought into the righteous judgment of God…

The Judgment Seat of Christ

For the saved person their personal works will be judged at the "Judgment Seat of Christ" as described by the Apostle Paul to the Romans:

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ – Romans 14:10

And again to the Corinthians:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad – 2 Corinthians 5:10

Paul also describes for us the procedure at the “judgment seat of Christ” in that it is for Jesus Christ to judge the believer’s “labor”:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor – 1 Corinthians 3:6-8

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire – 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

The Apostle John also promises that we will receive "rewards" and "crowns" that we then cast at His feet in thanksgiving for the things that our Lord has done for us:

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne… – Revelation 4:10

These "rewards" and "crowns" are the “good works” we've “done in the body” by His power and for His glory – “gold, silver, precious stones.” However, we will suffer “loss” for those “works” we do in our own power and for our own glory – “wood, hay, straw.” Jesus Christ will be the “righteous judge” over all of our “works” – whether they are "good" or "bad.”

In closing:

Let me remind you, the Word of God is very clear – we're not saved by works, but by “grace through faith”:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

Although we are not saved by our “works,” we were created ”for” the “good works” that the Lord has ordained – “prepared beforehand” that we should “walk in them”:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them – Ephesians 2:10

It is the "works" that we have done for the Lord in which He will judge the Christian at the “Judgment Seat of Christ”…

Praise the Lord!

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate The Great White Throne of God to better understand the Lord’s perspective concerning His future judgments on all of humanity… Believers and Unbelievers.

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><