Help Us To See Your Goodness

Psalm 27:9-14; 1 Peter 5:-6-7 Help us to wait on you and to see your goodness, Lord.

The Light Has Come

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

                                    (Isa 9:2, 6 KJV)

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 

                                                                       (Matt 4:15-20 KJV)

Straightway the fishermen left their nets and followed the light who is Jesus the Christ! Sadly, many are comfortable in the dark forever complaining about the valley of the shadow of death.  That's all they know so they choose the darkness of what they know over the unknown albeit brilliant light that had come into the world. The fishermen were ready and they were willing to live in the light of Christ. They followed the light. They dropped their nets and followed Jesus.

The world can be a very dark and gloomy place. But, it doesn't have to be. The light has come born as a sweet baby in Bethlehem so many years ago. The light has come. Step out of the darkness to follow Jesus and live life in the light of Christ.

God's Peace and Merry Christmas!  Pr. J.

Praise God!

Psalm 150 KJV

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

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We have so many things to be thankful for. We have so many reasons to praise the Lord. From the beginning of the dawn of the ages he has given us life. Then in his time; when the time was fulfilled, he gave us Jesus to give us new life and the promise of life in his kingdom now and forevermore. 

Just imagine how wonderful life would be if everyone set aside their negative attitudes and expelled the spirits of victimhood. Imagine how wonderful life would be if we took the time to count our blessings and to smell the proverbial roses and gave thanks and praise to God for the good in our lives. Not everything is always as bad as we might think. 

Let us celebrate and praise God for every breath that we take and for giving us second and third and endless chances to turn to him and live life in his presence.

We have so many reason to praise God. Let us praise him with every breath that we take.

God's Peace - Pr. J. 

You Are Not Alone

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deut 6:4-5 KJV)

Lonely, frustrated, tired?

Throughout my life I have spent a lot of time alone mainly due to either my husband's or my careers. I have often been asked if it bothers me to be alone. The answer is no. I am never alone. I have lived long enough to know that there is One who loves me more than all others. He is with me always. He is there for you always.

When we find ourselves tired and weary; lonely or frustrated, there is one we can turn to. Love the Lord your God, who loves you, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might even when you think you don't need Him. That is when you really need Him the most. He is there for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Love The One Who Loves You

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 

(Deut 6:4-5 NRSV)

Lonely, frustrated, tired?

Thoughout my life I have spent a lot of time alone mainly due to either my husband's career or mine careers. I am often asked if it bothers me to be alone. The answer is no. I am never alone. I have lived long enough to know that there is One who loves me more than all others. He is with me always. He is there for you always.

When we find ourselves tired and weary; lonely or frustrated, there is one we can turn to. Love the Lord your God, who loves you, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might even when you think you don't need him. That is when you really need Him the most.

God's Peace - Pr. J

His Love Is Always There

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:25-26 NRSV

Family and friends are great. We need them. We cannot live and actually thrive in isolation. But, for whatever reason sometimes they simply cannot be there for you. Sometimes, they do not seem to be able to comprehend what you might be enduring or they are busy trying to work through their own problems or maybe they are helping someone else who is having a crisis. But, there is one who does understand everything you are going though. He is there for you always. His love for us gives us the strength to endure all things.

We know that He is always there for us. He will always love us. We are never alone. It is difficult not to desire even more of He who loves us so much.

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Lord Is Our God

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."

Deut 6:4-5

Lonely, frustrated, tired?

Throughout my life, I have spent a lot of time alone mainly due to either my husband's or my careers. I have often been asked if it bothers me to be alone. The answer is no. I am never alone. I have lived long enough to know that there is One who loves me more than all others. He is with me always. He is there for you always.

When we find ourselves tired and weary; lonely or frustrated, there is one we can turn to. Love the Lord your God, who loves you, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might even when you think you don't need him. That is when you really need Him the most.

May the Lord bless and keep you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Called to Praise Him!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

You are chosen by God. You are a member of His household. You are a member of His family. You are no longer who you were; but, are now a member of the royal priesthood and of a holy nation. You are called to privately and publicly praise the one who called you of darkness into his wonderful light.

So, what don't we get about this? If you truly believe that you are saved by God's grace through faith and that Jesus died to bring all people into the light; then why are you not sharing this good, this awesome, this wonderful news with the world? 

The truth is that unless you ask most people if they believe in Jesus Christ you would not be able to tell that they consider themselves to be Christians. So many consider themselves to be going to this place we call heaven when they die a physical death. But, there is no evidence in anything that they say or do that would convince anyone that they have been born again of the Spirit  We have been called so that we can declare the mighty works of God. We have been called to praise His Holy Name. Let's get on it! OK?!

May we all be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we might be empowered to give God the glory in all that we say and think and do!

God's Peace - Pr. Judy

Merry Christmas!

Christ Lutheran Choir

photo by: Al Blanks

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6 NIV

Today, we celebrate God incarnate! Today, we celebrate that the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince Peace has come to us, born into this world as a baby in a barn.

As you celebrate the birth of our Savior, remember that he is the only reason for the celebration. All that we are and all that we have are only thanks to the God who loves us so much that He would humble himself enough to walk with us, live with us, and not just for those years that he lived on earth as true man; but, eternally as our one and only true God.

Today we celebrate the Lord our God as we should every day!

Merry Christmas and may the peace of the Lord be with you always!

Pr. J