Our Inheritance

Inheritance in the legal sense refers to actual property or goods received after a family member's death. Although defined from the natural sense, this definition is fairly close to the biblical perspective of an inheritance. For instance, while Jewish inheritance customs were linked to family blood lines, Greek and Roman laws also provided for the placement of family possessions through the adoption of an heir. The Scriptures transform the concept of inheritance to include the acquisition of spiritual blessings and promises from God. The Apostle Paul tells us, "In Him (Jesus Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will...who (the Holy Spirit) is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:11, 14) 

From the biblical sense, to inherit means to "receive an irrevocable gift" with an emphasis on the special relationship between the benefactor, God, and the recipient, the believer. Unlike legal inheritance, where the benefactor dies then the recipients can receive, for believers, as Paul tells us, our inheritance is through Christ. The great difference is, "knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more...Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God." (Romans 6:9, 8:34) The believers benefactor is Jesus Christ who is very much alive. It is through Christ that God provides material and spiritual blessings, our inheritance, for his people, both in this life and in the life to come.

The recipients of an inheritance are also heirs. An heir is defined as, "a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another upon that person's death; a person inheriting and continuing the legacy of a predecessor." The Holy Spirit through Paul reveals another wonderful work of the Father through Jesus for the believer, "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:15-17) From the biblical sense, to be an heir means, "one who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship." 

Notice how the Holy Spirit through Paul reveals that believers are adopted by God, in other words, believers are God's children, sons and daughters. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God..." (1 John 3:1) This in and of itself is a most wonderful inheritance, but it goes even further. 

The Apostle John tells us, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." (John 1:16) The Apostle Paul tells us, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:9-10) The word complete means, "to make full; to fill up; to fill to the full; to cause to abound; to render full; full measure; to completely fill to the top so that nothing shall be wanting or lacking." All the grace that was manifest in Christ envelops us, surrounds us, we are completely in it. All the perfections and beauties in the character and life of Jesus are ours, we are complete in Him. The perfection of Christ was all reckoned to every believer. The Lord enables us, by His grace, to enter into our inheritance and to assume our responsibilities in His wonderful family as His sons and daughters. He won no victory nor did He win any triumph in His substitutionary work that was not for the benefit of the church, every believer. (Ephesians 1:22-23) 

Our inheritance, all that Jesus was and is, the believer receives as heirs from the Father, through Christ. His righteousness is ours; His love is ours; every promises is ours; as well as all the graces that embellish His beautiful life are ours. How is this possible? The writer of Hebrews tells us, "But now He (Jesus) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6) Believers are under a better covenant. A covenant that is greater and more fulfilling than any other covenant that God had established with man from the time of creation.  Our covenant through Christ, is complete and so far reaching, the believer lacks absolutely nothing. 

When, by grace through faith, we confessed Jesus as our Lord and received Him as Savior, all the wealth and riches in Christ became ours automatically.  How rich we truly are. The heart can hardly take it in, but that does not change the truth, that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, "That of His Fullness have we all received and grace upon grace." May the Lord help us by the power of the Spirit to enter into the riches of our inheritance in Him.    

The Greatest Name

What does the death, burial, resurrection and glorification of the LORD Jesus really mean to each and every believer. Do we see these things as simply traditions of the church or as a catalysis of greater things in Christ and His kingdom? We all have various traditions that we embrace in the natural world, but when it comes to the spiritual world, how few really know, possess, or enjoy what Jesus has provided through His death, burial, resurrection and glorification. You remember that Jesus said as He left the disciples, "In My Name ye shall cast out demons," (Mark 16:17) and you also may recall that a large part of His ministry was filled with combating the unseen hosts of darkness. One would naturally think in reading modern religious literature written today, as well as listening to the average preacher's sermon, that demons either no longer exist or else they had been herded together in the slums of the city and were spending their entire time among that environment only.

When Paul was writing to the church at Ephesus, he told them that their combat was, "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) We see this in the prayers of Epaphras for the church at Colossi, "Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." (Colossians 4:12) Notice that the phrase "always laboring fervently for you in prayers," which means to wrestle, struggle, combat. Who was he wrestling, struggling and combating with? Surely, it was not with the Father, whose eternal purpose through Christ is to bless. No, he was combating the hidden forces that were warring against the purpose of God.

So many people are held by the power of demons. They want deliverance from sin, addictions and all manner of bondage's, but they are unable to break loose from the bonds that are holding them. They do not need a program, a pill or a doctor, they need deliverance. I do not often share stories of my experiences, but, I will share one here to further my point. I remember a person that I was sharing the gospel with. He was intoxicated when I met him. I later found out that he was held by darkness to alcohol and was constantly intoxicated. As I was speaking to him about Christ, he replied, "I cannot become a Christian. I want to, but something holds me." With that, a chill struck me. My flesh was experiencing the oppression that held him. The Holy Spirit rose up inside of me, I laid a hand on him and from my mouth I spoke with authority, "In the Name of Jesus, release him and come out of him."  With that, the man confessed Christ and was instantly and completely sobered by the power vested in the Name of Jesus.

The quicker we recognize that the very air about us is filled with hostile forces, who are attempting to destroy our fellowship with the Father, and to deprive us of our usefulness in the service of our Master, the better it will be for us. There are three things necessary in ones life in order to take the victory over demons and bring deliverance to the captives; First, we must be born again children of God. Second, we must not have any unconfessed sin or unforgiveness in the heart, if we do, the demons will laugh at our prayers. Third, we must know the power of the Name of Jesus, and know how to use it. Please take some time and read the Book of Acts carefully. Notice how the disciples used the Name of Jesus.

For instance, notice the simplicity of Peter's use of the Name of Jesus in Acts chapter three. You will notice that he does not stop to pray for the paralyzed man. All he does, is say, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6) There is no hint that he attempted to exercise what we call faith. He did not worry about the situation nor did he stop to analyze what it meant. All he did was to act on the Words of Jesus, "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." (John 16:23) Peter knew that Jesus had given him and all believers (Mark 16:17-18; John 14:12) the right to use His Name to continue the works of the Father on earth. Those in the early church simply entered into the right to use the Name of Jesus with authority, but with the simplicity of a child.

It seems to me that this is the same approach that all believers need to take today, that is, bring back the simplicity of true Christianity. The Christianity of love, power, unity, grace and faith, where Jesus is Master, Lord and King and the church is a direct reflection of Him. So, if you are dealing with defeat or you feel hemmed in by the power of the adversary, I want to encourage you to rise up in the Almighty Name of Jesus, cast off the enemy, receive your deliverance and then go, and set others free in the Almighty Name of Jesus...

Greater is He That is in Me

One evening, a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to speak with Jesus. Though he was a religious leader, what Jesus tells him seemed to shock him. Jesus said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:1-8) 

This has become known as being "born again" or becoming a "new creation in Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:17) This deals with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit which happens immediately when one confesses the Lord Jesus Christ and receives Him as Savior. Concerning the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says this, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17) I want to focus our attention on the phrase, "for He (the Holy Spirit) dwells with you and will be in you." 

Being born again is not just an experience, but rather, it is being completely transformed, given a recreated spirit and receiving the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who comes to make His home in every one who confesses Christ as Lord and receives Him as Savior. There is no need for any believer ever to feel helpless or hopeless. Christ's purpose in sending the Holy Spirit was to come and live in us, taking the place of Jesus, who is at the right hand of the Father. The New Testament gives us three relationship levels that God sustains toward believers; God is for us; God is with us; God is in us. God being for us, guarantees our success; With God on our side, we are sure to win in life. If God is for us, and we know that He is for us, we become utterly fearless in life, no matter how difficult the situation may be and no matter how dark the clouds that hang upon the horizon of life may be, we are calmly assured that we win in every circumstance, no matter what, simply because God is for us.

The Bible tells us that we have a better covenant (the New Covenant) established on better promises (Hebrews 8:6), than the people of Israel under the Old Covenant. Under the Old Testament, God was for Israel and with Israel, but He was not in Israel, that is, in their physical bodies. However, in the New Covenant, God is for us, He is with us, but even far greater, He is in us. God is actually making His home in our bodies as His Temple. Of all the great truths in connection with our redemption, this truth is most likely the apex of the reality of our redemption. The Apostle Paul tells us, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19) No longer does God dwell in the earth-made Holy of Holies made with mans hands, but in fact He dwells in the believers body which has become His Temple. PTL

Under the Old Covenant, God's Presence was kept enclosed in the Holy of Holies or occasionally given to a select number of people, such as judges, kings, priests and prophets, for a particular purpose and time. However, on the Cross just before Jesus died, He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He was not referring to the New Covenant, but the Old Covenant being finished or completed in Him. The New Covenant wasn't instituted and ratified until Jesus was raised from the dead, ascended on High and entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood. (Hebrews 1:3, 10:12) Once Jesus obtained eternal redemption for us, as the writer of Hebrews records, then and only then were the terms of the New Covenant consummated and ratified.

Also note, that when Jesus died on the cross, Matthew records that the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, (Matthew 27:21), also signifying that the Old Covenant was finished and that God's Presence would no longer be kept shut up in the man-made Holy of Holies. Notice that the curtain was not torn from the bottom to the top, as what might have happen if the curtain were torn by a person or persons. This indicates that the curtain was not torn with human effort, but through divine intervention. When that happened, God's Presence which had been kept in the Holy of Holies, moved from there to take up residence in His New Temple, the born again believer.

The Apostle John tells us, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4) The Greater One, God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is in you if you are born again. All that God could possibly be to His children and do for His Children, the Holy Spirit through His indwelling Presence is to you, for you and in you. As believers become more conscious of the Greater One in us, every bit of fear of the devil, sickness, disease, poverty or any such thing will flee. We will walk in the assured confidence that God is with us, for us and in us, that the Holy Spirit in us is everything that the Scriptures says He is and that He will do everything in and through us the Word says He will do. So, let us make a daily confession of our faith by stating with confidence, "He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world."  

No Favorites

It should be a great comfort to our heart to know that our Heavenly Father has no favorites, (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11) and that all of His children have their own place in His heart. Let's look at the wonderful things that believers have in Christ as seen in Jesus' prayer for all who would become His disciples. "I do not pray for these (the apostles) alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." (John 17:20-23)

Notice the grammar, "that they" be one with each other in the same manner the the Father and Son are One; "that they" be one with the Father and Son; "that they" all share together the same glory that the Father gave to the Son; "that they" all be made perfect in one. Finally, notice, that the Father loves all His children with the same level of love that He loved Jesus. Absolutely no favorites, but all believers are on the same level plain with the Father and Son. PTL. Due to these facts, every believer has the right to enjoy the same redemption. The work that the Father accomplished in Christ absolutely destroyed the power of the enemy, and now redeems every person who will confess Jesus Christ as Lord and receive Him as Savior into a complete, full, lacking nothing, redemption.

Everyone has the same righteousness. No one has a better righteousness, or is more righteous than other believers, but all have God's righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Righteousness comes through the new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21) When we are born again, we receive the life and nature of God, the Father. (John 10:10; 2 Peter 1:4) It is God's very nature in us that makes us righteous. Again, there is not one of His children that has more of His righteousness than another. All who receive His nature have come into His family and are recognized as the sons and daughters of the great Father, God, (1 John 3:1), and everyone has the same rights in the family.

Each one may have different gifts, callings, or ministries, but they do not make him/her any dearer to the heart of the Father. Everyone has the same love nature, the same great Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Everyone has a right to the same kind of fellowship with the Father and the Son. (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3) Everyone has a right to the use of the Name of Jesus to deliver people from the dominion of Satan, to cast out demons and to heal the sick. (Mark 16:17-18) Everyone has the right to every promise of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20) And, "but as many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12) 

Our Heavenly Father has no favorites. If you have not known this, I pray that you will ask the LORD for a deep revelation of this wonderful truth. This will open the door to a closer, more intimate fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3), resulting in a sweeter and richer life. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you...

Christ In Me

One of the greatest passages of scripture that believers should confess daily being encouraged, and strengthened by, was spoken by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul. He says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Paul was not only pressing home the point of what he was in Christ, but also driving home the point of what all believers also are in Christ and what Christ is in them. Paul contends that his faith in Christ and the grace of God at work in him, had freed him from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)  and now his identity is Christ in him, not his former identity of himself.

He goes on and says, "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:21) The phrase "set aside" is to frustrate, despise, displace, abrogate, God working in and through the believer giving them the ability and desire to obey Him and do His will. The phrase "the grace of God," here refers to the favor of God manifested in the plan of salvation by the gospel. The sense is, that Paul would not take any measures or pursue any course of life as a believer that would render the grace of God as something vain, useless. He goes on to say, if righteousness (justification) can be secured by the observance of any law, whether ceremonial, civil or moral, then there was no need of the death of Christ. If man can live by the law, and be declared righteous by the law, there would be no need of a Savior, because man would be able to save himself solely based on his own merit.

It is for this reason that Paul rebukes the Jewish believers in the church at Galatians. "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:1-5)

The purpose for the rebuke was not to bring condemnation upon them, but to reveal the reality that they were indeed frustrating, despising, displacing, abrogating Gods grace for their so called rules of life, laws, especially when their faith in Christ was evidenced by the Holy Spirit working miracles. In the same way, believers today must use caution when they base their Christianity on laws and rules, which are actually parts of the Mosaic law or the man made laws that have infiltrated many sectors of the church, rather than living in the grace that God has poured out in Christ. (John 1:17) In doing so they may find themselves frustrating, despising, displacing, abrogating, Gods grace.

However, the good news for all believers to be free from laws and live in the grace of God is to recognize the truth that Paul had presented, "Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." There it is! If you are born again, you are a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Christ lives in you. What great news this should be to all believers. Living by grace through faith is freedom! Living by laws as the Jewish believers in Galatia were doing and were teaching the Gentile converts to do the same , is bondage. As Paul had exposed this error to the believers in the church at Galatia, I also believe that the Holy Spirit is revealing the same to many of God's children today. Our faith in Christ should not be evidenced by laws that we live by, but our faith in Christ, living in the grace of God, which is evidenced by the Holy Spirit and the working miracles. PTL...

It's A New Year

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and had taken some time to reflect on the real reason why the church celebrates Christmas, "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) Now that Christmas 2024 is over we all move closer to the new year. New Year's Day falls on January 1st and marks the start of a new year according to the Gregorian calendar. It marks the end of New Year's Eve celebrations in the United States and gives many Americans a chance to remember the previous year as well as contemplate what the new year may bring.

Rather than making what is known as "New Year Resolutions" let us activate our faith for the new year, speak forth over our lives and all believers the prayer that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spoke, and believe it to come to pass this new year like never before since the early church, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26)

What the church and moreover the world would be if believers would confess this wonderful prayer over themselves as well as believing that it will come to pass in the entire Body of Christ. I truly believe that this prayer is centered around every believer releasing the God kind of love. Jesus told the disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) Notice, Jesus says, "My Disciples." This applies to all believers. The power of God's love actively at work in and through believers causes the world to know that we belong to Jesus. What a wonderful way to release the glory of the Lord. Simply by loving one another with the same love that God loves us. 

Let this year be the beginning of great restoration and reformation in the Body of Christ. The writer of Hebrews records, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2) In context with the previous chapter, believers are to cast off every "weight," every hindrance that keeps us from running the race of faith, such as, unforgiveness, offenses, all failures, our past, to name a few. We are to also lay aside every "sin," especially the sin of unbelief. These are things that can "so easily ensnare us." However, we get past these things first by casting them aside and then most importantly, we are to look to Jesus, His holy life; His love; His grace; His patience and perseverance in trials; to what He endured in order to obtain the crown, and to His final success and triumph. 

So, let us activate our faith and believe God for the things that may seem impossible. Let us act upon God's Word like Abraham, "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." (Romans 4:20-21) Let us stand on the words spoken by Jesus, "Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Let us let God arise manifesting His Kingdom, Power and Glory in His church. Let us love one another with the God kind of love and do as the apostle Paul, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) 

Have a safe, healthy and prosperous 2025 being united together in Christ, doing all things for the glory of God.

Christmas Time Is Here

Deck the Halls" or "Deck the Hall" (which is the original version of the lyrics) is a traditional Christmas, yuletide, and New Years' carol. The melody is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century,  and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan." The English lyrics were written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant. They first appeared in 1862, in volume 2 of Welsh Melodies, a set of four volumes authored by John Thomas, including Welsh words by John Jones (known by his bardic name of Talhaiarn) and English words by Oliphant. The lyrics "Tis the season to be jolly" typically refers to the time before Christmas, which can be defined as anywhere from October 1st to December 24th.

But why do we tend to limit October 1st to December 24th the season to be jolly? Should not the season to be jolly for all believer be everyday throughout the entire year? Jolly is described as joyful, joyous. The Bible tells us to, "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises." (Psalm 98:4) The Apostle Paul tell us, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) He also tells us that "joy" is a fruit of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22) The Apostle James tells us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials." (James 1:2) 

So, no matter where we find ourselves, no matter what the circumstances of life may bring, for believers, everyday is the season to be jolly. The most important reason behind this is what God did in Christ. What the Father did in Christ, is the most spectacular, most wonderful, thing that could ever be done for mankind, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16) To ponder the brilliance of God's plan of redemption, mankind's salvation, is no doubt, in some ways, beyond our apprehension. To take His plan of redemption another step, we must remember, that though Jesus is not physically here on earth, the Father has given us the Holy Spirit who works in and through us to continue the work of Jesus on earth for God's glory. (John 14:19-28) 

Matthew's gospel records a prophetic word from the Prophet Isaiah, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) This was not the best person that God could find on earth. This was not the purest angel among the heavenly hosts. No, no, this was God Himself putting on flesh, (John 1:1, 14)  becoming a man to save humanity from sin and the tyrannical power of Satan. Many of the lyrics found in our traditional Christmas songs point this very thing out to us. 

Although the Christmas season is exciting to many believers, let us not lose sight that there are many believers who hurt a little more during this time of year for various reasons. We also need to be mindful that there are many who do not know the Savior who may also struggle during this season. So, I want to encourage every one of us, every believer, go! Go and share this great news to all we meet. Not the gift giving part, but "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11)..."for He will save all people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)  Amen? So, before we open any gifts, let us first take some time to reflect on and remember that it is our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ who the real reason why we celebrate Christmas.  

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS...