The Joy of Christmas (... in August?! ... yup, in August!! XP )

So i know i may be a few months early, but Christ is always our Light and Hope shining in our dark world, not only during the month of December, but every single day of our lives!!  Today i wanted to share with you a beautiful devo written by Spurgeon speaking on the "Joy of Christmas", and what Jesus coming to earth means for us sinners. Be blessed children of God! <3:

The Joy of Christmas 

"The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”" (Luke 2:10-12) 

Rejoice, you who feel that you are lost; your Savior comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer you who are in prison, for He comes to set you free. You who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that He has set aside for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and He has come to be the Bread of Life to your souls.

Rejoice, O sinners, everywhere for the Restorer of the castaways, the Savior of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, you saints, for He is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and He is the Perfecter of those He preserves.

Jesus is no partial Savior, beginning a work and not finishing it; but, restoring and upholding, He also perfects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before His Father’s throne. Rejoice! Let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Savior who is mighty to save is born among you.

“‘Twas mercy that filled the throne,
As wrath stood silent by,
When Christ on the kind errand came
To sinners doomed to die.”

- Charles Spurgeon

Gravity

18 DAYS AWAY!!! I can't believe that summer has come and nearly gone so quickly. But just as God has taught us many things this summer, so i feel He has much more to teach us in this coming school year. I cannot wait to see you all! :)

Again, just like last week, i have been extremely busy (and tired :P.. haha), to write my own posts.. but i did want to share a devo that i read earlier today. I am currently following "Lecrae - The Overflow Devo" on YouVersion, and if you like his music, then you'll really like this devotional series.

But enough of my rambling, here is the devo, be blessed! :) :

It’s been said that the vainest things in life are the ones that we expect the most contentment from. We are hedonists and pleasure seekers by nature. We want satisfaction and contentment and seem committed to finding it somewhere on earth. People are constantly asking, "What’s the meaning of life,” like maybe the answer would satisfy their discontent. However, few people meditate on this question, and most would rather pacify themselves with fleeting pleasures.

They wake up every day only to repeat the cycle of seeking contentment, not finding it, and settling for some form of temporary gratification. It’s a virtual Groundhog Day for humanity. King Solomon understood this more than anyone, and he writes in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (ESV).

Earlier in verse two of the same chapter, he calls everything “meaningless” or “vanity” which translates better as “redundant”. Obviously, everything isn't meaningless, otherwise why take time to teach people the valuable lessons in Ecclesiastes? Redundant, however, makes perfect sense.

We, outside of a relationship with Jesus who satisfies our deepest longings, are left to a redundant existence. Were it not for faith in another life to come, we'd have no hope but to look for contentment in power, pleasure, or possessions, only to never find it. Life seems very worthless under the sun, unless your worth is found in the Son.

- Lecrae Moore

And if you do indeed like Lecrae, then take a listen to the song that inspired this devo!

No questions asked.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." --John 3:16.

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" --1 John 3:1a.

The thought came across my mind today, I am probably one of the biggest atheists around. I say Amen! when I hear that the Lord is always with me and I can trust in Him with everything, yet my mind is constantly bombarded with things that I worry about. I'm a two-faced believer! How could God love me? I feel so dirty! How on earth could God love me? I'm not worthy of the love that God willingly pours out to me.

You may be thinking something similar to this in the circumstances that you're in. If that's the case, STOP!

First of all, God knew that we would be "two-faced believers." He still has a special purpose for us. <<Jeremiah 1:5>>

Second of all, how could He love us? Because we are His creation! God makes us new when we accept Him. He looks past our sin and sees the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. <<2 Corinthians 5:17>>

Third of all, we are no longer covered with the filth that our sin leaves on our hearts. <<Isaiah 1:18>>

Last of all, we will have our downfalls. We have our share of scars from the mistakes that we've made. There's no such thing as perfect people, and we will never be worthy of His love! <<Romans 3:23>>

It all comes down to this: Don't ever let the devil put a question mark where God has already put a period. The Bible has God's promises lined up for us to read. Those promises were kept 2000 years ago. Those promises will be kept today. Those promises will be kept 2000 years from now. God knew we would constantly sin, but look at Calvary. Look at what God sacrificed to see to it that we live! That is true love: a love that we will never deserve but are given willingly every second of our lives.

Never doubt your worth. In God's eyes, you are worth more than gold.

God bless!

Praise Changes Things

The other day i came across a devotional, all about giving praise for the 'victory' even before the victory has even happened. I thought this was quite an interesting devo, so i thought i'd share it with you all :) :

"Then Jesus looked up and said, 'Father, I thank You that you have heard Me.'" (John 11:41).  

"This is a very strange and unusual order. Lazarus is still in the grave, and the thanksgiving precedes the miracle of resurrection. I thought that the thanksgiving would have risen when the great deed had been wrought, and Lazarus was restored to life again. But Jesus gives thanks for what He is about to receive. The gratitude breaks forth before the bounty has arrived, in the assurance that it is certainly on the way. The song of victory is sung before the battle has been fought. It is the sower who is singing the song of the harvest home. It is thanksgiving before the miracle!

Who thinks of announcing a victory-psalm when the crusaders are just starting out for the field? Where can we hear the grateful song for the answer which has not yet been received? And after all, there is nothing strange or forced, or unreasonable in the Master's order. Praise is really the most vital preparatory ministry to the working of the miracles. Miracles are wrought by spiritual power. Spiritual power is always proportioned to our faith." --Dr. Jowett

"Nothing so pleases God in connection with our prayer as our praise, and nothing so blesses the man who prays as the praise which he offers. I got a great blessing once in China in this connection. I had received bad and sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed, but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Just then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: "Try Thanksgiving." I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the Psalmist was right, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord."" --Rev. Henry W. Frost