Christmas is celebration!

 

 

Many centuries before the birth of Christ, Scripture predicted:

 

Isa. 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.

 

Isa. 9:6  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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

When Christ was born, the prophecies were fulfilled:

 

Matt. 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

 

Matt. 1:22  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

 

Matt. 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 

Luke 2:21  And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, who was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

John 1:14  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.

 

Christ himself said:

 

John 10:10 I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me has everlasting life.

 

If Christ truly lives in your heart, you can say with Joy:

 

Merry Christmas!!!

 

Because Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ.

 

TLS ® 

An Interesting Story

 

Thursday, December 9, 2010 our ladies’ Bible study groups had a brunch and invited the girls of DAYA (DAR Y AMAR), a home for young girls who have babies and chose to keep them, to a Christmas party. Sandra was not in Mexico, she is helping with her family in a time of need. The place was decorated, the food was plentiful and the atmosphere was joyous and merry. Most or all of the girls are new and they really did not know what was going to happen. Several of the ladies were in charge and were well engaged in leading out.

 

Ruth, our assistant, came to the door and got me out because there was a lady at the front gate of the church asking for some assistance. She wanted me to go with her to a room of a patient at the ABC Hospital across the street. I went immediately because it seemed to be an emergency. There have been times that I have hesitated and lost the opportunity. I went with her to the Intensive Care unit of the hospital. Had to wear the mask and gown and the daughter of the man, who was in critical condition, asked everyone to step out to leave just Jorge and me in the room. He asked me if I was Catholic and I told him I was an evangelical pastor from the church across the street. He wanted to confess his sins. I received his confession on the basis of James 5:16 that says,” Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent pray of a righteous man avails much.”  Jorge, an elderly, very sick man, kept calling me padre and I kept telling him I was a pastor. But he was in desperate need and he confessed his trespasses to me. Now this is where it gets interesting.

 

After he confessed, in Spanish, I told him this, in Spanish, that God forgave him of his sins but he needed to invite Jesus Christ into his heart. I told him that Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life and that the only way to God was through Jesus Christ. I am telling you that the Spanish was rolling out of my mouth. I said you need to ask Him into your heart. His response was, “Como?”, “How”. I said just ask Jesus Christ into your heart and immediately he asked Jesus Christ into his heart. Then I began to quote Romans 10:9-10 in Spanish to him and to my knowledge I have never memorized that in Spanish. Following all of this, I prayed for him and dismissed myself from the room. Now whether Jorge really invited Jesus Christ into his heart I cannot say positively, only God knows that.

 

I was leaving the ICU and the little nurse asked me to come back because Jorge wanted to say something to me. When he spoke, I couldn’t understand what he was saying. He repeated himself a couple of times and then I realized what he was asking me. He was asking how much was he was supposed to give me for my time. I told him nothing. I was there to help him and I would take nothing. I told him that this was my ministry and I was glad I could help. He went to sleep at that point after thanking me. I went away from the hospital realizing I had a Divine Appointment from God with Jorge.

 

What was so amazing was the ease by which the Spanish rolled off my tongue. This is one reason God has us here at Capital City. We were called here to minister. I can tell you I was, way, way out of my comfort zone.

 

 When Jesus was in the synagogue in Nazareth and he opened the book of Isaiah and read Isaiah 61:1-2, he said the Spirit of the Lord anointed him to:

Preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives; recovery of sight to the blind, set the captives free.

 

I thank God that He can use me. I thank God that He has called us to this corner of the world and may we be a blessing to others. I hope that I will see Jorge in heaven one day. I hope he will greet me, when the time comes.

 

TLS ®

Beware of those who dress as sheep

 

“Him (Christ Jesus) we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:28-29

 

The false teachers of that day exalted themselves and their great "spiritual" attainments. They preached a system of teaching, but Paul preached a Person. The Gnostics preached philosophy and the empty traditions of men, but Paul proclaimed Jesus Christ. The false teachers had lists of rules and regulations, but Paul presented Christ. What a difference in ministries! I was watching a news program the other night and the host of the program had a pastor and his wife on and they are well known in the world. They continually keep putting out books upon books, promoting themselves on every form of media they can. Paul warned believers to be careful of those who preached another gospel (prosperity).

 

Paul not only preached (the word means "to announce with authority as a herald"), but he also warned. While it is good to proclaim positive truth, it is also necessary to warn God's people against the lies of the enemy. In fact, God's people should be alert to warn one another (admonish in Col. 3:16, NIV).  This couple I referred to do not warn anyone. As they say it, they preach a positive message. In other words, sin is never, ever mentioned. There is never a warning of the consequences of bad decisions or bad behavior.

 

I recently read this definition of wisdom that I like: “The ability to see into the future the consequences of your choices in the present.”

 

I feel there are many who stand in public places or pulpits that have no wisdom.

 

TLS ®

The Hope of the World

 

 

Hope- what is it? Webster’s defines it as “a feeling that what is wanted will happen; a desire accompanied by expectation to want; to expect. Other words that describe hope are: Anticipation; optimism; desire and purpose. All these words or definitions point to a fulfillment of something.

 

The book of Isaiah was written around 740 B.C. And here is a word of hope from Isaiah:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7 (NKJV)

 

When this was written it was a dark time in the history of Israel but Isaiah was speaking of a brighter day. He was expressing hope for the days ahead. When hope is lost everything seems to be completely dark. Viktor Frankl wrote a book entitle “Man’s Search for Meaning” in which he told the story of his days in the Nazi concentration camps. What impressed me the most was that he said that when hope was lost in a person that person died quickly.

 

What Isaiah wrote about in the ninth chapter of Isaiah was that God had promised a Redeemer. In that promised he used the imagery of light and darkness. He announced there will be “no more gloom.” “No more darkness”

I have been preaching through the life of Jesus, the Promised One, the Redeemer. When he entered a room or a synagogue, light entered that room. When he went into the room of Jarius’ daughter not only light entered that room but life. The presence of Christ brings life.

 

Not only did Isaiah look at the first Advent of Jesus Christ, he looked way ahead at His Second Advent. We live in a time that the future is rather bleak. People are losing their jobs, their health, and their security. Crime and violence is on the rise. Sexual perversion seems to invade every area of society. Violence in the classroom. Child and spousal abuse is rampant and the end to all this is not in sight. But there is HOPE and that hope is found in Jesus Christ.

 

In the New Testament we find a lot of hope. We find that hope is a gift from God.

• Galatians 5:5 says that hope is obtained by the Holy Spirit.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:16 says that Hope is a work of grace.
• Titus 1:2 says that Hope is a promise from God.
• 1 Peter 1:3 declares that hope is living and abundant.

 

Sunday we lit the first candle of Advent is was the candle of hope, an expectation, a desire for a new and better day. I love the old hymns of faith and Edward Mote wrote a magnificent hymn called “The Solid Rock.”

 

“My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.”

 

If you have hope in the government, in your wealth, in your health, in your church, in your pastor, in your friends, in your family, in your reputation all of that will be lost. There is no hope there.

 

One of my favorite verses is found in the last part of Colossians 1:27:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

One more word of encouragement:

Titus 2:13 says this, “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

 

Maranatha-“Lord come quickly”

 

TLS ®

What we can learn from mashed potatoes

 

There's nothing simple about mashed potatoes. A combination of soil, sun, and water produces an underground crop of tubers that are dug up, cleaned off, and cooked in a pot of boiling water. The heat and kinetic energy bursts the walls of the starch within the potatoes, which releases an enzyme named amylase that breaks down starch and creates a kind of sugar. These chemical interactions trap water, creating a sort of glue that thickens the dish. Peering into the pot, we decide to add butter to the whole thing, and milk, maybe cream, probably salt and pepper, often cheese, perhaps some parsley...Well, you have your own recipe. But somehow these dirty underground roots become a beautiful, white, whipped addition to our dinner table.

 

Think of mashed potatoes as an example of God's ability to whip blessings out of the daily, dirty tubers of life. He knows how to grind our circumstances in the potato masher of His providence, turn curses into blessings, and bring good out of bad. And that's a perfect accompaniment to thanksgiving.

 

TLS ®