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Offer Jesus Instead of Seaweed to the World
Walking into my hotel room, I eyed the gift basket the women’s retreat ministry team had placed in my room.
I wasn’t starving, but decided to see what treats they’d provided. After eyeing a dark chocolate covered almond, I popped it in my mouth. Spotting an unfamiliar package, I studied it: Organic Roasted Seaweed Snacks, Sea Salt.” Yum! Seaweed – I’d never tasted it, but heard it was super healthy. Opening the bag, I removed the green cellophane packaging, appreciative that the lady who prepared the basket included healthy snacks. However, I was perplexed. Under the first piece of green cellophane, which was now getting my fingers oily, was another piece of green cellophane and another and another. Laughing at myself, I realized the “green cellophane” was the seaweed.
I was cautious. At an early age my mama taught me cellophane could kill a person. I can still hear her voice, “Don’t wrap that plastic around your face! It can suffocate you.” I repeated her words to my children. Now, I was supposed to eat something that looked like it might choke me. I did what any reasonable person would do and put a tiny bit on the tip of my tongue. It tasted HORRIBLE. I thought about it and realized that many things had at first tasted horrible to me (Brussel sprouts, coffee, spinach) but now I love them. I attempted it again. It was once again horrible. Spitting it out, I wondered who in the world liked it. Fish! Fish must like it. But, since I’m not a fish, I don’t have to eat it. Tossing the snack in the trash, I wondered why anyone would buy it a second time. Then, it hit me. Someone who became familiar with it; who liked the taste. Maybe someone who grew up eating it.
Think About It
If we grew up in a home where organic roasted seaweed with sea salt was the snack our mothers gave us, we’d think it was normal. “Seaweed! Come and get it,” she’d call and we’d come running. We’d love the pretty green rectangle. “Wipe your fingers,” she’d loving remind us to remove the greasy oil. And so, it would be natural and normal for us to eat seaweed. But what…. just what if we went to grandma’s house and she gave us a slice of sweet juicy watermelon?
What Believers Have to Offer
I recently read in the Kerrville Daily Times the following headline, “KPD busy with unattended deaths, drug busts.” The lengthy article listed burglary of a vehicle, a woman threatened by a man holding a handgun, marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside a student’s room, theft, DWI, burglary of a habitation, domestic dispute between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in which the mother-in-law was accused of pushing, putting her hands around her daughter-in-law’s neck and kicking her, more DWI, more thefts. The next day, I watched the YouTube parody “Sponsor A Millennial”… so they can live entitled lives. The bottom line, often we know and do what we grow up around. If we grow up eating seaweed, we eat salty seaweed until someone offers us sweet watermelon. If we grow up in a home where there’s pushing, kicking, stealing, and drugs, that’s likely what we’ll do until someone offers us Christ.
This Christmas season, as we meet and visit with friends and family who are discouraged, harried, or maybe even a little salty, we have the opportunity to share Christ’s sweetness. And, with those who have never been introduced to Christ, we can share Him, the only One who can satisfy the soul.
“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him,” Psalm 34:8.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Use us to share Your gifts of Christ’s love, peace, and joy with others.
Praise MESSIAH
“He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the MESSIAH” (which translated means Christ).”
John 1:37-41, John 4:10, John 4:24-26
Jesus came to earth as a baby so that He might grow into a man, but not just any man. He came to be our Savior. He came to die for our sins. He came as our MESSIAH. Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, recognized that He was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. Andrew, who heard John’s proclamation about Jesus, followed Jesus and asked where He was staying. After spending time with Jesus, Andrew went and found his brother Simon Peter and told him, “We have found the MESSIAH.” Andrew was intentional about his search for the MESSIAH. He was intentional about telling others he had found Him. Shouldn’t that be being said about us, also?
Jesus Christ, MESSIAH, You bring all good things: love, forgiveness, hope, peace, and joy! May we be as Andrew and be intentional about following You and about telling others about You.
Praise the KING of the JEWS
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born KING OF THE JEWS? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.'”
If you haven’t read Matthew 2:1-12 in a while, open your Bible and read it as if you’d never before laid eyes on the passage. It’s a remarkable account. King Herod learns from magi from another country, who are passing through Jerusalem, that the King of the Jews has been born. Is he pleased that another KING has been born? No! Matthew 2:3 says King Herod was “troubled” to learn that the KING OF THE JEWS had been born. But he was more than troubled. Matthew 2:16 says he was enraged. Over the infant Jesus? Yes.
Contrast Herod with the Wise Men who “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” when they saw Jesus; who “fell to the ground and worshipped baby Jesus;” who presented to Him costly “treasured gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Enraged that the King of the Jews had been born, King Herod had all males two years old and under who were born in Bethlehem and its vicinity murdered. Did he kill Jesus? No. God had warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt.
At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the King of the Jews. But not just the King of the Jews. Jesus is our King, also. May nothing deter us from being as the Wise Men, from rejoicing over His birth; from falling on our knees and worshipping Him.
KING of the JEWS, KING OF KINGS, it is a joy to fall before You, to worship and adore You. Use us to spread the good news of Your birth to those who are troubled; to those who are enraged; that they may find peace and joy in You as we have.
Praise JESUS
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
This year, we have looked at different names and traits of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit every day – for 365 days. It has been a sweet journey with you.
Today, as we countdown to Christmas, we come to JESUS; to the name God appointed for His Son.
Jesus. It means “Jehovah is salvation.” It means Jesus is the Savior of mankind.*
In the angel’s message to Joseph to name the Christ baby, “Jesus,” we hear the Christmas message – the hope on which we anchor our souls. He, Jesus, will save us from our sins. He, Jesus, will save our children from their sins. He, Jesus, will save whoever looks on and cries out for forgiveness.
We’re there, at the crib, on bended knee, gazing on Jesus in the manger. We’re there, on bended knee, gazing up at Jesus on the cross. And between the crib and the cross, Jesus showed us how to live – humbly – with forgiveness, pointing others to the crib and the cross.
Lord JESUS, we praise You, Son of the Most High God, Savior of the world. We adore and worship You; and pray our lives bring You honor and glory, pointing others to You.
*http://bit.ly/2gQLtnD
Praise IMMANUEL
“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name IMMANUEL,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.'”
Matthew 1:22-25
Can you imagine someone telling you what to name your unborn child? How about being told that your fiancé was going to have a son who would be born BEFORE the two of you came together sexually? While your head is spinning, add another piece of information: your fiancé is going to be pregnant not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit. This is seeming to be too much to absorb, but before you can ask a question, you’re told, “you will name Him Jesus.” Before you can protest that you had planned to name your firstborn son after you, you’re told “Jesus” was selected because He would “save His people.” Your heart is racing. “Save our nation?” That thought is a good one! But before you can finish the thought, the announcer of the news continues, “…from their sins.” You want to blurt out, “What? Save our people from their sins? But only God can do that.”
Lord God, IMMANUEL, we praise You! You are not a God who is far removed. You are WITH US…saving us.
Praise the GOOD SHEPHERD
“I am the GOOD SHEPHERD; the GOOD SHEPHERD lays down His life for the sheep.
He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
I am the GOOD SHEPHERD, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
Are you feeling troubled? Are you in trouble – mentally, health-wise, financially, emotionally? Trouble and tribulation are part of this world. But Jesus clearly says to us that He’s CONCERNED for us. That He’s with us in the field of problems. And, that HE’s not going let the wolfe snatch us away from Him.
JESUS is WITH US in whatever we’re going through. AND, HE will SHEPHERD US THROUGH our problems.
If we’re frustrated, overwhelmed, lonely, sad, or despairing, we’re not alone and there is a path.
Get as close to Jesus, the GOOD SHEPHERD as possible. Stay by His side. Walk where He leads. Follow His voice. If you do, you’ll soon find yourself in green pastures, safe from the “wolf” that once caused fear.
GOOD SHEPHERD, thank You for being with us in the midst of our problems and concerns. GOOD SHEPHERD, please lead us to a safe place; away from harm and fear.
Praise the FIRSTBORN of All Creation
“He is the image of the invisible God, the FIRSTBORN of all creation.”
When we think about Jesus’s birth, we must go back…way back, further back than our minds can imagine.
Jesus was Mary’s firstborn Son, but before His birth to Mary, Jesus was the FIRSTBORN of GOD, the FIRSTBORN of ALL CREATION.
May we have the wonder of a child as we set up nativities in our home. May we have the wonder of a child as we consider Christ in the hay; that He would do that for us.
…and let us worship and adore Him.
FIRSTBORN SON, LORD JESUS CHRIST, we honor and worship You. Thank YOU, glorious Lord, gift from heaven.
Praise the ETERNAL KING
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for ETERNAL LIFE. Now to the King ETERNAL, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Do you feel the passion in Paul’s words? He says that he is the chief of sinners and that God’s patience with him demonstrates that God can be patient with anyone.
The ETERNAL KING is not only patient, He is also giving. He gives ETERNAL LIFE to anyone who calls on Him.
What greater love could there be? Jesus, our ETERNAL King is patient toward us; not wishing that any perish, but that all come to salvation.
ETERNAL Lord Jesus, ETERNAL KING, we praise and worship You. You are the focus of our admiration, love, and gratitude this season and every season.
Praise Jesus, the DOOR
“I am the DOOR; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’”
Escape! “Escape from what? Escape from whom?” we might ask Jesus. He’s come down from heaven to save mankind. Save us from what? We feel safe. We feel fine. Don’t we? Is there something our Heavenly Father and Son can see that we can’t see? Yes.
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost,” Jesus said on another occassion. There’s that word again – saved – that word Jesus keeps using. And, He keeps saying He’s the way of escape. Go through Him. He’s the DOOR. The door to what? The door to heaven.
There was once another door. The door on the ark. There was once another warning. But people didn’t listen until it was too late. And the door was shut.
Today, if you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart. There is something to be saved from – hell. There is something to be saved for – heaven. The door is open right now. But it, like the door on the ark, will one day be shut. Don’t be on the outside.
Christmas isn’t about Santa Claus. It’s about Jesus coming to earth to save us.
Lord Jesus, You are the DOOR of heaven through which we can enter and be saved. We praise, worship, and glorify You!
Help others prepare their hearts for Christmas by sharing and liking on Facebook or forwarding these email blog posts as we FOCUS on JESUS.
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Praise CHRIST, the Son of God
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He *said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the CHRIST, the Son of the living God.’”
Maybe they were walking and talking. Maybe they were resting under a tree or sharing a meal. And Jesus asks, “Who do people say I am?”
Then, He asked, “Who do you say I am?”
Isn’t that always the ultimate question? It’s not who other people say Jesus is. It’s who you say He is. It’s who I say He is.
We will each stand before our Heavenly Father one day and give an account for our lives. So, today, right now, who do you say Jesus is?
Lord, You are the CHRIST, the Son of the Living God. We worship, adore, and praise You.
Please share, forward, or like our FOCUS on JESUS leading up to Christmas. Help others prepare their hearts for Christmas. Help others focus on the true meaning of Christmas.