Beyond Ourselves
The Greatest Gift
The greatest gift from the Father above
Isn’t money, but rather His love.
It isn’t a gift tied with ribbon and bows
But rather His Son who took our sin’s blows.
The greatest gift is yet to be seen
When heaven bound angels carry us on wings
To the Father of Light to the Father of All
And we bow in the presence of Christ, our All.
Christmas Blessings
Love, Debbie
We Can’t Wait!
“He’s coming soon with a sleigh led by some reindeer.” That’s what some parents tell their children about Santa, and oh, the kids get so excited in anticipation of his arrival. But, hey, believers! The real deal, the gift giver from above is flying into our universe and He ain’t got a few reindeer leading the way. Our Christ is leading a heavenly host from heaven into our realm, into our universe! Revelation 19:16 says that “on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'” This is no fairy tale. This is fact. It’s incredible to think about. It’s beyond exciting and each of us who calls on the name of Christ for salvation should be looking toward the sky jubilant that He is coming. As Old Testament believers looked for the day when their Messiah would come, believers today look forward to a day when Jesus will return in all His glory. How magnificent that will be! Are you ready?
You, Christ Jesus, are LORD OF LORDS. We bow in worship. We rise in praise. We. Can’t. Wait!
Born a Warrior King
As the celebration of the birth of Christ nears each year, we focus on the babe in the manger. But, that babe was born a Prince with a kingdom to defend. That babe was born with an angelic army at His beacon call. That babe was born a “WARRIOR” King as Isaiah 42:13 foretold, “The Lord will go forth like a WARRIOR, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.” The babe stormed hell and overcame death. The babe is victor over the devil and his demonic army. Christ will one day return to earth but not as a babe. He’ll return as the Warrior King that He is. With whom will we share the good news?
Lord, we praise You, WARRIOR King from on high.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was Christ, but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated much of the time? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ set us on and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we thought was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea, then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so the church is lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important work, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit, it is merely human work. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate deeds flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ sends us to do, the result will be we enter into Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers! May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
God Delivers On What He Promises
Have you ever had someone tell you they would do something and then they didn’t deliver on it? Although it happens with humans, it doesn’t happen with God. What He says He will do, He does. In Genesis 12:1-3, God made a unilateral, unconditional covenant with Abraham that included the promise of land, descendants, and redemption. In the form of a smoking furnace and a flaming torch, God passed between the pieces of the sacrifice. Matthew 26:27-28 records Jesus stating that He is the fulfillment of the covenant God made. “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.'” What God promises, He delivers on. We can celebrate that today and for eternity!
Lord, COVENANT KEEPER, You not only made a covenant, but You fulfilled it and sealed it with Your blood. We worship, praise, and adore You.
Do You Know What It Is to Be Loved
Many people do not know what it means be loved. But if we are a Christian, we do. We are the recipients of God’s great lovingkindness towards us. Psalm 145:8 clearly states His great love, “The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” Slow to anger. GREAT IN LOVINGKINDNESS. That’s our God! Hallelujah!
LORD, we rejoice in Your GREAT LOVINGKINDNESS!
Be sure to sign up for “Starting Strong with 2020 Vision.” It is in 3 weeks! If you don’t live in the Texas hill country, contact me at debbie@debbietaylorwilliams.com about hosting “Starting Strong with 2020 Vision” at your church.
Do You Long to Hear God Speak
There were twelve. And Jesus. They were in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi. I was there in 1997 and we visited the nearby Grotto of Pan located at the mouth of a cave and from which springs sometimes flowed. Believing the cave was the entry gate to the underworld and in order to entice the return of their half man half goat god, Pan, people engaged in hideous acts of worship, including prostitution and sexual interaction between humans and goats.* Why did Jesus choose this “red light district” gate of hell to ask, “Who do people say the Son of Man is? Who do you say that I am?” And then go on to announce that the “gates of hell” would not overpower Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:13,15-19) I believe it was because Jesus was confronting the evil in His day rather than backing down from it. The Son of Man Son of God is the true God. The half god half goat is of the devil. But how did Peter’s correct confession come about? Jesus tells us. “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (v 17) If we want to hear more than the noise of our culture, we must devote ourselves to quiet time to hear God speak. Learn more and register today – “Starting Strong with 2020 Vision.”
Jesus, You are the CHRIST, the SON OF THE LIVING GOD. How we love You.
Heaven to Mankind, Here’s Comfort
When Simeon, anointed by the Holy Spirit, saw the infant Jesus at Christ's presentation in the temple, he knew He was seeing the long awaited Messiah. Jesus is the Consolation of Israel, but He is also the Consolation for any person who turns to Him for salvation.
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Amazing!
God. FATHER OF SPIRITS. Are you familiar with this title of God? It’s used in Hebrews 12:9-10, “We had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the FATHER OF SPIRITS, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” The Father of spirits disciplines us for our good just like earthly parents discipline children for their good. Isn’t that amazing? But that’s not all. Not only did the Father of spirits birth our existence, He also assumes responsibility for our discipline so that we share in His holiness. The next time we’re about to sin, let’s pay attention to any promptings to not give into it. If we do sin, no doubt, the Father of spirits will be there to convicting call our attention to it and call us to say we’re sorry. Father of spirits, Father of our spirit – amazing!
FATHER OF SPIRITS, thank You for loving us and calling us to holiness. We praise You!
What Love is This
Jesus, at age 12, described the Jerusalem temple as the house of His Heavenly Father. He laid claim to intimacy with God. At Jesus’s baptism, our Heavenly Father laid claim to intimacy with Jesus when He said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:17. “Beloved Son” is a term that means esteemed, dear, favorite Son. Yes, we are the sons and daughters of God. Yet, when we ponder the magnitude of the sacrifice of our Heavenly Father giving up His favorite Son for our sins (John 3:16) and Jesus leaving His Heavenly Father to come to earth to die for our sins, we can’t help but have profound gratitude and wonder at their love for us.
Heavenly Father and Beloved Son, we praise You for Your magnamious love, grace, and sacrifice so we can live with You in eternal glory. We love You.