Does Christ come out of you??

Hello and Merry Christmas!! I may not be able to get on the air Monday,
Christmas Eve, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Does Jesus come out
of you in all things. Read what Max Lucado says.


Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"

December 18 I work…using Christ’s great strength that works so
powerfully in me. Colossians 1:29

The virgin birth is more, much more, than a Christmas story; it is a
picture of how close Christ will come to you. The first stop on his
itinerary was a womb. Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep
within Mary for an answer.

Better still, look deep within yourself. What he did with Mary, he
offers to us! He issues a Mary-level invitation to all his children. “If
you’ll let me, I’ll move in!”…

What is the mystery of the gospel? “Christ in you, the hope of glory”
(Col. 1:27 NIV)….

Christ grew in Mary until he had to come out. Christ will grow in you
until the same occurs. He will come out in your speech, in your actions,
in your decisions.
Every place you live will be a Bethlehem, and every day you live will
be a Christmas. You, like Mary, will deliver Christ into the world.

Next Door Savior Max Lucado
©2000 - 2007

Thank you for reading with me, and again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Love you all!

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

If I am tempted I will..........

Good morning!! Well, the weekend, then Christmas eve, then Christmas day, and then we start looking forward 366 days (next year is leap year) to the next Christmas. Yea. God is good all the time, all the time, God is good.

Okay, continuing on with Jesus' life from christiananswers.net - here we go. Remember, Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist. Here we pick up with Jesus.

Then, after Jesus spent forty days in the desert, Satan, who had successfully tempted Eve in the Garden, tried ways of tempting Jesus--but Jesus would not sin.

Finally, Satan took Jesus to an especially high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Then Satan said, "All these things I will give to you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Jesus answered, "Get away from me, Satan: because God has written that, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve."

While Jesus, the son of God, lived on earth in the form of a man, He was tempted in all the same ways we are, yet He never sinned.

So, where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded. This showed that Jesus indeed could be the Savior of mankind--the lamb sent from God.

Okay, a question to ponder, is our (my) faith strong enough to resist temptation, and if not will we (I) call upon God for strength? Thank you for reading today. Merry Christmas!! Love you all!!

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

John the Baptist before Jesus

Good morning everyone! God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good! As my Aunt Betty would say, "Good morning God!" I will continue on with the story of Jesus from christiananswers.net. Thank you for reading with me.

Now when Jesus was about thirty years of age, a man named John the Baptist came preaching and baptizing in the wilderness, saying, "Repent: Prepare yourselves for the Lord."

John was the messenger the prophets had foretold would announce the coming of the Savior. Then Jesus came to the Jordan river to be baptized by John. And when John saw Jesus coming, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world."

And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up out of the water, and the heavens opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and light on Him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Jesus did as His Father required, and His Father was well pleased. This should be our goal - to please our Father in Heaven. Thank you for reading with me. May God bless you today, and guide each step you take. Love you all.


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Shepherds came - a child is born

Good morning everyone!! Another wonderful day to be alive in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is good.....er..great....er..the most wonderful in the whole universe.....yep......GOD! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!!!

Christian answers is a great web site to visit. Let's continue on with the birth and growing of Jesus.

And in the same country, there were shepherds watching over their flocks at night. And the angel of the Lord came to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very frightened. Then the angel said, "Don't be afraid: for I bring good news of great joy, for all people. Today a Savior was born for you which is Christ the Lord."


And the child grew, becoming strong in spirit; and the grace of God was on Him. Jesus matured, increasing in wisdom and in favor with God and man.

Now when Jesus was about thirty years of age, a man named John the Baptist came preaching and baptizing in the wilderness, saying, "Repent: Prepare yourselves for the Lord."

Okay, tomorrow we will continue on. Sometimes it is good to remind us where Jesus came from (lineage of David), what He did (died for us), and the outcome of His death in our lives. Thank you for reading. Love you all!


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Mary, the pregnant one

Good morning God!! At this time I ask a special prayer for my Aunt Betty. She had a stroke last Friday and is in very serious condition. Thank you.

Okay, this week we will talk about the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and saviour as told by CHRISTIANANSWERS.NET. Credit is given to them and just a touch up for us how this season came about. Thank you for reading.

After seventy years of captivity, the Lord allowed His people to come back to the land of Israel. Only a small group chose to return, but they as well as Jews elsewhere, still lived under the rule of other nations...
Baby Jesus. Copyrighted.

Five hundred years later, when Rome ruled Israel, two young Jews named Joseph and Mary, both descendants of the royal line of David, planned to marry. But before they came together, Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Joseph, Don't worry about taking Mary as your wife: for the child in her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The child is the Son of God. And when she gives birth to this son, you must name Him 'Jesus', which means Savior, for He will save His people from their sins."

This happened as the prophet Isaiah had foretold, The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will bare a son, and they will call Him Emmanuel, which means God with us."

Okay, we have the announcement of Mary becoming pregnant, so tomorrow we will begin with Mary and Joseph traveling to the city of Bethlehem. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Rejoice, Rejoice in the Lord!!

Good morning everyone!! Yes, another great day in the Lord Jesus Christ!!
As the grafetti on a wall in Durango, Colorado stated, “look not back
with regret, nor forward with anxiety, but look around at the present and
be aware.”

We should be celebrating. Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

We should celebrate each day as a priceless gift from God. He is giving
us 1440 valuable dollars each day we call minutes. How do you spend your
“God dollars?” C.S. Lewis wrote, “Joy is the serious business of
heaven.” And Oswald Chambers said, “Joy is the great note all throughout
the Bible.”

Today, let us celebrate life as God intended. Let us share the Good News
of Jesus Christ. Today, put on our smiles, share kind words, and have
songs in our hearts. May we generous with our praise and free with our
encouragement.

As we celebrate life to the utmost, let’s invite other to do so as well.
Today is God’s day and He has given us clear instructions how to use it.
Philip Yancey once said, “Some of us seem so anxious about avoiding hell
that we forget to celebrate our journey toward heaven.”

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Thank you for reading with me today. May your 1440 “God dollars”
(minutes) be used wisely for the glory of God. Let Jesus shine in you
while at work. Love you all.

In Christ’s Love and Grace

Johnny

Forgiveness!!

Good morning everyone!!! I hope this is a wonderful day in the Lord Jesus Christ for you!! God is good, all the time, all the time God is good!!

This is the time of year, ONCE every year, when peace, love, and kindness come into people's heart. It should be "Christmas" 365 days per year....this should be in our heart always.

"Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful." Luke 6:16

Forgiveness is difficult. Being frail, fallible, imperfect human beings, we are quick to anger, quick to blame, slow to forgive, and even slower to forget.

As Christians, we are commanded to forgive others, just as we, too, have been forgiven. So even when forgiveness is difficult, we must ask God to help us move beyond the spiritual stumbling blocks of bitterness and hate.

If you hold ANYTHING against ANYONE, forgive, FORGIVE! If you are angry at yourself for something in the past..FORGIVE yourself. And as we have talked about the last 2 weeks, do not be a prisoner of the past.

"ALL BITTERNESS, ANGER AND WRATH, INSULT AND SLANDER MUST BE REMOVED FROM YOU, ALONG WITH ALL WICKEDNESS. AND BE KIND AND COMPASSIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, JUST AS GOD ALSO FORGAVE YOU IN CHRIST."
Ephesians 4:31-32

Thank you for reading with me today. After the salutation is something my daughter Christy sent about 3 things. Very good! Love you all! "Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny


Three things in life that, once gone, never come back:

1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity


Three things in life that can destroy a person:

1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Unforgiveness


Three things in life that you should never lose:

1. Hope
2. Peace
3. Honesty



Three things in life that are most valuable:

1. Love
2. Family & Friends
3. Kindness


Three things in life that are never certain:

1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams



Three things that make a person:

1. Commitment
2. Sincerity
3. Hard work

Three things that are truly constant -

Father - Son - Holy Spirit

Stretching forward, leaving the past

Good morning everyone!! Yes, another great day in the Lord Jesus Christ! Some say no, ice storms, cold weather, etc. Don't look down, look around and look up---God is good all the time.....all the time God is good!!

We must strive to go forward, working for the glory of God, leaving behind the past and move forward. Now the last of the words from J. David Hoke.

But we must take willingness one step further. As we stretch forward, we must possess the quality of a determined attitude. Listen again to the words of the Apostle Paul,
"One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Here is a man who is not content with being willing. He is not simply reaching forward to what lies ahead, he is giving his all to the endeavor. He is determined in his attitude that nothing will deter him. We must have this determined attitude as well if we would succeed in conquering the demons of the past.

You see, we are in a real warfare. To be plagued by the past is to be under spiritual attack. That is why we must counter-attack by employing a strategy like Paul’s, whereby we forget the past and focus on the future.

2 Chronicles 15:7 "But as for you, be strong, don't be discouraged, for your work has a reward."

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Thank you for reading. Love you all.


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Jesus wants us to follow him!!!

Good morning everyone!! Good morning God!! What a great day to begin in Jesus!!!!!! Let's continue to visit about Jesus wanting us to follow him.

"...One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) Let's continue with J. David Hoke's thoughts.

Jesus calls us to follow Him. The Christian life is a commitment to do something as well as be something. The Christian life has been likened to a walk, a race, a fight. Those are all action terms.

When Jesus calls us, He calls us not simply to believe in Him intellectually, but to follow Him in the living of our lives. But it’s possible for a person to believe in Jesus intellectually like he believes in Napoleon or George Washington.

You can hold an intellectual belief without making a life commitment to it. But that is not biblical faith. Faith in Jesus means we put our trust in Him. We trust Him with our lives. As we commit ourselves to live for Him daily.

Paul said he was reaching forward to what lies ahead. The picture we have here is someone stretching forward, like a runner in a race, seeking to win, not merely to finish. But if we would win over the past, we must also be willing to aggressively stretch forward.


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Are you optimist or depressed?

Good morning everyone!! Another Monday morning! We can wake and say, "good God it is morning," or we can say, "good morning GOD!" Thank you Aunt Betty. God is good all the time, all the time God is good!!

We have been talking about being a prisoner of our past, being optimist verses pessimist, and to forget our past through Jesus. Let's look at the scripture again:
"...One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

Again from J. David Hoke is the following. But not only must we replace pessimism with optimism, we must also replace passivism with activism. The past seeks to trap us by discouraging us to the point where we are just so exhausted we don’t want to try anymore.

Depressed people don’t even like to get out of bed. They sit around in their pajamas all day long or engage in hours of mind-numbing television. Sometimes the first step out of that situation is to get out of bed, put your clothes on and do something.

You see, we need to act on faith in what God can do. Paul says that he reaches forward to what lies ahead. Here is someone who is involved with the living of life. He is not merely content to be acted upon. He must act himself. And if we would succeed, we must act as well.

Someone has said that it’s hard to steer a parked car. In other words, parked cars go nowhere. You could turn the steering wheel all you like, but it doesn’t change its direction. Only as we begin to move are we able to accomplish those things we would like to see come to pass. We must be active.

Jesus calls us to follow Him. Okay, are you following Jesus? Or, are you just saying you follow Jesus? There is a difference of head knowledge and heart knowledge. We will talk more here tomorrow. Thank you for reading with me. May your day be bright and cheery and don't forget to tell someone about Jesus. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

God is an optimist!!

Good morning everyone!! I hope this is a wonderful day in the Lord Jesus
Christ for you. Don't forget to say Merry Christmas to someone today.
Also, tell someone about Jesus. God is good, all the time, all the time-
God is good!!! Continuing words from J. David Hoke.


"...One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to
what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

God is an optimist. I know that because when Jesus ascended into heaven,
He put His disciples in charge of winning the world. But we can be
optimists, too.

We can be optimists when we come to understand that God truly has a plan
for our lives. We can begin to look to the future with hope. A divine
expectation can be created within our hearts. And an eager anticipation of
what are the possibilities for our life can replace those negative
patterns of thought which bind us.

If we would live successfully in the present, we must not only put the
past aside, but we must replace pessimism with optimism. There are good
things which lie ahead.

But not only must we replace pessimism with optimism, we must also replace
passivism with activism.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, by some miracle, we could begin again,
knowing what we know now. Things would be different, wouldn’t they? Well,
let's begin here on Monday. Thank you for reading and studying with me.
Love you all!!

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Are you locked in pessimism??

Good morning everyone!! I hope this is a wonderful day for you. May Christ be at the head of all you do. Tell someone about Jesus. When confronted will you: a. be silent b. agree c. deny or
d. humbly, yet boldly stand up for Jesus

I looked up the scripture and I believe J. David Hoke says it very well. Today and tomorrow will finish up part of the study of this scripture. We will finish Philippians 3:13-14 next week.


We must not only develop a divine amnesia in terms of forgetting the past; but also engage in a deliberate activity in the present. Listen to the words of the Apostle, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead." In order to deal with the past effectively, we must live in the present actively.

One of the keys to living in the present is the need for replacing pessimism of the past with optimism. It’s very hard to face failure in your own personal life and come away with an optimistic attitude. Pessimism seems to reign.

Most pessimism is unhealthy. It creates a cycle of despair. Many times, we become locked into pessimistic ways of thinking, and we end up bound mentally by these patterns of thought. Past failures may suggest to us that we will never succeed. After all, we have tried and failed. But often that is not the reality of the situation. There was an experiment done with the Great Northern Pike where the fish was placed into a tank with its favorite food, minnows. The problem was that a glass divider was inserted into the tank between the Pike and the minnows. Every time the Pike went for the minnows, he bumped his nose into this glass divider. Finally, convinced that the minnows were beyond reach, he gave up. When the divider was removed, the Great Northern Pike did not go for even one minnow. Sometimes, we are like that Pike. We’ve been convinced that we could never break free from the patterns of defeat and failure that have bound us. But that is not true.

God is an optimist. Thank you for reading. Tomorrow – the optimist and our role. Love you all.

In Christ’s Love and Grace

Johnny

Let Jesus set you free!!!

Good morning all!! Yes, another wonderful day in the Lord Jesus Christ!!
God is good all the time......all the time God is good!! May your day be
centered around Jesus. Yesterday we talked about being a prisoner to our
past. Today, how do we become free.

"...One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to
what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

When Paul is talking about forgetting every negative event in our life,
he is not talking about erasing it forever. It is etched in our brain
forever, sub-consciously, but we must forget it in the fact that we do
not let it control our lives. Each action should not be determined by
our past.

Well, that is easier said than done! Yes, it is!! However, Jesus can
free us from our past. Christ forgives our sins, sins of the past, sins
of the present. Our sins and guilt are all taken away by Jesus' blood.

By the blood of Jesus we can live in the current, the today, not the
what has been. Living today, each day for Jesus. There is no sin too
big for God to forgive. We just have to let Christ release us from the
past and live in the present. Thank you for reading today. Tell someone
about Jesus today!! Love you all!!!!


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Are you in bondage to your past??

Good morning everyone!! Yes, it is a great day to be alive in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!! God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good!!

Philippians 3:13 "I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." (NLT)

"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." (KJ)

No race has ever been won looking back. The past can have many good memories, things we remember and enjoy like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, vacations, fun times with family or friends. However, the past can also become a prison.

It’s possible for the past to put us in bondage. Along with the good memories, there are the memories of times of failure. Sometimes our memory can serve to haunt us. Our failures can cause us to see ourselves as failures, or as unable to break the patterns of failure in our lives.
We stereotype ourselves, and thereby put ourselves in bondage. Many people live today plagued by their past. In the most extreme cases people sit in mental hospitals constantly reliving the tragic events of yesterday.
They are trapped by the things that have been, and can’t seem to see beyond them.
There are basically three things you must do to effectively conquer your past. (1) The first is that you must recognize the past for what it is, the past. It is over, done, gone, finished, ended, passed. You can’t change one thing that happened back then, whether back then was years ago or yesterday.
(2) The second thing that you must do is recognize the satanic strategy in reminding you of the past. His strategy is to discourage you and defeat you.
(3) The third thing you must recognize is what you can do about the past. While you can’t change the past, you can change the way you respond to the memories of the past.
Paul tells us the way to get past all this is to forget, or develop amnesia, or as J. David Hoke states it, "divine amnesia."
Don't be in bondage to your past, forget and move on. Pray, pray, pray if you have to, but move on and let amnesia assist you. Thank you for reading today. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Jesus, the emulsifier!!

Good morning everyone! I hope this is a great in the LORD Jesus Christ for you. God is good, all the time--all the time God is good! I heard Dr. Tony Evans in Dallas yesterday and he was very good.

Jesus said in John 14:6 ".......I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Oil and water don't mix. To get them to mix as in mayonaise you have to have an emulsifier, an egg. This emulsifier pulls the oil and water together to work together, and you have the desired outcome.

We have sin on our right, righteousness on our left, they won't come together, they don't mix. So, how can they mix, with an emulsifier. How in the world can you mix sin with righteousness? The blood of Christ is the emulsifier. Christ came, shed his blood and died so that we may be saved.

Jesus Christ is our emulsifier. Sin on the right- righteousness on the left - Jesus Christ shedding His blood in the middle and what do you get?

S A L V A T I O N !! A N E W L I F E I N J E S U S !!

Thank you God for sending your Son Jesus! May you tell someone about Jesus today! You are clean, white, because of Jesus! Thank you for reading today. Love you all!


In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny