It’s an exciting time of year – a time of decorations, baking, lights, and of course, Christmas gifts! There is another very special aspect of this season – it’s what the angels said, Behold, unto you a Savior is born. Good will towards all of mankind. Christmas is indeed a miracle.

When Kevin was a young boy, his father passed away leaving eight children. For the grieving family it looked as if there would be no gifts for Christmas that year.

On Christmas morning however, as the family awoke not expecting any gifts at all, they found on the front porch a giant box of presents for all eight children! It was truly a miracle Christmas for all!

Today, the greatest miracle gift of all is Jesus. May He be at the very center of your Christmas, and the focus of all that you do. Merry Christmas!

Throughout our lives as believers, a very important message we can “preach” to those around us is the example of our lifestyle. People notice when we don’t react or breakdown under pressure, standing on the faithfulness of God’s Word in every situation until we see the deliverance of the Lord!

I am praying for our friends and partners, that you may know the plan that the Lord has set forth for your life. This knowledge will generate an inner strength, enabling you to face life each day with an “all things are possible” attitude. We pray that you may have His wisdom and His understanding for all of life’s decisions!

I find 224 references in the Bible that include the words GOD and GOOD. In the midst of all the turbulence we are experiencing in the earth today, have you taken time to remember that God is the author of Good?

It doesn’t matter how bad your past is. You might say your sins are as dark as mud, but even a glass of mud will become drinkable if you keep pouring clean, fresh water into it. A field of weeds will produce wheat if you start putting new seeds into the soil!

In a day when so many think and talk of what they don’t have, or used to have, or would like to have, it’s very important to take stock of what you DO have. If you are a child of God, then you know you have Jesus Christ living in you and you are never alone!

Jesus Christ destroyed the power of sin! The Bible says that Christ died and then rose again. He set you free from hell and death. He defeated the devil! Now I can say, “Yes, Jesus! I believe that You have brought healing. You have given me a new life! You have given me a good life! I have 100 percent health in You!”

The sweet life is simple when you’re sincere. It’s wonderful to be doing something today that I started doing 30 years ago, enjoying it more today than ever before. It’s a wonder to wake up every morning feeling like there is important work to be done on the earth, knowing every bit of your energy will be needed. You get cleaned up and ready to go for Big Kingdom Business every day.

God has done a marvelous thing for human beings! He has attached His eternal value to everything we do. We are not measured by others opinions of what we do…only by our attitude in a desire to please Him and serve others as we do it.

The top industrialist can carry this attitude as well as the most humble street cleaner. The most popular TV preacher can do it as well as the quiet country pastor who no one may know. When connected to deity, Jesus said even the giving of a glass of water is not unnoticed. That energizes me to think that everything counts. Jesus is not looking at what you have… but what you do with what you have.

Today as you start off with your first cup of coffee, don’t start complaining about what you don’t have. Don’t put off life until a future time when you look more blessed. Enjoy the moment! Make the most of it with a sincere joy in your heart that you have another day on earth to do good, knowing that it counts for eternity!

Deep in the quiet of the soul, when the sun sets over the last mountain range and the warmth of the day slowly dissipates into cool breezes that chill the sweat from your day’s labor, you hear His voice whisper “I WILL PROVIDE.”

At the end of the day, when the clamor of ideas has quieted and the energy of people’s interaction is spent, you stand alone with only your thoughts and the mission before you. It is in this moment you hear His voice, “I WILL PROVIDE.”

The “how” is in His Hands.

You wake up each morning like a diligent farmer ready to milk the cows, feed the chickens, and plow the fields. You do the natural, and let Him do the “super” so your life has a supernatural flavor to it. Paul’s conviction becomes your conviction when he says, “The Lord shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). You are resting with no evidence, no sign, and no prophetic word. Faith arises in your heart as sure as the sun comes up in the morning. All is well, “I WILL PROVIDE.”

Today you must find your place of rest in Him and in His Word. The days may change. Government may change. The economy may change. But you do not change, knowing that He said, “I WILL PROVIDE.”

Examine your life today. In what areas are you not hearing the Lord say, “I WILL PROVIDE”? Believe, and He will be faithful to His Word.

James is telling us to have a supernatural response when he writes, “My brethren, COUNT IT ALL JOY when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4  NKJV emphasis mine).

There is no joy in bills that are not paid.

There is no joy in supply lines that look cut.

There is no joy in sickness or pain shouting for attention.

This is when we COUNT IT ALL JOY. We decide to give a different response than the natural mind wants to give. We decide to laugh when others cry, to sing when others moan, and to expect good things when others just see dark clouds ahead. What can produce this type of response?

You know something the world does not know. You know that God is greater than the fallen, broken world. You know that God is good and a friend to those in time of need. You know that you have a name above every name that heaven responds to. You know that you have a destiny on earth to fulfill and a place far greater you are going to. You know you have a promise recorded in a book for all to see that guarantees God’s presence in your life and a witness within you that He truly does live in you.

You have a supernatural experience called the new birth when your sin nature was removed and God’s very Spirit and nature was given you. This happened when you decided to believe what He had said concerning His son Jesus. This miracle was just the beginning of a miracle lifestyle based on His Word, His sacrifice, His plan, His presence, His power, and your decisions.

This is how you can COUNT IT ALL JOY when you face the fallen world full of defeat, destruction, and despair!