Christmas to me is about peace at home, with family and in Christ! I remember that the glory of Christmas is the glory of a story with eternal value that never wanes.

I am mindful of the greatest gift of all—Jesus Christ! God, who loved us so much, gave His all for each one of us. Perhaps this Christmas you find yourself unemployed, with waning health or simply needing encouragement. Remember that God gave His all when He gave His Son. The scripture tells us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). The blood of the Father flowing in the veins of a new born child—Emmanuel—God with us!  God putting on humanity for each one of us, identifying with us!

This Christmas receive PEACE—receive HIM. This is the Gift of God for each one of us!

When you have an encounter with Jesus Christ and surrender your life to receive Him as your Savior and Lord, it is not just an emotional experience. It is not just a rational, intelligent moment of decision. It is not just a cleansing of your past and passport to your future.

The seed of God has been planted in you in the same miraculous way that the seed of God was planted in Mary to produce the Lord Jesus!  You have to say yes to His will the same way Mary did. She did not understand but said, “Be it done unto me according to your will.”

Peter describes this phenomenon by declaring: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”  1 Peter 1:23

You have a miracle in you! All His purpose and power is now able to grow and develop in you. This gives special meaning when we celebrate His birth at Christmas!

William Booth is not a name most people recognize.  He was a prominent Methodist evangelist living in mid-19^th century London, England.  One cold night as he returned home from a service, he noticed the poor and homeless sleeping under the London Bridge and was overcome with compassion for them.  He decided at that moment that he had to do something to help them, and The Salvation Army was born.

In 1865 He and his wife Catherine opened The Christian Revival Society in London, and “Food for the Million” soup kitchens, which fed large bowls of soup and bread to the poor.  They established lodging houses to shelter the homeless from the bitter winters.

Christmas was always the most demanding time of the year and everyone needed extra help and encouragement.  Because of this, General Booth would send a telegram each Christmas Eve to his weary soldiers all over the world, to encourage them in their work.

In what would be his last Christmas, he composed a paragraph of heartfelt words to inspire his troops, but then realized the cost of sending it would be too much. He edited the paragraph into three sentences, then one sentence, then three words—and realized even that would be too many.

Finally, he decided to send only one word…one word that would continue to inspire his army to win souls, feed the hungry and give shelter to the homeless.

That word was simply, “Others.”

This Christmas season remember that Christ came to dwell in your heart and in the hearts of people. Allow Him to dwell in you and live through you—and let this Christmas be an “others-minded” Christmas!

In the world of tennis, a game which I greatly enjoy, there is a basic rule that carries me through the emotional ups and downs of a match. More than once I have snatched victory from the hands of defeat by remembering this simple principle. It is the one thing I must do to win: keep my eye on the ball!

I am not fighting my opponent, the sun, the wind, the crowd, or myself. My opponent can distract me with movement, a verbal outburst, or delays, but he cannot change the ball.

In life you can experience changes in the economy, the people around you, the environment, and other circumstances. But one thing should not change: keep your eye on where you are going!

Talk about where you are going. Think about where you are going. Be passionate about where you are going. Believe in where you are going.

What about the temporary score? What if you are behind? That doesn’t change where you are going, so why think about it? Don’t let your mind go into the gutter of worry, fear, or anxiety about what might happen. In tennis, if you take your eye off the ball, you lose sight of the only thing you can control. If you allow yourself to be distracted, defeat is guaranteed.

Today, make a quality decision to keep your eyes on what you want. Celebrate it. Pray about it. Think on it only. Jesus said that whatever you desire, when you pray, believe you receive it and you shall have it!

One of my mission trips took me to the deepest part of Siberia, Russia. While the ice still held its bitter grip on the streets, we conducted a conference to which everyone was welcome.

In the middle of my message, I noticed a small, timid man quietly sit down in the back row. (I later learned his name was Boris, from the city of Neryungry.) I felt impressed to say, “If you are a street cleaner, be a great street cleaner for God!”

Tears welled up in his eyes. When I spoke to him after the meeting, he told me he was a street cleaner. He also confessed that he had been on his way that morning to kill himself with the gun he still had in his possession. But as he walked by the building where I was preaching, he overheard the strange sound of a foreigner. Filled with curiosity, he entered. I spoke directly to his heart. Then Jesus spoke to him and said, “Boris, I love you. Go into the ministry and write a book.”

Boris began to weep. He said, “Kevin, will you help me write a book?” I told him I must go on to the next city, but that I would pray for his new life and success.

Seven years later, as I held on to a railing on a train in Moscow’s underground transit system on which nine million people travel each day, I turned and looked into the eyes of a man whose gaze was riveted on me.

“Boris, is that you?” I asked.

He leapt to his feet, hugged me, and cried, “It is! It is!”

“What are you doing here so far away from your hometown?” I asked. He said he was finishing up his Bible school education and was on his way to pastor a church! Then he reminded me, “I am going to write that book!” Recently I met him, and he now heads up a significant ministry to the Jews.

There is nothing like the power of a transformed life! It is a life that has found value, purpose, and a friend in Jesus. God offers a new image to all humanity, while breathing His life into all who will call upon the name of the Savior, Jesus!

Today I feel impressed to pray together. Pray along with me, “Thank you Jesus, I see my body upon the cross. You paid the price, You were beaten and You were bruised for me. I thank You, Jesus, that the senses, the readings, the pain, the reality of what I have sensed and seen upon my own flesh was put upon you 2,000 years ago, and now I cast all of my care on You. I cast all of the sickness upon You.

I turn it all over to You, and I declare that I receive a new body, completely made whole, competently restored in the image that You created me to be, whole, healed and healthy. Thank you Jesus, I receive it now. Amen!”

With one of the national evangelistic conferences about to begin in Moscow, we had done all the natural preparation possible. Invitations were sent out and food was evaluated for the guests. The cost of travel, housing and books was all budgeted. It was the morning of departure and still no income had come in to provide for this major event. We checked our hearts and called the money to come with conviction of the scripture and rightness of the cause. We then headed to the airport. As we walked to the car I received an amazing phone call from a partner that $10,000 was on the way. What a victory and a relief! The Lord had dealt with him weeks ago, but He had just remembered and wanted us to know he was sending it immediately.

There is a prayer that is spoken with the voice of heaven, and it is well to find that voice!

Discovery is a powerful word that opens up vast opportunity. Children have no limits on their curiosity or willingness to try out new things. In fact, their openness is so great that it could cause personal injury or peril. As we grow older, we seem to lose the ‘YES’ in life, and words like ‘routine,” institution,’ ‘insurance,’ ‘protection,’ and ‘safety’ become commonplace in our vocabulary.

I remember moving to Russia and finding a society that was based on the word “NO.” How could it be that this dynamic, creative society was cloaked in such negative expectation? Yet, for many of us today, regardless of our society, we allow the phrases “No! You can’t!” “No! You shouldn’t!” “No! That’s not right!” “No! It’s not possible!” to control our destinies!

Let’s realize today that Christ takes the parentheses off our lives. He puts a plus on our future because He says, All things are possible, only believe! Mark 9:23 paraphrased

Joshua Blayhi says he had an encounter similar to the biblical account of Saul on the road to Damascus, where a bright light appeared and Jesus spoke, telling Blayhi to stop killing or he would die. Saul of Tarsus, who became Apostle Paul, was a persecutor of Christians and orchestrated the stoning of the first recorded Christian martyr, Stephen.

How could this be? How could these men break free of the desire to murder over and over again? How could their hearts and imaginations be so totally changed? The Apostle Paul would later state in the scriptures that we have all sinned, falling short of God’s glory. Certainly, not all are killers—but all are sinners. In the accounts of these two men we find the death of a sinner…but we also see the resurrection of a saint!

Becoming truly free not only required God’s forgiveness, but both Saul and Joshua Blayhi had to forgive themselves. Self-forgiveness is often a bitter pill to swallow. Although God’s grace had forgiven both, each daily faced the effects of their sin.

Neither Paul nor Joshua demonstrates any fear in declaring the good news. One man lived 2,000 years ago, the other lives today, but the same truth delivered both men and gave them strength to face their sin and devote themselves to helping people—and, in Joshua’s case, to seek restitution!  Paul said to the church at Rome, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news), for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes!”

Today, Jesus offers you freedom from your past and hope for your future! You can be forgiven and you can forgive yourself!

How many evils committed could disqualify you from God’s mercy? How many murders would be unforgivable and banish you to eternal suffering? Joshua Blahyi, a former Liberian warlord, knows something about God’s grace. Raised to be a tribal priest, he began conducting weekly human sacrifices at age 11.  As an adult, he became one of the most feared warlords of Africa. After giving his life to Christ in 1996, and beginning his ministry in 1999, Blahyi renounced his violent past and confessed to murdering nearly 20,000 people during Liberia’s 14-year civil war.

Still feared by many, he was the subject of a PBS documentary. Curious about this radical conversion, the filmmakers followed Blahyi for 5 years as he sought forgiveness from those he had harmed.

Though the consequences were unknown, Blahyi agreed to admit his crimes before Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. According to The Christian Post, he says, “I went to the TRC because I wanted to reconcile with my country and free my conscience.” Fortunately, the commission recommended amnesty.

How could a person change so dramatically? How could one’s conscience be cleansed from such horrific actions?