After God the Holy Spirit used imagination to create the world, He gave us the gift of imagination to create our world.
When I graduated from Bible school there were no churches waiting for me to come and preach. There were no countries calling on me for the bits of wisdom I had learned. There were no church boards asking me to be a pastor. So I went out to the small city airport near my house, pulled up a chair with a good view of the airplanes as they came and went, and began to dream of flying on those planes as they headed into the sky.
At that point I was starting to build a vision for world travel. Now, after 30 years of traveling to over 60 nations, I can say that the dream at the beginning has become the reality of today.
Millions of people around the globe today, perhaps even billions, celebrate this Christmas Christ who lives in the heart.
This Christmas season, in whatever situation you find yourself, remember—Christmas is not a brightly decorated, commercial season, but it is rather a moment of time when God determined to put on human flesh and dwell among us.
Remember, the God who is the Creator of the universe and all that we see is not some ethereal, cosmic, mystic being. No! He is God with us, Emmanuel—the One who has come to live and dwell in our hearts!
We say to you: Merry Christmas! And may Christ dwell in your heart, and in your family!
Imagine giving a gift, something very precious which you have taken painstaking effort to prepare for the one you love so much. You’ve taken time, money and energy to plan the specific moment you will present your gift. AND THEN, the unthinkable happens—the gift is rejected. The answer is NO. The reality dawns on you. This person whom I love so much is not interested in me or my gift.
I wonder how God feels? He sent His precious Son to carry our burdens, to take away our sins, to be beaten for our diseases. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. This amazing substitution is God’s gracious and loving gift for us. It cannot be earned. It is a free gift! Yet multitudes still reject His love!
Today, I encourage you to remember what Jesus has done for you! Receive this free gift! Simply dare to believe that He died for you and that He rose from the dead. You will never be the same!
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-19th 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!
The redeemed are proud of God’s finished work in them, but arrogance has no place in the believer. That is the fruit of low self-esteem crying out for recognition.
All humans need to feel significant and that they really are special. Do not mistake pride for arrogance. We want our doctor to be proud of his work if we need an emergency operation. Who wants a doctor with only a 50% success rate? We want our stockbroker to be proud of his record in picking good stocks, who wants to hire a failing broker? We want our car mechanic to be proud of his work, because we do not want mistakes on a car we are driving 70 miles an hour!
There is no place for arrogant Christians who are loud and brutish in actions, trying to hide the inferiority they feel. When we truly discover our value to our Creator, and our value as a unique human redeemed in Christ, then arrogance is replaced with healthy pride.
In every situation of sickness and disease, we have three witnesses. The first witness is the pain, or what your senses are telling you about the symptoms you’re experiencing. The second witness is the Word of God, which is the truth, if you will, that God gives to speak in your situation, that by His stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24).
The third witness we have is the sick person. The pain is declaring that the sickness and disease is not healed, the symptoms are still present and the Word is not true. The sick one, however, has the opportunity to declare the truth—“By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed.” If we line up and agree with that Word, we find the deliverance that we need!
