Christmas 2020 was different for all of us. But we still celebrated.
Photo by Tim Douglas on Pexels.com 
Photo by Tim Douglas on Pexels.com 
Photo by Tim Douglas on Pexels.com
Remember real fruit comes from the Real root
Galatians 5:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
What a wonderful reminder we have within us these wonderful characteristics. That by believing in and worshipping our Savior, we have the capacity for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. In 2 Peter 1:3-11, these qualities are highlighted again:
2 Peter 1:3-113 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[c] his own glory and excellence,[d] 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[e] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
What a blessed assurance we have through Christ Jesus that these attributes are part of the divine nature given to us through him who loves us.
A Real Word by C. H. Spurgeon
“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.”
Luke 10:21
The Saviour was “a man of sorrows,” but every thoughtful mind has discovered the fact that down deep in his innermost soul he carried an inexhaustible treasury of refined and heavenly joy. Of all the human race, there was never a man who had a deeper, purer, or more abiding peace than our Lord Jesus Christ. “He was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows.”
His vast benevolence must, from the very nature of things, have afforded him the deepest possible delight, for benevolence is joy. There were a few remarkable seasons when this joy manifested itself. “At that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” Christ had his songs, though it was night with him; though his face was marred, and his countenance had lost the lustre of earthly happiness, yet sometimes it was lit up with a matchless splendour of unparalleled satisfaction, as he thought upon the recompense of the reward, and in the midst of the congregation sang his praise unto God.
In this, the Lord Jesus is a blessed picture of his church on earth. At this hour the church expects to walk in sympathy with her Lord along a thorny road; through much tribulation she is forcing her way to the crown.
To bear the cross is her office, and to be scorned and counted an alien by her mother’s children is her lot; and yet the church has a deep well of joy, of which none can drink but her own children.
There are stores of wine, and oil, and corn, hidden in the midst of our Jerusalem, upon which the saints of God are evermore sustained and nurtured; and sometimes, as in our Saviour’s case, we have our seasons of intense delight, for “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God.” Exiles though we be, we rejoice in our King; yea, in him we exceedingly rejoice, while in his name we set up our banners.
Merry Christmas 2020
Morning Meditation
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
This Morning’s Meditation
C. H. Spurgeon
“His ways are everlasting.”—Habakkuk 3:6.
HAT He hath done at one time, He will do yet again. Man’s ways are variable, but God’s ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for this most comforting truth: among them are the following—the Lord’s ways are the result of wise deliberation; He ordereth all things according to the counsel of His own will. Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion, or fear, and is followed by regret and alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise, or happen otherwise than He has foreseen. His ways are the outgrowth of an immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One Himself can undergo change, His ways, which are Himself in action, must remain for ever the same. Is He eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender?—then His ways must ever be distinguished for the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: when those natures change, their conduct varies also; but since God cannot know the shadow of a turning, His ways will abide everlastingly the same. Moreover there is no reason from without which could reverse the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The earth is said, by the prophet, to be cleft with rivers, mountains tremble, the deep lifts up its hands, and sun and moon stand still, when Jehovah marches forth for the salvation of His people. Who can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou? But it is not might alone which gives stability; God’s ways are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right, and therefore can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good have about them a vitality which ages cannot diminish.
This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence, remembering that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and in Him the Lord is ever gracious to His people.
Announcement
Good Food and Fresh Oil
“They gathered manna every morning.”—Exodus 16:21.
ABOUR to maintain a sense of thine entire dependence upon the Lord’s good will and pleasure for the continuance of thy richest enjoyments. Never try to live on the old manna, nor seek to find help in Egypt. All must come from Jesus, or thou art undone for ever. Old anointings will not suffice to impart unction to thy spirit; thine head must have fresh oil poured upon it from the golden horn of the sanctuary, or it will cease from its glory. To-day thou mayest be upon the summit of the mount of God, but He who has put thee there must keep thee there, or thou wilt sink far more speedily than thou dreamest. Thy mountain only stands firm when He settles it in its place; if He hide His face, thou wilt soon be troubled.
If the Saviour should see fit, there is not a window through which thou seest the light of heaven which He could not darken in an instant. Joshua bade the sun stand still, but Jesus can shroud it in total darkness. He can withdraw the joy of thine heart, the light of thine eyes, and the strength of thy life; in His hand thy comforts lie, and at His will they can depart from thee. This hourly dependence our Lord is determined that we shall feel and recognize, for He only permits us to pray for “daily bread,” and only promises that “as our days our strength shall be.” Is it not best for us that it should be so, that we may often repair to His throne, and constantly be reminded of His love?
Oh! how rich the grace which supplies us so continually, and doth not refrain itself because of our ingratitude! The golden shower never ceases, the cloud of blessing tarries evermore above our habitation.
O Lord Jesus, we would bow at Thy feet, conscious of our utter inability to do anything without Thee, and in every favour which we are privileged to receive, we would adore Thy blessed name and acknowledge Thine unexhausted love.
Charles Spurgeon
Overcoming Rejection
Awesome Word by Chris Hayward.
Overcoming Rejection
By Mary A. Parks
Did you ever try to solve a problem, only to get discouraged because you couldn’t find the source? For many of us, that is our life story. For as long as we can remember, we’ve tried to make everyone around them like them. We did what we thought people wanted us to do, said what we thought people wanted us to say, acted like we thought people wanted us to act – all so others would like or love us. Deep down we know why, but often it takes years to acknowledge and come to grips with the underlying reason(s). For many who are born into relationships where our father is not present or early contact with our mother is denied due to various factors, a spirit of rejection hovers over us all of our life, often before we draw our first breath. Over…
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“Take up the cross, and follow me.”
Mark 10:21
You have not the making of your own cross, although unbelief is a master carpenter at cross-making; neither are you permitted to choose your own cross, although self-will would fain be lord and master; but your cross is prepared and appointed for you by divine love, and you are cheerfully to accept it; you are to take up the cross as your chosen badge and burden, and not to stand cavilling at it. This night Jesus bids you submit your shoulder to his easy yoke. Do not kick at it in petulance, or trample on it in vain-glory, or fall under it in despair, or run away from it in fear, but take it up like a true follower of Jesus. Jesus was a cross-bearer; he leads the way in the path of sorrow. Surely you could not desire a better guide! And if he carried a cross, what nobler burden would you desire? The Via Crucis is the way of safety; fear not to tread its thorny paths.
Beloved, the cross is not made of feathers, or lined with velvet, it is heavy and galling to disobedient shoulders; but it is not an iron cross, though your fears have painted it with iron colours, it is a wooden cross, and a man can carry it, for the Man of sorrows tried the load. Take up your cross, and by the power of the Spirit of God you will soon be so in love with it, that like Moses, you would not exchange the reproach of Christ for all the treasures of Egypt. Remember that Jesus carried it, and it will smell sweetly; remember that it will soon be followed by the crown, and the thought of the coming weight of glory will greatly lighten the present heaviness of trouble. The Lord help you to bow your spirit in submission to the divine will ere you fall asleep this night, that waking with to-morrow’s sun, you may go forth to the day’s cross with the holy and submissive spirit which becomes a follower of the Crucified.
C. H. Spurgeon
The Struggle For The Dream Lives On
Thanks to Apostle Dutch Sheets for this meaningful blog on behalf of Dr. Martin Luther King Day.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on 4/4/1968. A few days later, Democratic Senator from MI, John Conyers, presented the idea of a day to commemorate this leader of the modern-day civil rights movement. “Conyers would persist year after year, Congress after Congress, in introducing the same bill again and again, gathering co-sponsors along the way, until his persistence finally paid off,” writes historian Don Wolfensberger. Finally, in the 1980’s, a petition with over 6 million signatures, a song by Stevie Wonder, and a 20-year anniversary of Civil Rights Movement Veterans gathering at the Washington Monument, in Washington, DC, finally garnered enough attention. It was brought up in Congress again. It passed and President Ronald Reagan signed it into law. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that every state in the Union finally observed the federal holiday, and even then, only with some strange compromises. We aren’t quite there yet.1
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10; ESV)
Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:
- Thank God for men like Dr. King and other Civil Rights Movement participants for their work to end racism in the United States.
- Ask God to take the Civil Rights Movement another step forward in this generation, as we are not there yet.
- Decide to be a part of the Lord’s strategy to heal America.
- Decide to be persistent in asking God to end racism in this nation. Intercede whenever He encourages you to. Make a difference daily.
A prayer you can pray:
God, I thank you for all those brave men and women, such as Dr. King, who have helped our nation break free of the racist sins of the past. Thank you for their persistence. Thank you for a day like today to celebrate and remember their struggles. I want to be a part of ending racism in America. Grace me to join the battle in intercession, as well as in interaction on a daily basis. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Today’s decree:
I decree that the persistence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be multiplied in the United States until racism is vanquished.
Loving God with Excellence 
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