Did you ever stop to consider what would happen if all of the information collected about you were combined?  There is cell phone data, medical and dental data, banking data, IRS data, data collected by grocery stores and online businesses, military data, Google and Facebook data, and the list goes on.  If these were all combined, someone could have access to more information about you than you are capable of remembering about yourself.

  Have you noticed what is happening in the Middle East?  Israel’s enemies are relentlessly encouraging her destruction.  The unrest in Syria has strengthened the alliance of evil allies.  The world is becoming more tolerant of Sharia law which threatens the inalienable rights of the free world.

  Have you considered the fact that our leaders have joined other leaders of the world in times of financial and political crisis to discuss solutions that involve a unified global monetary system and united military operations that put our soldiers under the direct authority of foreign commanders?

  Are you appalled at the truthless politics that plague our country, the greed of those who take advantage of the system to get gain, the general disregard for morality and decency?  Are you concerned about what will be left for our children and grandchildren?

  These and other national and global developments have raised the eyebrows of those who are familiar with Scripture prophecies that describe the end times.  Though no man knows the day and hour, certainly nothing is preventing the curtain rise on the biblically defined final act of the ages.

  Some will call me a prophet of doom, when actually, mine is a message of hope.  When Jesus Christ was here before; He died, was buried and rose again to pay for your forgiveness and restore your relationship with God.  Right now, His salvation is free to all who come to Him by faith!  …before the end, He is coming again, are you ready?

God’s Word is full of promises:

• Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. (Acts 16.31).
• But my God shall supply all your need… (Philippians 4.19).
• I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Php. 4.13).
• …I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13.5).

Doubting God does not negate God’s plan!  In the book of Genesis, God promised Abraham a son, but Abraham doubted God and said, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? (Gen. 17.17).  Did his doubts change God’s plan?  No, Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age… (Genesis 21:1-2).

Secondly, doubting God often delays or diverts His blessing.  In 2 Kings 7, God promised besieged, starving Samaria that in one day there would be an abundance of food, but one of the king’s servants doubted.  The following day there was indeed an abundance of food, but not for this man.  …the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died. (2Kings 7:18-20).

Thirdly, doubting God makes the wait harder.  In Luke 1 Zacharias was promised a child, but he doubted.  Luke records the Lord’s response, And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words…(Luke 1:18-20).

Finally, doubting God dilutes our joy and happiness.  Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, refused to believe when the other disciples declared that they had seen the risen Christ.  He spent a miserable eight days before the Lord appeared again and said, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed (happy) are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:29).

Dear friend, don’t doubt God.  Put your faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin, and make all of God’s promises your very own.

  What is it about the New Year that we celebrate?  Perhaps we enjoy leaving behind the frustration of failed attempts and opportunities ignored.  Perhaps  December 31 is a day of closure, a time to bury memories, to end our mourning over annual losses.  Or do you celebrate the future, rejoicing in renewed resolve and the hope of a better tomorrow?

  There seems to be some consolation, some comfort, for us earth dwellers in dividing our lives into small segments of time and viewing each of them as a piece of the puzzle that we call life.  We finish with this piece and happily move on to the next,  but I wonder––have you considered the big picture lately?

  God is eternal, not bound by time and space, and from His perspective our lives are not divided by the curvy lines of a puzzle, punched out by the passage of time.  From His vantage point each life is a work of art in the making.  The challenging times, the hardships and failures are but brush strokes utilizing the darker colors on the canvas of our lives.  He knows that these dark strokes only serve to give definition to the lighter, and that every stroke works together with all others to produce an eternal treasure for His enjoyment.  Praise God, I am important to Him!

  No, this is not the philosophical surmise of a pastor, it is the promise of our Almighty, Eternal God,  “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28).”  

  Did you notice the last part of the verse?  The promise is not for everyone, but to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.  The fact of God’s love for you has already been established.  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).”  As to your love for Him–to know Him is to love Him.  Would you allow me to introduce you?

As a child I remember Christmas as the highlight of the year.  In my youth, months seemed to pass so slowly from January through November, like a train approaching from a great distance, its forward motion barely detectable, time almost seemed to stand still.  But as Christmas drew near, the clock appeared to speed up and about the time I really started to enjoy the season, it sped by like the passing locomotive.  I can still feel the sadness of Christmas passed.  And then there was the New Year.  I always wondered what was wrong with the old one, but at least it was the official beginning of the countdown to next Christmas, …just 358 days to go.

Isn’t it just like a child to live only for the highlights of the year?  And yet how easy it is, even for us adults, to focus on the mountain peak experiences of life and develop a dread of all else.  Life becomes rather mundane if we allow ourselves to fall into this trap.

Some have accepted the inherent drabness of the uneventful days of life.  To add meaning and purpose, they focus on family, fitness and fortune.  All of these are noble causes and certainly those who pursue them are better off than those who drift through life and apply themselves to nothing.

BUT, as with every human thought pertaining to life, God, the giver and sustainer of life, has something to say.  He has prescribed a plan by which we can have a fruitful and joyous life.  Jesus said, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10).”  Interestingly, the abundant life that He offers is also called “eternal life.”  It is defined in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”  The point to ponder is that God never intended for your life to be a bore.  He invites you to a life of peace, joy, and purpose, through Christ.

  Of all the splendor surrounding the first Christmas long ago, perhaps no part was more dazzling than that host of angels who appeared before the shepherds by night, just outside of Bethlehem.

  Luke 2 reveals that the angels were enveloped in the glory (brightness) of the Lord.  It was so spectacular that the shepherds were “sore afraid.”  And lest you think of shepherds as the softer sort, let me remind you that these men braved the elements, wild animals, and thieves and robbers on a regular basis, and yet, none were more visibly moved than these burly shepherds.  And why not?  They were stirred by a supernatural appearance and miraculous message; the long awaited Savior of the world had been born that night and even now lay in a lowly manger in that very town.

  Luke describes how “they came with haste,” to meet their Creator God in a cattle stall.  As they left that holy ground on which the King of kings humbly lay, they could not contain themselves, but “made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.”  And, “all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”

  The shepherds were moved to action by the events of that night, and yet what they saw does not compare to what we can see, through the window of Scripture, concerning this Babe.  We can travel with Him over the hills of Judea, through Samaria and around the Sea of Galilee.  We can watch as He healed the lame, raised the dead and caused the blind to see.  We can follow Him to Calvary where He bled and died to pay the price for our forgiveness.  We can visit the empty tomb, and watch with His disciples as He ascended back to heaven.

  Dear friend, if the first chapter could stir the shepherds to go and tell what they had seen, how much more should we be moved to share the whole story of how “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”