When I Abide with the Spirit Life Within, Do I Lose My Identity?                                                                         

Absolutely not!  God made only one of you. You have your own DNA, your own fingerprints, your own personality or soul which is composed of our mind, will and emotion. You are unique right down to the bone. When we were born again we obtained a new identity in Christ. We are now Christians, we are the body of Christ, and He is now our life, our strength and our power source.

It is the nonbeliever or the Christian walking in their own strength (flesh) who has lost their identity.

Think again of the power tools in your home. When these tools are plugged into an outlet, they each have a unique purpose even though they all have the same source of power. However, once unplugged, they all become the same. Useless. It’s the power source that gives them their identities. Jesus is the power source, for all Christians. His death frees us from the penalty of sin. His life frees us from the power of sin.

Romans 6:13 tells us that we are instruments of His righteousness but remember, He’s the power source of these instruments. That is the mystery of our faith – Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Examples of instruments:  Light bulb, glove, boat, and teabag

We are the light bulb and He is the electricity. We are the glove and He is the hand. We are the boat and He is the motor. Best illustration comes from Malcolm Smith. It gives us a picture of Christ in us; the hope of glory. At a coffee counter Malcolm asked for a cup of tea. They bring him a little pot of water and a teabag. As he’s dipping the teabag in and out of the water he has an Ah Ha moment and he thinks, the water and the tea are forever separated (because of the bag). However, the fusion of the two is so great that we call the water tea. The water is not the tea, it’s the tea in the water. Get the picture? Well, we’re not holy or righteous or Christ like, but the fusion of Christ in us makes us that way. It’s not us; it’s Christ in us, the only hope of glory.

LIFE LESSON: Abiding is being connected to the vine (the Lord Jesus Christ).  Remember, as a new creation, your identity is now in Christ.  Jesus doesn’t make you better; He is your better!

With the completion of the resource materials, we have all that is needed for people to host this 11 week, “Galatian Road Journey.”

We already have our first 11 people either hosting or seriously considering our great new Bible Study!  Praise God!!!

The DVD series and 3-ring Study Guide are now available to be ordered on-line at gigm.org.

Spread the word among those you think might be interested and have them contact me.

We appreciate your continued prayer and financial support to proclaim the truth in God’s word about His amazing grace.  To Him be the glory!

Growing in His Grace

Last month I talked about “Enthusiasm” and pointed out that the Greek word “entheo” means God within.  This Summer I have been so enthusiastic about producing “The Galatian Road – A Road Less Traveled,” seminar so others across America (and the world) will have the tools to begin teaching it in their families, churches and communities.  I pray big prayers! And now that we are beginning our “Launch” phase, may I also admit a bit of exhaustion?  But, it is one of the most enjoyable exhaustion experiences of my life that I and so many helpers have truly felt a “God within” level of enthusiasm as we complete this work.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Many of you have begun to ask, “What can I do to help as you begin your launch?”  First of all, you could host or direct a Bible study for family and friends. We will provide you the preparation and tools you need.  Secondly, tell others about this study. Perhaps you know a person who would like to financially support the seminar so we can actually give materials away?  Whatever your ideas, we would love to hear from you.

Now, one of the most frequently asked questions we get when presenting this seminar is:

How do I know that Jesus Christ is living His life in and through me?

Jesus would probably answer that question with another question (He did that a lot). Jesus might ask, how do you know you are saved? Answer: you know you are saved by grace through faith. (Eph. 2:8-9) By faith you trusted Christ to be your Lord and Savior, and by faith you trust that He is living and expressing His life in and through you. (Col 3:3-4)

Christians can live by one of two methods, by the flesh or by faith in the Spirit. (Gal 5:16) And the key factor is the method we choose to live by; not the results. Example: You can perform an everyday task like driving your car, cooking a meal, or cleaning the house with an attitude of, “You know what, I can do these things myself…I don’t need Christ as life to do these things for me. Although simple things, they are works of the flesh, the wrong method, and will be consumed at the judgment seat of Christ as – wood hay and stubble. On the other hand, you can say, “Lord, I’m going to drive my car, cook a meal, and clean the house believing by faith that your spirit is doing it in and through me.” This is the right method and will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ as gold, silver, precious stones. Remember, method not results is the key. Spirit you win; flesh you lose.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

STORY TO ENLIGHTEN

A woman gets a call at work from the babysitter explaining that her son is not feeling well, and to please stop at the drug store to pick up some medicine. Coming out of the drugstore, she notices she locked her keys in the car. She calls a friend who tells her to look around for a clothes hanger to open the car door. She finds an old rusty one but then realizes she doesn’t have a clue how to use it. She stops and prays. Dear Lord, please send someone to help me. My child is sick and I need to get home. Within a minute, a burly looking man, driving a motorcycle pulls up and asks if he can help. She tells him her story, he takes the hanger and in thirty seconds he opened the door. She’s overjoyed, gives him a big hug and tells him what a nice man he is. He says, “Lady, I’m not a nice man as I just got out of prison an hour ago. I was in for auto theft.” She hugs him again and says, “Thank you Lord, you sent me a professional!!!”

Illumination: Well, God sent us a professional so to speak. The perfect, spotless Lamb of God, to live the perfect life in and through us. Scripture tells us, He is our very life and breath and everything else.  “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:25, 28

If we start thinking we can do the little things apart from Christ in us we fall into the devil’s trap. Before you know it, you will build quite a list of things you don’t need Jesus for and pretty soon the enemy will have you thinking you don’t need Him at all.

Remember: “apart from Him you can do nothing.” His method is always rewarding.

Life Lesson:  “Any effort to hang on to the least bit of our own strength will only diminish the life of Christ in us.”  Oswald Chambers – “My Utmost for His Highest.”

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Growing in His Grace,

Len Baker, Director

P.S.  We have 3,000 more mini-books being printed

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17)

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27)

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith…” (Gal 2:20)

These truths from God’s word should put a smile on our faces. We need to have some enthusiasm and excitement about who we’ve become, brand new creations in Christ Jesus.

Oh, by the way, the root word of enthusiasm comes from the Greek work “entheo” meaning God within. If that doesn’t excite you, nothing will.

Enthusiasm: Think of the last 4 letters of this word – iasm, which can stand for I Am Sold Myself.

Now if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will. Too many Christians walk around looking like they have been weaned on a pickle. And there is value in a smile.

THE VALUE OF A SMILE

A Smile costs nothing – but it gives much.

It enriches those who receive – without making poorer, those who give.

It takes only a moment, but the memory of it lasts forever.

No one is so rich and mighty that he can live without it and no one is so poor that he can’t be made rich by it.

A Smile creates happiness in the home –fosters goodwill in business and is the counter sign of Friendship.

It brings rest to the weary, cheers the discouraged and is nature’s best antidote for trouble – yet, it can’t be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen – for it is something that is no value to anyone unless it is given away.

Most people are too tired to give you a Smile – so give them one of yours – as none needs a Smile so much as he who has no more to give.

LIFE LESSON: As new creations in Christ, let your light shine brightly with a big smile, letting others see the joy in your life because of your faith in Jesus. Remember, Christianity is not about self-improvement; it’s about self-replacement. Entheo – God Within Now that’s something to give you a whole lot of enthusiasm about!

Next month at this time we will have The Galatian Road, A Road Less Traveled DVD resource and companion study guide ready for distribution. We still need help financially duplicating them for distribution. As always, we appreciate your continued support and partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace. To Him be the glory!

And, with the completion of the resource materials, we have all that is needed for people to host this 11 week “Galatian Road Journey.” Spread the word among those you think might be interested and have them contact me.

It is truly amazing that rules and regulations (the law) are what people usually want, but Jesus is all people really need. Religion is all about doing, achieving, accomplishing, and earning our salvation. Many say, “Just tell me what to do and I will do it.” Religious people who trust in living by the rules will usually boast about what they have done (their good works). But a Christian has nothing to boast about. He or she boasts only in the Lord. “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:9 NLT

As Christians we are to put no confidence in ourselves. The popular religious philosophy of today is “the Lord helps those who help themselves”, which by the way is not even in the Bible. It was also popular in Paul’s day and it is just as wrong today as it was back then. The Bible has nothing good to say about our good works apart from Him and yet many Christians today are depending entirely on their good works to please God and failing miserably. Romans 3:12 tells us, “…no one does good, not even one.”

There is only one good work that pleased God, the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. That’s it. Praise be to God!

His name was Monty. He wanted to kill himself. He told me how he tried to do good works and to keep all the rules but was failing miserably. He hated his job and wanted to commit suicide. All the time I am thinking, Lord, give me something to say to this desperate man. When he had finished he looked at me and said, “What do you have to say?” And the Lord told me to say to him, “Praise God!” He looked at me with shock on his face and said,   “What did you say?” I said, “Praise God! That’s what God wants all of us to do. But not the way you’re thinking with a gun or pills. He wants us all to die to self and allow Him to live His life through us.” He told me he didn’t want to go to work because he hated his job and the people he worked with. I said, “You don’t have to go to work anymore, let Jesus take your body to work. He can love the people you work with.” Monty was transformed. (Romans 12:2)

Michael Wells wrote, “Suicidal people are on the right track, only it is not the outer life that needs to go, but the inner life. God does not want to improve the inner life, He wants to remove it.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote 80 years ago, “When Christ calls a man; He bids him to come and die.”

The Apostle Paul wrote 2000 years ago, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I live in this body I live by faith.”

Christianity is not self-improvement; it’s self-replacement!

“No one does good, not even one.” So Lose Your Religion-Let Jesus Live Through You!

LIFE LESSON: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) It’s not about religion; it’s all about a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. It’s about Christ living His life in and through your body…That’s the secret mystery of our faith. “Christ in You the hope of glory.”

The Galatian Road A Road Less Traveled DVD Bible study series will hopefully be completed by next month. There is still need for funds. God has opened many doors of opportunity for the ministry. Please help us meet these needs.

We appreciate your continued support and for partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace. To Him be the glory!

The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 15:31 (AMP)  “…I die daily (I face death every day and die to self.)”

Our Lord Jesus said in Luke 9:23 (NIV), “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Are you shouldering your personal cross?  If not, I urge you to pick it up and carry it daily, nail your stubborn will and selfish desires to the cross and let them die.  Only then will you be able to experience a truly resurrected life.

Jesus said in Luke 14:27 (NIV),  “Anyone who does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

For unbelievers the message of dying to self seems incomprehensible, unthinkable, or absurd.  Bottom line, it doesn’t make any sense intellectually to them, so they won’t accept it.  Unfortunately, many within the body of Christ find it incomprehensible as well.

Some see dying to self as a weakness.  They say you need to be strong, you need to pick yourself up and get going, God helps those who help themselves.  Many believe that weakness is a problem, that weakness is a sin.  Well, if we think of our weaknesses as a sin, then Jesus was the greatest sinner who ever lived because Jesus said, “Of myself, I can do nothing…”  (John 5:30 NIV)    And then the man who could do nothing by the glory of God does everything.

He walks on water               He stills the storm

He feeds the multitudes              He heals the sick

He cures the lepers               He makes the blind see

The man who said he could do nothing, went ahead and did everything.  God does much with little, most with least, and everything with nothing.

Many will say “Pray to God to help you with your weaknesses.”  But I say, “No, praise God for your weaknesses.”

Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (II Corinthians 12:9, 10 NIV)

LIFE LESSON:  In the same way that Jesus had to die and be raised, so we, too, must die to self, pick up our cross daily, and follow Him in order to be raised to the new life of Christ within.  Now that is DYING TO SELF WITH PURPOSE.

The Galatian Road A Road Less Traveled DVD Bible study series is still in need of funds to complete.  We also need to re-order more Minibuks in English, Spanish and Hindi.   God has opened many doors of opportunity for the ministry.  Please help us meet these needs.

We appreciate your continued support and for partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace.  To Him be the glory!

When you ask the question “How many gospels do we have?”, most people will say four, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But the truth is there is only one gospel, four versions. But then there is a fifth version, the gospel according to you.

Example: How many of you highlight in your Bibles? For those that do, John 3:16 is usually always underlined or highlighted. Same with John 10:10, “I have come that you might have life and have it in the full.” But if you look up Luke 12:33 it is seldom highlighted. It reads “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” Or Matthew 5:43, 44, “Jesus said, it is written, love your neighbors, and hate your enemies, but I tell you to love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.” Most people don’t have these verses highlighted. That’s what we mean by the gospel according to you. Many times we take what we like and discard the rest. Here is one of my favorite poems on this subject.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO YOU

If none but you in the world today

Had tried to live in a Christ-like way,

Could the rest of the world look close at you

And find the path that is straight and true?

If none but you in the world so wide

Had found the Christ as his daily guide,

Would the things you do and the things you say

Lead others to live in a Christ-like way?

My friends of Christ, in the world today

There are those who watch us upon our way

And they look to the things we say and do

To measure our Christian standard true.

Now some will follow the Gospel of Christ

With His love so unfailing and true,

But what will they think and what will they say

About the Gospel according to you?

Each day you are writing a letter to all.

Take care that your writing is true;

Because the only Gospel that some will see,

Is the Gospel according to you.

Anonymous

When people look at you, do they see a window or a mirror? Example, if they see a mirror, they see only a reflection of themselves. You’re no different than they are. But if you’re a window, they will see Jesus in you, His love, His joy, His kindness, etc. Remember, each day we are writing a letter to all. Take care that your writing is true because the only gospel that some will see is the gospel according to you.

LIFE LESSON: Be a window. St. Augustine said “Go out and preach the gospel; if you must, use words.”

We appreciate your continued support and for partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace. To Him be the glory!

The Galatian Road seminar was a recent success. Soon we should have Bible study materials for leaders and participants.

Do you ever get annoyed with the way we toss around the word “love” these days? I mean we just love so many things. We love our car (maybe), we love a cute pair of shoes, we love pizza and ice cream sundaes, and we love our sports teams. We throw the word around so much that it seems to have lost some of its luster, its ability to move us.

But it’s not just the overuse of the word “love” that has minimized the impact. We seem to give and retract our love all too quickly. Take any of the previous examples, we love our cars until they get old and break down. We love our shoes until we see some newer ones. We love pizza and hot fudge sundaes until they land on our hips or waistline. We love our sports teams if and only if they win. This is what we call conditional love. It is clearly the most common variety, and you get it most anywhere these days at least for a while.

But such a love leaves us wanting more, doesn’t it? We wish for something deeper and more profound. We long for a love that will last, not just for a few days, weeks, or months, but for a lifetime. We long for what we call unconditional love. This kind of love is difficult to find these days even if you are looking. And the truth is, we were made for love, not only to receive it, but also to give it.

The very core of our being was wired to crave love. To need a love that doesn’t depend upon on how we have performed or how we are acting at the moment. The Lord has remade us as His children and His followers to give and receive a love that won’t let go. A love that will last. Let the words of the Apostle Paul from Ephesians 5:1,2 sink in. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us…”

But how do we do this? How can we give unconditional love when others don’t act very loveable, when we feel we’re the ones that ought to be loved first, just this once? In short, how do we love like Jesus without conditions?

Scripture teaches that we are to let the giver of love give His love through us. That is the mystery of our faith, “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27)

Remember, Jesus died for us to give His life to us, to live His life through us.   Let’s look at II Corinthians 4:11 which reads: “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.” His life is a life of love.

Do you remember the song that went like this “What the world needs now is love, sweet love, it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of”? Words still relevant today.

LIFE LESSON: By receiving His love that comes without conditions, we simply become a channel, an instrument for God’s love to flow through us to those around us in need of the same unconditional love.

Jesus spoke these words in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We appreciate your continued support and for partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace. To Him be the glory!

God is continuing to use and work through our Minibuk and ministry. Glory to God!

Jesus Christ is the rock. In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul writes “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one which is already laid which is Jesus Christ.”

Jesus in Matthew 7 tells us the story of the two builders; the wise man who builds his house on a foundation of rock and the foolish man who builds his house on a foundation of sand. The only difference was their foundation.

When the storms came and beat against the two foundations, the one built on rock stood firm while the house built on sand fell with a great crash. Now there are several similarities in the story of the two builders. Both built their houses in the same location. We know this because both houses were subject to the same storm. True believers and false believers invariably live side by side. They attend the same church and often go to the same Bible studies. Both of the buildings are so similar that they are indistinguishable to most people. In fact, both built their houses in the same way because the Lord said the only difference is in their foundation.

So both men built houses in the same location and they built them in the same way. Both individuals carry a Bible and a notebook; both of them pray, give, and participate in many of the same church activities. All of what they do looks identical. So the only difference is their foundation and unfortunately, the foundation is not visible once the great building is up. Only an honest, soul-searching examination can reveal the truth.

While the foolish person is in a hurry, the wise man is not. In Luke’s version, he wrote “The wise man is like the man building a house who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.” This man dug deep for the rock and blew away the sand of human opinion, perception, and self-will. There are many people who say they believe in Jesus Christ and accept His Word as the gospel truth, yet there is no evidence to confirm it. Their lives are superficial. We live in the age of superficiality. Millions of people profess to be Christians but when they don’t get what they want from Christ as fast as they want it, and their building starts to collapse, they immediately start looking for another sandy place on which to build.

Now what is this sand on which they look to build. It is human goodness, human effort, and self-sufficiency. Paul calls it “wood, hay and straw.” It is the oldest weakness of the flesh… “you, too can be like God.” We have all seen that happen. A person will say, “I’m a Christian”, but as soon as the demands of God’s Word are made clear to them, he or she is gone. That is not the way with the person who digs deep through the sand to the rock bed of God’s Word.

Jesus Christ is our foundation, He is our cornerstone. The person who digs deep gets rid of their self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. He or she builds for God’s glory, not theirs. Someday our Lord will return. Jesus will separate the wheat from the chaff. A windy, rainy storm is on the horizon and the house on the rock will stand firm while the house on the sand will fall with a great clash.

LIFE LESSON: What we see as truth may not be the truth; it may be a false truth. How do we tell the difference between the two? Teaching that lands at our feet and tells us what we must do is not the truth, but teaching that lands at the feet of Jesus and tells what He does in us, for us, and through us is the truth. Because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jesus is the rock; Jesus is our foundation, build on the rock.

We appreciate your continued support and for partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace. To Him be the glory!

God is continuing to use and work through our Minibuk and ministry. Glory to God!

(THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST)

Scripture teaches: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Now that’s grace!

Max Lucado’s Facebook page on March 20, 2014, reads as follows:

“When grace happens, Christ enters. Christ in you, the hope of glory! For many years, I missed this truth. I believed all the other prepositions: Christ for me, with me, ahead of me. But I never imagined that Christ was in me.”

“I can’t blame my deficiency on Scripture. Paul refers to the indwelling Christ 216 times. John mentions His presence 26 times. No other religion or philosophy makes such a claim. No other movement implies the living presence of its founder in his followers.”

“Mohammed does not indwell Muslims. Buddha does not inhabit Buddhists. Influence? Instruct? Yes. But occupy? No!“

“The mystery of Christianity is summarized in Colossians 1:27: “Christ is in you!” The Christian is a person in whom Christ is happening! Little by little a new image emerges! All because of God’s grace.”

And at Christmas this past year Max Lucado posted this on his Facebook page:

“MORE THAN A CHRISTMAS STORY”

“The virgin birth is more, much more, than a Christmas story. It’s a story of how close Christ will come to you! The first stop on His itinerary was a womb. Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep inside Mary for an answer. Better still—look deep within yourself.”

“Christ in you, the hope of glory!” the scripture says (Col 1:27). Christ grew in Mary until He had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs. He will come out in your speech, in your actions, in your decisions. Every place you live will be a Bethlehem. And every day you live will be a Christmas. Deliver Christ into the world…your world.”

David R. Anderson, Ph.D. in his book titled Free Grace Soteriology writes “We were saved from the penalty of sin by his death, but we shall be saved from the power of sin by his life. We gained eternal life as he became our substitute in death, but we shall enjoy an abundant life as he becomes our substitute in life. The hardest thing for a non-Christian to believe is in the substitutionary death of Christ, but the hardest thing for a Christian to believe in is the substitutionary life of Christ.”

Scripture teaches: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)

LIFE LESSON: Remember Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us to give his life to us to live his life through us. Once you know the truth, the truth will set you free. It’s freedom in Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It truly is salvation through Jesus Christ!

With this truth in mind, let’s have the greatest year ever in Christ. Happy New Year!

We were overjoyed to receive a recent testimony text message from Las Vegas: “Please let me know where I can get The Galatian Road, little book. I love them. It is life-changing. I like the fact it stays away from what people think Christianity is which drives them away. This book is simple, to the point and easy to understand the Christian life.”

We appreciate your continued support and for partnering with us to proclaim the truth in God’s Word about His amazing grace. To Him be the glory!

God is using and working through our Minibuk and ministry. Glory to God!

Growing in His Grace,

Len Baker

A woman was Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of walking down row after row of toys and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the store elevator with her two children in hand.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, making sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened revealing a crowd inside. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids and all her bags of stuff in with her.

As the doors closed she couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot,”

From the back of the elevator, a quiet calm voice responded, “Don’t worry lady, we’ve already crucified Him.” The rest of the trip down was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

The true Christmas – the celebration of Jesus’ birth – seems to be diminishing. Our “Christmas” is being replaced with a separate and unrelated event: “the Holidays.” A Christian Christmas perspective would be spending time rejoicing in the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, “the Holidays” are instead spent rushing frantically from store to store, seeking out the perfect gift, and subtly hinting at what your loved ones can buy for you.

Luke tells us what this Christmas season is really all about. “And there were shepherds living out in the field nearby keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manager.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:8-14

LIFE LESSON: This Christmas, don’t forget to keep the One who started this whole celebration in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all would, just think how much better this world would be. Remember the most important part of Christmas is the first six letters. Christ is the reason for the season. Wise men still seek Him. Amen, Amen!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!