Christmas

Happy New Year to All!

We at Homewords Ministry hope that all had a God Blessed Christmas and we pray that God’s continued Blessings be yours in 2015.

Please excuse our silence for about 45 days. Our Bible Study took a forced break because Glenda was in the hospital for 21 days, undergoing cancer surgeries.  One of our priorities at this time is to follow God’s guidance, in the daily processes of  adapting to the changes that will give Glenda a renewed quality of life.

We give thanks to God for successfully bringing Glenda and the family through a very difficult 21 days. We give thanks to God for sustaining us in the challenges ahead, as we know that the days of hospitalization are just the beginning.  We thank all of you for your continued prayers during this difficult time. Through it all we hold to; But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalm 73:28)

Toward the task ahead of renewing the Bible Studies and blogs, please continue to pray that we do God’s will, as you hear more for us in the future.

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Today in the Town of David

Luke 2:8-12 And there were shepherds living out in fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of he Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone 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 manger.”  

Today, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus our Savior, Homewords Ministry wishes all a blessed Christmas Day.

“Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room!” Luke 2:1-7

Joy to the world the Lord is come,

Let earth receive her King,,

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

(From Psalm 98) Issac Watts

This familiar Christmas song really brings on the Spirit of Christmas.  It is the season when we wait expectantly for a renewed joy of the holiday.

Every year for as long as we can remember, we get more excited about Christmas.  Even when we are mandated to greet co-workers or people of other faiths with “Happy Holidays!” rather than “Merry Christmas!” to prove that we are sensitive— our hearts are shouting with a silent cheer—“Merry Christmas!”

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to his own town to register.  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7

Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus gives us the reason Jesus was born in a stable where animals of that day were sheltered.  There was no room for them in the Inn.  We can understand that the stable was the only place that Jesus and His family had to occupy.  Do we still in 2013, over two-thousand years later have problems finding a space for Jesus to occupy?  Is there space for Him in the world He created?  Is there space for Him in the lives He’s created?  Is there space for Him in the homes He’s blessed us with?  Is there space for Him in our hearts that He regulates?

When we decorate our homes for Christmas, will we save a special memorial space for the “reason for the season?”

When we calculate what will be spent on Christmas, will we add on a contribution to a cause that Jesus would approve of?

As we plan for our Christmas vacation, will we allot time to focus on Jesus?

When we pledge to be filled with the kindness of the Christmas Spirit, will that include the people Jesus would be kind to?

When the family gathers to exchange gifts, will we remind them that the greatest gift that God, the father gave to His world, was Jesus?  Do we understand that, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)”, is more appropriate to consider at Christmas than our loyal participation in the football season?  It is at this time that we are better able to identify with sacrificial giving.  If we were to plot our time spent on a pie chart for 2010, how much time can we document as being spent on or on behalf of Jesus? Was it a fair amount of time based on the blessings He’s provided for us?

When we remember that Christmas is a Birthday Celebration; are we even aware that the birthday celebrity (Jesus) is often not invited and most times not acknowledged?  As our calendars begin to fill with the Christmas parties we have to attend, let’s remember and remind others whose party we’re actually attending.  This year invite the King of King, and Lord of Lords to sit in the seat of honor, He so richly deserves.

“Merry Christmas from Homewords!”

Note: Article reprinted from December 2009.

 

“In Preparation for the Savior” (Reprint from December 2011)

Revelation 3:20-22

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

 

“Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)

“Laodicea was a commercial and administrative center, the richest city in its district.  In fact, when it was destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD, Laodicea refused imperial aid that its neighbors gladly accepted.  Laodicea “was known throughout the Roman world of its time for three things: its banks, which even Cicero recommended for exchanging money, its linen and wool industry, which produced cloth, and carpets, especially from the glossy black wool of sheep reared in the area; its medical school  and widely famed medicines, notable among which was an eye-ointment. (See Revelation 3:17-18).   Laodicea’s sister city were Hierapolis and Colosse. Because Laodicea was built to suit the trade routes rather than natural resources, the city had no local water supply.  Water had to be piped in through stone conduits. This made the city extremely vulnerable to attack, so its politicians specialized in appeasement.  Laodicea had a large Jewish population –at least 7,500 adult males.”Laodicea means, “rule of the people” or “judgment of the people.” “(2, pg. 43)

                 We, like the church at Laodicea have taken pride in our resources and accomplishments.  However, Jesus had to remind them that they were:  wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (3:17); although they accumulated money in their banks, produced an eye-ointment in their medical school, and linen and wool for cloth.  Especially glossy black wool of the sheep reared in that area—reminds me of the Nursery Rhyme, “Baa, Baa Black Sheep”.  In their self-pride in their accomplishments, they had forgotten their benefactor— the source of their supply—the Savior, Himself.

Jesus’ position with the church of Laodicea is the same position He takes with us today, outside the door (Revelation 3:20) of our hearts, homes, churches, and concerns. “God is standing outside the doors of our homes— the black doors, the green doors, the red doors, the white doors, the shabby doors, and the neat doors.  Shall we open those doors to Him and invite Him into our family circle?  He is waiting for us to do just that.”  (3. pg. 129)  God is ever-present, and accessible— yet waiting to be invited in to our hearts, homes, churches, and concerns.  We may sometimes wonder why God isn’t doing more in some of our situations; we may even get angry at God for not caring.  The problem is not with God; it’s that we’ve never had the courage to invite God into the problem, give it to Him completely to solve, and trust Him totally with the outcome. Have we prepared room for the Savior in our hearts, homes, churches, and concerns? Are there areas of our lives that we frankly feel that Jesus should have no involvement in? If He’s not Lord of all, is He Lord at all?   Are we so full of ourselves that we can only “top our glass-off” with the Savior through a few minutes when we have nothing else on our schedule?  Have we left the Savior standing outside the door, knocking and waiting, again?

Jesus, the Savior, “was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died a substitionary death, bodily rose from the dead, and is physically coming back again.”  (1. pg. 162) Have you made room for the Savior?

References

  1. Evans, Tony, Dry Bones Dancing, Multnomah, Publishers, Inc., Sister, OR,2005
  2. Revelation, Life Change Series, NavPress, Colorado Springs,Co.,1989.
  3. Shoemaker, Helen Smith, The Secret of Effective Prayer, Word Books, Waco TX, 1967