Merry Christmas...

This week is the anniversary of the day that changed the world like none other. Nothing has so affected our planet as the coming of Jesus the Christ.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
~Isaiah 9:6-7
What intrigues me today is the phrase about the increase of His government and peace having no end. Limit-less favor and unending grace. It’s hard to fathom that Christ desires to pour favor into our lives and families forever. His blessings that are new every morning have no conclusion…if we will allow it. It saddens me to think of the millions around us who’ve never learned to rely upon the limitless blessings of Christ. They are a prayer away from becoming deeply enriched by the same one that enriched the world 2000 years ago. It moves me to help others reach for the spirit of Christ. Oh I how depend upon His daily favor. Oh how it changes me. I wish you and yours a most favored day. And tomorrow…more…much more of the same. Because of Christ…Merry Christmas! ~verlon

All About Favor...

I love this time of the year. The Christmas story is soul-deep and soul-stirring. I've been thinking about the messages the angels gave during the time of advent. To Mary the angel said...

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." ~Luke 1:28

And to the shepherds who were being invited to the incarnation, the angels said...

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." ~ Luke 2:13-14

It is just so fascinating to me that the message God instructed His angels to proclaim during the introduction of His son was one of peace and good will. Christ's coming was all about peace and good will for every person on the planet. Thus, all of our present dealings with Him continue to be ALL ABOUT FAVOR! ~Verlon

Mis-spent Emotions...

We get emotional about many things. We get irritated at traffic, angry when things don't go our way at work, and concerned about money issues. We spend our emotions on many things every day of our lives. Even the passive people are feeling many things inside of them, though they may not show it outwardly. Here is a time when God directed one mans emotions...

"Then God said to Jonah, is it right for you to be angry because the plant died? You feel sorry about the plant, but Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?" ~Jonah 4:9-11

When we read this verse from a divine perspective its easy to see that Jonah's emotions were being expressed disproportionate to the actual needs. He was spending his frustration on a plant dying, and being heartless about the thousands of people dying all around him. The grand point of the book of Jonah was God showing what is truly worthy of passion and compassion. It is people! Especially people who are living in darkness; they deserve our primary passion and attention. It is easy for us to get so wrapped up in things that are immediately affecting us that we MIS-SPEND OUR EMOTIONS. ~Verlon

Rethink Our Spirituality...

Most of us have an idea of what constitutes good spirituality. Scripture reading, prayer, church attendance, and worship are probably on most people's lists. But take a look at this divine reaction...

"Away with your noisy hymns of praise! Instead I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living." ~Amos 5:23-24

Perhaps our ideas of Christian expression aren't as aligned with scripture as we think. I read one author who stated, "does it disturb you that most of the things we do in Christianity today aren't found on any of the pages of scripture?" That is a interesting observation. Our Lord has communicated in scripture what He is looking for. In this verse He wants to see His people engaged in actions that are making wrong things 'right'. Further He wants to see His people restoring justice to those who can't do it for themselves - the oppressed. In Isaiah 58 He states that He is not looking for those who are fasting nearly as much as He is looking for those who are helping the poor find bread. Don't get me wrong, great worship services and prayerful fasting have their place, but perhaps they are not on the same level as lifting up the poor and oppressed. We all need to stop once in a while and align our expressions of Christianity to what our Lord has actually requested in scripture. There is a time to RETHINK OUR SPIRITUALITY. ~Verlon

Secret To Love in a Nutshell...

Where does love come from?...And how can we get more of it in our lives? Those are two questions we can all appreciate. We know that love makes many things work better in our lives, but we can't just produce it as an activity of human will, can we? We know God is the author of love, but does that mean we should just pray for it? Here is an interesting insight...

"Plant the good seeds of righteousness and you will harvest a crop of love...now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you." ~Hosea 10:12

Having large doses of love show up in our lives is the result of something - Righteousness! That word doesn't get much air time in our day, but it is actually a phrase that the Kings English crammed together. It actually reads, 'Right - ways - ness'. That helps our understanding of the term. Scripture is filled with many 'ways' that mankind should go. Interestingly enough, seemingly disconnected 'ways' produce an outcome of love in our lives. Go figure! When layers upon layers of 'right ways' are occurring over and over again, it produces love in a persons life, in their family, and among their neighbors. Those most likely to find these 'ways' are those who seek the 'ways' of the Lord as their first priority. And those are the same people who find themselves becoming showered with 'right-way-thoughts' and 'right-way-plans' and 'right-way-words' and 'right-way-actions'. And that is the SECRET TO LOVE IN A NUTSHELL! ~Verlon

Grab On To Trust...

Have you ever felt greed creeping up inside of you? I'm sure you have; it's common to man. While it feels powerful and justified, it always leads to a dark place.

"Greed causes fighting; trusting the Lord leads to prosperity." ~Proverbs 28:25

Some people have been friends with greed for so long they don't even recognize it in themselves. It motivates some to be work-a-holics, some to pay the price for certain kinds of success, and others to be outright mean as they insist on their self-centered agenda's. But one thing for sure - it always leads to conflict. You'd think that to deal with greed we'd need to dismiss our desires and wants. Surprisingly, that is not the solution. That just leaves us with nothing and no plan with which to improve our situation. The better way to look at greed is to realize it is a symptom revealing that something is missing in our lives. To restore that something causes greed to dissipate. That something is trust. When we are trusting our Lord with everything in our lives, greed no longer makes sense. Greed only has a job when we think it is up to us to make our own way in this life. Trust is a completely different paradigm - a different world view. When we trust, we are anticipating that the daily blessings and the promised favor of the Lord will flow into our lives. So the next time we feel the pangs of greed whelming up inside of us, perhaps it's time to once again GRAB ON TO TRUST! I am pretty sure we are going to like that outcome much better. ~Verlon