12/29          2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

GRACE

God’s grace-all we need.  Freely given.  Renewed each day.

More than we can ever use.  Grace, grace, God’s grace straight from God.  

He gives us what we need.  Jesus paid the price.  

We serve the king.  He is our Father.  Jesus is Lord.  

12/28          Philippians 1:6

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

WORK

God is active-He is in you.  Filling you with grace and mercy.  
His presence-Your life-Led by the Lord guiding you with His advice.  
Listen.  Jesus is Lord.  Listen.  God is speaking to you.  
Jesus says, “I love you.  I will never leave you.  Follow me.”

12/27          Matthew 2:19-23

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.  20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”  21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother.   22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

PLAN

God’s plan works.  Find out His plan for you.
It’s always the best plan.  It fits you perfectly.
He will tell you what His plan is for your life.  Ask Him. 
Spend time with Jesus.  He is the way the truth and the life.  

12/26          Matthew 2:13-18

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”  16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.  17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”  

USE

God will use you.  God can use anyone to accomplish His plans.  Let the Lord use you.  Come to Him and spend time with Him.  Listen as He directs your path.  Jesus is Lord.  He came so save us from our sin.  HE was God’s plan.  

12/25          Matthew 2:9-12

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.  10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!  11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. 

KING

Jesus was a king.  He was Lord.  He came to save us from our sin.  He would pay the price for our sin, a price we couldn’t pay.  Jesus is Lord.  

12/24          Matthew 2:1-8

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,  2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”  3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”  5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:  6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”  7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 

BIRTH

Born to die.  He came for each one of us.  God loves you!

12/23          Matthew 1:18-25 

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

JESUS

His name was Jesus.  He came to save us from our sin.  

We were desperately wicked and evil.  Blind and dead we were of no value.  

Only God valued us.  He sent Jesus to us, to cleanse us from evil. 

Giving us new life in Christ.  God’s free gift.  Cost Jesus His life.  

Now we belong to Him.  He has always loved us and will forever.  

Jesus is Lord.  His Lordship includes me.  Praise the Lord.His salvation has set me free sin and evil.  I belong to Him.  

12/22          Luke 2:16-20 

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. 

HERE

He belonged to us.  We saw Him.  He changed us.

Before we met Him our life was a mess. 

Desperate days and chaotic nights.  Pain beyond belief.  

He loved us.  We saw it as He hung on that cross.  

His life given for us.  We were lost and He died for us,

Paying a price we couldn’t pay. 

On the 3^rd day, His Father, our Father, raised Him from the dead.

I believe in Jesus.  I believe because He first loved me.  

His live for my life.  Praise God, the Christ child has set me free.  

12/21          Luke 2:8-15 

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 

LOVES

God loves you.  He created you to love Him.  

Everything you have and everything you can be comes from God.  

Do not turn away.  Jesus loves you.  

The Lord Jesus came to pay the price for our sin and save us. 

He provides forgiveness of our sin, redemption and forgiveness.   

He offers us the free gift of eternal life, life like God’s life.

Jesus brings us into the family of God.  

12/20. Luke 2:6-7
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. 

BIRTH

Birth of a child.  Foretold in forty-eight messianic promises.  

The Old Testament testified to His coming in 574 verses.  

We knew it but most don’t believe.  Jesus, Creator of all things is born.

He came as a baby so He wouldn’t scare us.  

He wanted us to see what God looked like.  His coming is the Gospel.

God with us.  God righting the wrongs of evil.  The victory here on Earth.  

God is perfect in every way and Jesus came to show us that perfection.  

When you see Jesus, you have seen God.