Christmas story

One night a long time ago, Mary was staring out her window daydreaming of her life with Joseph, her future husband.
All of a sudden, a shining light startled her. An angel of God appeared and spoke to Mary, "I am the angel Gabriel sent by God to tell you that God loves you very much and is very happy with you. He has chosen you to be a mother of boy Jesus. Jesus will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest."
Mary said, " I will be the handmaiden of the Lord, I will yield to His Will; let it be."
And then the angel Gabriel disappeared.
Mary suddenly felt great peace and the Holy Ghost came to visit her.
The powers of the Highest overshadow her and she became pregnant.
When Mary awoke the next morning, she felt happy. Yet she was wondering if everything was true...
"Oh I know the angel told me that my cousin Elisabeth is pregnant, I think I will go visit her"
She got dressed, ate, let her Mom know where she was going and why; and off she went on a journey to Juda where her cousin lived.
It took Mary a few days, so when she arrived at Zacharias and Elisabeth' s home she was tired and weary from the long journey;
Elisabeth hurried to share her news with her about what the Lord had done, but as she saw Mary and heard her voice the baby in her tummy jumped with joy!
At that moment, Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and she started saying
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the baby you carry. It is such a blessing that you came to visit me the mother of my Lord.
Look Mary! The baby in my tummy leaps for joy, feel him jump. He is happy, it is as if he knows the child you carry is special. Mary said, "Oh Elisabeth, I feel so loved. It is amazing that He has chosen me a simple maiden to be the mother of His Holy Child.
Mary stayed with her for about three months helping and learning many precious lessons. She wanted to be there when Elisabeth gave birth to the baby.
When baby John was born Mary knew it was time for her to go home and tell Joseph all that had happen. She worried about how Joseph would receive this news, so she asked Elisabeth and Zacharias to keep her in their prayers.
Joseph loved Mary very much but when he heard the news of her pregnancy, he was very saddened and confused.
He did not know what to do, but God did
As Joseph slept, the angel appeared to him in his dreams saying, " Joseph, God wants you take Mary as your wife.
She is carrying God's child and He wants you to take care of her. This baby is very special! You are to call him Jesus; he shall save his people from their sins.
God has found you faithful and worthy of raising His child. This is a great blessing from Him! So fear not to take Mary as your wife, everything will work out, God is in control."
Joseph woke up and ran to Mary's house. " Mary, Mary! I just had a dream! You are to be my wife. An angel told me."
Mary was so happy, they hugged and praised God together.
Caesar Augustus, the ruler at that time, ordered everyone to pay their taxes in the city they were born in.
This was distressing news for Joseph and Mary.
It meant they would have to travel a long ways to go to Joseph' s home in Bethlehem and the baby was due soon.
He was not pleased with the news but then he remembered a scripture, a prophecy he was taught about the birth of the Messiah. Joeseph marveled at " God's Mysterious Ways"...
Joseph did everything possible to make the trip easy for Mary.
When they arrived in Joseph's hometown, there was nowhere for them to stay, all the rooms in the inns where full...
Mary looked tired as she spoke,
" Joseph the baby is coming, we need to find a place where I can give birth."
He tried to encourage Mary
" God has a special place for us " ,
but Joseph didn' t know where.
So they stopped and prayed together asking God to provide a place and that He would have His Perfect Way.
Then Joseph remembered the stable -- a place where he used to play when he was a boy -- he used to love to go there to see all the different animals.
" Mary I will take you to the stable it will be dry and warm there. It' s not too much farther" , he said.
Joseph prepared a place for Mary to have the baby. She was so happy to be out of the cold and in a sheltered area. It was not long afterward that Mary and Joseph were rejoicing at the birth of Jesus. They were so happy that everything worked out and that Jesus was a healthy baby. They wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.
Soon they both felt into a restful sleep.
Meanwhile...
A few hours later, Mary and Joseph were interrupted from their sleep.
Mary said to Joseph, "Look there are shepherds outside the stable."
Mary was worried that they might have to move and find another place to rest. "Joseph, please go see what they want."
Joseph reluctantly got up from his place of rest and went to see. Shortly after he came back to Mary's side and told her that they wanted to see the baby.
"Why?", Mary asked. Joseph replied, "I will let them tell you. Is it OK?"
"Yes, it is ok, Joseph, let them come in", Mary answered.
Look at the child as the angel told us,” the shepherds said, “Let us explain, a bright light appeared out of the heavens.
We were greatly worried and afraid but an angel appeared and told us, “Fear not: I bring you good tidings of Great Joy for all people.
Today! In the city of David a Savior is born, Christ the Lord.
You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.”
Then there was a heavenly multitude in the sky praising God and singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Oh what a blessed child this is! What a Beautiful night! We will not stay long but we had to come and see the miracle that was told us. You understand?”
“Yes,” Mary replied, “This is a wondrous miracle!” Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
“We will be off now, we must get back to our flock. Thank You!”
As they went, they rejoiced and told everybody they met about the miracle that took place that night.
A couple days later when the streets of Bethlehem soon returned to normal Mary and Joseph found a nice place to stay. They were so happy for all that the Lord had done!
Meanwhile, the same night that Jesus was born, a star appeared in the sky and in the East, three wise men were watching.
They knew this was special; and that a great king was born that night. Each decided to leave their country and follow the star so they could give gifts to the new king.
But on their way to find Jesus, do you know what happened?
God had been guiding them by the star, but when they got there they apparently used their natural reasoning and wisdom, "Oh well, we're here now, we'll go ask the king!
Of course he'll know where the Messiah, this great King has been born. We'll go ask King Herod, we'll be able to tell us, and his wise men".
So they went to the bad wicked King Herod to find out, where the King was being born, and he said, "Who is the King? What other king besides me has being born in this country?- I'm the king!"
But at least he called his wise men and asked, "Hey, where's this guy suppose to be born anyway?- The Messiah of the Jews, this King of Jews?"
The prophet had said:
"And thoug Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel".

So Wise Men knew that the King was no help.
So they saw the star and the star guided them again to Bethlehem and they found Jesus.
They had three kind of gifts
The gift of frankincense - a lovely perfume - signified that Jesus was God - the Son of God.
The next gift was myrrh - a sad perfume-that showed that Jesus is going to be crucified and die and be buried in a cold tomb. Myrrh was what they put on people when they died, a perfume that they embalm people with.
But there was another gift, and this was a very important gift as you'll see...
What was it?-
-Gold!-
Now why did he need gold anyway?
Because they had to live in the foreign country hiding for two years!
God gave the kings a dream and said, "King Herod is afraid to lose his kingdom because of Jesus. He is going to kill Jesus."
So the kings went back another route, a shortcut, and they bypassed the wicked King Herod.
An Angel also appeared to Joseph and said, "Take your wife and young child and flee to Egypt, and be there until I tell you to come back.
So he took his wife and Jesus and the donkey and they took off for Egypt!
After two years the Lord told Joseph, "Don't worry anymore, King Herod is dead! You can go home to Nazareth now!"
Imagine they went away just a young couple with a pregnant wife, and they came back with a four-year-old little boy!
How about that!
"Out of Egypt have I called My Son" (Mathew 2:15; Hosea 11;1)

Three Friends . . . Which One Will You Choose?

By Robert H. Schuller

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." – Luke 16:13

There was a man who had three friends; two he treasured highly; one he didn't care much about; and one he was just too busy to think about. One day, this man received a notice from the king that he was being called into court. Fearfully, he called on his best friend to help. But the best friend told him, "I'm sorry. I can't go with you." He went to the friend he treasured second best and told him of the king's order. "I'm sorry," this friend replied, "I'll go with you to the palace gate, but that's as far as I'll go." The man then went to his third friend, the one he'd ignored and neglected for a long time. This friend said, "I will go with you. I think I can help you." That friend not only went with him, but he also went into the courtroom and stood up and pleaded his friend's case before the king. And the man was relieved of his charges! That king is God. The man is every man. The call to come to court is death. The first friend is money. When you're dying, that friend cannot go with you. So you call on your next most treasured friend. That friend is your family. They will go with you to the palace gate but no further. The third friend is named Faith. That friend says, "Yes, I will go with you." And He walks with you through the gate right up to the King where your "debts" are forgiven and you are received into God's kingdom. Claim the friend of Faith today. Invite Jesus Christ to be your Friend forever. You'll never be sorry!
No "friendship" this world has to offer compares to having Jesus Christ as your forever Friend.
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It's easy to think, O God, that money, family, or a myriad of others things will give me what I'm looking for in life. I know that's not true. Today I choose You. In faith I'm inviting You to come into my life and be my Friend forever.
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Every Day Is Recess

By Robert A. Schuller

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall." – 2 Peter 1:10
When kids burst out the doors at a typical grammar school and head for the playground at recess, what do they do? Whatever they want . . . as long as they stay within the bounds of the playground and play according to school rules. Without telling them what to do, some run for the swings, some for the jungle gym, some for the slide, and some for the merry-go-round. Others jump rope, play jacks on the sidewalk, or throw a Frisbee. Still others race for the ball fields to play softball or kickball. Some shoot hoops. Why do they make the choices they do? Because it's what brings them joy at recess and they know they're free to choose how to spend their precious thirty minutes of freedom. Okay, peer pressure and friendships may steer some of the kids one direction or the other, but let's assume they are fulfilling their longings by the activity they choose at recess. I believe this is the way God wants us to think of life. School children have a designated area in which to play and general guidelines of courtesy and safety to follow. Within these two limitations they can do whatever they want. Our playground is planet Earth and our guidelines are God's moral stipulations that are for our own good. Within these boundaries, we are free to do whatever we want! That doesn't negate the idea of God's purpose or calling for our lives. Just as a teacher might come alongside and influence a student to adjust his or her activity, God is perfectly capable of working within our choices to cause us to fulfill the purpose He knows will suit us best. Our challenge is to look at life as our playground and every day as recess – to take off the blinders and dream bigger and farther than we've ever dreamed before.
God loves to creatively work within our "fun" to accomplish His purposes.

The Effectual Prayer of a Church

“Peter therefore was kept in. prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him”. (Acts 12 : 5 )

Why was Peter in prison? Her­od wanted to kill him. Herod kill­ed James. This pleased the Jews very much. He wanted to please the Jews more by killing Peter. The Jews were always carrying evil reports about the Herodian family to Caesar. So Herod want­ed to please the Jews. The Jews felt their religion was in jeopardy because of the disciples of Jesus.
Herod stretched forth his hand to vex the church. His end was near. When a man's end is near, he becomes more active than us­ual against the Kingdom of God . This is one of the signs that that man's end is near.
Peter was not troubled about his condition. The next day was the day of his death, but he was sleeping soundly. Peter wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus told him that he could not follow Him then, but a time would come when he would be able to follow Him even to death. Peter's desire was now being fulfilled. That night, in his mind, he must have willingly died. His faith had grown so strong. Those who continue in the Word, will find their heart's deepest de­sires fulfilled. God is greater than our desires. In fulfilling our desi­res He will far exceed them. Pe­ter had desired this death-daring faith.
Prayer was being made in the church without ceasing. We won­der at the acts of the apostles. But we must know that they took place because the church was pr­aying. The church was one. There was not one person with another mind among them. If there was one man there with a contrary mind, he would have been as a wire that is earthed which disch­arged the circuit. They will be earth-wires. This was a live church and it was praying for the impossible­ for Peter in the Roman prison.
Peter was chained to two soldiers on either hand. There were other soldiers on guard and a fi­nal gate outside. The prayer of the church will release those in prison. Many are bound by evil spirits and evil desires and vani­ty. No one can release them. Some families are bound, they cannot understand the gospel. Fa­ther, mother and children are all in darkness. Every kind of sin will be there and they will be in great misery. How to release th­em? The church has to pray for them.
There are two chains that bind people - sins of commission and sins of omission. Some are releas­ed from one chain, but still bou­nd by the other. Who will save them? The church can save them. Where faithful men gather and where Christ is, that is the chur­ch.
Prayer was being made without ceasing. This was a real church. An angel came and the chains on either side snapped. There may be big churches which cannot break chains. They are not churches.
Peter was asked to put on his sandals. A man who is freed, puts on the sandals of the gospel of peace. Peter crossed the first ward and the second ward. After conversion we have still two wards to cross. We have to be planted together with Him in the likeness of His death and then we have to rise into the newness of the resurrection life. When the church is praying these deliverances will be experienced.
There was still the iron gate to cross. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:22). We cross over into the holy life. There is holiness there.
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9). We have to join the saints in glory. If we are praying great things will happen.
-Late Mr. N. Daniel

Growth Requires Patience

By Robert A. Schuller

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." – Psalm 119:105
Learning and growth take time. Insights come here and there, one at a time. "Full perfection" doesn’t come all at once. But how impatient we get. When it comes to getting direction and counsel for our journey, we want the whole loaf every time we sit down at the table instead of drawing our nourishment from the daily bread God provides.

Think of what Psalm 119:105 tells us, "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." This verse is almost a cliché in Christian circles today, but it is the truth nonetheless. In the time this verse was written a tiny oil lamp would illuminate only a few feet ahead at best.. The writer had no concept of seeing all the way down the path at once.

But in our day we’re not content with just a few feet; we want to see the starting line and the finish line at the same time. I have a friend who is sixty years old and has been a believer since the age of twenty. During those forty years he has chronicled five specific "Eureka!" periods in his life, all of which led to years of reflection and application before the next one began.

Each "Eureka!" experience in life has been vitally important to him and has shaped his understanding of himself and his relationship with God. But look how slowly they came – on average, one every eight years. And he is convinced there will be more of these experiences as he continues to follow the path God is laying out before him.

Anyone searching for God's path for his or her life must be willing to walk in the light God gives today, confident there will be more when it is needed.
Truth over time is God's way of bringing us to spiritual maturity.
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Lord, give me insight as I read Your Word. Remind me when I get impatient with the process that learning and growth take time. Help me to walk in the light You give me today, and to hold onto the confidence there will be more light when it is needed.
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The Gift of Family

By Robert A. Schuller

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." -Exodus 20:12

Many people live in a personal world of intimate strangers. But God never intended for it to be that way as we see by his second recorded conversation with the first man.

Adam’s first assignment from God was to name all the animals—a task which left him in an unenviable position as the only solitary soul on Planet Earth.

Every other creature on Earth had another face like its own to look at, another pair of eyes to meet in some measure of shared meaning.

But not Adam. So God’s second conversation with His earthly, human gardener was to tell him it wasn’t good for him to be alone. It wasn’t healthy for Adam to be alone. Without a partner he would never have learned to talk, to discuss, to debate, to plan, to compromise, or to give and receive advice, correction, and exhortation.

In short, Adam never would have blossomed or reached his full potential without another human being.

God has given you family and friends to help shape you, encourage you, strengthen you, sharpen you, and draw you out onto the path that is right for you. Family is God’s gift to humankind. Family is God's gift to YOU!
When it comes to family, to love long is to live long.

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Heavenly Father, thank you for understanding my basic human need to feel connected and for giving me family and friends to fill the gap that would otherwise be left empty without them.

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The Hands of Christ

By Robert H. Schuller

"Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God." - Philippians 1:11 (CEV)
Dr. Louis Evans tells of visiting a mission station in Korea with a medical missionary friend who invited him there to witness a major operation. The surgical ward was a crude shop. The heat was stifling. The odors almost overwhelmed the visiting American minister. But the steady missionary doctor kept at his task with untiring skill. After seven hours he stood up, faced Dr. Evans, and announced that the job was done.

They walked back to the missionary's modest office and Dr. Evans asked him, "How much would you have paid for that operation in America?" "Probably, fifty-five hundred dollars," the doctor answered. Evans said, "I'm curious. How much do you get here in Korea in this mission station?" The doctor picked from his desk a dented copper coin and said, "Well, to begin with - this.

[The patient] came into our mission holding this coin and with tears in her eyes asked me, 'Doctor, do you suppose this would pay for an operation?' I looked at her and said, 'I think so!" He went on, "To begin with, just knowing that my hands for a few hours have been the hands of Jesus Christ that have brought healing a sick woman."
God has no hands but yours to do good in this world.
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Dear Jesus, please use my hands to be instruments of your love and grace today, first to my loved ones and then to anyone You bring across my path.
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