Moving Forward in the New Year

"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."-Hosea 6:3

As we approach the coming New Year, you may be wondering what is going to happen.

Years ago, some men were on a leaky old ship in the middle of a rough and stormy sea. One of them asked the captain, "Are we safe?" He said, "Well, the boilers are weak and may explode at any moment. The ship is taking on water. To be very honest with you, we may go up, or we may go down, but at any rate, we are going on."

And that's the way we are as we face this new year. Jesus may come; we may go up. We may die, and go down and then up, but at any rate we are going on.

Reflecting on this past year, allow the Holy Spirit to invade your heart convicting and drawing you to Himself.

Ask for wisdom, courage, and faith to continue on whatever happens this next year!

~Adrian Rogers

Thank you Lord that as the hope and uncertainty of the New Year approaches, we as believers know Who holds the future - the "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." He is the only hope of mankind. May we rest in this knowledge and have a ...

Happy New Year!

That Night.

That night.

“That night, in all of heaven, there wasn’t a sound
As God and the angels watched the earth.
For there in a stable, the Father’s only Son
Came to give Himself through human birth.
And when the cry of a baby pierced the universe
Once for all man was shown his worth.

And the heavens EXPLODED
With music everywhere
And the angels spilled over heavens edge
And filled the air!
And the Father rejoiced
For He did not lose His Son,
But He gained to Himself forever
Those who’d come.”

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:8-11

Merry Christmas!

Jesus Was Born

Today in Sunday school the lesson was on the birth of Christ from Luke 2:1-20. The Bible truth the kids left with was that Jesus was born as God planned. I want to simply share the "Teacher Connection" for today from Lifeway.

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So 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. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and 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.

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Caesar Augustus was ruler of the Roman Empire. He ordered people to go to their hometowns and register their presence in his kingdom. From earthly appearances Caesar Augustus was in charge, but actually he was doing nothing more than moving under the awesome hand of God.

From heaven's perspective the mighty Caesar was a momentary figure who would disappear in a few short years. Meanwhile, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings was temporarily dwelling in the womb of a young woman making her way to Bethlehem.

We do not know the exact date of Jesus' birth, but we know His birth came at just the right moment. To our human perspective, the moment may not seem right. Joseph and Mary were visiting Bethlehem; they should have been home in Nazareth. They had to lay the baby in a manger; they should have laid Him in His bed at home. God's ways are not our ways. He chose the right moment, the right circumstances for His Son's birth.

God's gift came in a newborn who could not speak, see clearly, nor move on His own. The gift humbly came so that even a simple peasant woman and man could clutch God to their bosoms and love Him. God's gift of Himself was simple and profound.

An angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds - poor, humble, working men. After quieting their fears, the angel told them incredible news: A Savior had come! They would find Him as a newborn infant wrapped in cloths, resting in a manger. Heaven could not keep silent. A great host of heavenly beings filled the sky and broke out in glorious praise and proclamation.

The shepherds ran to see what they had been told. They discovered the little boy in a manger. Before the morning sun came up, they were telling others about the incredible experience of the night: The Messiah had come! This Christmas how can you proclaim the Messiah's birth? What can you do to help others know that Jesus has come?

What The Christmas Tree Means To Me

The evergreen tree reminds me that God's love is everlasting!

The lights on my Christmas tree remind me that Jesus is the Light of the World!

The cross ornaments on my tree are a beautiful reminder of the ultimate price sweet Baby Jesus would grow up and pay for my redemption. Oh, what incredible love displayed by our Father in the birth of Jesus and on that cross and what a privilege believers have to cry out, Abba Father!!

The red ornaments and beading on my Christmas tree reminds me of the reason Baby Jesus was born. The blood that one day He would shed on the cross for my sins!

And the round ornaments remind me that God's love never ends!

The angels of my Christmas tree remind me of the angels that spoke to Mary and Joseph and told them they were going to be the earthly parents of Jesus! Additionally, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds to share the incredible news of Jesus' birth. And of course, who could forget the heavenly host that filled the sky and broke out in glorious praise and proclamation.

The star on my Christmas tree reminds me of the star that led the wise men to Baby Jesus!

The gifts under my Christmas tree remind me that Jesus is God's gift to us! His love being the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. We in turn, show our love for others in our own gift giving.

There are other decorations on my Christmas tree and everyone of them point to Jesus. I encourage eveyone to take another look at their own tree and discover Jesus. He's there because He is the reason for the season!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

The Virgin Birth

Last week in Sunday school we looked at the role of Mary in the birth of Jesus. This week we considered the man Joseph and the kid’s lesson was titled, “Joseph Heard Good News”. The Bible truth the children left with today was that God chose a family for Baby Jesus. These two lessons are fun for the children because they enjoy the aspect of the angels in both of the stories. (I have included a picture of the angels they made last Sunday and today! We like to take home something that will remind them of the day’s story.)

“18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.” Matthew 1:18-25

Now in Matthew 22:42, Jesus asks the Pharisees a question that has been voiced in every generation since then. Jesus said, "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? That's the question that needs to be asked in every age, to every person. Whose son is He? Now the Jewish leaders believed that the promised Messiah would be the son of David. They believed that from a human viewpoint He would be a member of the royal lineage of David, the royal family. And they weren't sure of much more than that. They for the most part seemed to reject the idea that the Messiah would be God in human flesh, though there may be some indication that a few of them may have felt that way.

Most of the Jewish people at that time seemed to have been convinced that the King they were going to gain would be of the seed of David, a human being in every sense of royal lineage. In fact, when Jesus claimed to be both the son of David and the Son of God, they accused Him of blasphemy. They expected Him to be of the royal line of David but apparently not to be deity, in human flesh.

Now Matthew gives us the human answer to whose son he is in the genealogy which we see in Matthew 1:1-17. Humanly speaking whose son is He? Son of David. Now in verses 18 to 25 we have the divine answer to, whose Son is He? Son of God. Son of David, humanity, Son of God, deity. Both of those are essential to an understanding of the incarnation. Jesus is God in a human body. Humanly through the lineage of David He gains the right to rule the world, and from the standpoint of deity He gains the very essence of the nature of God by having been born without a human father through the agency of the Spirit of God Himself. And so Matthew in writing his Gospel squarely faces his Jewish readers and all the readers of aIl the ages, and he gives them the answer. The genealogy of Jesus tells you whose son He is, David. And the birth of Jesus tells you whose Son He is, God.

Immanuel, God with us, infinitely rich, became poor. Assumed our human nature, entered our sin polluted atmosphere without ever being tainted by it, took our guilt, bore our grief’s, carried our sorrows, was wounded with our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, went to heaven to prepare a place for us, sent His Spirit to dwell in our hearts, right now makes intercession for us, and will someday came to take us to be with Him.

And though the incarnation is the most important part of the story it is so important to note that when God works you always find some humble, faithful, trusting, righteous people, like Mary and Joseph. Thank You, Lord, not only for the theology of the virgin birth but for the example of what happens when God uses two simple people. Thank You, Lord, that we who have nothing to offer can be used by You!

"...God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong," 1Corinthians 1:27

"The Invisible Woman"

Today, I would like to dedicate my post to my two beautiful daughters-in-love. They are lovely young women who have been such wonderful additions to our family and deserve a little recognition! After all, they chose to marry Hamblen men and living with that Hamblen sense of humor can try a saint!



Seriously, they are outstanding women of character that are building homes for their husbands and will one day inevitably become the "invisible woman" that the following video speaks to. In fact, Meagan will become a mother this Easter and though at times motherhood will seem like a thankless job those of us that have already walked that road know the endless rewards of raising a child.

The following video was shared with me by a dear friend and contains so much truth for such a short video, I couldn't wait to share it. I saw it and immediately thought of my girls and their futures. Take a moment to watch the video and be blessed!

"How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous; theLORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked."

Psalm 146:5-9

The Divine Announcement

Today in our preschool Sunday school class we began the story of the birth of Jesus with Mary hearing the good news. Below was the scripture reference for today’s lesson. For the month of December, I thought it would be interesting to follow along with them, perhaps on a little deeper level, as we move through the events surrounding Jesus’ birth.

"Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, 'Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you.' She was greatly troubled at the statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His Kingdom will have no end. And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.' And Mary said, 'Behold, the bondslave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:26-38

The Old Testament is filled with prophecy and promises of the coming Savior, a child to be born. So much so that at the end of the gospel of Luke in chapter 24 when Jesus after His resurrection was walking with His disciples, it says that He spoke to them and said, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you that all things which are written about Me in the law of Moses and the prophets and all the holy writings must be fulfilled. And He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures," talking about the Old Testament. And He showed them Himself in the Old Testament, in the law, in the prophets, in all the holy writings. Every book of the Old Testament anticipates the coming of the Savior, every book. All throughout the Psalms, all throughout the prophets, all throughout the law He is seen as the ultimate and final sacrifice. The general prophecies of His great Kingdom, the specific prophecies such as Micah's statement that He would be born in the town of Bethlehem, 350 predictions concerning this child who would be born are given in the Old Testament, at least.

So this is the story of God coming into the world but it's not the first time we've heard about it. It's been promised. This is the story of its fulfillment. Here's the beginning of the greatest moment in human history, a moment all generations in Israel and the world have awaited. Gabriel comes with the most astounding and significant birth announcement ever made. Amazingly, Gabriel comes right from God. Back in verse 19 it says, "I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God." That's where Gabriel stands, to be dispatched by God Himself to this duty. He comes down out of heaven to a city in Galilee called Nazareth.

The divine messenger was Gabriel, the divine choice was Mary, and the divine blessing was grace, "Hail, graced one...Hail, favored one," says the angel, "the Lord is with you." God the Almighty, eternal creator of the universe has come down with a message through this angel to be with this girl, to bestow upon her a grace the likes of which no other human being in the history of the world will ever experience, a grace that is beyond comprehension. The issue here is God's choice. You'll notice it says nothing about Mary, nothing at all except she was a virgin. She was just a simple, humble young girl. It was to her that this immense grace was to be given.

In Luke 1:46-56 Mary offered praise for the greatness of God and thanksgiving for being used by Him. At this wonderful season of gift giving we should all take the time to meditate on the gift God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

"Weeping may last for the night...

but a shout of joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

How often have any of us experienced the literal truth of that verse. How heavily does any trouble weigh on us at night! For Tony and I the night of our grief lingers but the joy of the morning has come through the love and support of family and friends. Thank you all for your thoughts and the love that has been extended to us after a sad and traumatic Thanksgiving. It certainly was not our first sad Thanksgiving but we pray it will be our last.

There are two things I wanted to share that have contributed to our joy and healing. The first is the card we received below from our neighbor who unfortunately was on their way to their Thanksgiving celebration when Beau chose to run in front of their car at the last minute. They are wonderful people and we know that this has been very difficult for them as well.

The other news we would like to share is the adoption of another Yorkie that we have named, Mr. Darcy. Though there is nothing that could replace Beau in our hearts, we decided that it was Beau's incredible little personality and the joy that he brought to our lives that led us to the decision to immediately open our home to his little brother. We continue to grieve for the sweet puppy we lost but we are finding our joy and the ability to move forward through the love of Mr. Darcy. He has a personality that is very reminiscent of his brother's but also a uniqueness that is all his own. The picture below is a little blurred due to his inability to sit still and his desire to explore a room he's not allowed in. The quality is poor because it was taken with my iphone! (Mr. Darcy was born on 9/9/09.)

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joyful shouting." Psalm 126:5