Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Christ.
His birth was announced by angels.
They brought good tidings of great joy for all people.

Father has graciously provided us with armor, and we certainly want to take advantage of it. Some say that Jesus is that armor. I have no problem with that because Jesus is the source, the beginning, the end, our very Life. Everything is summed up in Jesus.

The idea of Jesus coming at any moment used to fill me with fear. I was worried that He would show up right after I had done some terrible thing or thought some terrible thought or had some terrible motive in my heart and that I would be lost. Those fears were completely unfounded.

When you fall back into navigating life like the world and its systems think you should, you're walking according to the flesh. That never ends well. It results in life on a performance treadmill trying to get closer to God while in truth, you’re getting nowhere.

God’s plan for Joseph included him being sold into slavery and spending a few years in prison before God’s ultimate plan to save Israel from the famine came to light.

Deception seems to be everywhere. Escaping it requires wisdom and knowledge. Jesus offers both.

What if all this were true?

Spiritual birth is even better than natural birth, for it contains eternal life. It cannot be undone.

Happiness in and with God comes from trusting that He loves us and that all He has said is true, and it comes from allowing His Love to overflow from us to others.

Trying leads to frustration.
Trusting leads to contentment.
What if you stopped believing your feelings?
What if you decided to trust what God said instead?

What the enemy says, or what Father says.
Which will you believe?

We can feel guilt when we grieve the Holy Spirit, but feeling guilt is not the same as being guilty. Father does not use guilt to motivate good behavior. He uses love.

The only question is whether we will choose to remain obstinately unwilling to be reconciled to God or choose to be reconciled and receive the forgiveness and Life He provides for everyone.

When we speak of being used by God, we are referring to Him being manifested or made more real to others through us as we live and move and exist in Him.

Over the long term, we cannot live our lives in a way inconsistent with who we believe ourselves to be. If we believe we are at war with ourselves, we will act like it. We will find ourselves in a constant battle to have better attitudes and actions. All our focus will be on fixing ourselves.

As long as you have your mind set on yourself, your attitudes, your actions, your perceived inability to have a feeling of settled faith in God, you will not experience the fullness of the abundant Life He has given you.

Saints, we were designed to live by faith in dependence on God. He is the source of the Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control for which our spirits yearn.

This verse recently gave me pause. The verse was John 16:27, which says, “the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. (NASB 2020) I was surprised, stunned really, and a little frightened, at the word “because.”

It is not about the vessel. It's about His never-ending all-sufficient supply. It's about the power of God that you carry around in your unremarkable body. What treasure you bear. What blessing you bring.

You are not what you were. The change is profound, and it is real. Your life is no longer impermanent.