I Am Not Ashamed

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I am not ashamed of the true Christmas story!

 

Although I know that the true meaning and story of Christmas is seen and heard less and less every year, it does not cease to be very disturbing and sad to see this. When I went to the mall last Saturday, I did not see one Christmas decoration that had anything to point to the birth of Christ. Not surprising, I suppose, since those things seem to be prohibited in public anymore.  And when I was looking on netflix for a Christmas video so that some grands could watch it, I only found two (out of 72) that had anything to do with the true Story. One of those was SO old the quality was terrible and the other was mixed with the secular story so...yeah, the choices were less than desirable.

Well, I am only one person and we are only one family on this huge planet called earth...a drop in the bucket among the 7,057,663,328 people that are living here (as of this writing).  But we are doing our teeny, drop-in-the-bucket part to let the world know that we still celebrate Christmas for the REAL reason that it began to be celebrated: the birth of our Saviour and Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. (You can read more about it here and here and here and here-for starters.)

 

My husband has been giving out some different kinds of evangelistic tracts during this year. Here is his most recent one, a button to pin on something. I chose to put one on my purse, in plain view where anyone can see it...

He also ordered this sign to put in our front yard...

(You can order the above items from here.)

   I also make "fotocards". If you are one of those (few) real people who still send real Christmas cards via real mail using real ink, real envelopes and real stamps (sorry, I had to rub that in), you know how difficult it is to find cards that have something in them that refer to the true story of Christmas. 

I like the fact that I can promote the Story of which I am not ashamed! I am also thankful that I live in a country where this is still allowed (to a certain degree). Some of you who are reading this, because you live in "certain" countries, do not have this liberty...but God has allowed you to have internet (yay!) so that you can read this. THAT is one of my special blessings!

 

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe

wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

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 2:10-14)

 

I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. (Psalm 119:46)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...(Romans 1:16)

Romans 8:38-39

Hope

"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease." (Job 14:7)

"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD." (Psalm 31:24)

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." (Psalm 42:5)

"But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Romans 8:25)    

The Love Of God

                               Thank You, Lord, for your comforting Word to me this day.
"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38,39)

Mulling Around In My Brain

I have thoughts of SO many things I'd like to post here that sometimes I end up hardly doing any. Not of the main thoughts, anyway. Thus the favorite photos, wordless Wednesdays and such. I just like to post something, even if it's just a picture. Let's see, isn't it said that a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, then I guess I have said something, haven't I?!

I take photos like this...

...or this

...or this

and then end up wondering why I took it or what I'll do with it.  What can I say about it in a post that would show a blessing from the Lord or that could be of encouragement to someone? Other than saying that there is beauty in the light, color and lines of these and that God is the author of beauty...and that He chose to bless me with this beauty...then I have nothing else to say about them. Or not much. I could tell you the story behind each one, right? But I'll leave that to your imagination.

See you on a later day this week. And thanks for visiting here!

                                 "Now the God of peace be with you all, Amen." (Romans 15:33)

Reach Out And Touch

Most of us remember the line from a phone company commercial of several years ago..."Reach out and touch someone". They probably didn't realize how important that line really is...


Several years ago I received a gift. My husband brought it back from one of his speaking trips. It has always been our laugh that I'M the one who usually gets a gift for HIS preaching! Well, that hasn't happened in a long time so...I guess those lovely days are over.

Anyway, what was I writing about? Oh yes, a gift. My gift on this occasion was one of those lovely touch-lamps. You know the kind, right? You touch it once to turn on the light...

touch it a second time to make the light brighter...

                                   ...and a third time to make it even brighter!

It was only a year or so ago that I realized only the touch of human skin would make the light come on. I tried to turn it on when I had gloves on and it just wouldn't work. So I got curious and touched it with a warm cloth and it still wouldn't work! Only the touch of my skin would do the trick.


I don't think I need to explain much here to tell you the beautiful illustration this brought to me: the importance of the human touch. It is an amazing thing. The love and affection, importance, respect and "you're worth something" message it transmits is not something we should take lightly...whether we're giving or receiving this beautiful gift. A hug, a handclasp, a pat on the back...these and many more are message-bearers to those around us that we care about them.


"Reach out and touch someone" is not just a classic commercial line for a phone company, it should be one of our daily goals!


"And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid."
  (Matthew 17:7)
"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another."
  (Romans 12:1)