Growing In Christ - 40 Days To Deeper Faith

IMMANUEL ARRIVES

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." — Luke 2:11-12

àSEE HIM 

The Birth of Jesus

Picture Credit: Back to the Bible, Lincoln, Nebraska

It doesn't seem like a suitable place for the King of kings: the animals, the filth, the smells, the flies, the dusty scratchy hay—and having a feeding trough, of all things, for a crib! But God, in His infinite love, chooses the humblest possible surroundings. No one can accuse Jesus of not knowing hardship and pain.

As Mary studies the face of her baby, she isn't just looking at a precious child; she's peering into the face of her Lord—His Majesty. Mary knows she's holding God in her arms. So this is the One the angel told me about.

She remembers what the angel had told her: "You are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." 1

But at this very moment, baby Jesus looks like anything but a king. His face is reddish and prunelike. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. 2 And He is absolutely dependent upon Mary for His well-being. 3

The sky above the manger is torn open with a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and promising peace on earth to those who please Him: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."4

 As the angel choir withdraws into heaven, the sheepherders talk it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They leave, running, and find Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing is believing. They tell everyone they meet what the angels said about this child. All who hear the sheepherders are impressed.' 5

Meanwhile, Mary remains as obedient as ever.6

è HEAR HIM 

Explore the Word: Luke 2:1-20

Two things strike me (Arnie) as I read this passage:

I can't help thinking about the stigma of being an unwed mother in the early Jewish culture. Imagine the angry stares and cruel remarks from those you once thought were friends. In spite of the fact that Mary's world has been forever altered in extraordinary ways, she remains committed to God's plan.  

Second, it's not to the kings, or to the great intellectual-As, or even to the celebrities that God sends the ultimate birth announcement. Instead, the Creator of the universe first shares His great joy with simple, humble shepherds. [Apparently high positions don't impress Him very much!)

Are our eyes fixed on God's faithful love? Can we see beyond our own problems and experience His love—just as Mary did? If you're having trouble with that, keep in mind that part of His love involved coming all the way down to our level to live in this dirty, sin-infested world in the person of His Son. Let's move in closer and get a better look at this Son....

No beauty. "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2).

No reputation. The Bible describes Jesus as one who

"made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Philippians 2:7).

No sin. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).'

è KNOW Him

·         Meet the God of wonder. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. . . . His name shall be called.... Wonderful" (Isaiah 9:6 KJV). Even now He is working in just as amazing ways as when He created heaven and earth. Our challenge to you in the days ahead: Strive to get the full picture of Jesus and be attracted to Him with new awe and new wonder.

·          Work It Out: When you think of Jesus, what images come to mind? Are you attracted to Him with awe and wonder? (Please explain.)

·         Focus on Christ's image. His beauty comes from the inside out. His eyes radiate with unlimited peace; His smile speaks of incomprehensible joy. Most of all, His heart beats with boundless love.

* Work It Out: Do the negative opinions of skeptics sometimes shake your faith? (Please explain.) Are you able to stick with what God says is right. . .even in the face of doubters?

• Pray: "Lord, guide me today; help me know the purpose , You have created just for me."

Ask Jesus to give the kind of obedience that Mary demonstrated. Ask Him to focus your vision on His boundless love.

è NOTES FOR GROWTH

A Key Point I Learned Today:

______________________________________________________________________________

How I Want to Grow:

______________________________________________________________________________

My Prayer List:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Luke 1:31-33. 2. Max Lucado, God Came Near (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1987), 23.

3. Ibid.

4. Luke 2:14

5. See Luke 2:15-18, MSG.

6. A portion of this story was adapted from Bill Myers and Michael Ross, Faith Encounter: Experience the Ultimate With Jesus (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1999), 16-17.

7. Author and missionary Manfred Koehler contributed to today's devotional entry.

(An adaptation from the book “ GROWING IN CHRIST 40 Days to Deeper Faith” written by Dr. Arnie Cole & Michael Ross.  Copyright 2015 by Back to the Bible.)

Confident Living Magazine (A Back to the Bible Publication) The Current Issue Is Released.

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With deep sorrow we note the sad passing away of one of our senior Faith and Prayer Partners, Bro. Donald J. Godfred, Secunderabad. He is promoted to glory on 19^th November 2013. 

He was a regular contributor and writer of “Confident Living” magazine.  Below given page is his last write-up to the magazine.  By the Grace of God, he finished the series “The Sermon on the Mount” he was writing for the magazine.

We thank God for the services he rendered to the organization 'Back to the Bible', especially for the magazine “Confident Living”

We express our deepest condolences to the bereaved family members of Br. Donald J Godfred.

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A Note From the Desk of Dr. Arnie cole CEO Back to the Bible

A Note From the Desk of Dr. Arnie cole CEO Back to the Bible

Support

by Dr. Arnie cole

Pic. Credit. goTandem.com

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Technical Support can be challenging some days. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a job I love, and one that suits me well. I’m a problem solver at heart (hence the Rubik’s cube on my desk) and there’s no better source of problems to be solved than in Technical Support. But some days, it just…gets to you.

By its very nature Technical Support is a negative job. Every morning I sift through email after email, voicemail after voicemail, and even several text messages from people asking for help with something that has gone wrong. They’ve forgotten their Username; their daily text messages have stopped for some reason; they appreciate the emails but please stop sending them.

And though it’s humbling to admit, more than a few mornings find me in a less than charitable mood after the umpteenth, “PLEASE HELP” request.

Recently, though, I was reminded that behind every one of those messages that irk me so, there is a living human being. It was “Jennifer” that reminded me of this important fact. After sending a couple, terse “STOP” requests to emails she had received, Jennifer also sent us an angry text message about how terrible it was that we would force someone to donate before we would pray for them.

It was a misunderstanding of course. At goTandem we greatly appreciate the generosity of our supporters, but we do not—and will not—force anyone—ever—to donate before (or after) praying for them!!

Over the course of a few emails, I was introduced to the real “Jennifer.” Not the Jennifer who just wanted the emails to stop, but the Jennifer who wanted the hurting to stop. The Jennifer struggling to make ends meet, and aching to be reconnected to the kids she hadn’t seen in years. The Jennifer longing to know that there was someone else standing with her, praying with her, without asking anything in return.

Pic. Credit.goTandem

Jennifer reminded me that my job—and the job of everyone here at goTandem is really about Support. Me, I handle the technical aspects of providing that Support. Others here offer Support through prayer, and others Support through encouragement. But most of all, we offer Support through bringing you the Word of God each and every day.

And so, I think I’ll close this note the same way I close all of my Technical Support emails by saying:

Thanks, and please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help.

Your friends at goTandem.

 (The writer is the CEO of Back to the Bible International)

To read more on these lines please visit his blog page: GoTandam


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www.goTandem.com
Confident Living Magazine, Secunderabad. India. 

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