Thank God by His grace I now celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.  Here is one of the many inspirational bible verses that give us a reason to celebrate Christmas.

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Tim 1:15

I am a sinner.  I have lied. I have looked at others with lust in my heart. I have not always honored my father and mother. I have not put God first and other things have taken His rightful place. Just by these few admissions, and believe me there are more, I have broken several of God’s commandments. My sin separated me from a holy God. No matter what good I did, how many good deeds or kind acts I did, these could never cancel the debt I owe for my sin.

The bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). This is what Jon Courson calls the “Great Switcheroo” - “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. “2 Corinthians 5:21. He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.

By repenting of my sin and accepting this gift, I am now reconciled to God. I have a new attitude toward sin. I no longer have a desire to sin. He gives me the strength to say “no” to sin, and when I do sin, if I confess He is faithful to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me of it. (1 John 1:9)

When I did this 8 years ago, I knew that I was making peace with God, and I knew that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. However I only knew a part of it. Jesus said that He came that we “may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 b). I had absolutely no idea what depth He would add to my life. I had no idea that He would be my joy, my peace, my strength in difficult circumstances.  I tasted and indeed I saw that He is good.

Why do you celebrate Christmas? I hope that the following  inspirational bible verse has true meaning for you…”Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)!

Jehovah Shammah! The LORD is there! Earlier Ezekiel warned the exiles already in Babylon of imminent judgment. He warned that the glory of the LORD will depart from the temple and that Jerusalem will fall into the hands of the Babylonians. The warnings of the prophets fell on deaf ears as the people remembered the promises of God, but forgot that these promises were conditional and were only applicable if they were obedient. After Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, Ezekiel now tells of God’s plan for restoration and as he describes the New Jerusalem in painstaking details, he ends with God’s promise that the glory of the Lord, this glory that had previously departed, will be there. He delivers a message of hope. God punishes sin but He has a plan for restoration. What an inspirational bible verse! What a promise!

With the fall in the garden of Eden, the glory of the Lord departed from mankind. Our sins have separated us from God. However for those of us who have a personal relationship with Christ, we have every reason to rejoice as we can say, the LORD IS HERE! Right now! Right here! Although this in no way compares to what we will behold in the New Jerusalem, this beats every other experience that can be had this side of heaven. Christ is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). We are now the temple of God and the Holy Spirit indwells us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Christ has indeed “dwelt among us and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14). We do know that having repented, that times of refreshing do come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). We now have His sweet presence and know that in His presence there is indeed fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).We are indwelt by all Persons of the Godhead. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would dwell with and be in His followers (John 14:15).

God’s presence with a believer is also contingent on our obedience. Jesus said to the one that loves Him and obeys Him, both God the Father and God the Son “will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Our obedience demonstrates our love for Christ and is also the way to a deeper revelation of Him (John 14:20). Let us not be like the exiles. We cannot be habitually disobedient and willfully engage in things that would grieve God and at the same time expect God to manifest Himself to us. May we purpose in our hearts to be joyfully obedient and to avoid all that would quench or grieve the Spirit.

What we see now are merely glimpses of His glory and we look forward in eager anticipation when we will see Him face to face. But what we have today, right now is HUGE! God who created everything out of nothing, God who rules the universe, this holy God abides in us who are His. Right now we “may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). This God of infinite power, infinite mercy and infinite grace can supply all we need to face this moment, to face this day.

Let us rejoice! Jehovah Shammah!

“Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever”. Psalm 106:1

Are you thankful? Always? Why are you thankful? To Whom are you thankful?

Thanks giving should be a way of life, something we do 24×7, 365 days a year rather than just during the Thanksgiving holiday. We have so many reasons to be thankful. Some of us may have no problem quickly coming up with a list of things for which we are thankful …a job, family, freedom, good friends, and good health. The question now is… to Whom are we thankful? Inspirational bible verses remind us of the many reasons we can rejoice.

Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). We may be tempted to argue that our job results from being a “brains” and from hard years of study, or that our friends are the result of our charm, character and thoughtfulness, or that we live in a country where we enjoy freedoms, or we were born in a “good family” or that our family has been shaped from years of love, discipline and “good broughtupsy”. But as is asked in 1 Corinthians 4:7 – “… who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” We have received all these things by the grace of God.

As He has given us these things, these are also His to take away. There may be those of us who are going through that valley right now. How can we be thankful? For those of us with a personal relationship with Christ,we can be thankful despite the circumstances.

• We can rejoice always because our rejoicing are in the things that are eternal and can never be taken away from us.
• We rejoice and are thankful that our names are written in the book of life (Luke 10:20).
• We rejoice that we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb12:28).
• We know that nothing compares to the excellence of knowing Christ (Phil3:8).
• We rejoice that He is our exceeding great reward (Gen 15:1).
• We rejoice that this reward is incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away (1 Peter 1:4).
• We rejoice that His love for us is so great, the Psalmist describes it as reaching to the heavens (Psalm 36:5).
• We rejoice that He is sovereign (Isaiah 46: 9-11) and that He will work out all things that He allows to good for those who love Him and are called for His purpose (Romans 8:28).
• We rejoice that through each trial He is with us, helping and strengthening us (Isaiah 41:10).

If you do not have a personal relationship with Christ, you may be thankful but to whom are you thankful and why are you thankful? Are you thankful to the One who gives you life and gives you each breath? Is your joy placed solely in things that do not last and can be taken away from you tomorrow? God has been and continues to be kind to you. He has not only provided you with earthly blessings, but He offers lasting blessings through Jesus Christ. He has provided the way to heaven and to a treasure that will not degrade, perish or pass away, a treasure that cannot betaken from you. Discover how to receive this lasting gift for which you can be thankful year round.

Let us all give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His Mercy endures forever!