Have you ever went on a trip and things did not go as you planned? I really do not like my plans getting jacked up! At the time of Jesus birth there was a King..Herod, wicked and ruthless...and you know even those guys have plans...and they do not like anybody messing with their schemes! Well now this threat....( Baby Jesus) could of ruined him. A new kind of King...one who will actually care for his people and shepherd them..lead them in ways that are good for them..be concerned with there worries and have real solutions...release them from the bondages that steal the quality of family life! These fortellings of this Messiah King...it sounds like a Jewish fairytale....but lets make sure....just in case..another plan. He Gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem. Do we not realize..the selfish desires to dethrone Christ in our own hearts effects so many others. Out of fear this king hurt so many because he did not understand God's plan for good! I dont either....most times...I just see it as inconveinence. Most Christians do.But if you want to see God fresh and new today...trust him. Even if you feel as if where you are now was by your own leading. Maybe a mistake or detour.One Christmas my youngest daughter broke her wrist and man...my plans were all jacked up! Not to mention watching your child go through pain...i would rather have it double...so we packed up our campsite in seconds flat,prayed with our best friends and rushed back to get it casted.So just on a whim i picked a new destination and we were so blessed we go back there every year! Its those times when i dont plan and discover something new along the way that really makes the memories. Is God leading you or not? God's providence is personally and actively moving us towards his creation goal! Daniel 2;21 He changes times and seasons and he sets up kings and deposes them. Did you get that??? God is personally moving us along.....Psalm 73.23 Yet i am always with you..you hold me by my right hand. We are not in as much control as we think we are.. and thats a good thing.... by the way! its still today...no end of the world yet and many chances to trust him and give him glory through that!
Rev 3:17
You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.} The cold December wind ripped through his jacket like a knife,slipping on some ice he turned the corner away from the freezing bite of the winds fridged teeth.With his ears stinging , he moved his fingers to grab the door handle and flung it wide, the rush of warm air was welcome and full of life! the cinnamon and coffee teased his senses making his stomach growl. He tossed his jacket onto the coat rack just as he had done a thousand times before,HEY,we got orders up here people..let's look alive..its Christmas!His little dinner was buzzing with Christmas memories and shopping secrects as customers shared thier stories of that elusive gift of Aunt so and so.He felt a twing of pain shoot through his chest just as before and shrugged it off as he continued his order,but it gripped him.. he grabbed for the counter top as the sound of a LOCOMOTIVE pierced his ears, something like a 1000 pound wieght dropped like a thud on his chest,gasping he heard the faint echo of voices,Bob all you alright,losing his balanace several stacks of heavy dinner plates came crashing down silently shattering as he blazed forward into the brilliance of eternity,that beckoned him upward.TWO DAYS before Christmas Robert Ray Sanders left a gaping hole. Devoted husband,loving father, playful dad, God's Blue print of himself for the human family...my family....GONE! WHEN DEATH REACHES ITS BONEY HAND INTO OUR LIVES nothing is ever the same! When a family loses a father by death or otherwise may God have mercy, and he does. When you take a dominate leader and remove him from a setting what happens is other things and people begin to fill that void.The BLACK HOLE,THE GAP, THE VACUME, CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT, BUT ITS LOOMING OVER AMERICA, AND THE WORLD IN THE FORM OF LUST,GREED,CONSUMERISIM. A LOVELESS,LIFELESS VOID SUCKING PEOPLE IN, NEVER TO RETURN,BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD! GOD WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS? LEADERS,FATHERS ARE not to be as cbs portrays..power driven,moneyhungery,sexcrazed half wits with no integrity! THIS MIGHT BE THE PART WHERE YOU want to stop reading because you might get your feelings hurt because you love watching two and a half men and enjoy drinking from the cespool of filth that the media serves you! Also I am going to mention a name that is very offensive even to the VERY most open minded OF liberals-JESUS. Yes Jesus and his Idea of Fatherhood and leadership is quite the opposite of family guy or any other sick bent twisted and warped rendention we can come up with! Jesus has a story he tells in luke. Luk 15:11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. Luk 15:12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. This father loved his son so much,he was commited to him and was intrested in being involved in his life and future.When our fathers are abusive or M.I.A. ( missing in action) we see a path of dysfunction that follows. Right now in this country we have a true epedemic of loss of purpose among our young people today because they have been raised by the social media standards and sub-culture.This is where i throw some staggaring Barna poll statistics at you to back up my theology..I dont need them! I omly need 2.. The kid in lUKE and myself.tHis tenn wanted money,flow, and he wanted it NOW!Crazy part here...his dad gives it to him....he doesnt try to reason with him,argue or even say you"ll kill yourself...he loves him so much he just gives him what he asks for,the selfish wreckless desires of hius heart that could put him in grave danger..or just the GRAVE!! I AM JUST LIKE THAT ARENT YOU..WANTING EVERYTHING IN THIS LIFE..RIGHT NOW.I WONDER IF THATS WHY JESUS TOLD THIS..SO WE COULD SEE THE DESPERATION AND FUTILITY OF A HEART THAT TRYS TO SEPERATE ITSELF FROM ITS CREATOR..FATHER, SEEKING OTHER THINGS TO FILL THAT VOID OF SPECIAL, SUPERNATURAL, ALL SATISFYING RELATIONSHIP.Isa 51:1 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; Being made in the image of God is what keeps us searching and seeking...what does that look like..what does normal look like, why do i always feel LIKE A PART OF ME IS MISSING? bECAUSE ITS ONLY FOUND IN CHRIST!Col 3:3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:4 When Christ, who is your [fn] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. jUST LIKE THE YOUNG SON, WE ARE ALWAYS IN PURSUIT, so ready to go out and conquor...because you know the old lie...you only live once! WE HAVE TONS OF GUYS WHO INSTEAD OF PURSUING GODS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTOUSNESS TRY TO IMORTALIZE THEMSELVES BY PHYSICAL FEATS OF GREATNESS, NOW I AIN'T A HATER, BUT THE TOUGH GUY RACE COME ON...JUST JOIN THE ARMY OR RESERVE OR SOMETHING,AT LEAST GET PAID TO BE TOURTURED!YEAH THATS WHAT I LIKE TO DO..PAY A TON OF MONEY,FLY TO ENGLAND,AND OFF YOU GO...FIRST YOU RUN UP A BUNCH OF HILLS WITH MONSTEROUSLY JAGGED ROCKS JUTTING OUT EVERYWHERE SO WHEN YOU FALL YOU CAN BASH YOUR HEAD IN.. OR WORSE CHIP A TOOTH..THAT YOU CANT FIX CAUSE YOU SPENT ALL YOUR MONEY ON THE FLIGHT! THEN YOU MUST JUMP OVER OR DODGE BURNING BAILS OF HAY...GREAT FOR YOUR BREATHING TECHNIQUE..AND THEN CLIMB A RICKETY 100 FOOT HIGH STRUCTURE THAT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS BUILT BY A ONE-ARMED OMPA LOOMPA. THEN JUMP OFF INTO THE DIRTIEST WATER ON THE PLANET..YOU KNOW THE KIND THAT USED TO COME OFF YOUR BODY AS A KID AFTER NOT TAKING A BATH FOR 2 WEEKS.ONLY THINGS LIVE AND MOVE IN IT... AND THERE IS NO DRAIN..ITS ALSO SHALLOW IN SOME PLACES...THEN CRAWLING OUT ..LITERALLY, YOU MUST LOW CRAWL UNDER BARBED WIRE WHILE PEOPLE SHOOT BULLETS AT YOU...WHICH IS HIGHLY OVER RATED IN MY BOOK...DID THAT! FORT KNOX BASIC TRAINING! SO...ONCE YOU HAVE INHALED 3 BAILS OF HAY, RIPPED YOUR EAR OFF , LACERATED YOUR TRICEP AND INGESTED 2 QUARTS OF BACTERIA INFESTED WATER..YOU RUN TO THE FINISH LINE ..MISSING TOOTH AND ALL..WHERE THESE 2 BIG BURLY GUYS TRY TO PUMMEL YOU TO THE GROUND WITH THESE HUGE BANTORS, AND BEAT THE SNOT OUT OF YOU. AND NOW YOU GET YOUR TOUGH GUY BADGE!! AND I PAID FOR THIS?? IF I WANTED THAT KIND OF TREATMENT I WOULD JUST GO OUT SATURDAT NIGHT AFTER 10 TO DINNER IN MANHATTEN. JK. NEW YORK IS AWESOME. OR IF YOU WANT TO GIVE 5 PINTS OF BLOOD AND LOSE AN APPENDIDGE YOU CAN TRYT HE SPARTEN RACE NEXT TIME..I THINK THEY GIVE MEDALS...WHAT A TRADE! I THINK THEY SHOULD GIVE TO THE TOUGH GUY BADGE OR MEDALS TO DADS...DADS WHO ARE WILLING TO DATE THEIR DAUGHTERS, STAY FAITHFULL TO THEIR SPOUSES AND STAY OFF PORN!!! GUYS WHO DONT CHEAT ON THEIR TAXES AND SACRIFICE FOR THEIR FAMILYS AND SERVE GOD TILL IT HURTS!!! GUYS WHO ARE NOT AFRIAID TO ADMIT THEY ARE WRONG,ASK FORGIVENESS WHEN THEY HAVE WRONGED..AND LOVE THERE WIVES, SO THEIR KIDS CAN FEEL SECURE AND SEE WHAT GODS REAL DESIGN FOR OUR SOCIETY IS. WHEN THIS YOUNG MAN IN JESUS' STORY EXCHANGED THE ONLY PERSON AND GODLY PATTERN FOR HIS LIFE FOR THE PLEASURES OF THE WORLD,HE LOST HIS POINT OF REFERENCE FOR LIFE AND HIS ABILITY TO MAKE SENSE 0F HIS DEEP INTERNAL LONGING FOR SOMETHING MORE OUT THERE! IT WASNT THAT HE DID NOT LIKE HIS FATHER..HE DID NOT KNOW HIS FATHER..NOR DID HE DESIRE TO. WHEN MY FATHER DIEDMY SISTER WENT TO HER STUDIES, MY BROTHER WENT TO CRIME, I WENT INTO THE BLACK HOLE. if you have ever wondered how close your walking with Jesus just slam your hand into the drivers door of a dodge durango and lock it. then stand back and wait for whatever comes out!!! it seems in my hurry of the season i forgot to pull my hand out as i shut the door and BOOM! I knew something was terrible wrong when 5000 jigawatt jolts of pain starts shooting from my fingertips in HUGE sunami LIKE waves to my poor little brain. so with my left hand trying desperatly to unloCk the door and my mouth wide open screaming i manange to get it out. RUNNING TO THE FRONT DOOR FASTER THAN BOLT...{WHERES AN OLYMPIC TIMER WHEN YOU NEED ONE} I SWING OPEN THE REFRIG AND START SCREAMING ICE I NEED ICE...SO MY WIFE GETS ME ICE CUBES AS I HOLD MY FINGERS UNDER THE COOL RUNNING WATER ,I TRY TO WRAP THE CUBES AROUND THE SWOLLEN SHREK SIZED FINGER TIPS..PAIN INCREASING BY 150% I SCREAM,,CRUSHED ICE!!! SHE THEN GEABS A HUGE POT AND BEATS IT PROFUSELY ON THE ICE,,CUBES FLYING EVERYWHERE...THERE THERE IS YOUR ICE..SHE SAYS! SO LIKE A HURT ANIMAL THAT GOES TO HIS CAVE, I RETREAT TO THE BEDROOM TO NURSE MY WOUNDS AND LOOK AT THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE. WHEN I HAD CALMED MY WIFE CAME IN IN TRUE CONCERN ASKING IF I WAS OK...I WAS...BUT NOT REALLY. LESSONS LEARNED= 1. DONT YELL AT SOMEONE WHO IS TRYING TO HELP YOU. 2. ALWAYS REPLACE THE BATTERY IN YOUR REMOTE KEY. 3.NEVER TRY TO UNLOCK A DOOR AND THEN LOCK IT AGAIN IN ONE SWIFT MOVEMENT USING THE MOMENTUM OF THE DOOR THEN GIVING IT AN EXTRA PUSH FOR GOOD MEASURE! 4. SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW DOWN. THIS LIFE IS TRAVELING SO FAST AND SO IS THE SEASON OF CHRISTS BIRTH. IT IS IN THE STILLNESS...WHERE WE FIND HIM. PS 46.10 BE STILL AND KNOW....I AM GOD. THAT JUST SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE BUT IF YOU AND I DONT DO IT YOU COULD MISS EVERYTHING THIS SEASON IS ABOUT! GOD HAD PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER WITH SPECIAL REVELATION FROM HIS WORD=PPROPHECY OF THE SCRIPTURES AND GENERAL REVELATION= THE STAR...TO INVADE THE PLANET EARTH WITH HIS BEST GIFT TO US EVER!!! HIS SON JESUS. CAN YOU IMAGINE ALL THEFACES OF THE PEOPLE IN BETHLEHEM THAT MISSED THE GREATEST EVENT IN HUMAN HISTORY BECAUSE THEY WERE TO BUSY TO BE TUNED INTO WHAT GOD WAS DOING! CAN YOU IMAGINE THE INN KEEPERS CLAIM TO FAME..JESUS NOT ONLY SLEPT HERE BUT WAS BORN HERE. HE MISSED IT.DONT MISS OUT ON WHAT GOD IS DOING AND WANTS TO DO THROUGH YOU THIS SEASON,,SS\LOOOOW DOWN WAIT ON GOD..GET IN HIS PRESCENCE WORSHIP THE NEWBORN KING...IF YOU RUN OUT OF THINGS TO PRAISE HIM FOR,,PRAISE HIM FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT HE WOULD LEAVE HIS THRONE AND HUMBLE HIMSELF TO BE BORN IN THE MOST FOUL PLACE ON THE PLANET... THE HUMAN HEART, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN ..REV 3.20 BEHOLD I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK IF ANYONE HEARS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR,I WILL COME IN AND EAT WITH HIM AND HE WITH ME. JESUS WAS KNOCKING AT THE INNKEEPERS DOOR. HIS LIFE WAS SO FULL OF OTHER THINGS ...HE MISSED THE KNOCK ...DONT YOU....PEACE
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