Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Want To Know What God Wants For Christmas, Your Undivided Devotion

My Utmost For His Highest
 
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. —Psalm 123:3
 
“What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. […] Beware of “the cares of this world…” (Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.” […] When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.”  CHAMBERS
 
What can you not live without?  Your 4 bedroom house? Your job? Your automobiles? The opportunity for your children to go to a good school? Your confidence that you will have enough money to live like you want to live when you retire?  The cares of this world.  Finding Christians to agree the we should not “love the world or the things of this world” (1 John 2:15-17) not letting those things take on greater importance than our love for God and interfering with our relationship and obedience to God is easy.  Finding Christians, in this country, who are willing to actually do that, not so much.  The point is not that you actually must give up those things, but that you would gladly do it if called upon.
 
Someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas. My reply, I don’t need anything.  That was not received well so we settled on cookies.  You have heard or read, I am certain, “we need to put Christ back in Christmas”.  The Christmas season is probably the best example of the cares of this world nudging God aside.  People will go into debt to purchase gifts often with the hope that their tax return will cover the new debt. Paying excess income tax is their Christmas savings plan.  Do you see the craziness here?  Do you not see lust at work that is considered “normal” and acceptable?  By the way, what I am addressing is not a popular view. I am not saying don’t buy people gifts. I am saying, don’t let your love for things preempt your love for God. Or perhaps I should say, stop letting your love for things preempt your love for God.   ELGIN
 
Oh, How I Love Jesus | Frederick Whitfield
 
There is a Name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear, The sweetest Name on earth.
 
It tells me of a Savior’s love, Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His precious blood, The sinner’s perfect plea.
 
Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus,
Oh, how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me!

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