Quote from Forum Archives on December 1, 2002, 7:44 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

As we begin another week, we also begin another season. I
mentioned last week that after the period of giving thanks, we
enter into a time in the church calendar called Advent. The word
means a time of preparation. Well, what are we preparing for?
The reason the season was created was to remember Jesus Christ,
fresh and new each year.

Now for those of us who worship our crucified and risen Lord each
day, perhaps that does not seem like a big deal at all. I
suggest otherwise. I think it is important to continually be
thinking about what God did for us when He brought Jesus Christ
to us, for Jesus Christ, in every way, was God made man. In
every way, He was (and is) God. Yet He gave up all of His power
and sovereinty as the ruler of all to actually come and take on a
frail form as an ordinary human being. He didn't come into
special circumstances, either. He came into about the most
difficult situation possible in that time - to a young woman -
really only a teenager, who was to be married to a young
carpenter. Both of them came from God-worshipping families, in
fact, their lineage, as reported in the Gospel according to St.
Matthew (one of the disciples), traces back to the line of David,
just as the scriptures predicted it would.

So as we prepare, let's look at what one of the disciples wrote
about Jesus at a much later time. Then throughout the month of
December, we'll be preparing, thinking about Christ, making room
in our busy lives for Him.

Let's start right now.

Dear Jesus,

There is room in my heart for You, yet the things of this world
around me always try to compete. Please shine strongly, deep
within me, to keep me constantly aware of Your Presence and
protected from the urges to turn to other places or to forget
about or ignore You. In my humanness, it's sometimes hard to
give You first place in everything, but that is my deepest
heart's desire. Won't You help me, even in my devotion and
worship to You?

Please work in the hearts of people everywhere this year and draw
needy souls to You. Please use my humble heart and willing
attitude to make a difference, even if I have to be broken, again
and again. It is You that I long for, and I long for others to
see You and praise You as well.

I want to sing "O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord"
forever, and my Your Word alone it will be possible. I'll sing
Your praise forever. Amen.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

December 1,

1 John 1.1-2.11

1 The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is
the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes
have seen, and our hands touched this Word. 2 The one who gives
life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we
have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that
was with the Father and appeared to us. 3 We are telling you
what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life
with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing to tell you these things, because
this makes us truly happy.

God Is Light

5 Jesus told us that God is light and doesn't have any darkness
in him. Now we are telling you. 6 If we say that we share in
life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and
are not living by the truth. 7 But if we live in the light, as
God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his
Son Jesus washes all our sins away. 8 If we say that we have not
sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our
hearts. 9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be
trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. 10 If we say that
we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in
our hearts.

Christ Helps Us

2 My children, I am writing this so that you won't sin. But if
you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he
will speak to the Father for us. 2 Christ is the sacrifice that
takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people. 3
When we obey God, we are sure that we know him. 4 But if we
claim to know him and don't obey him, we are lying and the truth
isn't in our hearts. 5 We truly love God only when we obey him
as we should, and then we know that we belong to him. 6 If we
say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

The New Commandment

7 My dear friends, I am not writing to give
you a new commandment. It is the same one that you were first
given, and it is the message you heard. 8 But it really is a new
commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does.
You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already
shining. 9 If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we
are still in the dark. 10 But if we love others, we are in the
light, and we don't cause problems for them. 11 If we hate
others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know
where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.

Scripture made available by the American Bible Society for the
Year of the Bible Project. These passages are from the
Contemporary English Version of the Bible. For more information
call: 1.888.324.2535 or contact us through this web site.
www.gospelcom.net/yob/dated/see_today.shtml

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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