Lord, today and everyday, give us the strength, the power, the courage and the love to go out and preach your Word everywhere. Let us receive in our hearts your power to serve so that we can serve others and be about your work, demonstrating God’s love. I pray these things in your name, Jesus. Amen.

"Carpe diem", a famous Latin phrase which in English translates as "seize the day". The full quote is much deeper however. The entire sentence is "while we're talking, envious time is fleeing; seize the day, put no trust in the future". The original source for this thought was from a Roman philosopher named Horace who studied with Greeks in Athens. Greek philosophers made a full time agenda at talking and discussing.

When I think of the full thought Horace wrote, he was on to truth. When we hear truth, are we going to seize it, or will it be just another conversation? Time is short and no one knows what tomorrow brings.

I love to encourage the heart of people to be who they are meant to be in Christ. My hope is anything offered of myself would be pleasing first to my Heavenly Father and secondly to bring a blessing to others.
www.debrabee.org

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Repentance is not likely to do us much good until it ceases to be just a change of mind and becomes a wound in our spirit.

When your sin has wounded you near death, all fight and self assurance is gone and you see yourself as the one who nailed your Savior to the tree. Then, you are where God can intervene. We are a sinful race of people, the knowledge of that has to go past theology. Repentance is a wound we must all feel. Jesus cannot suffer to save us anymore; He did it once and for all. But He still suffers to win us. Jesus calls his people to be to HIM the kind of an earthly body in which he can weep again, suffer and love again. For our Lord has two bodies: one, he took to the tree where he suffered to redeem us, and the body on earth composed of those who have been baptized into it by the Holy Ghost at conversion. In that body he would now suffer to win men.

Do not SEEK to be happy, SEEK to be holy and useful. That person will likely be happy, but if he seeks happiness and forgets holiness and usefulness he is carnal.

Long after God until it becomes a pain in your heart. Be lovesick - want him so badly that it becomes a wound in your heart you can't get over. Accepting Christ then becomes terminal. What's in Christ must get into us. He has blessed us with spiritual blessings in Christ, but you can no more buy food with money that is in the bank than you can live on treasures that are in Christ UNLESS they are in YOU. When you find God you still pursue HIM, the man who has the most of God is the man who is seeking the most ardently for MORE of God. "Except a kernel of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit." Go to God - ask him to wound you with a sense of your own sinful unworthiness that you'll never get over, wound you with the suffering of the world and wound you with the longing after God that will carry you on to perfection.

Then, you will have the fragrance of Christ.

Have you ever taken a warm bath in something soothing like bath oil? Just able to soak and be at peace and feel sort of pampered in the midst of a busy day? If not, do it soon just for you. If you can remember a time like this then apply that to taking time, relaxing, reading and soaking in the most incredible Word of the Lord Jesus Christ. His last will and testament to us, the Bible. If you listen you can almost hear Him saying out loud:

Child, draw nigh unto Me as you are absorb yourself in My word study and I shall bless. My discipline really shall be an exciting delight to you. Remember your childhood the security of knowing you're cared for within parameters of limits security, yes, even joy. So rejoice my child as I move you into obedience. Set your will to follow Me. And I will shore you up and reinforce that decision with my strength and encouragement. We are getting ready and I love you!

In 2 Timothy 2:15 we are all encouraged to present ourselves to God as approved, as workmen who do not need to be ashamed and who correctly handle the word of truth. This says to me that first, we CAN do this or it wouldn't be put in that wording. We can be approved and fruitful workmen who know what the Bible means and act like we have that knowledge. So, in a way this verse is also a wonderful promise. God doesn't put things in His Word encouraging us to do it if it is not possible. He will be there to help us. His Holy Spirit will come along side of us and teach us. When we falter in weakness His strength will be made perfect. Amazing.

OK, so let's soak a bit more. Wiggle around and get comfortable so you can soak and see what else His Word says to us.

In Jeremiah 33:6 God speaks that He will bring health and healing, heal His people and allow them to enjoy peace and security. I guess He doesn't just say peace but abundant peace, more than enough peace. How many of us could use a bit of that on a daily basis? Notice He isn't saying He might bring health and healing but that He will. Yes, this scripture was for a people during a time of walls and wars but there is also application for our lives today. Be still and allow Him to make this real and personal for you right now.

Romans 15:4 feeds right into this and tells us that everything which was written in the past is to teach us so that through the endurance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. Another gift tied with a bow and the content is ever greater than the packaging, isn't it? Everything is pretty all inclusive. His Word not only had application when the disciples were walking around in sandals but will be alive for us, the Body of Christ today. I think most of us could agree we could us a bit of encouragement.

There is about to be a great falling away but also a great in-gathering. Whole nations will come to the Lord. Jeremiah 16:19 speaks to us of making the Lord our strength and fortress, our refuge in times of distress and then mentions that to Him the nations will come from the ends of the earth. More promises to us for hope, a future and encouragement in the face of incredibly awful night time headlines most of the time.

Can we look beyond those headlines? Can we know that what we "see" isn't necessarily all there is to "reality"? Can we know in our "knower" that we can trust someone who sees the whole picture from beginning to end and has our very best interest in hand? What kind of security is that? Wow.

Prayer: Dear Lord of all, thank you for giving us your discipline and parameters and making us sense the security in You and obedience to Your Word. Thank you that we can rejoice in your leading and guiding us daily. Please help us to stay yielded, going and growing in you and your Word. dear Jesus. Help us to REST in your everlasting arms and beneath the shadow of your wings. AMEN

(C) Marijo Phelps all rights reserved. Use with proper credits.

Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news.

I have always liked to picture the scene of the early Easter morn, when Mary Magdalene and the other two women went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint His body with spices.

Imagine their incredulous surprise on seeing the tomb empty and still more astounding, the message of the angel uttering the salvific words : “He is not here; He is Risen.” Their joy knew no bounds and they hastened to inform the disciples.

We have all been preparing for Easter since the last forty days through fasting and abstinence. We now see His glory and the greatest miracle in the history of salvation.

For the next forty days, we recall how Jesus walked this earth after His resurrection teaching the disciples and instructing them to go and preach the good news to the ends of the world.

Every Sunday, we commemorate and remember the First Easter Sunday when Christ rose from the dead. Hence, every Sunday is special and should be dedicated to the Lord by our presence and participation in the Holy Mass & Eucharist, where we open our hearts to receive the Risen Lord in a total expression of love.

Let our hearts burn within us with zeal and enthusiasm as it did for the disciples on the walk to Emmaus when Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Let us not go back to our old way of life but begin life anew with the Easter message of joy, peace and hope in the Risen Lord. After all, He won this New Life for us by destroying death forever. What a wonderful place to be; together with Him in His Love for eternity. An inheritance which is ours for all times.

The best Easter blessing that can be imparted to anyone is – “May the LORD bless you and keep you: May His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you: May the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

The Risen Lord alone is our hope, strength, justification and salvation. He is the Alpha & the Omega; the Beginning & the End.

As the bells toll to the ‘Gloria’ tonight in exultation to the Easter Victory, let us rejoice along with Him in the marvelous glory of the Easter season for the next forty days as the Easter candle burns brightly until his ascension into Heaven.

A Blessed Easter Season to one and all!

- MARIA FRANCO

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” (Matt 26:36-46, KJV)

By looking at Luke’s account, we pick up some more detail “And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. (Luke 22:39-46, KJV). Now by prayerfully reading both Matthew’s account and Luke’s account, we can gain some much-needed insight into the actual situation Jesus encountered in the Garden of Gethsemane.

First, Matthew has Jesus taking His disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane, depositing eight of them (Judas was meeting with the religious leaders and receiving the price of a slave [30 pieces of silver] for his betrayal) near the entrance to the garden with instructions to sit there while He went and prayed further into the garden. Jesus then took the inner circle, Peter James and John with Him farther into the garden “and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:36-38, KJV). Why would the soul of Jesus be exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death? And was this the death of the Cross, or by some other means? Luke helps out here by telling us “there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:43-44, KJV). Notice that Jesus was in great agony and He was sweating blood. This condition (hematradosis) is caused when the small blood vessels in the face, particularly in the forehead, burst and allows the blood they were carrying to mingle with the sweat forming on their brow. I heard a medical doctor talking about this condition once. He stated that in all of his years of medical practice, he had only seen two cases of a patient “sweating blood”. In both instances, it was in an emergency room at the hospital. Both patients had been in a terrible accident, which caused extreme stress to their body. Both patients were unconscious during the time they were “sweating blood”, and both patients died without ever regaining consciousness. Their bodies were in such deep shock that they never came out of the shock their bodies were suffering.

Doesn’t this sound like what Jesus was going through, when He said in Matthew “my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death” (v.38)? Then, at this point in the narrative Luke tells us that an angel from Heaven began to strengthen him. What would have happened to the physical body of Jesus if the angel were not there to strengthen Him? Suppose that it would have reacted as other physical bodies have reacted and just shut down for the trauma was too great for the physical body to handle? But Jesus could not die in that garden; He had to physically die on the cross to pay our sin debt. No wonder there was an angel from Heaven to strengthen Him!

So what was the job of the three disciples who accompanied Jesus into the garden? In Matthew, Jesus went back to the three disciples that were with Him in the garden proper. “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:40-41, KJV). Jesus “went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (v.42). And a third time, Jesus prayed the same prayer, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (v. 44). Three times now, Jesus has pleaded with His Father to let the cup He is about to drink pass from Him, however it is not His will he seeks fulfilled, but His Father’s will. Now what was the role of the three disciples there in the garden with Jesus? They were there to “watch and pray”, in other words, they were to be intercessors for Jesus during His darkest hour and they utterly failed because they were sleeping, not once, but three times. Instead of the intercessory prayer of His closest disciples sustaining Him in the agony within the garden, He had an angel from Heaven to strengthen Him because the disciples were simply not up to the task.

But why would the disciples not be up to the task? Because there was a battle raging in that garden that fateful night which the disciples were not equipped to handle. What battle was there? After all the only people present were the disciples and Jesus who was in prayer to His Father. And this is the point that usually escapes us when we read about Jesus’ experiences in the Garden of Gethsemane. Up to this point in the life of Jesus, He had not sinned once, even though sorely tempted by the devil on many occasions. Now, here in the Garden of Gethsemane, the greatest temptation in the life of Jesus was unfolding. If Jesus were to refuse to follow the plan for the salvation of men laid down from before the foundations of the world were laid, then Jesus would be in disobedience to His Father just as surely as Adam was when he ate the forbidden fruit. So just what was the part of the salvation plan that would cause Jesus such great agony that blood would actually drip from His forehead and He would plead with His Father three times to take this cup away from Him and three times end His prayer each time by telling His Father that it was not the will of Jesus which mattered, it was the Father’s will that must be done. Had Jesus refused to drink from the cup the Father was offering, then Jesus would have sinned and could never have paid our sin debt for us.

Don’t you know that Satan was working overtime in the garden to cause Jesus to refuse His Father’s cup? For then, the sinless Lamb of God would have at least one sin of His own and that one sin would hav3e prevented Jesus from paying our sin debt. So what was this terrible thing that was in the Father’s cup, which Jesus would drink, that would cause such tremendous trauma in the body of Jesus that He would actually sweat blood? To understand this, you must understand what the wages of sin are. The actual wages of sin, the just payment for the sin, is to be totally separated from a holy God, for a holy God cannot look upon nor tolerate sin in any form. From the very beginning, the Trinity existed as an entity; no person of the Trinity had ever been separated from the others in their entire existence. Not only that, but there was no precedent established to show that upon separation of one member of the Trinity, that member could again join the other two and be just as they were before the separation. This had never been done before, new ground was being plowed.

Yet, the very cup that Jesus was being offered by His Father was to be separated from Him for the first time in all of eternity. As Paul said to the Corinthian church “for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21, KJV). Jesus, being made sin for us, would be totally separated from His Father and the Holy Spirit, for they could not look upon Jesus in the sinful state He would be in to pay our sin debt. This is why Jesus cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). It was the separation from the Trinity that was the true payment for our sins. In this way, a just God would have the payment justice demanded, separation from God, or spiritual death. However, since Jesus had no sin of His own that would cause a separation from God, i.e. a spiritual death; when He had paid our sin debt by having our sin separate Him from the Trinity, then He would be free to come up out of Hell and rejoin the Trinity once more in Heaven. This is why Satan tried so hard in the Garden of Gethsemane to convince Jesus that He really didn’t want to be separated from the Trinity and why Jesus sought three times for the Father to remove the cup which would require Jesus to be totally separated from the Trinity, not only separated, but be actually in Hell, a place no one had ever escaped from in all eternity. What a battle that was between Jesus and Satan there in that garden! Praise be to God, Jesus persevered. Our salvation was assured because Jesus chose to be obedient to His Father rather than insist on having His own way. The garden was the last place before the cross itself where Satan could try to tempt Jesus into sinning. The heavy drama unfolding in the garden that night was what acted like a drug on the disciples and caused them to sleep rather than intercede for Jesus as He wanted. Surely, as Jesus said, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41).

God Is Waiting For Us To Humble Ourselves By Confessing Our Sins To Him And To One Another Before He Will Heal Our Land

Editor's Note: In this first teaching letter, Derek Prince (1915-September 24, 2003) is writing specifically about his country, Britain, but it is clear that the message applies to all nations, all communities, and all individuals, as well.

Dear Friend,

British Christians are confronted by a grim, undeniable fact: our nation has come under
the judgment of God. For this there are many reasons, but they can be summed up in
one simple statement: We have committed the sin for which Esau was rejected – we
have despised our birthright (Heb. 12:15-17).

God judges us according to the measure of light we have received. Jesus told the Jews of
His day that their judgment would be much more severe than that of Sodom and
Gomorrah, because they had received a much greater revelation of truth.
(Matt. 11:20-24).

The same applies to Great Britain over the last three centuries. Few other nations have
had the same access to the Word of God that has been granted to the British people.
Through culture and tradition, through churches and evangelists, and through the printed
word, Britain has been blessed above all other nations with the knowledge of God’s
truth. Our judgment for rejecting it will be correspondingly severe.

Many Christians fail to realise that God’s judgement does not begin with the people of
the world, but with the people of God. Peter told the Christians of his day, “For the time
has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will
be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). These words
apply equally to the church in Britain today.

Of all the sins that could be charged against the contemporary church, it is sufficient to
focus on two: materialism and compromise.

In Luke 17:26-30 Jesus predicted that the period before His return would be like the
days of Noah and Lot. He mentioned specifically eight activities characteristic of those
days: eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, buying, selling, building, planting.
Yet there is nothing specifically sinful in any of these activities. What, then, was the
problem?

The problem was materialism. The people of those days had become so engrossed in
these materialistic activities that they were unaware of the impending judgment of
God on their carnal lifestyle. When judgment came, they were totally unprepared.
The same is true today of most professing Christians in Britain. If the final judgment of
God should suddenly usher in the return of Christ, they would be totally unprepared.
Like materialism, the sin of compromise often goes unrecognised. About two years ago,
while praying, I had a mental picture of the interior of a typical church building with
rows of pews, a platform, a pulpit, a piano and so on. But the whole building was
permeated with some kind of fog. The outlines of objects could be discerned, but nothing
was sharply defined. While I was wondering what the fog represented, God gave me
one clear word: compromise.

In the contemporary church, most of the main moral and doctrinal truths, so clearly
enunciated in the New Testament, have become blurred and ineffective. In 1 Corinthians
6:9-10 Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Yet the church today is full of people who
commit these sins, but remain totally unconcerned. In fact, they often boast of such sins.
A church member lay in hospital, dying of AIDS, which he had contracted through
homosexuality. Then he received Christ and was given a New Testament. After reading
some way in the New Testament, he sent an urgent message to the person who had led
him to Christ: “Come and pray for me. I need deliverance. I never knew there was
anything wrong with my lifestyle.”

Sadly, the chief responsibility for the erosion and rejection of many of the cornerstones
of the Christian faith in this country lies not with the world but with the very leaders of
the church itself. It has become a regular occurrence to hear of bishops denying the
Virgin birth, ministers questioning the deity of Jesus and priests scorning the need for
salvation.

Perhaps the most tragic outworking of this self-destructive process has been in the spate
of “Inter-Faith” services held in Britain’s Cathedrals and Abbeys. Here we have seen an
Archbishop of Canterbury participating in the worship of foreign gods alongside leaders
of the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh faiths. Similar services have been attended on
at least one occasion by the Queen, who committed herself by her coronation oath to
the “Defence of the Faith”. God makes his feelings clear about such practices in Hosea
5:10 where he says: “Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour
out my wrath on them like a flood of water.”

Yet within the church there is still a remnant of sincere, devoted followers of Jesus. If we
are among that number, how does God require us to respond to the present crises?
One clear answer is given in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name
will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then
I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” The phrase, “My
people who are called by My name,” applies to all Christians who take the name of Christ
upon themselves.

For at least 30 years I have been teaching on this Scripture, but recently I was confronted
by a shocking realisation! God’s people in our day have never fulfilled the first condition.
We have never truly humbled ourselves. Our pride – both religious and racial –
remains as a barrier that holds back the answer to our prayers for ourselves and for our
nation.

Through the severe dealings of God in my own life, I have learned the most effective
way for us to humble ourselves. Very simply, it is by confessing our sins. If we regularly
and specifically confess our personal sins to God, it is impossible to approach Him with
an attitude of pride.

Furthermore, I have seen that God has only committed Himself to forgive us of the sins
we confess. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Unconfessed sins are unforgiven
sins. Thus the barrier of pride builds up a second barrier of unforgiven sin.
The Bible exhorts us to confess our sins not merely to God, but also to one another.
“Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed”
(James 5:16). Confessing our sins to God deals with vertical pride; confessing to one
another deals with horizontal pride. We can hardly maintain an attitude of pride towards
someone to whom we have just confessed our personal sins.

This applies especially to the relationship between husbands and wives. Those who
regularly confess their sins to one another are not kept apart by a barrier of pride.
Furthermore, confession of sin is an essential prerequisite to effective intercession. Daniel
was one of the most righteous characters in the Bible, but when he set out to intercede
for his people Israel, he began by acknowledging his own share in their sin.
(Dan. 9:3-13).

I believe that God is waiting for us as British Christians to humble ourselves before Him
and one another by confessing our sins. Only after we have done that, can we move on
to claim the healing of our land.

But I must add a word of warning. Do not begin to indulge in morbid introspection! The
Holy Spirit is “the finger of God” (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20). Ask God to place His finger
on the sins you need to confess. He will do it with unerring accuracy, probably bringing
to light sins which you never recognised!

I have confined this analysis to the situation in Great Britain. Much of what I have said,
however, applies to other nations who are heirs to the Judeo-Christian inheritance and
to the church worldwide. May God help each of us to accept our personal responsibility!

Yours in the Master’s service
Derek Prince

You might think that these two words have the same meaning. Certainly, they are intimately related. However, there is at least one major distinction. Quite simply, “Gratitude” is a noun, a thing, a feeling. “Thanksgiving” is a verb, an action, a way in which we express our gratitude. Before you can truly give thanks, you must first experience the feeling of thankfulness. And what a wonderful feeling it is!

I have found gratitude to be one of the most powerful feelings; powerful in its ability to transform my thinking, to dramatically change my experience of an event or interaction, and to heal deep wounds and nearly severed relationships. Gratitude can eliminate stress more quickly than any technique I know.

So, let’s try something fun. Let’s take a minute to just experience the warm, wonderful feeling of gratitude. You will find that this exercise can be practiced at any moment throughout the day. My personal goal is to maintain this feeling of gratitude all day long. Of course, I have a long way to go to reach that goal, but I am much happier, less affected by stressful events, and I have richer and more loving relationships than ever before. Are you ready? Here’s an exercise from my book, “The Ultimate Wish Book for Grown-ups”, modified slightly so we can practice together:

Begin by closing your eyes and concentrate on the physical sensation of your breath, going in and out. Relax your mind, bringing all of your awareness to your breath. What does it feel like? Is it tight and hard to breathe? Does it feel open and relaxed? Don’t try to change it, just observe.

Now, rest you mind on someone or something for which you are grateful and notice how the sensations in your body change. As I practice with you, I feel gentle warmth spreading from the very center of my chest, washing effortlessly over my whole body. My face feels lighter and less strained; my breathing becomes deeper and more relaxed. The longer I stay here, with my attention on the feeling of gratitude, my mind becomes less cluttered and infinitely more open.

This is relatively easy to practice when you are alone, without distractions and stress. But the greatest benefits can be felt when you practice it in the midst of chaos and antagonism. Give it a try! Feel gratitude even in the face of extreme adversity. This doesn’t mean being grateful for the person or events that are causing your distress. Simply feel the physical sensations of gratitude as you move through these struggles. Gratitude will buffer you from hostility, confusion, and fear. You will be astounded by the many ways that this simple exercise heals your heart and soul and transforms your life.

As we sit down this Thanksgiving Day, let us give thanks for the support we give each other, sharing this community of friends. Let’s remember to really feel our thanks before we speak them. And let us continue to live Thanksgiving throughout the whole year through the experience of gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving!

© 2010 Melanie Calitri Holden
Melanie is the author of The Ultimate Wish Book for Grown-ups: How to Use the Magic of Santa to Create Your Dreams (www.UltimateWishBook.com) and teaches workshops to help adults reconnect with the spirit of their youth for a healthier and happier life. You can write to Melanie at Melanie@rekindering.com .

Gratitude and Thanksgiving are not the exact same thing

When I was a shoeshine boy back in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1945, I remember being down town when suddenly horns began to blow, bells ring, whistles shriek, and people everywhere in the streets, and stores began to sing, hug, laugh, and shout. Paper began flying from the windows all over town. The good news had come that the war was over. It was a message that brought forth an immediate and enthusiastic response of joy. If you took that same message today and read it from the history book to the people in Sioux Falls, or any other city where the same thing happened, they would not respond as they did then. The reason is obvious. It is no longer a message, but only a record of what was a message of good news in the past.

The message of Christmas, however, is so profoundly significant for all time that it can never become a mere record. It is forever a message of good news. It is a continuously contemporary message that is as relevant today as it was when the angels first proclaimed it to the shepherds. Christmas is still the good news that unto you is born a Savior. It is still a message of hope, joy, and peace that causes men to glorify and praise God. Martin Luther said, "To us it is not simply an old story of an event that happened 1500 years ago, it is more than an event that happened once; for it is a gift and a bestowing that endures forever." This past event is a present experience for every generation. We want to enter into the experience of Christmas again as we examine three aspects of Luke's account of this historic and eternal event. First-

I. THE ADVENT OF THE SAVIOUR. vv.1-7

The first message that comes to us from the record is The Hope of History. The story of Christmas begins with Augustus Caesar. God used a pagan ruler to fulfill His promise to Israel and the world. There would have been no good reason for Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem, for she was near her time of delivery. It was no time for going on a trip. But in meetings of the Roman government decisions were being made for an enrollment of all the people for tax purposes. Little did these pagan leaders realize they were passing legislation that would fulfill prophecy, and eventually spell doom for their pagan worship. God was using men with no compulsion of their wills, to accomplish His will. This is more than a record of what God did in the past. It is a message to us that we need not fear the future, regardless of who rules in history, for God's ultimate purpose will be accomplished. The good news of Christmas is God is in control, and there is hope in history.

The second message we see in verse 7 is The Hostility of Man. This is symbolized by the statement there was no room in the inn. You would think that with all the providential guidance of God in this whole story, it would have been no problem for God to have seen to it that there was a room available. God could have, but He did not, and this is significant. He did not make everything convenient for His own. Jesus was born into a world where men were hostile to God. Sin had made men basically self-centered and indifferent to the needs of others. God did not arrange that all of this be bypassed for His Son. He came unto His own and His own received Him not.

It would be easy to denounce the inn keeper at this point and hold him guilty for being a hard-hearted, penny pinching scoundrel. There is not the slightest evidence that any of this is true. If the evidence tells us anything about the inn keeper, it tells us that he had compassion on Mary, and even though he had no rooms left, he at least saw that they were not turned away. He made room for them in the stable. It is not likely they were the only travelers that could not find a room. Others were no doubt turned away completely.

The text says there was no room. It does not say they were refused a room, nor does it imply that the inn keeper should have turned someone else out to make room. Joyce Kilmer, in her poem, even makes a saint of him, "There was a gentle hostler, and blessed be his name! He opened up the stable the night our Lady came. Our Lady and St. Joseph, He gave them food and bed, and Jesus Christ has given him a glory round his head." This is likely going to the opposite extreme, but she certainly has more evidence than those who denounce him.

If we are to see hostility in this statement, it is the hostility of indifference for the individual in the crowd. This is true in every age, and it is true today. There are people all about us with needs, but we are all so busy that other things take up all the room, and these needy people are left in the stable of neglect and indifference.
When I worked for a printing company, the employees decided to have a noon Christmas party. Everyone was so busy they forgot to tell George-a lonely unmarried man who worked in the envelope department in the basement. There he sat in that dingy basement looking at envelope cartons as he ate his lunch. Meanwhile, everyone else was having a joyful time in the lunch room. When they realized he had not been invited, many of them felt terrible. If anyone needed to be at that party, it was George. He had the greatest need yet he was left out, not because of evil design, but just neglect. So also, if anyone needed a comfortable room that night in Bethlehem, it was Mary, but the indifferent crowd took no notice.

The message that comes to us from this record is that we ought to wake up and recognize there are always needy people about us who need someone to take notice. The hostility of man in general is due to being to busy to take notice. There is, of course, plenty of the more active type of hostility as that of Herod. He made the birth of Christ an event of sorrow by his killing of the babies in Bethlehem. We have people yet today that celebrate Christmas by going on a drinking spree, and breaking the hearts of their loved ones, and killing people on the highways. The hostility of man towards others is one of the main reasons God sent His Son into the world. He had to endure it, but He also came to cure it, and to bring peace between men as well as reconcile God and man.

The third thing we see here is The Humility Of God. By being born in a barn, as it were, God made it clear that in His decent to man He went all the way. No one can get the impression that the Savior is exclusive. This might have been the case had He been born in a palace. But His humble birth in a manger demonstrates that He is not willing that any parish, not even the most lowly. Jesus identified Himself with the poorest of men in His birth. This principle was followed by the Moravian missionaries who even became slaves to reach the slaves with the Gospel. Western Christians have often failed to reach men for Christ because they were not willing to humble themselves to the lowly circumstances of the people they tried to reach. God did so humble Himself, and that is why Christmas is a universal celebration, for all men know God's gift was for them.

I know not how that Bethlehem's Babe
Could in the Godhead be;
I only know the Manger Child
Has brought God's life to me.

This is a present experience for millions because of the advent of the Savior. The second aspect of this account we want to look at is-

II. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ANGELS. vv.8-14

The first thing the angel said is, " do not be afraid". Because man had sinned and had been cut off from fellowship with God, he lost his sense of comfort being in the presence of the spiritual world. Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden. Ever since, man has been afraid to be in the presence of the supernatural. One of the reasons God seldom sends angels to confront us is because He has no pleasure in scaring the wits out of us.

The angel very quickly got past the fear stage by announcing, "I bring you good news of great joy.." The message of Christmas is not a complex philosophy of how to use cosmic forces to change the world. It is a simple message of joy. It is possible for a Christian to get so caught up in complaining about the abuses of Christmas commercialism that they rob themselves of the joy of the season, and thus become part of the problem, and not part of the solution. We are not to be ever saying, look what the world is coming to, but rather, look what has come to the world. Joy to the world the Lord is come.

General Robert E. Lee did not cease to celebrate Christmas after he lost the Civil War. His wife, Mary Custis Lee, had given birth to two children while he was off fighting, and she seldom saw him on Christmas. The first Christmas after the war was their first together in 38 years without military demands. He had been defeated, he was badly crippled with arthritis, and they had little in the way of earthly goods. There was much to be sad about, but they rejoiced. He said, "I am legally still a prisoner of war but I refuse to feel like a prisoner." Instead, he and his family sang Christmas carols and went to church to praise God for the gift that brings joy regardless of negative circumstances.

God is not opposed to our enjoyment of the things of earth. It is a pleasure for Christians to enjoy the presents of this world. Part of the joy of Christmas is in things.
Someone wrote years ago,

Come Westinghouse, Philco! Come Hotpoint, G.E.!
Come Sunbeam! Come Mixmaster! Come to the tree!
So much for the wardrobe-how shine Daddy's eyes.
As he reaps his Yule harvest of slippers and ties.

As long as we recognize that the joy of things is fleeting, and not to be depended upon, it can be legitimate. But the lasting source of our joy is the good news that unto us a Savior is born.

O Brother mine of birth Divine,
Upon this natal day of thine,
Bear with our stress of happiness
Nor count our reverence less,
Because with glee and jubilee,
Our hearts go singing up to thee.
-James Whitcomb Riley.

Joy does not mean a smile from one ear to the other, but a deep sense of being right with God and grateful for His grace. The third aspect we want to look at is-

III. THE ACTION OF THE SHEPHERDS. vv. 15-20

The shepherds were a lower class people who were often wanderers, and often they did not marry. It is of interest that they were the first to be informed of the birth of one who was to be the Great Shepherd, and who also would never marry, but wander from place to place seeking the lost sheep of the house of Israel. God purposely chose the shepherds to convey the truth that He sent His Son for all men. By so doing He also dignifies the common toils of life. God makes no distinction between the sacred and the secular. His good news is not just for the priestly class, but for all classes of men.

When the angels had left the shepherds they went with haste into Bethlehem. Here is the first Christmas rush. It is no problem to be in a hurry if you are going to fulfill the purpose of God. Man is so often in a hurry to get somewhere that does not matter. Johnstone G Patrick said it in poetry, "Along the pathway of stars-we toil toward the moon and Mars. Good God, it seems we've lost our mind in leaving Bethlehem behind." Men are in a hurry to get materials, and to get to the moon and Mars, but all too seldom are they in a hurry to get to the manger. That is, their priorities are not on the things of God.

The shepherds worshipped the Christ-child, and then they witnessed to others of what they had seen and heard. The best way to witness is to share your personal experience. If we can share the wonder and joy of what Christmas means to us, because we have received God's gift of a Savior, then we can make Christmas a message, and not merely a record of what God has done. Make this prayer from an unknown poet your prayer for this Christmas-

O Jesus! Thou bright Christmas glory,
With Christmas grace upon me shine;
Enlighten me to tell the story
Of all Thy love and work Divine:
So teach me in Thy light to go,
That I with Christmas love may glow.