Luke 2: 10-11 (NLT) “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” This time of year, it is easy to get caught up in all the glitz of the holiday season. The bright lights, the buying of presents, the parties and family get togethers often distract us from what Christmas is all about, and that is the birth of Christ the Lord. Now admittedly we don’t know the exact day Jesus was born, and there are many theories as to why December 25th was chosen to celebrate His birth, but if we are going to celebrate the birth of the Messiah then we should remember why He came and how He lived His life. Christmas is not about the presents we give or receive, it is not about the parties we attend, it is not about the songs we sing or the food we eat, it is about the baby who was born for a purpose. We don’t know much about His early years, but we do know about the man He grew into. I would like to think that not only did Jesus come to take on our sin and pay a debt we could never repay, but to set an example of how we should live our lives. I’ve often heard people say, “Life is short, live life to its fullest!” but exactly how do we do that? When we’re young we think traveling, making lots of money, having fun will bring us satisfaction, but those things are temporary, they vanish like dust in the wind. How do you want to be remembered, or will you even be remembered and for how long? Until those who knew you forget or pass away? Maybe we need to ask ourselves “How will God remember me”? I guess the point I’m getting at is maybe, during this season when we are celebrating the birth of Christ, we should start thinking more about living our lives in a way that honors Him and brings glory to His name. I’m not saying we shouldn’t keep the traditions past down to us from our family or buy presents or get together with those we love, but maybe we need to start adding to our celebrating the thought of serving others. Maybe this would be a good time to teach our children about compassion, kindness, forgiveness and love by doing things for others. I knew a woman who every year during the holiday season didn’t just donate money or items to the needy, but she would take her son to hand out blankets, socks, soap and other items to the homeless. There was a time when she was in need, and she knew how it felt to be forgotten and alone, she wanted her son to understand how blessed they truly were and the importance of helping others. She was in no way, shape or form wealthy, but she was so grateful for what she had that she was compelled to give to those who had little. There are many ways to serve others and teach our children the importance of giving, even if it by giving time to the lonely. There are groups who have giving trees where you can select a name and buy presents for that family or child. I remember adopting a patient at the nursing home to buy presents for, believe it or not there are many who don’t get visitors. The elderly are often forgotten and overlooked at this time of year; you should see how their faces light up when children come to visit or sing Christmas carols to them. Even if you don’t have money to spend there are things you can do to serve others, spending time reading to the young or old in the hospital can brighten their day. But don’t let it end once the season is over with, there are those in need throughout the year. That baby that was born thousands of years ago, He spent His life helping others, He paid the ultimate price sacrificing His life so we might live. So, during this season, let’s take the time to honor and glorify Him, to make a commitment to live our lives, each and every day, in such a way that reflects how He lived His life. Don’t make Christmas all about the lights, the parties, the gifts – instead make it all about Him. With that being said, I pray that He continues to bless all of you throughout the years to come and bring you the peace of heart, even during difficult times, that only He can give.

Colossians 3:23-25 “Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.” I remember when I first moved to Florida, I went in for a job interview and at the end of the interview, the person said to me the job was mine even before the interview. Why? Because the area of the country I was from was known to have a strong work ethic. It was ingrained in us at a very young age that you gave your employer 100% while you were on the job. Times have changed, but as Paul said, we should be willing to do everything as if we are doing it for the Lord. He created us to work hard, in Genesis 1:28 it tells us “God blessed them and said to them ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” Adams job – multiply, grow, rule and care for everything. People tend to feel better, they are more satisfied when they work hard. Even if the work you do is more mental than physical, it still gives you satisfaction when you feel you have done your job to the best of your abilities. Paul is not telling us to simply “work hard”, he’s telling us to put our whole heart and soul into whatever we do, and admittedly that isn’t always easy. We are to work as if we are working for the King of Kings, not for human bosses. As the quoted scripture says, we need to remember “that the master you are serving is Christ”. As Christians, these verses should really hit home for us because we represent Christ, we identify ourselves through Him. Our behavior, our attitude, our work ethic should all speak in a positive manner, reflecting His values and love. We need money to live on this earth, but that should be a secondary reason for working hard, our primary reason or thought should be we are working to please God and to glorify His name. The reward we will receive from Him cannot be bought with money and is of far more value than any possession on this earth. So, on those days when your boss is getting on your last nerve, or you are wondering if your job is really worth all you are putting up with; think about these verses in Colossians. Picture in your mind Christ standing in front of you, smiling and nodding His head because you are putting your whole heart and soul into your work, you are working for the Lord rather than for people. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 1:7 “…and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” Vocabulary.com defines brotherly affection as “a kindly and lenient attitude toward people.” In 2nd Peter brotherly affection is referring to a love between fellow believers. We have a common bond with other believers and that is our love for Christ, that is one reason we often refer to each other as brothers and sisters. But just like our biological brothers and sisters we don’t always find it easy to get along. That is why this theme is repeated frequently in the New Testament, Romans 12:10 says “Love one another with brotherly affection”; John 13:34 “…love one another just as I have loved you” and in 1 Peter 1:22 “…you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters…” And we are given examples in Acts 11:27-30, Galatians 6:2 and Philippians 2:3-4. We have to cultivate this love, pursue it in a conscientious manner, this is a word of action and is often a sign of spiritual maturity. Remembering we are all individuals with different personalities helps us to understand that we may instantly be drawn to some people more than others. Having a respect for our differences will also help us to become a blessing to all our brothers and sisters, not just those whom we are drawn to. But it is our love of Christ that binds us, and after all, love covers a multitude of sins. Which brings us to the eight and probably considered the most important trait of a Christian – and that is love. This love is “agape”, it is a selfless love considered to be the highest form of Christian love. It is a love that you extend towards others without expecting anything in return, it is a sacrificial love. And while brotherly love refers to a love extended towards other believers, agape love is extended towards everyone, believers and non-believers alike. If you think about what God did for us (John 3:16), this was an agape type of love, He was willing to sacrifice His Son for us. In Matthew 5:43-48 we are told to love our enemies because when it comes to love we are “to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect”. But even agape love is not automatic for us, we will find it is necessary to cultivate it, to feed into it, to encourage it to grow, and as we do, we grow not only closer to each other but to God. God has given us everything we need to develop these eight Christian characteristics, it is up to us to put them into action, to develop them fully. And when we do, then God will give us more and more grace and peace as we grow in our knowledge of the Father and Son (2 Peter 1:2). So, which of these eight traits do you need to work on? Some of us have more work to do than others. Being aware of our shortcomings brings us a step closer to working on the areas where we fall short, and as we work on these areas, we will develop a deeper relationship with those around us but more importantly with God. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 1:6 “…Supplement … with patient endurance and patient endurance with godliness…” Life can definitely have its challenges, and we tend to like things to be easy. I admit I get tired of the constant struggles in this life, but sometimes I wonder if it’s God’s way of getting me to depend on Him more and on myself less. If you ask someone who has a deep faith, how they made it through the most difficult times in their life, how they endured that which brings many people to their knees, they will tell you they did so by relying on God. Endurance is defined as having the power to tolerate or hold up in an unpleasant process or situation without giving way or compromising. Revelation 1:9 says, “I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us”. John, like all the apostles endured much by putting God’s will before their own. On a daily basis they depended on God to get them through every situation, they trusted that in His time, He would make the truth known and they would be vindicated. With patient endurance they would get through the suffering, the persecution and the pain. When we endure then we are blessed through God’s compassion and mercy. It is patient endurance that enables us to continue seeking out and striving towards these Christian traits even when we are suffering. And we are to supplement patient endurance with godliness. Dictionary.com defines godliness as “the quality or practice of conforming to the laws of God; devoutness and moral uprightness”. So simply put, the way we live our life should be consistent with the way Christ lived. Our actions and behaviors should be pleasing to God. But it is not enough to “pretend” like the Pharisees did, as spoke of in Matthew the 23rd chapter. Some people know all the right things to say and do and that is the person you see in public, but behind closed doors they are totally different. These are the people that Paul described in 2 Timothy 3:5 who have a “form” of godliness or they “appear” to be godly, and he warns us to stay away from them. God knows when we truly carry His word in our heart. When we become believers, we are to put away our old way of life and put on the new. Changes don’t always happen overnight, but when you consistently begin to live your life in a way that is pleasing to God then you begin to adopt the qualities of godliness. With the celebration of Thanksgiving only a few days away, I know many will be busy preparing for the gathering of family and friends. Let us all take time, not just one day a year but every day, to reflect on all the blessings the Father has bestowed upon us. I hope you will join me a week from today as we look at the last characteristics of a Christian. Until then, may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 1:5-6 “…Supplement … moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control…” Knowledge is next on our list. Knowledge is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as: facts, information and skills acquired by a person through experience or education. In Proverbs 1:7 we are told “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” This type of fear is actually a great respect for God, His knowledge is flawless and there is no end to His knowledge. God wants us to have a deep respect for His law which will cause us to obey it. We know that God exist, that He is the creator of all, but is that knowledge enough? The more we read God’s word the more we understand and gain knowledge of Him who created us. 2 Peter 3:18 says to “grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord”. Knowledge apart for God is said to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 8:1). In John 8:32 Jesus told His disciples that they would know the truth and the truth would set them free. As our knowledge of Christ grows our minds become transformed leading us to grow in appreciation for Him, we develop the desire to do what is right in His eyes and also to recognize the truth from false teachings. Knowledge of what is acceptable in God’s eyes will also help us to have more control over our own bodies and minds. Back in September we talked about self-control, so I will just briefly touch on this subject. If you look up the definition of self-control it is the ability to control one’s emotions, desires and behavior. If you think about it, these are all things that the world allows to control them, and it would seem that in this current atmosphere it has become not only acceptable but encouraged. As Christians we strive to master these things instead of becoming a slave to them. If we have no self-control, then we will fall into sin again and we set ourselves up for destruction. From the beginning of creation God gave us free will, it is up to us to choose whether we will give into our emotions and selfish desires or take control of them. Some churches have moved towards making God’s word more attractive to man by watering down His word. But God’s word is truth, He does not change, He is the same now as He was in the beginning. I hope you will join me on Monday as we once again look at enhancing and building on our faith. Until then may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 1:5 “Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence…” Faith, it is not something we earn, it is not something we supply, verse one says faith was given to us, it is a gift from God. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” God gave us this gift of faith, now we must build upon that foundation so our feet remain firmly planted in all things good, in all things acceptable in His sight. Hebrews gives us many examples of faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Rahab and countless other men and women of faith are mentioned in the Bible. But the one example of faith that stands high above the others is that of Jesus Christ. When He submitted to the will of the Father by taking on human form and dying on the cross for our sins, He was exercising faith. Our faith in Jesus Christ is not just the basis for our belief but also the basis for how we live our lives, which brings us to moral excellence. Verse five doesn’t just say moral excellence but a GENEROUS provision of moral excellence. Did you notice this was the only one of the eight traits that used the word generous? What do you think of when you think of the word generous? Maybe bountiful, liberal, abundance or even overflowing – but what exactly was Peter referring to when he says moral excellence? Most scholars agree that Peter was talking about the excellence of God’s nature. And is God not overflowing with love, kindness, mercy, compassion and forgiveness? In Philippians 4:8 Paul tell us to keep our minds on that which is excellent and worthy of praise, in other words keep our mind on God. God’s nature, His glory, His excellence is what is worthy of praise. By living a life in obedience to Him we are giving Him praise and we are worshiping Him. When we choose to do what is right in the eyes of God and refuse to do what is wrong than this is said to be moral excellence. Let’s look at it in a more simplified way: if you see someone who is hurt and you render aide, if someone is hungry and you feed them, if someone is in a dangerous situation and you help them out of that situation or protect them, then you are choosing to do what is right and you bring praise to the Father. Moral excellence can be related to the areas of courage, generosity, morality, selflessness and moderation just to name a few. All the examples of Jesus recorded in the New Testament bring to light His nature, His excellence, and by imitating Him our behavior can “supplement our faith with a generous provision of moral excellence”. I hope you will join me on Friday as we continue to look at the eight characteristics mentioned in 2 Peter. Until then may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NLT) “Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” At the beginning of this chapter Peter calls himself “a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ” (verse 1) and everything Peter teaches us and tells us is an eyewitness account. Peter was the first to identify Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 16:16) and in Matthew 16:18 Jesus calls Peter the rock upon which He will build His church. Peter’s faith was deep, he was the only one to walk on water towards Jesus (Matthew 27-29), their bond was strong. At the beginning of Peter’s second letter, he reminds us of what faithfulness and integrity looks like. He tells us to supplement our faith or enhance it with several different things: moral endurance, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, affection and love. All of these are traits of a Christian who is spiritually mature, and it is important to feed our faith in order to grow. Peter knew there would be obstacles that would challenge our faith, he had personally struggled through some of them. He also knew that “God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3). Our spiritual growth is a life long process and heeding Peters advice will help us develop a stronger relationship with Christ. We should strive to become more like Him and working on these Christian characteristics will help us move closer to that goal. Our final goal is to be part of God’s Kingdom, and while we wait for Christ return, we should keep in mind what verse 8 says: when we grow in these traits we are more productive and useful. We should be looking forward to His return and using our time wisely. I hope you will join me on Wednesday when we take a closer look at these 8 characteristics. Until then, may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 John 8 (NLT) “Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward.” Sometimes in life, we work so hard for something only to have it slip away. If you have ever owned a business or worked hard for a promotion at work, you know that once you obtain what you were reaching for you must continue working hard to keep it. During COVID many businesses went under, not for lack of hard work but because of the circumstances at that time. When you get a promotion at work there is always someone waiting in line behind you, waiting for you to retire, to move on or even waiting for you to fail. In order to maintain your position or even grow you must put forth the effort to acheive and maintain your goal. Knowledge obtained from God’s word should be our goal, not just obtaining that knowledge but applying it in our lives each and every day. Throughout the Epistles there are warnings to be on guard for false teachers, it was prevalent then and I suspect it is more so today. Often times they will wrap a falsehood up in a small particle of truth which may be why people are led away. The person being fed the information may hear something they recognize as being part of God’s inspired word, but they don’t recognize the falsehood, so they accept it as truth. That is why it is so important to continuously grow in His word, to increase your understanding and know the truth that Jesus led you to. Whether the false teachings are accidental or purposeful on the part of the speaker, it is up to us to be diligent in our pursuit of His truth. I have been known to ask someone “Where can I find that in the scriptures?” I do not do this to put them on the spot but because I admit that I am continuously learning and sometimes I read something without really thinking about what I’m reading, so I may miss the message. So, if what they are saying is true, I gain knowledge, and if what they are saying is false, I am able to protect what I “have worked so hard to achieve”. Knowledge does not come to us instantly when we accept Christ, we must search for it, chase after it, grab hold of it like the precious life-giving word that it is. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

Acts 23: 10-11 (NLT) “As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress. That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.’” When I think about first century Christians who were responsible for spreading the Good News, Paul is the first person who comes to my mind. He was so zealous for God’s word that I picture him to be someone who people were automatically drawn to, but if you read Acts, you know that was not always the case. Paul suffered so many hardships and yet he always continued forward in the Lord’s work. Paul was putting God first in his life, the work the Lord gave him came before his own safety, before his comfort, before his own wants and desires; he placed God above everything else in his life. In the 23rd chapter of Acts, Paul’s life and his mission were in jeopardy. The chapter before he was giving his testimony of his encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus. And the crowd was listening up until he told them the Lord said “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!” This deeply offended the Jews, and they were ready to take his life. He was taken before the “high council” where once again conflict broke out, and in order to keep him from being killed the soldiers were ordered to take him into custody. Have you ever noticed that Paul often ends up in dangerous situations? There are those throughout the centuries and throughout the world who have knowingly place themselves in dangerous situations in order to share the message of salvation. Just like Paul they placed God before everything else in their lives. That doesn’t mean they never became discouraged or that they never had moments of fear or anxiety. But I’m sure they, like Paul, knew God was always with them. He brings us courage and strength when facing threatening situations and will enable us to finish the work He has called us to do. That night while Paul laid there possibly considering what was to come, the Lord appeared to him and told him to be encouraged. That he would have the opportunity to preach in Rome just as the Holy Spirit had compelled him to do (Acts 19:21). God is with us always, just as He was with Paul, no matter where we are or what is happening in our lives – He is there. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 2:20 NLT “And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.” God keeps leading me back to this part of 2nd Peter, so there must be a reason. It’s interesting how this is worded, for instance the word escape brings to mind (at least for me) someone who is in a dangerous position or situation but has found a way out or fled the danger. If you think about current world events and the evil or wickedness that prevails, then yes, there is definitely a need to escape. While there is no way to physically escape the world except through death, we can escape the fear and anxiety that being surrounded by evil produces. Knowing Christ, having a deeper relationship with the Father produces a peace in us because we know He has already won the war. And no matter what happens we can take to heart Romans 8:38 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” When God is with us, when we have truly taken His word into our heart, nothing can separate us from Him. Second Peter the second chapter focuses on the dangers of false teachers and how they will lead us back to sin if we are not careful. Peter may have been cautioning new converts or simply reminding all Christians that it is possible for us to “get tangled up and enslaved by sin”. The lifestyle we see being pushed upon us by the world, is one of going after everything and anything we want. The TV ads telling us we deserve to have it all, the shows and movies that promote sex and violence, world leaders who create fear among not only their people but among the nations, greed, anger, hate, selfish attitudes are all encouraged. All of this instead of love, kindness, compassion, they have lost the fear of God, and they encourage us to place what we want above what God wants. There are millions of bad examples in this world that we could follow, but the only example we should be following, that is worth following, is that of Christ. Peter tells us if we get mixed up in a lifestyle where we are placing our desires above Christ, then we are worse off than before, we are essentially rejecting God. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We place ourselves into situations where we know there will be temptation. We think we are strong; we can handle it and when we do that, we are relying on ourselves instead of God, He inspired those who wrote the Bible to warn us for a reason. He even gave us examples of those who did not heed His warnings, let us not make that same mistake. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.