Merry Christmas

Do you still hesitate?

Did you think twice this Christmas?

Do you wish your family understood?

Rejoice this Christmas that you do!

Are you feeling like you can't move forward?

You can't if you're always looking backwards!

When someone wishes you a Merry Christmas, do you say it back, or do you still say "Thank you", or simply nod your head look away, and move on?

 

Do you still try to make up for Christmas's lost?  Like a child who is trying desperately to fill a void, to make up for, to compensate for something, something lost.  Are you like a little child waiting for someone to just hear you, to just see you, to just understand. 

Is Christmas costing you to much financially and you joke,

"Maybe this year I should be a Jehovah's Witness!" LOL

Do you still find it hard to step into a church, but you really want to hear the TRUE Christmas Story?

Go and Step in!

Do you find yourself saying "I believe!"

But only in the magic of Santa, Reindeer, and cookies?

Do you want to Believe?

Does the name Jesus still stump you?

Does the name Jehovah make you want to run?

He came in the most humble of ways born in manager.

He is Jesus, He is Jehovah, He is I AM!

BELIEVE!

Don't you just love it when it snows on Christmas...

Don't you just love to see your kids and grand-kids

opening Christmas presents...

Don't you just love Christmas candy...

Don't you just love that you can celebrate Christmas this year!

I love that you can too!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS!

The Candy Cane

I have bought candy canes for the past 19 years.

It was about 6 years ago my children received a little note along with their candy cane.

Although I don't have the original, you can find the story just about anywhere.

I have never looked at The Candy Cane the same way since then.

The History of the Candy Cane as told to children...

It had to be special to be a gift for the
King of Kings, thought the humble candy
maker from Indiana. Not just any piece of
candy would do. It had to be hard candy
because the church is built on solid rock
and God's promises are a firm foundation.
It would be formed in the shape of the
Good Shepherd's staff. A "J" that would
also stand for the precious name of Jesus.
But it had to say more. White stripes
would symbolize the virgin birth and
sinless nature of Christ. Three small red
stripes would represent the scourging Jesus
suffered on His way to the cross. One large
red stripe would remind those with eyes to
see and ears to hear of the blood Jesus shed
as payment for our sins. It would be a
gift of love that would tell His story -
the greatest story ever told. 

 

 

The True Story

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness,
so he made the Christmas Candy Cane.

He incorporated several symbols
for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. 

He began with a stick of
pure white, hard candy: white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless
nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the Foundation of the
Church and firmness of the promises of God. 

The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior.

It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who like all sheep have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes.
He used three small stripes for the blood shed by Christ on the cross. 

So that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as the Candy Cane.
It became a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time.

But meaning is still there for all those who "Have eyes to see and ears to hear." 

We pray that this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came down at Christmas.

Hard Candy - Reminds us that Jesus is like a "ROCK", strong and dependable
Psalm 31:3

Peppermint Flavor - Is like the gift of spices from the wise men
Matthew 2:11

White Candy - Stands for Jesus as the holy, sinless Son of God
1 John 1:7

Cane - Is like a staff used by shepherds in caring for sheep. Jesus is our "Good Shepherd".
John 10: 1-18, 27-30

The Letter J. - Is for the name of Jesus, our Savior.
Matthew 1: 21

The Color Red - Is for God's love that sent Jesus, and for Jesus' love in giving His life for us on the cross.
John 3: 16 and Revelation 1:5

The Stripes - Reminds us of Jesus' suffering - His crown of thorns,
the wounds in His hands and feet, and the cross on which He died.
John 19: 1-30

Instead of looking at things as black and white...
how about looking at things as red and white...

Link:

http://justforkidsmagazine.com/candycanelegend.html  

Immanuel

There are many things I would like for you this Christmas season.
One of those things is;
for you to sit and think,
be still and ponder,
process the vast wonder of
Immanuel-God With Us.

 ...If you do not stand firm in your faith,
   you will not stand at all.’ Vs. 9
“Ask the LORD your God for a sign, Vs. 11
...a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Vs. 14
Isaiah 7- NIV

Old Testament
Always matches up with
New Testament

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Vs. 18
"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Vs. 21
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Vs. 22,23
Matthew 1-NIV

As a former Jehovah's Witness I would say time and time again;
"Sure I believe Jesus, sure he walked this earth, I believe in Jesus, I pray in His name."
I thought I had it all figured out. I believed I had it all down and even "right."
To the extreme and believing like the breaths I take daily, preaching daily door to door saying;
"He Jesus is a created being, and yes I believe in his virgin birth, but he is not God."
I would say to you, "Well, yes we are in agreement, when it comes to Jesus."

We are NOT in agreement!
I am no longer in agreement with those statements!

We need to agree with Jesus!
We need to believe who He is, and who He says He is.

The Incarnation of Christ.
Unless you fully believe and accept that He Jesus is God.
The Incarnation of God becoming man by the virgin birth.
God became man and dwelled with us-God With Us-Immanuel.
That I will be in agreement with you on.

Incarnation is one of the most important teachings and beliefs of Christianity.
Incarnation represents the belief that Jesus, who is the non-created second person of the triune God took on a human body and nature and became both man and God.
Immanuel-God With Us.

I didn't say this He did.
The best teaching on this is John 1:14
The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth.  GWT

He was truly man and truly God and he dwelt with us.

I know as a former Jehovah's Witness myself,
I questioned, I battled, I fought, I argued, I cried over,  every bit of this truth.
I gave every rote (learned, memorized) answer I knew to give, to come against,
Who Jesus was.  Who Jesus is.
Immanuel-God With Us.

I challenge you;
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 1 John 4:1 NLT

He Was, He Is, and He Is to Come!
He is Immanuel.

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.
1 John 1:1 NLT
He is Immanuel-God with us.

I take Him at his word today and every day ahead of me.  This is my faith.  I took my mustard seed of faith and planted it with Him for eternity.
This Christmas and every Christmas prior to this one,
and everyday He is Immanuel-God With Us.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

What if Christmas Looked Different this Year?

My 1st Christmas. Christmas 2004.
Sure I celebrated Christmas from the age 18 to 30. 12 years.
But at age 30, it was a whole new ball game.
See it was the summer of 2004 that I found Christ.
So in 2004 CHRIST was in my CHRISTmas!
Christmas looked different for me that year, and has every year since.

I ask you the question this Christmas...

What if Christmas Looked Different For You This Year?

Will it really be different if I ask Christ in to my Christmas this year?
Yes, Really!
Will I really feel different if I ask Christ in to my Christmas this year?
Yes, Really!
Will things really begin to change for me if I ask Christ in to my Christmas this year?
Yes, Really!

Will this be the year you BELIEVE?
Will this be the year you accept the gift, He wants to give you this year?

What gift?
The gift of life.  The gift of forgiveness for ALL your sins.
The gift of salvation. The gift of eternity.
The gift of truth. The gift of love.
The gift of acceptance.  The gift of comfort.
The gift of peace.  The gift of hope, a living hope.
The gift of Him.

Let this Christmas be the Christmas you put Christ in your CHRISTmas.
Let this be the year 2011 that you put Christ in your life from this day forward and FOREVER!

If you are ready, and you want the time to be now, and you want to accept and receive His gift.


Please pray this prayer.


Dear Jesus,
Today is the day, I come to you and ask you to forgive me for all my sins. I want to be better and do better.
I want you to come in and be apart of my life, be my life.  I ask you to take over.
I've tried but I can't do it anymore, I need you, a Savior to save me, from this pit I've been in way to long.
Lord, please reveal truth to me.  See, I thought I was in "the truth", but now I'm confused and I have been for so long.  I have believed so many wrong things far to long.   Please, please show me The Truth your Truth! I need your help to sort through all of this.  I'm afraid, please protect me. Please save me.
Today I accept and proclaim you as LORD, over all the earth and LORD over my life.
I believe you God that you came by way of a virgin birth and that you died and rose for my sins.
I believe that you are alive, and in heaven waiting to return someday.
Please Lord, I accept your gift, your precious gift of life.
Thank you for dying on the cross for me.
I love you Lord. In Jesus name I pray, Amen! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!

If this is the first time you prayed this prayer, please let me know.
I would like to get in contact with you and pray with you.

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