Month: December 2016

What’s in a Name? {12.30.16}

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian

How did you get your name? Chances are that your parents named you and maybe, like me, you were named after someone or some people in your family. Maybe you were given a name from the Bible. Or, maybe you were named after a great athlete, movie star, or other celebrity. Perhaps you were named after a favorite character in a book or a beloved friend. Some of us were even given a name created by putting a couple of names together or just created to be different or unique. Maybe your name was chosen from a book of hundreds of baby names.names Whatever our given name is, it is part of our identity isn’t it? People associate us with our name. Sometimes that can be bad or good, depending upon how we live our lives. Aside from our given name, we also get other names in our lives, don’t we? Whether it is daughter, son, sister, brother, mom, dad, friend, co-worker or teammate, they all reflect a relationship. Such is the case with two names given to men by God. Those two names are John the Baptist and JESUS. Let’s take a look…

John the Baptist – Luke 1:13 “But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid Zechariah: your prayer has been answered. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.”

You can read the full details Luke 1:5-25 and 57-80. It’s quite a story – a true story.

JESUS – Luke 1:31 “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”

Let’s look a little further to the “name of JESUS”…jesus-salvation

Luke 1:32-33 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Did you notice that? “His kingdom will NEVER end.” That is good news for us. It’s in fact, the best of news. Here’s why…

John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

God is talking about life here on earth but also everlasting life (remember – “his kingdom will never end”) if we believe in Him. But don’t get confused. The devil believes in Him. He knows He exists. It’s not just the knowing and believing He exists. It’s to have faith in Him, belief in Him, trust in Him, obey Him, love Him and follow Him.

Let’s check out how powerful “the name of JESUS” is…

Acts 2:38 “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 1:20-21 “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  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.”  

jesus-name-above-all Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

1 John 3:23 “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Acts 3:16 “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”

jesus-power-in-nameThere is power in the name of Jesus! Even when we are in a situation where we can’t even articulate a prayer, we can call upon His Name. Just say the name of Jesus. There is power in His Name.

Whatever our given name is, let’s make sure to give it a good reputation. Even if we’ve made a “bad name of it” in the past, we can change that. Remember, there is power in the name of Jesus. Call upon Him for help, he can change anything from bad to good if we allow Him to be Lord of our lives. Let’s start off this New Year with Jesus leading the way and us following His lead. For, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD and there is POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS. Happy New Year!

Gift Wrapping {12.14.16}

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian1 Comment

Maybe like me, you have been wrapping gifts lately. I love to wrap gifts. Some find it a chore but I find it relaxing and enjoyable. Whether it is wrapping gifts for family, company Christmas parties, special occasions or “just because” gifts, I can sit for hours on the floor in front of the TV wrapping. When wrapping gifts I tend to use a lot of tape (so my family tells me). I want everything neat and tidy. Gift bags are great, beautiful and perfect for certain gifts but I still like to wrap boxes with pretty paper and ribbons. Of course with mostly boys in our family I don’t get much chance to make things “pretty”. I don’t think they really care that much about ribbons and bows. But, even the simplest of gifts can seem special when in beautiful wrappings. While wrapping Christmas gifts this year, I have been thinking about the best gifts any of us could ever receive, those gifts weren’t pretty by human standards but they were the most special of all – priceless in fact.

The gift, the reason we celebrate Christmas is the birth of Christ. His birth was not what we would call beautiful by our earthly standards, would we? Let’s review the special wrappings around Jesus’ birth.

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. baby-jesus

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:4-14)

God had a purpose in sending Jesus to earth. It was to save mankind by being the perfect, once for all, sacrifice for our sins (yours and mine). It’s sad to think that all could have been different if only obedience had prevailed in the Garden of Eden but, God loves us all so much that He made another way for us to live with Him forever. His name is Jesus. The crucifixion, cruel as it was, was a gift to us, wrapped in hardship and intense pain but mostly wrapped with a love that is beyond our understanding. This wrapping for all to see was harsh and inhumane. Jesus gave for us…oh what a love!

“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews? Pilate asked them. Crucify him! They shouted. Why? What crime has he committed? asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, Crucify him! Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, Hail, king of the Jews! Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15:12-20)

Not a pretty wrapping for this very special gift was it? Thankfully, the story does not end there. Jesus was once again going to give us a gift and it also was wrapped.

“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.” (Luke 23:50-53)

 “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again. Then they remembered his words.

jesus-tombWhen they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away wondering to himself what had happened.” (Luke 24:1-12)

The thing about gifts is that they can be given freely but it is up to the recipient whether or not to unwrap and receive the gift. You see, the gift of Jesus was opened that day as He rose from the dead. He unwrapped the gift for us. But, we still must receive it to ourselves. It’s simple. Here is all that is required: Believe in Jesus, repent and ask forgiveness for our sins, go in faith, loving God and others. Then, you will receive another gift – the Holy Spirit to live within you helping you to trust God and follow Him in loving obedience.

“Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)

Then, we can all look forward to the ultimate gift!

“”Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)

So, as you celebrate this Christmas, please don’t overlook the real gift – Emmanuel – God with Us!

Thank you Jesus!

Snow White {12.2.16}

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian

This has been kind of a long drawn out series of posts. snow-white-and-birdThank you for bearing with me. Even I got kind of tired looking at lessons God can give me through this movie. But, I believe He led me there so I went. Well, finally, here we are – the last installment.

I think the first thing we all notice about Snow White in the movie is that she is outwardly beautiful. That’s what caused all her trouble, didn’t it? The Queen was jealous of her beauty and thus the beginnings of evil thoughts entered her mind and grew until she acted upon those thoughts. snow-white-and-appleThat’s how Satan gets us. We allow him to put a foot in the door and pretty soon he owns our house (which if we are Christians, belongs to GOD!). The good news is that God always gives us a way of escape so we can withstand those attacks that come our way. Snow White was no exception. She was able to escape. Even though she was afraid, she took that step of faith and ran like her life depended on it and it appeared that it did – literally.

We quickly realize that Snow White’s beauty is NOT only skin deep but comes from her heart. She has joy in the midst of her terrible troubles. She doesn’t know what is going to happen to her and I’m sure she felt very alone. It reminds me of the verses in (Hebrews 11). Those always get me. Faithful followers of God stepping out even when they had no idea how it was going to turn out. Faith. Trust. Obedience.

Snow White shows us that we truly can be content in all circumstances. She also walks out the words of (Colossians 3:17). Life is full of ups and downs, hills and valleys, sunshine and rain. However, God is in all of those times and He has a plan for us – a good plan, a perfect plan. (Jeremiah 29:11) All things work out for the good of those who are called by His Name and walk in His Ways. snow-white-and-princeOur job is to remember that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD (Mark 10:27) and if we give him what we have, He can multiply it beyond our beliefs. All for Him. All for His Glory. All for Our Good.

Lessons I learned from Snow White:  Do right, even when it is hard. Count your blessings, even if your hardships are more visible at the moment. Be joyful. Be kind. Help others. Whistle or sing while you work. Trust that all will work out in the end just as it should.