...Because He first loved us.

Two In A Manger

Two In A Manger


We were overseas for a short-term missions trip and it was nearing the holiday season, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem . Finding no room in the inn , the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city.

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid trips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel were used for the baby's blanket a doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we brought from the United States.

The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where a little boy sat. He looked to be about 6-years-old and had finished his project. I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.

Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously.


For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately -- until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then he started to ad-lib.

He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.

"Then Jesus told me I could stay with Him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give Him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept Him warm, that would be a good gift."
"So I asked Jesus, 'If I keep You warm, will that be a good enough gift?' And Jesus told me, 'If you keep Me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave Me.' So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and He told me I could st ay with Him -- for always."

As he finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor leave him, Someone who would stay with him -- for always!

And the Americans? They had learned the lesson they had come to teach --- that it is not what you have in life, but Who you have in your life, that really counts.

Do You Desire God?

Do You Desire God? - Paul Washer from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.

Encourage one another daily...

Healthy, devoted relationships

Hello Friends,

This is an excerpt from a booklet put out by "A Church in Indianapolis". We love these folks and have talked with certain members of the "church", a little bit, on and off throughout the years. They have put out many excellent books/booklets, teaching tapes, and music CDs. And much more -- click here to explore their website (and please take the time to watch the slideshow on the front page!)!

I know this is a somewhat long 'excerpt', but it'll really only take a couple minutes to read. I beseech you to read it! It's so powerful, so inspirational...and convicting. If you care about your relationship with God and with others, and are striving to live your life in the way that God has called you, as His child, to live...you'll find this very intriguing. :)

Blessings to you! I pray you read this with an open mind!

~Noelle

Lord Jesus, You're our Teacher and our Pattern. It is our prayer as we're gathered around You that the seeds of Your Word about devotion to one another would clarify our hearts and our minds and our actions. Our desire is that all
of Your Work be done Your Way, in peace and in love and humility, with diligence but with all the sensitivity You had. We want to follow after You in the Way that You functioned in raising up men. Please help us. We trust You that You
will. You have not left us without a shepherd, but You are our Shepherd and our Teacher. We're glad that we don't have to shoulder the burden of understanding exactly how everything needs to be. Instead, we can follow the Lamb wherever He
goes. We will follow You, Jesus. You'll help us. Please let Your Word increase and reign in our hearts and in our minds. Teach us how to submit to You, Your Spirit, and Your eternal, immutable Word. Amen.

Birth Pains for Each Other

Paul said to the Galatian Christians, "I'm in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." And to the Colossians he said, "I want to fill up in my own flesh the afflictions of Christ as it relates to you, the church, His body." That's passion! He also said that he was "wrestling to present every man perfect in Christ."

That kind of commitment requires more than a dipsy-doodle life of sitting in a chair, singing choruses, and then just waiting until the next meeting is called. Shame on you if your life doesn't consist of anything more than that! You're making a serious mistake. Unfortunately, that mistake has been made for generations on all six inhabitable continents in the Name of Christ. But it is unbiblical and wrong, so I want to encourage you to snap that habit! Pursue making a difference in people's lives in a real way.

Every last person who reads these words is a priest of God, if he or she is truly a believer. And that calling doesn't have to do with chiming in during a meeting every so often -- that's not what a priest is. A priest, as the Bible defines the term, is a servant of God with the assignment of bringing God to man and man to God. That responsibility doesn't mean you are going to save anybody! "There is one mediator between God and man, Jesus." I don't mean that anybody can ever be Jesus for someone else. But you can do what Paul did: wrestle to present everyone perfect in Christ. Like him, you can be in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in people who are already believers. You can say with him, "I'm in the pains of childbirth until the Anointed One is formed in you -- until you are brought into the image and the fullness and grace and freedom of the Son of God. I cannot leave it alone! I'm dying a thousand deaths until I see true Life in you."

Now if you picture yourself solely on the receiving end of that statement, you are making a mistake. It's not that everyone else should be in the pains of childbirth for you. If that's how you are thinking, then you are walking in the Old Covenant instead of the New. In the Old Covenant you had a core group of mediators out there someplace -- a collection of prophets, priests, and kings -- and you basically sat around
and let them serve you. But that's not the way it is in God's New Covenant, where He is building a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:4-10, Revelation 1:6). Active participation in that priesthood is God's intent for you.

You'll never know what it means to be free in your own life unless you devote yourself to helping other people know God better. You'll never even know what it means to abide in Christ if you don't live for that purpose. Really, if you think you have a relationship with God and you're not living to bring others
closer to Him, that you are self-deceived. On the authority of the Word of God, you don't really have a relationship with Him if you don't have the heart for others that Jesus had.

As Jesus Himself put it, "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." A life of devotion to God's work in the world around you is the fruit and the overflow of abiding in Christ. You're not truly remaining in Him if deep down inside your heart isn't stirring towards that end. You're missing the heart of God in a serious way if you don't genuinely
care for others. Your prayer time isn't directed entirely to the God of the Bible! You might spend a lot of time praying, but according to Jesus, abiding in the God of the Bible will yield a clear result: having a heart for serving others and bringing them higher into His ways. That's "bearing much fruit to the Father's glory -- fruit that will last."

So, to sum up: having that passionate heart, caring deeply for others, and being involved in their lives means taking risks. We dare not sit back, thinking we're to be the one on the receiving end of that kind of passion. We must thrust forward
in faith and in humility -- and it does take both. Trusting God and laying down our lives for other people is a rare thing, but it's inseparable from biblical Christianity.


The book of Acts says that the early Christians went everywhere "gossiping" the Word of God. The Greek word for
"speaking" there is literally "gossiping." Sharing God's Word and His love was their heart and passion. They lived for it. So reject the idea that you can sit in your home with a scripture verse hung over your toaster and a plaque on your front door, have a great prayer time in the morning, listen to praise and
worship songs all day, and show up at a meeting every now and then, and that's what Christianity is all about. Frankly, you haven't had a great prayer time if it doesn't result in a passionate heart to heal the wounds of the broken hearted and to loose the chains of those in bondage to
sin. That is the heart of Jesus of Nazareth, and that is your heart if you are connected to the Head. It's automatic.

So really stretch yourself. Search deeply within to root out anything that would hinder that kind of heart. Crucify the fear and the selfishness and the lifestyle expectations and the busyness that the world and satan would want to impose on you. Reject any self-righteousness or laziness that would stand in the way. Get rid of all the excuses. Begin by "'fessing up." Then get rid of all the excuses in your life that would keep you from really being about the Father's business.

Jesus actually lives inside of you if you are really born from above, and His heart is consumed by zeal for the Father's house. It's a consuming fire -- not a religious, glassy-eyed stare into the heavens every morning followed by a few pious statements at a meeting,
offering some platitude or trite religious wisdom. Instead, lay down your life and make a difference, even in unglamorous ways. That's just basic
Christianity.

We really have to be about our Father's business,
for real, in our own lives, personally -- not just as part of some group. We're not talking about a group; we're talking about your personal life. Don't hide behind "I'm a mother" or "I'm this" or "I'm that, and so it won't work for me." All those excuses have been tried. But in the end, it is only the Jesus who lives inside of you being released that threatens satan to no end. Let me encourage you to be that kind of person, by God's grace. With a heart that is open to Him, to let go of everything that stands in your way.

Part two of an important question...and a special giveaway for my special blog readers!

Hey there, all!

I'm back again, with part 2 of yesterday's post. :)

The Lord has been doing such an incredible, beautiful, exciting work in my heart lately, and I am so invigorated. I feel physically charged with a strange sense of "spiritual electricity"! :) I feel like the Lord is preparing me for something...and by His grace, I'm willing to go to the ends of the earth with my Savior..."wherever He leads me, I will follow". And I have a strange feeling that He is going to take me up on that "offer". I'm ready, Lord!

All of us, that have repented of our sin and surrendered our lives to Father, that have been born again, washed, refreshed, wiped clean, beautified with the Master's touch, are a part of the incredible Body of Christ. He is the head, and we are each a part and play a special role in the interworkings of the Christian life. We are not our own; we have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be
ignorant.....There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are
different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works in all of them in all men. Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given
through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by
means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in
different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each
one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, although it is made up of many
parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with
Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body -- whether Jews or
Greeks, slaves or free -- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the
body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I
am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that
reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am
not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to
be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of
hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as
he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it
is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't
need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need
you!'.....But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater
honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the
body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part
suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices
with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. "
(1 Corinthians 12:1-27)

So is that clear enough, or what?

We are ALL a part of the body of Christ, and we each have responsibilities. Why, then, are so many of us bent over in complacency, bored with our Christian lives, dull and insensitive to the Spirit's leading and conviction, and ignorant to our calling, and to Spiritual Warfare? Christians, we need to get up! To open our eyes! We are asleep in the light. What does the Lord have to do to get our attention? He has given us a detailed manual for our entire lives, and we ignore it, leaving it to sit upon the shelf to gather dust!
People are dying, and so many of us sit in the midst of the battlefield, relaxing, doing nothing. I have been SO guilty of this, and the Lord is convicting me so intensely of this sin -- and the cool thing is that AS He's convicting me, He's also inspiring me. He doesn't just leave me feeling bad about what I haven't done -- He equips me for the future! That is so like Him, and this is what He promises! :)

Friends, we need to READ our Bibles, ask the Lord to SHOW us what we're doing, and OBEY His leading!

We all struggle, we all fail. We all mess up. The Lord knows that. But the Lord has thrown your sins into the depth of the seas, and fishing is not allowed. It's time to get over the past, get up off of our knees (or our pillows, if that's the case) and MOVE ON! Upward and onward, and the LORD will hem us in, from behind and before. And He will bless our obedience. That is His promise. That is His solemn Word.

By the way, as an aside...did you know that not too long ago, a certain crusade obtained
380,000 decisions for Christ, but later found only 14,000 in fellowship? That means that they couldn't account for 366,000 decisions for Christ. They concluded that it was a lack of follow-up that resulted in this massive fall-away rate.

Lack of follow-up? Really?

Yeah, maybe in part. But supposedly, 14,000 of those people did find a Biblically sound
church to become a part of. So what about the other 366,000 people? They couldn't find a church? That doesn't really seem to make sense. If the smaller group could, you'd think these people would too.

Could it be something else, other than a "lack of follow-up"? (Besides, how are you
supposed to follow up on 380,000 people anyway??)

I would like to introduce you, ladies and gentlemen, to The Way of the Master ministries.
(Also known as Living Waters.) I would like to go more into this in another post, but for now, suffice it to say, I am hosting a giveaway on my blog...Ray Comfort & Kirk Cameron's life-changing, earth-shaking, blow-your-mind radical book -- Revival's Golden Key.

Leave me a comment on this post (it's ok if you've never commented before), and out of all my commentors, three will be randomly chosen to get a free copy of this excellent book.

Believe me. This will change your life. It did mine -- forever. I give this book a 10,000
star rating. :)

THE DRAWING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, MAY 20th, so if you want to have a chance of
winning this book, leave a comment on this post!

Blessings to all of you, and may you have a beautiful day! This is the day that the Lord has made; we will be GLAD, and REJOICE in it!

Right?! :)

Part one of an important question...

So. Friends.

I have an important question for you.

First off, I am aware that "tonight" has come and gone. :) Sorry about that...things just get really hectic sometimes!

So, my question.

How many of us have more than one (sometimes a lot more than one) unBelievers in our families?

And I'm not talking brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, etc. I'm talking each and every one of our immediate and distant relatives.

I, for one, have very few family members that have repented of and turned away from their sins, and trusted Jesus Christ with their entire lives. This grives me deeply, and I'm praying for opportunities to speak to my family, to let them know what's up, and where they're heading. Even my own brother and sister are not Believers -- and this makes me extremely sad. I hurt for them, and I so desire to have my brother and sister as my Brother and Sister in Christ, which means so much more than the fact that we are blood relatives. Do you agree?

Okay, so a lot of us have family members that aren't Believers. Let's go a little further. How many of us have friends that aren't Believers? (I trust that those of us that are truly walking in Holiness with the Father obey His command in Scripture to (granted, this is a paraphrase) not be "buddy-buddy" with those who are not born again, and so I speak of friends as...oh...neighbors; those of us in small towns (like me) who are "friends" with cashiers in the grocery stores, fast-food restaurants, our doctors, etc.; these kinds of people.) How many of us know people, people that we see very often (maybe even every day), that are not realizing the path they're heading down, and don't see that their sin is, according to Romans 7:13, "exceeding sinful". How many?

Did you know that statistics prove that their are 150,000 people whose spirits depart from this world every 24 hours? That's one hundred and fifty thousand people. And the majority of that 150,000 every day is entering hell. Matthew 7:13-14 says (emphasis added), "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Okay, let's get radical. Not that it should be radical, but unfortunately, for many in the contemporary Christianity scene, it is.
How about your enemies?
How long will it be before one of your enemies' souls "enters the road to destruction", as thousands upon thousands of people do every day? Do you want their blood on your hands, because you were too stubborn, proud, afraid, angry (whatever your excuse is) to forgive them, when you've been forgiven so much, to let them know where they're heading?

Ok. One step further. What about all the people you don't know, in the very least, but that you pass by in the streets, the stores, come across on the internet, talk to on the phone, etc., every single day? What about them?

We take seriously the commandment in Exodus chapter 20, verse 13, that says, "You shall not murder." But we justify our sin of ignoring His command in Mark 16:15, where He says, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

My question is, how can we, how DO we, obey one command in Scripture and ignore the other, or if not ignore it, justify our lack of obedience with lame excuses like, "I'm too afraid to share my faith" or "I'm too afraid of 'rejection'" or "I don't want to be pushy" or "I don't feel ready" or "I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and drive them away"? How can we do it?

• "I'm too afraid to share my faith" -- Well, the Lord has two things to say about that. First off, He says in Matthew 10:32-33, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." And to go hand-in-hand with that command, He gives a solemn promise in Isaiah 41:10: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." So the Lord blew the cover on that excuse, didn't He?! :)
• "I'm too afraid of 'rejection'" -- The Lord says in Matthew chapter five, verse ten (emphasis added), "BLESSED are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Amen?!
• "I don't want to be pushy" -- Again, the answer -- and the problem with your excuse -- is in the living and active Word of the Lord. "You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16)
• "I don't feel ready" -- "'For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; for I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 41:13-14)
• "I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and drive them away" -- "'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'" (Exodus 4:11-12)

And the exciting, amazing thought is that there are SO many more promises, just like this, in the Word of God.

Let me leave you with this beautiful thought -- and stay tuned for part two of this post!

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

For me, this is enough! :)

The driving power

"God has appointed a Day in which He will judge the world, and we sigh and cry until it shall end the reign of wickedness, and give rest to the oppressed. Brethren, we must preach the coming of the Lord, and preach it somwhat more than we have done; because it is the driving power of the
gospel. Too many have kept back these truths, and thus the bone has been taken out of the arm of the gospel. Its point has been broken; its edge has been blunted. The doctrine of judgment to come is the power by which men are to
be aroused. There is another life; the Lord will come a second time; judgment will arrive; the wrath of God will be revealed. Where this is not preached, I am bold to say the gospel is not preached. It is absolutely necessary to the preaching of the gospel of Christ that men be warned as to what will happen if they continue in their sins.
"Ho, ho sir surgeon, you are too delicate to tell the man
he is ill! You hope to heal the sick without their knowing it. You therefore flatter them; and what happens? They laugh at you; they dance upon their own graves. At last they die! Your delicacy is cruelty; your flatteries are poisons; you are a murderer. Shall we keep men in a fool's paradise?
Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in hell? Are we to become helpers of the their damnation by our smooth speeches?
"In the name of God, we will not."

--Charles Spurgeon

(Photo credit: JupiterImages.org)

A soft conscience

This was so convicting, and so good, and so true, I just had to share it with you all.

May we all be inspired to live by these principles each and every day!

How to Keep Your Conscience Soft

(from the article "A Seared Conscience" by Charles Finney)

1. Embrace reason. Listen to and love wisdom and light. Move towards and lean into correction.
2. Quickly turn from anything that you get a "prick in your heart" about.
3. Keep the promises you make to God.
4. Examine and notice the quality of your speech and actions. "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." and "A tree is known by its fruit."
5. Do not indulge in known sin.
6. Do not make hypocritical professions of love and friendship. Don't do things just because they are "socially polite".
7. Love the truth even if and when it isn't comfortable or "flattering" to your ego.
8. Do not be self-indulgent.
9. Keep your heart a beautiful place. Avoid, at all cost: pride, vanity, jealousy, ambition.
10. Always let your words be encouraging and helpful to others. Build others up.
11. Don't make excuses for sin.
12. Be quick to do your duty.
13. Always side with the truth. Do not defend error.
14. Be quick to recognize and remove the plank in your own eye, and then help your brother if needed.
15. Reprove and correct those who are in sin. Don't let "things" go.
16. Love correction yourself.
17. Honor God in your speech and actions.
18. Embrace the Holy Spirit and His direction. Lean into, warm up to it, to HIM.
19. Desire to be holy in all areas of your life and find ways to sow the Spirit in every area.
20. Keep things plain and simple when you talk.
21. Be honest in everything.
22. Do good to all men. Be thankful for everything people do for you, and look for ways to bless them.

(Photo credit: JupiterImages.org)

To all of my blog readers...

"May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the
God of Jacob protect you.

May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from
Zion.

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans
succeed.

We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our
banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from
his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name
of the Lord our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm."

(Psalm 20:1-2,4-8)

(photo credit: JupiterImages.org)

A wonderful, amazing quote...

If you never hit your head, you'll never see the stars.

--My Dry-Humored Daddy :)

A smile

A smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly...but a good laugh bursts from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all around.

--Anonymous--

A smile is a powerful tool! Use it often! :)

Streaks of Yesterday

I ran
skirt flapping in the wind
breathless
but something called me
pulled me away
from my idle day
Why did I come?
I wondered
And then I saw it
on the other side of the barren field
a molten ball
hanging low in the sky
such a beautiful color
glowing peach
with a streak of pink
calmly bidding farewell to the day
and then-
all too soon
it was gone
hidden behind a clump of trees
blue-gray in the twilight
leaving behind only streaks
of pink and purple
across the sky
and playful clouds
darkened by shadows
crickets
chirping
lost in thought
I barely hear them
wondering why I am here
wandering the gravel
watching the birds streak by
busy with their lives as birds
surely there is more awaiting me tonight
than just this fleeting beauty
or maybe
just maybe
this is why I have come
and as this day ends
I can look forward to tomorrow
forgetting the wasted hours
and restless days that haunt me now
for tomorrow
is like a clean sheet of paper
white as snow
waiting to be filled
a second chance
and somehow
everything is alright
forgiven
I can look forward to the sun’s return
bringing me another day
hoping to do better
awaiting new experiences
and fresh accomplishments
free from all but a few
streaks of yesterday.

--Maria Pauline--
August 19, 2008

Thank you, Maria, for allowing me to post your poem! So touching, and so true! May the Lord bless you!