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 that
will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, 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 host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:8-14)
Merry Christmas to all!
12/24/12
12/12/12
Hope For Today
I found myself thinking about hope quite a bit lately.
Hit with some rough times, I found the message of hope to be one I needed to be reminded of.
Discouragement unchecked can turn to depression and anger can turn to bitterness. I have struggled with both discouragement and anger recently and realized I needed to remind myself of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
I went looking through the Scriptures and found numerous verses that spoke about the hope that the Old Testament men and women of God had. Their hope was in the prophesied birth of the Messiah. We, as His children, now have the hope of Christ's return as predicted in the New Testament.
However, as great as those words are, they did not give me hope for today. For right now. I dug a little more until I came across a few verses that I believe offers hope for the here and now. The beauty of this passage is that it gives us hope for the past, present and the future!
Here it is:
Romans 8:35-39, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST!
There is my hope.
No matter how bad I have blown it in the past, no matter what I am going through today and no matter what I will face tomorrow...I am still loved.
Cared For.
Forgiven.
Loved.
Hit with some rough times, I found the message of hope to be one I needed to be reminded of.
Discouragement unchecked can turn to depression and anger can turn to bitterness. I have struggled with both discouragement and anger recently and realized I needed to remind myself of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
I went looking through the Scriptures and found numerous verses that spoke about the hope that the Old Testament men and women of God had. Their hope was in the prophesied birth of the Messiah. We, as His children, now have the hope of Christ's return as predicted in the New Testament.
However, as great as those words are, they did not give me hope for today. For right now. I dug a little more until I came across a few verses that I believe offers hope for the here and now. The beauty of this passage is that it gives us hope for the past, present and the future!
Here it is:
Romans 8:35-39, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST!
There is my hope.
No matter how bad I have blown it in the past, no matter what I am going through today and no matter what I will face tomorrow...I am still loved.
Cared For.
Forgiven.
Loved.
12/7/12
It's About Giving
I love to give gifts. I am the guy who buys Christmas presents and
wants to give them weeks before Christmas. I would be happy to give
the presents as soon as I purchase them. My wife says I am like a
little kid when it comes to giving gifts. I guess I am.
Though I love to give gifts, I also have come to recognize that we live in a very wasteful society. Go into any thrift store and you will see the abundance of leftover stuff we have given and received on a regular basis.
There are really two kinds of gifts you can give. Gifts that are temporary and gifts that can change a life.
The temporary gifts are the ones that end up getting tossed aside when Christmas is over, or get replaced when a newer or better one comes along. It's the "must have" item on our list that we lose interest in a few weeks later.
Then there are the gifts that change a life.
For example, one year my brother and sister-in-law gave us a Kiva gift certificate. It allowed us to give a micro-loan ($25) to individuals around the world who are trying to grow their own businesses to provide for their families in nations where poverty abounds. They pay the loan back over time and when it comes back, you loan it to someone else. We've made 5 loans off of this one gift! That's a life changing gift.
Another life changing gift are the ones you can give via Compassion. Readers of this blog know that my wife and I are passionate about Compassion and have sponsored a child for years. This Five Star charity has now released their annual Christmas catalog:
Compassion Christmas Catalog
Did you know that you can protect a child from Malaria for only $18? You can teach a mother to read for only $22!
You can also equip a family with livestock for only $280.
Their catalog is filled with life changing gifts starting for as little as $4.
I invite you to check out the Compassion catalog and change a life today!
#itsaboutgiving
Though I love to give gifts, I also have come to recognize that we live in a very wasteful society. Go into any thrift store and you will see the abundance of leftover stuff we have given and received on a regular basis.
There are really two kinds of gifts you can give. Gifts that are temporary and gifts that can change a life.
The temporary gifts are the ones that end up getting tossed aside when Christmas is over, or get replaced when a newer or better one comes along. It's the "must have" item on our list that we lose interest in a few weeks later.
Then there are the gifts that change a life.
For example, one year my brother and sister-in-law gave us a Kiva gift certificate. It allowed us to give a micro-loan ($25) to individuals around the world who are trying to grow their own businesses to provide for their families in nations where poverty abounds. They pay the loan back over time and when it comes back, you loan it to someone else. We've made 5 loans off of this one gift! That's a life changing gift.
Another life changing gift are the ones you can give via Compassion. Readers of this blog know that my wife and I are passionate about Compassion and have sponsored a child for years. This Five Star charity has now released their annual Christmas catalog:
Compassion Christmas Catalog
Did you know that you can protect a child from Malaria for only $18? You can teach a mother to read for only $22!
You can also equip a family with livestock for only $280.
Their catalog is filled with life changing gifts starting for as little as $4.
I invite you to check out the Compassion catalog and change a life today!
#itsaboutgiving
11/17/12
Crying Out
Psalm 84:2, "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God."
Crying Out
On Bended Knee
I bow my head
My heart to full to cry
The life I've lived
I now proclaim
I give it all to God
I'm humbled now
Before the King
The tears begin to fall
The pain I felt
I'm letting go
Before the throne of God
Oh I love to contemplate Him
And to seek the face of God
Oh I want to bow and worship
Crying out to the living God
My soul anew
In love with God
I cry out to the King
I love You Lord
You are my God
Ruler of everything
Oh I love to contemplate Him
And to seek the face of God
Oh I want to bow and worship
Crying out to the living God
This was the piece I mentioned when I said I was looking for words. I have been spending more and more time in worship and this is where I personally feel like I am right now.
© Rick Apperson, 2012
11/12/12
Looking for Words
I was sitting in my chair reading a book when the phrase bounced into my head.
I knew it was the start of something. I immediately grabbed a pen and wrote the phrase down on a blank sheet of paper. (I always do this, capturing the idea as it comes so as to not lose it.
As I started writing, more words came jumbling out. Some lines seemed to tuck in nicely with the above phrase, some were just brainstorming words and phrases that at first did not seem connected.
I put the pen down and went to bed.
Laying there, I repeated the opening phrase to Sarah and something clicked and I jumped out of bed, ran to the living room and wrote a complete section.
I picked it up again today while contemplating Psalm 84:2, "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."
I have labored over this piece longer than many things that I write. It feels like I am missing a word, a phrase to tie it all together.
So I am looking for words, and yet through the search, the journey I am taking as I re-read these lines I have on paper, I find myself focusing even more on the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
From haphazard scribbles is coming a desire to know Him more.
What leads you into His presence?
"On bended knee
I bow my head"
I knew it was the start of something. I immediately grabbed a pen and wrote the phrase down on a blank sheet of paper. (I always do this, capturing the idea as it comes so as to not lose it.
As I started writing, more words came jumbling out. Some lines seemed to tuck in nicely with the above phrase, some were just brainstorming words and phrases that at first did not seem connected.
I put the pen down and went to bed.
Laying there, I repeated the opening phrase to Sarah and something clicked and I jumped out of bed, ran to the living room and wrote a complete section.
I picked it up again today while contemplating Psalm 84:2, "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."
I have labored over this piece longer than many things that I write. It feels like I am missing a word, a phrase to tie it all together.
So I am looking for words, and yet through the search, the journey I am taking as I re-read these lines I have on paper, I find myself focusing even more on the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
From haphazard scribbles is coming a desire to know Him more.
What leads you into His presence?
11/2/12
The High Calling - A Review
I was pointed to a website I haven't seen before this past week.
The website has some thought provoking articles, like How to Quit Your Job with Grace and Integrity.
The High Calling is really an online magazine and community which is founded on the belief that God cares about our daily work. I struggled for a few years in seeing God in my job, like when I worked on cars for a living, and would have found his resource helpful then. I actually found it helpful now as well.
The site has a wide range of articles, interviews, devotionals, and inspirational stories—all specifically created to help the reader to find God in our work and family.
You should really check this site out.
While there you can sign up for their Weekly Calling which usually has an audio message from Howard Butt, a Christian business leader and author, several articles from The High Calling website, a video from The High Calling, and several other articles from around the High Calling community and other sites.
I checked out a few of their Weekly Calling newsletters and was overall impressed. Some of the articles were very thought provoking. My only criticism would be that some of the articles would have benefited by having a corresponding Scripture that backed up the premise of the article.
Overall I liked what I saw and just signed up for the newsletter this week. You should check it out.
Go to The High Calling and look for the newsletter sign up on the right hand side of the page.
The website has some thought provoking articles, like How to Quit Your Job with Grace and Integrity.
The High Calling is really an online magazine and community which is founded on the belief that God cares about our daily work. I struggled for a few years in seeing God in my job, like when I worked on cars for a living, and would have found his resource helpful then. I actually found it helpful now as well.
The site has a wide range of articles, interviews, devotionals, and inspirational stories—all specifically created to help the reader to find God in our work and family.
You should really check this site out.
While there you can sign up for their Weekly Calling which usually has an audio message from Howard Butt, a Christian business leader and author, several articles from The High Calling website, a video from The High Calling, and several other articles from around the High Calling community and other sites.
I checked out a few of their Weekly Calling newsletters and was overall impressed. Some of the articles were very thought provoking. My only criticism would be that some of the articles would have benefited by having a corresponding Scripture that backed up the premise of the article.
Overall I liked what I saw and just signed up for the newsletter this week. You should check it out.
Go to The High Calling and look for the newsletter sign up on the right hand side of the page.
11/1/12
An Act of God! - Just A Thought #54
I heard the term, Act of God, quite a bit this past
week. It was used in the media to
explain hurricane damage, floods and earthquakes. I even heard it used to describe a crane
being bent in half by the wind and dangling 750 feet (228 meters) in the
air.
Two things went through my mind while watching these broadcasts. One, I did not know so many people in the
media believed in God. Two, why does God
not get recognized for all the good things He does?
I know that an “act of God” is legalese for any act which is
outside human control and therefore not the responsibility of any individual or
corporation.
I also know it is always defined as a bad thing, like a
tornado!
God gets a bad rap!
I want to see God’s children redefine an act of God. Let’s take this phrase and turn it on its ear
because when I wake up each morning, I consider that an act of God!
“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained
me.” Psalm 3:5
I look out my window, see the sunshine and the rain, the
snow and the stars at night, and I see an act of God.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
“In his hand are the deep places of the earth, and the
mountain peaks are his. The sea is his. He made it, and his hands formed the
dry land.” Psalm 95:4-5
We take the good things for granted and blame God for the
bad. God did not create the chaos we see
around us. He provided a way out. (John 3:16)
We blame God for death, mayhem and destruction. How often do we thank Him for our very life?
The next time you walk outside; why not stop for a moment
and thank God for His mighty act of creation.
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