Read Matthew 2:1-12

Angels appeared to the shepherds in the field to announce the birth of the Messiah. Jesus’ star appeared in the sky to annouce the birth of the Messiah to the wisemen. Both traveled to see Jesus.
Wise men teach us how to celebrate Christmas.  

1.  Made a great effort to see Jesus:  They journeyed a great distance to see the Messiah.  According to Matthew 2:16, it took the wisemen almost two years to complete their journey.  They devoted two years of their lives traveling to see the Messiah.  Seeing Jesus is worth the effort it takes.
2.  Made worship the purpose of the journey – notice what they told Herod in verse 2, “for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”  Christmas is a time to worship the Messiah, the Son of God.
3.  Gave gifts to the Lord – verse 11.
   1. Gold – to represent His deity
   2. Frankincense – to represent His priesthood.
   3. Myrrh – to represent His suffering
4.  They traveled back home.  I am confident their journey changed their lives because they met the Messiah.  You cannot meet Christ without your life being changed.

If you want to have a Merry Christmas, then learn the lessons from the wisemen:

To see Jesus is worth the effort,
Worshipping the Lord should be the goal of Christmas,
Giving to the Lord from a heart filled with joy, peace, and love,
And, telling others how Jesus changed your life when you met Him.

May you have a great Christmas worshipping Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God!

Bro. Michael

(Note: I know some will say the wise men were not at the manger and they are correct.  They came later, but their journey began on Christmas.)

The shepherds in the field on the night Jesus was born teaches us how to keep our focus at Christmas time.  With so many distractions, we must carefully focus on Christmas.

Luke 2:1–20 ESV “2:1 ¶ In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 
2:2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 
2:3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 
2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 
2:5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 
2:6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 
2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 
2:8 ¶ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
2:9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 
2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 
2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 
2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 
2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 
2:14 ¶ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
2:15 ¶ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 
2:16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 
2:17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 
2:18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 
2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 
2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”

Shepherds did five things we need to practice this Christmas.

1.  They focused on the glory of the Lord – they beheld the glory of the Lord – Verse 9
2.  They focused on the Christmas message – a Saviour was born – Verses 10-14
3.  They focused on seeing Jesus – verses 15-16
4.  They focused on telling others the Christmas message – A Saviour is born – verses 17-18
5.  They focused on praising and worshipping the Lord for the good news they had heard and seen – verse 20.

So this Christmas season, keep your focus on Jesus and you and your family will have a Christmas that glorifies the Lord.
May you have a wonderful Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

With wheels screeching, this blog is taking a drastic turn into another direction. Blog post after blog post has been a menagerie of different post, ideas, suggestions, and devotions.  I have tried to blog in order to help others grow and learn.  (I have started another website which will host over 35 years of my sermon notes, handouts, and studies I have taught. I will publish the website in a few weeks.)

But, now my writing will be centered on different experiences and events I have enjoyed throughout my life from my childhood to present. Maybe no one will read them, but I will enjoy writing and hopefully my children and grandchildren will one day smile and remember.

I read one of the most profound statements in a book on ancestry. The author said, “Most memories die with the person because they are not written down.”

How sad I know very little about my great, great grandparents other than their birth date, marriage date, and death! Nothing was written down about their lives. I hope these writings will leave something for my children to remember and enjoy.

Case of the broken stein:

When I was about 8 years old, Robert 10, Felicia 6, and Ricky 2, mother had a large stein she had painted and fired in ceramic class she was attending. When she brought it home, it was enormous and very colorful and decorative.  She placed it on the floor just outside the kitchen in the living room.

If my memory serves me correctly, it was sitting on the carpet very near the kitchen door. When you came in the front door, you walked through the living room into the kitchen and out the other side to the den. Someone running through the house probably kicked the stein causing it to break. Just surmising as to what might have happened since I did not see what happened.

While holding the broken stein, Mother rounded up her four children and interrogated us as to who broke her stein. No one confessed. No one cracked under the pressure of the interrogation. Mother heard from her four children “It wasn’t me.”

Even to this day, fifty something years later, no one admits to breaking her ceramic stein. Not a single one of us is willing to admit to committing the dastardly deed of breaking the beautiful, colorful ceramic stein she spent hours painting and firing.

All I can confess is this, “I know for a fact it was not me!”

The mystery of who broke the stein will probably go to the grave with the guilty party. I am just glad it wasn’t me.

Maybe it was the ghost “Not Me” who committed a lot of mischief in that little house on Sunset street.
Did your house have the ghost, “Not Me”, running around like mine did?

Proverbs 31:10 KJV “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”   While reading the last chapter in Proverbs this morning, I am reminded how blessed I am in my marriage. Pat and I have been married for 37 1/2 years. And, it has been an adventure, journey, and experience.  My father said, “Marriage is like a job, you have to work at it to be successful.” Over the years, we have endured difficult times and situations. We have celebrated great occasions and blessings. But, through it all, God has blessed us with each other. There are three things essential for a great marriage: love, commitment, and forgiveness. Love is the foundation of the marriage. A love for the Lord and a love for each other is the foundation the marriage must be built upon. Husband is to love the wife, and the wife is to love the husband. And, both are to love the Lord.   Ephesians 5:25 KJV “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;”   Titus 2:4 KJV “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,”   Commitment is the second part to a great marriage. The husband must be completely committed to his wife. Not a half hearted commitment, but a full commitment to his wife. The wife must be completely committed to her husband. Commitment is 24 hours a day, everyday of the marriage.  Commitment to each other and the promises made before the Lord will see your marriage through the darkest of times.   The third part is forgiveness. When two people are married, they will experience those times when one spouse does something extremely stupid and dumb. I know; I have been there and done that. Love without forgiveness is not love; it is infatuation. Forgiveness is essential for a long and blessed marriage. Forgiveness shows the other one how deeply you truly love them.   “The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.” -Unknown   God has truly blessed us! May God bless you, your marriage, and your family.  

Song 2:15 KJV “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
Hard to see in this picture what use to be a vibrant campground for youth!  Hard to imagine how it could go from a vibrant camp used to bring teenagers to Christ to a run down location with no purpose!  Hard to imagine how the vision was lost over the years!  Hard to imagine when the camp was first being built it would end up decayed and discarded!

The picture of this building brings back great memories in my life.  Times when I went there as a youth and later as a counselor.  This building served as the kitchen and eating area.  It had a large room on the back sitting approximately 50 to 100 individuals.  On the front was a huge screened in porch where we would sit and enjoy talking together.

When we moved this building to the property, the Georgia Association of Independent Methodist had bought, I rode on the roof as the tractor pulled the building down the road.  It was my job to move the limbs, telephone cables, and other things out of the way.  I still remember the excitement the building was used.

All of the cabins were built by different ones.  Mr. Lamb and my father did the vast majority of the work on the camp because we were the closest church.  The open-air building was used for the preaching of the Word of God.  It was a great place to go to camp.  No distractions!  No hindrances!

But, time goes by, the vision fades and eventually dies.  Buildings once used for the Lord lie in decay.  Every day slowly decaying further, until the point the only thing one can do is tear it down and start fresh.

The land is still there.  The buildings destroyed by neglect and time.  The problem is the vision and desire to use the land for the Lord has died.  It did not die over night, but slowly, ebbing away over the weeks, months, and years.

What a wake-up call this should be for churches, families, marriages, and individual lives!

Time, neglect, loss of vision, and other distractions can leave our lives in decay.  From our marriages to our churches, if we do not keep the neglect at bay, then it can decay to the point of no return.  So, how do we prevent this from happening?

1.  Keep the vision alive – remember the goal of your life, marriage, family, and church.  Remind yourself; evaluate yourself.

2.  Keep your love fresh – remember why you love the Lord, remember what He has done for you.  Remember why you love your spouse!  Remember why you love your family and church.  Rekindle the love in your life!  Fan the fire, feed the fire, and keep the fire burning!

3. Keep good maintenance – do not allow neglect to allow decay to come in and destroy.  It only takes a little rust to begin the process of destruction.  It only takes a few weeds to begin choking out the garden.

4. Keep your eyes on the goal – never forget why you started the ministry, to bring glory to the Lord and see people come to Christ.

5. Remember no one is exempt from decay.  Stand guard and keep yourself vigilant.  Complacency is dangerous and destructive to everything.

Revelation 2:1–5 KJV “2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

The other day, while I was backing out of my parking space at Walmart, a lady backed into the side of my truck.  She did not look, only glanced behind her, then just backed up.  It happened so fast; I did not have time to react.

Now, I have a big dent in the side of my truck, right behind the back passenger door.  I like my truck.  It is paid off, runs great, looks good, and will give me many more miles.  Every few weeks, I get a request in the mail or a phone call asking me to consider trading her in for a new model.  No way!  We have too many miles and adventures together with many more coming.

Now, she is dented and damaged, but still useful.  Life is filled with many dents and damages.  As we live, situations and people leaves dents in our hearts and minds.  Many times, these dents are inflicted without any intentions.  Our hearts and lives are damaged by the dents left by others, some intentional and others not.

The key is how we respond.  When the lady backed into the side of my truck, I had a choice to make.  I could get upset and throw a tantrum on her.  I could holler, yell, and scream.  I could question her driving ability.  I could place all the blame on her.  Or, I could remain calm, controlled, and level-headed.

She did not mean to dent my car.  It was an accident with no malice intent.  It happened like life happens.  The response to these dents in life is the key to continuing to enjoy life.  I did, by the grace of the Lord, respond with kindness and calmness.  Hopefully, it helped her, because she was very upset she dented by truck.  She apologized for the incident.

I know it helped me because it kept my attitude in the right place.  Now, when I see the dent it reminds me, it is not a big deal; it is trivial.  No one got hurt.  No one’s life was altered.  It is only a dent!

Have you allowed little dents to destroy your attitude, peace, joy, and relationships?  Remember to keep trivial things trivial!

One great verse to live by:  Ephesians 4:32 KJV “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Study of Joshua – book that deals with living the victorious Christian life.

Lesson 7 Notes
Lesson 7 Audio

Study of Deuteronomy – book that shows faithfulness of the Lord.

Lesson 6 Notes
Lesson 6 Audio

Study of Numbers – book that shows both the severity of God’s judgment and the goodness of God’s mercy.

Lesson 5 notes
Lesson 5 audio

Study of Exodus – Book of Redemption – how the Lord brought the nation of Israel out of bondage to freedom. Exodus is a wonderful book of redemption how man cannot set himself free from the bondage of sin, but God in His wonderful plan of redemption can set him free.

Lesson 3 notes
Lesson 3 audio