Rest and Rejoice in Knowing God is WITH You

As you prepare to celebrate Christmas, be sure to REST and REJOICE in the One who came to save us, to redeem us. Take your time reading the following scriptures; pray them back to God, journal them, sing them – do whatever you need to do to prepare your heart for the King of Kings who came to dwell among us.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you”  (John 14:16-17).

“. . . for we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16).

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Emmanuel: God with Us

Do you enjoy Christmas music or does it start to get on your nerves after a while?  Maybe you are one of those people that could listen to it all year round.  A favorite of many during this time of year is O Holy Night.

Why not take a moment to let these lyrics sink in today?

“Long lay the world, in sin and error pining
TIL HE APPEARED, and the soul felt its worth!”

Now compare these lyrics with Galatians 4:4-5:

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Can you relate to this on a personal level?  Along with the whole world, we have each personally been corrupted by sin, wallowing in our own grievous errors and pining for someone to rescue us.

Then that essential SOMEONE appeared!! "When the fullness of the time came," Jesus Christ appeared and the soul felt its worth.  Your worth comes from HIM.  He redeemed you; He adopted you; He made you HIS CHILD!

Fall on your knees.  Worship the King!

Nothing and no one compares with Jesus.  No matter what you are facing in life, you can be sure of this – Emmanuel!  God is with you.

When the World is One

Those who serve TCM as short-term workers at Haus Edelweiss in Austria are an incredible blessing to our ministry as they joyfully assist us in our mission to make disciples of all nations. One of our STWs named Jane writes:

“My life has been changed due to our exposure to TCM and Haus Edelweiss. The beautiful smiles from faces around the world who can't speak your language, but share your love of God...I will forever love each one of them.

“One thing that permanently touched my life was at the bonfire. Many of the students had their guitars and we were singing hymns together. When we came to "Amazing Grace," it began in English and then Russian and then all the other languages blended together – it was so beautiful. Suddenly the world was one, and we were the chosen few to share that special moment. It is a time I will never forget.

“Now every Sunday as we raise our voices in praise to our mighty God, I know somewhere around the world all our TCM friends are doing the same. It brings a smile to my face, joy fills my heart, and I praise God for such a special blessing.

“I can't thank you all enough for touching my heart and my life. I pray I will be able to return to the Haus...with a servant's heart to serve those so hungry for the Word.”

Don’t Waste Your Breath

Before entering the promised land, God told Joshua: "Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged.." (Joshua 1:9). But why did God say that? Would he ever say something that didn't need to be said? Does God waste words? Of course not. So obviously Joshua was terrified and discouraged – He needed to hear this from God.

Have you ever pondered the fact that God doesn't waste words? He tells you exactly what you need to hear, when you need to hear it – and never tells you something you don’t need to hear. And we should do the same for others.

Has anyone ever told you: “Don’t waste your breath”? And yet how often do we waste our breath – saying something that someone else does not need to hear? Something that we want them to hear, but is it life-giving and encouraging and full of truth? And on the flip side, how often do we miss opportunities, or even worse, how often do we fail by choice to tell others what they do need to hear? If our spouse or child or coworker is having a rough day, are we too consumed with self to offer encouragement? Do we lament, “But I've had a rough day, too!" The examples could be endless, couldn’t they?

The truth is: God never wastes his breath. Let’s make this a goal in our relationships – fully submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit to bring it about – to the glory of God and for the spreading of His gospel.

The Song the World Needs to Hear

You are incredibly special to God. You are fabulously unique and irresistibly precious to him. And did you know that he has given you a song that no one else can sing? He has!

Check out Revelation 14. The scene is heaven. The 144,000 are from the 12 tribes of Israel. They suffered severe persecution for their faith in Christ and did not waiver. The apostle John records what he saw:

And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

So maybe you're thinking.. “uhhhh.. I'm not one of the 144,000.” True. But if you are a child of the Most High, then he has given you a special song of your very own. The psalms are full of exhortations to “sing a new song”, and also tell us that God Himself has "put a new song in my mouth; a song of praise to my God." (Psalm 40:3)

Only as we experience life with our God are we able to sing a new song to our God. We each have our own unique relationship with Christ, our own sweet love story, just between the two of us – but to be shared with the world!

Now doesn't that make you want to open up your mouth and sing your own special song – the song that no one else can sing – that the world needs to hear?