Am praying for Seth also.

Proverbs 28:27 (NLT)
27 Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

Matthew Henry writes the following in regards to Proverbs 28:27. Here is, 1. A promise to the charitable: He that gives to the poor shall himself be never the poorer for so doing; he shall not lack. If he have but little, and so be in danger of lacking, let him give out of his little, and that will prevent it from coming to nothing; as the bounty of the widow of Sarepta to Elijah (for whom she made a little cake first) saved what she had, when it was reduced to a handful of meal. If he have much, let him give much out of it, and that will prevent its growing less; he and his shall not want what is given in pious charity. What we gave we have. 2. A threatening to the uncharitable: He that hides his eyes, that he may not see the miseries of the poor nor read their petitions, lest his eye should affect his heart and extort some relief from him, he shall have many a curse, both from God and man, and neither causeless, and therefore they shall come. Woeful is the condition of that man who has the word of God and the prayers of the poor against him.


Unfortunately a lot of us have grown cold hearts from those asking for money on the streets. Often we believe they are seeking money to buy some form of drugs that will only bring more misery and ruin to their lives. We feel that in not helping we are helping; but there are people who legitimately need help. There are people who need someone to reach out to them with open eyes seeing their poverty and reaching back to them in love. I remember a man who stopped me out on the street on a very cold day and asked if he could have money for something to eat. I thought here we go again, someone just looking for drug money. I looked at him and said what if I take you somewhere to eat, would that be ok instead of giving you money? He responded with a desperate yes. We walked to one of the restaurants and as we went to enter he hesitated, stopped and said, �They have thrown me out of here before because I was just trying to stay warm.� I reassured him it would be ok. We went in and I paid for his meal, along with a few extra biscuits he wanted to take along for later. I spoke to the people behind the counter, �This man is going to sit over there and enjoy his meal and some warm coffee. Will that be ok if he remains a little while to stay warm?� They gave me their reassurance it would be ok. The man thankful me several times and I left him there warm knowing his need for food had been met.

During this holiday season remember the less fortunate and reach out to them in a positive way. Looks for ways to help that don�t enable a problem, but instead meet a need.

Proverbs 29:22 (NLT)
22 An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

Matthew Henry comments, �See here the mischief that flows from an angry, passionate, furious disposition. 1. It makes men provoking to one another: An angry man stirs up strife, is troublesome and quarrelsome in the family and in the neighbourhood, blows the coals, and even forces those to fall out with him that would live peaceable and quietly by him. 2. It makes men provoking to God: A furious man, who is wedded to his humours and passions, cannot but abound in transgressions. Undue anger is a sin which is the cause of many sins; it not only hinders men from calling upon God�s name, but it occasions their swearing, and cursing, and profaning God�s name. �


From Andy Stanley�s sermon Let the Blames Begin he says - I used to do a lot of marriage counseling, and often one spouse would come in the office and start ranting and raving, "My husband does this �;" "My wife never will do that �;" and it would go on and on. I would sit there thinking, this counseling isn't going to be very effective, because the person who apparently needs to change isn't even in the room. So I would get a pad of paper, draw a circle on it, and say, "This is a pie that represents all the chaos in your marriage. Now, 100 percent of the blame is in that pie, because that's where all the chaos is." I would give them the pen and say, "I want you to draw a slice of pie that you think represents your responsibility for the chaos." The piece of pie that that client would draw was never very big, but I would say, "Okay. So why don't you and I talk about just this. Let's talk about this piece that is your responsibility. Let's talk about your slice." You know what? My approach never worked. I could never get anybody to stay on his or her slice of the pie.

So here is what I want you to do this week: As you experience relational conflict at work, at home, with your friends�any conflict of any sort, big or small�stop and think about your own slice of the pie. Ask yourself, what is in my slice of the pie? Have I taken responsibility for my life, really, or am I enjoying the blame game so much that it has allowed me to ignore what I am ultimately responsible for?

In any relationship, if you can ever get the two parties to own their piece of the pie, you can make progress. But if everybody is focused on the other person's slice of the pie, you will just have chaos.

Matthew 12:1-5 (NLT)

1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, �Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.� 3 Jesus said to them, �Haven�t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven�t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?



In these verses the Pharisees challenge Jesus about the law of the Sabbath. Their contention was there was to be no work done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were saying it was wrong to pick grain off the stalk to eat it. Had the grain been picked and available for eating there would not have been a problem. Jesus responded with examples of exceptions.





Even today like the Pharisees there are those who try to enforce strict religious rules upon people. I read a comment the other day about someone putting up a Christmas tree and the response they got was �why are you celebrating a heathen ritual?� I can agree there was a point in history where there were ceremonial trees for non-Christian rituals, but does that automatically make a Christmas tree bad? I would say the answer is no, because it the heart of a person that matters. If they are putting up decorations as a way of commemorating Christ then what is wrong with that action? There are some who believe in magical powers of crystals, but there are also people who just enjoy the beauty of a crystal that God formed. The laws were meant to guide people, but when Christ entered into the hearts of people He let them see what is right and what is wrong. Yes, worshiping a tree might be wrong, but allowing it to be a decoration cannot be held against a person. Let go of rules and let Christ instead rule within your heart.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NLT)
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians there is a home waiting for us with the Lord once we leave our earthly bodies. We live for now in a body that will one day die and we have a purpose for our life given to us by God. But we long to be with the Lord and we can be confident that one day we will be with Him.

This morning I am both sad and comforted. A young man who was a friend of my son died last night from brain cancer. I am sad because death came early to this young man. This morning I have been reminded of the Bible verse that said, �Jesus wept� for I am weeping over the loss of a young man whose life has been cut short. I am comforted that I know he is no longer in pain and that he no longer has to suffer. I also find comfort in knowing that this young man went to be home with the Lord. I know he had faith in Jesus Christ and now he is resting comfortably with Jesus.

PSALMS 25:3-5
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 Make me know Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.

These words by King David are full of affection towards God, the out-going of holy desire towards His favor and grace and the faith in His promises.

Verse 5 above says, "For You I wait all the day" and then looking back at verse 3, "NONE of those who wait for You will be ashamed". When we wait on the Lord, waiting for the answers we need, waiting for the deliverance from sin, waiting on a word of hope, we will not be ashamed for the Lord is our salvation and He teaches us His ways. In those moments of temptation wait on the Lord, seek Him out and He will deliver you. Micah 7:7 says, �As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. �

Esther 2:16-18 (NLT)
16 Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. 18 To celebrate the occasion, he gave a great banquet in Esther�s honor for all his nobles and officials, declaring a public holiday for the provinces and giving generous gifts to everyone.

Esther was a Jew, an orphan, and a captive of the country she lived in. Yet she was raised up to be queen of the people. Her beauty stood out among other women and she did not have to flaunt it to impress the king. He recognized her beauty inside and out and loved her more than any of the other women. She became queen to help the Jewish people and in honor of becoming queen a holiday, a celebration was made.

There are many celebrations that take place this time of year. I know for Hindus there is the festival of lights. For the Jewish population Hanukkah is coming soon. For Buddhist the day of enlightenment is a few days off. For Christians there is the Christmas holiday. And after the beginning of the year comes the Chinese New Year. Celebrations have been and are a part of life.

As a Christian I celebrate Christmas, which includes the word Christ. X-mas takes Christ out of Christmas, which I refuse to accept. In my heart I am merry because of Christ and my celebration of Jesus who was born to give His life for me. People can tell me Happy Holidays, but I let them know my happiest holiday is Christmas by saying Merry Christmas. My doctor is Jewish and I had no problem telling him yesterday Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas. Jewish holidays are a part of our Christian heritage. I have friends who are Hindu and they always have brought me candy in celebration of their holiday, The Festival of Lights, which I gladly accept and tell them thank you and that I am most appreciative they have included me in their celebration. I am tolerant of other people and other religions, but that doesn�t mean I can�t profess my belief in Christ and let them know I�m celebrating Christmas. And it doesn�t mean I let someone else tell me I can�t celebrate or have to celebrate a different way because they are offended by Christ. December 25th is when we celebrate Christmas as Christians and I hope every Christian will be saying Merry Christmas this year. And if someone mentions another holiday, acknowledge them out of your love for Christ. For Christ loved all people and still wants to invite everyone to Him. How can you tell them about Christ unless you love them as Christ loved them?

Merry Christ and my love to all who live in this world!!! May everyone enjoy the holiday of their choosing and may all know that Christ loves you too.

Proverbs 15:29 (KJV)
The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Matthew Henry writes: God sets himself at a distance from those that set him at defiance: The wicked say to the Almighty, Depart from us, and he is, accordingly, far from them; he does not manifest himself to them, has no communion with them, will not hear them, will not help them, no, not in the time of their need. They shall be for ever banished from his presence and he will behold them afar off. Depart from me, you cursed. 2. He will draw nigh to those in a way of mercy who draw nigh to him in a way of duty: He hears the prayer of the righteous, accepts it, is well pleased with it, and will grant an answer of peace to it.


The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:8-9, �Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.�

Faith in Christ makes us righteous before God. We know from Proverbs and the book of James that God listens to the prayers of those who are righteous. So those who have faith in Christ their prayers are heard without failure. In fact the Bible tells us Jesus provides intercession to God for us to ensure our prayers are known. With that knowledge we should do as the Bible says and always be in an attitude of prayer; praying for our families, our friends, ourselves and others. Let�s all pray for each other and thank God for all things done in our lives. Let�s lift up the needs of others to God that God may answer according to His will.

John 3:2 (KJV)
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus by night for fear other Jewish leaders might know he was meeting privately with Jesus. He wanted to speak to Jesus and acknowledge God had to be with Jesus because no man could perform the miracles Jesus performed unless God was with Him.



Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian engineer, worked for Thomas Edison in his New Jersey Laboratory. Fessenden was convinced the �wireless telegraph� which was used to transmit Morse code could carry a human voice. The wireless telegraph was used by the navy to transmit information to offshore ships, through dots and dashes. Suddenly on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1906 from Brant Rock, Massachusetts a voice was heard on the headsets of the wireless operators. Next was a woman�s voice singing as the crews of the ships intently listened. The wireless rooms on the ships were crowded as someone was heard reading a poem through the radio equipment. Then there was a violin solo of O, Holy Night. Fessenden read the Christmas story from the Book of Luke. A phonograph was played and prayer was given. The transmission then ended as Fessenden turned off the equipment.

The miracle of modern radio astounded sailors across the ocean. It is interesting Fessenden who performed this miracle gave testimony to Jesus Christ through music, Bible reading and prayer. This man knew his accomplishments could not have happened apart from God. For Reginald Fessenden before even turning on the switch to send his radio message bowed his head and prayed God would be with him. I think sometimes we have forgotten God has been with us. We don�t give God enough credit for the miracles in our lives. Take a moment today and pray; give God thanks for what He has done in each of our lives. God we give you thanks and we praise you. Amen.

James 3:5-6 (NLT)
5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

The Apostle James, half-brother of Jesus, tells us we can make grand speeches, but it only takes a few incorrectly chosen words to create a spark that sets the forest on fire. It doesn�t take much for our thoughts and words to turn against us. We need to always guard our heart and keep it on the right path.


Ravi Zacharias writes in, Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend (Thomas Nelson, 2007), pp. 258-261 that In 1981, Stuart McAllister was part of a mission whose primary task was to help the church in Eastern Europe by transporting Bibles, hymn books, and Christian literature to believers.

On one occasion, while attempting to cross the border from Austria into what was then Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia, Stuart and his colleague were arrested and thrown into prison after guards discovered their concealed cargo.

Without any idea when or if he might be released�it would be a two-week confinement�Stuart's empty time and restricted space began to bring to surface feelings, questions, and doubts.

"In such circumstances," Stuart writes [in retrospect], "we are forced to face what we mean when we speak of faith. Do we have to believe in spite of the evidence to the contrary? Do we believe no matter what? How do we handle the deep and pressing questions our own minds bring as our expectations and reality do not match? For me, in my time in prison, I expected God to do certain things, and to do them in a sensible way and time. I expected that God would act fairly quickly and that I would sense his intervention. My reading of Scripture, my grasp of God's promises, my trust in the reliability of God's Word, the teaching I had received, and the message I had embraced, had led me to expect certain things, and in a particular way. When this did not occur in the way I expected, or in the timing that I thought it should, I was both confused and angry." �

Stuart continues: "Since I had never given any conscious thought to worldviews in general, or mine in particular, I was unaware how many unexamined assumptions I was living by. I did not realize how little change had penetrated my heart, and under pressure the gaps were painfully revealed and felt. From the perspective of time, I can now answer these questions meaningfully, but I needed the experience of doubt and hardship to show me how much I did not know or was not rooted in the biblical answers to these core questions. A worldview that merely answers questions intellectually is insufficient; it must also meet us existentially where we have to live."

Lamentations 3:31-33 (NLT)
31 For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. 33 For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

Matthew Henry writes the following commentary on these verses. Therefore the sufferer is thus penitent, thus patient, because he believes that God is gracious and merciful, which is the great inducement both to evangelical repentance and to Christian patience. We may bear ourselves up with this, 1. That, when we are cast down, yet we are not cast off; the father�s correcting his son is not a disinheriting of him. 2. That though we may seem to be cast off for a time, while sensible comforts are suspended and desired salvations deferred, yet we are not really cast off, because not cast off for ever; the controversy with us shall not be perpetual. 3. That, whatever sorrow we are in, it is what God has allotted us, and his hand is in it. It is he that causes grief, and therefore we may be assured it is ordered wisely and graciously; and it is but for a season, and when need is, that we are in heaviness, 1 Pt. 1:6. 4. That God has compassions and comforts in store even for those whom he has himself grieved. We must be far from thinking that, though God cause grief, the world will relieve and help us. No; the very same that caused the grief must bring in the favour, or we are undone. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit�The same hand inflicted the wound and healed it. he has torn, and he will heal us, Hos. 6:1. 5. That, when God returns to deal graciously with us, it will not be according to our merits, but according to his mercies, according to the multitude, the abundance, of his mercies. So unworthy we are that nothing but an abundant mercy will relieve us; and from that what may we not expect? And God�s causing our grief ought to be no discouragement at all to those expectations.



We have a hard time understanding it, but there is a purpose to the grief and suffering in our lives. We can recall in the Bible Job suffered greatly losing his family, his servants, and even his possessions. God allowed this to happen to show Job�s character, to prove Satan wrong and to Glorify God. God did not leave Job to his suffering, but instead brought healing due to God�s unfailing love. Job didn�t get back the children he lost, but we can be assured they went to be with God where Job would later be with them. Job was also blessed with more children who were raised in a Godly home. Job didn�t get back the servants he first trusted or the wealth he first possessed, but Job did get back more servants he trusted and more possessions than he ever lost.

Last night I saw the childhood actor Todd Bridges, who played Willis in the NBC/ABC sitcom Different Stokes. Todd was on Dr. Drew HLN talking about the abuse he suffered in his life as a child. Todd talked about the pain and grief the abuse cost him. Then he talked about how he survived and how he hopes his story will reach out to others and help them. I know there were those who had to be watching and thinking, �If Todd Bridges made it, I can too!� God doesn�t enjoy the hurting or sorrow we face. However, God is pleased when His people can turn to Him and realize He was always with them even in their moments of pain. God never abandons and His love is always there. He uses our pain to ease the pain of others. God bless Todd Bridges for speaking up and for Dr. Drew brings these painful situations to light to help others heal.

Genesis 50:20 (NLT)
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

This verse follows the death of Jacob, the father to Joseph and his brothers. The brothers of Joseph had committed evil - selling Joseph into slavery. In slavery Joseph had to serve others and was placed in prison for an offense he did not commit. Yet Joseph stayed committed to God and took on a positive outlook. Eventually Joseph was released from prison and put in a powerful position in Egypt. Even though his brothers committed an evil act, Joseph saw where God had used the opportunity to put Joseph in a position where he could help the people of Israel. So what others meant for evil, God used it for good.



Currently in the news we are hearing many allegations of abuse at colleges and other institutes. There have been many atrocities committed and many people wounded. This is not the first and probably the last we will hear of problems like this. These problems have been taking place throughout the course of history. I do believe God is bringing this evil to light for this nation and the world to see what happens when evil hides in secrecy. God is also doing another great work and bringing forward people who have been abused in their life, have dealt with their abuse and can now give hope and advice to others. We will always have evil things to face in this world, but God can take those evil moments and morph them into something that becomes good. Those who have been hurt and wounded are speaking out to help those who have been abused. They are the cheerleaders against abuse. They are the ones brings about laws to help the abused. Yes there was evil committed, but God is using that evil to setup something good for others.

Romans 8b (NLT)
8b If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

The apostle asks a question of those he is writing to. If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Those who know the true might, power and awesomeness of God know there is nothing He cannot do. God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. For God is aware of all that takes place. There is not a moment He does not have authority or control over what occurs. God is aware, God has authority and God is present in each and every moment of everyone�s life.


We have an enemy in this world who is always attempting to threaten the peace in our lives. This enemy hides out waiting for opportune times to attack and bring chaos into our lives. This enemy has a desire to see families destroyed. This enemy wants to take away any feeling of hope. This enemy doesn�t want you to know God. Instead he wants you to have a disbelief in God, to question God�s authority and might. This enemy wants you to think God never existed and has never been present in your life. This enemy is Satan and is just as real as God, but does not have any authority over God nor does Satan have God�s might and power. We are told often about Satan through the Bible. Satan stood up against Israel. Satan challenged God about the faithfulness of Job. Zechariah said Satan stands next to God accusing those who follow God, which would include you and me. Jesus was tempted by Satan and Satan often rose up against Jesus through His disciples. Satan works against God trying to hinder the work of His people, trying to pull them away from God towards sin. Satan even challenged Michael the Archangel through lies in an attempt to discredit God. If Satan would challenge God�s most power angel � Satan will challenge you.

Yes, we have an enemy, but we have God who is stronger and mightier than our enemy. It is why the apostle challenges us and says if God is for us, who can ever be against us? It is a reminder for us - as long as we turn to God, as long as we place our faith in God, we are always protected. For God even gave His only Son that we might have life eternal with Him in heaven. There is no greater love than the love of God. There is no greater power than God�s power. There is none like God and there are none who can defeat Him; not even Satan our enemy.

Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, �O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn�t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.�

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had refused the king�s orders to bow before the gods of Babylon and before the statue of the king himself. The king was angry because of their insubordination and wanted them thrown into a fiery furnace as punishment. Their response was, �we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.�


In 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her bus seat to a white man. Instead she followed what was right within her heart. In her book Quiet Strength, Parks writes: When I sat down on the bus that day, I had no idea history was being made�I was only thinking of getting home. But I had made up my mind. After so many years of being a victim of the mistreatment my people suffered, not giving up my seat�and whatever I had to face afterwards�was not important. I did not feel any fear sitting there. I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. It was time for someone to stand up�or in my case, sit down. So I refused to move. In an interview about that historic day, Parks corrected some misconceptions: People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

God tells us to be strong in Him and in the power of His might. Rosa Parks held strong to her belief that the Lord would be with her just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had believed. She was willing to be punished to stand up or as Rosa says, �sit down� for her beliefs of what was right.

Matthew 1:20-25
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

This is the beginning of the story of Christmas. Joseph was engaged to Mary and he has learned she is pregnant. An angel appears to tell Joseph to take Mary as His wife; for she will have a son that will be the savior of all. The angel said he would be known as Emmanuel that means �God with us.�


Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus into the world. The birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecy and promises made to God�s people. Jesus was a gift of salvation for all men. God gave this gift that all men might believe in Jesus and have everlasting life with God in heaven. Most people are happy to receive a gift, but at times there are those who reject a gift for whatever reason. The same is true with Jesus; some will receive Him and be happy for the gift of salvation. But there will also be those who reject Jesus. It is sad to me someone would reject such a precious gift, but it happens. If you know someone who does not know Jesus Christ, share the good news of His birth and the salvation He brings. If you know those who have rejected Him pray their hearts might be open to understanding His love for us.

My devotions will be on hold until after the first of the year and then they will resume. I pray everyone will have a blessed and merry Christmas. God is always with us. Remember Jesus and be thankful for all you have been given.

Nehemiah 4:19-20 (NLT)
19 Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, �The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!�

These passages relate to the rebuilding of the wall around the city of Jerusalem. The wall had been destroyed by enemies of the Israelites. Nehemiah set out with the help of God and others to rebuild the wall. We see here Nehemiah recognizing the workers are few but they can come together to help each other when times become difficult.


God gave Nehemiah a vision to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so Nehemiah came up with a plan. As with all plans there are tasks to be performed and there are people required to perform the tasks. The success of the plan is not built on a single individual, but instead success is built on those who come together to see a plan through. As we live our lives include God. Include others who can help and those who have the knowledge and skills to perform specific tasks. When you bring everyone together with the love of God there will be success. Let this year be a year of success.

Matthew 14:28-31 (NLT)
28 Then Peter called to him, �Lord, if it�s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.� 29 �Yes, come,� Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong[d] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. �Save me, Lord!� he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. �You have so little faith,� Jesus said. �Why did you doubt me?�

This is the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water towards the disciples who are in a boat fighting the wind and waves. The disciples could not believe what they saw and feared it was an apparition coming towards them. But when Peter heard the voice of Jesus he went over the side of the boat and towards Jesus. However fear or loss of trust took hold of Peter and he began to sink.


Over the holidays my wife and I traveled to Savannah. We knew the address of where we were going and plugged it into the GPS. As it usually does, the GPS gave instructions we followed to arrive at our destination. This particular GPS has a feature that will route you around troubled traffic areas. Sometimes you wonder what the GPS is doing as it starts giving instructions to take a detour, but just about the time you start detouring you see all the traffic stopped ahead and you are glad the GPS knows what it is doing. As my wife and I were driving home listening to the GPS giving step by step instructions my wife said, �We sure place a lot of trust in the GPS getting us to where we want to go. We listen to what it says. We follow the directions. When it presents unexpected turns we listen and still follow.� Then she made the most important statement, �Isn�t it a shame we don�t always trust God to direct our lives like we trust our GPS.� What a true statement. Like Peter we know what we want to do or where we want to go but we don�t always look to God for the directions or listen when we hear what He has to say.

1 Kings 15:11 (KJV)
11 Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord�s sight, as his ancestor David had done.

Asa brought into the house of the Lord those things he vowed he would give to God out of the spoils taken from the Ethiopians. King David, his great-great-grandfather, had also made the same vow, but was unable to accomplish it in his lifetime. Asa was a good King who not only learned to avoid evil, but also sought after that which was good.


This verse illustrates the generational impact of family upon family. Asa sought to accomplish what his great-great-grandfather David was unable to do by conquering the Ethiopians and giving their possessions to the Lord�s temple . Asa followed the teaching of God which had been passed down through David. Asa was zealous in maintaining the traditional worship of God, and in rooting out idolatry, with its accompanying immoralities. Asa�s life was obviously impacted by His belief in God passed down through the generations.

Often we forget how much family impacts our lives, both in positive and negative ways. I have seen children following their parents; doing well for others. I have also seen children following their parents committing the same sinful acts of their parents. We need to remember to act as we would have our children act and not have the mentality of �do as I say and not as I do.� We need to remember to honor God and show future generations how to be respectful and reverent towards Him. Establish the good in your children that a good part of you may be passed down generation to generation.

Romans 14:1 (NLT)
1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don�t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.

In this verse the apostle addresses the church in the danger of criticism. New believers to the church are just beginning to understand their faith. This would be the time to guide them gently into understanding the teachings of God. When there is a difference of opinion it is not to be voiced in a strong argument, but instead time should be given for the new believers to seek answers from God that they may grow in their faith.


When we have a need to do so our arguments should voice factual statements and feelings that lend to a positive process of reasoning. Arguments should never be carried out in bitter and angry ways. These arguments do nothing more than to harm the credibility of the speaker. Also instead of bringing persuasion they tend to bring rejection because the listener tunes out factual evidence in response to negative feelings arising out of the hurtful argument. The apostle James wrote we should always be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Peter�s words tell us how an argument should be carried out. We should first listen to the feelings of one another. We should gain an understanding of how the other feels before we make our own interjections. Then we should be slow in our response as to give time to our own reasoning. We do not want to respond out of anger, but we should respond out of love to address one another�s feelings. Lastly we want to temper our arguments so they do not turn into angry battles. We do not want to let the emotion of anger get out of control and lead us into sin. When it does lead us to sinful rage instead of trying to understand feelings and gain facts we have a tendency to hurl insults and argue over insignificant facts. This again does nothing but harm the relationship between the people having the argument.

Lord I know there have been many times I have argued incorrectly and against the way You would have me present an argument. I pray for myself and so many others who have done the same. Father I pray you would help us to do as James taught us so that we would honor you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Psalm 119:165 (NLT)
165 Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.

Psalm 119 is much different from the other psalms. Twice as long as any of the other psalms this chapter stands out within the book of Psalms. It is as though David took the journal of his life and reflected on God�s presence in his life and pulled together a digest of his thoughts. In this verse David tells us there is peace in following God and in doing so we can live a life without fault.


Thomas A Kempis in The Imitation of Christ wrote, �First put yourself at peace, and then you may the better make others be at peace. A peaceful and patient man is of more profit to himself and to others, too, than a learned man who has no peace.� How can we bring peace into other lives if we do not have peace ourselves? Thomas Edison said, �The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.� When a person is in a state of turmoil they do not bring out the best in themselves or the best in others. David reminds us to focus on God and follow His instructions that we might have peace in our lives. It is God�s peace that allows us to live a joyous life even in the face of difficulties. It is this peace that we can share with others to also bring them hope. It is this peace that reaffirms God in our lives and the hope we have for tomorrow.