Romans 8:1 So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death.

This is one of the most power pieces of scripture in the bible. Most of us have felt condemned at one time or another due to our actions. Some walk around feeling condemned quite often.

Today people have become very self serving, we are all just coming off the Christmas day asking each other…"what did you get"?

Self serving is rampant in our society and the image I still hold about this issue is back on thanksgiving night when black friday was upon us and I was watching all the people who missed thanksgiving dinner to line up at best buy to get their $299.00 laptop. For themselves….

Self serving….is Terminal.

Self serving leads to sin and eventually death, it holds no place in the kingdom of God!

When you truely break free from living for yourself and start living for Christ, one of the things that will happen upon your invitation to asking to be led of the Holy Spirit is you will obey God's laws and you will no longer obey the old evil nature that is running rampant on this earth.

Romans 8:5 Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the HOly Spirit find themselves doing those things that please GOD! Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death.

I know that my walk with the Lord has been up and down and at times I have reverted to old thinking and old ways of thought. This leads to sin and condemnation. Today my Spirit will leap up and let me know that I am thinking and leading toward a path that is not of God. The terminology that is used is "Quicken"….I will know, thanks to the Holy Spirit that the old nature is not the path God has set before me.

This is a big difference people saved and unsaved people.

It is God's plan that each day we move "higher up"…..Each act of obedience brings us closer to God and more Christ-Like. God sent Jesus as a living sacrifice for your sin and my sin. We do NOT have to walk in the condemnation of our past sin. We can ask for forgiveness and through God's grace, he will forgive us and wipe the slate. This is freedom.

This freedom comes from believing in Jesus, it comes from giving up your ways and seeking God's ways.

Remember and Imagine a life with NO condemnation…..It is here waiting for you in Romans chapter 8….

This story caught my eye and my ear yesterday as Art Conrad of Bremerton, Washington…Nailed a Plastic Santa to a 15 Foot Cross in front of his home in protest to the mass commercialism of Christmas. 

I initially chuckled and actually found myself liking the statement that this man took. But did he take it too far?

Link to the story 

In this day an age when God is being removed from society and we have a whole generation of un-churched youth, Christmas and the true meaning of the season has been over shadowed by the all mighty Santa a the trips to the mall.

As I was doing some shopping myself a couple of days ago, I felt that people were shopping for themselves more than for others. This was very apparent on Black Friday as people sat in the freezing cold temperatures for over 24 hours, missed out on thanksgiving dinner, so they could get a laptop for $299.00 at Bestbuy. Do you think they were shopping for others?

So not only has Christmas been destroyed by commercialism, but now the greed of our society and the need to fill it with "Stuff" has taken us to a place where we are now also thinking about "What Can I Get" at Christmas.

So has this man gone to far?

For me, I like the Stand he made and the fact that most of us go into massive debt over the holiday season for "stuff" that will never fill whatever is lacking in our lives. If you have a hole inside, Jesus can fill it. He came on Christmas day in the most humblest of beginnings and came to save us…

He came to save us from exactly what we are seeing today…

The satisfaction of the flesh, the need to fill our lives with stuff, the selfishness of society….

Step back and think about the statement this man made and ask yourself..

Did he Go Too Far?

How Far Did Jesus Go?

How Far Did God Go to bridge the gap between him and us? 

The greatest moment in history was the birth of Jesus.

It brought the end to the old covenant that was strictly law based and brought in the age of grace. By God's Grace we are saved.

Let's all remember and keep our eyes on the prize…Our Lord, Jesus Christ…

Today, I will finish up preparation for family members and the celebration feasts as I need to go out and get some food items. But after that, at 4 pm we will go and worship the Lord and celebrate the coming birth of our savior at our old church in Portland.

Then at 11pm we will ring in the coming of our Lord with a midnight mass service at our church here locally.

I pray that people will remember and recognize the true meaning of Christmas…and the "Beauty of our King"

Many times in my life I have questioned and wondered…Where is God? Why is this happening? Where are the blessings of God?

I think today I have a better understanding of why or maybe Where are the blessings of God in my life!

In my daily readings the thought for the day was, "Many people receive no blessing because they forgot to thank God for they did not thank God for the last blessing."

We have so much to be thank-ful for and I know in my life I have "over-looked" many of the blessings that God has poured down in my life. How could I have missed the blessings?

Most of us I believe miss the blessings because we are looking for the "big one"…That big prayer we have that may go unanswered due to it NOT being part of God's plan at this time. In the mean time God is blessing our lives in so many ways that we are missing it….and forgetting to thank God for it. I know this is definitely an issue for me. Each day we have the opportunity to connect with God…Thank God..Praise God….Then life steps in and runs over us and takes us out of the blessing shield of God.

How does this happen?

Better yet, how can we prevent this from occuring in our lives?

How can we NOT miss the blessings of God?

Start your day by thanking God for another day. Look for the smaller things around you to be thankful for, there is so much right around us if we will just look.

Yesterday my lovely wife sent me a email from across the room and today I finally got around to opening it and I watched a video that is titled "Christmas with a capital C"

Do you say Merry Christmas or are you afraid of what others will say if you do?

Regardless…watch this video  

There is a choice you must make—Money Or God!

Today most of us are caught up chasing the all mighty dollar and it is a choice!

Wheather it is the latest and greatest new car to come out of the new iphone or ipod, it just doesn't end. The other night I was watching our local news and on Thanksgiving night, people began lining up early in the day to get in line for the opening of the doors of the great lure of the bargin at the local mall in South Portland.

People were interviewed and some had been there for 3 days camping out to be first in line to grab the "Deals" to get a new laptop at a very good price.

These people totally missed Thanksgiving and instead of being thankful for what they have and those in their lives, they we more concerned about what they can buy. And many of them professed on T.V. that they were not their to shop for others, but to BUY FOR THEMSELVES…

Continuing to watch the next day they showed this mall somewhere in the country where 1000's and 1000's of people where herding outside the mall waiting for the doors to open. As the doors flew open people rushed the doors, pushing and shoving each other and running into the stores to gobble up not a thanksgiving dinner, but STUFF…Not to be thankful for loved ones in their lives, but thankful that the laptop was only $295.00 and they were going to fill their empty hearts and minds with stuff and think that that is going to satisfy them.

It was sad to watch as we stumble into the stores to gobble up and grab what the media tells us will satisfy us. We have become a self centered and selfish world. Very Sad indeed. None of it will hold satisfaction in your life, it will only serve to prolong your unfulfilled desires, until the "Next Deal" comes along. Then you will toss out that 6 month old cell phone because now there is one that is way better than that old useless cellphone you got for Christmas.

Jesus said it well in Matthew 6:24 "No one can server two master, Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot server both God and Money."

Who Do you Serve?  Money Or God?

Today, it is apparent that God has been tossed aside and we will watch this holiday season unfold as a time to get the goods instead of getting the goodness that Jesus came to give us— Eternal life !

God Help Us All!