Does the Christ of Christmas Still Intervene in People's Thinking?

Most people are surprised when significant events interrupt their lives and demand change. Hurricane Harvey dumped 53 inches of rain on Houston in 2017, completely changing people’s lives. Imagine the apprehension that grasped Herod the Great when three strangers told him they were searching for the future Messiah.

Significant events can effectively disrupt old ways of thinking and believing. God sent Jesus to interrupt an old system to make way for something new. Jesus set in motion a new system called the Good News for changing people’s lives. Can celebrating Christmas be life-changing for you? Think about it. Merry Christmas and God bless you. 

        

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The wise men listened to the king and then went on their way, to Bethlehem. And now the star, which they had seen in the east, went in front of them until at last it shone immediately above the place where the little child lay. The sight of the star filled them with indescribable joy. So they went into the house and saw the little child with his mother Mary. And they fell on their knees and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts – gold, incense and myrrh.

~Matthew 2:9-11 Phillips – New Testament in Modern English

 

For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, reflected on the face of Christ.

~2 Corinthians 4:6 Williams – New Testament in the Language of the People

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From Thursday, December 21 through Christmas Day, blogs have been posted each day to coincide with KHCB radio's special music and short devotional programming, "Five Days of Christmas". 

Becoming a "Somebody" for God

A new beginning can be exciting simply because there's something to look forward to that's different. Still, the prospect of change can arouse so much anxiety and resistance that the idea for change is discarded. When God called Moses to deliver the Hebrew people from Egypt, he surely believed it was a good thing.

However, when Moses realized the complexities and dangers involved, his excitement was replaced with fear and worry. He protested with, "I'm a nobody. How can I go up against the Pharaoh of Egypt?" Moses failed to realize what he could be and do when he was empowered by the very presence of God himself.

God asked Moses to give up a secure shepherd’s life of simplicity and peace for what would be a life-changing experience. When the "Great I Am," the God of all creation, is with you to guide and empower you, a new beginning can be approached with certainty of accomplishment and peace, even when encountering life's worst storms. 

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He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

~Isaiah 40:29 English Standard Version

 

Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you.

~John 14:16 Contemporary English Version

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Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.

When Selfish Immaturity Ignores God

Samson was called to be a judge of the Hebrew people, and God equipped him with adequate qualifications for the job. God also gave Samson a free will, including the right to honor that responsibility. The attitudes we develop as children and adults reflect our maturity and the way our free will affects our choices.

Samson was chosen by God to break the Philistine’s yoke over the Hebrews. However, his ambitions and passions affected his reliability and restricted God’s plan for him. Satan used the glitches in his personality as a means of negating God's purpose for him and the nation.

Samson created a riddle to manipulate the young men at his wedding party. That selfish act set in motion life-changing events that became the source of pain for Samson and several other families. God created us with the capacity to mature, to love and serve others. The Holy Spirit within us continuously reminds us of that purpose and he will help us achieve it. 

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For [Christ Jesus] gave himself for us that he might set us free from all our evil ways and make us clean and pure, with our hearts set upon living a life that is good.

~Titus 2:14 Phillips – The New Testament in Modern English