Inspirations from the Funny Farm

1 John 3:8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Yesterday, I was speaking to a patient, and she was explaining how trying things had been recently. She said, “Satan just keeps popping up around every corner.” I listened intently to her words, and when it was my turn to reply, I remembered the words of John 16:33, and shared these words with her. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Yes, it is true. Satan is lurking around every corner. He’s not even hiding out in the dark anymore. He is sitting in broad daylight, in schools, homes, businesses, and even in some churches. The saddest part about this is that he can sit right out in the open, and people do not even recognize the evil of Satan as evil anymore. It is easy to feel defeated in our Christian walk if we only look at life through the dark lenses of a lost and dying world, but we are not to be defeated! Satan will walk right in and take a seat front and center in our lives if we allow it, but the important fact to remember is that we do not have to allow him to get comfortable! As Christians, we are saved by grace, and we are loved and cherished by the One who has already defeated Satan. We only have to remember this and allow the Savior to continue to do the saving in our lives.

This old world is full of sadness with Satan trying to steal as many people as he can. Many are unprepared for his attack. Others refuse to believe and put faith in Christ because they have been enticed or persuaded by false science and false beliefs. There are also those who are insecure and not sure what they believe. Even Christians struggle with sin, and Satan loves to attack a believer in Christ. Those attacks are hard and painful, and yes, many times, we will feel like we are being defeated, but we can’t lose hope. Our hope is in Christ, and He is our anchor. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19)

If you are feeling that old sinking sense of defeat today, please don’t get lost in the sea of grief. Place your hope and faith in the one true anchor. Place your hope and faith in Christ. Just remember that Jesus has already won the battle. He has already defeated the one that is trying to defeat you, and no one, including the evil one, can snatch us out of our Savior’s hands. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” This promise is given to us in John 10:28. Christ has never, nor will He ever, break a promise. You are safe in the arms of Christ. Let that thought seep into ever pore of your body, and recline in the luxury of knowing that He has already won the battle. You will not be defeated if you put your hope in Christ!

Matthew 25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Mark 10:44-45 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It is December 1st which to many officially marks the first day of the Christmas season. Everyone is beginning to get serious about finding that perfect gift, decorating their homes and trimming the trees. We can’t help but get excited this time of year, and it happens to be the most wonderful time of year for many reasons. Of course, the most important reason to be of good cheer is because Christmas marks the celebration of the day that our Messiah came to earth in human form. That precious baby was born and placed in a manger and grew into the Savior of the world. That is definitely a reason to celebrate! Also during this season, we see more acts of giving and serving than any other time of the year. People open their hearts and homes, and the attitude of giving seems to come so easy during the month of December.

Serving God is our duty as a Christian. Of course, we say serve God on a daily basis, but the question is how? How do we serve God? Jesus explained it well in Matthew 25. We serve God by serving others. Let me say that again for those of you in the back. We serve God by serving others! Yes, it is true. Our pastor has told us many times that we can gauge our love for Christ by how well we love others. Well, today I’m going to add to that and say that we can gauge our service to Christ by how well we serve others.

Let’s look at words that came from the mouth of Christ. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Jesus is speaking to His disciples and explaining that whatever we do to those in need, we are doing to Him. He tells us that when we feed the hungry or give drink to the thirsty, we are serving Him. When we invite a stranger in, we are serving Him. When we provide clothes to the poor and when we care for the sick, we are serving Christ. When we visit those in prison, we are visiting Christ. Can’t you see? When we are serving others, we are serving Christ.

I always tell my patients that I won’t ask them to do anything for their health that I wouldn’t do. This conversation usually comes up when I am explaining the importance of getting a colonoscopy. Nobody ever wants one, but I always assure them that I scheduled mine as soon as I turned fifty, and that they should schedule theirs too. I’m sure that I learned that lesson from Christ, although I would never try to compare myself to Him! Christ came to earth in the form of man 2000 plus years ago to serve. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He didn’t come to be served. He came to serve. He’s not asking us to do anything that He didn’t do. He served the entire time He walked this earth, and He continues to serve us. Service involves suffering at times, and oh yes, do y’all remember the suffering that our Savior endured for us? He served and He suffered. We only think that we are enduring a bit of suffering here and now. That doesn’t even compare to the suffering our Savior endured on that cross to save us from our sins! How can we help but serve Christ when He loved us and served us so greatly?

Today I pray for a servants heart, a true heart with an attitude for service. I pray that Christ will open my eyes to see those in need and my ears to hear their needs. I pray that I can truly be of service to Christ through my daily actions of service to others. Let’s get out there and serve today!

Daniel 6:16-23 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night. Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.

We are studying the book of Daniel at church, and it just so happens that we are reading through the book of Daniel currently as we draw near the end of our one year through the Bible reading plan. Last night, we read the old and familiar story of Daniel and the lions’ den. What an awesome reminder of God’s faithfulness to his servants.

Darius was the current king, and he cared for Daniel. Daniel had been promoted to a high position in the kingdom, and there were quite a few men that didn’t like this. They tried to find fault in Daniel to criticize or condemn him, but they could not. Daniel was completely trustworthy. So they plotted against him. They realized that the only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel would be in connection with the rules of his religion. They talked King Darius into an agreement which states that for thirty days anyone who prays to anyone or any thing other than the king would be thrown into the den of lions. King Darius signed the agreement not realizing that it would mean certain death for Daniel. Daniel knew about the new law, and he didn’t loudly fuss or admonish anyone. Instead, he continued doing what he had always done. Three times a day, every day, he went to his room and he prayed to the one true God. The men naturally knew that Daniel would be doing this, and after catching him in the act of prayer, they brought charges against him before King Darius.

The king was fond of Daniel, and he wanted to change the law, but in this time, a decree signed by the king could not be revoked or changed. The scripture says that the king spent the rest of the day trying to get Daniel out of this predicament. After realizing that he could not change the law, Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. The king spent the night fasting and did not sleep all night. Very early the next morning, he got up and hurried to the lions’ den, and asked “Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” And Daniel answered, “Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

There are quite a few take home messages from this chapter in Daniel, but the one word that jumps out at me is the word faithful. Daniel was faithful in his prayer life. Although he was ordered not to pray to his God, he continued to faithfully pray. He didn’t cause a scene. He didn’t throw a fit or make a loud commotion or even start a riot in the kingdom. He prayed faithfully prior to the new decree, and he continued to pray faithfully following the decree. The circumstances around him changed. The law of the land changed, but Daniel’s faithfulness did not change. He continued his faithful prayer life.

When we look at King Darius, we also see faithfulness. The scripture tells us that the king spent the day trying to figure out how to revoke his new law when he saw that it was going to affect his friend and faithful servant, Daniel. He had not found any fault in Daniel, and he did not want to throw him in the den of lions. However, he had to be faithful to his decree as that was the way things worked at the time. Yet, even though he followed through with putting Daniel in the lions’ den, he remained faithful in his affection to his faithful servant, Daniel. He fasted all night and stayed awake with worry over Daniel’s situation. He ran to the den the first thing the next morning to check on the well being of Daniel.

Finally, we see the faithfulness of God. Daniel was a righteous man. He wasn’t merely a religious man. He was a spiritual man. He didn’t merely follow the religious rules of the time. He followed his love for God, and he faithfully prayed despite orders to do otherwise. Daniel models how we should respond when we face a threat. He continued to obey the Lord despite the governing authorities orders. He remained faithful to God, and God remained faithful to Daniel. God shut the mouths of the lions, and Daniel did not receive so much as a scratch while in the den of lions.

There are days that we may feel like we have been thrown into the lions’ den and forgotten. It may feel that our world is falling apart, and we may feel like there is no way out. There is a way. There is a Light in the darkness, and we only have to remember that He is forever faithful to His children. He may not rescue us immediately. Sometimes we need a little discipline even though we may not like it or want it. God may be using the situations that we find ourselves in to grow us closer to Him or to teach us to lean on Him. The thing we must not forget during the trials of life is that our God is a faithful God, and this is only our temporary home. We are promised eternity with our heavenly Father. Nothing, absolutely nothing, that we endure here can compare to the glory we have in store for us. Everything works for our good and His glory. Whatever lion you are facing today, don’t give up. Cling to Christ. He is forever faithful, and He will conquer that lion at exactly the right time! God is faithful always! We must remain faithful to Him!

Psalm 40:3-10 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—but my ears you have opened—burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.

I have not been able to attend church in person the last two Sundays because of COVID-19. We were quarantined at home, and thankfully we were able to enjoy the on-line services. It is great to be able to attend on-line, but it is not the same. I am out of quarantine, and I just have to tell you that I am so excited about getting back to church today! Our church is small, and we can spread out and safely worship corporately, but at the same time, we can still worship together as a faith family. Why is worship it so important to me? Let’s explore that this morning.

I think that we tell ourselves we are supposed to worship God for all the things He has done for us. That is a mighty long list and includes His mercy, grace, love, goodness, strength, and salvation. It also includes the gift of good health, jobs, financial provisions, and family. Actually, everything we have is from God so we should naturally worship Him because of all of these blessings. However, all of these things, these gifts, are not the primary reason in which we were created to worship the Savior. These are good reasons to worship, but we are basically worshipping Him for all of the good things He has done and will do for us. But what happens when things go wrong, when life gets tough, or when bad things are happening in our lives? If we are only worshipping God during the good times, we are completely missing the point.

The greatest gift God has ever given us is His Son. Through Christ Jesus, God made a way for each of us to have salvation and be made right with God so that we may share eternity with Him. We all deserved that great gift, right? Absolutely not! God is such an awesome, loving God. We could never earn the gift of salvation. We could never be good enough to deserve this fabulous gift. We could never be that perfect. Oh but God! God knew this. He knows every single detail about our lives. He knows all the good, the bad, and the ugly. He knows all of the mess ups we have caused and are going to cause, but still, He gave us the perfect gift of salvation. God would not have given us this gift if He wasn’t who He is! The reason we worship God is because of who He is! We were created to worship Him for WHO HE IS!

Oh, it’s easy to get up and get dressed on Sunday morning and worship when things are going well. It’s easy to join in and happily sing songs of praise, rejoice in the message, and enjoy time with our faith family when things are going our way. It gets a bit harder when things get tough and life isn’t going as planned. That’s when we need to remember that we aren’t merely worshipping God for the goodness and blessings He has given us. We are worshipping Him because He is who He is! He is God of the universe. He is the Creator. He is the Light in the darkness. He is a Miracle Worker. He is a Promise Keeper. He is Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father. His the Prince of Peace. He is God, y’all, and He deserves our worship. We were created for this!

I can not wait to get to church this morning to worship my Lord and my Savior with my faith family! We’ve had a rough two weeks, but that will not keep us from glorifying our God today and every day! We worship because of WHO HE IS! I pray that you will be excited today and get out and worship Him too! He deserves our worship and adoration! Happy Sunday Peeps! May you all be blessed in worship today!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

I am a planner. I research and plan. That has always been a big part of who I am. My calendar is completely full on a monthly basis. Day to day schedules are planned. However, as much as I want to plan my life, life seems to always have a way of surprising me with unexpected things. Much of the time, these unexpected surprises make me happier than I had originally planned. That is called “God’s Will.” It turns out that God’s plans are always better than my plans, and His will is a marvelous thing!

As Christians learning to understand the will of God, we frequently make the mistake of thinking that God’s will for our life is an itinerary that we must follow. However, knowing God’s will is not knowing what to do, but rather it is knowing who we are in Christ. Once we become Christians, followers of Christ, we begin to change inwardly. We are no longer the person that we once were. We are no longer living for self, instead, we are living for God. When we begin to live for God, He gradually reveals His will for our lives as we walk through each day.

Throughout my younger days, I prayed for my will. I selfishly asked for prayers to be answered on my terms and with the results that I wanted. I was very immature in my walk with the Lord, and as I have matured over the last few years, my prayers have changed. I now pray, “Your will, Lord, not mine.” He just keeps surprising me daily with His answers. For you see, God’s will for His children is goodness. He wants to give us grace and mercy, and He loves us unconditionally. When we pray for His will in our lives, we receive goodness and grace and mercy and love! His will for us is always so much better than our plans we make for ourselves!

We must prepare our hearts and minds for the will of God. This requires faith and trust in God. Another ingredient that we have trouble adding is patience. We must be patient and wait for God’s answer and God’s will. Sometimes it takes longer than other times, but while we wait for the will of God, we can continue to serve Him daily. We continue to serve others. love others, and love God. Often times we don’t know what God’s will is for our lives and that is okay. All we have to do is continue to stay in His Word, continue to pray, and continue to ask God for His will to be done in our lives. Then we just serve while we wait. Who knows, serving other may be His will for you. I can’t tell you what His will is for your life, but I can tell you this. God’s will definitely will surprise you with unexpected things that are going to make you happier than you had originally planned! Let go and let God. Let Him show you how awesome the life that He wills for you can be! I guarantee you that it will be better than anything you ever planned.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 28:1-10 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Here in the United States, this day is called Black Friday. It comes once a year. The day following Thanksgiving is marked as the biggest shopping day of the year as people take advantage of sales that are established for one day only. I’ve had friends who have climbed out of bed way before the break of dawn to be the first in line as stores opened. Others have shopped all night Thanksgiving night and into Friday trying to get the best deals. Not this girl though. You won’t catch me out shopping on Black Friday. No way! I normally choose this day to decorate for Christmas, but thanks to that old COVID bug, I was given a two week staycation, and through the fog of fatigue and body aches, Christmas decor has fully arrived in all its splendor here at Hodge Lodge. I know we celebrate Christ on a daily basis, but this year I felt like we needed to celebrate the Christmas season longer than usual. We need to truly remember the reason for the season. We need to remember the birth of our Savior. We need to remember that terrible Black Friday, and we need to remember the resurrection which gives us salvation.

I recommend that you take some time to read the books of Matthew and Luke this holiday season, and take some time to reflect and appreciate the significance of our celebration. A little over 2000 years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. He was born as a baby, fully man and fully God, to walk among the people with the purpose of bringing salvation to this world full of sinners. Yes, this perfect Christ lived a sinless life, and then one terrible Black Friday 2020 years ago, He died an agonizing death on the cross. He was beaten and bruised, pierced, nailed to a cross, and mocked and laughed at. The very thought of the punishment He endured brings tears to my eyes especially when I realize that He endured that terrible suffering for my sins and yours. He endured agonizing hours of torture up until the time of His death. It was the darkest of all Fridays. It was a truly awful day. Why then do we call this day Good Friday? The Friday before Easter (Resurrection Day) has always been called Good Friday, but it was such a terrible dark, black day! It was called Good Friday because that was NOT the end of the story and because that awful day was actually a day of salvation for the world. When Christ died that day, He took on the sins of the world. He made a way for us to be made right with the Father. He suffered and died for each of us, but wait! There’s more! Death could not hold Him. Just as the Word prophesied, three days later, He arose. The tomb could not contain Him. Death did not defeat Him. Christ arose! That is absolutely, without a doubt the BEST Black Friday gift ever given or received.

I’m so thankful for this best gift of all times. Today, if you are scurrying around shopping and looking for the perfect gift, take some time to remember that the BEST gift has already been given to the world. If you’ve received the gift of Salvation, please share that gift this holiday season. If you haven’t yet received this marvelous gift, what are you waiting for? Salvation is the absolute best gift ever, and it is totally free. It cost Christ an agonizing death on the cross, but He gives this gift freely to all who will accept it. I pray that today you enjoy the best Black Friday gift ever!

Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 69:30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 100:4-5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Peeps! Today is the day that we set aside once a year to remember the things that we are thankful for. Why in the world do we try to limit it to one day is beyond me. We should be thankful every minute of every day because there is always, always something to be thankful for. I know there may be a bit of redundancy in my posts, but thanksgiving isn’t just a one day event, it’s a way of life!

Life is ever changing, and who would have thought as we celebrated Thanksgiving last year that 2020 would be such a crazy year. We have had the first pandemic in over 100 years. We then had a toilet paper shortage. I didn’t understand why one would need all that toilet paper for a respiratory virus until I contracted it myself. Seems there are a lot of bathroom trips associated with it, hence the need for tissue. Still not sure why people chose to hoard it though. Shut downs came next. People I love lost jobs, and unemployment soared. We began wearing masks everywhere we went, and we learned to rely on our eyes to show our smiles instead of our lips. Then came the presidential election which still hasn’t been certified. Churches have been closed, having parking lot services or on-line services. Businesses are closing at a rapid pace. Whoa. If we only look at this year end review, we might say that this was a terrible year, and quite frankly, parts of this year have been pretty awful for a lot of people.

If we focus on the bad, then we only see the bad. But if we focus our attitude on gratitude, we begin to see that there is good in every situation. This has been quite a unique year, and believe it or not, many good things have come from this unprecedented year in our life. Let’s do a different year end review.

A novel virus has been unleashed on the public. Scientist have come together and gained much knowledge on this virus in a very short period of time, and they are developing a vaccine in record time. (I think it will need more testing to establish safety and efficacy, but still…look how fast they are working to get this figured out!) Toilet paper disappeared for a while, but we never ran completely out. Praise God! Restaurants and movie theaters were closed, and this forced families to stay home. People began cooking meals at home again and eating together as a family. Family time became a valuable asset again that turned out to be a missing necessity in life. Families began to appreciate their time together. Churches made a way to continue worship during the shut downs, and the church moved outside of the confines of the building. Jobs began to be re-established slowly, and the unemployment rates that were soaring began to come down. We were fortunate in that I never lost my job, and my husband was even blessed with a new position. There truly is a silver lining in every circumstance if we look for it.

I even have to say a praise of Thanksgiving for our recent COVID-19 illness. We felt really sick for several days. Daddy and I even developed pneumonia. Daddy kept a fever for 17 days! My husband and I are very active, busy, constantly moving people, and this virus shut us down! But God’s hand of protection was ever present. Daddy had no fever yesterday, and he said he felt better than he had in a long while. We are off of quarantine, and I’ve been cleared to return to work. We have enjoyed a whole bunch of Hallmark movie time, and we even decorated early for Christmas. We’ve spent some good quality time together, and I’ve been able to visit my daddy almost daily. And there was no fear. I felt God’s presence, and I knew that He was taking care of us.

Yes, it’s been a crazy year, my friends, but although there have been a few bumps and bruises, there are so very many things to be thankful for. I pray that today and every day, you will see past the difficulties of the day. I pray that you see the good in each day, and that you recognize that there is always, always something to be thankful for! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Be thankful and blessed!

I Peter 4:10-11 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Have you ever sat back and asked yourself the question: “What can I do for the kingdom of God?” Seriously, what can we do as mere humans? We don’t have godly powers or abilities. We can’t perform miracles. We can’t save the lost. We can’t change hearts. We can’t do any of those things. No, in reality, we can’t, but guess what? God can do all of those things through each one of us. As followers of Christ, we have been given the wonderful ability and responsibility to accomplish His work. God clearly can do all things without us, but He amazingly invites us to be part of the process of bringing others to Him. He invites us to help His children grow in their faith and maturity. He invites us to care for those in need. He invites us into the service of the kingdom. As followers of Christ, we become willing servants of Christ and servants of man.

God gifts each and every one of us with unique gifts and talents, and He does so with the intention that we will utilize those gifts and talents to serve Him and serve others. We aren’t here to serve ourselves despite the way the rest of the world thinks. We are here to serve Christ, and we are here to serve Him well. We are to listen to Christ and do His will. We realize that we can’t accomplish any of the tasks set before us on our own, yet when we place faith in Christ and rely on Him fully, He can and will use us to accomplish much.

This year is coming to a rapid close. It has been a bumpy ride for sure. We have had our ups and downs, and it seems we’ve had a few more downs than ups. It is very easy to let the distractions of the world get us down. When things aren’t going our way or as we had planned them, it is easy to take a back seat, throw our hands up, and quit. When we feel that we aren’t making any progress, when we feel like we aren’t reaching anyone, when we feel like the world is falling apart and maybe we are too, we begin to have a strong desire to quit. However, if we take a moment to truly look around us, we realize that we can’t quit. We realize that this may just be the time that we have been called to action.

Look around. Really look around. Our churches are empty. Doors are closing. People are lonely. This beautiful world that God created is becoming a very dark place, and it is up to us to bring the light back into the darkness. When we see how dark the world appears to be, we feel overwhelmed. We may even feel as though there is nothing we can do, but we tend to forget that we have the brightest light in the world within us. All we have to do is let that light shine. How do we overcome the dark? We let the light shine, and the light of Christ is within each and every child of God. We just have to let that light loose. Let it shine. what better time of the year is there than now for us to shine. We can shine by sharing a smile with a lonely stranger. We can buy a meal for the poor. Spend time with a lonely, shut in. Invite a friend to church…even when they’ve said no a thousand times…invite them again. Continue to share the love of Christ each and every day. We can mentor new Christians. We can share the gospel with this lost and dying world. The light within each of us is greater than all of the festive, beautiful Christmas lights. We only have to let that light shine.

So if you are asking yourself what you can do this holiday season and every day of the year, the best answer is to let your light shine for Christ. We can do this through many different ways. Each of us have our own unique set of talents, we must ask the Lord to show us how we can best use our gifts, and He will show us. Nothing is too big for our Lord. We only have to trust Him and remember that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

Genesis 1:11-12 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds,

Genesis 1:27-28 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

The week of Thanksgiving is definitely a time that we think about all of the wonderful connections that we have made in life. We are connected to the many lives that are intertwined into our homes and hearts. We make new connections every day, and each connection becomes a part of who we are. We grow in love and fullness of life as we continue to make these wonderful connections.

I read an analogy about connection that put it in a whole new perspective. The writer is unknown, but the point is definitely worth sharing again. We must go back to the beginning: Genesis. We recognize that when God wanted to create fish, He spoke to the sea. “God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kind.”

When God wanted to create trees, He spoke to the earth. “Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

When God wanted to create man, He turned to Himself. “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

The fish of the sea are connected to the water. If you take a fish out of water, it will die. The trees are connected to the earth, the soil. If you remove a tree from the soil, it will also die. Man is designed to be connected to God. If we become disconnected from God, we too die. Just as the fish need the water of the sea, and trees need the soil of the earth, we need a relationship with Christ. God is our natural environment. We were created in His image to live in His presence. It is only in Him that life exists.

The sea without fish is still the sea, but a fish without the water is nothing. The soil without a tree is still soil, but the tree without soil is nothing. God without man is still God, but man without God is NOTHING! We are nothing without God. This world around us is changing rapidly. There is so much discontent regarding election results and so much fear related to COVID-19. Now more than ever, we need to be connected to Christ. We can’t survive without Him. We can muddle through each day, but we aren’t truly living if we aren’t experiencing that connection with Christ. How do we stay connected? We must plug in!

I decorated for Christmas early this year. I traditionally wait until the day after Thanksgiving, but I decided that I wanted more Christmas this year. I want to spend time really celebrating and reflecting on the greatest gift we ever received. We put up our big 12 foot tree and slowly decorated it while still feeling a bit under the weather. It took a long while. I’m a bit OCD with my tree, although you wouldn’t know it with it’s eclectic mess of ornaments collected throughout the years. Our tree is pretty with all of the sentimental ornaments and ribbon and mesh covering every single branch. But when the lights are plugged in, that tree absolutely glows. It is a reminder of the Light that came into the darkness. We celebrate the birth of our Savior this season, and that’s something that deserves much more than one special day to celebrate!

We plug in by remembering Christ, remembering the birth, remembering His life, and remembering the sacrifice on the cross, and remembering the resurrection. We plug in by reading and studying the Word, and we plug in by gathering together with our faith family to worship and praise our Lord and Savior. We need Christ. We need that connection. We can’t live without Him. Are you connected to the Light? If so, let that light shine brightly through this holiday season. Are you feeling like you are in the dark? Don’t fret, my friend. The Light is available to you too. You only have to plug into the the source. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)