Psalm 127:1   Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Who is building your house?  Who is the Master of your life?  If it isn't the Lord, your life is being lived for no purpose.  Only He brings purpose to our lives.  He is the Master Builder who fits everything together.

Have you ever watched a craftsman work on something really complicated?  It doesn't seem to make sense, and none of the pieces look like they will ever fit together.  What is the point of the mess you see in front of you?

But when the Master Builder puts the details together, you can suddenly see a pattern emerge.  He makes something beautiful out of all your broken pieces.  The Bible says that if we love God, and He has called us according to His purpose, all things work together for good.  (Romans 8:28)

Even when it doesn't make sense to us.

Luke 19:41-44    And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

The Jewish leaders didn't recognize the prophecy in Daniel 9 being fulfilled before their very eyes.  They missed the time of Christ.  To Jesus, it was a sad day, knowing that they would never know Him.  Do you know Him?  Don't miss "the time of your visitation".

Hebrews 1:3a    He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. 

Jesus is God in the flesh, the One who came to earth as a helpless baby, fully human and yet fully God.  He is the only One who could be the sacrifice for our sin.  He is very God, who died for us.

​Ponder that as you celebrate this Christmas.  He is not "just" a baby in a manger.  He "upholds the universe by the word of his power".  And He gave His life for you!

Luke 2:8-11   And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

What would it have been like to be a shepherd - to know that you were not allowed to go to the temple, and that you could never worship God like other people, because of what you did for a living?

And then to have an angel appear and to tell you that God has sent His Christ, His promised one, and that you were invited to come and worship Him?  It must have been overwhelming!  No wonder they left everything to go and find Him.

They went back to the sheep afterwards, but they were changed.  Verses 16-18 tell us, " And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But the real change is found in verse 20:  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The shepherds were changed.  Have you been changed by being with Jesus?  Come and worship, and let Him change your life!

Philippians 2:5-8   Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

That is the reason we celebrate Christmas.  The baby born in Bethlehem would one day give His life to save us from our sin.  He gave His life for you.  Will you live your life for Him?

Psalm 51:7, 10- 12   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

David asked for the right things in the right order.  Cleanse me of my sin, then create a clean heart to replace my sinful heart.  Renew a right spirit in me.  Then keep me in Your presence, and let me experience the Holy Spirit in my life.

Then I will know the joy of Your salvation as you restore my life in You.  And now that I am restored in You, I ask You, God, to uphold me every day as I trust in You.

This should be our prayer every day.  Let's let David teach us to get things right in our lives.  If you don't have joy in your life, now you know what you need to ask God for!

Luke 9:23-24   And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.   For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 
  
This isn’t just for some Christians, professional Christians like pastors and missionaries and leaders of Christian organizations.  Jesus said to ALL:  Do you want to follow Me?  Deny yourself.  Take up your cross daily.  The only reason someone would have picked up a cross was because they were about to die on it.  Jesus said that we need to be ready to die for Him every day.  Then, He said, follow Me.  Save your life by losing it in Me.
Paul said, “I die every day.”  We must give ourselves to Jesus every day.  It’s so easy to go through life like you are floating on the Lazy River.  You know the one.  The one where you sit on an inner tube, soak up the sun, and float.  Nothing happens.  There might be a waterfall, but you can avoid it if you want.  You don’t have to do anything.  You just float.  And when you get to the end, you get off.
Too many professing Christians are living on the lazy river.  But I have news for you if that is your life.  Jesus said to take up your cross, to live for Him by dying daily.
What did it cost Jesus to save you?  Everything.  He became human for all eternity.  He died.  He took your sin and mine upon Himself, becoming sin.  He endured hell so we would never have to.  Is He worthy of whatever you will sacrifice for Him?

Romans 5:5   ... God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

This is the verse that came to Corrie Ten Boom when a prison guard asked her to forgive him.  She tells it in her own words:

She said, “And thank you Father, that your love is stronger than my hatred.   In that same moment I was free.  And I could say, ‘Brother, give me your hand.’  And I shook hands with him, and it was as if I could feel God’s love streaming through my arms.  You never touch so the ocean of God’s love as that you forgive your enemy.”

Then she asked, “Can you forgive?  No.  I can’t either.  But He can.”
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Don’t try to do it in your own strength.  Rely on His strength and let Jesus forgive through you.  Can you forgive?  No.  Neither can I.  But He can.

1 Timothy 6:6-8   But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 

Are you content?  Paul says that when you are godly and content with what you have, it is great gain.  He isn't talking about your bank account, but about your spiritual life.  How can we be content with what we have?

What if we choose to focus on something besides our stuff?  What would our lives be like if instead of working so hard for one more dollar, or one more thing, we worked for one more of what God wants in our lives?

One more dollar - to give away to someone in need.  One more moment in prayer.  One more hour in the Word.  One more person hearing about Jesus from our lips.  One more time of sweet fellowship with our brothers and sisters.

One more day living for Jesus.
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That will bring contentment into your life.  And that is great gain.

 James 4:2b-3   You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 

F.B. Meyer said, “The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer;
it is un-offered prayer.”

God chooses to work when we pray. And even if he doesn’t give us what we expect, it is not to disappoint us. It is to bless us. It is to give us something much better!

When God says "no" to your prayers, it is because His gifts are the best gifts we could receive.  We must learn to pray and to ask according to His will.  We need to learn to trust Him with our lives!

As James also said in James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.