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.

2 Samuel 6:13-15   And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.  And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.   So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

David's wife Michal, the daughter of Saul "despised him in her heart" when she saw David dancing.  But in verse 21 we read:  And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord.

David said that he was dancing for God, and not for her.

When we worship, let's worship with only God in mind.  Don't worry about how you look or sound.  Just praise the One who is worthy of your praise.  The One who gave His life for you.  Worship Him with your whole being.

And then make the commitment that David made.  "I will celebrate before the Lord."

Hebrews 4:12   For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Do you see God’s Word like that?  A sword that pierces your very soul, that tears up your assumptions, that changes your understanding, and that sees what you are like and rips you apart so that God can put you back together in His image?

God's Word exposes who we are.  Our sin is exposed, and we are vulnerable.  But God can be trusted to care for us, and to forgive our sin.  Let the God of the Bible open your heart to Himself.  Let Him take you apart and re-make you into the person He designed you to be.

Let the Word be powerful in your life.  How do you do that?  Step 1. Open the Book!

2 Timothy 1:7    for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Fear and discouragement are not from God.  Look to Him for the power to overcome everything in your life that holds you back from living for Jesus!

Romans 6:4
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

This verse is not talking about water baptism.  It is about being baptized, or immersed, into Jesus.  Just as a cucumber stops being a cucumber after being immersed in dill and brine for a long time, so believers are transformed when they are immersed in Christ over time.

And just as you can no longer use a pickle as a cucumber in your salad, we are transformed, forever inseparable from the One who lives in us and through us.  Our lives are in Christ, and Christ is in us, never to be parted, forever changed into His image.

​As Galatians 2:20 tells us, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!