I love this time of year and I especially love the old Christmas carols. One of my favorites is “Joy to The World”. The words are so relevant to today. If you really look at the verses of many of the old carols, you get the whole picture of why Jesus came to earth as a baby. Many of them take you from the prophecies of old up to the age of glory when Christ shall rule and reign on this earth. One of the verses in “Joy to the World” says- “Let earth receive her King.” When Jesus walked on this earth many thought that He was going to set up His earthly kingdom at that time. In fact, most of His disciples and the Pharisees thought that He would .(See Luke 17: 20-24 ) But His kingdom was and is not of this world ( John 18:36 ). I was just reminded of this recently when I recalled the words of this song. We must let earth—receive Him as King- our “earth” meaning our lives. We are earthly- but we receive His spirit when we come to Him and allow Him to fill us with His Spirit. Sad
Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 I saw this phrase “extravagant devotion” in one my study Bibles as it was describing Mary’s devotion for Christ. It set me thinking and searching about my own devotion to God and what it was in Mary to have this phrase attributed to her. So, I began to do a little digging and praying. The Webster Dictionary defines “extravagant” as: "exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary." There are a lot of moderate, balanced and restrained Christians in the Church today. But God is seeking those a little “off balanced” with a lifestyle of giving “more than necessary” in their worship and devotion. He is looking for those who display and live a life of “extravagant devotion” to Him. This isn’t a fleshly display that we often see in churches and meetings today. I personally
"My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him". Psalm 62:5 Back in December I had been sensing a hovering of God’s Spirit over me, a nearness- just like a whisp of air that comes into a room. I try to stay open to what He is up to. I felt a quivering, a stirring deep within my spirit. In prayer, I sensed that something was being birthed in my spirit. Last year it was the Women’s meetings. I have no idea at this point what it is this time. I feel new life, a new anointing, a fresh vision coming. It has been said that when women first sense that they are pregnant, carrying new life inside of them, that they will feel a quivering, a fluttering, like birds’ wings fluttering. That is how I was feeling. Before the end of the year I purchased a new planner for my desk. I usually start filling it up with appointments, birthdays, etc. But I felt to do something I had never done before. I had Keith and me lay hands on it and dedicate the new year to
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