Blessings in Disguise

      Blessings in Disguise

By Kaitlyn F.

          For many of us, getting sick is not fun. Most of us would love to crawl into a hole and hide when we are sick. I have been sick for the past couple of days, and I had to stay home Tuesday, and miss my senior winter concert because I was sick. But as I reflect on that, I'm starting to see that it was more of a blessing that I got sick. I had been so stressed out with essays and finals that I found myself praying to God for more time to work. When I got sick and I had to stay home from school, that was God answering my prayers. I had hours to sit in my room and just work on homework. I actually got ahead for the first time this year, and it was thanks to God who let me get sick. Sure I missed out on my orchestra concert, and my classes that I had on Tuesday, but God knew my schedule and he knew how making me miss school any other day of the week would have been problematic. By the end of Tuesday night, I didn't feel physically any better, but mentally I was more relaxed and less stressed. We get so caught up with everything that is going wrong in our lives, that we miss the blessing that may come along with the struggles. 

                Jesus was born in a manger, not the most glamorous place to be born, but that is a blessing to all of us, because it showed how God made himself so much less than us so that he could truly show us how to love and serve others. If he was born in a palace, then our view of him might be a God that we can't touch or get near to, but Jesus wanted us close to him so he was born in the poorest place he could find, and that is a blessing to all of. Take heart in whatever trial you are going through that God gave us his blessing when he was born in a manger, and that God already knows what is going to happen, and this trial or storm might just be a blessing in disguise.

The Great Christmas Battle

The Great Christmas Battle

By TreAnna B.   

 When Christmas time rolls around every year, it seems that along with the signs that read “Get it in time for Christmas!!”, there's also an emergence of a surplus of nativity stories and reminders of the true reason for Christmas. I like to call this the Great Christmas Battle. Commercialism vs. Christ.

   

    Let's not pretend; we all love the notion of getting presents for Christmas. The excitement we feel as we see those brightly wrapped parcels laying under our Christmas tree is hardly in competition with anything else.

    At the same time, we are constantly being reminded (and perhaps even reminding ourselves) that giving is what counts. We may even feel a bit guilty about those brightly wrapped packages after a few days. We drop a couple of dollars in the Salvation Army bucket and call it good.

    The point I want to make is this: Christmas is about more than presents, however, it's also about more than the nativity. I feel like we get so wrapped up in expressing what the true meaning of Christmas is that we forget to truly celebrate it and be thankful.

    Its like our attention becomes divided. We may not mean to push the story to the side, but we do. In the rush to make sure we have all the presents—including the antique handmuff for Great Aunt Hilda—the dinner is cooked, all the cards are sent out, and all the decorations are put up, we just simply forget the true reason for the season.

    On the other end of the spectrum, we have Christ. Normally this is seen in church as the preacher teaches us the story of His birth. Or as members of the congregation gather around us talking of Christmas parties that will be hosted using nativity scenes as center pieces.

    So, you see, we've allowed even the church to become commercialized. I'll admit that even I've fallen into this trap. We still believe in the true spirit of the season—giving. However, in the grand scheme we get too tied up with what we need to do and where we need to be.

    What if we just stopped and reflected? What if we just stopped and said thank you?

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Yesterday's Sins: Yesterday's News

Yesterday’s Sins: Yesterday’s News

 By Samantha W.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13 NIV

I don’t find it easy to forget, especially when it comes to past mistakes. I think I’m over the guilt, when bam! The reminder of what I did three days, three months, or even three years ago surfaces to my mind.

Most Christians can learn to forgive others, but it’s a different case to forgive their own sins. We like to beat ourselves up, rehash the scene and lament why we didn’t react in a better way.

We promise ourselves we’ll make up for it in some way as if God’s love and acceptance were something to earn. And some of us feel trapped in the past, too afraid to move forward in fear that we’ll blow it again.
When the guilt presses against us, we like to cry out to God. “I’m sorry, sorry that I stole my brother’s lollipop nine years ago. It was a horrible thing to do. I was always jealous of him.”
Of course, the confession might be more serious but the answer is always the same.
 
“This is about the fifth time you’ve apologized. Do you not believe me when I say I forgive you? I don’t even remember what this is about.”

You don’t think that’s what God would say? Look at these Scriptures.
 
God is love, (1 John 4:8) and love keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:5)

He has removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)

He blots out transgressions and remembers our sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)

If God has taken our dark past and chucked it to the winds, why do we try to snatch it back up?

We need to learn to:

1. Confess our sins.

2. Accept the gift of forgiveness.

3. Forget about it!

We haven't time for regrets when God gives us a new start every day.

God bless,

Samantha W.

Going Deeper into Christmas

Going Deeper in Christmas

By Kaitlyn F.

So it is finally December, and it is around Christmas time. In my Bible study at school, we are going through the book of Luke, and we are talking about the birth of Jesus. But we are talking about the passage in more than just a story that we hear once a year. You won’t believe how much knowledge you can gain in just 7 verses. The passage I’m sharing with you today is Luke 2:1-7 which goes:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Now I’m going to break down the passage some, but I’m not going to do all the work for you. The passage starts off by talking about some historical facts about the times. During our Bible study, someone asked why was that important. Well these historical facts could be compared to public records, to prove that what was happening in the Bible, actually happened. It gives us a reference point, to what was going on during Jesus’s life.

But there is more to that. Caesar made the decree. At that time Caesar was the ruler of the known world. He was the most powerful human at the time, and his decisions affected the child of God. If the decree wasn’t made than Jesus could have been born in any place else but a manger.

But if you look out farther, it really shows that God is in control. It had been prophesied that Jesus will be born in the town of David, and if it wasn’t for the decree that was made by Caesar, then Jesus wouldn’t be born in the town of David. It goes to show you that God is in charge of everyone, no matter how powerful you are.

Now for the second part of these verses. I’m not going to break it all down for you, but give you some questions for you to ponder. There are no right or wrong answers though, and if you want to share what you think in the comments then go ahead.

Was it important that Mary was only pledged to Joseph and not married to him?

Why is it significant that Jesus was born into complete poverty, when he could be born into wealth and money because he is God?

Does the distant that Mary and Joseph traveled add anything to the birth of Jesus?

These are just three questions from a multitude of questions you could ask. Christmas is more than just a baby born in a manger. When you dig in deep in the actually passage, than you can discover so much more. I pray that you take time to dig deeper into the story of Jesus’s birth.