I am not discounting foxhole conversions.  There are many who come to Jesus during a crisis point in their life.  I was one who confessed my sins out of fear of going to hell.  And there are others who sincerely call upon God out of fear of dying.  However, there are just as many who use these confessions out of a sense of manipulation to get them out of the line of fire.  These are the ones I caution people about.  Time and time again, we treat God as a “Get Out of Jail Free” card or even worse a “give me what I ask for” card.  God is not a magical genie granting us our three wishes.  He is a loving and caring God who blesses us according to his will and plan for our lives.  When we abuse this love, we are not treating God as he deserves.  Remember to ask for things that are according to his will not ours and we will end up better for it.

I just wanted to use this spot to follow up on my lesson about Barak not being willing to be used by God.  God wants to use us but we need to be willing is the lesson I pointed out.  But here is an idea that I did not explain further.  Even though Barak was hesitant the first time Deborah talked to him (vs 6-8), the second time, Barak listened and was able to accomplish God’s plan/will (vs 14-16).  He was given a second chance.  This is why he made it into the great faith chapter of Hebrews 11.  I think this is also something we can learn.  Even if we are unwilling at first, God can change our hearts and give us a second (or third or fourth . . .) chance.  This is not guaranteed, but God can (and often does) give us another chance if we become willing to follow him.  So if you have failed God in the past because of your unwillingness to carry out his plan, does not mean that God is through with you.  If you change and become willing, God will often give you a second chance.  Are you willing to be willing?

Well this is the first post of 2021.  I hope that this year we all will continue to see God’s blessings on us all.  Sometimes his blessings are not what we expect and some are hard to accept because they all do not come to us as good things.  Sometimes his blessings come as difficult circumstances that help us grow.  Sometimes they take the form of discipline and rebuke when we stray in order to correct us and get us back to following him.  Sometimes they are times when we need to cuddle close to him for comfort and encouragement.  Sometimes they are sickness that help us depend on him.  But they are all blessings.  So do not look only for the blessings that look most beneficial.  There are many more things God wants to do in your life to bring you the greatest blessings.

Posting this a few days late because of family get-togethers.  My hope this week is that God will continue to bless us as we end one year and start another this week.  As in the sermon, 2020 was a year of trials, but God was faithful and will continue to be faithful as we start another year of our Lord.  May God richly bless you and may you continue to grow more like Christ in 2021.

I just love looking at the names of God.  I have read books about it and taught different lessons about them.  Each one is unique and has a special emphasis and meaning.  They help explore the many different characteristics of him.  And it is no different with Jesus and his names.  I probably could have had three or four messages that talk about the names of Jesus given to him at his birth (or before his birth).  Many names were given by the prophets.  Others by the writers of the epistles.  In fact, I just started reading in the book of Hebrews for my devotional time this morning and found more names I could have used in the message yesterday.  So I would encourage you readers to find and examine other names of God, Jesus, and even the Holy Spirit and see what a difference these names will make in your life.

Wonderful Grace of Jesus.  The hymn is one of my favorite.  And not just because of the musicalness and with the men singing most of the refrain, but because of the words.  If there is anything in the word more important to sing about than grace, I do not know it.  God’s grace is so significant, words cannot describe it (How can my tongue describe it? Where shall my praise begin?) right?  This is why we sing, this is why we praise, this is why God deserves it all.  So why don’t we give Him are all this year here at Christmas and make this Christmas the most wonderful time for us.

I cannot express how much I love this time of year.  Everything about it excites me, including the snow.  Here in central Illinois, we don’t get as much snow as I did while I was growing up in northern Michigan, but I love it anyway.  While snow is mentioned in the Bible over 20 times, it usually is using it to describe how white something is (whether it be leprosy, or our cleansed sins, or clothing).  But my favorite verse about snow is from Psalm 148, “Praise the LORD from the earth, . . .  all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, . . .” (vs 7-9).  All these inanimate objects are praising the Lord and doing his bidding.  The verses surrounding do describe humans and animals also praising God, but even things that cannot move or have a life of their own are a part of the praises reaching heavenward.  As another verse mentions, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40)  I hope this wonder-full season will keep you praising him too.