We will be celebrating Christmas pretty soon and it is so easy to get caught up in the Commercialism of this Birthday and forget what it really means especially to Christians. As Christians we are the light of this world and we need to shine so all those who are not Christians can see God in us. There are two times a year when are Churches overflow and I used to not like this time because people who never come to Church come on Christmas and Easter. But now I know that God wants us to take advantage of this and be someone's light so that they may see God and realize the reasons we celebrate Christmas. As Jesus is our SAVIOR and he gave everything for us so that we might have eternal life in God's kingdom so must we be the Light for all of this world to see we must give what we can and do it willingly and do it for God's glory and not ours.

A handful of couples are going to this island where only they will be + a dozen male and female models and the idea is to tempt the couple into adultery. This is Satan at work please watch what your Children see and avoid this program. There are many more programs that are on TV that are not good Christian viewing but this is a new one. Please encourage people not to watch this show and others like it.

This tells me we should avoid these types of shows and we should not challenge Satan that is what he wants we need to put our minds on what is good and right and with a single mindedness keep our soul with Christ.

While reading Hebrews 3: 7-19 it was easy to see areas in my life where I doubted God by taking matters into my own hands. Or to know that the Holy Spirit is talking to me and I can find several excuses not to do what I know deep inside I should do. Any time we act with unbelief we open a door for more unbelief. This Unbelief is not from not believing in Jesus it is more a matter of not believing how important each and everyone of us is to our Father and that we do matter and he will take care of us no matter what the situation. God will put us through some trails and test us but we should not test him. In Hebrews 11:6 and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

In this passage Paul talks about faith and to have faith you must continue to seek and learn Christ's ways. As soon as we stop searching we will start backsliding it is not enough to know that Jesus existed but to continue to learn that which he taught us and that which the Holy Spirit tries to tell us on Jesus behalf.

It is easy to overlook the 13th verse in Chapter 3 but I believe this verse tells us how we can continue to grow and become more Christ like. It tells us to encourage one another daily, This is important we should have some personal time with God everyday but also we should have some public time with him and with other believers everyday. This is not always easy to do for some of us it is hard because of where we work but it is an attainable Goal.

In this months reading we find that even Paul has some doubts about his own Strength in Christ and he hopes to have sufficient courage so that people will see Christ through him. Living or dying is not really a question here he says to "Live is Christ and to die is Gain" . To me this means that as long as we are alive we should be living for Christ and to do his work and be Fruitful for God. Than when we die we will be with Christ and that truly is a forward step. I like Pauls wording it shows his true strength in Christ. "I desire to depart and be with Christ, he does not speak of his death as the end but as part of his journey to Christ.(Note: he is not saying that we should kill ourselves so we can be with Christ sooner, Only God has the right to take our lives and he does it when he wants to and not when we want to.)

In Verses 27 and 28 he encourages the Philippians to hold to the Gospel of Christ no matter what happens to him so that those who have not converted will see the true path of life. He also tells them that there belief in Christ as their savior is not only pleasant but that we will also have to suffer because of our beliefs. This are not just words from Paul he lived in this manner in many prisons and in many places that he went he was persecuted for his Faith in Christ. Today someone may make fun of us or make our job a little harder but we will not go the prison nor will we be stoned and still we find it hard to spread Christ's gospel. We need to have the Courage and the Faith to bear Fruit for Gods Kingdom,

this does not mean we all think the same but that we all have a common goal and a willingness to work together to accomplish this goal. He continues to tell us not to do these things for our personal gain and to consider others better than yourself, I do not believe he means for us to put everyone above yourself but to realize everyone's talents and to use those talents to reach our Goals as believers in Christ and as Christ would want us to use those talents.

In Philppians 2:6 that Christ being the very nature of God did not consider himself God or that , that could even be obtained. Christ took the role as Gods Servant he emptied himself of all Glory but retained his deity,

Christ was a Man/God when we look at his example of servant ship we should strive to follow his footsteps even though we will not obtain total perfection like Christ we should continue on and pick ourselves back up and keep our Goal of being Christ like forever our primary goal.

In verse 11 we must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. If you have not done this and need to know more you can get in touch with a local Church and find out more or contact me and I will help in any way that I can.

In 2 Timothy verses 3:16-17 Paul tells us that all Scripture is God - breathed. That we should live by and stay in the Bible is what he is saying and that if we stay in Gods word we will be prepared to do Gods work.

In the first three verses of chapter four in 2 Timothy, Paul tells us we should teach the word and be prepared to defend it at anytime, He also says we should encourage. As Christians it is important for us to encourage one another and stay in Gods word. We can use each other and our relationships with one another to hold us accountable in our walk.

In 2 Timothy 4:3 Paul is warning Timothy that people do not want to know the truth but instead will find a teacher that will say what they want to hear. He is challenging not only Timothy but you and I to not take for granted what we hear. It is our responsibility to make sure what we hear is Bible based and it is our responsibility when we talk to make sure we are Bible based and that we do not make something up to suit our needs.