My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: 12/23/07

Today's Verse : John 3:16

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December 24, 2007

VERSE:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.
-- John 3:16

http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=John+3:16

THOUGHT:
God wants us to have life! Real life. Life that lasts forever
with him! That's why he sent Jesus, so we could have life. That is
why Jesus left him and came to earth. That is why Jesus endured the
Cross and its humiliation. That's why Jesus rose from the dead. God
loves us with an everlasting love in Jesus! What other Christmas
gift can compare? "O come, let us adore him!"

PRAYER:
Of all your gifts, loving Father, none can compare to Jesus. You
are worthy of praise simply because of who you are. You are worthy
of honor because of all that you have done. You are worthy of
praise because of your mighty acts. Most of all, you are worthy of
my heart, soul, mind, and strength because of your love
demonstrated in Jesus. Thank you for the greatest gift of all! In
Jesus' name I praise you. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20071224

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PORTUGUESE - http://www.iluminalma.com.br/dph/2/1224.html
SPANISH - http://www.laluzdelalma.com/vdh/2/1224.html

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SEE THE MORNING, by Chris Tomlin
Award-winning artist Tomlin offers a whole new set of soul-inspiring
easy-to-sing songs about God's faithfulness.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?260

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Today's Verse is written by Phil Ware <phil@heartlight.org> and is
part of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, the leading Christian living e-zine
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Today's KJV Verse : John 3:16

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December 24, 2007

VERSE:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
-- John 3:16

http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=John+3:16&translation=kjv

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SEE THE MORNING, by Chris Tomlin
Award-winning artist Tomlin offers a whole new set of soul-inspiring
easy-to-sing songs about God's faithfulness.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?260

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each purchase you make, you're helping to support Heartlight's
ministry. Thanks SO MUCH for your help!

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Daily Wisdom NIV : Proverbs 27:1

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Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may
bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1, New International Version
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Proverbs+27:1

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Daily Wisdom KJV : Proverbs 27:1

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Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1, King James Version
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Proverbs+27:1&translation=kjv

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Quotemeal: "When you carry out acts of ..."

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When you carry out acts of kindness, you get a wonderful feeling
inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and
says, "Yes, this is how I ought to feel."

-- Rabbi Harold Kushner

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THE SECRET MESSAGE OF JESUS: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING, by Brian McLaren
Unafraid of controversy or the uncomfortable gray areas of life,
McLaren's quest is to find the essential message of Jesus' life - even
if it overturns our conventional ideas, priorities, and practices.
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Daily Heartlight -- December 23, 2007

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December 23, 2007

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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

I'm Just a Businessman, by Larry Davies

I run a profitable business. There are no tax problems, no accusations
of fraud. I have nothing to be ashamed of, so why am I so upset and
confused? Maybe it's because something has changed.

You see, it all started on a cold, dark night. My little
hotel-restaurant was packed with out-of-town customers. The mood of the
crowd at first was dark, with talk of rebellion. After all, no one
likes being forced to travel just for a census! a head count. Yet time,
a few drinks and the opportunity to renew friendships lifted traveler's
spirits and the atmosphere soon became more festive.

Business was good -- almost too good. All my rooms were filled, so
people were forced to sleep in the streets. With so many people eating,
our supplies of food and drink were critically low.

Later that night, two travelers approached my gate: a young man and his
obviously pregnant wife astride a donkey. They both looked exhausted.
The young man was polite enough. "Please sir, we have come a long way
and need a room. Can you please help us?"

I turned away many others without a thought, but the look of panic in
the man's eyes and the young girl's condition made me pause. "There
must be somewhere I can put them." But sadly, there was not and I was
forced to tell them so. "I'm sorry. There is no room in the inn."

But something about the young woman's face made me pause! She looked so
calm and serene. "Wait a minute!" I blurted out. "There's a stable
around back with an empty stall. I can add a little fresh straw and you
will at least have shelter." Why was I so concerned about the welfare
of this young couple? After preparing their area, I left without even
asking them for money. "And while they were there, the time came for
her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She
wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the village inn" (Luke 2:6-7).

The frantic banging on the front door began just as I was finally
falling asleep. One of the shepherds in a nearby field said, "You must
come at once to see the child. She has sent for you." "It's just a
baby." I shouted. "I've seen babies before." But I was so wrong. Only
the shepherds and a few animals surrounded Mary and Joseph. "Where did
the shepherds come from?" I wondered. Then I noticed the child. He
wasn't crying. He was smiling and looking directly at me. His eyes
seemed to penetrate right through to my very soul. How could this baby
affect me so?

Something happened that night. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a
businessman, not a preacher, but seeing that child changed me, forever.
Over the last few weeks I've done a lot of thinking and praying about
where my life is going. With God's help, this is what I will do:

* Become more generous in my giving and look for opportunities to
help others.

* Treat my employees with more respect and pay what they earn, not
what I can get by with.

* Maintain a stricter accounting of my ledger books and with my
customer bills.

* Spend more time at home with my wife and children.

* Go back to church and look for ways that I can become involved in
their ministry.

* Spend more time in prayer for my family, for business, for others
and for those in ministry.

What about you? How will seeing the Christ-child affect you this year?
Peter said: "As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us
everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive
his own glory and goodness!" (2 Peter 1:3).

Seeing the Christ-child in a manger surrounded by animals and shepherds
changed this innkeeper forever. How will seeing Christ change you? I
pray that in 2007 you will see the Christ-child and be transformed! May
God richly bless your journey of faith. Merry Christmas!

---------
(c) 2007 Larry Davies < LarryDavies@SowingSeedsofFaith.com>,
Sowing Seeds of Faith <http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com>.

Morning & Evening -- Luke 14:10 and Psalms 74:16

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

MORNING:

"Friend, go up higher."
-- Luke 14:10

When first the life of grace begins in the soul, we do indeed draw near
to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul conscious of
guilt, and humbled thereby, is overawed with the solemnity of its
position; it is cast to the earth by a sense of the grandeur of
Jehovah, in whose presence it stands. With unfeigned bashfulness it
takes the lowest room.

But, in after life, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will
never forget the solemnity of his position, and will never lose that
holy awe which must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence
of the God who can create or can destroy; yet his fear has all its
terror taken out of it; it becomes a holy reverence, and no more an
overshadowing dread. He is called up higher, to greater access to God
in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking amid the splendours of
Deity, and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim, with those twin
wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will, reverent and
bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of love,
of goodness, and of mercy, he will realize rather the covenant
character of God than his absolute Deity. He will see in God rather his
goodness than his greatness, and more of his love than of his majesty.
Then will the soul, bowing still as humbly as aforetime, enjoy a more
sacred liberty of intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of
the Infinite God, it will be sustained by the refreshing consciousness
of being in the presence of boundless mercy and infinite love, and by
the realization of acceptance "in the Beloved." Thus the believer is
bidden to come up higher, and is enabled to exercise the privilege of
rejoicing in God, and drawing near to him in holy confidence, saying,
"Abba, Father."

"So may we go from strength to strength,
And daily grow in grace,
Till in thine image raised at length,
We see thee face to face."

EVENING:

"The night also is thine."
-- Psalms 74:16

Yes, Lord, thou dost not abdicate thy throne when the sun goeth down,
nor dost thou leave the world all through these long wintry nights to
be the prey of evil; thine eyes watch us as the stars, and thine arms
surround us as the zodiac belts the sky. The dews of kindly sleep and
all the influences of the moon are in thy hand, and the alarms and
solemnities of night are equally with thee. This is very sweet to me
when watching through the midnight hours, or tossing to and fro in
anguish. There are precious fruits put forth by the moon as well as by
the sun: may my Lord make me to be a favoured partaker in them.

The night of affliction is as much under the arrangement and control of
the Lord of Love as the bright summer days when all is bliss. Jesus is
in the tempest. His love wraps the night about itself as a mantle, but
to the eye of faith the sable robe is scarce a disguise. From the first
watch of the night even unto the break of day the eternal Watcher
observes his saints, and overrules the shades and dews of midnight for
his people's highest good. We believe in no rival deities of good and
evil contending for the mastery, but we hear the voice of Jehovah
saying, "I create light and I create darkness; I, the Lord, do all
these things."

Gloomy seasons of religious indifference and social sin are not
exempted from the divine purpose. When the altars of truth are defiled,
and the ways of God forsaken, the Lord's servants weep with bitter
sorrow, but they may not despair, for the darkest eras are governed by
the Lord, and shall come to their end at his bidding. What may seem
defeat to us may be victory to him.

"Though enwrapt in gloomy night,
We perceive no ray of light;
Since the Lord himself is here,
'Tis not meet that we should fear."

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WOW WORSHIP 2006, by Various Artists
Fly away on the wings of the year's best worship songs! Two CDs.
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
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My Utmost For His Highest : "How Can I Personally Partake In The Atonement?"

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December 23, 2007

HOW CAN I PERSONALLY PARTAKE IN THE ATONEMENT?

But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of
Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 6:14

http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=ga+6:14&sr=1

The Gospel of Jesus Christ always forces an issue of will. Do I
accept God's verdict on sin in the Cross of Christ? Have I the
slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified
with His death, to be killed right out to all interest in sin, in
worldliness, in self - to be so identified with Jesus that I am
spoilt for every thing else but Him? The great privilege of
discipleship is that I can sign on under His Cross, and that means
death to sin. Get alone with Jesus and either tell Him that you do
not want sin to die out in you; or else tell Him that at all costs
you want to be identified with His death. Immediately you transact in
confident faith in what Our Lord did on the Cross, a supernatural
identification with His death takes place, and you will know with a
knowledge that passeth knowledge that your "old man" is crucified
with Christ. The proof that your old man is crucified with Christ is
the amazing ease with which the life of God in you enables you to
obey the voice of Jesus Christ.

Every now and again, Our Lord lets us see what we would be like if it
were not for Himself; it is a justification of what He said -
"Without Me ye can do nothing." That is why the bedrock of
Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus. We
mistake the ecstasy of our first introduction into the Kingdom for
the purpose of God in getting us there; His purpose in getting us
there is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus
Christ means.

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LOOK GREAT, FEEL GREAT: 12 KEYS TO ENJOYING A HEALTHY LIFE NOW, by Joyce Meyer
Joyce guides us to a healthier way of living, reminding us that turning
every issue over to God gives us the strength to make lasting changes.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?250

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Praying with Paul : "No Distinctions"

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NO DISTINCTIONS

Colossians 3:5-10

http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+3:5-10

Dear Father,

Let me live in the light of your truth about myself - that my old
nature has been put off, with its baggage of practices, and that I
have put on a new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after
the image of its creator.

Help us to make no distinctions regarding origins, heredity, or
traditions, but to see Christ in all believers.

Help us to let Christ be in us, to transform and renew every fiber
of our being and of our relationships.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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WJD! -- Rich with Grace -- Luke 23:44-46

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Rich with Grace

It was about noon, but the whole area became dark until three
o'clock in the afternoon. There was no sun! The curtain in
the temple was torn into two pieces. Jesus shouted, "Father,
I give you my life." After Jesus said this, he died.

-- Luke 23:44-46 (ERV)

KEY THOUGHT:
These few words are filled with great richness. Jesus' death occurs in
deep darkness; darkness has its way for a brief spell before its
stranglehold on us is broken forever by Jesus' resurrection. The veil
is torn in the Temple; Jesus opens up the way for us to enter the Holy
of Holies with confidence and find grace at the Mercy Seat of God. In
his final breath, Jesus entrusts everything to his Father in faith; in
our worst of moments, we can know that no matter how forsaken we may
feel, God will bring us to himself in glory. Jesus takes his last
breath and dies; each of us must one day give up our last breath, but
because of Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection, we can die with
confidence. Which message do you need most today? Choose one and look
to Jesus and trust in his grace.

TODAY'S PRAYER:
Father, what can I say in response to the gift of your Son? All praise
to you, the God Almighty, the Father of mercy, and the Sovereign God of
grace. Jesus, thank you for your example and the price you paid to
provide it for me. Now I finish this prayer with the request that you,
O Holy Spirit, fill and empower me to have the same trust in my
struggles as the Lord displayed as he faced his trials. In the name of
Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen.

>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
>> available as a book. Click below to order!

http://images.ultracart.com/aff/ACU9/1414/108/185/575/0/index.html

>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:

http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/1223-wjd.html

>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!

http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Luke+23:44-46&sr=1&t=erv

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Today's Verse : John 3:16

Today's KJV Verse : John 3:16

Daily Wisdom NIV : Proverbs 27:1

Daily Wisdom KJV : Proverbs 27:1

Quotemeal: "When you carry out acts of ..."

Daily Heartlight -- December 23, 2007

Morning & Evening -- Luke 14:10 and Psalms 74:16

My Utmost For His Highest : "How Can I Personally Partake In The Atonement?"

Praying with Paul : "No Distinctions"

WJD! -- Rich with Grace -- Luke 23:44-46