DAY #14: December 19, 2010

Christmas is so important - not just because it takes care of your past but...

#2. MY PRESENT CAN BE MANAGED.

I've met more stressed out people in the last six weeks than I have in a long time. I don't know if it's the economy or what, but I think you'd agree that life can wear you down. It gets to you. If you look around it seems people are searching for additional power everywhere.

Notice the best sellers. They are all about power. How to dress for power, how to eat for power, how to shower for power... People are always looking for additional energy. People say "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." Good news. The Christ who came at Christmas 2000 years ago can give you the power to manage your present problems.

Philippians 4:13 says, "I have the strength to face all conditions by the power Christ gives me." You don't know all problems and stresses that Christmas this year in 2010 holds, but you can face them all. God assumes the responsibility to meet your needs. That's amazing. When you give your life to Christ, He assumes responsibility to take care of all your needs.

Romans 8:32 says says, "God gave us His own Son. Can we not trust such a God to give us everything else that we need?"

Even if Satan and all the forces of evil come against us, in the end, God promises the victory. How much is God for us? So much that he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all. The word for “spare” is the same word for “withheld,” used in Genesis 22:12, when God said to Abraham, "You have not withheld even your beloved son from me."

Our major struggle with prayer is not that God doesn’t answer our prayer of help and rescue. What upsets us is that He seldom answers in line with our plans or schedule. At those times we may think that God is intentionally withholding something from us. But God has already given us the greatest gift of all. Remembering God’s gift will help us see that God is working for our good even when we can’t immediately see it. God sacrificed his Son to save us; will he now invalidate that sacrifice by refusing to help and guide believers? No, instead, he promises to give us everything else to bring us to the ultimate goal—our sanctification and glorification.

God says He'll supply all your needs. If He supplies all your needs, what else is left? Nothing.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE! Keep on keeping on.