The thread follows the needle!

Matt. 1:24 ~ "And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."

The Bible defines faith with obedience and obedience with faith. In other words, they are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. Obedience is doing what God has said. Obedience is not doing what others say, or doing what other say God has said, or doing what you wish God has said. It is simply doing what God says.

The Bible uses some interesting figures to represent Christians and their relationship to God: Vine an branches, Sculptor and clay, Shepherd and sheep.

An African convert used another metaphor. He prayed: "O Lord, You are the needle and I am the thread." Having just visited a school where girls were learning to sow, he noticed a simple principle: wherever the needle went, the thread followed. That, he decided, represented his relationship to God. If he would stay close to the Lord, praying, reading His Word, depending entirely upon Him and following Him, he would make it to heaven. He was simply the thread following the needle.

Each year as Christmas rolls around, different thoughts come to mind. "Vision of sugar plums dance in our heads." You may drive through your neighborhood and see an elaborate nativity display. Perhaps you’ll even attend a play, with children or adults reenacting the precious events that brought our Lord and Savior into this world.

Throughout this season, however, and throughout the rest of your life, I hope that you will take with you, the lessons that we are the thread attached to the needle that is piercing the barriers of darkness found in this life. You know I love ya, Don