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

Struck by a Star

"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east^[b] and have come to worship him." The Magi from the East in Matthew 2:2.

"We saw his star and came to worship"... this verse struck me this morning. It was the star that guided the Magi to the Baby Jesus. It was the star that lead the Magi to worship.

I was struck by the fact that we have been called to be Jesus' star today. We are to be the ones that guide the world around us to the Christ and open opportunities of worship. We are to strike people with a "Jesus" attitude and lifestyle that will guide them to worship.

I have said this many times, "Worship is declaring how much God is worth to you." In many cases, Jesus does not have any worth in a non-believer's life. Therefore, it is our task to show them how much He is worth in our lives and be so good at it the non-believer gains a desire to gain something you have because of your relationship with the God you love. We are to be their star.

The question, "How many people follow your star?" I need to work on my star even more...I need to polish it regularly, change the light bulb when it needs it, and display it with humility and grace. I am praying that "we" will follow the star. I also pray we will follow the star's example and guide other's to the manger.

You know I love ya - Don