THE STAR

The great astronomer Kepler discovered that in Christ's birth year there was an unusual occurrence among the planets.

He found that in that year Jupiter & Saturn, which are generally in remote parts of the sky, came three times so near together that to the unassisted eye the rays of one were absorbed by the other, & their combination gave an extraordinary brilliant light, which continued for some months.

- F. B. Meyer. (moreillustrations.com)

Mat 2:1-2 (GNV): “When Jesus then was born at Bethlehem in Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came Wise men from the East to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is the King of the Jews that is born? for we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him.”

“The Bible is to us what the star was to the wise men; but if we spend all our time in gazing upon it, observing its motions, and admiring its splendor, without being led to Christ by it, the use of it will be lost to us.” -  Thomas Adams.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

In a survey, nearly a third of those questioned stated, that of all the persons mentioned in the Christmas story, they identified the most with the shepherds. The shepherds were average, ordinary people & were invited to see the birth of the King of kings!

- (ministry127.com)

“If sheep do not have the constant care of a shepherd, they will go the wrong way, unaware of the dangers at hand. They have been known to chew themselves right off the side of a mountain. And so, because sheep are sheep, they need shepherds to care for them. The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd. Therefore, the better the shepherd, the healthier the sheep.” -  Kay Arthur.

“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus continued. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn 10:11, NTE).

“Our Good Shepherd has become the model for under-shepherds. His great concern is the good of the sheep. A good shepherd gives himself to the sheep. A thief comes to get something form the flock - wool or mutton. Jesus, our Lord, made every personal claim committed to the blessing of His flock; even to giving His life that they might live.” -  Walter J. Chantry.

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

In January of 1956, Jim Elliot & 4 other missionaries gave their lives in Ecuador in their effort to reach the Waodani (Auca) Indians.

This fierce group was known to attack any outsiders, but the vision for reaching them with the gospel compelled these young men to take the risk.

Not long after they set up camp near the Waodani village they were attacked by warriors. Refusing to defend their lives with force, the missionaries were killed.

The news flashed around the world & the story of courage & sacrifice challenged many to take up the missionary cause.

Even today Elliot’s words live on: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

In a very real sense, Jim Elliot & his missionary friends were living the spirit of Christmas.

They were willing to give up the comforts of home & promising careers & to ultimately lay down their lives to take the gospel to those who had never heard. They could have fought back to defend themselves, but they chose not to.

This is what Jesus did for us in coming to Earth. Paul wrote:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9 NIV).

Nothing of lasting significance & importance for God is ever accomplished without great sacrifice. Whether it is our time, our talent, our treasure, or even our lives, we must be willing to give up what is temporary for the sake of what is eternal. When we do, we are following the example & pattern of Christ & walking in His steps.

Source: Jim Elliot, Kathleen White (ministry127.com)

WHAT STOPPED THE FIRING?

A day was dawning on a battlefield in Northern France, through a fog so thick that no one could see more than a few yards from the trenches.

In the night the Germans had drawn back their lines a little & the French had gone forward, but between the two positions a lonely farmhouse was still standing.

As the sun rose, heavy guns began to boom. But suddenly on both sides the firing ceased & there fell a strange, dead silence.

For there in the green meadow, crawling on hands & knees was a little baby who appeared perfectly happy & contented, and the baby's laugh was heard.

Not a shot was fired.

- Sunday School Times. (moreillustrations.com)

The birth of Christ brought about PEACE - peace between God & man and man & man - for all who accept Him.

Isa 9:6 (CEB): “A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity - hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory - because at the Father's will Jesus became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross.” - J.I. Packer.

FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION

By George Washington, 1789

“WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection, aid and favors…

Now, THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.”

(Americans observe Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of November every year.)

- (moreillustrations.com)

1 Thess 5:18 (CEB): “Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

“Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow.” -  Henry Ward Beecher.

MISTAKES

There are about 3 things a person can do when he makes a mistake:
 
A.He can resolve that he will never make another, which is fine, but impracticable.
 
B.He may let that mistake make a coward of him, which is foolish.
 
C.He can make up his mind that he will let it be his teacher, and so profit by the experience, that if the situation comes his way again, he will know just how to meet it.
 
- Sunshine Magazine (moreillustrations.com)
 
Js 3:2 (ISV): “For all of us make many mistakes. If someone does not make any mistakes when he speaks, he is perfect and able to control his whole body.
 
“To err is human, but when you wear out the eraser before the pencil, you're overdoing it.” - Rotary Club News.

TRIUMPH REQUIRES SACRIFICE

During World War II a young soldier named David Webster of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne wrote to his mother:

"Stop worrying about me. I joined the parachutists to fight. I intend to fight. If necessary, I shall die fighting, but don’t worry about this because no war can be won without young men dying. Those things which are precious are saved only by sacrifice."

Scripture often refers to the Christian life as a war - a spiritual battlefield. To answer the question of hymn writer Isaac Watts:

Must I be carried to the skies

On flowery beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize

 And sailed through bloody seas?

There is no victory apart from sacrifice. Just as our salvation was purchased at great cost, overcoming the enemy & walking in the Spirit require that we be willing to give up some things in order to triumph.

- ‘Band of Brothers’, Stephen E. Ambros. (ministry127.com)

“And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy - the kind he can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?” – Paul (Rom 12:1 TLB).

TOMORROW!

They were having a great banquet one night at Thebes in Greece. The chief ruler, Archias & the other magnates of the city had taken their seats at the banqueting table; and the dancers & singers had commenced their entertainment.

There were enemies plotting against the life of Archias & his companions. In the midst of the banquet a friend brought to him a sealed letter, warning him that he was in peril of assassination.

Archias glanced at it & then, laying it aside, said:

"Pleasure tonight. Business tomorrow."

In a short time the assassins, who were diguised as female entertainers, drew their daggers and slew Archias & his companions.

For the great business of eternal life there is only one time & that it today.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Hear what God says: “When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; when the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you.” Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favor; today is the day to be saved! (2 Cor 6:2 GNT).

“Tomorrow is the devil's day, but today is God's. Satan does not care how spiritual your intentions are, or how holy your resolutions, if only they are determined to be done tomorrow.” -  J.C. Ryle.

RELATIONSHIPS

One Saturday evening a visitor appeared at Pastor Rutherford's door. Being welcomed as a guest, he took his place with the rest of the family at family worship that evening & was asked in his turn.

Rutherford asked him, "How many Commandments are there?" His reply was, "Eleven."

Rutherford corrected him, but his guest maintained his position, quoting for authority the words of Christ:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.” (Jn 13:34 RGT)

- (moreillustrations.com)

“Four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship to God while the other six deal with our relationships with people. But all ten are about relationships.” -  Rick Warren.

“God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.” -  Billy Graham.

TRUST ILLUSTRATED

A bridge builder named Scott a few years ago superintended the erection of a railway bridge in Crawford, Ind. When that bridge was finished, he knew every joint in it & what it would stand.
 
When the time came to put it into use the engineer asked Mr. Scott, before venturing to drive his train across: "Is the bridge all safe?"
 
By way of reply the bridge builder laid his own body under the new bridge & signaled the train to come on.
 
- New Century Leader (moreillustrations.com)
 
1 Cor 1:9 (NABRE): “God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
 
“Because God is Faithful, He can be trusted fully to completely carry out His commitments to us in Christ.” -  Jimmy Swaggart.

INTRODUCING THE PREACHER

When Dr. Pierce Harris of First Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, spoke recently at a prison work camp, the prisoner introducing him recalled earlier days of association with the preacher.

"Many years ago," he said, "two boys lived in the same community in north Georgia & attended the same school, played with the same bunch of fellows, and went to the same Sunday School.

One of them dropped out of Sunday School because he felt he had outgrown it. The other boy kept on going because he felt that it really meant something in his life.

The boy who dropped out is the one who is making this introduction today. The boy who kept going to Sunday School is the famous preacher who will preach to us this morning."

- Wesleyan Methodist  (moreillustrations.com)

Heb 10:25 (TLB): “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.”

“All over this nation, all over this world there are people going to church today and they say they are believers, but until you can take what you've been taught and bring it to the place you gave up - you will never be the radical believer that you need to be for the times in which we live.” -  T.D. Jakes.

MISTAKEN

The meek-looking gentleman arose hastily & offered his seat in the car to the self-assertive woman who had entered & glared at him.

She gave him no thanks as she seated herself, but she spoke in a heavy voice that filled the whole car:

"What are you standing up there for? Come here & sit on my lap."

The modest man turned scarlet as he huskily faltered:

"I fear, madam, that I am not worthy of such an honor."

"How dare you!" the woman boomed. "You know perfectly well I was speaking to my niece behind you."

- (moreillustrations.com)

"One thing that I have learned over time is that when you make a mistake, recognize it, admit to it and figure out why the mistake was made. Then do everything in your power to avoid making the same mistake again." -  Dr. Marshall Hennington.

“So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now!” – Paul (2 Cor 5:16 TLB).

BROKEN FELLOWSHIP

In the factory, work was going on full speed & every machine was working & producing to its utmost limit. Suddenly a main machine came to a standstill, and the power had to be switched off, making the other machines also idle.

The work had come to a standstill. What had happened? Just this - the belt round the main pulley shaft & that particular machine had snapped, and the whole shop was thrown idle.

Fellowship with God by His Spirit is like the belt.

When it is preserved intact, the service of the Lord goes on spontaneously; but, when fellowship is broken, the work comes to a standstill until fellowship is re-established.

- (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 1:9 (GNT): “God is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

“Most Christians do not have fellowship with God; they have fellowship with each other about God.” -  Paris Reidhead.

BOASTING

When the Cornerstone Bank in Waco, Nebraska, was robbed of some $6,000 in November of 2012, the bank employees were able to give the police a fairly good description of the teenage girl who pulled off the crime and the car in which she escaped.

As it turned out, the investigators didn’t really need those descriptions, because the thief recorded a YouTube video titled “Chick bank robber” boasting of her smartness.

- (ministry127.com)

“The truth is attention seekers are looking for validation. They want to know that they are worthy.” – Unknown Author.

Js 4:16 (EHV): “But right now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

“Least doers are the greatest boasters.” -  William Gurnall.

THE SECOND COMING

Mr. Mark Kagan, speaking at one of the Advent Testimony meetings, said that when on a visit to Palestine he & some other Christians gathered together in an upper room within the city wall of Jerusalem, to remember Christ's sacrifice & death.

After the meeting was over, he & another friend went to the Mount of Olives; and as they passed along they caught up a Jew who said that he also was going to the Mount of Olives.

"We orthodox Jews," he said, "as we watch the things that are happening in the world, cannot come to any other conclusion than that the Messiah's coming must be near at hand. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and I am going there every day that I may be ready to give Him a welcome."

Seeing that Israel is making such preparations for His coming, what is the Church doing?

- Christian Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

“Now, a crown is waiting for me. I will get that crown for being right with God. The Lord is the judge who judges rightly, and he will give me the crown on that Day. He will give that crown not only to me but to all those who have waited with love for him to come again.” – Paul (2 Tim 4:8 ICB).

“The apostolic church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death and heaven.” - Alexander MacLaren.

GENEROSITY

The story is told that one day a beggar by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander the Great as he passed by.

The man was poor & wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no right even to lift a solicitous hand. Yet the Emperor threw him several gold coins.

A courtier was astonished at his generosity & commented:

"Sir, copper coins would adequately meet a beggar's need. Why give him gold?"

Alexander responded in royal fashion:

"Cooper coins would suit the beggar's need, but gold coins suit Alexander's giving."

- (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.com)

1 Tim 6:18 (NLT): “Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.”

“Want to snatch a day from the shackles of boredom? Do overgenerous deeds, acts beyond reimbursement. Kindness without compensation. Do a deed for which you cannot be repaid.” -  Max Lucado.

PROFESSING OR POSSESSING

Come with me to an underpass outside of the freight yards of one of our great railroad centers. Here are 2 or 3 men – hobos, vagabonds, tramps.

One says, “I hope that I will have a million dollars.” Another says, “I hope that I will have two million dollars.” A third says, “I hope that I will have ten million dollars!”

The total assets of the three amount to forty-three cents!

Now go to the paneled board room of one of New York’s great banks. Here are several captains of industry. One explains that the expansion of our economy calls for the expenditure of 60 millions dollars to build a new chemical plant. A Du Pont says that he will put up 15 million dollars; a Rockefeller agrees to duplicate this sum; a Ford & a Mellon nod their agreement & the matter is settled.

But you ask, “Gentlemen! Do you really have money like that?” They nod with assurance & say, “We know that we have it.”

“You mean that you hope that you will have it?” we question. “No,” they reply, “we know that we have it.”

The difference between a tramp & a multimillionaire is the difference between a professing Christian - who hopes that he will have eternal life and a possessing Christian - who knows that he has eternal life.

- Donald Barnhouse (ministry127.com)

Rom 8:16 (TLB): “For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children.”

“If any man is not sure that he is in Christ, he ought not to be easy one moment until he is sure. Dear friend, without the fullest confidence as to your saved condition, you have no right to be at ease, and I pray you may never be so. This is a matter too important to be left undecided.” -  Charles Spurgeon.

CHOOSING RIGHT INFLUENCE

Franklin Roosevelt’s closest adviser during much of his presidency was a man named Harry Hopkins. During World War II, when his influence with Roosevelt was at its peak, Hopkins held no official Cabinet position. Moreover, Hopkins’s closeness to Roosevelt caused many to regard him as a shadowy, sinister figure. As a result he was a major political liability to the President.

A political foe once asked Roosevelt:

“Why do you keep Hopkins so close to you? You surely realize that people distrust him & resent his influence.”

Roosevelt replied: 

“Someday you may well be sitting here where I am now as President of the United States. And when you are, you’ll be looking at that door over there & knowing that practically everybody who walks through it wants something out of you. You’ll learn what a lonely job this is & you’ll discover the need for somebody like Harry Hopkins, who asks for nothing except to serve you.”

Winston Churchill rated Hopkins as one of the half-dozen most powerful men in the world in the early 1940s. And the sole source of Hopkin’s power was his willingness to serve.

- (ministry127.com)

“I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.  All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.” – Paul (Phil 2:20-21 NLT)

“God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.” -  D.L. Moody.

BE PREPARED TO GRAB OPPORTUNITIES

An ambitious young man asked a great merchant to reveal the secret of his success.

"Just jump at your opportunity," answered the merchant.

"But," queried the young man, "how can I know when my opportunity is coming?"

"You can't," replied the merchant. "Just keep jumping."

- Friendly Chat  (moreillustrations.com)

“I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” - Abraham Lincoln.

2 Tim 2:21 (HCSB): “So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

“God is preparing His heroes. And when the opportunity comes, He can fit them into their places in a moment. And the world will wonder where they came from.” -  A.B. Simpson.