May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

After singing about many aspects of his walk with the Lord such as the law of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the fear of the Lord etc, King David ends his song with a little prayer, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight..."

Following is an extract from Barnes Notes on the Bible commentary which helps us understand it better:

Let the words of my mouth - The words that I speak; all the words that I speak. And the meditation of my heart - The thoughts of my heart. Be acceptable in thy sight - Be such as thou wilt approve; or, be such as will be pleasing to thee; such as will give thee delight or satisfaction; such as will be agreeable to thee. This supposes:

(a) that God has such control over our thoughts and words, that he can cause us to order them aright;
(b) that it is proper to pray to him to exert such an influence on our minds that our words and thoughts may be right and pure;
(c) that it is one of the sincere desires and wishes of true piety that the thoughts and words may be acceptable or pleasing to God.

Though a simple prayer, it has such deep meaning in it. It would be a great idea to add it to our prayers everyday too; what do you say?

And wouldn’t it be better to start it today, on the very last day of 2019?!

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Matthew 6:25

Seems to be a practical advice, but to think about it, it seems quite impractical too. How is it even possible not to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear. Isn't that the first thing that comes to our minds when we start the day? - when we plan a get together? - when we are invited to an event?

We don't really think, "Oh I am alive and well that's enough to make it through the day"; do we? May be we should. I guess the emphasis is on the words "do not worry" Of course we need to eat, drink and dress well, but what we learn here is that it shouldn't be our primary concern.

As we read towards the end of the same passage in verse 33, our focus should be on 'Seeking His Kingdom' then all these things will be taken care of by Him. Shall we?

Happy Monday folks!

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Are we grateful this morning? Let us prove it in our worship service today. Have a blessed last Sunday of the year!

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. John 7:37

Have we had enough of Him today?

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Here's a direct message for someone who needs to hear it: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice! No matter what your circumstances be, please be reminded you are called to rejoice, to feel the inner calm or complete joy.

Is it even possible?, you might ask. Yes it is! Otherwise the Scriptures won't instruct us to. Let us consciously make an effort to be filled over and over with the divine love and peace which brings true JOY.

Let us pray: "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for reminding us to rejoice always. Please help us Lord to rejoice - in all circumstances. Please help us to truly understand that all things happen for good for those who love you Lord - even when things don't seem to go as we wish, Lord. Please help us overcome our unhappiness Lord. Thank you again for your love and grace which is sufficient at all times Lord. In Jesus's mighty name we pray, Amen"

Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things. Joel 2:21

"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Today is day 362 of this year. We only have 4 more days to usher in a brand new year! As we close in on the current year, here's a reminder to rejoice in the Lord.

Grieving makes one weak; rejoicing gives strength.

There may have been circumstances that made it seem impossible at times; but His grace had been sufficient. If not for that we would have succumbed to our weakness. There is all the more reason to rejoice in the Lord!

We are also asked to share our blessings with the less fortunate amongst us - giving them a reason to rejoice in the Lord. Let us not forget that.

I'll repeat the Scripture again to let it sink in...

"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Let us not be just hearers of the Word; but doers as well. (James1:22)

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Romans 2:13

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thank you for joining here at the coffee table amidst your busy schedule for the day. As we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, with our friends and family, here's a quick reminder:

Do not become weary in doing good!

Our efforts of good will though seem unnoticed and under appreciated by people around, it is well registered in the sight of the Lord and will be duly rewarded.

Jesus himself has explained it in His own words in the Scripture portion below:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’  Matthew 25:34-40

It is important to do good so that we can be part of this blessed group of flock mentioned above. The gentle reminder from the Holy Spirit this morning is to not grow weary of doing good. In other words, let us continue doing good!

Merry Christmas once again!

Today's reading: Proverbs 11 Click here to read online (NIV)

Verse of the day: "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." 11:25 (KJV)

This verse reminds me of another verse from Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

We can find numerous other verses in the similar lines. The bottom line is 'Being generous'.

My Mom always encourages us whenever we get discouraged of giving: "It is a blessing being at the giving end rather than at the receiving end." How true!

Indeed, giving is better than receiving. Even when it comes to prayer, giving praises to God is far better than always asking God for one thing or another.

It may seem like no one is watching our giving or that only we are giving all the time. But remember nothing is hidden from the Lord's eyes and He will repay you for what you have given. Let us earn to be givers and not so much of receivers! Because that's the true blessing!

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

~ Psalm 13

A perfect example of how King David was like every one of us. Again, a perfect example of how King David was unlike most of us.

He was like us with his despair; yet he was unlike us in his ability to rejoice in his despair.

He starts this psalm in agony but ends it with such joy.

His questions seem like he is doubting God; but the answers come right back with such assurance of his salvation.

He was hurting, on the verge of giving up, yet not quite. He had mastered the art of quieting his soul time and time again when situations called for an uproar.

King David is indeed a great example to learn many things from.

Let us pray for such a heart - a heart like King David's. A heart that trusts in God's unfailing love, even though the human nature of despair overtakes us. A heart that praises more and complains less. A heart that always seeks the Lord. A heart that is forever connected and in tune with the Maker. A heart that claims to be a friend of God. Precious.

God bless you folks!

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Psalm 96:9

It is such a privilege we enjoy to be able to freely worship the Lord. I say privilege because most are denied the fellowship of believers and some are even persecuted and killed for coming together and worshiping the Lord!

Even those of us who live in a free country must consider it a privilege and thank the Lord for the good health and transportation which enable us to go and worship the Lord.

True! We can worship Him everyday within the confines of our homes by ourselves; but it is nowhere close to the sheer joy of worshiping the Lord in the fellowship of believers. When we come together as a Church to worship Him we are made complete - as we are one body - His bride!

Let us be mindful of that as we go on to worship the Lord today. Let us go into His presence with singing, dancing and a heart full of praise. Let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!

It is His love that connects us across the miles. It is the same Savior we all serve. It is His salvation that makes us one big happy family of faith.

Come, let us bow down in worship! Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!

For by you I have advanced against a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. Psalm 18:29

Psalm 18 is a song of King David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

If we can learn one thing from King David, it is how to be truly humble. He was a great king who had won many battles. He had the perfect 'rags to riches' story. He could have easily taken the credit for it all; but he was careful not to. For every little thing or big achievement in his life he acknowledged the mercy of God.

Being a king, making such statements that emphasized his dependency on God might have been shunned at by his advisers, ridiculed by his adversaries and was not considered "politically correct" by his inner circle. Yet, he cared the least for what people thought of him and never hesitated to praise the Lord for his advancing career.

He was not ashamed to share about the perils he encountered and the emotional turmoils during the process.  In verses 4,5 & 6 he says, "The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.  In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help."

No wonder he was a man after God's own heart!

Now, the question is how many of us can truly say we can relate to King David in these aspects? Are we more like him or unlike him?  Do we realize it is His grace that we are not consumed? If we answered "No" let us start working on our attitude.

Let us make this our sincere prayer: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.

When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.

Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.

But you will not leave in haste
or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

~ Isaiah 52:7-12

First of all, what is refuge?

Looking it up in the dictionary we get the definition: "a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble."

So taking refuge in the Lord means finding safety or shelter from pursuit, danger, or trouble in the Lord. Meaning, anytime we are afraid, troubled, pursued we will run to His presence.

King David could relate to being in danger, he was being pursued; he was troubled all the time. Yet he sings constantly, 

* "But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge." Psalm 94:22

* The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9

*  The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

* I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:2

* I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge. Psalm 71:7

Just the fact that he keeps on repeating the same idea proves that he was very much in the habit of doing it - taking refuge in the Lord.

How do we fare? When the enemy strikes, how do we react? Do we at least know these Scriptures to give us comfort? Do we fight it ourselves or run to God who is our refuge? 

May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Ruth 2:12

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

Interestingly when God created man, He made him in His image (Genesis 1:27) - however not on the same thought level. No wonder our thoughts are not the same as His thoughts and our ways are not His.

What are some of His thoughts and ways that clearly outshines our thoughts and ways? For one, unconditional love - which He is a Master of - and which we will never be.

Forgiving is another. We don't fully forgive do we? We may somewhat forgive but as long as our memory lives we may not be able to forget it, which means that we have not fully forgiven. But when it comes to the Lord, He forgives as if we never sinned and erases it completely from His memory and more often than not from our memory too.

How about dying on the cross for our sins. Will we do that? No, I didn't think so either. But the Lord died for us when we were still sinners. That is love beyond measure.

Holiness is another. God is the Holiest of hollies, but our "righteousness" is compared to rags.

Not just these obvious traits, there are various other ways our thoughts differ from the Lord's. We expect certain things to fall certain way logically but God knows better and changes course altogether. Only when all is said and done, we will be able to look back and cherish the wonderful ways God led us through certain situation.

His thoughts are different from ours and His ways are far better than ours. Aren't we glad He is not like one us? Let us thank Him for that!

Let your gentleness be evident to all. Philippians 4:5

How is it possible to make our gentleness evident to all? The answer is available in the same passage. Let us look at the context in which this verse is mentioned:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So, what we see from here is that anxiety causes panic - not gentleness. Removing anxiety will increase gentleness. If we present our requests to God with prayer and petition with thanksgiving then the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds thus completely eradicating anxiety.

What are some of the benefits of having gentleness?
* Blessed are the meek (those who are gentle), for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
* For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. Psalm 149:4

Now that we know a thing or two about gentleness, do you now want this fruit in our lives? I believe I do?

The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:10

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

What powerful promises this morning! Praise the Lord!

Though it is widely applicable for all of us believers here at Coffee with Jesus, I can sense that it comes as a direct consolation message to someone in particular going through crying and sorrow this very minute - with no one around to care.

Don't ever think you are alone; you have a great Redeemer - who wipes away your tears, eases your pain, embraces you fully and loves you unconditionally. Amen!

May God bless you and fill you with the promised joy this very day! Repeat the promises to yourself and claim it as your own:

Everlasting joy will crown your head. Gladness and joy will overtake you. Sorrow and sighing will flee away! The Lord will wipe every tear from your eyes!

Can you say amen?

"Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." Joshua 3:15-17

If you haven't already read this passage that narrates the crossing over of the river of Jordan, I strongly recommend you take a few minutes to read it today. Click here to read online.

You will certainly be amazed at the wonderful hand of God as He prepared the way for the Israelites to cross over. You will notice that it was against all odds God stopped the river that day. Let's pay close attention as we read this passage once again. Few things that stand out are:

* Jordan was actually flooding that day (as it was harvest time)
* As soon as the priests' feet touched the water's edge, the upstream water stopped flowing. It was instantaneous, almost magical!
* It piled up in a heap at a great distance away, nowhere close to the people lest they be afraid
* The second half that flows into the sea was completely cut off - as if there was no river at all!
* The priests stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan
* The whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground

There have been similar 'flooding Jordan' situations we have passed through in our lives. If we look back now we will realize how the 'upstream water' had stopped flowing and the 'downstream river' was completely cut off and how we had passed through 'dry land' as if there was no trace of a 'flooding river'.

I can testify for it in my life and I am sure each one of you can too. Let us give praises to God Almighty every time we think of His wonders. From what we know of our past deliverance we can fully trust Him for our future too. Amen!

Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Sons are a heritage from the Lord,
children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

* So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. Zachariah 4:6
* All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." I Samuel 17:47
* Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them--not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God." Hosea 1:7

Sometimes we tend to depend on our might or power, our skills or education, our strength or confidence. We actually think a little too much of our self as if we can take care of our situations.

Then there are times we trust fellow men, "if only he put in a word for me...", "she will understand my situation","mom will take care of the matter", "dad will loan me the money", etc. once again leaning on other support systems for our needs.

We tend to forget that our battle can not be won with our merits. We try hard with all our might and influences and only when all else fail we succumb to the Lord.

The Scripture clearly tells us, it is not who you know or who knows you, that matters, it will be given/done/healed/received/bought/paid for/taken care of, because He says so! Praise the Lord! Amen!

It is therefore very important to learn the word of God on a regular basis so that we know the solution as soon as we smell the problem. We will right away come to the Lord crying, "Not by my might Lord, not by my power too, only by you this can be done Lord; My horses won't save, nor my horsemen, please take charge of the situation Lord and bring victory to your name ..."

You will all agree this is a time saver with guaranteed results. Why not try it then!?

* 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

* It is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves... I Samuel 17:47

* The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

Do we need anymore assurance than what we have in these Scriptures that our victory belongs to the Lord?

Our might or power can not compare to the Spirit of the Lord. No sword or spear can save us as much as our Lord.

There is no guarantee that the swift will win a race or the strong the battle. Can't take it for granted that the "wise"will be fed or  the "brilliant" will be wealthy or the educated will be "favored".

To sum up, nothing in us is worth anything when it comes to providing for our needs. It is all by His grace we survive. It is a little too hard to accept; as we mostly believe we make our living. But that is not true. There are so many things beyond our control that need to work together for us to live our life. No amount of money can ever buy love, joy or good health.

It is all His grace and only GRACE!

But by the grace of God I am what I am. 1 Cor. 15:10

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7

King David was a great king with thousands of chariots and horses. In I Chronicles 18:4 we read: "David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses."

We read in 2 Chronicles 9:25 about the great wealth his son King Solomon had: "Now Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem." I am sure a great deal of this wealth was passed on to him from his father along with the kingdom.

In spite of all that King David was very clear on where to set his heart. He was not counting on the number of his chariots nor his horses but his trust was in the Lord.

He took no pride in his possession nor his abilities but in the name of the Lord alone he trusted. He had complete assurance that it is the Lord who gives him victory not his armies of chariots and horsemen.

He had also taught the same to his son Solomon who writes in Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD".

How about us? Where do we put our trust? What do we teach our children?

"Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:17

We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. Psalm 20:5

What strikes me most in these Scriptures is the goodness of heart from which such abundance of blessings flow. The first was Prophet Eli's response to Hannah crying and praying for a child.

The latter was a song written by King David possibly to bless his son or someone very significant to him; or may be it was to be sung by the choir to him who was the king.

We all would love these blessings for us this morning. Fair enough! Why not wish the same blessing to someone else in need of a word of encouragement today?!

I believe it is an awesome idea to bless others which would then fill our hearts with an abundance of goodness as well.

Whoever believes in me (Jesus), as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. John 7:38

I will remember your miracles of long ago Psalm 77:11

Most of the psalms of King David are around giving thanks, recalling the incidents of past, and giving more thanks to the Lord. What really amuses me is how he often goes back to the very beginning of how God led the Israelites out of Egypt or even before that when God separated Abraham out of his folks, etc. giving thanks for various things that happened many generations before his own generation. Isn't that something?

Have we ever done that? May be we have remembered our grandparents and said thank you lord for blessing me with fine grandparents. But the generation before that? Have we thought of them and thanked the Lord for them in our prayers? Most likely not. Okay, now how about our great great grandparents? Have we ever wondered about them and thanked the Lord for them? Not me. That's what sets apart King  David from most of us.

King David had a very grateful heart that appreciated every single detail of how God worked in his life and the life of his ancestors whom he had read about. Here he sings: "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds."

King David sets a great role model here. Let us follow his example and give thanks to our Lord for everything He has been to us and especially for the elders of generations past who had received the joy of salvation that they had passed on to us.

As for me, I am rejoicing in the Lord for His countless blessings in my life.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. I Peter 5:8

The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Job 1:7

The sudden loneliness & mood swings we experience from time to time, the self pity we so carefully tend to at times the lurking depression though we do not fully admit it, are all nothing but the "roars" of the prowling lion in disguise. Fear, anger, enmity, depression & death are different ways he could attack us. We could fall prey to his cunning tactics so easily if we are not self-controlled and alert against him.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

It is my prayer that the love of Jesus Christ fill your hearts once more - eradicating the fear, anger, enmity, depression and/or thoughts of death anyone reading this might be experiencing this morning.

Resist the devil. Be self-controlled and alert! Submit yourself to God. Jesus loves you! I too love you!

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Malachi 4:6

This was a prophetic message about John the Baptist who came before Christ to prepare the way, preaching people to repent and be baptized. The exact words are repeated again in Luke 1:17 while Zachariah - John's father, was serving at the temple, an angel of the Lord appeared to him to foretell the birth of his son who was to be called John.

The same verse, as is, stand alone, out of context, can still do miracles in our lives. That is the power of the Word of God. We will hold on to this very promise for our families today. Even among the so called christian families rifts between parents and grown children and misunderstandings between adult siblings are not uncommon. Some of us who think we have figured it all out, can't ignore the frictions from time to time. Pride and selfish agenda are main causes for that. Many of us have given up, saying there is nothing we can do about it.

However, prayer can do wonders. Let us pray over our situation using this Scripture today. The Prince of Peace who rules our hearts will heal the wounds and bind the broken hearts. We will rejoice at the family reunion and praise the name of our Lord! Amen!

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Proverbs 51:17

Commonly a broken heart is associated with disappointment in love. But that is not what is mentioned in the Scripture here.

It is the broken heart/spirit that is grieved under a sense of sin; has true repentance for it; is smitten, wounded, and broken with it, by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Clearly King David's spirit was broken when he understood the enormity of his sin against God. His genuine brokenness led him to repentance. He poured out his heart's plea at His feet and received God's forgiveness.

His heart did not remain broken. It was mended by the love of God. We know of this from the very many happy psalms King David has written/sang.

Same way, when we reach out to God with our broken heart, offering a true repentance, He will reach down and calm us immensely with His love.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

Many of us wonder how we can find out the will of God in our lives. Today's Scripture gives us the answer for that.

If we do not conform to this world, but are transformed by the renewing of our mind, then we will know what is the perfect will of God for us.

That arises further questions: What does it mean to conform to the world? How not to conform to the world? How to be transformed by the renewing of our mind?

In the Gospel of Mark when we read about the parable of the sower, chapter 4 verse 19 says, "...the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." 

This is conforming to the world. This is what the ungodly do - they worry for this life, they deceive for wealth and they desire worldly things. But not so are the godly. We need to live a life without conforming to the world.

Ephesians 4:17-32 explains how we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds:

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking...

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is one of the fundamental truth of Christianity yet many stumble by reasoning it. Why is it hard for many to accept the virgin birth of Jesus Christ?

Mainly because they do not read the word (Bible) themselves but look around for hearsay or copy/paste information. They do not seek to find the truth but look for ways to justify their version of the "truth".

Taking the Scriptures out of context, they argue over it. They wish to continue their sinful ways, dismissing God's words as a fairy tale or myth or error in translation. They are blindfolded by the father of lies who is careful about keeping them in the dark.

The prophecy foretold here by Isaiah some 700 years before Christ did come true! As is! Word by word! Not missing out on any detail!

For anyone who doubts I suggest you read through the Bible with an intention of finding out the answers yourself with an unbiased mind.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free! (John 8:32)

Don't be afraid; give it a try! Where to start? That's up to you. Here's the URL link to the online Bible.

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3

The same incident has been recorded in the Gospel or Matthew (26:7) & Mark (14:3) with a mention of  anointing of Jesus' head instead of his feet. Since neither account is wrong we can conclude both Jesus' head and feet were anointed. John says the woman was Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. On the side note, Luke records a similar but different incident by a different woman Luke (7:37).

The very act of pouring out the expensive perfume suggests that Mary didn't give it a second thought when it came to using it for the Lord. She didn't hold back on it, she didn't think what people might say, she didn't wait for permission from her brother or sister, she didn't consider it worth anything, she didn't even consider the poor deserved it better than the Lord Jesus Christ!

This goes hand in hand with what Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians; we read in chapter 3 verse 7 (NLT), "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him."

Our focus today is the after effect of these acts. We read Mary's house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume; Paul led an exemplary life for Christ.

Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:1-2, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Are we spending our best for the Lord? Do we consider all things worthless for the sake of Christ? Have we gained Christ discarding everything else - including our finest - as garbage? Can people sense fragrance filled in our house? Do we give ourselves up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God?

It's a lot of questions this morning; hopefully it will help steer us in the right direction...

Happy December 2019!