Dr. Gene Selander talks to us today about it being a White Christmas. Under the old system in the law of Moses, the sacrifices were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship each year. God cancelled the first covenant of works in order to establish the second covenant of grace. He wants us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all time! His death was sufficient for the world but only becomes efficient if we ask for salvation. A White Christmas is only possible with Christ. There are 4 "fear nots" of Christmas: 1. The "fear not" of salvation. 2. The "fear not" of the humanly impossible. 3. The "fear not" of unanswered prayer. 4. The "fear not" of immediate obedience.

Dr. Gene Selander discusses The Colors of Christmas. He talks about the spirit of giving. There are 6 points: 1. How do I give? Anonymously is best, but ok to be recognized. 2. The benefits of giving. 3. God's giving should inspire our giving. 4. When giving, there should be no strings attached. 5. God's gift doesn't change 6. We should put our giving into practice. We should give more and give freely.

Dr. Gene Selander looks at The Colors of Christmas. Information from various polls and studies indicate that many people are depressed, unhappy with their jobs, exhausted, feel unappreciated or underpaid. Some feel they would be better off dead. In Isaiah 8, it reads that people at that time were weary and hungry, there was rage and shaking of fists at heaven and cursing their king and their God. What are we hanging on to? Are we "blue" this Christmas? We should see the "JOY" in our lives, in Christmas. Dr. Selander shares quotes from various people... Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian. Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow. Joy is the business of heaven. Joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of Christ. Joy is found where Jesus reigns. His royal titles are: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Our trouble is that we want peace without the prince. God's gift of peace of mind and heart is all we need. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!

Dr. Gene Selander wraps up the Generosity Series with "Why We Give". The focus is why we give... or why not. If we know why we are giving but haven't figured out how to do it yet, we will figure it out. The two truths of generosity are: I. We are generous because we know who God is. II. We are generous because we know who we are in relation to God. He is the owner and creator of everything and we are the temporary managers or stewards of what He has given us. We are to "employ and enjoy" everything He has given us, yet we need to be responsible and honoring and be generous with others. It is healthy to give. We benefit by doing good because it makes a difference in all our lives, it expresses who God is as the owner and us as the stewards and it blesses our souls and quality of our lives. We should give all we can. We give because He gave us everything - His only Son. Winston Churchill said, "You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give." Give it all so that others may see Christ in us.

Dr. Gene Selander continues with the Generosity Series explaining the difference between 'Worldly Giving' and 'Kingdom Generosity'. The verses tell about the poor widow who gave what she had. There are: I. Three things about God: a. Interested in our giving. b. Interested in our attitude. c. Interested in our generosity. II. Three things about the People: a. They gave as well. b. Their gifts were appreciated. c. Their gifts were motivated by obedience. III. Three things about the Woman: a. More interested in others. b. More interested in faith. c. More interested in total surrender. She was completely unselfish and more interested in surrendering to God and she trusted and believed in Him. A great example of Kingdom Generosity - giving it all!

Dr. Gene Selander continues with The Beatitude series. The Beatitudes should be the attitude in each of us. The birthmarks that appear on us as Christ's followers. The trained eye will always see more... this applies spiritually as well. How's our spiritual eye? Can we see God? It all depends on how happy, blessed, and fulfilled is the person who's pure in spirit, pure in heart, and pure in their motives. There is the fear of being mixed in our motives and not pure in heart and spirit. The ultimate destination is for His people to see His glory and give Him praise. "Pure in motives" means to be unmixed. The seat of your emotions/the heart is the steering wheel of your life. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. That's where the motives get mixed. A decision of the will is where the emotions completely surrender to God. When we are going to do acts of mercy, prayer and fasting, we need to do these righteous acts in righteous ways. If we are pure in spirit, we are going to be: 1. Conscious of the presence of God. 2. Content with praise of God.

Dr. Gene Selander continues with The Beatitudes series. He reminds us that the beatitudes are attitudes that should be in you! The "flower" of this beatitude is Matthew 7:1-6... Do not judge so that you will not be judged. There are three things we should know about mercy. 1. The definition of mercy. To understand God's love, we have to know His wrath. Jesus feels with us because He has already felt it. Compassion is a balance of grace and truth with the Spirit. 2. The characteristics of mercy. Two things: 1. Be kind in your criticism and judgments. 2. Always be in a position to forgive. 3. The description of mercy. We are talking about personal condemnation/perpetual fault-finding. We need to find a better method. Three things if you judge incorrectly: 1. You expose yourself to the same judgment. 2. You raise the standard of your own judgment. 3. You are incapable of judging others... you need to get the log out of your own eye first! The only way we can be merciful is to have Christ as the standard (not us) and to let the Word of God (scripture)do the judging!

Dr. Gene Selander continues with The Beatitudes series. You can get all of God you want. God will take you as far as you want to go. He will humble and test us when we do not seek Him. He allows us to fail to make us hungry for Him. You become satisfied when you meet Him and allow Him to work in your life... you want more and more and more! We should be a self-feeder. Three characteristics of a person who hungers and thirsts: 1. They have the right affections (vs. 19-21). 2. They have the right allegiances (vs. 24). 3. They have the right ambitions (vs. 33). If we are under God's control, we should have a banquet/buffet appetite for Him!

Dr. Gene Selander continues with the Beatitudes series with "Blessed Are the Meek". In Greek, meekness is a term for the domestication of wild animals. A person is meek when they are: 1. God controlled. 2. Love controlled. 3. Eternity controlled. Controlling our spirits takes a lot of effort. To be meek, you control the energy, talent and spirit and direct it to useful service. The promise is that the meek shall inherit the earth. There is real power in being controlled by God and not by ourselves. The Father likes to see us run the race in full stride, running the race of endurance, keeping the faith and finishing strong.

Dr. Gene Selander continues with the Beatitudes series, "Blessed Are They That Mourn". Whenever man wants to make a better world, he will change conditions. Whenever God wants to make a better world, He will change someone's character. Conditions are not the issue. God works on the inside and religion works on the outside. Sin can have a powerful impact on our lives. We need to lament over our spiritual condition or sin will penetrate, pervert and perish our spiritual condition. When we are poor in spirit and tired and we confess and lament/mourn, God comes closer. He shows up and we feel His nearness and comfort.