We have men and women who are ready to put their lives at risk every day to protect the lives of the innocent. Jesus however, our His life up for the ungodly, the unrighteous, that all could be saved.

We are sure to experience a little pain and discomfort in this life.  Our bodies grow older and begin to fail.  As children, we feel invincible and as a result, we take chances that our bodies can't cash in on and we end up injured.  As we age, we try to be young again and pay the price with aches and pains once again.  If there's any benefit to pain, it reminds us that we are still alive.  Jesus suffered immensely on the cross of Calvary - well beyond anything we could imagine or will ever experience.  We deserved the suffering of the cross but He paid the price for us that we would not have to endure such punishment for our sin.  As a result, we can accept the gift of eternal life, a life free of pain and full of peace as long as we accept Christ as Savior.  Pain will eventually give way to peace for those who believe.

So many times we rely on our own strength to accomplish daily living.  We work our finger to the bone trying to be all that we can be; we should work hard. However, we have to understand where our true power comes from. It comes from the Lord and we should ask for it and rely on it every day!  The leaders and prophets of the past surely depended on the power of God; so should we!

The people of God live with a different mindset and have a different understanding of life than that of the world.  We see tomorrow differently and as such, we see today differently.  The reason is that we have been given a gift to see us through the days ahead.  We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us and with that comes the gift of the Spirit of Truth.  The world lives in the state of lies and deceit but the people of God live with the truth and the promises of God; let's not forsake those wonderful gifts!

The celebration of the announcement of the birth of Jesus was something to behold.  A babe leaping in the womb, kings, traveling distances, shepherds, shepherds hearing from an angel... and then the birth... may gathered to see and to bring gifts.  But think of Mary.  It says that she pondered in her heart.  Can you imagine all that she was thinking?  All that she was imagining?  Maybe you and I can do the same - stop and ponder in our hearts what Jesus, living inside of us, can stir up inside of each one of us amidst the noisy world.

So many people feel that mistakes made in their lives has taken away the opportunity for forgiveness and second changes at living.  Jesus was all about relationships with people outside the realm the religious community felt appropriate.  Maybe it would serve us better to emulate Jesus and love others as He loved and forgive as He forgave.

No one really likes to be corrected but no one is perfect! So we should all expect a little help along the way and that includes to be put back on track when we sway of the path. God loves us enough to not let us go down the wrong path so he corrects us and even chastens us when we do wrong. Accept it!

We all need encouragement and some days, we need it more than others! Sometimes we need a big push to get motivating to simply get out of bed! I’m thankful did a God that can pass by and speak to us in a still small voice to help us know that we can make it another day with His help!

There’s no need for anyone to point the finger anywhere except in the mirror when it comes to our personal actions. We are responsible for who we are and what we do. But so many times today the finger is pointed away from us and we try to blame others because of our past or because of the actions of others. Let’s take personal responsibility and address those one on one with God and steer clear of trying to blame others for who we are and what we’ve done. Personal repentance is God’s way - let’s stick to His plan.