‘Christmas without You’

by joshua scott zeitz

(inspired by Beth Fox)

The Christmas season is a special time of year for so many people. It’s a time for good food, friends, family, gift giving, and gift receiving. 

More than that, it is a special time set aside to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus!

God coming to mankind.

God putting on an earth suit. 

God living amongst His creation.

God laying down His life for His creation!

God living in His creation!Immanuel - God with us!

However, the Christmas season is also a time when hopelessness and loneliness run rampant. 
Memories of loved ones passed away steal the joy that should be…

Memories of family times together, past relationships, failed marriages, and broken homes choke the life that once was…

Suicides and drug abuse skyrocket.

Heartache and pain,

Tragedy and loss.

Where many celebrate surrounded by family and friends, still many sit alone weeping thinking of the life that could have, should have, or would have been…

Listen, just because that coworker, friend, family member, or complete stranger smiles and says Merry Christmas doesn’t mean they have hope on the inside. 

It doesn’t mean they don’t go home alone, afraid, crying out to God, to anyone who would dare to listen!

In our Christian circles, we say things like “Keep your eyes on Jesus!”

“Don’t focus on the storm!”

“Don’t allow the cares of this world to steal, kill, or destroy you!”

Sadly, however, these are simply pipe dreams for so many!

Attempting to tell the man who just lost his wife to keep his head up and focus on Jesus or the single mama raising three kiddos on her own to simply let go and let God is not so easily attainable!

For those of us on the outside looking in, the answers may seem easy to grasp but we must never forget that the people we are attempting to “cure” with our one-liners and Christianese are on the outside looking in as well and the view can be quite daunting!

Many people feel outside the bounds of normal society.

They feel isolated, alone, and ostracized - either by choice, chance, pain, or addiction. 

Many people are looking at those around them wishing their lives could be different but lacking any real vision, plan, or future, they lack the hope to carry on!

I want to encourage you today!

If you are hurting,

If you feel alone,

If you feel like no one cares,

If you are dealing with the pain of losing a loved one,

If you are dealing with the agony of being cheated on, abused, or betrayed,

I want you to know today - God Loves You!!!

He cares!

He laid down His life for you and more than that He suffered for you!

Jesus knows what you are going through!

You are not alone! 

Perhaps you know someone who is hurting this Christmas season. 

Instead of simply telling them God loves them, show them!

Invite them over to dinner, take them shopping, wrap your arms around them and love on them with the love of Jesus!

Listen, Christmas time is special for sure. It is a time to focus on Jesus but more than that it is a time like no other to BE like Jesus!

Whatever you are going through, whoever you are, please hear my heart when I tell you that Jesus loves you so much and He doesn’t want to do Christmas this year without you!

John 3:16 

“For God so Loved the World, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life!”

I want everyone listening to me right now to do something very special. 

I am going to say that Bible verse again but this time I want you to put your name in there!

I will use my name to show you how, but I want you to use yours.

It looks like this:

‘Walk Again’
joshua scott zeitz

Years ago I had a Pastor recount what it feels like sometimes to follow the Lord…

He said it felt at times like being ripped through a keyhole backwards!

Imagine that!!

Now I know what you may be thinking,

I thought Jesus was the Prince of Peace?!

I thought He came to bring us life and it more abundantly?!

And you would be correct!

Jesus encourages us to run to Him, to lay our cares at His feet, He said come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest!

However, if we are to be completely honest with ourselves - how many times have we shirked that invitation?

Gone off and done things on our own? 

Gotten ourselves into a heap of trouble before finally coming to our senses, heads held low, crawling back to God, pleading with the Lord to help us out of the same mess once again?!

We have all done it! We’ve all been there!

The truth is sometimes, it hurts to follow the Lord - it hurts our flesh, our feelings, our pride!

We want to do things a certain way and He asks us to do things differently!

We settle into a routine or habit, and He asks us to break that habit!!

We get comfortable, and He nudges us out of those comfort zones!

Its in these times when our Christianity feels anything but flowery and blissful, but always remember that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

He doesn’t need to change, nor does He!

He is always for us!! no matter what change He is trying to bring about in our lives, its always with the best intentions - to bring about peace, hope, and life!!

He sees the end from the beginning!

BUT!!

what about the times when we are walking with the Lord closely and yes although there are some things that we could certainly tweak (we are always growing and learning) it just feels like life isn’t fair, like everyone else is succeeding but we are stuck in the same spot?!

It’s like someone has pulled the rug out from under you? 

there you were one minute walking, talking, feeling good, enjoying life, and then BAM the rug is snatched from under you! 

Suddenly you are on the ground and everyone is standing over you, looking down on you. They are not helping you up, but rather telling you why you are down there…

Dare I say, some of them want to see you stay down there! 

Whether real or perceived it feels like the whole world is against you!

You ever been there?

I have!! and let’s be honest, it hurts! 

Before long it gets harder and harder to get up, to want to get up, and eventually you find it easier to just stay down…

Listen, life isn’t always fair.

But can I give you some good news today?! 

Jesus is!!

Sometimes people want to do us harm, they want to see us fail, they want to do us dirty!

Maybe they are doing it on purpose or maybe not…

the enemy is always trying to do us wrong, his sole purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy!

Again I want to encourage you with good news!

We are not ignorant of his devices! The Bible says no weapon formed against us shall prosper!!

If God be for us, who can be against us!!

If you are in a season of having the rug pulled out from under you right now, please be encouraged, you are not alone and there is One who wants to see you get back up, to succeed, to do exceeding abundantly above all you could ask or think according to the power in you!!

I want to end with this today: you may be down, but you are not out!

You may be in the midst of a messy chapter right now, but the book isn’t over!

The rug may have been pulled, but you are not a victim, but rathe

Have you ever heard the expression, “no rest for the weary?” this is meant to showcase a person’s tireless commitment to a project or work of some kind and on the surface, it sounds good…who doesn’t like a go-getter?! a person who exemplifies great ambition or passion towards a thing….

to drive home this point further, perhaps you have heard these expressions, “working myself to the bone,” or better yet, “I’ll rest when I get to Heaven!”

I don’t know about you but just listening to those statements makes me tired! 

Listen, the Bible is chock full of wisdom principles commanding us to work, to put our hands to the plow, to sow, to not grow weary, and so forth, but I am so glad that the Lord doesn’t work us tirelessly to the bone dangling a carrot on a stick offering reprieve and rewards one day in the sweet by and by only!

Instead, listen to the words of Jesus and what He wants to give us now: Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest!”

in John 14:27, He says, “my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives…”

again in Hebrews 4, He encourages us to enter His rest!”

Proverbs 3:24 talks about laying our heads down and our sleep being sweet!

Psalm 23:2,3 David writes this about His walk with the Lord, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: 

So what do we get when we put all of these scriptures together?

Simply put, The Lord doesn’t want us working to the detriment of our souls, our lives, or our families, He wants to give us rest, providing us our daily bread.

in this manner we will not get overwhelmed or overworked trusting daily in Him, relying daily on Him to lead us, direct us, and order our steps…

Here is a very simple biblical principle to keep in mind meshing well john 15:5 & Philippians 4:13:

Without Him, we can do nothing but through Him, we can do all things! 

Instead of seeing how much we can get done on our own apart from Him, He wants us to do what we can in Him and allow Him to bring the increase!!

what are some practical ways we can do this? 

The Bible says we hold this treasure in earthen vessels. These leak, crack, and break, and therefore need daily care…

Jesus is called the author and finisher of our faith, the bishop of our souls!

Just as we would take a watch to a watchmaker or a car to a mechanic we need to take our souls to Jesus!

It really is that simple and it shows Him how much trust we actually put in Him to be the Lord of our lives instead of attempting to have Him be copilot to our plans and schemes, our castles in the sand!

Listen, God can do in a moment what we cannot in a lifetime! 

Therefore, it would be far better for us to trust fully in Him!

He can make a way where there seems to be no way!

He is the master of turning beauty from ashes!

He is a restorer, a healer, a fixer, a turner, a raiser of the dead, a bringer of life, hope, and lasting Peace!

He is not the was or the will be, but rather the I AM - an ever-present help in time of trouble!

He is a strong tower!

He never fails and He will never leave us nor forsake us!

He wants to give us rest!

The question remains, however: will we let Him?!

Will we allow Him to have His way in our lives?

Will we trust fully in Him?

We will labor to rest in Him daily?!

I want to encourage you today and leave you with a line from a poem I wrote some time ago:

Are you tired from the travel?
Wearied from the fight?
To Him belongs the battle,
He makes all things right!
Put your trust in Him,
His promises are sure.
He’s reaching out w

Last week we saw clearly the ultimate act of Love - Jesus laying down His life for us!

We saw clearly that we were well worth the cost to Him!!

That is awesome news!

This week, I want to encourage you once more by turning the tables, helping us see that Jesus is worth the cost to us!

Listen, a relationship is a two-way street!

He laid down His life for us, to buy us back, to bring us into fellowship with Him, to bring us into a relationship!

therefore What should our reasonable response be in light of that?!

To lay down our lives in service of Him!

I want to take a moment and meld together some passages of scripture to help drive home this point more clearly, to help us see and understand this amazing revelation:

Isaiah 53: 3-6 (KJV) reads as follows, talking about Jesus 

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Again speaking about Jesus this is Romans 5:6-8 (KJV) 

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
‭‭
One more time, talking about Jesus, Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV) reads, 

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
‭

If I could wrap all of these verses into one sentence to help you see even more clearly it would look something like this:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so!

He laid down His life for you and for me!

Why?

We are worth the cost!!

In light of that awesome news, what should our response be to Him?

Romans 12:1 reads as follows:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

‭‭ “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Why do I spend my life chasing after Him? Giving Him praise?
Cause He chased me down, Bought me back, from death, Hell, & the grave!

He is worth the cost!

Until next time, remember, what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!

Worth the Cost!

Have you ever heard the term superficial?

What does it mean?

Better yet, what does it mean to be superficial?

It refers to something that is skin deep, just below the surface, or shallow.

What does this equate to in everyday life? 

Sadly, many of us go through life and we only experience skin-deep or shallow interactions with people.

We, in the western world, call this small talk.

Unfortunately, so many of us go through life wearing so many different masks, holding people at arms’ length.

We do this for a number of reasons.

Some of these reasons are:

- Perhaps We don’t want people to see our mess!
- Perhaps We don’t have time or don’t want to make time to build and garner deeper relationships.
- Perhaps We have been hurt in the past and our experiences tell us to guard ourselves very closely!
- Perhaps, dare I say, we only want a select crowd or a select group of people to see us, or get to know us more…
- Perhaps we see people as ends to a means, a promotion, a sale, a client, a church member, a volunteer, a cog in the machine of our making…

The list goes on and on…

whatever it is that keeps us from venturing further than simple shallow conversations, one-liners, and small talk,

I want to encourage you big time today with this:

Jesus didn’t do that with us!!!

That is awesome news!!

He didn’t simply sit on His throne, and send us a memo letting us know our worth to Him,

He got in our mess!

He gave up glory to be born as a baby, to become a man, to suffer, to endure temptations, mockery, and ultimately the most excruciating death…

He did that for you and for me!!

And the Bible says He did it for the joy set before Him, that joy again being you and I!

A chance to know us! To go way beyond the shallow and superficial!

To know us intimately and personally!

I love the Lord!

He knows everything about us.

The Bible says He knows the very hairs on our heads! 

You ever feel unworthy?

You ever feel unloved?

You ever feel like just another number?

Be encouraged today! You are God’s favorite! He loves you with everlasting love!!

He didn’t see us as simply valuable, something to invest in, He valued us immensely to pay the highest price possible, Himself!!

valuable is something we say with our words, it’s superficial…

A new purse or nice pair of shoes could be considered valuable based solely on their price tag, but if we never pay the price on that tag, for whatever reason, we can never truly say we value those items…

Someone counted them valuable, because of the high price, but only a select few people truly value those items - the select few that actually pay for them! 

Listen, Value is something we show with our actions!

Jesus didn’t just see us as valuable, even though we had a very expensive price on our heads!

That price tag was so high because of sin! 

It separated us so far from our creator!

And even though we were made in His image and likeness, even though we were so valuable because of that, no one was able or willing to pay the price…

No one actually valued us…

But Jesus did!!!

The King of kings and Lord of lords!

The alpha and omega, the prince of glory Himself, laid down His life for us and showed us what we meant to Him, He showed us our value!! 

I want to end today’s encouragement by reading Psalm 139.

Allow the Word to wash over you today and know for certain that you are worth it!!

and remember until next time, what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!!

In Christ,

Freely Give, Freely Receive!

God is a multiplier! The devil is a divider!

But don’t get it twisted, they are not on level ground.

God reigns Supreme as Master Creator and the devil is known as the father of lies, he is a perverter and twister of things already made!

God has always been! the devil is a created being.

Without God, the devil would have never existed, and without the devil, God has always been!

God is the great I AM and the devil is the saddest has been.

You see the devil was created perfect, given free will, and put on assignment until iniquity was found in him. After that Jesus said he saw satan cast as lightning from Heaven!

God has always been, without beginning or end - He is alpha and omega, first and last! 

He sees the end from the beginning!

He supersedes time & space!

He created the moon, the stars, and the sun!

He formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him, the breath of life!

This notion of good vs. evil, of light vs. dark, is simply not true!

Evil & darkness exist in the absence of good & light, not the other way around!

In other words, the devil is a defeated foe already!

Jesus has conquered death, hell, & the grave! and in Him alone, is eternal life!

Why is it so important for us to know these truths? 

Because when we get a revelation of just good God is, how powerful God is, and how great our God is, we can know for certain that no test, trial, or temptation has the ability to thwart the plan of God in our lives!

The Bible says, what can separate us from the love of God?! 

I want to answer that for you today with a resounding encouragement, NOTHING!

When you get that once and for all, down in your heart, it will empower you to want to draw closer to God, to want to be like Him!

Listen, the enemy to try and derail the plans of God, but he knows he can’t. 

So what’s the next best thing? To try and derail God’s children. If you are a born-again Christian, that is you!

But I have more great news for you today! As long as we stay connected to Jesus, in steady fellowship with Him, the devil can’t touch us! Evil cannot overtake us! 

I want to share with you today one practical way to remain in constant fellowship with Jesus, 

freely receive and freely give!

The Bible puts it like this: He is the vine, and we are the branches.

When we stay connected to Him through daily Bible time, daily seeking Him, we position ourselves to daily receive from Him, and then when we go the next step and daily give away what He has freely given us, it opens our hearts, it broadens our tents to receive more from Him!

This is how the kingdom of God works! He is a multiplier!

As long as we try and keep to ourselves the things He is pouring into us through His word, we will have an invisible barrier over our lives. We will only be able to go so far.

Why is that? 

Because God is a giver, and He wants us to be like Him, to be givers as well!

This is the way He set it up!

He did not create us in His image and likeness to be hoarders, to be spiritually fat.

He created us to be givers, to be spiritually fit!

This starts by first staying connected to Him, the Vine, and then continue giving away what He continually gives!

The devil wants to convince you that this is counter-intuitive, but remember he wants nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy!

Jesus on the other hand wants to bring you life and it more abundantly!

Be encouraged today! 

What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you! 

Freely you have received, therefore freely give!

In C

It is inevitable, that whenever I talk about the goodness of the Lord or His love, someone always messages me and asks, “What about the wrath of God?!”

Listen, I get it!

We look out into the world, we turn on the news, we go to work even and it is clear that people need Jesus!

And many of us would want nothing more than to have God step in and take care of the mess that we see all around us!

But today I want to give you some encouragement!

I want to provide you with hope beyond the scope!

Have you ever heard the expression, “Failing to see the woods for the trees?”

Simply put, this means that oftentimes it can be difficult to see the bigger picture - in this scenario, the woods, because we get so hung up on the things around us, right in front of us, the trees if you will!

There is no doubt, that this world has gone crazy. 

But, this world has been crazy for a long time. And Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever has been here all the while providing peace, power, grace, and hope to whosoever will receive it!

We don’t have to allow the world and its troubles bog us down!

We don’t have to be swayed by this or that virus that arises!

We don’t have to be shaken by this or that bad need report!

Do we hide in the sand? No.

Do we hide in our churches? No.

Then what’s the answer?!

We seek Jesus daily, allowing Him to be our source.

If all we do is focus on the wrath of God, the judgment of God on those around us, we will miss the many opportunities to be like God to those around us!

There is coming a time when all things will be made right when all things will be made even and just…

But until that day comes, I want to encourage you to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling!

Going before the Lord every day, seeking Him with your whole heart, and asking Him to create in you a clean heart, to be a vessel He can use to reach the world around you!

When we do that, He will bring us up where He is, giving us proper perspective, an eternal mindset, and we won’t be consumed with the cares of this life but rather, we will have hope beyond the scope - a hope we can freely share with others!

Until next time, remember what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!

In Christ,

Joshua Scott Zeitz

More Than You Know!

Do you want to make an impact for Jesus?

What is your story? Where has the Lord brought you from? What has He done in your life? What kinds of thinking patterns did you have before the Lord and now after? What has life been like since deciding to follow Jesus? 

These are just a few of the questions to ask ourselves when faced with the looming question, “What do I have to offer?!”

I have great news for you today! 

More than you know!

If there is one thing I know for sure about the Lord - He still saves, heals, and delivers to the uttermost!

He is not in the business of entering our lives tossing a lifeline to us and then disappearing.

He is in it for the long haul!

That is amazing news!

He said He would never leave us, nor forsake us!

The Bible says that He becomes the Bishop of our souls, the Author and Finisher of our faith!

So what does this equate to in relation to what we have to offer others? 

Short answer: EVERYTHING!

When we walk with the Lord, He does a complete overhaul of our lives from the inside out!

Listen, you don’t have to have some crazy testimony…

For example, you might not have been strung out on drugs, robbing banks, or stealing cars before Jesus found you. 

You might not have lived some wretched life of sin for years, burnt all your relationship bridges, or gone through some super traumatic event that left a huge scar on your life, or maybe you did…

Whatever the case may be, Jesus is still the same yesterday, today, and forever!

If you know Him, If you have fully surrendered your life to Him, He has done a work in your life, and He is continuing to do so!

He is light! 

He is truth!

He repels any darkness and dispels any lie!

So I ask again, what has He done in your life? 

These are the things you can share with others!

Freely we have received, therefore freely we should give!

No matter your financial status, your job, your living situation, your church home, your political affiliation, no matter the color of your skin, or your gender 

Pick a thing!

It doesn’t matter!

You have more to offer than you know because you know the One who transcends all of those things!

His name is Jesus and He wants to use you to impact the lives of those around you!

What has he done in your life? What gifts and talents has He given you?

Share those things with others!

When you do, you will be amazed at how He will begin to multiply those things in your life! 

Perhaps you have been feeling stuck? Like nothing, you do truly matters? 

Perhaps you have been seeking purpose in your life? 

The solution is simple: Start right where you are with what you already have!

It's way more than you know!

I want to encourage you today!

Write down what the Lord has done in your life. Write down some of the things He has blessed you with…

Then begin prayerfully seeking the Lord on how you can share those things with others!

What we make happen for others, God will make happen for us!

In Christ, 

Joshua Scott Zeitz

This is chapter 2 of Rags to Riches: A Story of God's Unfailing Love (2018)

you can purchase a copy of this book here: simply copy and paste the link into your browser or smartphone:

https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Story-Gods-Unfailing/dp/1983821292

Welcome to a reading of Rags to Riches: A Story of God's Unfailing Love! I wrote this book in 2018 and I am excited to present it to you! Thanks so much for listening and please let me know how this book impacts your life!

Joshua Scott Zeitz