Author: debo

Intro:
During this week we are concentrating on the word joy. We know Jesus brought joy to the world, but he also brings joy to us individually. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your daily eword. Joy resonates through believers, because we know that whatever the circumstances we face, we don’t face them alone. Emmanuel, God is with us. He walks wiith us, lives in us, and lives through us. We can live a life filled to the brim with the joy of the Lord. Here is your dailyeword.

What is the favorite gift you have ever received? You’re answer might include everything from family, to faith, to actual toys and gifts. What was the best gift you ever received? Let me give you a hint! It wasn’t ice skates, Legos or a cabbage patch kid, that you asked Santa for as a child. It isn’t your mate, or even your children, although they probably rate up very high on the list. The best gift we have ever received came from heaven to earth, and was born in a manger. Jesus was the best gift, and the most precious gift that we could ever receive. The Bible says, that every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights. This first gift from God is the reason all the other gifts in our lives feel like such a blessing. God gave His very best, all because He wanted us in His family. Heaven came down to us. Once we are in the family, every thing just gets better. Even if life has it bumps, and even though our earth has a curse, we still get to experience the very best life! Not only do we get to experience life abundant on this planet, we have the hope of heaven when we die. When we receive The Gift from heaven, we have received Hope, Peace, JOY, and Love. Nothing is better than that. That kind of news is news of great joy!

Matt 1:18-21 And she will bring forth a Son
How do you think the world awaited the arrival of the baby in a manger? It is truly amazing that from Genesis 3:15, it was made know that Jesus would be the offspring of a woman that would crush Satan’s head. In Isaiah 9:7 it was revealed that Jesus would be heir to the throne of David. His place of birth was clearly spoken of in Micah 5:2, and Isaiah 7:14 revealed that Jesus would be born of a virgin and that His name would be Immanuel.

Do you think anyone really expected the Son of God to be born of a virgin, in the little town of Bethlehem, and that He would come to save the world? As unusual as it was, that was the plan that God established. God was bringing heaven to earth. We know of at least two who were waiting expectantly and were in the temple on the day when Jesus, who at eight days old, was presented before the priest. Simeon took Jesus in his arms and prophesied that He would be a light for the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel. The prophetess Anna approached Mary and Joseph holding baby Jesus and gave thanks saying that this child would be the redemption of Jerusalem. All that patient waiting paid off……Jesus was born to save the world. What is ironic is that patience is something that we don’t see demonstrated very often this time of year. Since Advent is a good time for introspection, it might be good to ask this question. Are you good at waiting? Is your life at peace? Hebrews 10:36 tells us to be patient as we do the will of God, and we will receive the promise. Would you like to see more of the promises of God manifested in your life? Could a little more peace and patience in your life make that possible? Maybe today is the day to start. Heaven Came down to do just that!

New International Version
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
New Living Translation
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

You and I are used to hearing these verses from Luke 2:14 in the KJV which says, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. When I looked at many different translations of this verse, it became pretty obvious that all men, is not everyone on earth. It says specifically that peace will be to all men and women on earth who please God. So that old saying
No Jesus, No Peace,
Know Jesus, Know Peace
is really true! Without the Son of God living on the inside of our hearts, we will not know the peace of God. But that is exactly why Heaven Came Down in the form of a baby, to reestablish relationship between God and man. We have the avenue for peace in our world. Peace doesn’t happen without Jesus being in the center of our life. As much as we would like the unrest in the Middle East to dissolve, without Jesus, it will not happen. As much as we would like violent inner cities to experience peace, it won’t happen without Jesus. As much as we want relationships of all kinds, to experience peace, it won’t happen without Jesus. So as believers, we need to know our mission, we are to bring peace to our earth. That means we bring Jesus with us everywhere we go. What an awesome assignment this holy Christmas season. Heaven Came Down, so we can deliver a taste of heaven wherever we go.

Intro:
We are celebrating the Advent season and I am loving every minute of the holiday season. Hi this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. At AGF we not only will have the traditional lighting of the advent candle and advent reading, we will continue including communion during each service. We want to remember Heaven coming Down as a babe in a manger, and then remember why He came. His purpose was to destroy the work of the enemy, and to restore our union and fellowship with God. This week I hope you continue to read along with the Advent Devotional available online at agf.org. Let’s continue the story of Jesus coming to earth. Here is your daily eword…..Jesus is our Prince of Peace

The unveiling of this story began back near the beginning of time. The need for a Savior became evident soon after the arrival of Adam and Eve who walked on the earth after creation. Sin entered by disobedience, so a Savior was needed. Union and fellowship with God was destroyed. What would be the plan that God would use to save His people from their sins? How would the story of salvation unfold? It was quite an unusual scenario. God had chosen a cast of characters that would surprise everyone involved. By human standards, we probably would have chosen a triumphal entry for the Savior, a nursery in a majestic palace, to a royal family, to live in opulence and luxury presiding over a grand cathedral. God on the other hand, proved once again as he did with Samuel (in I Samuel 16:7) that he is more concerned with the heart than the outward appearance.

In fact, God found a young teenage woman whose youth, marital status, and maternal experience would have made us look right past her. What qualifications did she have? But God found exactly what He was looking for. She was selected to bear His son, to be the Savior of the world.

I hope that starts you thinking about your own life. God has an amazing plan and purpose for you. Do you feel qualified? Does your age, marital status or experience make you feel disqualified for God’s plan for your life? Mary had all of those same disqualifications, yet she decided to go for all that God had for her. She told God that she was willing to do whatever He asked. I hope that is your answer to God as well. Lets’ be hope bringers, and peace makers, joy infusers, and love displayers where ever we go. This week lets bring more peace to the earth.

When we look at the Lord’s prayer, we can see that Jesus prayed that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. So are you experiencing heaven in your house this holy Christmas season? When we hear the word house, we normally think of the place where we live, or your physical address. Really there are three kinds of “houses”. My body is a house. My family is a house. My Church is a house.

I am a spirit, I have a soul/mind, I live in a body
We each have a house or apartment that we live in
We come together as the House of God in your church local fellowship.

How can we know during this Christmas season if heaven is in each house? Does Jesus live at each address? The best answer to that would be the evidence of the character of Jesus in us, demonstrated through the fruit of the spirit. That is where, as we follow God with all of our heart, the Spirit of God leads us, we train our soul/mind is renewed, and our body gets in line. When we line our life up with the Word of God, we make the choice to live like Jesus is with us all the time, because He is! When we operate in the fruit of the spirit, we make sure that our walk matches our talk. We make sure our actions match the life of God that dwells on the inside of us. Since we are “in Christ” we have heaven living in our house. If we want heaven to be in us, in our body, in our homes, and in our churches, we have to recognize and operate in the fruit of the Spirit that God established. Is heaven in each of your houses? Let’s make it our goal this Christmas!

One of the best things that Jesus brought us through His birth was the hope of a relationship with our God, who is such a good Father. We get a relationship with God that tops all earthy relationships. We even get divine connections to other believers who encourage us, and help us grow in our walk with the Lord.
Christmas is a season about family and relationships. It can be a hard season if you’ve lost a loved one recently, or if you have had conflict in your relationships. God is the great restorer, and part of heaven coming down to us through a tiny baby was so that we could have restored relationship with God, who is the best relationship mender. God’s desire is for sons and fathers to get along, mothers and daughters to live in harmony, siblings to not only love each other, but care for each other and their parents. That sounds like heaven on earth! Of course life on earth will have challenges, but you already know that! There will be things that we can’t control or fully comprehend, but when we put it all in perspective, earth for the believer can be a little taste of heaven, and makes us even more hungry for our eternal home. Let’s let the world know what heaven will be like…by giving them a taste of what we have experienced. This Christmas, if you need some relationships restored, my prayer is that you would take the first step. You can bring the hope of better relationships in your sphere of influence. Jesus brings that hope – on earth as He is in heaven!

It sounds like Jesus’ model prayer gives place for the original design to be re-established on the earth through the birth of Jesus. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” A thought hit me one time that really is astounding….for the believer, earth is as close to hell as we will ever be, but for the unbeliever, earth is as close to heaven as they will ever be. Wow! So for the believer, earth can be really good, plus we have heaven to look forward to, so the best is yet to come. For the unbeliever, without the hope in their life, earth can be ok or pretty bad, and there is nothing good past their final breath. For them, this life is as good as it gets. It puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?

What does heaven manifested on earth it look like? What did Jesus really come to bring us. When I think of what heaven is like, I think of wonderful communion with the Father, a place of rest and peace, hope and joy that is too amazing to explain, worship around the throne all the time, and beautiful ways of communicating our love for God all around, with absolutely no need for anything else. Wow, if heaven is even half of that, it will be abundantly above all we could ever ask or think. Since Jesus came, what should heaven on earth look like? Probably a lot of the same things! There would be:
Divine relationships,
Supernatural peace,
Joy overflowing,
Glorious Worship
Open and loving communication,
and every need supplied.

Amazing, those are all things that we have access here on the earth because of Jesus!
Heaven came down, and life is so much better with Jesus in it! What hope He brings.

During the time of preparation for a baby, Mary and Joseph were on a journey. It was unexpected for both of them. They probably had their life planned out a little differently how things were going. They made their way on this long journey to Bethlehem, to do, of all things, pay taxes. Didn’t anyone know how inconvenient it would be for a pregnant woman to travel on a donkey during her 9th month of pregnancy? Joseph and Mary weren’t quite prepared for this, but this was their reality. This was not in their hopes and dreams for their family. I’m sure all of us have had our plans changed unexpectedly, but none quite this dramatically. Our earth journey is really preparation for heaven. Earth really is very short, and heaven is really very long. What we hope for in heaven is way beyond what we can imagine with our finite minds. What the young couple on a journey to Bethlehem was hoping for, with God’s own son living in their home, was way beyond what they could have imagined. But they made room for Jesus. And when they did, God gave them a taste of heaven on this earth. When we make room for Jesus, He does the same for us. God’s desires that His will is done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10) The very presence of God, His life, His nature, and His ability resides in us, empowering us to make our earth life, a little bit of heaven. Jesus gives us foretaste of things to come. What hope that brings.

Our God is the God of all hope. How amazing it is that Jesus came down and became hope manifested to the world. Heaven came down and kissed earth, and we got caught right in the middle of the smack! Jesus was the kiss of heaven! He brought hope that would change history with his story! The story of Jesus is all about hope for the world. There doesn’t have to be darkness and despair, the light appeared. As the darkest season of the year, even the light of a small candle can make darkness flee. Jesus came! Everything is better with the light of Jesus shining on it! What does hope do to the human heart? It reveals a future that is bright. It fills us with joy and peace in believing (Romans 15:13). Hope overflows in believers through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we know the plans God has for us are filled with hope, we can live life knowing that our future is going to be awesome.

So my prayer for you today is that you know the God of all hope. That he would fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, and that you will overflow with hope, and it will spill onto others who are all around you. You can be a hope infuser to your world! The light has come and He lives in you.

Sometimes you don’t just get what you expect, you get more. That would definitely apply when it comes to the birth of Jesus. When Mary was told that she would be the birth mother of a holy child named Jesus, she probably had no idea of what that all meant. The “world” was looking for and expecting a Savior, and she was expecting baby, still cradled in her womb. This baby was the darling of heaven delivered to the earth. Heaven came DOWN! He was sent to bring hope to the world! She had great expectations for this baby, yet I am sure her wildest imaginations were exceedingly, abundantly, surpassed.

The phrase that Mary spoke when the angel first told her the news of her impending pregnancy was, “Be it unto me, according to your Word. May it be just as you have spoken.” That phase should be the hope filled theme of our life. Whatever you want Lord, be it unto me, according to your Word. The Bible has both the plan and the process for us not only to know and love God and His Word, but it has the revelation knowledge of the path and provision for a life filled with His hope.

Jesus gave it all. He gave up heaven for an earthly home. He willingly made a way for us to have hope in abundance. He brought heaven to us, and made a way for our relationship to be restored to perfect intimacy with His Father. Salvation certainly is exceedingly, abundantly above all I could have ever asked or expected! Hope has come. Heaven Came Down!