Encouragement Café:Celebrate Jesus

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  Luke 2:7 NKJV

Jesus Christ was born in a stable. His first bed was a manger. There was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn. Not much has changed today. Many people will never give Christ a thought this Christmas. They forget the reason we celebrate Christmas.

The world views it as a time of outrageous spending and drunkenness. Christmas was set aside as the time that Christians celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

http://www.encouragementcafe.com/blog/post/celebrate-jesus

Frazzled by Frustration

 

FRAZZLED BY FRUSTRATION

By Carolyn Dale Newell

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

Luke 10:40 NKJV

We all have those days when one thing after another goes wrong, and beware to anyone who has the bad timing to be nearby. I think Martha was having one of those days. She had nicked her finger peeling potatoes, the macaroni had boiled over, and the sweet potatoes were burning in the oven. To make it worse, nobody had let the dog out, and now there was a mess to clean up. She must have reached her boiling point to ask Jesus for help. If Jesus was in your house, would you ask for help in the kitchen? Only if you were frustrated.

However, Jesus lovingly rebuked Martha. In verses 41-42, Jesus said, “…you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Scripture does not give us Martha’s reaction, but I imagine she joined Mary at the feet of Jesus.

Friend, that is exactly what we need to do. No matter how rushed we are, we need a few minutes alone with Jesus. That is where we can gather restraint when we want to scream. ”Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (Prov. 29:18). When I learned that the Hebrew word translated “revelation” means “divine communication”. this verse really spoke to me. We can have divine communication when we pray or read Scripture.

Your “everything went wrong” morning can ruin your day. Remember, the devil seeks to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8). He cleverly trips us up where we will say something we later regret. Resist the devil. Let it go and give it to God. Seek His restraint and His peace. Will you join me for “that good part” at the feet of Jesus today?

 Heavenly Father, please surround us with a hedge of protection from the devil’s ploys. Help us be restrained when frustrations come before they start to snowball into an emotion that we cannot handle. Thank You always for grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 DIG DEEPER

Read Luke 10:38-42 and meditate on this passage.

HIKING THE TRAIL

Be prepared for your next frustrating moment. Have a few Bible verses handy on your phone so you can gather restraint quickly. Some good ones are: Ps. 142:3, Phil. 4:5-7, and 1 Pet. 5:7-8.

Copyright 2015 Carolyn Dale Newell.