During the lightning raids over England during World War 2, many families were used to hearing the bomb sirens and escaping to bomb shelters often underneath or near their homes. During such a raid one night, an English family scattered from their home just as it had been hit by a bomb. Spying a shell hole in the front yard, the father jumped into it for safety. He then turned and held his hands out to his young son and told him to jump into the hole. Afraid, the boy replied, “It’s too dark. I can’t see you!” Looking up and seeing the outline of his son by the burning building behind him, the father said, “But I can see you. Jump and I will catch you.” The boy trusted his father, jumped, and was caught as his father had promised.

Throughout our Christian lives, we’ll face many situations like the one described above. The bombs of trials or difficulties will rain down on us and we’ll be faced to make a decision-trust our heavenly Father and follow His guidance or seek our own shelter.

Mary wasn’t prepared for what she experienced the day Gabriel proclaimed Christ’s birth through her. As the Bible records, “And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” She wasn’t sure what was happening and was troubled by the angel’s words. She even questioned the viability of the proposal, “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”

Mary stood at the edge of a new experience and she was faced with a choice-trust God’s plan and follow Him or follow her own life path. Thankfully, Mary answered Gabriel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

During trials you’re faced with the decision of faith. During loss you’re faced with the decision of faith. During good times and bad, you’re faced with the decision of faith. Every day you’re faced with that decision. Will you, like Mary and the little boy, trust your heavenly Father and jump into His arms, embracing His plan for your life or will you follow your own path?

Mary could have easily justified remaining a simple Jewish girl, choosing a life of mediocrity over God’s plan. She could have chosen to pass that blessing on to someone else, thinking of her own struggles and pains she’d face. Yet she abandoned all pretenses and chose to trust God.

Faith is grown as it’s practiced. Today you have a chance to grow your faith, but you must make the right decision. Will you follow God’s will or your own? (By Dr. Paul Chappell)

A newspaper columnist in Georgia wrote an article on the trials many famous people have had to overcome. Here are few stories he shared.

“An artist in Mexico lost his right hand while working on a statue. But he did not give up his work. He learned to carve with his left hand. His beautifully finished masterpiece was called ‘In Spite Of.’”

“A sound body, a brilliant mind, a cultural background, a huge amount of money, a wonderful education—none of these guarantee success. Booker T. Washington was born in slavery. Thomas Edison was deaf. Abraham Lincoln was born of illiterate parents. Lord Byron had a club foot. Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis. Alexander Pope was a hunchback. Admiral Nelson had only one eye. Julius Caesar was an epileptic. But these men made history in spite of their handicaps. And there was Louis Pasteur, so near-sighted that he had a difficult time finding his way in his laboratory without glasses. There was Helen Keller, who could not hear or see, but who graduated with honors from a famous college.”

He then concluded, “Got a handicap? Call on the Lord. No problem is too big for Him, or too small. He will make everything ‘work together for good’—if you trust Him.”

 Dr. Paul Chappell wrote this in response to that article:” When God made you, He didn’t make you perfect. Even if you have all your abilities and seem perfect on the outside, inside us all are flaws and limitations. We are weak to sin’s temptations; we neglect God’s commands; and we struggle to daily spend time with Him. But one flaw most Christians have is a lack of faith in God.—-

Imagine if Moses would have allowed his speech impediment keep him from obeying God. What if Gideon had allowed his fear to keep him from fighting the Midianites? Or what if Paul had allowed his thorn in the flesh to discourage him from witnessing about Christ? How would history have changed?

There have always been obstacles and limitations people have had to overcome to accomplish great things. The Christian life is no different. None of us are perfect, but God still wants to use us. Don’t allow a lack of faith or other limitations to keep you from following God. Trust that He will guide you and then step out in faith in spite of your limitations today.”

So many Christmas songs focus on the joy of the season, and rightfully so. It’s a joyous time, both culturally and spiritually. But occasionally I need to view the holiday from a different perspective – that is, from the viewpoint of heaven. From God the Son’s perspective, becoming human was – to put it mildly – a huge demotion. Christmas began with an act of submission and humility on the part of the Son. The Creator consented to become one of the creation, with all of our blood, sweat, and tears. From the heavenly perspective, the Incarnation arrived with sorrow, as part of the Godhead separated himself physically from the Father. Christmas signals an arrival into our world, but a departure, however brief, from a greater world.

Jesus’s demonstrated humility is just one of the reasons the Incarnation should inspire such awe in us.— the Incarnation— required sacrifice we can’t begin to describe. All this before the ultimate shame of the cross.

The Puritan Thomas Watson meditated on Christ’s humility with these words:

“He came not in the majesty of a king, attended with [a bodyguard], but he came poor; not like the heir of heaven, but like one of an inferior descent. The place he was born in was poor; not the royal city Jerusalem, but Bethlehem, a poor obscure place. He was born in an inn, and a manger was his cradle, the cobwebs his curtains, the beasts his companions; he descended of poor parents…. He was poor, that he might make us rich…. He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven, that he might bring us to heaven.”

— As you consider the joy of this holiday season – whether you’re anticipating the unwrapped smiles, lighting the — wreath, singing carols, making cookies, or whatever – take time to consider the counterpoint. Our joy is Christ’s first sacrifice. ( Excerpts from an article by Katherine Britton, News and Culture Editor of Crosswalk.com)