Friday, December 26, 2014 “1st Voice” Matthew 2: 1-23: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young childs life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. ________________________________________ My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) “Placed in the light” “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. ________________________________________ My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest. ________________________________________ To be an Uncommon Believer….Let the “First Voice” You Hear in the Morning….Be the Voice of the LORD. ________________________________________ ISAIAH 50: 4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. ________________________________________ Run Today’s Race: “If I put my trust in human beings first, I will end in despairing of everyone; I will become bitter, because I have insisted on man being what no man ever can be—absolutely right. Never trust anything but the grace of God in yourself or in anyone else.” … Oswald Chambers ________________________________________ My Utmost for His Highest: by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) ________________________________________ “Placed in the light” “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. To mistake conscious freedom from sin for deliverance from sin by the Atonement is a great error. No man knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced on Calvary. The evidence that I am delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. It takes the last reach of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the impartation of His absolute perfection, to make a man know what sin is. The Holy Spirit applies the Atonement to us in the unconscious realm as well as in the realm of which we are conscious, and it is only when we get a grasp of the unrivalled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” This does not refer to conscious sin only, but to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Ghost in me realizes. If I walk in the light as God is in the light, not in the light of my conscience, but in the light of God—if I walk there, with nothing folded up, then there comes the amazing revelation—the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin so that God Almighty can see nothing to censure in me. In my consciousness it works with a keen poignant knowledge of what sin is. The love of God at work in me makes me hate with the hatred of the Holy Ghost all that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To walk in the light means that everything that is of the darkness drives me closer into the centre of the light.[1] ________________________________________ Oswald Chambers on Prayer: Prayer is not just an exercise routine God has us on; It’s our Business, Our only Business. Prayer is our Holy Occupation. Plain and Simple: ________________________________________ OUR HOLY OCCUPATION REQUIRES CHILDLIKENESS: “Do I know God well enough to know how He wants me to pray?” “What will I do today to get to know Him better?” “IF WE ARE asking God to give us experiences, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus because they are not the questions of a child.” “WHEN WE pray in the Holy Spirit, we bring to God the things that come quite naturally to our minds, and the Holy Spirit, Who intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, enables God to answer the prayer He Himself prays in your bodily temple and mine -- that we may be the children of our Father which is in heaven. The Holy Spirit cannot delight in our wisdom; it is the wisdom of God He delights in.” ________________________________________ Chronological Reading- Thru the Bible in One Year: Today’s Scriptures: 1 John 1 thru 5. biblegateway/passage/?version=NKJV&search=1john+1-5 ________________________________________ Prayers That Avail Much: December 26 “Lord Jesus, when You spoke to the disciples that you had meat to eat that they knew not of, they had no understanding that You were referring to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Initially, they thought You were speaking of physical food. The greatest priority in Your life was to do the will of the Father and to finish His work. I will follow Your example and put the Kingdom of God first, obey the Father and finish His work - complete the vision - entrusted to me, in Jesus Name. Amen.” John 4: 32-34. Daily Confession: “The greatest thrust of my life is to do the will of the Father and to finish the work to which He has called me!” ________________________________________ “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much!”…James 5:16. ________________________________________ 2Timothy 2: 1-8; 2 Chronicles 7:14 To submit prayer requests: E-Prayer’ (NHCC office: [email protected]) ________________________________________ Quotes by: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (February 4, 1906 – April 9, 1945) “The Incarnation is the ultimate reason why the service of God cannot be divorced from the service of man.” “Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christians life.” “The scriptures do not present us with a series of Christian types to be imitated according to choice; they preach to us in every situation the one Jesus Christ.” More to come……………. { dbonhoeffer.org/} ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Isaiah 40: 28: Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4: 8 -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ En Agape, Pastor Jim Menke [email protected] New Hope Christian Center 2240 Baty Road Lima, Ohio 45807 To be ADDED to the “1st VOICE” mailing list… please e-mail: [email protected] and type SUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line. 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Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 15:53:59 +0000