The Arkansas Traveler

Proverbs 7:1-3 (NKJV)
1  My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.
2  Keep my commands and live
And my law as the apple of your eye.
3  Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
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Here are several ways of declaring the value of God's Word.
If His word is that valuable, we should care enough to read it and
respond in obedience!
Day by day!

John 17:3 (NKJV)
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
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    Eternal life is to know God and His Son whom He sent for us!
    This knowledge involves relationship -- not just head knowledge.
    Indeed Christianity is about relationship with God through His Son,
Jesus! When we get to know Jesus, we get to know God the Father! That is
done through a study of His word, through which He has chosen to reveal
Himself!

Luke 1:35 (NKJV)
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also,
that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
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Jesus has many names and titles. 'Son of God' is one of the greatest.
Let's remember as we celebrate His birth that He is really God with us.
He is the Son of God, come that we might know His love and that we might
have eternal life through His gracious forgiveness.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 Genesis 17:18-21 (NKJV)
18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you
shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an
everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20 "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him,
and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall
beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to
you at this set time next year."
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    God had called Abram and Sarai to leave their home and go to an
unknown land. They had done as commanded.
    They had no children, but God promised to make them a great nation
through whom the whole world would be blessed.
    Fifteen years passed and still no children. Sarah devised a plan to
get a son through her servant. (Getting ahead of God!)
    Ten more years and God promised a son to Sarah, even though she was
well past child bearing age. God would keep His promise!
    Will we trust God to keep His promises to us, even when it seems
impossible?

Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
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    We use this lots in bringing comfort in the midst of troubles.
    But as I thought on it, maybe we need to slow down in life in general.
    At this time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus our
Savior, we sometimes get so busy that we do not take time to reflect on
the total meaning. It really is a holiday (holy day) but it is so much
more.
    So take time to slow down and thank God for His gift of life in
Jesus Christ.

Gen. 28:13, 15 (NKJV)
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of
Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I
will give to you and your descendants.
...
15 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will
bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done
what I have spoken to you."

Philippians 1:6 is the NT version of this assurance: "being confident of
this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete
it until the day of Jesus Christ;"
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    In the Genesis account above, Jacob is leaving home to escape the
anger of his brother. God appears to him and assures him of His
provision, and protection, and presence. God is passing the Covenant of
Abraham on to Jacob as He had passed it to Isaac before.
    Is there any better promise than the presence of God? Jesus says to
us that He will be with us to the end of the age (or world).
    As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us remember one of His
names: "Immanuel" == God with us!