Peering Through Life's Window

  Luke 2: 11-12, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.” God sent Jesus to save sinners, because he loves us.  In the Bible the Pharisees asked Jesus, “…which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He told them “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 36 – 39). Christmas brings the message of a Savior who loves us so much He suffered for our sins to the point of death.  Then a miracle occurred. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, but He didn't leave us alone.  Matthew 28:20: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  His spirit and His love live with us today. Where does the love come from, and how can we get it? Sometimes we attempt to buy, demand or create love, b...

Merry Christmas!  Luke 2: 11-12, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.” The greatest love the world has ever known started in a humble stable in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.  Later He suffered and died to conquer death for us. Knowing what he endured, it’s difficult to comprehend the depth of unconditional love He has for us. Before He was crucified, he preached a Gospel telling us to love one another.     Today with wars popping up and hate rhetoric we might wonder if we’ve run out of love, if we’ve abandoned it, or if we’ve forgotten where to find it. We can’t manufacture it. We can’t buy or demand it because we can’t dictate what’s in a person’s heart.  It must be given and received. It was given on Christmas in Bethlehem and again on the cross when Jesus died for our sins. We only need to accept it. Once we do, it lives inside us and spills over to ot...

Out with the old and in with the new, a popular phrase defined by some as changing the old, leaving the old behind, or moving forward. Change is a big buzz word in our society, but the greatest change that ever has been or will be occurred on Easter when Christ rose from the dead, giving those who believe in Him eternal life, and we don’t even need to pay for it. He did that when he suffered and died for our sins. Matthew 20: 18 – 19, tells us “...They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified…’”  Photo courtesy of Pixabay In Matthew 28: 5 – 6, when women came to Jesus’s tomb after his crucifixion, “The angel said to…” them… “‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen…”  On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead! Photo courtesy of PhotoBucket There’s no power greater than Jesus. He conquered death and lives with us today while the Holy Spirit lives with...

  Photo Courtesy of Google One friend, the narrator, and another I'm calling Joey related this true story to me. Last night when Joey went inside the post office, he saw a homeless woman we had seen there several times before. She has a cell phone, and while Joey was mailing items on other occasions, he overheard her on calls with friends, trying to get her life together.  Yesterday, though, he said she looked like she had lost weight, and he said she had a very sad countenance. He was leaving the post office, and waved to say hello. She did not ask for money, or anything else, but because Joey sensed something was wrong, he asked, "are you hungry?" “Yes,” she said.  We don't normally carry cash around, and although we had a little yesterday, no one can eat dollar bills. So, we went next door, bought her some breadsticks from a local restaurant, and left them with her before our next errand - the grocery store. Because we were getting over an extended illness and corr...

“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9: 6 (NIV) At Christmas we thank God for the greatest gift the world has ever known. Christians are the luckiest people in the world. Jesus came to earth, suffered and died to save us. Then he rose from the dead and lives with us today. No matter what happens around us, He remains our rock to lean on and the most powerful force the world has ever known. He tells us if we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains, nothing will be impossible for us. He’s always with us, and there’s neither nothing, nor no one who can defeat Him. He even conquered death! In Matthew 17: 23, Jesus says, ""...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,' Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you....

A Warm Welcome to Mary Marelli Hi Mary, tell us a little about yourself.    I’m Mary Marelli, wife, mother, grandmother, and author.  God and family are first and foremost in my life.  With them, God by my side and my family to support me, everything else falls into place.  We live on a private lake in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania.   My children are grown, so it is just hubby and myself.  Oh, and I can’t forget our hound.  She won’t let me.   Were you an avid reader as a child? If so, what did you read? I couldn’t get my nose out of a book!  I remember the hot summer days I would sit in the shade of an apple tree and read.  We lived in a rural farming community.  My Oma and Opa raised chickens, had a huge garden, and were fairly self-sustainable.  Our neighbor across the street raised horses.  Horses and reading became a huge part of my life.  There was nothing more comforting on a lazy summer ...

  A Warm Welcome to Patti Shene Gonzales Be on the lookout for a Christmas novella from Patti Hi Patti, Thanks for joining us today to discuss this important question. HOW DO I KNOW JESUS IS REAL? This interesting question is one that some may ponder for a period of time, while others will have an immediate answer.  I had a prompt answer, but I also dove deeper into my thoughts in order to present a more substantial rationalization for my belief. My immediate response to the question generated another question. Is Jesus real? Simple answer.  Yes. Then I stepped back and asked myself how we know anyone we have heard about in history is real. Take George Washington, for example. We learned in school that he was a great American military leader who eventually held the position of the first president of the United States. We know facts about him based on writings that have been recorded in history books for generations.  The first people who communicated those facts knew...

  A Warm Welcome to Penelope Marzec Penelope will give away a PDF copy of Angel of the L Train . To enter to win leave a comment and an email address below and join the Rafflcopter contest. Prayer and Jesus I believe in Jesus. I know He is listening to my prayers. Obviously, I cannot prove it. While there have been a few times I received some specific nudges in the right direction, one particular event remains so crystal clear I can only assume it was divine intervention. It all started because I was worried about my middle sister. She had been dating a man for a long, long time. He didn’t have any ambition and appeared to be rather lackadaisical about everything. He assumed they would marry, but he didn’t date her every weekend. I had strong doubts about the fellow. Finally, I decided to do something about it. I asked my sister if she had questioned this man about important issues related to marriage. For instance, what would he do if she had a baby? Would she be able to stay home...

  A Warm Welcome to Jennifer Slattery Jennifer will give away a print copy (U.S. residents only) of Her Small Town Refuge . To enter the Raffllecopter contest to win Jennifer's book leave a comment and an email address below.  The Messy but Beautiful Call to Love Most of want to be the type of person who notices those standing on the fringe, welcomes them close, and creates safe places where they can experience Christ. At least in theory. In practice, however, many of us discover how challenging and at times uncomfortable and convicting it can be to build relationships with those from hard places and an abundance of rough edges.  Life gets messy when we invite others in; when we reach out to the wounded. Simple and seemingly benign conversation can unexpectedly grow tense, our actions, at times, misaligned, and our best intentions viewed with skepticism if not contempt. And this hurts, not just from the sting of rejection. I’m convinced our greatest discomfort stems from ...

  A Warm Welcome to Larry Hammersley To enter the Rafflecopter contest to win a print copy (U.S. residents only) of Mary Magdalene leave a comment and email address below.  Christ's Life and Mission Many prophecies occur in the Old Testament concerning Christ.  They describe his life, his mission, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection. One such place is in Psalms 22.  This chapter describes his suffering and death in graphic language in the first twenty-one verses.  The remainder of that chapter gives an uplifting message of triumph. We see early in the chapter he was all alone, he was mistreated, scoffed, stared at, and surrounded by enemies.  There is a description of what crucifixion did to his body.  He was scourged, his bones stared, his hands and feet pierced, his heart melted which probably referred to his heart bursting due too great anguish which can result in destruction of the heart, thus causing his early death after being on the ...

  A Warm Welcome to Regina Andrews Regina will give away a mobi copy of Glory of the Heart . To enter the Rafflecopter contest to win, leave a comment and an email address below. Gail, thank you so very much for inviting me to visit your outstanding blog. It is always so interesting and enlightening, as well as beautifully presented. This particular topic is extremely engaging and I am  so grateful to be included as one of your guests to discuss this subject. It's my pleasure to have you. Thank you for participating in the series of blogs about Jesus. Regina shares what she learned about Jesus's commandment that we love one another and how it helps her today . I can remember Jesus‘s words “love one another as I have loved you“ from when I was very, very young. I was fortunate enough to live right down the street from a Catholic school, which I attended for eight years, from grades one through eight. During that time we were instructed by the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. T...

   A Warm Welcome to Kathleen Neely Is Jesus real? Does the Bible change lives? I went to Sunday School as a child because it was the culturally correct thing to do. Mine was not a faith-based home. Somehow little nuggets of truth took root and began to grow. It was a slow journey. Let me rephrase that. It is a slow journey. Still ongoing. I once thought of the Bible as a book of do’s and don’ts. If I wanted to follow Jesus, I must do list #1 and must never do list #2. But that’s not what the Bible is. God’s word is life-changing. When I truly began to spend time with Jesus and study His word, I found my thought processes shifting.  My heart desired Him more than earthly treasures. ‘Doing’ became an overflow of ‘knowing.’ Before He changed my heart, I never thought of myself as a sinner. I didn’t do really bad things, so I viewed myself as ‘good.’ I remember the day that I recognized my sin. Pride. Selfishness. It sent me to my knees in tears. I’d like to tell you that th...