MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

 From Kevin, Zachary, and me ~ 

We wish you a Merry Christmas filled to the brim with God's most precious and special blessings!

Thank you for being a part of our online family!  So many of you have become so dear to our hearts over the past eight plus years of blogging that you truly do feel more like family than friends.

Thank you for the many emails, comments, and gestures of encouragement in response to my last blog post.  You have warmed and blessed my heart more than I could ever put into words.  I continue to press on and seek God earnestly day by day concerning His perfect will.  I am sure He will make it known to me as I continue to search for Him with my whole heart.  To those of you who are faithfully praying for me, sending notes of encouragement, and continuing to loyally support my efforts, I send a huge hug and much gratitude, and I humbly ask you to please, please keep me in your continued prayers.

A few of you know this, but for those who don't, I regularly host online youversion Bible studies.  I would love to have you join in with us!  It is completely flexible, you are not on any time constraints, and you can do it at your own pace.  Depending on what I have going on, I sometimes fall several days behind, but I just catch up as I am able - that is just how flexible it really is.  The group God has woven together there is a great blessing to me, and we have been continuing to study together for several months now.  As one study ends, the Lord leads us on to the next, then the next, etc.  If anyone would like to join us, please email me at homespundevotions@gmail.com.  I would love to welcome you to our study team and have you share your own thoughts and perspectives with us!

At the end of each lesson, we are given space to comment on what the day's lesson has meant to us on a personal level, and after reading an especially impactful lesson in a study called, "Who I Am in Christ" today, I shared with Zach some thoughts God had impressed me to write.  After hearing it, he walked in to the kitchen where I was seated in front of my laptop.  The pleading look in his eyes melted his mama's heart as, among some other comments he said, "Mama, PLEASE don't shut down Homepun Devotions!  Please keep sharing what the Lord gives you."

So, at our dear boy's request, here it is - I hope it is a blessing to you.

"For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."  Hebrews 12:3

"I don't know how many times I have read this or heard it preached on through the years, but I NEVER got this until right now.  The "contradiction of sinners against Himself" is what jumped off the screen at me today. Everywhere Jesus turned He was told He was not who He really was. Hardly anyone believed Him. Those in His own hometown tried to push Him off a cliff. All they could see is that He was Joseph's son, Mary's son, or the brother of His siblings. They could not see past His humanity to who He really was. 

When He was in the wilderness being tempted by satan for 40 days, this is one of the main tactics satan came at Him with, "IF You are the Son of God" trying to place that doubt in Jesus' mind. His true identity was continually under attack all throughout His earthly life and ministry. There was a constant "contradiction of sinners against Himself" that He had to deal with and keep squelching the lies and believing the truth about who He was. 

Sound familiar? If Jesus' true identity was constantly being contradicted by sinners & satan, do we think we will get by with less? Jesus said, "a man's foes shall be they of his own household" in Matt. 10:36, and in Mark 6:4, He said, "A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." Familiarity breeds contempt, and often those we grew up with and those who saw us in our past, sinful life have a difficult time believing who we are now in Christ. They see only the failures and issues and are blinded to the fact God has made us new and can use us mightily. Also, satan will continually throw our past up to us, but that is NOT who we are now. God sees us through the lens of His own Son's blood that was shed on the cross, and that is how we must learn to view ourselves and drown out those who contradict that with the truth of who GOD says we are today."

So, don't ever forget how special you are!  No matter what is said about you, who turns against you, how the enemy tries to bring you down, when you try and fail, or where your insecurities lie.  Remember that it is GOD who defines you, and you are His extraordinarily special child.  It was for YOU that He sent His only begotten Son to be born in the lowliest of circumstances on that first Christmas night so long ago.  

Have a wonderful Christmas, and keep your eyes on Him!

Much love from our house to yours!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(Thank you to my special friend, Priscilla, for sending the beautiful Christmas graphic!)

Update on Kelly:

Kelly is home from the hospital and continuing to improve!!  Isn't God so good?  Please continue to keep her and family members who are caring for her in your prayers.  God has brought her a long way, and we know He is able to complete her healing process.  Thank you so much for your prayers!