God cares for people in many different ways.

Psalm 146:

But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7 He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

Be thankful to God in all of His majesty and teach your children to do the same.

Psalm 145:

I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

O Holy Night sung by a little girl named Claire while her daddy played the guitar. It gets even better when she sings the second verse.

God wants us to be kind to others.

I visited women in prison recently. Since Christmas is coming I wished them a Merry Christmas but then I thought, Can they really have a Merry Christmas in prison, away from their family? Were my words that were  intended to be kind, insulting or depressing them? I hope not. Next year I will just say a few quick Merry Christmases and not expound any more than that.

This verse is my prayer for these women. May they be set free in their souls and minds from that which overwhelms them before they are ever set free from their concrete prison walls.

In the book of Revelation, an angel carried the Gospel,  telling of Jesus, to the world.

Revelation 14:

6 And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”

i turn the words of the Psalm into a prayer for my family in 2018.

Praise the Lord!
How joyful are those who fear the Lord
and delight in obeying his commands.
2 Their children will be successful everywhere;
an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
3 They themselves will be wealthy,
and their good deeds will last forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
5 Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
6 Such people will not be overcome by evil.
Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
7 They do not fear bad news;
they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
8 They are confident and fearless
and can face their foes triumphantly.
9 They share freely and give generously to those in need.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
They will have influence and honor.
10 The wicked will see this and be infuriated.
They will grind their teeth in anger;
they will slink away, their hopes thwarted

When I was around nine years old the book The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey was a best seller. It was about how the world would come to an end according to the Bible. Everyone was talking about it including kids like me. My family didn’t go to church regularly but my friend did. I wanted to become a Christian because I was so scared and I knew I couldn’t run from God.

Today I have been a Christian for many years. I have a One Year Bible that helps me read it through in a year. The great thing about my Bible is I’m reading the last book, Revelation, at Christmas time. I like the combination of focusing on Jesus’ birth and the scary details of Revelation. The truth is God provided Jesus, and even told about His birth in the Old Testament book of Isaiah , hundreds of years before He came to earth. I no longer worry about the troublesome times that will come upon the earth like I did when I was young. I look to Jesus, the Son of God. He’s my Savior.

It seems everyone gains interest in the Bible when the mark of the beast is talked about.  When I was young it scared me hearing about the prophecies yet to be fulfilled from the book of Revelation. I was just a kid but wanted to become a Christian because it all sounded so scary to me.

Revelation 13:

16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

Gorgeous and peaceful