What We Need To Know At Christmas 2013

“Mary was full of God’s grace simply because God chose to bless her. We have no description of her being holy or pious or deserving. She was a virgin, yes, but not perfect, not without sin. For Jesus to be fully the Son of Man, his mother had to be fully human. What made Mary worthy of her calling was not her virtue; it was God’s virtue. That’s why her story gives every woman a generous measure of hope. God takes us as we are and uses us as he will, for our good and for his glory. Talk about being ‘endued with grace!’”–Excerpted from The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs.

“Evil talks about tolerance only when it’s weak. When it gains the upper hand, its vanity always requires the destruction of the good and the innocent, because the example of good and innocent lives is an ongoing witness against it. So it always has been. So it always will be. And America has no special immunity to becoming an enemy of its own founding beliefs about human freedom, human dignity, the limited power of the state, and the sovereignty of God”–Archbishop Chaput.

“The Bible says vengeance is God’s. He will repay. (Romans 12:19). What a great reminder! Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. We tend to give too much or too little. But the God of justice has the precise prescription”–Max Lucado.

“Never lay aside the humility that is worn by forgiven men.”

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head’ “–Romans 12:19-20.

If you would like to receive my daily posts, you can subscribe at the top of the page. It’s easy and it’s free. I would also appreciate your sending this to others as well. Waylonbailey.com is my ministry across the internet. Thank you for reading and sharing.

Share this post

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email

One Response

  1. The Romans 12:19-20 quote hits home hard, as it was explained by NOBTS professor of New Testament Greek during a discourse on this passage. Dr. R. E. (Ed) Glaze stated that the reason our enemies are to be treated thusly has nothing to do with the Isaiah Scripture in the sense it is often taken. One must understand the context of the times and representation of the coals being important in everyday life of a migrant people. The coals are from the fire, placed in the heart of the community. When a traveler, visitor, enters the camp, news is shared around the fire, stories and history is told, traditions passed on, food is taken (cooked) from and consumed around the fire, water is purified by the fire, warmth is received from the cold night from the fire. The fire keeps beasts of prey away. The last gracious act of a host would be to offer a portion of the heart of their community to the traveler, visitor, when leaving the camp. It would be in the form of banked coals placed in a pan carried above the head of the traveler, so that the heat may rise up, while the pan provided shade from the sun. Thus the “Heart” of the community would be carried, extended, becoming (start a new fire) the “Heart” of a new community, people. So it is we show a New Way (Good News) to those who do not know the Love of God working through His People. We invest ourselves in them, that we might be One with them in Our Lord. Together we are to fulfill the Great Commission overcoming evil with “Good.” Only in this context does Paul writings and the Words of Christ come together. Thus Romans 12:21: Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with Good. Remembering always, “There is no Good apart from God.”

    It’s been so long; after the lesson, I spent time with Dr. Carlton L. Winbery, another Greek and New Testament Professor from NOBTS, in Israel, January 1988, where I visited a Bedouin Camp in Jericho. And what do you know….
    M-Div. 1989 Biblical Studies
    Blessings

Leave a Reply to Ed Matthew Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *