What if Jesus came back this Christmas?
While searching the Bible for "living hope" i only found one verse that used the phrase. It was referring to Jesus' resurrection. Because He is alive we have hope over death. Because He did not die we have eternal life. So then I wondered what does "living hope" (resurrection) have to do with Christmas? It goes more along with Easter than Christmas.
Then I decided without Christmas there would be no Easter. It started with His birth, but praise GOD it did not end with His death. His resurrection brings us hope for Christmas's to come. Then the thought crossed my mind "what if Jesus came back this Christmas?"
Would we be too busy with decorations to notice? Would we be out getting those last minute gifts when those eastern skies parted? Could we fit the return of our Savior into our already packed schedules?
Wouldn't it be amazing if Jesus did come during the very season we celebrate His coming in the first place! The simple thought turned into hours of wonder and speculation. Of course no man knows the hour or the day and I am no prophet claiming to know He is coming on December 25, 2012, but I do know He is coming, I do believe we need to tell the whole world that Jesus Christ was born, died, was crucified, rose on the third day, returned to heaven, and is coming again! One day, someday, any day now, maybe even His birthday. Only our Father in heaven knows when, but we who have faith in Jesus Christ are hoping and expecting His triumphant return any day!
This Christmas take a moment to ponder what we are celebrating. Think about that first Christmas and then think about the last Christmas. The one where we get to celebrate our Risen Savior for all eternity.
I pray each and everyone of my brothers and sisters in Christ will have a very Merry Christmas this year,......And if you hear a loud noise in the middle of the night on Christmas eve, it may not be reindeer.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Living Hope
Hoping is not wishing, it's expecting.
We hope, we watch, we wait, for our savior to return.
The days, the nights, pass on by, we are left to yearn.
Longing, seeking, knowing the day is drawing near.
Our Savior is on His way to take us far from here.
The world will pass away and heaven will be revealed.
Our restless souls will be at peace, eternity is sealed.
Jesus Christ, our living hope, Is coming for His bride.
We will take our rightful place at our Saviors side.
We have this hope of heaven because Jesus is alive.
They tried to crucify Him, but love refused to die.
Death no longer has a sting, the grave was overthrown.
No fear or doubt can shake us now, we hope in Christ alone.
By Deborah Pinnell 10-26-12
1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Safe in HIS arms.
While on my mission trip to Uganda I was working at a baby home feeding babies and loving on the littlest, sweetest orphans. I wanted to hold them all and just felt like i could have spent the whole 10 days there. A volunteer came into the nursery and asked if one of us could check in on a child that had been brought in that day. She said she was worried about her and felt bad leaving her. I immediately volunteered and headed to the isolation room. They kept them in there away from others until they could be checked out and cleared by a doctor. What i saw when i got there broke my heart. This child was in a dark room crying so hard she was hyperventilating. The sobs where gut wrenching. I immediately picked her up and tried to console her. She clung to me with a death grip and continued to sob. I tried rocking her in my arms and just rubbing her back and softly saying it's ok, it's ok. The sobs kept coming and my heart kept breaking for her.
As i was turning around in this small room i saw the sign on the door that read "isolation" I was taken back by that because when i was 8 years old i was in a children's home in an isolation room for three days. It was one of the hardest times of my life and to this day i tear up when i think about it. I was traumatized more by that than any abuse i had ever endured. After the second night there i was at a breaking point. I thought i was going to go crazy if i didn't talk to someone. So i cried out to GOD. I said if you are real please come i need you now and i can't bear to be alone any more. In that moment of desperation i felt HIS presence. It was if peace entered that room and felt that HE wrapped me in HIS arms and instantly my tears stopped and i fell asleep singing JESUS loves me to myself. I have never doubted if GOD was real in my life because i knew from that moment on that HE was real.
So there i stood in an isolation room in Uganda reliving the memory of that painful experience with this broken little girl. Knowing what it felt like to be alone, scared, confused, and desperate for arms to hold and comfort you. I felt so overwhelmed with all the emotions that i thought i would collapse when out of no where i just started to sing a song. A song that i had never heard before. Instantly i felt as if GOD were singing it to me and to her. That same peace i felt as a child was there in this room too. GOD was holding us both and as i sang she feel sound asleep. No sniffles or sobs just peaceful rest came over her. I stood there amazed at how Our GOD works through us. He allowed me to see that HE was holding us both and that HE had really never let me go, nor would HE ever let her go. She was safe in HIS arms for life; just as my life had been turned around so would this precious little girls life be in HIS capable hands. As i sang each line spoke through me was a message to me and to her. A short time later someone came to tell me it was time to go. I was afraid if i put her down she would start crying all over again and it would break my heart to leave her, but as i lay her down she was curled up just as peaceful as she had been moments before in my arms. That is when i realized that HE was still holding her. I left there feeling so blessed to have seen GOD at work. Knowing that when i get to heaven she will be there with stories of how GOD worked in her life and I left knowing that we both were HIS children and we both would be held for eternity safe in our Father's arms.
"Safe in HIS arms"
Safe in HIS arms, you are safe in HIS arms oh child.
He will never let you go, He's wanting you to know
That you are safe in HIS arms for life.
Safe in HIS arms, safe in HIS arms, you are safe in the arms of GOD.
He see's each tear you cry, has an answer for your why's
You are safe in HIS arms oh child.
Safe in HIS arms, safe in HIS arms, you are safe in the arms of GOD.
HE will never let you down, HE'll turn this life around
You are safe in HIS arms for life.
Safe in HIS arms, safe in HIS arms, you are safe in the arms of GOD.
As i was turning around in this small room i saw the sign on the door that read "isolation" I was taken back by that because when i was 8 years old i was in a children's home in an isolation room for three days. It was one of the hardest times of my life and to this day i tear up when i think about it. I was traumatized more by that than any abuse i had ever endured. After the second night there i was at a breaking point. I thought i was going to go crazy if i didn't talk to someone. So i cried out to GOD. I said if you are real please come i need you now and i can't bear to be alone any more. In that moment of desperation i felt HIS presence. It was if peace entered that room and felt that HE wrapped me in HIS arms and instantly my tears stopped and i fell asleep singing JESUS loves me to myself. I have never doubted if GOD was real in my life because i knew from that moment on that HE was real.
So there i stood in an isolation room in Uganda reliving the memory of that painful experience with this broken little girl. Knowing what it felt like to be alone, scared, confused, and desperate for arms to hold and comfort you. I felt so overwhelmed with all the emotions that i thought i would collapse when out of no where i just started to sing a song. A song that i had never heard before. Instantly i felt as if GOD were singing it to me and to her. That same peace i felt as a child was there in this room too. GOD was holding us both and as i sang she feel sound asleep. No sniffles or sobs just peaceful rest came over her. I stood there amazed at how Our GOD works through us. He allowed me to see that HE was holding us both and that HE had really never let me go, nor would HE ever let her go. She was safe in HIS arms for life; just as my life had been turned around so would this precious little girls life be in HIS capable hands. As i sang each line spoke through me was a message to me and to her. A short time later someone came to tell me it was time to go. I was afraid if i put her down she would start crying all over again and it would break my heart to leave her, but as i lay her down she was curled up just as peaceful as she had been moments before in my arms. That is when i realized that HE was still holding her. I left there feeling so blessed to have seen GOD at work. Knowing that when i get to heaven she will be there with stories of how GOD worked in her life and I left knowing that we both were HIS children and we both would be held for eternity safe in our Father's arms.
"Safe in HIS arms"
Safe in HIS arms, you are safe in HIS arms oh child.
He will never let you go, He's wanting you to know
That you are safe in HIS arms for life.
Safe in HIS arms, safe in HIS arms, you are safe in the arms of GOD.
He see's each tear you cry, has an answer for your why's
You are safe in HIS arms oh child.
Safe in HIS arms, safe in HIS arms, you are safe in the arms of GOD.
HE will never let you down, HE'll turn this life around
You are safe in HIS arms for life.
Safe in HIS arms, safe in HIS arms, you are safe in the arms of GOD.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Where did I go?
I was just not sensing GOD's presence lately. Like i had in the past. It is a slow fade sometimes. We just just off track a little bit, no big sin just get busy with life and lose focus, then we look around around and wonder how we got so far from GOD. Others may look at me and think that i am not living a sinful life, it's not like i am backsliding, i just know that my prayer life is not what it should be. I allow busy days to turn into busy weeks and before i know it i have become too busy for GOD. HE showed me this week where i have fallen short and i am so grateful for HIS correction. Thank you GOD for this revelation.
So this is the way you get my attention
this is the way you draw me back in.
You change my perspective and direction;
you open my eyes to see my own sin.
Broken and wounded i cry for your mercy;
desperately seeking to see your face.
Weeping and wanting to feel your presence;
passionately hoping to find my place.
You alone are my sustainer, You alone make me whole.
You alone are my GOD, you alone restore my soul.
No matter how far i stray away, i can always run back to you.
You patiently wait till i turn your way then you run to meet me too.
By:Deborah Pinnell
05-07-12
So this is the way you get my attention
this is the way you draw me back in.
You change my perspective and direction;
you open my eyes to see my own sin.
Broken and wounded i cry for your mercy;
desperately seeking to see your face.
Weeping and wanting to feel your presence;
passionately hoping to find my place.
You alone are my sustainer, You alone make me whole.
You alone are my GOD, you alone restore my soul.
No matter how far i stray away, i can always run back to you.
You patiently wait till i turn your way then you run to meet me too.
By:Deborah Pinnell
05-07-12
Why do I go?
People keep asking me "why are you going to Uganda?" I wrote this in response to that question.
Jesus changed my life; i am not the same.
You ask why i go? It's because HE came.
He left heaven behind to suffer and die.
I have no right to complain, or ever ask why.
Why me? Why there? What will i do?
None of that matters. LORD let me serve YOU!
There are souls that are starving, hungry for HIS word.
I must go and share all I have heard.
I know a truth the world is desperate to hear.
"You are never and alone, and you have nothing to fear. Jesus will carry your burdens; take away all your shame. He died for your sins, your'e the reason HE came."
Someone, somewhere needs to hear that today.
GOD hears their cries and now He's making a way.
HE calls on those who are asking "LORD what can i do?
I owe you my life, i want to serve you."
Leave all your comforts, follow me to the cross.
Go to the broken, show the way to the lost.
I sent others to you so you could be free.
So don't forget who you were before you knew me.
If you ever question should people really go.
Ask yourself this "What if no one ever let me know?"
By Deborah Pinnell 5-6-12
Jesus changed my life; i am not the same.
You ask why i go? It's because HE came.
He left heaven behind to suffer and die.
I have no right to complain, or ever ask why.
Why me? Why there? What will i do?
None of that matters. LORD let me serve YOU!
There are souls that are starving, hungry for HIS word.
I must go and share all I have heard.
I know a truth the world is desperate to hear.
"You are never and alone, and you have nothing to fear. Jesus will carry your burdens; take away all your shame. He died for your sins, your'e the reason HE came."
Someone, somewhere needs to hear that today.
GOD hears their cries and now He's making a way.
HE calls on those who are asking "LORD what can i do?
I owe you my life, i want to serve you."
Leave all your comforts, follow me to the cross.
Go to the broken, show the way to the lost.
I sent others to you so you could be free.
So don't forget who you were before you knew me.
If you ever question should people really go.
Ask yourself this "What if no one ever let me know?"
By Deborah Pinnell 5-6-12
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Life is Hard
Have you ever wondered why life is hard? Most people wonder why Christians don't have easy lives. We think and sometimes say "why did that happen to them? They are such good people" as if GOD only allows bad things to happen to bad people. We must all suffer trials and must be willing to take up our cross. Whatever that may mean. Some of us have wayward children who break our hearts; parents with Cancer, marriages that are not what they should be, or suffer from depression or addiction. There are no perfect Christians and no perfect life for Christ followers. When we say "why is this happening to us" we really are revealing a serious problem in our spiritual lives. We are saying "I deserve better" "I am doing all this for GOD, so HE should do this for me".
I am a sinner saved by grace. I don't deserve what HE has given me, and i have no right to complain when things don't go as i have planned. HE has better plans and HE will never leave us. That is enough for me. In my weakness CHRIST is glorified!
2 Corinthians 12:9
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
9 But he told me: “My kindness[a] is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So I will brag even more about my weaknesses in order that Christ’s power will live in me.
I am a sinner, saved by grace.
No matter what problems that i may face.
I have a Savior and i trust in HIS plans.
I know my life is safe in HIS hands.
The mountains may fall, the waters rise;
but my Father in Heaven is not surprised.
HE knows what I need, HE hears every prayer.
HIS ways are perfect, HE is always fair.
No matter how hard life may seem today.
I believe tomorrow, my GOD will make a way.
By Deborah Pinnell 08-01-11
I am a sinner saved by grace. I don't deserve what HE has given me, and i have no right to complain when things don't go as i have planned. HE has better plans and HE will never leave us. That is enough for me. In my weakness CHRIST is glorified!
2 Corinthians 12:9
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
9 But he told me: “My kindness[a] is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So I will brag even more about my weaknesses in order that Christ’s power will live in me.
I am a sinner, saved by grace.
No matter what problems that i may face.
I have a Savior and i trust in HIS plans.
I know my life is safe in HIS hands.
The mountains may fall, the waters rise;
but my Father in Heaven is not surprised.
HE knows what I need, HE hears every prayer.
HIS ways are perfect, HE is always fair.
No matter how hard life may seem today.
I believe tomorrow, my GOD will make a way.
By Deborah Pinnell 08-01-11
Sunday, June 6, 2010
What would you do for JESUS ?
What would you do for your Savior? Would you risk your life? Would you give it all away? Would you leave it all and follow him to a cross? Some of the people in the Bible had to decide what they would do for JESUS. They had to make a choice to follow or turn away. We have the same choice today. Will we go anywhere, anytime, and do anything to proclaim HIS Name? I am so sure that I want to live my life for HIM. I have not just accepted HIM as my Savior, but i have decided I want to live every moment glorifing the name of JESUS CHRIST.
I have read about people who are risking their lives just so that others can hear the name of JESUS. We here in America have no idea what the rest of the world endures every day. We are so comfortable and the biggest sacrifice we make in any given week is to give up a little time to either go to church or pray and do a devotional. We sacrifice a small portion of our money and we think that is all that is required of us. What if it cost you more to be a Christian? What would you be willing to give up? How much of your life really belongs to JESUS? Just a small portion?
Love the LORD your GOD with ALL your heart, with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength. He does not just want a tenth of you HE wants your ALL! I read a statement this week that has really got me thinking. "What is JESUS worth to you?" We don't always put alot of value on something that cost us nothing. Persucuted Christians around the world know about sacrifice and they choose JESUS even though it will cost them their jobs, their families, their freedom, and even their lives. JESUS is so worth it ALL, but it doesn't cost us anything to follow HIM. If it did how many would still be a Christian. I have heard of a mother in Iran whose 3 yr old child was taken from her because she became a christian. The judge told her if she would renounce JESUS she could take her child and go home. She stood in the courtroom looking across the room at her daughter and with tears she cried she could never forsake her Savior. What a hard choice. I am so grateful that we don't have to live in a place where you are persucuted for the name of JESUS, but i am sad too, because we have so much more, but are not willing to do more with it.
When much is given much is required. We have more than enough when we have JESUS. HE does not bless us just so we can be blessed, HE blesses us so that we can bless others. We need to do more to proclaim HIS fame and to make HIS name known. So ask yourself now....What would you do for JESUS?
I have read about people who are risking their lives just so that others can hear the name of JESUS. We here in America have no idea what the rest of the world endures every day. We are so comfortable and the biggest sacrifice we make in any given week is to give up a little time to either go to church or pray and do a devotional. We sacrifice a small portion of our money and we think that is all that is required of us. What if it cost you more to be a Christian? What would you be willing to give up? How much of your life really belongs to JESUS? Just a small portion?
Love the LORD your GOD with ALL your heart, with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength. He does not just want a tenth of you HE wants your ALL! I read a statement this week that has really got me thinking. "What is JESUS worth to you?" We don't always put alot of value on something that cost us nothing. Persucuted Christians around the world know about sacrifice and they choose JESUS even though it will cost them their jobs, their families, their freedom, and even their lives. JESUS is so worth it ALL, but it doesn't cost us anything to follow HIM. If it did how many would still be a Christian. I have heard of a mother in Iran whose 3 yr old child was taken from her because she became a christian. The judge told her if she would renounce JESUS she could take her child and go home. She stood in the courtroom looking across the room at her daughter and with tears she cried she could never forsake her Savior. What a hard choice. I am so grateful that we don't have to live in a place where you are persucuted for the name of JESUS, but i am sad too, because we have so much more, but are not willing to do more with it.
When much is given much is required. We have more than enough when we have JESUS. HE does not bless us just so we can be blessed, HE blesses us so that we can bless others. We need to do more to proclaim HIS fame and to make HIS name known. So ask yourself now....What would you do for JESUS?
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