In Acts the Bible tells us we need to be in relationships for our personal and spiritual growth. As Paul and the early Christians taught and received teaching “from house to house,”  we  too must  respond  in our
walk with Christ in each other’s homes (Acts 5:42; 20:20)! Even in the shadow of the Temple they did this, even in the shadow of your Church you can do this too. Why did they do this? Because they needed to be connected to one another in their fragmented and persecuted world, we desperately need to be connected too! They needed a way and place to do as Christ modeled and taught them, the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches so that God’s Kingdom will be built and glorified.

Are you thinking this is great but not for me? Perhaps you are like me, struggling a very busy full plate in life. A plate that is overfilled with mounds of things that you need to do and are responsible for in your life. Perhaps, they are overflowing your dish. We all struggle with the demands of our career and all of the frustrations and stress placed on us, such as goals, deadlines work flow and the office high jinx. Then there are our family obligations, taking the kids to school, picking them up here and there, dealing with all of their demands and obligations too. Then maybe you are already volunteering for something in the church or community. Maybe you are juggling work and school and family, to the point there is not a free minute in our week. Then you are asked, “Hey, why don’t you join our small group?” What??? I do not have the time! I cannot possibly commit to anything else. I am overloaded and overwhelmed! Well, to be honest, then you are the person who needs to be in a small group the most!

Why? Because, it is God’s plan for you to be in quality relationships to Him and then to others within the confines of a loving community, which is also the definition of “Church.” Because, we all need a place to belong and work through the issues of life. Because, we need to be loved and give our love. As a Christian our primary thrust is to know and grow in Christ. Where our goal is to be a surrendered and poured out offering to Christ’s glory (John 14-15; Gal. 2:20-21; Phil. 3:10). How can this be accomplished when all aspects of our life are riddled with stress? By learning spiritual disciplines and receiving the discipleship, relationships and encouragement that small groups offer. We need a place to grow and we as humans in relationship to Christ grow best in community with people who love and care for you!                                                                                (RICHARD J. KREJCIR)

What was Jesus prohibiting when He told us not to lay up treasure for ourselves on      earth? Scripture nowhere forbids ownership and investment in property or business. The anarchist idea that property is theft does not come from the Bible. Jesus commends putting money to work (Luke 19:11-26). Scripture praises the ant for storing in the summer the food it will need in the winter, and condemns the believer who makes no future provision for his family (Prov.6:6ff.; 1 Tim.5:8). Lack of future financial planning is regarded as irresponsibility.

What then was Jesus prohibiting? Living only for this life, loving the things of this world, purely selfish and excessive accumulation of wealth, lack of compassion for those in genuine need (the ‘undeserving’ poor), the foolish fantasy that happiness is to be found in materialism. To lay up treasure on earth does not mean being prudent and responsible by making sensible provision for the future, but being covetous like misers who hoard, and materialists who are greedy. It is thinking that you are the owner rather than the renter of earthly goods; the creator rather than the steward of all that you have. Storing up treasures on earth for yourselves, says Jesus, is foolish because they do not last. Moth and rust destroy earthly treasures and thieves break in and steal them. Nothing can protect your investments if businesses can go bankrupt, banks can fail, currency can be devalued, inflation can occur, stocks can collapse, property values fall, and taxes can rise.

Instead, Jesus teaches us to store up our treasures in heaven, which do not deteriorate but last forever. To store up treasure in heaven is to do anything on earth which will last for eternity. It is a good investment. What are such heavenly investments? The development of a Christ-like character: the fruit of the Spirit; growth in the knowledge of God; investment in the lives of others, especially in bringing them further into the kingdom of Christ; the use of our money and resources for the growth of the kingdom, which is the only investment whose dividends are everlasting. What we freely give away can never be taken from us by any earthly circumstance. We will always have the knowledge that our investment was worthwhile. Our hearts follow our interests and investments. Our lives are blessed by the investments we make. Where we put our treasure, our heart will be also. It is better to put it where it will have lasting good.

Behind our choice between storing up treasures on earth and treasures in heaven, there is our choice between two masters – whom we are going to serve: God or Money.

How can we make sure that we are choosing God over Money? How can we make sure that Money is our servant and not our Master? By giving it away. We are freed from money’s power when we give it away to serve God and His kingdom, to do good, to support kingdom activities. Money cannot do much good when it is stored up on earth. It is when it is released in God’s service that it can do much good and it can bless our souls.  (TED SCHRODER)

If you are a true Christian, Christ declares you to be a valuable and needed part of your local church. You are an unrepeatable miracle! You are a specialized part. No one else can do what you can do as well as you can do it. You cannot be replaced with a substitute part, any more than a surgeon can replace a defective stomach with a pair of lungs. Christ wants you to do in His Body exactly what He’s made you to do because you, as an individual, really do count.

[Unfortunately, many Christians seem to have lost their sense of identity as to what role they play in the Body of Christ. Like someone suffering from amnesia, they are asking themselves, “Who am I as a Christian, and why am I here? Just how do I fit into the family of God? In the midst of all the people and programs, do I, as an individual, really count?” Some people have the funny idea that when they place their tithes in the offering plate, that they are paying the staff to do the work of the ministry for them. No, that’s not so. Our job as staff is to equip you to do your work in the ministry well.]

One of the reasons why God has you here in this local church is that He wants you to grow to become more mature through the process of serving others. God is using this local church to grow baby Christians into mature Christians. That’s why we’re here. We are growing baby Christians into mature Christians.

Babies are cute, babies are wonderful, babies are beautiful, but nobody wants to remain a baby forever. It wouldn’t be healthy. That’s why God’s plan for a healthy church is to grow baby Christians into mature Christians. God stimulates us to grow through the process of giving each one of us a ministry, a ministry that forces us to learn and stretch and grow up. It’s a good plan. Our Heavenly Father thought it up. It’s God’s healthy plan for a healthy church.

So, which practical step of growth will you choose to take today? Maybe you will decide to always link truth with love in communication. Maybe you will decide to get more closely connected to others in the Body through fellowship. Maybe you will decide to do your part to serve in a ministry. Whatever God is leading you to do, take that step toward your own spiritual growth today. (DALE JOHNSEN)

God sent his angel Gabriel to a specific place, a town called Nazareth.  He  knew  where  Mary was,
and He knows where you are. No matter where you go, He will find you. And if you are open to Him, He will speak to you in your innermost being.

Prayer: O God, speak to me at the point of my need. I am listening with my whole heart.

“Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Mary took it all in and pondered it, from the angel’s appearance in Nazareth until the shepherds came and bowed before the Baby. Have you pondered the wonder  of  the  virgin  birth,   God  with  us,  and  all  it
means? I hope you have had a “Mary” Christmas, a pondering, wonder-filled Christmas.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when we think of Your majestic plan, it fills us with wonder!

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning . . . this child” (Luke 2:17).

What is the best gift you received for Christmas? Have you told anyone about it? If it was truly special, you probably have? Have you told anyone about Jesus?
He is far better than any gift we find under a tree. He is God’s “indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Prayer: O God, thank You for giving us Christ, who is worth talking about!

“. . . they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11a).

The Wise Men bowed before the wisest One who ever lived. The three kings, as they are sometimes called, worshiped the infant King. They presented Him  with  gifts as a part  of their worship.  What  will
you give this Christmas? Why not give Him yourself?

Prayer: O God, this is my gift this Christmas: I give myself to You.