A lot of people get caught up in gifts over the holidays and a lot of people in the church get pretty bent out of shape about that. At A.M.O.K. and in my personal life and ministry I have been focused very heavily on gifts too. Much of my ministry is focused on gifts. And so here's what I propose, as you receive and give your gifts this Christmas season remember that Christmas is all about giving and receiving. God gave His Son for you, so that you could receive salvation. God gave you gifts and talents so that you could work them, develop them and offer them back to Him to Give Him glory. When we give God glory with what he has given us, others see twhat we have received and what we give and receive Jesus. Jesus said You are the light of the world a city on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, instead the place it on a stand and it give light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men so they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. This Christmas season of lights and gifts, let your light shine and use your gifts to bring praise to the giver.
God bless,
Dave

Keep watching this site, exciting things will be happening in 2008.

Do you have any idea of how much you're worth? Too often we think we are not very valuable. Don't you believe it. The Bible tells us that God created each of us for a purpose--that there is very definite and important reason you're here--that you fit into God's plan for the universe. But that's not all. John 3:16 tells us that God loves us so much that he gave his only son Jesus too die in our place so that if we'll believe in Him we can receive eternal life. Think about that. That means you are worth so much to God that he left Jesus come and die in your place. You are highly valuable to God, so live like it.

1 Peter 4:10 says each one should use WHATEVER gifts he has received to serve others... What gifts do you have that could be used to serve God and other people? Don't just think about the "churchy" things, think about the way God made you and the gifts and talents he gave you and use that. If we all did that, we would see amazing things happen as all these different people all did different things all with the intent of doing something really different...loving, caring for and serving others to the glory of God. It would truly make a different world. Make a difference.

It all comes down to this, if you feel like you might need a "do over" in your life, there is one available, It's found in Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore if anyone is Christ, He is a new creation (or New Creature in the King James) The old has gone and the new has come."

When we invite Jesus into our hearts and accept Him as Lord and Savior, He transforms us and allows us to start life over with a clean slate.

The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Sin simply means to miss the mark, that nobody's perfect. We all knew that already. But sin builds up in our lives and makes life harder and harder. And sin separates us from God. To be right with God, we need sin out of our lives. Problem is we can't do that on our own. So if we sin we can't be with God, we can't go to heaven where He is and try as we might we can't get rid of our sin altogether. This leaves us doomed.

But there's a problem...
God loves us and he doesn't want us to be separated from Him. He wants us to live with Him forever, in this life and the one that is to come. Sin needed to be gone from our lives for good. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. So Jesus Christ, the son of God came and died in our place. He traded his life for ours, so that if we will believe in Him (that He is the Son of God, that He died to take away the sin of the world and that He rose again from the grace) we can inherit eternal life and become the children of God. The blood of Jesus washed away our sins and gives us the ability to start over with a clean slate.

If you want to start over and be a new creature, pray to God, ask Jesus to be your savior, to save you from your sins and help you to start over living without your sin. Ask Him to forgive you and ask Him to be your Lord, which means your master. Ask Him to lead you in the right way and ask Him to change your life. After all you wouldn't want a fresh start and then go back to all the stuff that is hurting you, would you? Ask Him to help you to follow Him and thank Him.

You're a New Creature...
If you prayed that prayer and meant it with all your heart, you are forgiven no matter what you've done. Now the big key is not to go back to your old ways.

God will help you with that, so keep praying, God will never get tired of hearing from you. Get a Bible and read it, so you can know more about Jesus and learn what he is like and learn to follow Him. If you are new to the Bible, I recommend that you don't just start at the beginning. The Bible is not really one book but a collection of 66 books that all point to Jesus. I recommend that you start with the books of Luke and John. These books will really help you to see what Jesus is like.

There's one more thing that you NEED to do. There's a lot more to living this new life than I can share with you here. You need to find a church, a good strong, Bible believing church, to guide you and help you to understand what you're reading in the Bible and help you to follow Jesus. I'd love for you all to come to my church (and if you're in the Reading, Pennsylvania area, please do. ) but that would be impossible for most of you, but please find a church where you fit and let them help you worship and serve the Lord.

If you've made the decision to accept Christ, I'd love to know about it. Please drop me an email me with "I'm a New Creature" In the Subject line.
Welcome to the family of God
Your Brother in Jesus
DC (Dave) Weiss

Following the crowd is not the way to go, just ask lemmings, strange little arctic rodents who periodically make these migrations that end up with hundreds of them running off a cliff to their deaths. It can be like that with us humans when we go the way everyone else is going even when we know it's wrong. Proverbs 16:25 says There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. When in doubt do the right thing even if you're doing it alone. Following the crowd can be more toruble than it's worth.

The Bait
There's this verse in the Bible that people misquote all the time. They say that God will never put on you more than you can bear. That's not really what it says, because if it was, no one would ever die. Obviously what caused your death would be more than you can bear. What the verse really says deals with our fishy friend above. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says "And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. We all have stuff that is tempting for us, stuff that we know is bad for us, stuff that will drag us down. It's tempting because it feels like fun but we know deep in our hearts that there will be a price to pay if we do. When you are starting to feel tempted, look for the way out. God has promised to give you one. Then all you have to do is be smart enough to take it. Sin: Don't take the bait.

Did you ever feel like you were going the wrong direction? There is a solution and it's easier than you think. Turn around, make a U-turn, stop and get directions, consult the map. In my life, I came to the point where I knew I was going in the wrong direction and I didn't know what to do about it. Then one day someone came along side me and pointed me to following Jesus. It was the best decision I have ever made. There's a verse in the Bible (the best map of all to get through this life) that says "therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (or New Creature depending on the translation) the old has gone and the new has come." Trust Jesus with your life, and let Him turn you around and guide you in the right direction.

We all know the old saying, "Actions Speak Louder Than Words." Nowhere is this more important than for Christians. When you claim to be a Christian, you always represent Christ. It's not enough to talk Jesus, we also have to "live Jesus." Do your words and your life match up? Once when Jesus was speaking of making of vows, he said "Simply let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'...(Matthew 5:37)" In a world where so many accuse Christians of hypocrissy, we need to say what we mean and mean what we say.

Creative people are often thought of as "a little strange." They look at the world a little differently than everybody else. They see new ways of doing things and dream up things that never existed before. They have a different way of thinking. I think that's okay, especially if out differentness, is guided by God. In the Bible, Christians are called to be a peculiar people, set apart and different. Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Being different just for the sake of being different is not always a great idea, so be different for God's sake and shine His light into your world.