Micah 5:2 ” But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

700 years later, in a quiet unpretentious little town, the Messiah was born.  There was no fanfare, no pomp and pageantry…just a barn and a baby.  The Lord would rather use the humble…the plain and ordinary to do His best work.  Common,  simple people are His very best instrument for some of His most wonderful miracles.  Don’t ever dismiss yourself as someone God could never use…for in fact, you are exactly who He wants.

Psalm 10:14 ” But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; You consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

The Lord understands the misery and sorrow you may feel today.  He wants to take that pain from you…placing it in His all-powerful  hands and off your shoulders.  If burdens are weighing you down today…entrust yourself to God’s mercy and fall upon His  grace.

James 1:23 ” Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

You know your face better than anyone else…every nook and cranny – every spot and wrinkle.  You’re familiar enough with your face that you can readily pick yourself out of a group picture.  We need to know the Word of God in the same manner.  We can’t causally listen to His Word allowing it to go in one ear and out the other.  His Word must go deep inside…changing us for the better – not being dismissed and forgotten.  The key is to contemplate, internalize, and apply His Word to your life…mirroring His life with yours.

Deuteronomy 4:32 ” Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? “

The Lord is God.  Over the ages we have heard and seen His awesome signs and wonders.  We have been privy to these in order that we might “know” beyond a shadow of doubt  that the Lord is God of all.  There is no other above Him…the Lord is God.

Galatians 2:5 ” We did not give in to them for a moment…”

Last night our Bible Study was discussing how easily we compromise to the world’s standards.  How one small concession only leads to another, and another, until we suddenly find ourselves far from God and the path He has chosen for us.  A wonderful analogy was shared by our friend who is employed with a co-worker in a large,  cavernous warehouse with many, many fluorescent lights…of which slowly over time, were going out one by one.  Neither lady realized it until one day they both exclaimed how dark it was inside!  As they toured the building, they discovered there were 18 fluorescent lights out…no wonder it was so murky!  Compromise is just as insidious…happening slowly…one acquiescence at a time…until suddenly we too find ourselves in the dark.

Ephesians 1:11 ” In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will…”

You are not a mistake.  No matter what people tell you, God’s divine Will included you as an important part in this world.  He has a unique purpose for your life here on earth…your birth was foreordained by Him…He knew you before you were even conceived.  You are not a mistake, but a valuable part of God’s plan.

Isaiah 43: 12-13 ” I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, that I am God. Yes, and from ancient days I am He. No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it? “

When God moves, no thing or person can change the outcome He has in mind.  His sovereignty and  power is ever evident as He  works miracles…both on the grand scale, and little blessings only known by the recipient. But the most  important part of this verse is the concept that God’s work can never be snatched away or revoked… for  the Lord is ever in complete control.

II Chronicles 20:17 ” You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you…”

You don’t need to fight those battles alone.  You don’t have to stand unaided in front of the enemy of this world defenseless and vulnerable.  The Lord tells us very specifically in this scripture what our role should be in battle.  We are to stand our ground and commit ourselves to trusting God.  We are to hold our ground, not wavering in our belief that God is in control and fighting on our behalf.  Finally, we are to watch as the Lord works… giving us the victory.

Psalm 80:3 ” Restore us O God; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”

Turn us around Lord.  Return us to our first love and enable us to know again the joy of our salvation.  As it says in Psalm 71:20, “Though You have made me see troubles many and bitter, You will restore my life again.”  Refresh us  O Lord that we may restore others around us.

Isaiah 57: 14-15 ” And it will be said: ‘Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of My people.’ For this is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ “

A refreshing is coming.  A time of spiritual edification and uplifting for all Believers.  God will send a new wind of change…to restore and strengthen the broken and discouraged.  He will breathe new life into old places…and fresh vision into tired and apathetic souls.  As Oswald Chambers once said, ” Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been .”  A new wind is coming…a time of refreshing is upon us.