By Ryan Kelly –

There is one thing that I urge all brothers and sisters to do as God blesses us with a new year in 2018. This one thing is the very fabric of our faith, as it is the gift that has been given to us.

This gift is love.

God so loved us that He paved a way to rid us of our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Through Him we gain new life and are made perfect in the eyes of God.

This great love should flow overwhelmingly from Christians as we follow His example.

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other…This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters…Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John‬ ‭3:14-18‬

We should love not only those that love us, but also those that hurt us. God tells us to love our enemies, and this is because it follows the example of Jesus as He loved those that persecuted Him.

We should love with action, meaning that we should speak, listen, pray and give with and to those with need.

We should love all, not just those that look like us or live near us.

Let’s make it a goal for each of us in 2018 to love more deeply. Share the gospel, share your resources, and invest in the lives of others. Show the love of Jesus and let His light shine from within you!

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

I met this fellow (or lady, as the case may be) earlier this month as it was perched alongside a sandy beach of Alabama’s eastern-most gulf coast. The bird was very large, and I could see it quite a ways back as I walked toward the sand. It was aware of my presence, too, stopping momentarily two or three times to glance in my direction. The closer I got, the slower I walked. First of all, I wanted to get close enough to catch some good pictures, one of which you see here. And secondly, I did not want any bird with a long very sharp beak getting mad at me. Besides, this bird was at least two feet tall, and it was sitting atop a fence railing that made it taller than I am. I would have had to pass within inches of that sharp beak in order to step onto the beach.

Here I was – a grown man – and yet I didn’t wish to be attacked by a bird, of all things. An older couple strolled up behind me not very long after I stopped to snap some pictures, and it was as far as they dared go as well. So we stood and talked about the bird. We talked about the beauty of the ocean and the dancing dolphins our for their morning feeding, about the surrounding areas and the little towns nearby, and about our respective churches. We talked about our worship styles and the sizes of our congregations. We talked about the beauty and the goodness of God. All of this with complete strangers. But we had the same focus that morning – a very large intimidating bird.

If God’s people could only focus on the same things – the goodness and grace of God in this world, then how much better off we would all be. I can’t say how the rest of the day went for that older couple, but I left that spot that morning knowing I had been in the presence of God, and I had a beautiful day. Had I not stopped, partly in awe, partly in fear, partly in amazement, to watch that very large bird, I would have missed my encounter with those lovely people and quite possibly with the One Who designed that all of our paths should cross that day.

The very large bird had a beak with a very sharp point. And God certainly has a point to all that He does and to every path on which he places us each day. May He show you the point this week as you continue to prepare for Christmas day. May your path be crossed by some beautiful creatures and some lovely people, and may you realize just how much you have in common in God’s plan.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

The events of the past few days have brought upon our area of west-central Alabama some of the deepest and prettiest snows we have seen in several years, with as much as 8 inches of the stuff in places and hundreds of folks without electricity for over 48 hours with temps in the twenties.

My brother-in-law and I had to make a trip to Birmingham in it.  Suffice it to say we do not recommend doing that – ever.  You can see an example of just one of our county roads in my picture.  Trees were bowing to meet each other in the middle of the road.

One of the neatest things about snow is that it blankets everything dirty and makes it look new, bright, and beautiful.  But one difficult thing about the snow is that it can become very heavy, causing things to bow and break, and bringing on new burdens of uncomfortable and perhaps dangerous situations.

We are now just two weeks from Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the One Who came to wash us white as snow and cover a multitude of dirty things in our lives with His forgiveness, grace, and mercy.  He also comes to ease those heavy burdens, even the burdens of those who have already been washed white as snow, but who some days feel bowed over beneath the weight of the world’s responsibilities on their shoulders.

When the sun shines, the snow melts.  When the Son shines in your life, those burdens melt away.  As you enjoy your Christmas season, thank God for the beautiful snow, but also for the fact that the Son will shine again!

Just a thought.