Complete in Him

by Tammy Phillips
December 31, 2021

“Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place.” (Ecclesiastes 10:6 NKJV)

If you know me, you know that the Holy Spirit gives me a guiding word each year.    I have been hearing, “go low…and slow,” for a while now.  I know that I need to slow down and spend more intimate time with Him, but what does “go low” mean?  According to Websters 1828 Dictionary, low means humble instead of high and lofty; reduce arrogance and self-dependence; meek and submissive to divine will; free from pride; to go deep; cry out.  It is time to take me out of the equation! 

If you know me well, you know my maiden name is Lowe.  Depending on my heritage, my last name could mean “at the low,” a locational name from someone who lived near a hill or my name could mean “a lion,” and a name was given to a brave or regal person.  In 2022 I suppose I am being called to live up to my name and to go low.  

Solomon says that folly and stupidity are promoted in this world, while the “rich” sit in a lowly, humble place.  I choose to abide in the low, meek, humble place in 2022.  I will learn what it means to “go low and humble myself.”

The word of God says:

“Be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,” (1 Peter 5:5-6 NKJV)

1. Be clothed with humility.
   “To be clothed  was to wear the white scarf or apron of slaves, which was fastened to the belt of the vest and distinguished slaves from freemen. Therefore, 1 Pet 5:5, “gird yourselves with humility as your servile garb” encourages Christians to show their subjection one to another by putting on humility, humbleness, and lowliness of mind.” (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1463/kjv/tr/0-1/)
2. God gives grace to the humble and low

“But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:6, 10 NKJV)

3. Humble yourself under God
   Submit and lower ourselves to God. Serve in His kingdom. He will elevate us in due time. “He sets on high those who are lowly…(Job 5:11 NKJV)  “But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:6, 10 NKJV)

“Therefore, as [the] elect of God, holy and beloved, put on…humility…” (Colossians 3:12 NKJV)

4. Put on Humility
   Sink into a deep sense of one’s moral littleness. Have a low opinion of oneself, and a deep sense of unworthiness in the sight of God.

“Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3 NKJV)

5. Seek Humility
   Require; enquire; desire; request; seek to find, secure; seek the face; ask; request; to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer)  Seek low instead of high and lofty.  Seek to reduce arrogance and self- dependence.  Seek meekness.   Seek and submit to God’s divine will.  Seek to be free from pride.  Seek to go deep.  Seek and cry out.

“By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life.” (Proverbs 22:4 NKJV)

6. Humility and fear of the Lord are richness, honor and life.
   “Humility is a proper view of self; fear of the Lord is a proper view of God. The person who has these two qualities is well on their way on the path of wisdom.” Blessing will come to the wise man or woman who has humility and the fear of the Lord. They can certainly expect spiritual riches and honor and life, and often those same things materially in this world.” -David Guzik, (https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Pro/Pro-22.cfm?a=650004)

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ “” (Matthew 21:5 NKJV)

7. Jesus came in low and slow. We should, too.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”(Matthew 11:29 NKJV)

8. Learn from Jesus who is low and humble in heart. It is where we can find rest.

    

9. The kingdom benefits of being humble
   He regards the lowly.  (Psalm 138:6 NKJV)
   He guides the humble in justice and He teaches His way. (Psalm 25:9 NKJV)
   He lifts up humble. (Psalm 147:6 NKJV)
   He beautifies the humble with salvation. (Psalm 149:4 NKJV)
   The humble increase their joy in the LORD.  (Isaiah 29:19 NKJV) 
   He  does not forget the cry of the humble. (Psalm 9:12 NKJV)
   He saves the humble. (2 Samuel 22:28,Psalm 18:27 NKJV)

I enCOURAGE you to “go low and slow” in 2022.  “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:6, 10 NKJV).  He will save us, and don’t we need saving?  Doesn’t our land need saving?  Jesus is the humble man of 2022 and forever.  

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)

Pray with me?

Father:  May we speak evil of no one, be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. May we be rich in You and sit in the lowly places. May we humble ourselves, pray and seek the face of God.  May we turn from evil.  May God forgive all our sins and heal us and our land.  In Jesus name. AMEN.

2022 word:          humble
2022 phrase:      go low and slow
2022 verse:         Ecclesiastes 10:6, James 4:10

by Tammy Phillips
December 30, 2021

My son, attend (pay attention) to my WORD; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22)

Each year, I do not choose a word; the Word chooses me.  The Holy Spirit guides me to a Word(s), His Word for my season.  He usually leads me to word, a theme, a verse, a chapter, and/ or a book in the Bible.  A WORD has bubbled in my spirit for the last 10 years at the beginning of the year. (It could have been going on longer and me not have realized it.) The word becomes my “banner” for the year.  It is my guide and light.  And each year the words build on each other.

2015: DO NOT FEAR
2016: WAIT
2017:  GLORY & FOCUS
2018:  BE BRAVE
2019:  DO IT
2020:  RESOLUTE
2021:  PLUMB ALIGN to TRUTH…
2022:

Sometimes, I get my Word at the beginning of the year and sometimes it’s a few months into the year.  As I have sought God, He has not failed to deliver His special word to me.  The word so carefully chosen for me reveals more and more about God.  After all, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same (the Word) was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by (the Word) him; and without him (the Word) was not anything made that was made. In him (the Word) was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)

I enCOURAGE you to listen for your guide word. Ask God for a word.  He is faithful and will give you one.   Most of all pay attention to the Word of God.  Give it first place in your life. It is life and will light on your way.  What is the word He has for you this year?  I will share my word for 2022 tomorrow.  I know you can hardly wait.

 

 

 

by Tammy Phillips
December 29, 2021

 “If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for conciliation pacifies great offenses.” (Ecclesiastes 10:4 NKJV)

Do you have to be right all the time?  Are you stubborn?  Sometimes, being right can be wrong, and costly.   There is a fine line between standing and yielding to pacify.  It is actually a tight rope walk  that I need to practice quite a bit more.  It is kind of like a four way stop.  I might be right that it is my turn to go, but if someone else believes it’s their turn, I better yield or be willing to face the consequences. “There’s some real nuts out there in the world. And a lot of people have been killed by insisting on their right of ways. ‘It’s my right of way.’ And you can insist on your right of way but get wiped out. So, ‘yielding can pacify great offenses.’” -Chuck Smith 

If the ruler’s
governor’s
reigning power’s
dominator’s

spirit
temper
anger
mind
breath
violent exhale 

rises
goes up
ascends
springs up
increases
become strong

against you
upon you
over you

do not abandon
do not rest
do not cease
do not settle down
do not lay down
do not leave
do not be quiet

your post
your standing place
your standing space
your country
your region
your state
your county
your community
your city
your town
your village
your home
your room
your spot

because

conciliation
composure
sound mind
yielding
healing

pacifies
rests
settles down
ceases
quiets

great
high
loud
mighty
powerful
magnified

offenses
misses
mistakes
sins
grievances
missed the way
lead astray
missed the goal
made a wrong turn
to make a false step
stumbling’s

We get in the biggest arguments over some of the most stupid things.  Sometimes we need to give in and shut our mouths; sometimes we need to stand.  Take time to be very sure of your position.  “It’s my right of way,”  first thought by Adam and Eve that led us to the mess that we are in now.  If we would choose to go God’s way all the time, all messes and mistakes would be avoided.

I enCOURAGE you to know what time it is.  What is God’s will?  Yield if it is going to pacify a simple offense that does not really matter.  If it really matters, take your stand, and do not move.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1 NKJV)

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand…” (Ephesians 6:11-14 NKJV)

 

 

by Tammy Phillips
December 28, 2021

“A wise man’s heart [is] at his right hand, But a fool’s heart at his left.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2 NKJV)

I was very close to all my grandparents in my early years.  I adored and spent a lot of time with them.  They were just the best.  My Papa Lowe was left-handed.  In the beginning I did a lot left-handed, but they encouraged me to use my right hand.  Evidently, I struggled either writing or cutting left-handed with right-handed scissors.  Papa Lowe wanted me to have every opportunity and to never have to struggle.   He wanted me to be able to use the right-handed scissors and not be “left out.”  He wanted me to be able to sit at the right-handed desks, left-handed ones were not made.  My mother also said my teachers pushed me towards the right hand.  My very best lifelong best friend, Pam Verma is left-handed, and she turned out just fine.  She also rights upside down.  I blame my clumsiness on the forced change.  

Research suggests only about ninety percent of the world population is right-handed with the left being in the minority, ten percent. There has always been a bias against “lefties.”  The bias has shown itself in cultures and that is why lefties were retrained.

“In many parts of the world, the left hand is considered unclean or rude to use. If you’re left-handed and visiting places like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Middle East, it’s thought of as rude behavior to eat, pick up or hand over things with your left hand. In Britain in the Middle Ages, lefties were associated with the devil and often accused of the crime of witchcraft, meaning they would get burned at the stake.” (https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53739189)

Language proves that the “left” are not “shown the love.” In French, “gauche” can mean “left” or “clumsy.” (See I told you!)  In English the word ‘left’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘lyft’, meaning ‘weak’.  The word the word “sinister” actually comes from the Latin word “left.” The German word “linkisch” (related to the left) means “awkward.”  In Mandarin Chinese, words synonymous with “left” are “wrong” and “incorrect.”  In English, “right” is synonymous with “correct or to be right.” 

Are these thoughts what fueled the thoughts of Solomon?  This verse is in the Bible and for a purpose. 

A wise man’s
An intelligent man’s
A cunning man’s
A skillful man’s
A shrewd man’s
A crafty man’s…

heart
mind
will
understanding
inner man is at …

his right hand
his right side
right of direction
south (the direction of the right hand facing east)
to choose the right
to go to the right
to be right

…but…

a fool’s
a stupid
a silly
a fat
a fleshy

heart
mind
will
understanding
inner man is at …

his left
his left side
his left of direction
his north (the direction of the left hand facing east)
“his left being covered and wrapped in outer garment thrown over left shoulder; and the right hand on the contrary was called right because it was given as the pledge of faithfulness in promises.”  Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon  

I believe Solomon was simply telling us to follow our heart in the “right” direction, do not follow it to the left or wrong direction.  Our “inner man” will lead us the “right” way.

I enCOURAGE you to follow your heart into the New Year.  Listen to your inner man.  If you are born again and a believer in Christ, follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.  He will guide you in the “right” way.

“A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2 NLT)

“A wise person’s heart goes to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. ” (Ecclesiastes 10:2 CSB)

 

 

Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with your might; for [there is] no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NKJV)

 Comments below by Tammy Phillips 
December 27, 2021

I know that if we had lived at the same time, if the Lord had woven our lives together,  my brother in Christ, Charles Spurgeon and I would have been great friends.  We speak the same language.  As I was studying Ecclesiastes 9:10, I realized that his sermon was brilliantly inspired by the Holy Spirit.  I borrowed excerpts from his 7000-word exhortation to share with you.  Hits home for me! It is part of what the Lord shared with me about ten years ago… “Go to YOUR world.”  

A HOME MISSION
by CHARLES H. SPURGEON
New Park Street Pulpit Volume 5
June 26, 1859

 First, I shall explain THE PREACHER’S EXHORTATION. I shall do so by dividing it into three parts. What shall I do? —“Whatsoever thy hand findeth.” How shall I do it? —”Do it with thy might.”—And then, why shall I do it? —”For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.

Why cannot you do wonders in the circle in which God has placed you? He does not call you to do that which is leagues away, and which is beyond your power; it is that which your hand findeth to do I am persuaded that our home duties, —the duties which come near to us in our own streets, in our own lanes and alleys, —are the duties in which we ought most of us mainly to glorify Christ. Why will you be stretching out your hands to that which you cannot reach? Do that which is near, —which is at your hand.  Serve God in that which your hand findeth present. Serve him in your immediate situation, where you now are.  Just do that first which is nearest to you. Begin at home.  Stop and attend to y our own work.

Oh, if ire did but understand the true majesty of humility, and how great a thing it is for a Christian to do little things, to bow himself and to stoop, we should rather envy the meanest of the flock than the greatest, and each of us try to wash the saint’s feet and perform the most menial service for the Master. Often, I think, when you and I are standing back for some humbling duty if Christ Jesus should come by that way and do it, how we should blush.

1.  What shall I do? —”Whatsoever thy hand findeth; Do it.”

That is do it promptly; not fritter away your lives in setting down what you intend to do to-morrow as being a recompense for the idleness of to-day. No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we have honored Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do to-day. For after all, the ticking of the clock saith-today! to-day! to-day! We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future hath not come; we have, we never shall have, anything but the present. This is our all. let us do what our hand findeth to do.  Do it! Procrastinate not a day. “Procrastination is the thief of time.” Let him not steal thy time. Do it, at once. Serve thy God now; for now, is all the time thou canst reckon on.

2. How shall I do it? —”Do it with thy might.”

“Do it with thy might.” Whatever you do for Christ, throw your whole soul into it, Christ wants none to serve him with their fingers: he must have their hands their arms, their hearts, We must not give Christ a little slurred labor, which is done as a matter of course now and then; but when we do serve him, we must do it with all our bears, and soul, and strength, and might.  If ye cut your works open and cannot find your hearts in them, it is an ill omen for your works—they are good for nothing, and their object shall never be accomplished. The worst part of the Christian church at this time is, that it seems as if many of our ministers and their churches had lost their hearts. Step into your churches and chapels, everything is orderly and precise. but where is the life, where is the power?

But where is the might of a Christian? Let us not forget that. The might of a Christian is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lieth in the Lord of Hosts. It will be well for us if all we attempt to do is done in God’s strength, or else it will not be done with might: it will be feebly and badly done. Whenever we attempt to serve a loaf in the winning of souls, let us first begin with prayer. Let us seek his help. Let us go on with prayer mixed with faith; and when we have concluded the work, let us commend it again to God with renewed faith and fresh prayer. What we do thus will be well done and will not fail in its effect. But what we do merely with creature-strength, with the mere influence of carnal zeal, will come to nothing at all. “whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,” do it with that real might which God hath promised them that ask it, with that real wisdom which he giveth liberally, which he bestows on all who seek it meekly and reverently at his feet. God help us, then to carry out this exhortation, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it v with thy might.”

3. Why shall I do it? —“For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.”

We are to do it with all our might death is near and when death comes there will be an end to all our serving God on earth, an end to our preaching, an end to our praying, an end to our doing aught for God’s glory among the perishing souls of men. If we all lived in the light of our funerals how well should we live.

If you were quite sure of the time of your death, if you knew you had but a week or two to live, with what haste would you go round and bid farewell to all your friends; with what haste would you begin to set all matters right on earth, supposing matters are all right for eternity. Christian men like other men, forget that they are mortal,

Let us pause a moment, and think that in a short time we must die

Mother, you can pray for your children, now; but when death shall have sealed your eyes in darkness, there can be no more prayers lifted up for ever.

All we can do for our fellows we must do, now. For the cerement shall soon enwrap us, the hands must soon hang down, and the eyes be shut, and the tongue be still. While we live, let us live. Work while ye live, and live while ye work; and God grant to each of us that we may discharge in this life all the desires of our hearts, in magnifying God and bringing sinners to the cross.

I enCOURAGE you to STIR UP ALL PROFESSORS OF RELIGION HERE PRESENT TO DO WHATSOEVER THEIR HANDS FINDETH TO DO, TO DO IT NOW, AND WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT. If Christ Jesus should leave the upper world and come into the midst of this hall this morning, what answer could you give if after showing you his wounded hands and feet, and his rent side, he should put this question, “I have done all this for thee what hast thou done for me?”

What have you done for him?

As for some of you, you have done positively nothing. You have joined the church and have been baptized, and that is about all, you have sometimes doled out a little from your abundance to the cause of Christ, but oh, how little when you think he gave his all for you!

But if ye do believe it, act as ye believe; if ye think men are perishing, if the Lord’s right hand is dashing in pieces his enemy, then I beseech you be strengthened by the same right hand, to endeavor to bring those enemies to Christ that they may be reconciled by the blood of the cross.

‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.’

Entire sermon may be found here: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/a-home-mission-sermon/#flipbook/

by Allison Becker
December 26, 2021

“But we long to see you passionately advance until the end and you find your hope fulfilled. So, don’t allow your hearts to grow dull or lose your enthusiasm, but follow the example of those who fully received what God has promised because of their strong faith and patient endurance.” (Hebrews 6:11-12 TPT)

I visit this drawing every year at Christmas time. I drew it in the hospital with my son in 2015. At the time, the Lord had me give it to one of the staff members there. He wanted her to know that she was seen.

Sometimes, whether during the holidays or average day to day, we wrestle with that truth… among others from Our Loving Father.

“Am I seen?”
“Do You hear?”
“Did You say?”

If you’ve ever grabbed hold of a promise from Him that took a little bit longer than you’d like, you have likely struggled with questions like this. Perhaps, like me, you are now.

I’m so glad that I snapped a photo of this drawing before giving it away! God has blessed my own soul more than once with the reality of just some of the gifts He brought to me through His faithfulness to a nation brought through the womb of one young woman.  One virgin girl full of faith and purity in a highly polluted time and place was used to bring God’s promise not just to her people, but to everyone on the planet.  Her innocent “yes!” literally birthed the Way for your and my answers to these questions to be forever settled.

In a world where the multitudes are following their own desires, did you know that it only takes one? One heart absolutely abandoned to the will of the Lord. We see it all over Scripture: Abraham, Noah, Hannah, Samuel, Gideon, David, Paul… the list goes on outside the pages of the Word, touching this world here and now. The common thread in all those stories was persevering faith in the God of the promises who doesn’t lie, mislead, or change.

Have you heard a word from Him over your life? Are you pregnant with a promise? Some of His pregnancies take a loooooooooong time. That’s the dreaded persevering thing. We’re born with a deficit of it. We’ve been reborn in Christ with a gift of it (Galatians 5:22).

It will be challenged. Not because God doesn’t care, isn’t listening, or doesn’t see you. It’s because there is a force working against your promise, against the very God of the promise Himself. He’s been tempting God’s precious people to question what He’s spoken since the very beginning. He’s loud and obnoxious. He works to bring about abortions in every stage of the pregnancy, no matter how far along you are. I want you to get a picture of this through a look at the actual abortion debate. Your enemy – God’s enemy – wants to kill your promise at every stage, from heartbeat to delivery. He will try to wear you out with intense pressure, fear, confusion, doubt, and disappointments in order to get his way.

Why? Because Jesus is entering this world one more time through a pure, faithful girl. Your individual promises are part of God’s bigger plan.

If you are feeling weary from the battle today…

I enCOURAGE you to rest your head on God’s chest and read over these promises to you in the picture. Hear His heartbeat, which utterly swallows up the voice of the enemy. May God give you fresh hope, clear vision, and a belly full of fire for as long as it takes to  see His promises here on earth as it is in Heaven. I  can’t tell you exactly what that looks like in your life or mine, but I do know that the enemy can’t stop it and it’s better than we think.

Here is the breakdown of the promises in the drawing:

Love Came Down:
To prove you are LOVED
To BIND up your broken heart
To FREE you from sin
To reconcile you to GOD Almighty
To SAVE you from death
To bring you into the LIGHT
To make you HIS planting for the display of His splendor
To give you JOY and a song of praise
To PROVIDE for you
To crown you with BEAUTY
To COMFORT you who mourn
To declare you RIGHTEOUS, holy, & blameless
To make you a daughter and SON
To freely GIVE

 

 

by Tammy Phillips
December 25, 2021

Cesar Augustus, the first Emperor of the Roman Empire reigned during a really dark time in Israel.  The darkness was a lot like our present day. Cesar was a dude who thought he knew it all.  He sent out an Executive Order.  “Big Brother” wanted to know who and where you were!   He wanted money!  And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. Everybody went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.

Joe went up to Judea, not to New York City, but to David’s City, Bethlehem… from Galilee from his hometown, Nazareth.  He was a descendant of David, you know.  He had to drag Mary along with him.  She was about to pop because she was so Prego.  It wasn’t long after they arrived that she told Joe: “IT’S TME!” It was probably the 80-100-mile hike and the 4-7 day walk that put her into labor.  You know that girl had to be worn out.  Joe forgot to make reservations at the Holiday Inn-Bethlehem.  Everything was sold out.  There was a big crowd in Bethlehem to be taxed.  You know how crazy the post office is on tax-day.  Bethlehem was buzzing just like that. “No Vacancy” signs were everywhere.

Mary had sweet baby Jesus in the only place they could find…A BARN in the ‘hood.  (Light brought into darkness.  God Almighty laid aside His Glory and appeared on the scene as a baby.)  She had her first son, her first child, away from home.  She probably left His onesies in Nazareth, so she wrapped him up like a peanut with what she had.  She swaddled him and laid him in a manger hewn out of rock. You know, the things that farm animals ate out of.   He came into the earth just like he left the earth, all wrapped up and lying on a stone.

Out in the county there were some farmers minding their business.  They were sleeping out in the field taking care of their animals, so no harm would come to them.  Out of the darkness, “kabam-shazam,” out of nowhere, a HUGE angel appeared.  He had to be at least 20 feet tall.  He showed up from nowhere.  The mega angel lit up that whole field like sunrise over the ocean.  It nearly scared the farmers to death. They were shaking in their boots.  Hopefully, a MAGA angel will show up in 2020.  The angel roared, “DON’T BE AFRAID!”   Look!  Listen!  I am bringing you GOOD NEWS!!!  You have hit the lottery.  It is going to make you so HAPPY.  Everybody is! It’s good news for everybody.  Today. T-O-D-A-Y!  In Bethlehem…Are you ready for it?  Our Savior has been born, the Savior of the World.  He is here!  Christ the Lord is here! Our Savior, our deliverer…from Greek word “sozo” which means to save, keep safe, and sound, to rescue from danger, to save from perishing from disease, to make well, heal, restorer, doctor/healer when you need him, restorer to health from the oppressor (you know the one who tries to harm and hurt you, the one who tried to keep you beat down).  

Feel like you’re missing something?  The Savior will complete you.  
Anxious? He says don’t worry!  
Sick? God has no big problems!  
Need something?  He is more than enough!  
Lonely? He will never leave you nor forsake you?  
Need a constant in your life?  He will never change.  He always has been, always is and always will be.  
Want to do well? He has the keys to the kingdom. His name is I AM, I WAS, I always will be.  HIS NAME IS CHRIST, the anointed.   He is smeared all over, bathed-in, like suntan oil at the beach…it is all over Him to be who he was and is supposed to be.  He is furnished with all necessary powers to perform his position with duties as assigned by God.

The LORD, the man of the hour, has power for decision making.  He gets things done.  He is supreme.  He has it all under control.  He is our Savior for such a time as this.  He is our SOZO now.  Life is now.  He is not a fire policy.  He is the son of God and he is here.

A child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (the Chief of Completeness) – Isaiah 9:6

Get it?  I AM is here!

This is the sign. You can find the Savior of the World wrapped in swaddling clothes and he is lying in a M A N G E R.  (A manger? The king is in a manger?)  Don’t miss the sign boys.

The heavens could not stand it anymore- the good news! 

Bam! The angel’s back-up singers the Heavenly Host (Heard of them?  They were a real popular group with God) I mean I am talking a platoon, a troop of hosts showed up and put on a show.  They were praising God and rocking the stage saying:

“Glory to God in the highest. Peace on Earth. Good will to men!” You could hear them all the way in Nazareth.  After the field concert (And Luke Bryan thought this was an original idea?), the Angel of the Lord & the Heavenly Host – poof- they jetted back to heaven in an instant.  

The Sheps chatted and thought it might be a good idea to let the flock hang out and for them to head on to Bethlehem.  They wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  I mean the Lord had dropped a concert in the middle of the field in the middle of the night to let them know the good news.  Talk about virtual reality.  The Sheps sped to Bethlehem. 

Lo and behold!  Surprise!  Surprise! Surprise!  Can you believe it?  They found Mare, Joe and sweet lil’ baby Jesus lying in the manger.  After they saw BABY JESUS, they went and told everybody about it!   Anyone that would listen, heard the story.  They didn’t go to bed for days.  Everybody they told wandered in AMAZEMENT.  You can see them just shaking their heads.

Mary was just blown away.  She kept quiet and to herself.  She thought…I birthed the King?  He’s lying in a manger?  The Savior of the world?  After the long journey, the labor, it was too much.  She just kept all this to herself and let her thoughts just circle in her tiny little brain. It was just too much to process.

The Sheps! They just kept on partying. Glorifying, praising, singing to the top of their lungs to God.  What a story, a Glory Story of the Savior of the World!

Merry Christmas!

I enCOURAGE you to enjoy every precious moment with your family and friends  celebrating our precious Saviors birth. 

by Tammy Phillips
December 24, 2021

“So, I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun”(Ecclesiastes 8:15 CSB)

I am like a kid!  I am so excited to have all my kids under one roof for three days.  It is  a great gift; I need no other than their time.  I am going to enjoy every second in their presence. I recommend joy for you no matter your situation.

When I read Ecclesiastes 8:15, I smiled big.  Solomon was supposed to  be the wisest  man that lived other than Jesus.  Solomon simply stated in human terms that under the sun, “I recommend joy.  There is nothing better for a person to do that eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy life.”  In Ecclesiastes Solomon implied that life under the sun was pretty meaningless. Work we must and it is not easy.  Under the sun can be pretty laborious, so we might as well enjoy.  We should make best of all bad situations and enjoy life. 

I recommend joy, but also know Jesus came and died for us to have a better life and to make a better way for us.  Jesus said,

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)

When Jesus made the above statement, in all reality by the Greek work that was used for life, He was saying:

“I have come that you may have life.
I have come that you may have ‘zoe.’
I have come that you may have the absolute fullness of life.
I have come that you may have life real and genuine.
I have come that you may have life alive and breathing,
I have come that you may be alive not lifeless or dead
I have come that you may live stronger and longer.
I have come that you may live happily in the blessings.
I have come that you may enjoy life.”

Solomon recommended joy because he had not found anything better.  Jesus brought the better.  He brought the joy!

I enCOURAGE  and highly recommend enjoyment now and heading in to 2022.  Jesus died for  the better life.  Enjoy His presence this Christmas. Season.  Enjoy your family!   Five times in the twelve short chapters of Ecclesiastes, Solomon loudly proclaimed to, “Eat, drink and enjoy!”  Enjoy the life that Jesus bought and paid for you and me, it makes our journey under the sun all the better.  

by Tammy Phillips
December 23, 2021

“When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover [it], yet he will not find [it]; moreover, though a wise [man] attempts to know [it], he will not be able to find [it].” (Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 NKJV)

A sunrise
A sunset

A raging river
A babbling brook

The depth of the oceans
The height of the heavens

The number of  stars
The galaxies afar

The color change of the leaves
The different sizes of trees

A mountain range
A dessert so strange

Baby toes
An elephants nose

Jesus’ birth
All things on earth

All the work of God
Man cannot find out

Amazed we can be
As we get a glimpse of His unmatched glory

I enCOURAGE to pause and look around at all the things under the sun.  Give our LORD the adoration, praise, honor, and glory He is due for all He has made, and all He has done.  Glory to God in the Highest.  His works cannot be found out.

December 22, 2021

“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.” (Luke 12:22 KJV)

I do not know who needs to hear this today.  Maybe this is a word for me…Maybe it is a word for you…I was traveling through Ecclesiastes  and Holy Spirit sent me on a detour through Luke 12:22.  This verse set me free from worry years ago.  I hope is does the same for you.  It  guided me through most of yesterday.

Jesus was teaching His disciples and He spoke these words of freedom, “Take no thought for your life…”

Do not  worry about it.
Do not be anxious anything.
Don’t be troubled with cares.
Don’t even think about it.
Take no thought.

Are you worried about a package not arriving before Christmas?  At least you have a present ordered and the money to pay for it. I just recently heard of a young mom who spent her son’s birthday crying because she had no money to gift him one gift.

Are you anxious about your home not being clean for the holidays?   At least you have been blessed with a home.  Untold numbers in the world are homeless and would love to come home to a dirty house.   Recently, the tornadoes that swept through Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi left thousands of homes not only dirty but destroyed.

Are you weighed down with care about your children or grandchildren this season?  At least your kiddos will be home with you.  There are children who are fighting for their lives.  There are children who are fighting for our country.  There are children who are just fighting.  Appreciate every second with your babies, no matter what size they are.  Life is precious and we take it for granted.

Are you concerned with what you and your family will eat or what you might wear to your holiday soiree’? Take no thought.  It will always work out, it always does. 

When your mind begins to wonder….
When Satan attempts to steal your joy…
When worry and anxiety start knocking on the entrance to your heart, or…
When an entitled woman at Sam’s makes a third exit lane, passes you, and cuts in front of twenty others waiting patiently in the two other lines for the associate to scan three items in each cart  and grant exit from the  building…

Do not even think about it.  (I almost lost “my Jesus” witness on “entitled woman” yesterday, but the wise man ahead of me declared what a miserable life she must be living to dishonor so many others without thought.)  You know, my flesh wanted to go “Madea” on her.

I enCOURAGE you to stop and breathe.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Breathe in Jesus; breathe out Satan.  Breathe in peace, exhale worry.  Don’t even think about it.  Turn it all over to Jesus.  He will guide you through the detours of life.

“Life is more than food, and the body [is more] than clothing.” (Jesus from Luke 12:23 NKJV)

“Life is so much more than some haughty woman cutting line in Sam’s”.  -Tammy Phillips, December 21, 2021

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22 NIV)