God’s word exhorts us to allow our thinking to reign over our emotions and feelings. Nowhere in Scripture are we instructed to renew our emotions. For God’s children, a renewed mind should dominate and determine the heart’s desires. What about the heart? Put simply, the heart often wants the wrong things. In Jeremiah, the heart is deceitful and desperately sick. In Proverbs, we are exhorted to guard it – to watch over it with all diligence. Why? Because from it flows the springs of life. Proverbs 23:7 states simply, “As a man thinketh in his heart – so he is.”

When I was a boy, my earthly dad had a repetitive charge. On weekends when I was preparing to go out, he would say, “Don’t forget you are a McDonald!” He was admonishing me to live and behave in light of my earthly identity – an identity he spent a lifetime modeling and demonstrating. My father was reminding me to live in a manner worthy of my family heritage.

People and organizations driven by HUMILITY engage themselves and their efforts to magnify God through the Spirit-filled exercise of their giftings while at the same time battling and defeating the weaknesses and frailties of their flesh. The goal? To become strong in weak areas and to live a Micah 6:8 life – to walk and work humbly with our God.

If we succeed like Mary in “connecting the dots” we must think deeply about the incarnation. It alone should dominate our thoughts. We should engage in the wonderment of a holy God redeeming an unholy people. We should treasure this as the ultimate gift of Christmas. Christmas is all God’s grace in one tiny face.

Have you ever needed the Lord’s help? One of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, contains the following line, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, here by Thy great help I’ve Come.” Ebenezer literally means “the stone of help” and refers to a significant moment in Israel’s history.

Often when stewardship is emphasized, we encounter an opposing cynical perspective. From the vantage point of many, the only thing the church is interested in is something they have and something they think we need or want – their money. In actuality, the only thing the church wants is something we have and something they desperately need – their salvation.

If I were to take the Proverb and reduce it to a principle, I might offer the following: Generosity always returns benefit to those who give. I pray a spirit of generosity will prevail on our churches and on all who follow Christ and fund His ongoing work.

In the absence of compassion, there is indifference – an unwillingness to get involved, but true compassion always acts; it always meets a need for the benefit of others.