One night after a worship service a friend of mine and I stepped outside and were suddenly awed by the beauty around us. It was one of those crisp, clear winter nights when the brilliance of the moon and stars nearly takes your breath away. I said to my friend, "Tommy, will you look at that!" Then he looked up with one of those Holy Ghost whole-face smiles and with a voice full of tenderness said, "My Daddy made that!"

"My Daddy...." I'll never forget the way he said that.

Some people might think he shouldn't have been talking in such familiar terms about God, but they'd be wrong. It's scriptural to talk that way about Him. The Aramaic word for father—Abba—is used several times in the New Testament. The most accurate translation for that word in English is "Daddy." It's a word that signifies closeness. It speaks of a relationship that's been developed through time spent together.

"Father" is one thing. "Daddy" is another.

Growing up, my father was sometimes my "Father" and sometimes my "Daddy." When we were out duck hunting, he was "Daddy." When he gave commands he meant to be obeyed instantly, he was "Father."

God is like that too. He's your Father and He's your Daddy. There are times you'll be very serious and down to business with one another. Other times you'll be more lighthearted. But either way, once you fellowship with Him enough to get to know Him, I guarantee, you'll want to be close to Him all the time.

Scripture Reading:
Romans 8:14-18

Good success is a way of life that comes from being established in the Word of God. It comes from spending so much of your time and your thought life on the Word that it becomes what you and I could call "second nature." It comes from hearing and obeying the Word so consistently that it begins to guide your actions even when you're not consciously thinking about it.

When I started flying airplanes, I learned to train myself by getting the handbook for a certain airplane and reading it over and over again. In my mind's eye, I'd visualize everything that could occur in that airplane. I trained myself by meditating on what I needed to do.

And that's exactly what I started doing with the Word of God. I thought about it day and night. Before long, I started getting excited about what I was reading.

I'd sit at home and think about how I'd apply the Word in different situations. I'd see myself praying for the sick and having them recover. The Word became "second nature" to me.

Practice meditating on the Word that way. Let it become part of you. See yourself obeying it in every possible circumstance. It will guarantee you "good success."

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 1

Remember when...? That's a question we hear a lot this time of year. Reminiscing with family and friends, we browse through Christmases gone by, enjoying the memories until inevitably, we stumble across the memories we would rather forget.

Suddenly, the pain comes rushing back. The sting of a parent's criticism, the broken promise of a friend, the rejections, the disappointments, the heartaches....

What should we do with memories like that? Do we have to drag them along, like so much baggage, from year to year?

No. We can leave them behind. In fact, we must leave them behind. And there's only one way to do it—through forgiveness.

Forgiving someone sounds like a simple thing to do. Yet few of us actually do it. We treat forgiveness as if it were one of life's additional options, something we can take or leave alone. But it's not. It's a basic requirement for every believer. In fact, as far as God is concerned, unforgiveness is wickedness. And in Matthew 18, Jesus tells a parable that illustrates the terrible consequences of it. The parable involves a servant who owed his lord a debt equivalent to millions of dollars. When the debt came due, he pleaded with his master, "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all" (verse 26). His master was so moved that he canceled the entire debt!

Soon after, that same servant sought out a man who owed him $15. Finding him unable to pay, he ignored the man's pleas for mercy and had him cast into prison.

When his lord heard about it, he was incensed. He called him a wicked servant and delivered him to the tormentors until he paid all that was due.

Look again at the size of that unforgiven debt. Fifteen dollars. The little debts are the ones that most often trip us up. The petty resentments between husband and wife, between brother and sister. Tiny bits of unforgiveness that seem too insignificant to bother with. Beware. Those are the kinds of debts Satan uses to torment you.

After all, Jesus paid off a mountain of debts for you. You can afford to be generous about the nickel and dime debts of others.

Spend time with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to reveal the unforgiveness in you. Then repent and release it. Make this Christmas more than just a time for remembering. Make it a time to forget.

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 18:21-35

Did you know that it's not God's will for you or anyone to die young? His will for you is to live the full number of your days. You ought to live 70 or 80 years, and if you are not satisfied, live awhile longer! The Bible says that when Abraham died, he died at a good old age, full of years. That's the way it ought to be with all of us.

Some believers don't realize that and they've gotten themselves in a mess. When they get sick, instead of just believing for healing, they start wondering if it's God's will for them to die. Maybe He's ready to call me home, they think.

Don't ever entertain thoughts like that. If God has His way, He won't call you home until you're good and ready to come. The Apostle Paul understood that. In 2 Timothy 4:6-7, he said, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Paul didn't die until he and Jesus were ready for him to go.

Regardless of your age, if the devil is telling you God isn't going to heal you because it's time for you to go home, he is lying to you. God promises in Psalm 91:16 that if you are living under the shadow of the Most High, He will satisfy you with long life. (That means that you are abiding in Him as Jesus taught in John 15.)

If you're not satisfied that you have finished your course yet on this earth, it's not time for you to die. So ignore the devil and keep right on living. Resist sickness and disease in the Name of Jesus. Stand on God's promise!

Then, when you're ready to go on to heaven, go! But go satisfied, healed and ready! Go in victory shouting the words of that old joy-filled song—"Heaven is near and I can't stay here. Goodbye world, goodbye."

Scripture Reading:
Deuteronomy 34