I read a story about a husband who came home drunk late one night and snuck up the stairs as quietly as possible to avoid waking his wife. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled a “swiftie” over on his wife.

When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. “You were drunk last night, weren’t you?”

“No, honey.”

“Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?”

If truth be known, most of us want to hide our sins and the wrongs that we have done for fear of being found out and shamed. However, try as we might, we can never hide the accompanying guilt. We may bury it in the unconscious mind but there it is never forgotten—and what we fail to talk out (confess) creatively we will inevitably act out destructively in one way or another. Unresolved guilt can cause serious physical, emotional and/or spiritual distress and major relational conflicts.

When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed in an attempt to hide his sin, his guilt tormented him.

In the Psalms he wrote, “Day and night your [God’s] hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”²

We have all sinned and we all need God’s forgiveness and healing from guilt and its damaging consequences. The good news is that, as God’s Word says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”³

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for giving your Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for all my sins which I now confess to you. Please forgive me and give me the wisdom I need to run from temptation and the help I need to overcome all of my sins. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: For further help to be sure that you are forgiven by God read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. Proverbs 28:13 (NIV).

2. Psalm 32:4-5 (NLT).

3. I John 1:9 (NIV).

As we said yesterday, don’t miss the silence of Christmas Day as much of the world comes to a standstill on this day. Take time to listen with your heart. Be still and hear the true message and meaning of Christmas that, above all, is a call to remember that even though much of mankind has forgotten God, God has not forgotten us, but is vitally involved in the affairs of mankind. Today we celebrate how two thousand years ago God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.

Among the many tragic consequences of men forgetting God, in this past century alone, have been World Wars I and II, followed by the division of Eastern Europe and the onslaught of godless Communism, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the ongoing Mid-East conflicts, endless other wars, and the ever-increasing acts of terrorism around the world by religious fanatics and others. History has repeatedly shown that when individuals and nations forget God, they ultimately lead themselves to self-destruction.

But every year Christmas comes around to call us to remember God and to turn back to him—as individuals—to save us from eternal damnation and—as nations—to save us from self-destruction.

Another tragedy of our time is that, instead of recognizing Christmas as God’s call to turn back to him, people look for a vision or an emotional high or something electric as a sign of God’s presence. And they miss him. When Christ came the first time, people didn’t recognize him either because he didn’t come the way they expected him to come. They missed not only the opportunity of a lifetime but also of an eternity!

Don’t miss Christ’s call to you this Christmas because you don’t have some new experience out of the ordinary. Among other ways, God speaks to us through the miracle of Christmas, and commitment to him is a step of faith based on an act of your will—with or without any feelings or great flashes of insight.

Christ’s call to commitment is the same today as it has been for the past two thousand years: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”²

If you believe the true meaning of Christmas—that Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth to die for your sins—and you have never made a commitment of your life to him, or if you sense a need to recommit your life to him, click on the “Your Invitation from God” link below for further help.

Your Invitation from God at: http://tinyurl.com/6k49w.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, grant that this day as the wheels of industry come to a standstill, that the world will again be reminded of the reason for the silence and give thanks for the greatest Christmas Gift mankind has ever seen—the gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And grant that we who know the Savior will do everything in our power to heed your Great Commission to communicate the good news of your salvation to everyone everywhere. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 11:28 (NLT).

2. Ibid.

In his book, A Room Called Remember, Fredrick Buechner tells about the great snowfall in New York City in the winter of 1947. At first it seemed no different from any other snowstorm. The flakes gently floated down without any wind to drive them. All day they fell. Gradually the sidewalks, parked cars and buildings were covered with a blanket of white. Streets became slushy. Shopkeepers were out with their shovels trying to keep clear a path to their doors. And the snow kept falling. The plows couldn’t keep ahead of it. Consequently, the traffic nearly came to a standstill. Businesses closed early and people did their best to get home before nightfall.

By the next morning bustling New York was a totally different city. Abandoned cars were buried. Nothing on wheels could move. Skiers glided gracefully down Park Avenue. The most striking transformation, however, was the silence. The only sounds were muffled voices and the ringing church bells. People listened because they couldn’t help themselves. And our world rarely listens anymore—whether in New York or Toronto, London or Los Angeles, Sidney or Singapore—unless a crisis of sufficient magnitude thrusts a wrench into the wheels of our high-speed, technological society and forces us to a standstill.

Except, perhaps, as Buechner points out, at Christmas time when it’s hard not to stop and listen. Business increases to a frenzied pace. Canned carols blast out over the din of traffic. Bells jingle. Red-robed Santas freeze in Chicago, while their counterparts fry in Melbourne. Then, suddenly, night falls on Christmas Eve. The last shop closes. All the hullabaloo stops. Everything is silent—for one brief day.

This year don’t miss the silence. Take time to listen. Be still and hear the true message of Christmas which, above all, is a call to remember that God has not forgotten us, but is vitally involved in the affairs of mankind. Two thousand years ago he came to earth in person to save us from our sins.

So as Christmas day arrives, may I encourage you to pause for just a moment and listen—listen with your heart—to God’s Word: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel [which means] ‘God with us.’”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for your great love gift to the world—the greatest Christmas gift I could ever receive—the gift of your Son, Jesus, who came to earth as a babe to live and then die for my sins so I can receive the gift of forgiveness and that of eternal life to live with you in heaven forever and ever. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Your Invitation from God to accept His forgiveness … the greatest Christmas of all: http://tinyurl.com/6k49w.

1. Matthew 1:23 (NIV).

2. Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV).

Gene Barron writes how, when he was a boy, his family had a neighbor who frequently came to their back door. Her reason for coming was always the same, “I just wanted to borrow _______.” The problem was that she never came at any other time—only when she wanted something.

My mother was always gracious and gave her what she wanted, but didn’t appreciate her as much as the other neighbors—especially the one who came frequently but never asked for anything. She would simply say, “Just stopped by for a visit.”

When it comes to prayer, it is true that God does want us to make our requests known to him, but sometimes I feel my prayers are more, “Give me … give me … give me!” I know God is gracious and does hear and answer my prayers, but how much better it would be to come to him not only in times of trouble and need, but to daily come to him with, “Dear God, I’m just calling in for a visit. What can I do for you today?”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you do want me to bring my requests to you, but please help me to think of others’ needs when I pray, and especially bring praise and thanksgiving to you. And today, is there anything I can do for you? Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Philippians 4:6 (NASB).

The word “gospel” means good news—the Good News of God’s salvation, without which mankind would be doomed for eternal damnation and separation from God, the author of all love and life.

But why is the gospel God’s Good News?

First, the gospel is not a message about religion but a message about God’s eternal love and purpose for all mankind. Religion wants to fix us from the outside in. God wants to fix us from the inside out. The first can become an impossible burden. The latter is what brings freedom.

Also, it’s important to realize that no matter what we have ever done or have failed to do God loves us with an everlasting love and has a wonderful purpose for our lives—for this life and the next! As Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”² And again, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”³

Second, the gospel is a message about sin, something we are all guilty of. As the Bible says, “We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standard.”⁴ Sin, however, is not only doing harmful acts. It is anything that falls short of the standard of perfection that God envisioned for us. This includes unforgiveness, pride, jealousy, mixed motives, etc. Most of us, too, are guilty of sins of omission; that is, not doing what we know we should and could do.⁵

However, a common misconception about God is that he is out to punish us for our sins. The fact is we bring sin’s punishment on ourselves because sin has its own natural consequences. If we try to break the universal law of gravity, for instance, we can’t. It will break us. Neither can we break God’s universal moral law. When we try to, it breaks us. And besides its painful effects in this life—suffering, sorrow, sadness, sickness and spiritual death—its ultimate and tragic consequence is eternal death and separation from God.⁶

Third, the gospel is a message about God’s remedy. Because sin has separated or disconnected us from God, we have been left with a “God-shaped” vacuum or spiritual emptiness within. As St. Augustine put it, “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” The world’s many religions are all evidence of man’s endless search to find God and fill this vacuum. However, because God loves us so much, he sent his own sinless son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our predicament.⁷ Christ did this by dying on the cross in our place to pay the consequence of and ransom price for our sins—death. Thus, Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin. He is the only way back to God and the only door to eternal life.⁸

Finally, the gospel is a summons to faith and repentance. If you were found guilty of a serious crime and were condemned to death, would you accept a free unconditional pardon, if offered? Because Jesus Christ died on the cross in our place, God now offers you complete acquittal, forgiveness, and the gift of eternal life. All you need to do is confess and repent of your sinfulness, believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for your sins, and invite him into your life as Savior and Lord.

The following prayer will help you do this. “Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for all my sins and I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Savior and Lord. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and the desire to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your forgiveness and free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you prayed this prayer and genuinely meant it, please let us know by clicking on https://learning.actsweb.org/decision.php and we will send you a free copy of the eBrochure, How to Grow.

NOTE: This article is condensed from, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian (without having to be religious)” on our ACTS web site at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

1. Romans 1:16 (NIV). 2. John 3:16 (NIV). 3. John 10:10 (NIV). 4. Romans 3:23. 5. James 4:17. 6. Romans 6:23. 7. See Ephesians 2:8-9. 8. See John 14:6 and Romans 5:8.

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I have read that Queen Mary made a regular visit to Scotland every summer, and how, on “one occasion she was strolling with a group of school children. Suddenly the sky turned gray and thick, and dark clouds appeared. The queen stopped at a nearby house and asked if she might borrow an umbrella. She told the lady of the house, ‘I’ll send it back to you tomorrow.’

“The lady was reluctant about lending a good umbrella to a total stranger, but she remembered that she had an old one up in the attic. One rib was broken and there were several ragged holes in it, but she nevertheless turned it over to this lady at her front door with a weak apology.

“The next day there was another knock at the door. This time, when she opened it, a man in gold braid stood with a big envelope in hand. ‘The queen sent me,’ he said, ‘and asked me to thank you for the umbrella.’ For a moment the woman stood motionless—speechless, but then burst into tears. Finally she cried, ‘Oh! What an opportunity I missed that I didn’t give her my best!’”

How embarrassing! But how often, I wonder, do I give Jesus my second best … or even my leftovers?

In younger days … much less tactful ones … when I was the pastor of a small church, as we didn’t have a janitor, I was cleaning the church. The vacuum cleaner we had was next to useless and I said to myself, “I’ll bet one of the members gave this to the church because it wasn’t any good to them.”

I reported this thought to the church officers at our next meeting. Oops! Deathly silence. I was right. It was a gift from the key families in the church! As I often kid, my comment went over like “a pork chop in a synagogue!” But we did get a new vacuum cleaner!

Let’s not give Jesus the King of kings our broken umbrellas, nor our leftovers—whether it’s time, talents, gifts, or money. Let’s give him our first-fruits … not our last-fruits.

In the words of the old hymn: “Give of your best to the Master; Give him first place in your heart; give him first place in your service; Consecrate every part … Give him the best that you have.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in thanksgiving for your great love-gift to me and your so-great salvation, grant that I will always have the grace to give you the best that I have to give. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 25:40 (NIV).

2. Mrs. Charles Barnard.

Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, a well-known preacher in the twentieth century, said that once, when he was a high school student, he had a very difficult examination. But he had discovered that verse, “And whatever you ask in my name, that will I do….”

Weatherhead believed that verse meant that all he had to do was ask and he would pass the exam. He told God he was believing his promise, and that he wanted a good grade. The next day young Weatherhead took the examination, but when the grades were in, he had failed. He was disillusioned. He rebelled and almost lost his faith. He came to the conclusion that the promises of the Bible were not good—all because God had not granted his wish for a good grade.

The next year he repeated that course. He worked hard, and passed. This time he decided that he didn’t need God—that he could get along by himself.

After some years had passed, Dr Weatherhead came to understand that his own powers and abilities were in reality the power that God had given to him. He began to realize that God had already given him the power to pass the examination, but he had not used that power the first go around.²

I’m sure many of us could identify with Weatherhead in that we have, at times, wanted and expected God to do all sorts of things for us without any or sufficient effort on our part.

Fortunately, it doesn’t work that way. God is not codependent. He will do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. That’s why he sent Jesus to die for us because it is impossible for us to save ourselves. But God won’t do for us what we need to do for ourselves. If he did, he would be keeping us over-dependent and immature.

True, God feeds the sparrows, but he doesn’t throw the food into their nests.

Suggested prayer, “Dear God, help me to realize that you have already moved the heavens to come to earth to save me from my sins, but also that you won’t do for me what you have already equipped me to do for myself. Help me to remember that personal responsibility is my responsibility. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 14:13 (NKJV).

2. Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, “Our Desire and Our Growth.”

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was a cadet at West Point. A brilliant student, MacArthur was struggling with a class in which he was studying the time-space relationship later formulated by Einstein as his Theory of Relativity. The text was complex and, being unable to comprehend it, MacArthur committed the pages to memory. When he was called upon to answer a question about this time-space relationship, he solemnly reeled off almost word for word what the book said.

When he was finished, the instructor, Colonel Fieberger, looked at him somewhat quizzically and asked, “Do you understand this theory?”

“It was a bad moment for me,” says MacArthur, “but I did not hesitate in replying, ’No, sir.’”

You could have heard a pin drop, MacArthur reports. He braced himself and waited. And then came the slow, measured words of the professor: “Neither do I, Mr. MacArthur. Section dismissed.”²

MacArthur was relieved that he wasn’t expected to know the answer to that complex question.

There are numerous questions about life that you and I can’t answer either. And yet there are still some “know-it-alls” among us. These people have a need to answer every question asked of them and rattle off platitudes in an authoritative tone trying to sound knowledgeable, and you know very well that they haven’t got a clue what they are talking about.

Then there are the evolutionists who claim emphatically that man descended from apes in spite of the fact that a missing link between man and monkeys has never been found. It’s much easier to believe that man, nature, and the universe all happened by chance because if we believe in a Divine Creator, then we are responsible to him for our life and manner of living.

Then for we would-be theologians who like to think we have a corner on the truth, some of us argue that Christ will come before the Great Tribulation. Others believe he will come in the middle of it, still others believe he will come after it. They are the pre-tribs, the mid-tribs, and the post-tribs. Personally, I’m on the side of the humorist who said, “I’m a pan-trib. That is, I’ll wait and see how it all pans out.”

Unfortunately, too often we major on the non-essentials instead of majoring on the essentials that we do know. When it comes to Christ’s return, the major issue is not so much the when of Christ’s return, but that we are ready for it because God alone knows the day and hour of that day.

And then who can understand the Holy Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit—all part of the one God. “Someone has said that if you fully try to understand the Trinity, you’ll lose your mind. But if you deny the Trinity, you’ll lose your soul.”

Then there are questions about life that we simply cannot fully answer. We offer up platitudes. We make guesses—sometimes even educated guesses, but we really don’t know. For example, we don’t understand why good people suffer. We don’t understand why bad people prosper. We can’t understand why some people from a certain kind of situation become criminals, while other people growing up under the same kind of circumstances become sterling citizens. And why does God allow missionaries to be kidnapped and killed?

However, there is one thing in life that we can know that we know that we know—and that is the answer to life’s most important issue—our eternal well-being. God’s Word, the Bible, assures us that all who put their trust in Jesus as their personal Savior can know without a shadow of a doubt that we have the gift of eternal life. As God said through the Apostle John: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God [Jesus] so that you may know that you have eternal life.”³

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have given us all the information that we need to know about the eternal destiny of our souls—especially that all who have accepted Jesus as our Savior have the knowledge and the assurance that our sins are forgiven, and that we have your promise of eternal life in Heaven with you forever and forever. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: If you are not sure of your eternal welfare, be sure to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian … without having to be religious,” at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV).

2. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, “Reminiscences,” in Discover, July 1996, p.16.

3. 1 John 5:13 (NIV).

Tradition says that the man who invented the game of chess was told by the Chinese emperor to name his own reward. The man simply asked that a grain of rice be placed on the first square of the chess board: two grains on the second square, four on the third, eight on the fourth, sixteen on the fifth, and so on, the grains doubling each time. The emperor quickly agreed, but was horrified when he came to the sixty-fourth square.

The only hope of mankind for peace for today and hope for eternity is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. If I tell one person about him, and we both tell another, that makes four persons sharing the Good News. By the time I’ve told twenty-one people, and if all the others do the same and so on, more than one million people will have heard the gospel in no time.²

Jesus started the entire Christian message with a motley band of twelve disciples. By Ascension Day it had grown ten times to 120. “A little over a week later, on Pentecost, it increased to over 3,000. By the time the last of the twelve died, there were an estimated half-million followers of Jesus Christ.

“That was at the end of the first century. By the end of the second century, this number had increased to almost ten million. By the close of the ninth century, there were 100 million Christians. Today, the number has grown to over one billion believers around the world. None of this growth would have been possible had Christians not been excited and supportive of missions or prayed to ‘the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”³

Since going online in 1998 ACTS International has received over 21,000 salvation and re-commitment to Christ responses from around the world. These responses have come from Daily and Weekend Encounter and our gospel messages on the ACTS web site at www.actsweb.org. Many of the salvation responses have come from Daily and Weekend Encounter readers forwarding copies to friends, contacts and families.

Imagine if every one of our 207,000 plus subscribers to Daily, Weekend and Prayer Encounters would forward a suitable copy of Daily Encounter to one other person each month for one year, this would mean that 2,484,000 people would have an opportunity to receive the gospel in a non-offensive way. And what if each Encounter subscriber would forward a copy to one other person each week for a year? This would mean that 10,764,000 more people would have an opportunity to receive the gospel. And imagine if just one-fifth of these people would subscribe to Daily Encounter and send one copy each week to another person for a year, this would mean 111,194,000 additional people in one year could be reached for Christ. If Christians would “keep on keeping on” sharing God’s message, the spreading of the gospel would increase exponentially. With the invention of e-mail and the Internet this has never ever been easier to do.

Never have we had such an opportunity. God has given us the message and commissioned us—you and me included—to take it to all the world. He has given us the methods. All he needs is his people working together all doing their share to reach our world for Christ. Will you make a commitment to help spread the gospel and thereby be a part of what God is doing in the world today?

NOTE: To make it extremely easy for you to share Daily Encounter and ACTS Good News gospel outreach websites in a non-offensive way with family, friends and contacts, we have printed high quality, attractive business witness cards. See samples online at http://actscom.com/witness_cards.php. Try them. You’ll like them. I’ve given scores away and have never had anyone not accept it. Be sure to get a pack of 50 today.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your great salvation which has given me the gift of eternal life and a home in heaven to be with you forever—and saved me from eternal damnation. I am available for you to use to be a part of your plans and what you are doing in the world today. Please give me a passion for lost souls and help me to be as Christ to every life I touch—and use me to help spread the gospel in whatever way I can. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV).
2. Dorothy O’Neill, Encounter magazine (Australia), March/April 2002.
3. Dennis Kastens, “Echoes of Eternity,” from the sermon: “Laborers Needed for the Harvest.”