December 2009 Highway Won Update

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:4-7, NKJV)

Have you really thought about the immense importance of the great event we celebrate at this time of the year? At the fullness of time, just the right time in our history, not by chance or accident but by design by our all-wise and all-knowing God, Jesus Christ was born into this world…to die. His primary purpose was not to establish a new religion, not to be an example of how to live, but to die for our sin to redeem us. The Bible uses two words for redemption. One means to buy out of the slave market; we were slaves to sin with a death warrant over our heads, but He bought us out slavery into freedom. The other means to exchange coins; His righteousness had to be exchanged for our corrupt sinful nature, just like one would exchange their national money for another country’s so it could be of value and worth in that country. But why would He do this? What drove Him to come in humiliation and die for sinners like us? His love for us! He wanted to bring us into a living relationship with the Father and impart the Holy Spirit in our lives so we can enjoy being the children of our heavenly Father by adoption, and heirs of God through Christ! So as you think this season about all the warm traditions we embrace, enjoy your family times, parties, and other holiday activities, take time to remember the love of God that would give so much for you, and made you His own! Merry Christmas and the best of New Years to you and yours from us at Highway Won Christian Store! –TK

So What’s New?

We are very excited about this month ahead at Highway Won. First off this week is the annual Hospitality Night here in Cambria, Thursday December 3rd from 5:30 to 9:00 pm! Most of the businesses here in town will be open and offering special events, sales, treats, and the like, and it is a great time to come and enjoy our beautiful little town. We are pleased to announce that we are going to have live music at our store that evening, plus a special little giveaway item for both adults and children. This will be a blessed night and we hope that many of you will be able to join us.

Our November Bible Month sale has gone fairly well, and we are going to continue this sale for the rest of the year in hopes of encouraging people to read and study the Bible more in 2010. We have several one-year Bibles on display as well. The sale prices range from 10-20% off and applies also to Bibles we order for you if they are not in stock currently. Now is the time to get that Bible for yourself or another that you have had your eye on!

Although we sold a fair amount of Christmas items over the Thanksgiving weekend, we still have many Christmas items, Christmas cards, music and books in stock. Make Highway Won your source for Christmas items this year! Don’t wait for after Christmas sales and miss out—they are going fast!

Lastly, we want to say thank you so much for all of your support, prayers, and love over this past year. It has been a difficult one for us personally and as a store, and the support of our customers and kind comments about Highway Won have helped us endure these things more easily. We are looking ahead to serving you and being here for you all the more in 2010, and appreciate your prayers as to that as well!

Merry Thanksgivingmas!

The time has come in which we’re all in a blur from before the end of October until early January, AKA the holiday season! Advertisers and marketers bombard us so much that we don’t even remember what holiday is coming up next. But during this time of the year we must not let the holiday excitement, parties, food, busyness and stress steal away the true joy it can bring, and we must take time to remember what all we have to be thankful for. Maybe this was a great year for you. Perhaps you’ve had a bad year…the worst year of your life in fact. Yet you still can be thankful for the things that aren’t happening to you, and that God has given you one more day of life, a new chance each day. The pilgrims chose to celebrate a feast of giving thanks for their first successful harvest in 1621, yet achieving that harvest had cost them the lives of many of their companions, much illness, and extreme trials that they weren’t prepared for. Regardless of this, they took the time to thank God for the great things He had done for them. Perhaps this year we can learn from their example, set all else aside, and enjoy celebrating the things God has done for us.

Mixed Holiday Feelings

Many people have mixed feelings or even confusion about celebrating this and other holidays. They ask questions like…

· If this is a time of thankfulness and joy, why do I still feel empty inside?
· What is my purpose here anyway? Is there something I’m missing?
· If there is a God, why does He allow such things as war, suffering, and struggle? What ever happened to “peace on earth?”

At times like these, we may turn to negative means of seeking to fill the emptiness and take away confusion, or just try to drown it out with holiday activities.

Yet the good news is that there is a purpose that was meant to be ours from the beginning of humanity; there is a peace we can have in the midst of our current world. Why aren’t we experiencing it?


The Barrier

God created us both for His pleasure and to bring us to our fullest potential in a living relationship with Him, experiencing a life that has purpose and meaning. Yet there is an impassible barrier that keeps us from that kind of life and from God Himself. The Bible calls that barrier sin.

Romans 3:9-11: All people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say, "No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.” (NLT)

Romans 3:23-24: For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. (NLT)

Romans 5:12: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (NLT)

In ancient Greek archery, the distance measured from where a shot arrow hit to the target itself was called “sin.” We have missed God’s target, and because of this we are separated from Him and His desires for us. We were lost and without hope of ever hitting the target because the barrier sin brought is far too great. But God, because He loves us and wants us to forgive our sin and establish a living relationship with Him, came up with a solution: Since mankind could never reach Him through whatever efforts, works, religious activities, etc. due to this barrier, God would reach out to mankind and provide the way for anyone who wants to come to Him, although it came at dear cost to Himself.

The Bridge

God saw that the only way to bridge that barrier keeping us from Him was to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to become one of us, have Him suffer the penalty of our sin on our behalf, die, and then rise again from the dead to bring us forgiveness and a new, meaningful life!

John 3:16: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (NLT)

Romans 5:6-9: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (NLT)

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)

Romans 8:34: …for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us. (NLT)


Crossing the Bridge

Jesus Christ is the bridge to God. Through Him alone we can have forgiveness of sin and a new beginning in our lives. He offers you the gift of salvation and eternal life, but like any gift, it isn’t yours until you take it from the person giving it to you. Jesus wants to be your Savior and the Lord of your life but will only do so by your choice. You must not just intellectually believe He can do this, but to take action and cross over the bridge itself. We must make the choice to ask Him to do this for us, what the Bible calls receiving Christ, committing our lives to following Him:

John 1:12: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. (NKJV)

Rom 10:9-13: That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (NKJV)

We must remember that He alone can save us from our sins, not our good works or sincerity. As we receive Christ into our lives, turn from our empty ways, He will bring the meaning, purpose and joy we need at this or any time of the year. Think about what the Bible tells us about this and the new beginning we can have in Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 2:8-10: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (NLT)

2 Corinthians 5:17: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)

1 Peter 1:23-24: For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. (NLT)

If you have never received Christ into your life before, your penalty of sin remains on you. You are separated from God. But if you want to receive the forgiveness and salvation of God, a new beginning in life, and enjoy this holiday season like you were meant to, you can do so right now by putting your faith and trust into Jesus and the work He did for you. One way to express your faith to Him is in prayer. Why don’t you take a moment to commit your life to Him now? Pray a simple prayer like this, believing in your heart, and ask Him to be your Savior and Lord:

Dear Lord, I admit that I need You. I don’t want just peace and self fulfillment in my life, but to have eternal life with You. I admit to you that I have sinned and fallen short of Your holy standard, and I ask You to forgive my sin, cleanse my life, and give me a new beginning in Jesus Christ. I receive Him now into my life as my Savior, and want to follow Him from this day forward as the Lord of my life. Thank You for hearing me and for saving me. I commit my life to You now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Just like our physical lives, our spiritual lives begin with a birth, becoming a new person in Christ. As we have to do certain things physically to grow and develop, there are also things you need to be doing to grow and develop in your walk with Jesus. Here are some of the most important things we all need to do:

Read the Bible. The Bible is like our spiritual food, air, and water to feed and equip us for the Christian life. God gave us this wonderful book to teach us about Him, about our relationships with others, and to help us become more of the people He wants us to be. Take some time every day to thoughtfully read through the Scriptures, asking Him to speak to you personally and show you the things He has for You. We recommend you start with the New Testament, especially the fourth Gospel, John, as it is very helpful in understanding the overall theme of the Bible and our lives.

Pray. Prayer is talking with God. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal, but He wants to hear from us, about our needs and concerns, and uses our prayers in the lives of others too. You can remember the basic aspects of prayer by remembering the word ACTS: A stands for Adoration, or praising God for who He is; C is for Confession, or admitting to God the times you fall in sin and asking Him to cleanse and set you right with Him; T is for Thanksgiving, thanking God for the things He has done for you, and S is for Supplication, a fancy way of saying praying for the needs of other people. You aren’t limited to pray at any time; God always wants to hear from His children.

Get involved in a good church. The Bible encourages us about being with other Christians, meeting together regularly, and getting involved. The Christian life wasn’t meant to be lived alone. We all have something we can benefit from and also benefit others with as we meet with them. Look for a church that teaches the Bible and honors Jesus Christ.

Begin Serving the Lord. This is like our spiritual exercise. There are many ways you can serve God. The Bible tells us to give out of ourselves, our resources, to tell others about the salvation that we have found in Christ, and to help others in Jesus’ name. We need exercise to keep our physical body working properly, and so we need our spiritual exercise to reach our best potential.

May you have a great Thanksgiving and holiday season, and learn to follow Him in all seasons of your life. If there is any way we can be of help to you spiritually or to know more about following Jesus Christ, please let us know and we’d be happy to help.

Highway Won Christian Store
801 B Main Street
Cambria, CA 93428
(805) 927-2320
Email: highwaywon@sbcglobal.net


Merry Thanksgivingmas! © 2007 by Thomas Klock, Psalm 72:8 Communications. All Rights Reserved.