Matthew 1:23 (ESV) "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

We hear these words read at this time of the year, but rarely listen well enough to let the truth sink in to our hearts and minds so we can fully appreciate another aspect of His abundant goodness to us.

As we saw in Sunday’s sermon (11/30 Listen >> ), none of us are immune from loneliness. For some, loneliness gets the best of them, especially at this time of the year. For others, as we saw how God worked through Paul, loneliness became a motivation to better utilize his time, work on releasing any resentment for the cause of loneliness, focus on God’s presence, and look on the needs of others. Please read 2 Timothy 4:6-21 and check out the CCPC website for the sermon, www.ccpc.org.

Let’s think of one aspect from Paul’s bout with loneliness at the end of his life, namely his concern for others.

2 Timothy 4:17 (ESV) But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

Galatians 6:5 (ESV) For each will have to bear his own load.

One of the three things we do when we face our regrets, when we realize we have made a mistake, is to blame someone for our actions. Blaming never takes away the regret.  In fact, it can add to the problem because not only do we have the regret of having made the mistake but down inside we regret blaming someone else. And on it goes until we face the music and take responsibility.