We all face day after day of busy schedules, challenges and the pressures of life at work and at home. Let’s face it, sometimes ”doing life” can can take the joy out of living. Well I am hereto tell you that there is promise in a Hope that is pure and simple. We all need to be encouraged and inspired from time to time; I hope this short presentaion will offer you encouragement and inspiration today, and that you will come to know the Hope that is pure and simple!
It is supposed to be a Happy New Year, but many of you are not really Happy or upbeat about the coming year at all…are you? What are you feeling? Disappointment? Discouragement? Depression? Disillusionment? Loneliness? Fear? Anger? Pain? Uncertainty? Frustration?
The world is full of problems and pressures that can cause us to feel any or all of these ways. For example, I was just released from my position at work after 12 years. The leadership of the organization made a decision to go in a different direction and the new plan did not include my position. We all know what the economy is like right now, so many would say that I have a reason and maybe even a right to have all those feelings. But, I do not. I am actually very excited and looking forward to the journey that lies ahead of me. I have an incredible sense of freedom and hope as I look forward to what God has to teach me during this time and what he has planned for the next season of my life. I know and believe God is my provider and that he will never leave me nor forasake me. Don’t misunderstand me; I know this will not be easy, and will likely even be difficult at times, but I plan to abide closely in God and trust him to guide and direct me to my next assignment for him. This faith in God provides me peace, hope and freedom, and these feelings trump the others! Why do I know and believe this; because God tells me so…
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:31-32
Here are some Truths That Set Us Free:
1. God is good (Ps. 119:68; 136:1).
2. God loves me and wants me to have His best (Rom. 8:32, 38-39).
3. I am complete and accepted in Christ (Eph. 1:6).
4. God is enough (Ps. 23:1).
5. God can be trusted (Isa. 28:16).
6. God doesn’t make any mistakes (Isa. 46:10)!
• Everything that comes into my life has been “filtered through His fingers of love.”
7. God’s grace is sufficient for me (2 Cor. 12:9).
8. The blood of Christ is sufficient to cover all my sin (1 John 1:7).
9. The cross of Christ is sufficient to conquer my sinful flesh (Rom. 6:6-7).
• I don’t have to sin (Rom. 6:14).
10. My past does not have to plague me (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
• My past failures can become stepping stones to greater victory and fruitfulness.
• If I will let Him, God will cause everything that has happened to me to work together for my good and for His glory.
11. God’s Word is sufficient to lead me, teach me, and heal me (Ps. 19:7; 107:20; 119:105).
12. Through the power of His Holy Spirit, God will enable me to do anything that He commands me to do (1 Thess. 5:24).
• There is no one that I cannot forgive (Mark 11:25).
• There is no one that I cannot love (Matt. 5:44).
• I can give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18).
• I can be content (Heb. 13:5; Phil. 4:11).
13. I am responsible before God, for my behavior, responses, and choices (Ez. 18:19-22).
14. I will reap whatever I sow (Gal. 6:7-8).
15. The pathway to true joy is to relinquish control (Luke 1:38; 1 Peter 5:7; Matt.16:25):
• of my life
• of my husband
• of my children
• of my circumstances
16. The greatest freedom I can experience is found through submission to God-ordained authority (Eph. 5:23).
• The husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5:23).
• The wife is to reverence and submit to her husband (Eph. 5:22, 33).
• “The heart of the king is in the Lord’s hand . . .” (Prov. 21:1).
17. In the will of God, there is no higher, holier calling than to be a wife and mother (Titus 2:4-5).
18. Personal holiness is more important than temporal happiness. (Eph. 5:26-27).
• Happiness is not a right.
19. God is more concerned about changing me and glorifying Himself, than about solving my problems (Rom. 8:29).
20. It is impossible to be godly, without suffering.
• Suffering is a tool in the hand of God to conform me to the image of Jesus (1 Peter 5:10).
21. My suffering will not last forever (2 Cor. 4:17-18; Ps. 30:5).
22. “It’s not about me; it’s all about Him!” (Col. 1:16-18).
“Oh Come, Oh come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appears. Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to you, Oh Israel.”
One of the favorite traditions of the Christmas season is to turn on the Christmas tree lights and light up the night. Who doesn’t love decorating the Christmas tree, then turning out all the other lights in the room to enjoy the ambience of the twinkling lights? Even a single candle burns brightly against the backdrop of darkness.
This tradition is well suited to the real celebration of the season. John 3:19 says that when Jesus Christ was born, the light came into the world. In fact, more than two hundred times in the Bible, God is described as light. Figuratively and literally, whenever God appears, light appears. It happened in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, and it will happen at the end of time; the book of Revelation tells us that in hell there will only be darkness and in heaven there will only be light.
Have you ever been in some pitch-black place when you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face? That’s what life is like without Jesus. You can’t fully appreciate the light until you feel the weight of the darkness.
If you feel lost, alone, and trapped – searching but not finding – Jesus Christ is the light.
If you feel cruelly crushed under the wrongs done to you, Jesus Christ is the light.
If you feel perplexed by an issue or circumstance that you can’t figure out, Jesus Christ is the light.
Maybe loneliness, despair, fear, and confusion describe you. If you want to know the way out, you first have to admit that you’re in darkness. You may not be ready to die, but you’re also not fully living. You don’t see any purpose or meaning to life, and you don’t see any hope worth trusting. But all that can change right now.
Like any other genuine follower of Christ, nothing made sense to me either before I turned to Jesus. I couldn’t sort out anything in this mixed-up world. But since receiving Jesus as my Savior, I understand what’s going on. Although life still isn’t perfect, and never will be until eternity, I realize what my own sin does to my life. Suddenly Christmas is so much more than a stale exchange of gifts and some silly guy in a red suit. At Christmas those of us who know Him celebrate the forgiveness of sin that can be found only in Jesus, the gift of Christmas.
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to you!
Suggested reading: A Max Lucado 3-in-1 special: Come Thirsty, Traveling Light, Next Door Savior
In Come Thirsty, Max Lucado encourages you to visit the well and drink deeply, to receive Christ’s work on the cross, the energy of his Spirit, and his lordship over your life, and his unending, unfailing love.
Using the illustration of weary travelers in Traveling Light, Lucado invites us to release the burdens of our excess baggage that we were never intended to bear–with the Twenty-third Psalm as our guide.
In Next Door Savior, master storyteller Max Lucado presents the life of Jesus Christ in stunning contrast, revealing the irresistible human qualities and the undeniably divine characteristics of Jesus. Lucado describes, as only he can, a Savior who is as approachable as a next-door neighbor, yet mighty enough to save humanity.
Giants. When you hear that word, what do you think of? Yes I know, if your a sports fan, you think of the football or baseball Giants. But, outside of that reference, we typically think of scary, exceptionally large beast that we are powerless to fight or overcome.
Giants have been around since the beginning of time. Giants are even mentioned in the very first book of the Bible. Genesis 6:4 says “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward…” The word, Nephilim is a picture of someone who is of great size and physical height, and who is exceptionally strong, fierce, and warlike. The word also carries the meaning of “fallen one”. Some propose that they were called fallen ones because men’s hearts would fail at the sight of them. Some suggest that it was because when they fell, the ground shook, causing others to fall too.
Are giants around today? You bet they are. Maybe not physically, as described above, but giants do still exist and attack us as we endeavor and dream to be successful and happy in life and at work.
Who are the giants of today who bully us and wage war against us; preventing us from becoming all that God has created us and called us to be. They are the same giants who kept God’s people, the Israelites, out of the promised land; the land of milk and honey. The same giants who through intimidation caused the people of God to give up, to decide that water and bread would be enough for them, and to ultimately settle for less than God’s best for their lives.
Do you recognize any of these Giants?
People, hear me when I tell you that God does not want you to settle for less than his best. Read what God told Israel and what what he is telling you!
Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall—Anakites (who were part of the Nephilim)! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you. (Deuteronomy 9:1-3)
Which giant is keeping you from experiencing all that God desires for you; keeping you from being happy in life and at work? Well guess what, it does not matter because God is bigger and more mighty than them all! He wants to go ahead of you to help you gain victory over your giant(s) and send you into a wonderful new land.
Read the passage from Deuteronomy again; stand tall and with God by your side face the giants in your life. Please do not be afraid. God promises all of us that he will never leave or forsake us, that he will never give us more than we can endure, and that his power will be with us. With God on your side, you have what it takes! Don’t believe me. Grab your Bible and read about Joshua, Moses, Abraham, Daniel, Isaiah, David, and the apostles.
In addition, I highly recommend “Slaying The Giants In Your Life” by David Jeremiah.
