God Speaks Peace

For the fourth and last Sunday of Advent at our church, our theme was peace. Peace is nearly as elusive as Joy. Peace is defined as "freedom from disturbance". I think that is an appropriate definition, but piggy-backing onto last week's post, I think that peace is contentment as well...being content in your circumstances. I also believe that no one can find true peace without God. The Bible mentions that idea several times. 

Isaiah 26:3--"You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

John 14:27--"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

Romans 8:6b--"but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

How great is that second verse....Jesus gives us His peace. Jesus not only has peace, but He IS Peace. He is the Prince of Peace as we so often call Him this time of year. The rest of the year we tend to forget that He is the Prince of Peace!

Isaiah 9:6--"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Because we as Christians are brothers and sisters of Christ, it is our responsibility to exhibit that peace. We are called to be like Christ and share His love (and peace) with others. 

2 Corinthians 13:11--"Finally, brothers,

 rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."

Hebrews 12:14--"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, since no one will see God without it."

Romans 12:18--"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

As mentioned before, peace is one of those things in life which is sought after all the time by everyone. The Bible tells us in several verses to "seek peace and pursue it", which implies it is hard to find and hard to keep. Seek peace and keep seeking it. The good news is that if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, we can find that peace. We may not always keep it, but in Him, we can find it. Christmas is the time of year we focus on the birth of Jesus, who came from the glory of Heaven to the dregs of Earth to begin His journey to save Mankind. 

Colossians 1:19-20--"God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth."

Ephesians 2:15--"He offered His body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s ordinances and dictations. His desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing groups, thus creating peace."

May you find Jesus this Christmas! Only in Him will we find peace and peace that lasts for eternity!

God Speaks Joy

JOY--that is a familiar word thrown around a lot at Christmas. But what is Joy?

I'm sure some people would define joy as happiness and having everything going your way, but REAL Joy is different.  Joy and Happiness are two different things. 

This week at church was the third week of Advent and the theme was Joy. Joy is an elusive characteristic. Many people search for it, but it seems few find it. Happiness is about being content in current circumstances where joy is about being content and having peace no matter the circumstances. This does not mean that we are happy about circumstances that are sad or difficult, but it does mean that we have an inner peace no matter the circumstances. It is interesting to note that in the Bible there are many verses that list BOTH joy and happiness so it is apparent that they are two distinct emotions. 

You have filled me with joy, and happiness has risen in my heart, great delight and unrivaled joy, even more than when bread abounds and wine flows freely. Psalm 4:7

If we look at the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, we can see a difference between the two. Mary was a young, unmarried but engaged, girl when Gabriel visited her to announce that she would give birth to Jesus. While Mary praised God at the time for allowing her to carry His Son, I can imagine that she also met this circumstance with UNhappiness. To others it would appear that she had been unfaithful to her betrothed and these circumstances certainly brought shame to her and her family, as well as uncertainty to Joseph. Despite this unhappiness and a seemingly "bad" situation, Mary still had JOY because she knew that God was in control and that she was being used as a part of His plan. 

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. Luke 1:14

The key to having JOY is God, pure and simple. Following God and Jesus and striving to do their will gives Joy, even if it brings unhappiness. Despite circumstances, Joy (and thus peace and contentment) can be found in God. May you find God this Christmas season and may He bless you with JOY!

Instead, You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending, and I know true joy and contentment. Psalm 16:11

Until this moment, you have not sought after anything in My name. Ask and you will receive so that you will be filled with joy. John 16:24

God Speaks Love

Are you ready for Christmas yet?  Have you been able to get your shopping started? Will you get together with family this year? Is that all there is to this holiday? 

This past Sunday was the second week of Advent at our church and the theme was love. What a great time of year to talk about Love, especially if we can focus on the Love that God has for us. God's love for us is displayed in many ways. First of all, the simple fact that God created each one of us means that He loves us. 

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." (Psalm 143:6)

He is also available to us at all times of the day, 24/7, 365(6) days of the year. Also because God made each of us, He knows all about us and cares for us. God knows what we need, sometimes when we don't even know what we need. God does not want any harm to to come to us or our families. This also means that God is working on our personal life events and desires that nothing but good comes to us. 

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

If we ask God, He will provide direction for our relationships with others. As mentioned in the last post, God thinks about us and rejoices over us in singing. These are all great examples of how God shows His love! (adapted from 10 Ways God Shows His Love For You! POSTED ON JUNE 1, 2017 BY DEBRAPEDROW)

The best example however, is when God sent His Son, Jesus to earth as a baby. Can you imagine the sacrifice made by Jesus Himself for us? Jesus was already in Heaven with God and He knew God's plan of salvation for each of us. Jesus willingly came to a dirty, sin-filled earth as a humble baby to begin a very rough journey of love for us. 

"and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:2)

He was born into a world of sinners, many of whom treated Him unkindly, and endured 33 years before offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice and bridge for our entrance into Heaven. God the Father suffered for us by sending His Son out of the safety and "wonderfulness" of Heaven and into the wicked world. Not only that, God knew that the mission for Jesus would require great suffering on the part of His Son. Parents do not typically send their children out of safety to a place where they will suffer, but God did. Both God and Jesus sacrificed even more by the death on the cross. 

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)."  (Ephesians 2:4-5)

When Jesus died, because He had consumed the sins of the world (the Bible says He BECAME sin), God had to turn His back on Jesus. 

"He orchestrated this: the Anointed One, who had never experienced sin, became sin for us so that in Him we might embody the very righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

As a parent, I cannot imagine willingly turning my back on any of my children. Imagine Jesus too, at the time that He needed His Father the most, God turned His back because He WAS sin. Fortunately, this was a short-lived occurrence. Once Jesus released the hold that the devil had on those He loves, Jesus went back to Heaven. Still, God and Jesus willingly made these sacrifices in order to save the ones they love....anyone that calls on the name of Jesus for salvation!  Remember this Christmas season that the cute little baby, whose celebration we await, became SIN for us, so that we would be able to celebrate Him for eternity!

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13)

Life--"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;" (John 11:25)

Obedient--"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8)

Value--"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."  (1 Timothy 4:8)

Eternal--"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3)

God Speaks Hope

Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash

 Unprecedented!  New normal!  Are you as sick as I of hearing these phrases? Maybe "different" or "non-traditional" are better phrases. As we enter the 2020 holiday season, it seems that once again it will be a different type of celebration this year. It seems that 2020 will never end and doesn't leave us much room for Hope. Traditionally during Advent, churches will theme their services around four specific traits/characteristics of God as we approach the celebration of the coming of baby Jesus. This past Sunday, our church focused on Hope. It is appropriate that the first week of Advent the focus is on Hope since this year seems to be a bit unhopeful. Many of us have spent a different year of birthday celebrations and even Thanksgiving get togethers. Looking towards Christmas celebrations, it seems likely that it will not be a traditional year for that either. The One steadfast and never-changing Hope that we have in all of these unusual times is our Heavenly Father. Even though everything around us may be different or change, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

Malachi 3:6--"Because I am the Eternal One, I never change; as a result, you children of Jacob have not been destroyed though your blessing may have been delayed."

Because God does not change, we have the hope that we will not be destroyed and that a blessing is yet to come. God does not want His children to suffer and be without Hope. He promises that we have a blessing in the future. Right now we can't see the blessing(s) in this "new normal", but one day we will see and understand.

Photo by 卡晨 on Unsplash

Jeremiah 29:11--"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

Here is Hope--God thinks about us! That is an awesome way to have Hope. The Creator of the world thinks about us.  What's more, He not only thinks about us, but sings over us as well.

Zephaniah 3:17--"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

This is one of my favorite verses and now combined with the previous, it gives me hope to know that God thinks about me and rejoices over me with singing. 

Photo by Joseph Barrientos on Unsplash

Let us not lose hope in this crazy year! Maybe it's a year to start new traditions, to focus on our blessings without as much busyness, and to focus on the Hope that God gives us.

Heaven--"And know that in heaven, you have a great reward."  Matt. 5:12

Overcome--"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Power--"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."  Isaiah 40:29

Eternal life--"Those who believe in the Son will bask in eternal life, but those who disobey the Son will never experience life."  John 3:36