When I think about Christmas I think about three things…faith, hope and love. Imagine that? I don’t think of them in that order though. See, I first think about hope. I think about what great hope the followers of Jesus in the 1st century could have in the fact that God had chosen to come down as the Son of Man to be our salvation. He came down to bring us out! But, where do we get our hope? “Faith is the substance of all things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Our hope comes from our faith that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by God to be crucified, dead and buried, and to rise again. But that doesn’t happen until Easter. Nowadays its only a few months between Christmas and Easter. In the 1st century there were 33 years between Christmas and Easter. 33 years of faith. 33 years of believing in things that they hadn’t seen happen yet. So, faith in what? Faith in knowing that God has sent His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Why, would God do something like that? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Because He loves us THAT much.
So, when I think about Christmas, why do I think about faith, hope, and love? Because that’s all we really get until Easter! We get faith that Jesus is God’s only Son, hope in God's promise to his nation, and the love of God's sacrifice.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
He Knows!
Focus: Hebrews 11:1, Proverbs 3:5, Jeremiah 29:11
As Christians, we are faced with difficult questions regarding our faith. The one that I struggled with the most is, “How can God be three beings but one God!?” It took me a long time to come up with a good answer. Eventually, it all came down to faith. In Hebrews faith is defined as the substance of all things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. If we understood everything we were supposed to believe, faith would not be a vital component of Christianity. In Proverbs, Solomon wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” In other words, HAVE FAITH. When it seems as though your life is spinning out of control, when everything seems to have taken a turn for the worst, when you’re coach is leaving. When there’s so much to do and so little time, when no matter how hard you try you always fail, when the weight of the world is on your shoulders, when you simply don’t know what to do anymore…have faith. When things don’t go the way you planned…
In Jeremiah, God declares that He knows the plans that He has for us, plans not to harm us but to give us the future that we hope for. In essence…have faith. Trust Him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. Trust Him, because God’s ways are higher than our ways. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God’s plans are higher than our plans. He genuinely wants what’s best for us. What’s better is He knows what’s best, regardless of what we think.
Remember that He loves you. He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because that is who He is. He loves you because of who He is, not because of who you are. So, there’s nothing you can do or say or fix or change to make him love you more. What’s greater is there is nothing you can do or say or fix or change to make him love you less. He loves you because He loves you. Even when it hurts, and when you feel lost and alone. He loves you. And, if you ever forget it, sit. Sit still, sit quiet, and pray. Pray to feel protected and cradled in His arms like the cherished child you are. You will feel warmth inside your soul like you’ve never felt before. You’ll feel His arms console you. That’s Him reminding you that He didn’t leave you, that you’re not alone, and that He loves you.
He will always look out for our better interest. Even when it isn’t what we expect or what we think is best. As long as we remember that He loves each of us, and we have faith and trust Him, we’ll always make it through.
As Christians, we are faced with difficult questions regarding our faith. The one that I struggled with the most is, “How can God be three beings but one God!?” It took me a long time to come up with a good answer. Eventually, it all came down to faith. In Hebrews faith is defined as the substance of all things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. If we understood everything we were supposed to believe, faith would not be a vital component of Christianity. In Proverbs, Solomon wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” In other words, HAVE FAITH. When it seems as though your life is spinning out of control, when everything seems to have taken a turn for the worst, when you’re coach is leaving. When there’s so much to do and so little time, when no matter how hard you try you always fail, when the weight of the world is on your shoulders, when you simply don’t know what to do anymore…have faith. When things don’t go the way you planned…
In Jeremiah, God declares that He knows the plans that He has for us, plans not to harm us but to give us the future that we hope for. In essence…have faith. Trust Him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. Trust Him, because God’s ways are higher than our ways. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God’s plans are higher than our plans. He genuinely wants what’s best for us. What’s better is He knows what’s best, regardless of what we think.
Remember that He loves you. He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because that is who He is. He loves you because of who He is, not because of who you are. So, there’s nothing you can do or say or fix or change to make him love you more. What’s greater is there is nothing you can do or say or fix or change to make him love you less. He loves you because He loves you. Even when it hurts, and when you feel lost and alone. He loves you. And, if you ever forget it, sit. Sit still, sit quiet, and pray. Pray to feel protected and cradled in His arms like the cherished child you are. You will feel warmth inside your soul like you’ve never felt before. You’ll feel His arms console you. That’s Him reminding you that He didn’t leave you, that you’re not alone, and that He loves you.
He will always look out for our better interest. Even when it isn’t what we expect or what we think is best. As long as we remember that He loves each of us, and we have faith and trust Him, we’ll always make it through.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)