Posts Tagged ‘ Belief ’
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Isaiah 60:1, ESV
The Light of the world has come to us, and when we believe in His grace and salvation, His light grows in and through us.
I originally wrote this 16 years ago as a part-time homeless young man on the streets of Phoenix. I also happened to be in the house of the family of my then-future wife.
Many things have changed since then, but not Jesus.
As I sit here typing this, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is playing in the background.
It reminds me of how thankful I am to my Lord and my Savior. Even though my life is not exactly in the most stable place right now. Yet, that is exactly one of the reasons I am so thankful.
A young woman, just a teenager, finding herself pregnant in a society that would stone her for adultery within a society that is cruel and dangerous. And when she is about nine months pregnant, she is told she needs to walk over seventy miles.
She should worry about her fiance leaving her. She should worry about the religious officials dragging her before a court and wanting to "dispose of her." She should be worried about her unborn child coming into a world that seems heartless and callous and deadly. She should ... worry.
She trusts what God has told her. She holds on to a promise that everything will be okay… even if it does not seem to be going so well, at the moment.
Her fiancé does stay with her. Yet, there are strange people saying strange things to and about her child. Yet, she learns that her baby’s life is now threatened. She needs to take him to Egypt right away!
She treasures all these things in her heart.
She praises her God. She keeps a hold of His promises.
It is not “Merry Christmas!”
It is not “Peace and Joy to all!”
It is not even “Let us exchange gifts!”
It was probably something more like “Hello, my child. Welcome to the world. I love you, and I will be here for you.”
That is what our Father, our heavenly Daddy, says to each of us on the day we are born.
Even better, He says it the day we decide we need to follow Him.
Even better, He says it every single day.
It does not matter what day Jesus was really born on. God cares more for us because of His Son, and the change that He has created in us.
When is Christmas?
It is the day when we respond to His call. When we are reborn in Him. It is Christ born in us. Some call it the day you were saved. Some call it the start of eternal life. Some call it their re-birthday (yo).
But it is our own personal Christmas.
God with us.
God loves you. He loves you so much that He sent His only Son to this earth that we might be with Him forever, in constant fellowship.
Your time to remember Christ is year round, not just once a year. He is not the reason for the Season, but He is the reason for all seasons!
I say to you today if you are not a believer in Jesus as Savior, that He wants you with Him forever, that He has done literally everything to get you and make you His friend and child.
I say to you today if you call on the Name of our Lord, that He wants you with Him forever, and He has done literally everything to get you and make you His friend and child. And He is always holding you in His hand.
I say to all that God loves you. He always has. He always will.
Oh …
I love you, too! Have a great life with our Lord!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13, ESV
God came to us as one of us, dying for our forgiveness but rising again, giving us hope for eternal life. We now have His Holy Spirit as a deposit of that hope, so may we feel joy and peace in knowing our eternal destination.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:15, ESV
To know God and be known by Him is to believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God who saves us from sin and wrath, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Only then do we have true hope for the future.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23, ESV
All that goes wrong in this world, all of the people who are unfaithful and betray us, we know, because of prophecy and Christ’s resurrection, that God is faithful and will never leave us. With the promised seal of the Holy Spirit in us, we can hope for the future as we love out our faith today.
”Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV
God may not stop all of our enemies in this life, in fact having promised us persecution and problems. However, He is always with us and will one Day remove all evil and suffering. Trust Him until the next life.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31, ESV
God may not heal or illnesses and pains in this life, but He will heal our souls and rejuvenate our spirits when we put our faith in Christ. We will be empowered to run the race of faith in strength and grace.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6, ESV
God is all that is good, and, though we have messed up this world, He still brought His goodness to us in Jesus. By the Holy Spirit when we believe in Christ, we now have His goodness in us and a hope for eternity.
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”
1 Corinthians 2:9, ESV
We do not understand God, the salvation He offers, the power He offers, or eternity. But when we believe in Christ’s work and grace, we get a taste when the Holy Spirit fills us.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 25:5, ESV
We want to believe our own truths, but God calls us to follow Him alone and empowers us to believe and follow. Wait on the Lord’s truth and power.
a simple man of God 