Posts Tagged ‘ simple man of God ’
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, and He brings eternal life. We must believe this and love out that faith.
Do you believe?
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, and He alone satisfies our souls and longings. One day He will return and remove all longings, pains, and worries.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, and He is preparing a place for us in eternity with Him. May we treasure our Lord and Savior.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, and He has overpowered evil and sin by His life, death, and resurrection. We now have hope of overcoming the problems of this life through Christ.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, pushing back the darkness of evil and showing us the path to God and out of sin and shame.
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:7-8, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, that God Himself came to us to love like one of us to redeem us from death.
I enjoy the Christmas season. I enjoy celebrating Advent.
The first week of Advent is traditionally seen as being a time for looking at hope and faith, having an expectation of the coming Savior. This year, I am using some of the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.
Let’s get into
“Look, the days are coming”—
Jeremiah 33:14-16, CSB
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“when I will fulfill the good promise
that I have spoken
concerning the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time
I will cause a Righteous Branch
to sprout up for David,
and he will administer justice
and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will dwell securely,
and this is what she will be named:
The Lord Is Our Righteousness.
The world was full of sin, separation, and violence. Israel and Judah were God’s chosen people to spread His glory, but they had essentially failed at being faithful. Israel was already taken into exile, and Jeremiah was living during the time of Judah going into exile.
Jeremiah reminded us that God had established His covenant with King David, that an eternal Kingdom was coming with a descendant of David ruling forever. When this King comes, salvation and peace shall come. The next two verses even include that there will also be an eternal Priest.
This Priestly King will be called “The Lord is our righteousness.” As 1 Corinthians 1:30 reminds us, Christ is our righteousness and redemption, the Lord who sanctifies us.
We now know who this Priestly King is, and we must submit ourselves to His rule. And our hope is for eternity, knowing that Christ will come again. As said in Luke 21:25-36, this world will pass away, but He and His word will last forever, so we must prepare ourselves for His next coming.
The Hope of mankind has come and is coming, so let us repent of our sins, changing the way we think and act, worshiping the Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity of the Godhead, that we may be ready when He returns. We have hope only if we are found in Christ.
Believe in the coming Son.
Lord, we have sinned against You and You alone. You are our only hope. Grant us the grace to repent, the strength to follow You, and the will to love others through the gospel and serving each other until You return. Show us the hope we have in Your life, death, and resurrection, and by the power of the Holy Spirit guide us in all truth until You return.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39, ESV
Just the name of God can save, and He has. Let us show our thankfulness by sharing that salvation and love with others that they may worship God in thankfulness, too.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
1 Chronicles 16:34, ESV
Just the name of God can save, and thankfully His love has been given to us through the Son sacrificing Himself for our salvation. Let us thank Him by sharing this love and forgiveness.
Looking at a daily devotional, I couldn’t help noticing that our American day of Tahnksgiving falls on the 333rd day of the year.
My mind immediately thought, “That’s funny. Our holiday is only half-evil,” going from the traditional understanding of “666” being the number of the Antichrist.
Naturally, that took my mind to Scripture:
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-21, ESV
The world is a crazy place with more sin than we can fathom being celebrated, yet we can come together in thankfulness for our Lord who is redeeming the world and will soon return in glory.
Let us encourage each other in Christ, especially on a day like Thanksgiving but also throughout the year. Enjoy times with each other as the Church, and love your family and friends.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good … even when the world is half evil.
Happy Thanksgiving.
a simple man of God 