Posts Tagged ‘ World ’
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Psalm 40:1-2, ESV
The world will tell us we are meaningless accidents, and the devil will have us focus on being animate dirt. Yet, we know God has made us in His image, giving us value and purpose. We can trust our Creator.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26, ESV
The world will tell we are all we need. The devil will try to convince us we can save ourselves. Only in Jesus can we be saved, and only God can accomplish anything.
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10, ESV
The world and the devil want to hold us back and lead us from righteousness, but, even if we stumble, God is there to help us overcome and thrive.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14, ESV
We know God’s love for us, for He has promised to redeem all of Creation. Let us join in His redemptive work and carry the knowledge of Christ to all people.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.“
John 3:16-18, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Jesus came to live amongst us, teaching the truths of God and proving them with miracles, signs, and wonders.
Whether we grow up surrounded by religious teachings or nothing spiritual, it can be difficult to comprehend salvation.
Jesus explained to Nicodemus, and thus to us, that it is pretty simple how to be saved, but we make it oh so difficult.
If we don’t choose to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and fully man, who is the God we have all sinned against, that He died for our forgiveness and restoration to Himself, and that He bodily rose back to life, we remain condemned to the wrath of God for our sin.
If we don’t believe all of that, we are in danger of not being saved.
Jesus is full of grace, and He is our only source of hope and forgiveness.
God came to us as a man to save us by taking our punishment on Himself, and we must believe this to be saved.
It is not difficult to understand, but we don’t want to admit our faults or that it can be so easy to be saved yet difficult to live by God’s standard.
May we seek the Lord who has saved us from wrath and given us the path to eternal life.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:14, ESV
Christ has put His light in us, and we shine brightest when we are together. He uses us to shine in a world of darkness.
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in
Isaiah 40:21-22, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Our sins have stacked up to heaven, deeper and more vile than we could know.
We think that our sin will go unnoticed by God, that there isn’t really anything He can do against us.
We think that God is impotent, powerless, and unable to hold us accountable for our sin. This is evidenced in the way we live, how we talk, what we do, ignoring His ways, saying “He’ll forgive me” or “I can do what I want.”
But this is the God who can create everything from nothing, hold everything together and within His hands, and stretches out the univers with those same hands.
Yes, we are basically nothing compared to Him, but God intimately knows every part of His Creation, from the farthest flung stars to our innermost thoughts.
He knows how the cosmos work, and He knows our every sin, our every rebellion against Him.
We therefore prepare ourselves by admitting we don’t understand as much as we think we do, turning to our Creator and Savior who became our example and demonstrated His vast power over our own vast stubbornness.
May we seek the Lord who has no reason to consider us, yet He still lavishes His love and grace on and in us.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7, ESV
Our Ggod has given us everything we need to change our world: Himself. Through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
Let us seek Him, and ask for His power to move through us to bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33, ESV
We want to change the world, but it only happens when we seek the kingdom and righteousness of God in our own life and let Him move through us.
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints
Ephesians 6:18, ESV
We help change the world when we start in prayer to our Lord and lift up all who share the gospel. (Which should be all of us!)
a simple man of God 