I just pray that we spend more time on cultivating our relationship with Christ this Christmas than we do on buying and wrapping material gifts. Let us be swept up in the true wonder of the season; the Lord came to dwell among us! May we feed our own souls with the right kind of worship and share the good news of Jesus birth, death, resurrection, and second coming with those around us.
There is comfort in the trials that winter brings, because the Lord who has created them never lets them weather us without also allowing us to experience the hope and joy of Christmas. Jesus has always promised His presence to us. But in order to understand the beauty of Christmas, we must understand just how bleak winter can be.
As I have listened to stories today from some of my favorite historians, and pondered the commitment of the greatest generation of Americans on the heels of Pearl Harbor, I am left wondering if we presently have any real understanding of that type of sacrifice.
While I was driving, I was asked if I thought that, on either occasion, those people knew Jesus? We hadn’t talked about either situation at the time, but apparently, I was not the only one to notice what was happening. My reply was vague, at best, because even if I thought that they did know Jesus, they certainly didn’t act as if they did.
Scrooge examined his life, his heart, against God’s standard and found himself lacking. He knew that he could not change on his own but called on the Spirit to strive within him. You and I have a wonderful opportunity to ask the Holy Spirit to live within us this Christmas day and every day, friend!
We pray this encourages your heart to be willing to see the mystery of Christ and His coming. Happy Sunday & Merry Christmas!
I’m going to be bold and write that maybe many of us are uncertain about who we genuinely are to Jesus, because we live for the noise, the busyness. Our arms never can stop flailing about. We can never sit still to seek Him. We despise quiet and if it begins to surround us, we fill it with other distractions.
I believe that a childlike faith actually consists of this thought that we are merely a small part in the big scheme of life, but we take pride in Jesus wanting to use us. We still see those endless possibilities, but they are now cultivated by God, and used to help us step off the shore and dive into an ocean of incredibility.
Advent is a chance for us to prepare for the coming or arrival of the most important person into our midst. Friend, is Jesus your longed-for guest today and every day? Do you desire the arrival of the kingdom in your home and in your heart this Advent season?
I invite you to allow God to bring you back to Him this Christmas. Back to His heart and what truly matters in life. The reason He came into this world was to save us from our wretched sin and the misery that pertains to it. May revivals take place in our hearts and homes this year as we begin where we may have left our first love.
How sickening it is to watch Christians listen to and genuinely believe not only what the enemy says, but also the devout liars that he has specifically placed in this world to manipulate our minds. We lack discernment. We lack courage. We lack a passion for the truth to be revealed in the American Church.
Suffering isn’t easy. Pain isn’t comfortable. Disappointment isn’t ideal. But it doesn’t mean that it can’t be beautiful.
What I’ve found, is that it is extremely difficult to measure sacrifice; it often seems to me that it is a road with no end.
Let me tell you, I’ve been hit for a little bit of all those things at one time or another. But the moment I made the decision to not get hit for my stupid decisions, but for the truth I want to spread about Jesus, the atmosphere completely changed in my boxing ring.
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Everything that God has claimed, is counterclaimed by Satan. This truth has become incredibly evident to me over the last two years, especially in the midst of all the chaos and craziness. Satan is in the business of distorting the good and beautiful things God created and intended to be used to bring Him glory.
I can personally testify that when God gives you someone to pour into and a place to do so, don’t be surprised if it’s the last person you thought of and the only place that’s on your list of places to never go.
As I personally wrestled through the month of August, God challenged me to give Him my hand. Not to take His hand, but to give Him mine. You see, God wants to hold on to us, so that if we happen to let go of Him, we won’t fall.
Whether we want to recognize it or not, you and I were made for 2021, and God didn’t put us here to be stressed out or overcome by the world. He has a much bigger purpose for our time and for this generation.
Our family has talked to and messaged with so many people recently who have no clue what to say in their e x e m p t i o n request, and I think that this will be just what you need to give you a great foundation to start with if you are wondering the same thing! I asked our mom, Michelle Hobbs, who has been a Family Nurse Practitioner for over twenty years to give us her best tips and pieces of advice.
I have become sick and tired of churchgoers acting like they are such martyrs for the faith when they stand up for a minor, frivolous argument in which they do not even act like Jesus. I hate to even think about how many of us will die thinking we have accomplished something important, that we have faced fearful odds. Only because you blew up at someone about something on Facebook and will then have to face the sad reality that you did not help someone grow closer to the Lord but rather made them run in the other direction. I believe that the kind of stress you experience matters.
It’s never been more convenient to become numb. The American Church is numb. Numb to the things God is speaking to our hearts, numb to the opportunities He places before us, numb to causes we should be fighting for.
It is indeed up to my generation to be God-fearing, educated, intelligent individuals or we will live our lives believing and falling for every lie the world chooses to tell us. Unfortunately, this is how most of the generation that came before us currently lives.
So, don’t lose heart! Stand for truth and speak that truth. Do not back down under the schemes of our enemy. Invite Jesus into the ship and be careful to keep your eyes focused on Him and His plan.
If you want to change the world, you need to do these two things… Love Jesus, and make your bed.
In reality, we are like an empty, dark, windows broken, glass everywhere kind of room when we choose not to make room for Jesus. He won’t start the restoration process if we don’t allow Him to.
Here’s what people don’t want to tell you, though… Your choices have consequences, and you get to choose who’s honor you receive. It matters who is giving you the honor.
Too often I think we view Christianity as something “to do” instead of “to be”. It’s great to do what the Gospel says, I’m not discounting that. But think of how much better it would be if we were to actually build the Kingdom and follow Jesus’ example because that’s who we are?
It’s time to realize, Church, that our society is no longer a “Christian” one. Instead, it is permeated with counter-Christian messages that teach people to despise God and to treat His ways with contempt.
Your influence is irreplaceable when you have the authority of Christ and a passion for Him more than anything else you have ever encountered. Let Jesus Himself be your “why”.
Every good thing can be distorted. When we think back throughout the history of our world, we see a constant repetition of this; of good things being distorted.
I am going to share a paper with you that I recently wrote for class. It addresses the topic and issue of Postmodernism, and its goal to dismantle Christianity by overturning traditional standards. I pray this opens your mind (as it did mine) to the influence the enemy has on our culture.
In the next scene, he comes to and is sitting in his armchair with a cup of tea while he and Gandalf have an exchange that I believe is very important. Listen closely to what is said. “I’ll be fine, just let me sit quietly for a moment,” said Bilbo. “You’ve been sitting quietly for far too long!” Was the response Gandalf gave.
What America needs now is not unity, but complete restoration and an overwhelming sense of conviction.
Many of them have preached from the pulpit that politics are not in accordance with standards of honor or decency. Well neither is the Church at this point in time. So, what’s your point?
The Few 