Reaching the Lost. Discipling the Saved. Sharing the Love of Jesus with Everyone.
Today we remember the amazing conversion of St. Paul – and how God used him mightily as His servant.
And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
Acts 9:20 (ESV)
He ensured much and had a difficult life, but was still the most prolific writer of Gospel-filled letters in Scripture!
What would we suffer for the sake of Jesus? What will we endure for His Name?
Today we remember the great confession of St. Peter – as well as his boldness in proclaiming Him everywhere.
Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.
Acts 4:12 (CEV)
May be so bold in proclaiming the saving Jesus to all!
Although Epiphany was on the 6th, it is good to celebrate it.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
Isaiah 60:1 (esv)
We remember the Magi who searched for God’s King. We celebrate Jesus being the Light of the world. We celebrate that, even when we may want to be invisible, we are also Called to be His lights.
May all see Him in and through us!
Solomon is known for being the wisest man who lived (apart from Jesus, of course).
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:103 (esv)
But being wise doesn’t always translate to being godly.
In fact, some of the wisest people foolishly separate themselves from the Source of that Wisdom – God!
Solomon lost track of the more important thing – seeking God and remaining in His Word instead of worldly wisdom, which is fleeting.
May we always seek and remain in His Words, which are sweeter than honey!
Typically the Sunday after Christmas is…not well attended.
Lord, I am your servant, and now I can die in peace, because you have kept your promise to me. With my own eyes I have seen what you have done to save your people, and foreign nations will also see this. Your mighty power is a light for all nations, and it will bring honor to your people Israel.
Luke 2:29-32 (cev)
It seems anticlimactic and the excitement of Christmas is over.
Perhaps it seemed that way for Mary & Joseph, too.
The shepherds were gone, the birth has happened and now comes…regular life.
But the coming of Jesus gives us a different take on Life.
As Simeon said soon after Jesus’ birth, he can now go in peace having seen God’s salvation in Jesus!
Wow!
That is exciting! That is meaningful! That is LIFE!
Thanks You, Lord!
Let us now, also, depart in the peace that comes from Jesus!
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 (esv)
It can be easy for us to look at the Baby in the manger and see just that Baby.
But this was no ordinary child.
He is the Word made flesh! He is the only Son of the Father! He is the promised Messiah!
Praise the Lord for unordinary, unorthodox, undeserved Gift – Jesus!
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 (esv)
It can be easy to feel insignificant and far from God – especially when wallowing in the shame of our sins.
But the whole reason Jesus came was to free us from those sins, release us from that shame and guilt, and draw us to Himself!
Instead of being far from God, through Jesus, He draws us to Himself – and even rejoices over us with gladness!
Amazing!
Simply amazing!
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Revelation 21:22-23 (esv)
Sometimes it’s helpful to start from the end – especially when we’re going through heartache and struggle.
In Revelation we are given a beautiful glimpse of Heaven; with God taking center stage.
How wonderful it will be!
Jesus came to redeem us and now prepares a beautiful place for us for eternity with Him!
With that to look forward to, all of the temporary issues we are dealing with here are trivial!
We don’t have a Thanksgiving service, so today, the Sunday before, we will take time to thank God for all His blessings toward us!
Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God?
Luke 17:18 (cev)
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come.
Mark 13:7 (gW)
It’s easy to freak out when watching the news. Everything seems to go from bad to worse.
But Jesus warned us about this, not so that we’d be afraid or upset, but to comfort us and remind us that when these things happed, we can, “straighten up and raise [our] heads, because [our] redemption is drawing near!” [Luke 21:28] And that is great news!
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Relevation 7:17
Leaving a ‘legacy.’
It’s something many think about and some strive to accomplish; but what kind of legacy should we be leaving – or looking forward to?
When we get down to it, it won’t be too long into the future when everyone who would remember us has also died – and most of our life and story along with it. Instead of bemoaning that, perhaps we should focus on a true legacy that will really matter – sharing Jesus! If people know and remember Him, and we were able to play some small part of that, that’s a legacy that worth leaving!
And our reward? It’s not to be remembered here by a few, but to be able to “serve God day and night in His temple” where He “will be [our] shepherd, …guide [us] to springs of living water,” and “will wipe away every tear.”
That’s a legacy worth leaving!
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Romans 3:23–24
We all know what it’s like to live in sin. It is a constant and familiar companion in our journey of life. We know it shouldn’t be, but it is.
God has given us another, different, better way to live – the way of Faith; the way of justification; the way of Jesus! In, through, and by Him – and Him alone – our life of sin is transformed eternally to a eternal life of righteousness with Him!
That’s a change we can all get on board with!
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