The Light Of The World

Scripture:
Matthew 4:12-17 (NASB)

Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB)

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Devotional:

I just love seeing all the different lights shining and blinking in magnificent displays during the Christmas season.  There are some houses that are lit up, their colors blinking in and out.  Some lights stay on never blinking.  There are white lights, blue, green, red, orange lights.  People go to great lengths to get their lights displayed just right.  

Jesus is the light of the world, and through Him we become that light.  Take a strand of Christmas lights.  All together when plugged in the tree is lit up.  But without the wire connecting them providing power they are dim and dark.  The tree remains in the dark.  Jesus is the power that enables us to light up.  

Christ is the hope of the world and that hope is extended through us.  What is the hope that you bring?  Whose life are you touching?  Christmas is a time of hope, joy, and love.  Jesus loves us so much He came to show us the way.  He came to pay the price of sin.  He did so out of love so that we might have hope and that we may be restored into a righteous relationship with God the Father.  Take time out to share that hope with someone, anyone.  It doesn’t matter if you know them or if they are strangers.   Christmas is coming.  Jesus is the light of the world, and we are the instruments that light shines through…

There is Always Hope

Scripture:
Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Titus 1:1-2 (NASB)

Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

Devotional:

Have you ever made plans?  What about the plans you make for your children?  Wanting the best for our children we plan and provide.  We do everything we can for them.  We protect them, we give them all our love, and we what is best for them.  We are God’s children.  He knew us before we were conceived.

Jeremiah 1:5 (NASB)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Because He loves us so much He wants to give us the best.  No matter what is going on no matter what happens we know God is with us.  We know He will provide for us, protect us, and give us blessings.  His love for us is so great His one and only Son was born into this world.  He was and is the perfect sacrifice.  His sacrifice is the final price paid for our redemption.   Our hope lies in Christ.  John 14:6 (NIV) “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”  Through Him we have redemption, we are reconciled with God.  No matter how dark it may seem there is always hope for those that believe…

1st Sunday of Advent: Hope

Isaiah 40:1-3 (NIV)

Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God

Devotional:

The first Sunday of advent focuses on hope.  The advent candles are lit one candle for the first week of advent, hope the light of the world is coming.  Matthew 1:23 (NASB):

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."

What can give us more hope than knowing God is with us?  Immanuel “God with us” is Christ who is born into this world and lived a sinless life.  God loves us so much He became human, a simple man.  He lived, suffered, and died.  He did this so that we might live with Him for eternity in heaven.  Immanuel “God with us.”  The hope of the world…

Advent, Let Us Prepare Our Hearts...

Advent, Hope, Love, Joy, Peace...

Scripture:
1 John 4:7-21 (NASB)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Devotional:

As Christmas draws near you can see people hustling and bustling everywhere.  We go shopping for that elusive Christmas present.  We decorate our homes, streets, and businesses.  How many people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas?  Growing up people everywhere would say “Merry Christmas” it didn’t matter where you were from or what you believed.  Christmas had a way to draw people closer to each other.  Today you are lucky to even hear “Happy Holidays” in order not to offend someone.  The Christ in Christmas is becoming lost and forgotten.

As Advent approaches I think it is important for us to remember why we celebrate Christmas and to prepare our hearts.  There are times when I wonder how many hearts are preparing for the celebration of Christmas, its true meaning.  It seems to me that Advent is also slipping away almost forgotten.  What is advent and what does it really mean?  Simply put Advent as the “Traditional” churches define it is the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  It is a period of four weeks before Christmas.  Each week begins on a Sunday.  Each Sunday a candle is lit as a reminder.  Each week has its own meaning.  Week one is Expectation or Hope.  Week two is for Love, week three is for Joy, and week four is for Peace.  The fifth candle for advent is the Christ candle which is lit on Christmas day, or at a Christmas Eve service. 

There is no special magic in Advent, nothing spectacular in of itself.  What makes advent special and dear to me is that it is a time to prepare and celebrate.  It is a way to condition my heart and reflect on Christ.  It builds upon the celebration of the birth of our savior.  Advent may be a tradition from your traditional old fashioned churches but it still goes a long way to remind us of whose birth we celebrate on December 25^th.  Nancy reads from a book to our kids every day of advent.  They light a candle, read, pray, and end the moment with a Christmas Carol or two.  The books are stories about events that lead up to the birth of Jesus.  True the stories are fictional and based on children.  They do however bring out the meaning of Christmas.  They help prepare our hearts and reflect on God through this most wonderful time of year.  This year I encourage everyone to celebrate Advent.  If you need help or have questions you can email me or simply ask your pastor.  You can always choose your own way to celebrate Advent.  What is important is to remember God is love and His Son was born so that we might have life. He loved us so much His one and only Son was born  and we celebrate His birth on Christmas Day…

Are You The Cup Or The Funnel?

Scripture:
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NASB)

and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Devotional:

I am sure most of us at one time or another took a cup or bowl and filled it with water.  As it filled we watched the water just poor over the sides.  The cup being full couldn’t hold anymore.  God will continue to fill us with His love.  We will never run out or come up short.  As God fills us with His love we need to allow it to funnel through us into others around us.  A funnel allows liquid to pass through it channeling the liquid into a container filling the container.  Instead of being the cup that gets filled we need to be the funnel.  As we are filled with God’s love we need to allow it to flow through and into others.  

God will fill us till we are full.  The faster we allow His love to flow through us the faster He will fill us.  We will never run short or run out.  God’s love is never ending and never in short supply.  If you are the cup turn yourself into the funnel and try to empty yourself of God’s love, I bet you can’t…

Self Defeat, Or God's Victory

Scripture:
1 Samuel 30:1-8 (NASB)

Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.”

Devotional:

When you are facing troubles, who do you turn to?  Do you face them on your own?  Do you rely on your strength alone?  There have been times when I didn’t seek God during hardships.  How much harder I made it up on myself.  Other times I knew I didn’t have the strength and had to rely on God.  In those instances the mountains before me were nothing more than little hills.  

Seek the Lord first in all things.  Draw upon His strength.  Relying on Him will bring victory.  Seek to be in God’s will follow His prompting and you will be given strength to overcome any and everything that is thrown your way.  Look through the Bible and you will find case after case where God emboldened, strengthened, and were victorious.  Again I ask you who do you rely on.  Do you rely on your own strength?  Do you seek God’s unending might and power?  Are you in self defeat, or God’s victory?