Are you a skeptic about 2014, grimacing with a crooked face as the world becomes more unstable every day? You can have peace and hope for the future in Jesus.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Whatever it is you face next year, no matter how difficult, Jesus can give you the strength to overcome and endure.
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
What does you faith look like? You're going to need it. Chin up, Jesus is the overcomer.
Sadly, we don't always appreciate what we have in Jesus. In fact, we spend a lot of time asking for things He has already given us.
We pray for love when God says that His love is "shed abroad in our hearts" (Rom. 5:5).
We pray for peace when Jesus has already said, "Peace I leave with you . . . (John 14:27).
We pray for joy when the Bible tells us plainly that we have "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Pet. 1:8 ).
We pray for strength to do the things God has called us to do when He already told us that we can "do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us" (Phil. 4:13).
We Worry over our needs when The Lord has already promised to meet them (Phil 4:19).
We seek His presence when He has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." (Heb. 13:5).
2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
Saul was murdering Christians, yet God reached down in grace, saved his soul, transformed his life, renamed him Paul, and used him to change the world.
Your past is no obstacle to your future in the hands of The Lord. Regardless of what you've done, Jesus will save you. He will wash your past sins away and never remember them again. You get a brand new start. The Bible calls this the "new birth".
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
I'm glad God doesn't hold forgiven sins against us. Like the Apostle Paul, He can use us in a mighty way if we let him.
Isaiah 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
One purpose of the Incarnation was for God to reveal Himself to mankind.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
As the only begotten of the Father, Jesus had the same substance of the Father. As the Son of Man, He was human in every way except for His sin nature.
Another purpose Jeaus came was to give His life to take away our sins.
1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.
If our greatest need had been for information, God would have sent us an educator. If it had been for technology, God would have sent us a scientist. Had it been for money, God would have sent us an economist. Had it been for pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was for forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour!
We often find that through our tragedies we experience our greatest triumphs because they draw us close to God
Joseph and Mary may not have enjoyed scrimping and saving to collect enough money to pay their taxes, especially with a baby on the way. But God had not forsaken them. He was moving them to the place of blessing.
Have you ever considered what is a REAL crisis? A real crisis for the believer is when God is NOT in control. There are trials to face and tests to pass, but we must keep in our hearts and minds the fact that God is in control of our lives.
God placed Mary and Joseph in the right place at the right time, providing what they needed to complete the impossible task set before them.
Maybe, just maybe, the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh was sent to finance their escape to Egypt.
The shepherds could have made excuses why they couldn't seek the Christ Child. Maybe they couldn't leave the sheep or it was too late or too far. But they didn't because they couldn't wait to see Jesus.
Luke ;16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe laying in a manger.
No excuse is good enough to keep you from jesus. If you want to come to Him, He will provide somebody to watch your sheep until you return. If you want to come to Christ, you must come come exactly as you are.
The shepherds knew Old Testament prophecy of the coming Messiah. They knew the cradle wasn't seperated from the cross, and that it was God's plan to redeem the lost.
1Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
If you find yourself a sinner, the cradle and the crtoss is a promise given to you.
This is "good tidings of great joy". This is eternal life.
A bear, a lion or a wolf would excite the sheep watchers, but the divine message the angels brought to the shepherds changed their lives forever.
Luke 2:9-11 And, lo, the angel of The Lord came upon them, and the glory of The Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ The Lord.
In the Glory of God's presence He beams down on earth with unapproachable light to declare the first step of redemption -- the birth of the redeemer. Of course, the shepherds were afraid.
The answer to every fear and every pain came with this one announcement.
