It's Sunday...

"For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

- 1 Corinthians 5: 7-8

Soul Filled Sabbath

Lets take a moment to prepare our hearts as we enter into the season of celebration and thanksgiving!

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
    Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations."

- Psalm 100 

Our Light Has Come!

One of my favorite verses at Christmas is Isaiah 60:1...

“ Arise, shine; for your light has come, 

And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you."

Perhaps because every year that I grow older, my heart aches just a little bit more for Jesus... to see Him part the sky and gather up His beloved into His glorious light. 

I imagine that's how many of the Israelites felt that holy night so many, many years ago.

Searching.

Longing.

No...  aching for Him to come!

Imagine their great joy and the glorious hope that it brought to their hurting hearts when the news reached each village... The Savior has been born! For those who believed it must have meant EVERYTHING!

We too hurt... and we search. We long and even ache for Him to come. 

But be comforted dear one... He CAME and He WILL come again! 

"If I go and prepare a place for you, 

I will come again and receive you to Myself, 

that where I am, there you may be also."

~ John 14:3

No, He has not forgotten us. Someday...

"Those who sow in tears

shall reap with joyful shouting.

He who goes to and from weeping,

carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again

with a shout of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him."

~ Psalm 126:5-6

In all the hustle and bustle of preparations, take some time to bask in the Light of Christmas and the hope that He has and is coming! Our King is near!

What is Christmas really for?

“Blessed are those who mourn, 
for they shall be comforted."
~ Matthew 5:4

Christmas is for those who hurt and are broken... for those who are lost and have no other hope...

Yes... we hurt. We are broken in spirit. Our hope grows dim at times. 
To whom shall we turn?

⁰ 
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."
~ Isaiah 61:1-3

Yes, in this baby, in this Jesus, is the hope we so desperately seek!

"For unto you is born this day 

in the city of David a Savior, 

who is Christ the Lord. 

And this will be a sign for you: 

you will find a baby 

wrapped in swaddling cloths 

and lying in a manger.” 

~ Luke 2: 11-12

"Do not let your heart be troubled; 

believe in God, believe also in Me."  

~ John 14:1

Christmas is for those who mourn that they might find hope.

Peace On Earth

It's interesting to note that the KJV of Luke 2:14 is translated differently than most modern translations. We typically know the King James Version best because it's what we hear quoted all the time in reference to Luke 2:14, but it's important to note that the translation does not convey the entire meaning of the Greek. Here is a comparison of three newer translations...

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Luke 2:14 KJV

"Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Luke 2:14 NASB

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:14 ESV

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:14 NIV

His favor rests on those with whom He is pleased... those who call upon the name of Jesus.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:12-14

The Good News is...

HE WELCOMES ALL WHO WILL COME, REPENT, AND MAKE HIM LORD!

Make your peace with God this Advent season. He came not just as a baby, but as God incarnate... a Savior! Pastor John Piper explains how you can know this priceless peace...

Sunday Blessing

"Justice is turned back,

and righteousness stands far away;

for truth has stumbled in the public squares,

and uprightness cannot enter."

~ Isaiah 59:14

All is not lost... there is TRUE Hope!

"And a Redeemer will come to Zion,

to those in Jacob who turn from transgressions," declares the LORD.

And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD:

"My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth,

shall not depart out of your mouth,

or out of the mouth of your offspring,

or out of the mouth of your children's offspring," says the LORD,

"from this time forth and forevermore."

~ Isaiah 59:20, 21

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you."

~ Isaiah 59:20, 21; 60:1

Go forth, and spread the true peace and hope.

Sunday Blessing

"O Lord, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For you have worked wonders,
Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness...

"The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet 
for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.

And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering 
which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.

"And it will be said in that day,

“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.

This is the Lord for whom we have waited;

Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

~ Isaiah 25:1, 6-9

Sunday Blessing

"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
~ John 14:4

"Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation." 
~ Isaiah 12:2 

Sunday Blessing

"Beloved, 
while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints... building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."
~ Jude 3, 20, 21, 24, 25

Sunday Blessing

"Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. 
The Lord is near. 
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything 
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 
let your requests be made known to God. 
And the peace of God, 
which surpasses all comprehension, 
will guard your hearts and your minds 
in Christ Jesus."
~ Philippians 4:5-7

"But as for you, brethren, 

do not grow weary of doing good."

~ 2 Thessalonians 3:13

"Devote yourselves to prayer, 

keeping alert in it 

with an attitude of thanksgiving..."

~ Colossians 4:2

Always a good reminder!

Sunday Blessing

"You shall work six days, 
but on the seventh day you shall rest;
even during plowing time and harvest 
you shall rest."
~ Exodus 34:21

"Now He who supplies seed to the sower
and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed for sowing 
and increase the harvest of your righteousness;
you will be enriched 
in everything for all liberality,
which through us 
is producing thanksgiving to God."
~ 2 Corinthians 9:10-11

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so..."
~ Psalm 107: 1-2a

Sunday Blessing

"Why are you in despair, O my soul? 
And why have you become disturbed within me? 

¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

²² For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³ And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 
~ Romans 8:16-18; 22-25

Hope in God, 
for I shall again praise Him 
For the help of His presence."
~ Psalm 42:5

Draw us... 
Nearer My God to Thee!

Sunday Blessing

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?

² My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

Photo Credit

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

Photo Credit

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in

From this time forth and forever.