Tag Archive | Christ

Christmas time—oh so sweet!!

Nov30

nativity gift

Christmas is my favorite time of the year!  There seems to be more peace, more camaraderie, more hope and joy as the days creep ever closer to Christmas day.  However, as a society, we often focus on the gifts–what we will give, what we will get, black Friday, cyber Monday, holiday specials, sales, coupons!  The list goes on and on.  Christ has been almost completely removed from Christmas, but not in my heart, nor my home!

Though Christ was not truly born on Christmas day, it is a day we celebrate his birth.  It was his birth that brings hope for a future, meaning to life, and joy midst the pain.  Through his sacrifice on the cross, we are saved when we claim him and fall obediently into his arms.  What a blessing to know that God is there, that he cared enough about us to send his only Son to be our salvation and our light!  What a beautiful thing to behold another human being laying down his life for those he loves!  What a miraculous event to be conceived through the power of God!  So as you trim your tree with decorations and lights, as you put up the evergreen decorations and bring out the Nativity seen….remember Christmas is about what Christ has done for us.  He has given us the most precious, priceless, and valuable gift…ETERNAL LIFE!

All my love and may the joy of the birth of Christ carry you through the days and years to come! ❤

 

Who Do You Say I Am??

Jan15

“When Jesus came to the region of Ceasarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah;
and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’
‘But what about you?’ he asked.  ‘Who do you say I am?’
Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'”
Matthew 16:13-16

jesus

Taken from “Above All” by Brennan Manning:

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of Man, the Son of David and the son of Mary. He is the Word made flesh, the Incarnation of the compassion of the Father. He is Messiah, Savior, Dreamer and Storyteller, Servant, Friend, and Parable of God. Close to the brokenhearted, He speaks words of comfort; He revives the crushed in spirit with words of consolation. Rescuing drunks, scalawags,and ragamuffins, He is the Prophet, Poet, and Troublemaker, the Scourge of hypocrites and the authority figures who use religion to control others, sending them sagging under great burdens of regulations, watching them stumble and refusing to offer assistance….When He looks out at the bedraggled, beat-up, bollixed, and burnt-out, His heart overflows with unspeakable tenderness.

Christ is often one thing to many and many things to all! He is the beginning and the end, the bridge to God, the beauty of God-given to us as a most precious gift! Whatever you say Christ is, one thing is for sure….He is the Messiah, come to save the hearts and souls of all mankind…including you and me!!

May you dwell in the astonishing revelation of who Christ is, and may his glory be revealed in every fiber of your being!! God bless and keep you always in his never-ending love and grace ❤

16 Days of Christmas

Dec11

Glory to God in the highest
And on earth peace
Good will toward men
~ Luke 2:14 ~

Peace on all the Earth
Christ has come to save us all
Sing praise to our God

Hope in Front of Me — Danny Gokey

Oct9

When life appears dim, and circumstances are beyond your control, there is always HOPE!!

HOPE in God
HOPE in change
HOPE in beauty
HOPE in kindness
HOPE in grace
HOPE in mercy
HOPE in forgiveness
HOPE in tomorrow
HOPE in faith
HOPE in love
HOPE in Christ

New Beginnings–Live life to the fullest this year!

Dec30
journeyofredemption.com

journeyofredemption.com

With the new year comes the opportunity to leave the old behind, and focus on the future and the things to come.  Now is not the time to regret what you have done, or where you have been, but it is the time to repent, forgive, and press on for the eternal glory of God.

Live life to the fullest this year, and love the life you have.  It may not be perfect.  It may not be easy.  In fact your life may be complicated, difficult, or you may be going through grief and loss.  However, even amidst the pain, there is hope.  In the midst of complications, there is peace, and in the difficult times there is wisdom and endurance.  All these things are at your fingertips; only a prayer away.  Ask God into your heart, claim the beauty, grace, mercy, and peace of Christ for yourself.  Surrender your circumstances to the One and Only Lord of all Creation for He is bigger than all that you face!

Find the beauty in life, even when in the center of life’s storms!!  Remember, where there is rain, a rainbow comes.  Where there are fires, new life grows.  Where there is snow and ice, the buds of spring come forth.  You are more blessed than you realize.  Just breath, seek, and find the glory of God that satisfies!

Now is the time to begin again!

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  ~ Philippians 3:13-14

We Believe

Dec29
newvisionlife.com

newvisionlife.com

I am always so energized by the coming of a New Year!!  It has always given me hope that there is chance for renewal and rebirth, much like spring.   Christmas reminds me of the importance of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for me, bringing me into a living relationship with God himself, and then comes the New Year, which enables me the chance to renew and rededicate my heart, mind, and soul to God.

There was once a time when I looked at God as being “up there”, so “far away”, and so “omnipotent” that I could not ever be in a relationship with him.  Having walked through the valley of abuse, spent time in the throes of divorce, and experienced such sinful and impure thoughts, I thought I could never communicate with God, never be “good” enough, never be clean enough to approach him or to connect with him.

However, much to my surprise and delight, I have learned that no one is perfect, no one is ever “good enough”, and no one is ever pure enough to connect with God.  God is perfect, sinless, righteous, and well, God!  As I mentioned in my Choose! post, scripture states that we have all fallen short of the glory of God, that we have all sinned, and that we are all evil and sinful creatures of the flesh.  Depressing, yes!  But scripture does not stop there!!  There is hope!  In John 3:16-17, God sent His one and only Son, to be a sacrificial lamb for all mankind, so that we could be washed in the cleansing blood of Christ, and have everlasting life, if we so choose to accept the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

With the choice of everlasting life, the choice of believing in Christ, his life, his crucifixion, and his resurrection, comes a set of beliefs established in faith and love.  These are indeed the fundamentals of Christian living.  God wants nothing but the best for His children (Jeremiah 29:11), but we must accept him and live in obedience and grace.

The Newsboys put out a wonderful song based on these fundamental beliefs.  I hope that you listen and take the opportunity to accept Christ into your life, thus finding hope for a future, and joy in the promise of eternal salvation.  May you walk with the living God, enjoying his peace, comfort, strength, endurance, wisdom, discernment, and never-ending love!!!  All my love for a promising New Year with God in the driver’s seat! ❤

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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