Posts with the tag “christmas”

Rediscover the transformative nature of joy as we explore the Christmas story through fresh eyes. Drawing from Luke 2 and the angelic announcement to the shepherds, we're reminded that joy isn't merely an emotion dependent on favorable circumstances - it's an inner strength rooted in our relationship with Jesus. The shepherds, Magi, and Mary and Joseph all had to move toward Bethlehem, toward the promise of God, despite fear, confusion, and discomfort. This teaches us that joy often requires movement - stepping out of our comfort zones and journeying toward Jesus even when the path is unclear or painful. The donkey ride that Mary endured wasn't a mistake; it was the carrier to her purpose. Similarly, the very thing we wish God would remove from our lives might be the vehicle He's using to bring us to our promise. When we truly encounter Christ, joy naturally overflows into rejoicing - rehearsing what God has done and sharing it with others. We're challenged to ask ourselves: Have we had an encounter with Jesus worth talking about? And if so, are we sharing it, or are we keeping it private out of fear? The shepherds returned to their dirty, difficult work, but they went back rejoicing. This reminds us that joy isn't about changed circumstances; it's about a changed heart that recognizes God's presence in every season.  Read More

Let's confronts one of our deepest longings during the Advent season - the longing for peace. We sing beautiful carols about silent nights and heavenly peace, yet many of us carry hearts heavy with chaos, anxiety, and unrest. The profound truth revealed here is that the Prince of Peace doesn't wait for our circumstances to calm down before entering our lives. Instead, He steps directly into our mess. Drawing from Isaiah's prophecy and the birth narrative in Luke, we discover that Jesus was born into political oppression, violence, and a dirty stable - not into tranquility. The armies of heaven didn't whisper their announcement; they proclaimed with authority that peace had arrived. This peace isn't something we manufacture through perfect performance or peacekeeping - it's something we receive through His presence. The distinction between peacekeeping and peacemaking is transformative: peacekeeping exhausts us as we try to manage chaos, while peacemaking invites Jesus into the center of our storm. When we look at Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4, we see that His peace doesn't just soothe - it confronts and commands chaos to bow. The biblical words for peace - shalom (wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken) and eirene (reconciliation, restoration) - reveal that peace isn't a feeling but a Person. Jesus doesn't hand us peace as a gift separate from Himself; He says, 'I am your peace.' This Advent season, we're invited to stop striving to create calm and instead behold Emmanuel, God with us, who brings wholeness to our brokenness and stands with us in the fire.  Read More

We're all invited into the profound mystery of Advent - not as a season of frantic doing, but as an invitation to behold. We're reminded that the essence of Christianity isn't about behaving better, but about beholding Jesus. Explore Romans 8:22-25, revealing that all creation groans, and we groan alongside it. But here's the revolutionary truth: groaning doesn't disqualify us from hope - it actually positions us for it. Pain becomes the soil where hope takes root. When we carry disappointment, weariness, or unanswered prayers, we're not lacking faith; we're simply recognizing that the world isn't as it should be. The beautiful promise of Emmanuel - God with us - means hope didn't arrive as instructions or advice, but as a person born in a manger. Jesus stepped into our darkness not to explain our suffering, but to liberate us from it. This living hope sustains us in the 'already and not yet' tension of the kingdom, where we've tasted redemption but still await its fullness. The practical application challenges us to shift our gaze upward - not ignoring our struggles, but refusing to let them define us. When we behold the light of Christ shining in our darkness, the Holy Spirit fills us with an overflow of confident hope that circumstances cannot shake.  Read More