December 8, 2018

Peace

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Have you ever wondered why peace is one of the candles we light during advent? It was a question our pastor asked during study on Wednesday night.

Jesus’ ministry was anything but peaceful. He turned the order of things upside down and caused a great deal of uproar. And that’s without mentioning how He healed the sick and the lame, fed thousands with almost no food and, yes, raised the dead to life. No. There was nothing peaceful about Jesus’ life.

The peace Jesus referred to wasn’t about political peace. It was about inner peace. Jesus is how we find true peace.

Pastor Ryan Martin said that Jesus exposed false images of peace. We compromise so many times to “keep the peace.” He’s right. We let things go, we turn away, we mind our own business. And what is the cost? Our integrity, our witness, our church, and our family.

Jesus didn’t come to overthrow rulers, Martin said. He came to throw us off the throne of our own hearts so that Jesus can take up residence there. Peace starts with us – with changed lives. It comes when we put Jesus first.

Think about it for a minute. The spread of the early church came when Jesus’ followers put Him first. They didn’t care what happened to them. Their only purpose was to spread the Gospel to as many people as possible and to live fully in His light.

Contrast that with today’s world. We love Jesus. We do. But we aren’t willing to sacrifice for Him. We don’t want to face ridicule, imprisonment, suffering, to prove we belong to Him. We don’t want to sacrifice and be uncomfortable because we love Him. He understands, we tell ourselves. But do we?

When we put Jesus first, peace comes into our hearts and, then, spreads throughout the world. Have you ever watched someone with deep faith ride out a storm? There’s a peace about them, a deep certainty that no matter what happens they rest in Jesus’ embrace. That’s the peace Jesus came to give to us.

We were at war with God. As sinners, we can’t be around God. We were doomed. Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice so that all who believe can be reconciled to God. We can be at peace with God because of Jesus.

But we have a choice. We can continue the war, both inside of ourselves and with God, or we can let Jesus fill us with His peace. We can fight alone, trying to control what can’t be controlled, seeking things that will never satisfy us, or we can rest in Jesus and be filled with Him.

In this season of Advent, we can reflect on what it means to give ourselves over to Jesus. We can watch and wait for the coming Christ child. We can remember what God did for us, how much He suffered, because of the deep love He has for all of us.

A baby came to one day give us life. That is our peace.

December 2, 2018

Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. We are preparing the way in our hearts for Jesus. We are filled with hope because the Messiah has come.

It’s easy to forget what Christmas is all about. Oh, we know what to say. We understand that it’s really Jesus’ birthday. We know it’s not about presents and tables laden with food. But, well, our actions frequently tell a different story.

Would Jesus make lists of gifts? What would that list look like? Would He tell us to be compassionate with those who have failed? Would He remind us to love those we don’t particularly like? Would He encourage us to give beyond what we’re comfortable with?

We are quick to say we love Jesus and want to serve Him. It’s just that we want to do it on our terms, with little to no sacrificing on our part. We just don’t want to be bothered too much with the work that needs to be done.

But doesn’t everyone deserve to know the hope that rests deep inside our hearts? Do we really think Jesus would have us pick and choose who we want to go to heaven? God loves everyone equally. He wants everyone to be saved by the blood of Christ.

Three years ago a sweet friend lost her son to cancer. She clings to the hope, the belief, the certainty, that she’ll see him again one day. It’s what gets her through the hard days when her heart aches for a child who never really got to be a man.

Have you lost someone you love? Do you know that ache that rests deep inside, that longing for those you’ll never again see on this earth? But we have hope that we’ll spend eternity with them. Jesus is the reason for that hope.

I love Christmas. I do. I love the trees and ornaments. I love the gifts and the desserts and the joy and laughter. People seem happier at Christmas, even those who don’t know Jesus. It’s like the world somehow understands that a Savior was born to save us all from our sins.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. – Romans 8:24-25

We long for what we haven’t yet seen, for a future that hasn’t yet unfolded for us. We strain toward the hope of Jesus, toward our eternal home, toward days without sorrow or tears.

Today is about hope. Share it with someone you know.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Jesus Gave Us Hope

So, I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. -- Romans 15:13

God remained silent for more than 400 years. It was as though Israel was never chosen. Who could blame Him? We humans are a selfish, sinful bunch of folks. We’d rejected our Father and our Creator. Yet, He loved us still.

His people watched and waited, hopeful that their God would return to them. They remembered the promises of old. They sought the Messiah, their King. God had promised to send someone from David’s line, someone who would reign forever and would defend them against those who sought to destroy God’s people. They expected someone grand, someone magnificent, someone filled with power and authority and glory. They didn’t expect Jesus.

One ordinary night in the small town of Bethlehem, a virgin named Mary gave birth to the Savior of the world. No one expected a baby, a carpenter’s son born in a stable. How could He ever live up to the expectations of a religious order more concerned with rules than the heart of God? Yet this baby boy grew into a man who changed the world forever.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. -- Isaiah 11:3-5

Jesus didn’t come to give more power to the Pharisees. He didn’t come to take over the government or lead warriors into battle. He came to bring hope and salvation to a world that was lost. He came to show us how to love each other and live as God wanted us to live.

Jesus defied everyone’s expectations -- everyone, that is, except for God. He paid no attention to the laws and the rules, instead reaching out to touch, to heal, to love, to weep. Jesus only preached three years before dying on the cross, yet His Presence changed us all forever.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Jesus Gave Us Hope

"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." -- Romans 8:25

The season of advent began yesterday. Each Sunday we look forward to Christmas Day and the birth of Christ. We celebrate His arrival and the hope that He brought to a dark world.

Hope. A four-letter word filled with such promise.

Jesus came to save us from separation from God. We are sinners. We didn't stand a chance on our own. Jesus promised that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. His blood restored us to a right relationship with God. Jesus gave us hope.

What is hope? It is a belief that somehow, some way, things will be better tomorrow. Hope is what separates the person who commits suicide from the one who doesn't. Hope is what urges a cancer patient to fight when everyone else has given up. Hope is believing that people can change, no matter their past. Hope tells us that God's love surrounds us even in our darkest hours.

God's love. Amazing, isn't it? After all the heartache we've caused Him, He loves us still. God sent His Son to die for us. He planned it all along. Jesus suffered for us. Truly. But on the first day of advent, and throughout the Christmas season, we remember the hope that came with a newborn baby. We celebrate the promise of a new world, one without sorrow and pain.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." -- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Faith comes when we believe in our hearts that Jesus is God's Son, that He died on a cross to take our sins on Himself and that He rose three days later and now sits at the right hand of God. That's faith. Believing what we do not see, yet knowing in our hearts that it's true.

God sent Jesus in love. Jesus brought hope. Faith keeps us steady as we travel the paths of this life. During this season of hustle and bustle, take time to remember that what we are celebrating isn't found in a brightly colored package. It's found in the hearts of believers who show Jesus to the world around them.