Alive and Active

The Bible is full of people like Joseph and Paul who endured difficulty, suffering and isolation. They could have been crushed but they were strengthened by God and their toughness came from a continual relationship with the Lord. We look to Jesus Christ as our perfect example of how to be tough despite the circumstances.

Steve Prefontaine was a world-class runner who beat other runners with his incredible toughness. As Christians we are being beat down by the world and taking blow after blow for the sake of Christ. We are called to die daily and to be conformed into the image of Christ. We should grow in our toughness and allow trials to shape us.

The apostle Paul had a thorn in his side and he knew that Jesus's power works best in his weakness. The Holy Spirit helps train and strengthen our spiritual muscles through the trials we face. We must count the cost of following Christ and allow Him to turn our friction into traction.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone the new is here!".  Jesus Christ saved us from our sins and when we acknowledge that and put our faith in Jesus and are born again, we are no longer living for the things of this world. Believers cannot be double-minded and live in both kingdoms (earthly &
Heavenly eternal) We live for Jesus alone and His eternal kingdom.

Luke Chapter 2 describes how the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ, came into the world. As we celebrate Christmas, be reminded that we were dead in our sins but Jesus saved us and redeemed us and now we get to share that good news with others. There's no greater gift than receiving Jesus Christ into your life as Lord and Savior.

Another fundamental of the faith is the fact that we must be intentional about our relationships. We must be aware of the opportunities that the Lord will give us and we should anticipate being ready to show hospitality to strangers.

There are a number of fundamentals of the faith listed in scripture. Hebrews 13 tells us to let brotherly love continue. As believers in Christ, we need to have deep relationships and be in the paint with one another.

Are we content? As believers we should be content because we know Jesus Christ and we are grateful for what He did on the cross in taking our sins. Someone is truly content when they are unmoved by circumstances. Let's take inventory of our heart and ask the Lord to help us be content in Him.

In 1 Kings 10, the queen of Sheba arrived in Jerusalem to see for herself the wisdom of Solomon. She was speechless and she praised the Lord. God had entrusted Solomon with everything but eventually Solomon went sideways. Can God trust us with adversity and prosperity? We must not lose sight of the Lord and we can't put anything before Him.

James 1 tells us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. As believers, we need to go to the Lord first before we deal with anything horizontally. We must fall back on our training and speak with wisdom and kindness to others. Don't let something awful come out of your mouth that you can't take back.