Never has there been more anticipation to get into a new year. It seems more people than ever are hoping that around the next corner is better things. In times of change and trials, Peter encourages Christians to focus on the living hope of Christ.

Take some time to pause after a busy season and engage with a single passage of Scripture. Asking the question, what part of this God are you impressing upon me?

The Finale of each advent season is the arrival of the Christ child, the Light of the World who shines into all darkness. May you experience the light of Jesus this Christmas season as you go through a very unique end to 2020.

We all crave true love. Only God's love is the experience of sacrificial real love. That's why Christ came as a vulnerable human 2000 years ago. For us to glimpse a love that can shine into our hearts for all time.

We all crave peace. True Peace. So often we have quick solutions to find temporary or fake peace in our lives. God had a better plan, choosing to disrupt their life and ours, by coming into the world as a vulnerable baby, bringing true peace.

Joy is hard to define but easy to identify. Joy comes when God comes close to us. When we experience joy it shines out to others.

It's been said that "A man can live three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minutes without air, but he cannot live three seconds without hope." May Jesus bless you with a brightening hope in these darker times.

It's easy to get caught up lately in the repetition of bad news. And on top of that all the plans that need to get changed or the decisions that need to rethought. What we need is inner renewal. A strength that energizes us to love others and love God and have hope! This is the promise God gives through Jeremiah and fulfilled in Jesus.

What do you do in a bad situation? With growing Covid cases and further restrictions it's a question that presses in on us. Jeremiah wrote to people living in exile to give them something to do, and to give them a future hope. May God do so for us as well.

In the midst of constant faithfulness, Jeremiah's message was rejected by the people. At times he was imprisoned, mistreated, and almost killed. We too will experience forms of rejection for our reverence for Christ. The examples of Jeremiah and Jesus gives us tools to preserve through rejection.