Demonstrate to others that you’re choosing joy in the midst of your trials. Joy isn’t something that can be altered by people, circumstances, or obstacles because it comes from the Father. So, whether or not this is a celebratory time for you, your problems are temporary but the Good News is that Jesus is eternal. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end.

This Christmas, you may not be able to replace a tired old microwave with a perfect new one… But you can celebrate something way better… the confidence that when you draw near to the Living God, through Jesus as your perfect High Priest, a Holy God draws near to you with grace to help you in your time of need!

Think back to when you first put your faith and trust in Jesus, and the pure joy of what you experienced as you realized what He had done for you. How does that compare with what you experience today?

So what does it mean when we say that Jesus is Lord today? Honestly, I feel like we hear the word Lord so often that it sometimes loses its power. If we’re going to call Jesus “Lord”, we have to give Him the supreme authority of our daily life. Let’s ponder this together today!

Where in your life are you cutting a corner and “building your house on the sandy land?” Or, where are you already having to rebuild and start over because you forgot to find the “solid spot?” Here’s the good news - you can choose to confidently recommit yourself at any point to Jesus, the Holy One of God. He is waiting.

This advent we prepare for the truth that Jesus is returning. The Lion of Judah has triumphed, and our greatest fears are no more. Are you preparing for the redemption of the world?

Trust is not something that comes easy for many of us. But God’s nature is different than anything we’ve ever experienced or encountered. His trustworthiness is other-worldly. And, through God’s power and our surrender, we get to experience the fullness of His love and care for us.

God specializes in bringing order out of chaos. He did it at the beginning of time. He did it on Christmas Day. He did it in my life… and He can do it in your life - this Christmas!

Jesus brings the most important peace man can ever know, peace between us and God, a peace that comes from being reconciled unto God because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

I AM HE! The Messiah! I wonder, would I have believed Him? Would I have been a skeptic? How about you? Regardless of how we think we would respond, He knows. He knows everything about you. He knows everything about me, my faults and my failures included. We all are broken in some way, just like the woman Jesus met that day at the well. We need our Messiah. As you think about Jesus as your Messiah today, remember that the brokenness inside of you, He came to redeem. Jesus, our Messiah, the Anointed One!