Hate is strong in our day. It is the language of politicians, protestors and everyone else, whether on the air waves or social media the words and tone breathe hate. With the obsession over security many have moved to excessive hate even in the Christian culture. The hate is loud at times or subtle. Hate is not the language of the church though. Sure we hate injustice, you betcha, but we cannot forget love.

God loves shalom and hates injustice. May we pray for and seek to be people that spread shalom.

Uncommon hope. It is a hope based on certainty. It is not simply wishing for something to happen. It is hope that rest in certainty, that truly hopes in God. The world has a different hope and says,

When our delight and satisfaction is in the Lord, God is most glorified. This is what the 17th century theologians who penned the Westminster Shorter Catechism had in mind when they said, The Chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This truly changes everything from our relationships to our money. So, may we truly live a life satisfied in God alone and thereby glorify Him. Go after as much joy as possible this advent!

Our freedom in Christ changes everything and today I want to specifically show you how it impacts something near and dear to the heart of God - the care of orphans. Today, let us be challenged to open our eyes to the plight of the orphan and open our heart to God's vertical love and His desire for us to express horizontally His love in opening our arms, hands and homes to the orphans of the world.

As I think about a life that is a great picture of what we have been encouraged with over the last seven weeks through our series, Live Free, I think of Joseph. Joseph was a man of absolute integrity, who had hardship after hardship, yet Joseph continued to trust God and walk in righteousness. As a result, Joseph reaped the rewards of walking in righteousness. So, today let’s learn some life lessons from a life worth emulating.

Today, we learn about money from those who have gone before us. The Israelites in Moses’ day were a wandering nation that God had brought out of slavery and had taken care of their every need. God was providing food for them and protecting them. As we look at the Israelites’ history and how God cared for them we learn a lot about money and our possessions. What we think about money is a big deal.

To live free is to learn, practice and experience the rare jewel of Christian contentment. Today we look at what lies behind the fruit of such contentment that is so rare today and how contentment and discontentment impacts us in our daily living.