Luke 2:1-14

Thought for the day: Although you can’t change your past, God can change your future.

You are unforgivable.
You are unlovable.
You are unusable.

1. Close the door to your past.

- God’s grace is bigger than your sin.

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9

- Your standing with God is determined by relationship not rules.

“But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
Romans 5:20

Therefore, if anyone be in Christ they are a new creation. The old things have passed away.
And behold, all things have become new.
II Corinthians 5:17

2. Step into your future.


- God saves you from your past so you can step into your future.

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Philippians 3:12-14

- Your story is not a story about your failure, but about God’s victory.

Luke 1:26-32, 34-35, 38

And Mary said, “Behold the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
Luke 1:38 ESV

You don’t always have the power to control, but you always have the power to surrender.

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.
Matthew 10:39

What are you trying to control that you need to surrender?

1 Timothy 6:17-19

“Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 4:6

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Luke 12:15

1. THROW OUT.

2. BUY LESS.

“Cause my heart to bow before your words of wisdom, and not to the wealth of this world. Help me turn my eyes away from illusions, so that I may pursue only that which is true.
Psalm 119: 36-37

3. GIVE MORE.

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
1 Timothy 6:17

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
1 Timothy 6:18

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
1 Timothy 6:19

4. MAKE THE MOMENTS MATTER.

Nehemiah 1:1-11

I. Take it to God in prayer.

II. Start small.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…
Zechariah 4:10 NLT

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. 
Nehemiah 2:17-18

You don’t have to have the faith to finish.
You just have to have the faith to start.

III. Take the next step.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding…”
Nehemiah 2:19-20

"Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible.”
Saint Francis of Assisi

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

Acts 20:22-24

I. The Holy Spirit’s prompting.

"And now compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem."
Acts 20:22

II. Certain uncertainty.

"Compelled by the Spirit, I'm going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.”
Acts 20:22b

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105

III. Predictable Resistance.

"All I know is I'm being prompted. I don't know what's going to happen there. I only know that in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me."
Acts 20:23

If you are not ready to face opposition for your obedience to God, then you are not ready to be used by God.

IV. Uncommon confidence.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24

I Thessalonians 4:1-7

The decisions we make today determines the stories we tell tomorrow.

I. God cares about who before do.

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.
I Thessalonians 4:3 NLT

If you are becoming the right who, then you will choose the right do.

II. God cares about why before what. (Motives matter to God.)

You may think everything you do is right, but the Lord judges your motives.
Proverbs 16:2 GN

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

If you're driven by the right why, God will lead you to the right what.

When you get the who right, you do more. When you get the why right, the what has power.

Habakkuk 3:1-6

Shigionoth: It means to sing with strong emotion, with impassioned exuberance. It means wild, passionate singing with rapid changes of rhythm. It means high-spirited praise with vigorous enthusiasm.

Sometimes the most passionate, authentic praise is actually the praise before the provision.

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2

I. Remember

God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.
Habakkuk 3:3

His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. 5 Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. 6 He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. ...
Habakkuk 3:4-6

II. Embrace

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:16-18

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. …
Habakkuk 3:19

Habakkuk 2:1-4

I. Listen

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he [God] will say to me
Habakkuk 2:1

II. Write

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets ...”
Habakkuk 2:2

III. Wait

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come
and will not delay.”
Habakkuk 2:3

“But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!”
Habakkuk 2:3 TLB

If it's not God's time, you can't force it.
When it is God's time, you can't stop it.

"See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—”
Habakkuk 2:4

“But the Lord is in his holy temple. …” Habakkuk 2:20 NLT

Habakkuk 1:1-9

I. Why doesn’t God seem fair?

How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Habakkuk 1:2-3

Habakkuk: to embrace or to wrestle.

Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails …
Habakkuk 1:3-4

Habakkuk’s problems with God:

You don’t seem to really care.
You aren’t doing much when you could.
What you are doing, doesn’t seem fair.

II. A committed believer can both wrestle with honest questions and embrace a genuine faith in God.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4

Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk1:12-13

Worship is the expression of love for God from your heart.

Proverbs 4:23:
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.