Jesus Is: Fourteen Days of Advent 2019
Friends, welcome to the second set of this three part series of studying the She Reads Truth Advent 2019 study: A Thrill of Hope. In this blog, I am sharing our second set of life giving words describing the character of God, scripture, and personal stories to help inspire and encourage you as we cozy up and expectantly wait for His return on Christmas Day! If you missed the first part of this series, be sure to catch up here.
Day 9: Jesus is WITH us
“See the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, meaning God WITH us.”
“Lord,” said Phillip, “show us the Father and then that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you still do not know me, Phillip? The One who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “show us the Father?” Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak you, I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does His works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, otherwise, believe because of the works you see me do.” ”
How often do we catch ourselves saying or praying this exact same thing… “O God if you will just do this one thing for me, then I will believe you are God or then I will be satisfied or then that will be enough.” Whether its healing, financial breakthrough, a dream relationship, or career goals, I believe Jesus is trying to get us to maintain a posture of belief at all times, even when we do not see the things we want to happen or even when we do not feel His presence in our current situations. Jesus walked this earth. He understands our deepest heartbreaks, our biggest troubles, and our earth shattering fears. Jesus is a God that is with His children yesterday, today, and tomorrow so take heart and believe He is among you now.
Day 10: Jesus is fulfilling
“Don’t think that I came to abolish the law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to FULFILL. For I truly tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefor, whoever beaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But, whoever does and teaches theses commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ”
“What the law couldn’t do because it was weakened by the flesh, God DID. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending HIs Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ”
At one point in my life, I didn’t take sin seriously. I grew up in the Christian Faith culture. I was raised a believer and I never doubted Jesus was Lord and Savior, but I didn’t take sin seriously. For a girl whose spirit is more free, colors outside the lines, and doesn’t like being told what to do, I saw the ten commandments as mere suggestions to follow not a way of living as an overflow of His love that’s alive in me. It wasn’t until my faith matured and developed deeper roots that I began to look at sin, my sin, completely different. You see Jesus came and became our lowest low, our biggest shame, our worst day ever—- He became that for you and for me so we could experience eternity with Him… so we could maybe one day begin to grasp the fulness of His love for each of us.
Jesus reveled this to me in a very personal way and when He became something personal to me, my posture towards sin shifted. I began to live my life as an overflow of joy and love that I have for the Father, because I began to truly understand that sin separates. Our sin “big or small” is sin and Jesus despises it, because it separates us from experiencing the FULNESS of God and the glory that comes when we live for Him. You see, Jesus wants us to live every day with Him. He wants to show us His fulness and lavish us with His love as we begin to trust and obey His commands over our life.
Day 11: Jesus is light
“All thing were created through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing was created that has been created. In Him was LIFE and that life was the LIGHT of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
“The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to ALL who believe. For ALL have sinned. For ALL have fallen short of the glory of God. But, they are justified FREELY by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.”
Yes and amen!!!
Jesus is the LIGHT of the world my friends and nothing — NOTHING can put out this light. And, even better, this exact same light is freely given to you. You poses this light that the darkness can never take away. It is freely given to all of us through Christ Jesus by faith when we believe. Yes, we have all sinned. Yes, we have all fallen short, but we do not have to be held captive by our sins for the Lord has come and given us LIGHT by His grace through His Son Jesus Christ!
Day 12: Jesus is peace
“Come, let us settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.”
“ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our PEACE was on him, and we are healed by His wounds.”
Punishment for OUR PEACE was on HIM—- I think we sometimes have a tendency to hold onto our past wounds and carry them around on our shoulders. They weigh us down and keep us from experiencing the PEACE of God that was carried on His shoulders and bought with a price. Playing the victim belittles the scars in His hands and feet and robs us from experiencing the fulness of His grace and peace. His wounds have payed our ransom— not ours. Friends, believe that Jesus has healed you! Yes, you may have a scar and yes you may always remember but you are no longer exposed, you are no longer bleeding. You are a daughter or a son of the King who shed His blood so we could be healed, so we could maybe rest in His peace in the midst of our worldly pain.
Day 13: Jesus is our stronghold
“A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.”
At Christmas, we are not just celebrating the birth of a baby but the gift of a Savior! Our God has come to not only be with us but to fight on our behalf. “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is with us— the God of Jacob is our STRONGHOLD.” We live in a world that is full of corruption, heartbreak, sickness, injustice— and yet in the midst of the chaos that surrounds us, Christmas is a season when we slow down and remember. We remember who Jesus is and what He has done. It is a time to rest and celebrate with friends and family not because of presents under the tree but because of Jesus and the gift of life that comes only from Him!
Day 14: Jesus is our HOPE
“ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ”
“Don’t be afraid!” Easier said than done, but it is so true! in an anxiety stricken culture that we live in today, what a message that we all need to hear. Hope is transformative. It takes fear by both hands and flips it upside down, for when we are hopeful, we are not fearful. “Don’t be afraid.” As we close, I want to encourage you to write that phrase down and stick it either on your desk, in your car, or on your bathroom mirror. Every time fear comes knocking at your door, recite those words and make a decision right then and there to be hopeful. For we my friends, do not hope in what we see now but for what we haven’t seen yet.
May God bless!