Dec 18
We long for the world to change?
And God gives us Jesus!
What you do today matters.
ADVENT 4: Peace: Jesus brings peace into our world. To know him is to know that “a child is born to us, a son is given to us.The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
A Verse to Remember:
“I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!” Luke 1:19
Gospel Story: Mary and Elizabeth Luke 1:39-56
Today’s Scripture: Hebr 12:14-17
14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
Reflection:
I don’t think i could say it any simpler but what you “in Christ” on a daily basis, it matters. Whether that’s you regular time with God in prayer, reading the scriptures, connecting with a friend to encourage and hold up in prayerful gratitude. It matters. reread our Hebrews passage today and think of ways that you too can “work at living in peace with everyone”… Or as the apostle Paul puts it, “whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord” Colossians 3:23-24.
Here too is something amazing. Mary needed a friend, a safe place, and apparently, Elizabeth was it. I love this story so much. It reminds me of the first time Holy Spirit landed on my friend drew and I out of “nowhere”. :) Drew had begun seminary. I had not yet made the move. But I agreed to drive to Toronto, just to meet, support and pray with him in His journey with God. We were about to worship together, We couldn’t really remember the song, but both attempted at the same time. Our guitars were not tuned. It sounded awful. But just like Mary and Elizabeth, the presence of God touched us both. Quite literally. I can remember looking at Drew with this wonderful Godly euphoria say, “did you sense that?”. “i did” was his reply. God just showed up. God used that little gesture of support to turn in to almost 30 years of weekly connect times to support and encourage each other in our walk with Jesus.
I could tell you another story of helping someone find their way out of the church building that indirectly lead them to Jesus himself. But alas, I will go on. My point, what you do today “in Christ” matters. And just by being you, doing what you do, loving Jesus, while you do it, well, it makes God happy. I pray in some way you’ll see and celebrate how God loves to invade your everyday. Yep what you do today matters.
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