Category: Today’s Truth

Every year Christians look back at the previous year and evaluate everything that has happened. Many spend time pondering all that God has already done and wonder about what He will do next.

This was true in Isaiah 43: 18-19: “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” God is telling them that even though He did great things for the people in the past, He is about to do something even greater. He rescued them from the oppression of Pharaoh and brought them out of Egypt, He made a way for them and opened the waters, and He destroyed those who chased after them. That alone was miraculous but then He said He would do even more! Do you put your hope in God and trust that He will do even more than you can even imagine in the new year? The new year is a time of hope, a time to place your hope in the grace of Jesus Christ. It is a time of trust, a time to trust in the Lord with all of your heart and know that He will walk with you through anything. It is a time of faith, a time to invest in your relationship with God and increase your faith.

Every year millions of people decide they are going to make New Year’s Resolutions, but how many of them keep the resolutions they make? Dictionary.com states that a resolution is a decision or determination. Many people are very determined when they set their goals and resolutions, but few carry them out. Why is that? Maybe it is because they start out strong but give in when it gets tough. They cave. Man is weak and not made to walk through life alone. We were created to rely on God for our strength. So what if we change our mindset and instead of setting resolutions, we decide to be a part of God’s revolution?

Dictionary.com describes a revolution as “a sudden, complete or marked change in something.” This is the ultimate goal for setting a resolution- to change something whether that is a bad habit or a lifestyle. There is something wrong that someone wants to make right. Change cannot be done on your own. It is next to impossible to change anything without the help of another. We were made to be dependent people. We need to depend on each other and more importantly, we need to depend on the God who made us. A revolution requires people to come together for the common purpose of change. Maybe what we need as Christians is more than a resolution that will be difficult to keep, but accountability and encouragement from other believers. We need to be a part of what God is doing in the hearts of His people instead of just focusing on our own flaws.

Resolutions are not bad, but coming together for the benefit of God’s kingdom and being a part of His revolution is so much better. There is a great reward for people who look to God for their change rather than relying on themselves.

Have you ever spent any time thinking about who you hang out with? What type of people do you spend most of your time with? The answers to these questions will often tell you a lot about yourself and where you’re going.

It’s easy to think that it doesn’t matter who you hang out with. However, today’s Bible verse shows us that we aren’t to be deceived into thinking that way. We should care about the kind of people we spent time with. The people we let speak into our lives. Whether we want to admit it or not, those people influence a lot about us.

The majority of what you’ll accomplish in life is tied to who you choose to spend your time with. If you spend time with people who challenge you to live for God, and be better, you’ll find that you’ll always be growing.

Today, choose to spend some time reflecting on who you hang around. If you don’t have friends pushing you to do and be better, consider trying to find some that will. The friends that you hang around are important. They can direct the path your life takes.

When you commit your life to Jesus and He sets you free, you are truly free. Jesus set you free from sin, fear of death and your old life all by dying on the cross for you and being raised back up to life.

Sometimes you may doubt if you are truly changed and free. Whenever those thoughts come that cause you to doubt if something really happened, cast them down and say, “No, I’m a child of God. Jesus set me free and I’m free indeed.”

In Jesus you can know that your past is gone, your sins are completely removed and you are a new person in your spirit. You are truly free in Jesus.

It’s easy to think that if you serve God, you’ll be missing out. You’ll miss out on the parties, and all the fun it appears that those around you are having. Sometimes it even feels like you have to give everything up to serve God. However, the Bible shows us a different side of things. We see in some verses, that when we put our trust in God we will lack no good thing.

That’s great news. We don’t have to be concerned about having enough fun, relationships, or anything else. If we place our trust in God, He will see to it that we will not miss out on any good thing!

So don’t get discouraged, and don’t think that serving God is not worth it. Rather, focus on the fact that when you serve God you don’t have to lack any good thing.

God has done many things for man: created a place for him to live, gave him by giving him water and food, and cared for him time and time again. He gives the gift of life daily. However, the greatest thing He did for man, the greatest gift He gave man, was the gift of a Savior, wrapped in swaddling clothes, born in a stable. He gave Jesus Christ to a dying world. James 1:17 says, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

Jesus is that good and perfect gift! God sent His Son, the good and perfect gift, to earth as a baby to live and breathe as man does. God created everything: the heavens, the earth, the trees, the beasts of the field and sea, and man himself. His love never changes. His authority never changes. He is the same God who set the earth in motion. He is the same God who sent His Son, Jesus, into the world, and He is the same God who created you and me!

This Christmas, celebrate the God who sent you His good and perfect gift, Jesus, into the world. Celebrate the plans He has for you and me. Worship like the angels do, spread His message like the shepherds did, and ponder all things in your heart like Mary did. The birth of Jesus was the beginning of His plan in motion. The birth of the Savior was the love letter from God to us.

Picture this for a moment. You are a shepherd trying to make a living. You are tending to your sheep one night as usual when all of a sudden you look up and see something angelic. You cannot believe what you are seeing, and you and the other shepherds are afraid. The angel proclaims the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, and all at once you see a host of angels. They are praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Luke 2:14). You know that you have had a glorious encounter and you must know more. You and the other shepherds practically run to meet this new Savior!

Is this how you would react if you knew you were going to meet Jesus Christ, the Savior, born in a manger? The shepherds knew the prophecies and knew that God would send a way to save them from their sins. They couldn’t wait to worship this tiny baby who would grow up to be king. We have a promise today as well. Our promise is that Christ is coming again to rescue us from this world. He has given us a new hope, just as He gave the Israelites hope of a Savior and king.

Are you living in light of the hope He has given? The shepherds were living in light of the hope from the prophecies they knew. They taught their children those prophecies and wrote them on their hearts. Today, we celebrate the birth of that Savior, that He brought hope to the world the first time, and we know He will bring hope again. So write His promises on your hearts and teach them to your children. May they know the God you know and celebrate who He is this Christmas.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, pondered all things in her heart (Luke 2:19). She had the heart of a mother while she carried Jesus in her womb and after He was born. She loved Him as her child and even more as her Savior and Lord. She worshipped Him as it states in Luke 1:47-49: “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.” She felt incredibly blessed to be the mother of the Savior.

God created mothers with that instinct, that ability to ponder and treasure all things. It is such a blessing to be a parent and love in that way. Mary really loved Jesus Christ, her son. She also loved Him because she knew He was the rescuer of man. She knew God had great plans for Him. Mary had an intimate relationship with God. She and Joseph could have decided that they were not able to carry the burden of raising the Lord. Instead, they celebrated that God chose them and they raised Jesus as their own.

Do you ponder all things in your heart the way Mary did? Do you think about the things of God and do you rejoice at God’s plans for you? He DOES have plans for you just as He had for Mary. He wants you to know Jesus in the same way, and He wants you to trust that He will fulfill His plans for you. So this Christmas, do not let the stress of the holidays take the place of the magic of His birth and that promise.

Following God can bring about blessings, but it can also bring about difficult times. However, when we follow God with a good attitude and heart, we will be blessed by witnessing the amazing things He will do in the lives of His people.

Jonah was a godly man who wrestled with obeying God. He was willing to obey God as long as it included something he wanted to do, but he wasn’t as willing when God called him to do something hard: go to Nineveh. He ran away and tried to escape to another land, but the journey was difficult. Storms tried to destroy the boat he was on, and he knew that it was because of his disobedience. So, he told the crew to throw him overboard, and immediately the storms ceased. Jonah was swallowed up by a whale and lived in the belly of a whale for a fews days. After the whale spit him up onto dry land, he went to Nineveh begrudgingly. Revival came to Nineveh, but Jonah sat up on a hill waiting for God to destroy the sinful city.

He missed out on the blessing God had for him because of his attitude. Sure Jonah had been obedient, but his bitterness kept him from the blessing. As Christians, we can choose to serve with a grateful heart or a bitter heart. We will experience great rewards if we allow God to work in us and through us.

God wants us to trust Him and have faith that He will deliver us and care for us. However, we can become easily distracted by the fears that surround us and drown ourselves in those worries and fear. When we look to Jesus and keep our eyes on Him, we will walk with confidence.

The disciples, and especially Peter, are a perfect example of what fear can do to the Christian. The disciples were on a boat crossing the lake after Jesus had just fed the 5,000. Jesus was not with them, as He had sent them on ahead of them. A strong wind began to blow and the disciples were fighting the waves when they saw a man walking on the water toward them. At first the disciples were all afraid and thought it was a ghost. Jesus responds by telling them not to be afraid and then tells Peter to come to Him. Peter stepped out (the first act of his faith) and began walking toward Jesus. However, he allowed his fear to envelop him and he took his eyes off Jesus. He began to sink and was very afraid.

We see here what happens when you have faith like Peter did, you can step out into the raging waters and watch as Christ works in your life. But when you allow the fears of the world to creep up and surround you, you will fall. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He is trustworthy and will lead you through your fears.