The Reason for the Season
The busiest season of the year has arrived! With Christmas around the corner, you are probably trying to get your grades up, studying for finals, making time for family and friends, maybe you have the stress of pleasing others, seeing family that you may have an unpleasant relationship with, searching for the perfect gift, finding time to watch Christmas movies or relax. Our days are always “go, go, go.” When in reality we want everything to “stop, stop, stop” so we can enjoy the Christmas season!
When you think of Christmas, what do you think of first? Do you think of the pretty lights, decorated trees, surrounded by family and friends, frosting cookies for Santa? Whatever your first thought was, might reveal you told that higher than Jesus. If your first thought wasn't celebrating Jesus’s birth, then you may want to rethink what Christmas is all about. It’s great to participate in Christmas festivities, but you shouldn't hold those above God. You see, holidays always have such high expectations and traditions, and people hold them higher than the true reason for the season.
Jesus is the reason for the season and why we celebrate. John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the only way to God, and we must be forever grateful for the glorious birth of Jesus Christ who came to save us all and later die on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Isn’t is crazy that God loves us so much that he sacrificed his one and only son for us? God knew we are all sinners in need or a savior. Access to Him is easy, all you have to do is ask Jesus Christ into your heart and believe He is the one true son of God. Jesus should forever be lifted high and never forgotten on His birthday. Oh, let us adore Him!
Thank God for everything. Instead of wanting one thing to the next this Christmas, try giving thanks to the Lord for what you already have and what He has done for you already. This is one little thing, but huge way to change your whole mindset on Christmas. It makes God’s heart smile when you pray thanksgiving to Him. Psalm 95:2-3 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. It's important to thank Him for being our God. To find overflowing Joy in knowing how good He is, always. He deserves your praise, so bring it upon Him. Just take a step back and watch God reveal his goodness.
Change your attitude this season. Transform your attitude into an attitude of gratitude. Look for the joy and goodness in everything. Seek after the Lord’s face in every situation and know He always has your best interest. Be a light around the holidays for everyone and proclaim that your joy comes from the Lord. Keep an eye out for who may need more love and support this season. Be attentive about your thanks and rejoice in the lord, always.
Let’s all remember why we celebrate Christmas and let others know too. Share God’s love with others this holiday season and ignite something in their hearts. Shout for all to hear how good God is. Be grateful and humble this holiday and always give thanks to the Lord and let Him know how much you love Him. Sit back, have faith, and watch and see the Lord move in new ways this Christmas. Believe in Him and His goodness.
When you think of Christmas, what do you think of first? Do you think of the pretty lights, decorated trees, surrounded by family and friends, frosting cookies for Santa? Whatever your first thought was, might reveal you told that higher than Jesus. If your first thought wasn't celebrating Jesus’s birth, then you may want to rethink what Christmas is all about. It’s great to participate in Christmas festivities, but you shouldn't hold those above God. You see, holidays always have such high expectations and traditions, and people hold them higher than the true reason for the season.
Jesus is the reason for the season and why we celebrate. John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the only way to God, and we must be forever grateful for the glorious birth of Jesus Christ who came to save us all and later die on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Isn’t is crazy that God loves us so much that he sacrificed his one and only son for us? God knew we are all sinners in need or a savior. Access to Him is easy, all you have to do is ask Jesus Christ into your heart and believe He is the one true son of God. Jesus should forever be lifted high and never forgotten on His birthday. Oh, let us adore Him!
Thank God for everything. Instead of wanting one thing to the next this Christmas, try giving thanks to the Lord for what you already have and what He has done for you already. This is one little thing, but huge way to change your whole mindset on Christmas. It makes God’s heart smile when you pray thanksgiving to Him. Psalm 95:2-3 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. It's important to thank Him for being our God. To find overflowing Joy in knowing how good He is, always. He deserves your praise, so bring it upon Him. Just take a step back and watch God reveal his goodness.
Change your attitude this season. Transform your attitude into an attitude of gratitude. Look for the joy and goodness in everything. Seek after the Lord’s face in every situation and know He always has your best interest. Be a light around the holidays for everyone and proclaim that your joy comes from the Lord. Keep an eye out for who may need more love and support this season. Be attentive about your thanks and rejoice in the lord, always.
Let’s all remember why we celebrate Christmas and let others know too. Share God’s love with others this holiday season and ignite something in their hearts. Shout for all to hear how good God is. Be grateful and humble this holiday and always give thanks to the Lord and let Him know how much you love Him. Sit back, have faith, and watch and see the Lord move in new ways this Christmas. Believe in Him and His goodness.
Let GO
Let’s face it; life is hard. Sometimes we need help. We aren’t superheroes, so why do most of us think we can juggle everything all by ourselves? If you are like me and try to do everything by yourself, you will quickly find out you can’t and end up failing. Trying your hardest over and over again can get very tiring. Who said we have to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders? Take a moment, take a deep breath...the good news is that we don’t have to be all alone in this big and stressful world.
One word. Jesus. He is here to help us. The son of God walked on earth and later died on the cross for our sins. The ultimate sacrifice, the most selfless thing ever done in all of history. You see, Jesus died to take all of your burdens from you. He never wants you to hold onto everything all by yourself. He whispers, “ here child, let me take this hurt, pain, and everything that is too heavy for you to carry,” He died to save you…but are you letting him save you from your troubles?
We must surrender all our hurt and worries to the one who loves us most. He never intended for you to live in pain. God helps us by removing things from our lives that stop us growing and thriving, and sometimes that surrender can feel like a difficult thing to do. After surrendering, meaning to give up something entirely, our eyes are focused on God’s truth. When we aren't foggy, we can walk in His light and live how He intended us to. When we give everything us to God, we feel light and filled up, compared to weak and heavy loaded.
In other words, surrendering is like saying to God, “let your will be done” but also “not my will.” Jesus himself set an example by surrendering to God in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was obedient to God’s will for him to die on a cross for each of us, praying “Not my will, but Yours be done.” We can follow Jesus’ example today and surrender our own will to God. Together we can say the same: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
We can surrender our will to God because we know that He has a great plan for us. We can surrender when we realize that God, who knows all things, knows what is best for us, more than we know ourselves. We can then trust Him when He asks us to surrender something in our lives because “…He is faithful in all he does.” (Psalm 33:4)
How do you surrender? Easy! Just pray to your heavenly father and say something along the lines of “ God, I don't want to carry all this weight anymore. I fully surrender _____ to you and lay it at the foot of the cross. Thank you for what you have done and will do in Jesus name, amen.”
Next time you feel run down or just have a heavy heart, that may result in an indication to surrender something to God. Remember how much He cares for you and always wants and will take your troubles from you. Let go and let God.
One word. Jesus. He is here to help us. The son of God walked on earth and later died on the cross for our sins. The ultimate sacrifice, the most selfless thing ever done in all of history. You see, Jesus died to take all of your burdens from you. He never wants you to hold onto everything all by yourself. He whispers, “ here child, let me take this hurt, pain, and everything that is too heavy for you to carry,” He died to save you…but are you letting him save you from your troubles?
We must surrender all our hurt and worries to the one who loves us most. He never intended for you to live in pain. God helps us by removing things from our lives that stop us growing and thriving, and sometimes that surrender can feel like a difficult thing to do. After surrendering, meaning to give up something entirely, our eyes are focused on God’s truth. When we aren't foggy, we can walk in His light and live how He intended us to. When we give everything us to God, we feel light and filled up, compared to weak and heavy loaded.
In other words, surrendering is like saying to God, “let your will be done” but also “not my will.” Jesus himself set an example by surrendering to God in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was obedient to God’s will for him to die on a cross for each of us, praying “Not my will, but Yours be done.” We can follow Jesus’ example today and surrender our own will to God. Together we can say the same: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
We can surrender our will to God because we know that He has a great plan for us. We can surrender when we realize that God, who knows all things, knows what is best for us, more than we know ourselves. We can then trust Him when He asks us to surrender something in our lives because “…He is faithful in all he does.” (Psalm 33:4)
How do you surrender? Easy! Just pray to your heavenly father and say something along the lines of “ God, I don't want to carry all this weight anymore. I fully surrender _____ to you and lay it at the foot of the cross. Thank you for what you have done and will do in Jesus name, amen.”
Next time you feel run down or just have a heavy heart, that may result in an indication to surrender something to God. Remember how much He cares for you and always wants and will take your troubles from you. Let go and let God.
Fear Not
Not too long ago I was fearful of many things. I was fearful of getting bad grades, my future, something happening to my family, not fitting in, and more. Fear would consume me daily, without me even realizing it. Fear seemed so normal to me that I didn’t think anything was wrong with it. But something was very wrong, I was letting it eat me alive, and there was nothing I could do about it… so I thought.
Fear. One of the enemy’s most popular weapons that he uses against us. The enemy would whisper things in my ear like “you will never be enough,” “you will never be loved by them,” “you are a failure,” “you have no purpose.” Those were some of my fears. The enemy would tell me lies until I believed they were true and I began to live out those lies. Living out those lies robbed me from my joy. They were all that filtered through my brain.
I was sick of fear crippling my life and keeping me from living up to my full potential, God’s full potential for me. No longer would I let the enemy stand in my way ever again. He will not have a grip on me. I started to look into what God says about not fearing. I read words - of life - of truth. Soaking them in, over and over, praying them out loud. Until they became so familiar, they replaced the other things in my mind that I’d battled against. There’s nothing magical about words and verses, but there is power through them because they’re God’s words.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ~ Isaiah 41:10. This verse God is telling His children not to fear because He is always with you, He never leaves you. When we feel weak and helpless, our heavenly father is there to pick us up. That verse gives me so much comfort. Whatever happens in life, good or bad, I don't have to fear because the Lord has my back.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” ~ 2 Timothy 1:7. This verse is a great reminder that God has made us with so many amazing things that we shouldn't be focusing on things that He didn’t give us, a fearful spirit. Instead, focusing on igniting your love with everything we have. When we fear, We miss out on the things God has for us. We are deaf to His voice when our only focus is on fear.
“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ~ Mark 4:39-40. Being afraid can lead to not ultimately putting our full trust in the Lord. We lack faith when we aren’t fully handing our fears to Him like we aren’t trusting in our miraculous God. Sometimes we can forget how powerful our God is and how lucky we are to have Him take control over our lives.
When we begin to speak verses like these over our lives, the enemy vanishes because the Lord is near. When these are read, change happens. Anxious thoughts begin to diminish. Worry lets go of its steady grip. And though fear is sometimes still there, it no longer has its grip on me. Just remember you having nothing to fear when God is the biggest thing in life. The presence of God makes all of our fear disappear.