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There is no other light than Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.” The fact remains that if we don’t follow Him, we do walk in darkness. And where is that darkness? It is in the world. Those things that are opposite from what Jesus taught, what Jesus brought from God the Father to us here on earth are darkness. Jesus also said, “You are the light of the world.” Our light is not to glorify ourselves, but it is to reflect the desires and will of God to glorify Him. So, who is the Light? Christ Jesus the hope of glory is our light that is reflected through how we live out our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.
You’ve maybe heard it said that “God’s NO is not a rejection. It’s a Redirection.” God’s goal for you is to become more Christlike and often, we take a number of turns that take us off God’s intended purpose and we need redirecting. The thing is, we don’t yet see things clearly, we know things in part, and we struggle perhaps in the wrong direction, but we will, one day, “will know fully, even as we are fully known” by God. Isn’t it amazing that we can hand over all our past, present, and future to a God who knows us and desires the best for us?
As followers of Christ, we are to continue to walk and be focused on Him. When you look at the world, it is easy to become afraid or lose hope. But in Christ, we have hope now until the end when He returns. This hope comes to us as Emmanuel, God with us. It is this blessed hope that came in a cradle that we focus on through the cross that gives us the gift of eternal life.
As believers in Jesus Christ, as followers of His Word, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that changes and transforms us, changes and transforms our desires. One of the desires He brings to light is prayer— talking to God. Prayer regardless of age, IQ, education, and resources, we can all do the same thing— pray. Since God invites and expects us to pray, then prayer has to be simple.
As the hymn testifies, “To God be the glory great things He has done.” The greatest act of God besides creation is sending Jesus Christ to redeem the world from the slavery of sin and death. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is to be glorified and worshipped. He is the only one who deserves our praise and adoration.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! We hope you will join us as we celebrate our Risen Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. At the empty tomb, we find the passion of Christ burst forth in glorious day! For up from the grave He arose triumphant over His foes. As we reflect on this day it not only gives us hope for today it provides hope for the future. For like Jesus we too will rise again. So, have you heard? Jesus Christ is risen today! Hallelujah!
This week, we are traveling about 2 miles east of Jerusalem to the small village of Bethany. There are about a dozen references found in the Scriptures of this town. It was the home of Simon the leper, it is the place where Mary anoints the feet of Jesus. It is where preparations start for Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But most of all it is probably best known for being the hometown of Jesus' good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And, we too can look at Jesus as our friend.
This weekend we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday. Jesus’ divinity is revealed to Peter, James, and John, but also God the Father reinforces who Jesus is for those who believe. Jesus is the Son of God and the words He gave us, taught us are words we ought to follow as we go on our faith journey.
This week we will bring Joy to the World through our praise. God’s Word has so much to say about praise it could be a sermon series in and of itself. But as we look at the characters of Moses and Mary, we find that we can rejoice for our hope has come… and Jesus will soon be returning to restore all things. Now that is something we can have an expectation of praise shouted from the mountain tops!
They say practice makes perfect. I’m not sure we’ll be perfect until we are in the presence of God, but as Christians we are called to practice righteousness in our walk of faith. This means learning what it means to give thanks and how to be thankful. Join us as we step into learning mode and walk as Jesus walked with a thankful heart.
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