Romans 8:1-4

Life in the Spirit

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. (NLT)

 

Belonging to Jesus sets you free, free from the bondage and control of sin. Now that sin no longer has a grip over our lives, it is time to follow the Spirit into the will of God for our lives. In Matthew, He says to “seek and you will find” and this is true. When your heart searches for God and for His will you will find it.

Love is what motivates God to draw us back to Himself. Love is the key that opens the doors and without God’s kind of love living in your heart you cannot move forward. Love covers a multitude of sin. Christmas is a reminder that we are to love one another as Christ came into this world to die for the love of the Father.

For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. You are now free to love as God intended you to love. You are now free to love one another.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

Philippians 1:3-6

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 I always pray for you, and I make my requests with a heart full of joy 5 because you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. (NLT)

 

Is this you in verses 3–5? Do you pray for your friends and family that they too have opportunity to witness for Christ? If not, you should be. If you are, praise the Lord and keep up the good work. Is there someone you have partnered with in spreading the Good News? If not then find someone, someone you can encourage and someone who can encourage you.

I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. It is a guarantee that God will complete the work that He has started in your life. You were built to be in fellowship and in a relationship with God and God wants to spend a lot more time with you. You are His special child and don’t you forget it.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

Ephesians 2:8-10

8 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (NLT)

 

Think about this for a moment or longer, “you are God’s masterpiece.” God does not create junk. We are created in the image and likeness of God. We are all beautifully made and perfect in the eyes of God and only God’s opinion is what matters not the words. It is the world that is truly ugly because it is full of sin. God through His special favor when you believed in Christ Jesus, brought you back so that you can be what He planned for you to be from long ago. Our Salvation is not a reward, we cannot boast about it, we can’t take credit for it, we did not deserve it, and it is not because of good that we did because we only sinned. It is because God loves His creation and you are His masterpiece.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

Ephesians 4:30-32

30 And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (NLT)

 

Our identity is in Christ Jesus. We are identified as God’s children and as His children we need to act in accordance with His word. We represent God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we need to put aside all the worldly behavior and put on God’s behavior – kindness, love, tenderness, patience and forgiving one another just as God did through Christ forgiving us. We tend to act like those that we are around most, so spend a lot of time with Jesus and others will begin to see that you are a lot like Him.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

Ephesians 1:9-14

9 God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. 10 And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. 12 God's purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God. 13 And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God. (NLT)

 

God’s secret plan

 God’s secret plan is Jesus Christ. His whole plan is centered around Jesus. Everything is about Jesus. We are part of that plan. Our lives are to reflect God’s plan that Jesus Christ is living in and through us. We are to deliver Jesus’ message that He died for everyone and that He is the salvation to the world. We have an inheritance in Christ, we have the Holy Spirit because of Christ, we have a guarantee that God will give us everything He promised and we are God’s own purchased people. All this is reason for us to praise and worship our glorious God.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

Ephesians 1:3-5

3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. 4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. (NLT)

 

What gives God great pleasure? Adopting those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ. You want to bring pleasure to God your Father then share Jesus with others. God’s plan has never changed and His love for us and others has never changed. So during this time of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior give someone the greatest gift that can ever be given and that is Jesus Christ. He came for the hopeless, died for our sins and rose that we would spend eternity with Him and the Father. Give the gift that keeps on giving – Jesus.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 John 4:7-21

Loving One Another

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God — for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.

18 Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. 19 We love each other as a result of his loving us first.

20 If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? 21 And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too. (NLT)

Love, God is love; we love because God loved us first. We cannot love apart from God. God’s love is unconditional and Jesus was a perfect reflection of that kind of love and we are to be a reflection of Jesus.

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. (NLT)

 

God chose you. God chose you to be holy because He loves you. This is the type of person He wants you to become  in this life and that is to be tenderhearted, kind, humble, gentle, patient and to forgive as God has forgiven you. Always be thankful for all God has done for you and what He will do for you in the future. Sing songs to the Lord with thankfulness in your heart and let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise.

 

Have a Happy and Thankful

Thanksgiving Day

 

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ