The work of remaining steadfast in the Lord is hard, and it is especially hard when the chaos of worldliness seeks to dissuade us from believing the promises of God. Pastor Lewis asked the question: “How will you handle hard?” He wasn’t asking whether or not you think you will handle it well. He was asking what you will do to prepare for it, and what you will do to remain in the fight for faith as ‘hard’ fills the milieu of your life. Hard happens often in this broken world.
The celebration of Christmas is a celebration of the faithfulness of God. God has kept his promises. The promises spoken to Isaiah in chapter 9 are being fulfilled: a child has been born; all authority has been given to him; his kingdom is an everlasting one in which his people are established in justice and righteousness; all of this is being accomplished by the zeal of the Lord. And so what we are doing at Christmas is what we need to be doing all year long. We are remembering the faithfulness of God. We are calling to mind the promises God has made, and we are studying the works he has fulfilled. As Pastor Lewis said: ‘Memory brings hope to the present situation.’ Meditating on the works of the Lord in the midst of hard and broken life situations allows our complaints to God (prayers of lament) and our confidence in God (worship/praise) to be wedded together into a solid foundation that enables us to stand firmly by faith in the storm of hard.
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
Take heart in our Lord, Jubilee, in this hard season of life even as we celebrate Christmas, and remember with one another the message of the angels: unto us is born this day a savior (and oh how we need a savior) who is Christ, the Lord!
God Has Kept His Promises
Jubilee Family,
The work of remaining steadfast in the Lord is hard, and it is especially hard when the chaos of worldliness seeks to dissuade us from believing the promises of God. Pastor Lewis asked the question: “How will you handle hard?” He wasn’t asking whether or not you think you will handle it well. He was asking what you will do to prepare for it, and what you will do to remain in the fight for faith as ‘hard’ fills the milieu of your life. Hard happens often in this broken world.
The celebration of Christmas is a celebration of the faithfulness of God. God has kept his promises. The promises spoken to Isaiah in chapter 9 are being fulfilled: a child has been born; all authority has been given to him; his kingdom is an everlasting one in which his people are established in justice and righteousness; all of this is being accomplished by the zeal of the Lord. And so what we are doing at Christmas is what we need to be doing all year long. We are remembering the faithfulness of God. We are calling to mind the promises God has made, and we are studying the works he has fulfilled. As Pastor Lewis said: ‘Memory brings hope to the present situation.’ Meditating on the works of the Lord in the midst of hard and broken life situations allows our complaints to God (prayers of lament) and our confidence in God (worship/praise) to be wedded together into a solid foundation that enables us to stand firmly by faith in the storm of hard.
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
Take heart in our Lord, Jubilee, in this hard season of life even as we celebrate Christmas, and remember with one another the message of the angels: unto us is born this day a savior (and oh how we need a savior) who is Christ, the Lord!
Peace,
Pastor Dan