Right now I am sitting on my couch looking at our Christmas tree and the presents underneath, specifically the presents with my name on them. I am excited to open them up and see what they are. But, alas, I have to wait 20 more days. 20 days of waiting in eager expectation to see what Nathan and the girls bought me for Christmas. I didn’t tell him what I wanted so how does he know?
Now the girls, they tell us what they want for Christmas. This year has been a little harder for them to decide because we haven’t been down the toy aisles recently or watched a lot of commercials for them to ‘see’ what’s out there and decide what they want. I’ve been thinking about this a lot since my oldest daughter and I were talking about just this idea of not knowing what they want because they don’t know what’s out there. Some of the things they want for Christmas they heard about from their friends. Their friends are excited about it and share this excitement with our girls who then share their excitement with us. It’s contagious. So I’ve been thinking about this idea of our excitement being contagious. In 1 Peter 1:3-9 we read about being given new birth into a living hope, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. That’s some exciting stuff!! We have been born anew in Christ. We have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He lives in us and is changing us. There is joy in knowing that we are children of God. This excitement and joy should be contagious. Do people around us want what we have? Is our love for God and our hope in Him evident to those we live with, those we work with or go to school with? Is His loving shining through us in such a way that those we meet want what we have? Are they experiencing Christ’s love through us? Our joy this Christmas season and throughout the year should be evident to everyone no matter our circumstances in such a way that others want what we have. As you read this passage today, I encourage you to hold fast to the promises and share your love for God and what He has done in your life with others today. 1 Peter 1:3-9 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
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AuthorThe Pastors of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church Archives
July 2017
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