A New Day

Grief touches us all at some point in our lives. Whether it is the death of a loved one, being rejected by friends and family, or any number of countless troubles that afflict us throughout this life.

It can be easy to become self-focused during these times. If we let it, grief will take root in our hearts and turn into anger and bitterness with a never-ending ideation that God is against us or that perhaps there is no God at all.

It's during these trying times that we must lean on God all the more, trusting Him to carry us through these days of pain. He may not give us all the answers, and we may never know what His plan was during these trials, but we can have faith that He was working out all things according to His glory.

This life will always be tainted with heartache, pain, and the consequences of a sinful world, but this does not mean we must live in unrest and bitterness. We must continually look forward to the finish of life, to the glory that lies beyond, to the promise of healing and everlasting peace.

For a believer, death is not the end. It is merely setting sail for the distant shore where we will be in God's embrace forevermore in everlasting love, perfection, and beauty.

Being rejected because of our faith and testimony does not mean we are alone. There are countless other brothers and sisters in Christ walking this same path. We must come together and walk toward Christ together. The world does not reject us but is rejecting the God we have faith in. If we declare Christ to the world, Christ will declare us to His Father.

If you are weighted down by grief and despair, cry out to God. Look for the sunrise, the beginning of a new day. His promises are renewed each morning and will never fail. Through the darkest days and happiest times, He will be with us every step of the way. Life may beat us down, but we are never alone.

His grace and love are freely given. His strength and perseverence will never fail. All we must do is reach out to Him and accept His sacrifice to pay for our sins, and He will freely give us all He possesses. There are no words to express the magnitude and beauty of such a gift. His blessings are new every morning, with every breath we take, and when we have breathed our last, His greatest blessing will then be realized when we are accepted into His Father's kingdom and given life anew with no more sorrow, pain, or death.

John 14:1, 3, 6
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 6 Jesus said to him [Thomas], “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

The Birth of a Child

The birth of a child, is there anything more wondrous? The birth of a child who would one day save mankind from sin’s unrelenting grasp, is there anything more miraculous?

One child, one infant soul born: Innocent, trusting, dependent upon another’s tender care. One child which would change the world from the moment He was born. One child: Poor, humble, and of lowly place; the world never noticing His arrival and not prepared with riches, honor, and glory due to Him. Their hearts cold and souls dead to the Word of God come to earth. The most precious gift ever sent from a Father who loves His children with immeasurable love went unwanted and rejected.

He sacrificed riches, love, and praise to become a lowly, forgotten, and despised man. One could feel pity for such a child, but that would be forgetting the loving purpose with which the child was sent. The choice He, Himself, made to come and the acceptance of becoming common instead of being adored by thousands. The child who loved man, though man was sinful, fallen, and ungrateful. The child who willingly chose to bring hope to a dying people by dying Himself. The child came to earth though He knew He would be rejected and trampled upon. Is there anything more Beautiful?

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus Paid It All

John 14:6

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

This is a powerful and definitive statement of Jesus Christ.  In answering Thomas' question in verse five, "'Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?'", Jesus didn't tell him that he had to work hard, to do good deeds, or to even follow the Mosaic Law given in the Old Testament. Instead, He said, "I AM the way."

Only through Christ can we know the truth - Only His dying sacrifice on the cross can cleanse us from our sins and make us righteous (holy) in God's eyes.  Only through Christ can we know true life - Earthly life is fleeting.  True life is what is coming:  Eternal life.  Deciding on whether or not to trust in Christ during our earthly life will determine if we will have eternal life in Heaven with our Saviour or eternal life in pain and suffering separated from our Saviour.

God does not ask us to do "religious" deeds in order for us to get to Heaven.  He has already done everything and done it perfectly.  It is human pride and independence if we think we need human rituals and religion to make us perfect before God.  That would be the same as saying Christ's work on the cross wasn't good enough to cover our sins and that we need to help Him out.  Definitely not!  God has provided the ONLY way - His Son, Jesus Christ.  The ONLY thing we need to do is accept this gift - Accept that Christ's death is sufficient to cover all our sins, admit there is no way that we could get to Heaven on our own "good" deeds, confess our sins to God our Father through Jesus Christ alone, and declare that Jesus is Lord, that He has risen from the dead, and that He lives at the right hand of God.  Let your burdens be lifted for Jesus Paid It All!

Romans 10:9,10,13

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."