In this Scripture, we find that the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him John’s mission would be to make people ready and prepared for the Lord’s coming. He would turn their hearts around and those who are disobedient will be turned to the wisdom of the righteous. Fathers’ hearts are being turned back to their children.
As I think about how I have been so focused on all the seriousness and busyness in my life, I have lost track of the main important people in my life—the blessings God gave me to disciple-my children. I tend to lose focus of having fun and being free and enjoying life with them because I have been so busy trying to be super mom and taking control into my own hands where I lost control at some point and was deceived by the enemy in believing everything was okay in my life. My prayer is for the Lord to help me teach my children and disciple them as John did in his day and prepare their hearts for His return.
We, the body of Christ, must continue to teach the wisdom of God so that disobedient mankind can see Jesus in us. Hearts need to be melted with the love of God by truly believing in the Lord Jesus. Just like the prophet Elijah in the OT, John the Baptist’s role was to encourage people to turn away from sin and back to God. John did heart transplants as he foretold the coming of Christ and he turned stony hearts into soft, pliable, trusting, hearts while being open to change. Is your heart opened to God or are you open to the possibility of an open-heart surgery so a change of heart can begin transforming in you?
Zechariah was punished because he did not believe the angel and he was fearful. He was doubting what he first believed. Being an old man, set in his ways, he did not have the response of a child that we all need to be aware of needs. Before we can come to Christ, we must recognize the need to humble ourselves and recognize that it is important to reach children, whose minds are most receptive, with the Word of God. While children do not have to become adults to be saved, adults must become like children and believe as you once did. The Bible says, “verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” (Mark 10:15). While growing and developing is something we must get to after becoming a child of God, it is important to leave our cleverness and sophistication and great knowledge that we sometimes boast of and return to the simplicity of childhood to be shaped into the clay the Potter can use.
What do you believe? In my community, we are beginning a journey in the Bible so that we learn how to completely “trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean on Him and not on our understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). So, as we go through this journey together, I would love to invite you to join us here. Look forward to learning more and growing together as we begin to believe in more in this new year!
It’s easy to find essential oils in stores and online. It’s not so easy to find good-quality essential oils. You need to make sure that the oils you buy are made from the plants they say they are, and not simply cooked up in a lab and made to smell nice...
Read more...Before I came to know Christ, I was utterly lost. I had no hope and felt like I was alone in this world. I suffered so many hardships: rejection, isolation, physical and emotional pain, fear and anxiety, depression, and much more. I went to church and joined the church at nine years old but had not grown to spiritual maturity until old. While I desired to know more about Him, it wasn’t until I began to realize the need to die to my flesh daily that I began to know Christ and have a relationship with Him.
What do I mean by dying to my flesh daily? I began to see the need to stop living life as if I was the one in control, and I began to see a need to surrender my all to Christ. I wanted nothing more but to be closer to God, but I was unwilling to let go of the things in this world that I felt I needed to survive. I worked so hard every day to support my children, but I never knew how to rest and take time to be in Christ. I often ate when I felt the need to comfort myself from all the emotional traumas in my life until I realized that is no longer serving me.
Why? Because I found a place in Jesus where I can belong and be loved. I no longer felt like I was alone in this world. I began to have peace, and I learned to rest in God’s presence. While I am not perfect, and never do I claim to be, I now see that when I mess up, I can confess my sins, ask for forgiveness, and forgive myself so that I can continue enjoying my relationship with the Lord. My heart has been changed to see that it’s not about perfection but allowing Christ to abide in me while I abide in Him.
I am not declaring that there will be no more suffering or hardships, but there is an opportunity to go through them with Christ by your side. You no longer have to go through what you’re going through alone.
On this Christmas morning, I am so ecstatic because I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have seen the need to let go of control and turn my power over to Him so that He can do the heart work I so desperately need in my life. I am genuinely thankful for the birth of Jesus Christ as He came into this world so that you and I might be free from the curse of this world.
NOW is the acceptable time if you have not opened your heart and invited Christ into your life. On this Christmas Day, why not remember the Lord Jesus who came into this world knowing no sin but died on a cross (a tree) so that we might have a right to eternal life with Him in heaven. Try Jesus today! He is willing and ready to aid you on your journey if you give Him your life today!
If you have a hard time speaking up for what you believe and sharing your story with the world, I have a community where I teach and share new ways to learn how to come away from being afraid to share and speak up with confidence and boldness. If you are interested in joining my free group, I welcome you to join me here!
Merry Christmas! As you open up your presents under the tree, I challenge you today to think about the baby that was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger over two thousand years ago, and He became the Gift for you and me. Enjoy the One who came to be THE GIFT and bring His presence into the world so that we might be free to live again with Him.
Do you struggle with feeling ashamed of where you are in life? Are you afraid of what people might think of you if you shared why you feel the way you do?
Read more...Have you ever felt like your life was closing in on you? Everything is crashing all around you. You don’t know how to keep afloat. You feel like you can’t move forward in life. Sometimes when life hits, you feel like hiding.
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