Dec 6, 2021
I have a challenge for you this Christmas
season.
Let’s do something different and take the word “view” or
“arrival” and use it in our everyday life and practice “Seeing
Jesus Alive” and ACTIVE! Let’s prepare and get ready for
Jesus to show up in our every day lives!
This week is the beginning of the 28 days of advent! Have you ever wondered what “advent” even means?
ADVENT means: a coming into place, view, or being, arrival:
I have a challenge for you this Christmas season.
Let’s do something different and take the word “view” or “arrival” and use it in our everyday life and practice “Seeing Jesus Alive” and ACTIVE! Let’s prepare and get ready for Jesus to show up in our every day lives!
Jesus is taking His place in my thoughts, my circumstances, my disappointment, in my losses and in my blessing!
See Jesus ALIVE & ACTIVE in my loss! It is important to recognize the loss as part of your story, your testimony. Over looking the loss will take away from your story because people won’t know the power of God how He brought you out of those things. I did this for many years! People did not know my sufferings and my losses because they were too shameful to speak about. Until one day I found my healing and freedom when I began to see Jesus ALIVE & ACTIVE in my life, my whole life, even in my pain, disappointment, and loss! You will see that Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 all about his losses, his troubles and all that he went through! He counted his losses.
Seeing Jesus ALIVE & ACTIVE in my blessing! Paul Counted his losses in the midst of the fellowship of Jesus….. but he don’t stop there, He also counted his blessings! When you practice Seeing Jesus ALIVE AND ACTIVE in your life, not only will you count your losses, you will count your blessing! In 2 Corinthians 4, you will see that Paul would list his loss and count his blessings among the trouble. He talked about how he knew Jesus was at work despite all the sufferings. I want to encourage you to count your losses, and count your blessings. But the counting doesn’t stop there. You also need to COUNT IT ALL JOY!
Count It All Joy! YES!!! COUNT IT JOY
James 1:2-4 New King James Version
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing……
JOY IN GREEK: xará means: extended favor, lean toward, be favorably disposed" – awareness of God’s grace, favor; joy "grace recognized”.
IN OTHER WORDS: When I fall into various trials, the JOY that is set before me is God’s Favor and Grace….and the awareness of JESUS being ALIVE AND ACTIVE IN MY LIFE!
When you can see Jesus alive and active in your life and you can count your losses, count your blessings, and count it all joy, you will find HOPE when you are in your darkest hour!
The first candle to light at advent is the candle of HOPE and that is what I am offering your today. When you can see there is more for you than there is against you, you will see the HOPE of glory!