Happy 1st Monday of December!
Once again, we have almost completed a full year. We may complete it BUT, it is not the end! Until the day Jesus returns for His church, every day is a new beginning!
“ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have HOPE.” (Romans 15:4)
From the beginning of time, there has been preparation for the present days and the days to come. Sometimes, we will hear it said that the Bible is just a grouping of old fashioned stories, or worse yet, a book of mythological stories. And yet, you can compare so much of what went on all those years ago and today and with a change of costume and the language, you see how little change there has really been. From ostracism, persecution and atrocities of every kind, you can find them happening somewhere today, just as they did then.
This is the first week of Advent, something I did not grow up with, but have come to embrace fully. This first week is for HOPE, which represents the hope of eternal life brought by Jesus. We are waiting and contemplating the hope of that eternal life with Him and also His return! What a glorious hope that is!
Are you prepared for His coming or do you need to work on your preparations a little more?
Pray Unceasingly!!
In His light,
Lois
| Make Every Step Count
By Rick Warren |
| “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So, I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing” (1 Corinthians 9:25-26 NLT).
Spiritual growth must be purposeful. We don’t know how many days we have left. Our next breath may be our last. So, every step in our journey with Jesus should be taken on purpose. We must be disciplined. To become the person God wants you to be, you must deny yourself. I’ll be honest with you: You won’t get to do everything that other people do. You can’t follow everyone else’s plan and follow God’s plan at the same time. Being a disciplined disciple of Jesus means sometimes taking the more difficult path. Olympic runners must give up all kinds of stuff that other people do in order to go for the gold. They must go to bed at a certain time. They must eat a certain way. They must train in a certain setting. They must deny themselves. They must count the cost. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:25-26, “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So, I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing” (NLT). |
| Every step, Paul says, must be purposeful. That’s how you finish the race God has marked out for you.
Don’t be tempted by shortcuts. Stay on the straight and narrow path, and keep pressing forward toward your goal. Remember the purpose God has called you to. Remember the example of Jesus, who used his time on earth for God’s glory and was not distracted by the things of this world. Make every step count.
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