It takes a while to unwrap and understand the complex prisons of our beliefs and brokenness, our unawareness of God’s word, power, and Christ’s love design, and our unawareness of abuse. Unless we know the aspects of Christ’s love design and how the enemy has used our brokenness, we can only make a little better choice. We trade up in each relationship, but we remain in our prison.
Jesus came to earth and lived among us to show us how to live and love like him. He endured the realities of living on this broken earth. Jesus saw crucifixions, governments vying for control, and all the hardships people faced because of these conditions. He showed us it is possible to love others as you love yourself equally when you love God first and foremost. The conditions in the world didn’t change his example of perfect love.
He has risen! Christ is alive! These words were announced at his empty tomb by an angel. These six words changed the reality for all of the disciples of Christ and those who are not yet believers. Because Jesus rose from the dead, defeated the power of sin and death, and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us after…
To find our original created identity, we must find the truth in God’s word. We must know the origin of our identity. Who made us? How we are made, and why?
When you have had an unhappy Christmas in the past, only you can stop allowing your past to dim the wonder of your current and future Christmas with Jesus.
When God sent Jesus to earth to live among us, he opened His heavens to us. Jesus is the essence and access of God’s love, joy, peace, and all his other attributes in us. In Christ, we have hope, healing, love, and transforming restoration. The origin and spirit of Christmas is Christ.
Practicing being grateful trains our brain to see and to choose to find something to be grateful for. It transforms our inner truth to love others and appreciate them as Jesus loves us now.
Even on the cross, Jesus showed kindness toward his mother, Mary, as he gave her to John to care for after his death. We all know this was Christ’s worst day. Yet, he chose to be kind.
Some of us may have grown up believing that we all get angry and say mean things, but as long as we apologize, it’s okay. This belief has a strand of truth. However, when we have this mindset, we are giving ourselves permission to speak unkind words with no consideration for the effect they will have on our victims. All words are created from our heart and it has an intent. God knows the truth even when we try to hide from it.