Christmas: a season of declaration and hope.

War. Not exactly the first thing that comes to mind a Christmas, but it has everything to do with the season. I had my eyes opened during a church sermon, not expecting it to impact me so much. We often get caught up in the commercialism of this season: the gifts, the clay-mation deer, the carols singing of winter wonderlands and worldly loves. When we do imagine the deeper meaning it looks something like a gorgeous little cherubic Baby Jesus surrounded by glowing Mary and Joseph who look like they've just stepped out of a day spa. Throw in some cute shepherds and some fluffy animals and the whole picture is something from a Precious Moment's catalog.

However, Christ's birth was an act of war, a declaration that one day we would be taken from this earth and out of the grasp of satan. Christmas is God saying to satan, "Here is My Champion. Here is the One who will own you. Here is the One who will crush you and death and anything you throw His way. One day He will be victorious and come back and kick your butt." Bet you thought Christmas was just about a cute manger scene and the happy, uplifting side of Christianity. I know i did. I never did get the big picture until a few weeks ago.

Christmas is the beginning of the end of the spiritual war going on around us daily. satan is trying to cling to us to take us from God. Christmas is where God declares He has a plan to save us. The birth of Jesus was God's sacrifice entering the world: the One that would save us and destroy the enemy. Christ came as a baby to one day suffer for our inequities and our transgressions. For every slap in the face that we throw His way, He took to the cross. God sent His Holy Son fully aware that while Christ was dying and gifting us with eternal life, satan was losing souls to take away from Heaven. So He was born into a world that turns Him away and mocks Him. We do it daily. We choose our own ways instead of His. But take hope in the Christmas season. He was born to forgive our sins and save us from death. He gives eternal life. He will be the Victor over satan. He will one day take us to our Heavenly home and give us the gift of being with him forever. Take that, satan.

Our hope is in something eternal and daily forgiving and forever reigning. satan had no hope once God sent Christ. Every action from then on was set in to motion on that one starry night. Where the Son of God and Son of Man collide to form the perfect sacrifice. That one brave and imperfect couple who was thrown into a dirty and less than desired stable. It was set into motion when the first to worship Christ were the humble and simple shepherds who none thought worthy of any status. That imperfect scene is the perfect declaration of our God. He is proclaiming the hope we have of salvation and the hope we have in an everlasting victory. Praise to our Savior. His unfailing love and mercy daily save us. Christmas reminds me of His glory, of His eternal victory, and of His sacrifice. Thank You, Lord. We can never say it enough. Declare hope this season. Declare that our Heavenly Daddy will be the Champion. Declare that we have a reason to sing, to worship, to live differently and to live radiantly.

sanctification. the process of love.

justification is the act of being saved. sanctification is the process of being made more like Christ. thank goodness my God has endless patience. im astounded time and time again by His grace. His ability to forgive and move forward, to work in a broken world, in broken people. I fall to my knees for His compassion daily. "The beauty of the cross is that Your grace has found me just as i am."

In YoungLife we were told, "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called."

that hit me hard. He sanctifies those He calls. He will make me ready and sends me out. all i have to do is say "Here i am Lord! Send me." i have faith in that. God dances among the ordinary. He works through the seemingly mundane. so i look for Him in the small things, our God is a God of details. He will speak to me through the tiniest of joys. i just need to listen. i have to be willing to change and let go of all my vices, my pride, my comfort. i have to be His.

Daddy,

my prayer tonight is that i will listen to You. that i will keep an open heart to hear Your will for me. i know i dont deserve it in any way, but i pray for Your forgiveness. Your love overwhelms me when i think about how many times ive broken Your heart. i want to be sanctified through You. make me like You so i can go out and reach others for Your kingdom. i want to be like Simeon, expectantly awaiting the day You come. Oh what a day! let me work for Your Kingdom in the process. change me to be like You. mold me, use me, make me Yours alone. God i pray that You will continue to break me down daily. break my heart and my pride. Break my holds to this world. I am justified, and for that i thank you so much. Sanctify me Lord. I want to be used by you. "Ruin my life, plans i have made. Ruin desires for my own selfish gain. Destroy the idols that have taken Your place. until it's You alone i live for." that's my prayer. that i would listen, learn and change.

Thank You for Your unfailing love.

Amen

Secrets of Success

life is best when it’s random, awkward, and carried by the grace of Christ.

find joy in the small things.

be quick to smile, quick to praise, and quick to give hugs.

love others more than yourself.

make a dinosaur noise.

brush your teeth often.

take pictures, make memories, tell corny jokes.

set trends.

make sure to eat good food, life’s too short for meals you don’t enjoy.

life life fully.

be original.

dont follow others, follow Jesus.

Paid For

I hear the Savior say

Thy strength indeed is small

Child of weakness watch and pray

Find in me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Lord now indeed I find

Thy power and thine alone

Can change the lepers spots

And melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

It's washed away! All my sin! And all my shame!

And when before the throne

I stand in him complete

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!

Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

provision

the Lord provides. He gives hope.

sometimes it just takes us being broken to see it.

He uses us when we're at our weakest. He takes our wretched, messy states and shines in spite of them. He shows His mercy and love even when it's not deserved. He provides for our needs that are unspoken. My God saves, my God loves, my God helps and gives heart. He inspires a faith so strong in His followers that i see it and have no choice but to believe. i want that type of trust, and im learning to have it, to lean on the Everlasting Rock.

He gives friends when we're low. He gives opportunities that can change a life. He lets us hurt so we can feel the immensity of His love. He lets us go through trials so we can see true joy. He lets us worry so when He provides our faith will be stronger.

i thank my Lord daily for the people He has placed in my life. there are people who have so blessed me that i will never forget them. Ashleigh and Claren, Margaret and Meredith, Amanda and Stephanie, David and Austin. they will never know how much they mean to me. how inspiring they are. how loved they are. i am so grateful and forever impacted by the faith they show and the love they give freely. my Heavenly Daddy knows what they need, and i believe His glory will come through these circumstances. He provides, He cares, He never stops holding our hands, He is ever faithful.

Praise to our Lord, who knows exactly what we need.

true beauty

want to know something beautiful?

no matter how i look

no matter how many people on this earth judge me

no matter how far i fall

no matter how much i mess up

no matter how much i lose sight of what's important

no matter how broken i am

My God still loves me.

He still heals me.

He still wraps me in His arms and says, "Yes, you're a wretched sinner. Yes, you've chosen your own way instead of Mine. But I love you. So I'm going to save you anyways. You're My beloved."

and that my friends, is something glorious.

a hope unswerving

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:23-25

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Fill us up, and send us out. Fill us up and send us out, Lord.

Tim Hughes: God of Justice

"Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

Jeremiah 1:6-10

Hebrews was written for the hopeful, for those looking upward and onward. For those weary of the world and wanting encouragement and uplifting. For those wanting to persevere instead of just enduring. To me, endurance is just getting through an experience. Endurance is the power to withstand hardship or stress. Perseverance is persistent determination. Perseverance is getting through the struggle without ever backing down. It's meeting that challenge with a head held high. It's running with faith.

I daily miss my Mfuge family from the past two years. They have become my closest and best quality friends. I miss the depth of conversation and the light their presence is in my world. But i know that they are chasing our God alongside me, and i know i am not alone. they have been such an inspiration and an encouragement in my life. they give me hope as we persevere together.

So let us band together as fellow believers, united around a merciful God that saves, that brings joy, that forgives. My prayer as this year begins is that we would not be shackled down by the world, but we would run with faith alongside each other. That we would look to the brighter day we have coming and do everything we can to get the lost there with us. To be lights in this dark and broken world, to witness to the lonely and hurting, to love without fear or inhibitions. Let's spur each other on to doing good, so that our witness will be undeniable. So that others will have no choice but to acknowledge how great our Heavenly Father is.

My hope is in my Savior that loves me with an unstoppable love, even though i don't deserve even the slightest bit of it. My faith is in the fact that He has a plan for my life: even if i cannot see or understand that plan, my God is the God who provides. He will see me through. I trust that He will lead me to His will if i earnestly seek it. I will not fear because of my youth, I will not hold back because of my smallness. He is a majestic and powerful God who can move mountains, cause the blind to see, and lift nations up. He can work in me and even in spite of my failures and shortcomings i believe He can work through me. So i will follow His word for He will rescue me. I will not be afraid because my God is a miraculous God. I pray He sends me out, and that i answer that call.