God's love endures forever

by Tom Holladay

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.To him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-4 (NIV)

At the end of a Passover meal, they sang a hymn. They sang the same hymn at the end of every Passover meal and they've done it for thousands of years. It is Psalm 136.

The disciples sang this with Jesus. One of the Gospels says they sang a hymn and they went out. We know what hymn they sang because this the one you sing at the end of a Passover meal.
They sang, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of Lord's, his love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders, his love endures forever.”

As we celebrate the fact the Jesus sets us free, let's, say this as a prayer to him:

You left your throne in heaven,

Your love endures forever.

You lived a perfect sinless life,

our love endures forever.

You endured the humiliation of a trial,

Your love endures forever.

You went to a cross and willingly died,

Your love endures forever.

You were in the grave for three days,

Your love endures forever.

And on the third day you rose again,

Your love endures forever.

The celebration in heaven is going to be an amazing thing and Jesus invites you to be a part of it. How does that happen? You accept the gift that he's given you, the gift of forgiveness and life.

Jesus Teaches Unforced Rhythms of Grace by Jon Walker

“Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:29-30 (MSG)

"Where we have been loyal to many things, we become loyal to one: Jesus Christ, our Lord."
Jesus calls us to a level of intimacy that can only be sustained by his constant presence in our lives. As Pastor Rick has been teaching us, we can’t see Christianity is an add-on philosophy to a life we’ve mapped out for ourselves.

Instead, we must see our relationship with Jesus like the man who finds hidden treasure in a field. He reprioritizes his whole life because nothing is as important as buying that field.

We must become like the shopkeeper who finds a rare pearl and realizes everything else he has is unimportant compared to the pearl -- and so he never looks back to the lesser things that once demanded his attention (Matthew 13:44-50). Where we have been loyal to many things, we become loyal to one thing: the person, Jesus Christ.

As Pastor Geoff taught us, when we begin to see things through the eyes of Jesus, our lives are radically changed. Suddenly, we see a cranky spouse as an eternal being we’re called to love. We’ll see an annoying neighbor as someone who matters to Jesus. And that co-worker who seems to have a unique ability to push every one of your buttons, Jesus loves him/her just as much as he loves you.

Jesus uses them to call you into a deeper relationship with him. “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” This is how we learn to be like Christ: “Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

You Need God's Power to Change by Rick Warren

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? Romans 7:24 (MSG)

"The very fact that God sent a Savior means you need one."

Have you figured out yet that a lot of times you are your own worst enemy? It's your own reactions, your own fears, your own inadequacies that cause you to act in foolish ways. I know that's true for me.

I need to be saved from myself because there are things I don't like about me - things I wish I had done differently, things I'd like to change. But I can't change them, not on my own power. I need an outside power source.

You may be saying, "I can change." I hate to say this, but you can't. Every year about this time, we make a list of New Year's resolutions. But, by the end of January, that list will be in the dumpster. Why? Because you can't change on your own; you need God's power. You need a Savior, someone who can make the changes you can't make yourself.

Let me make an important point here: God never wastes energy. He doesn't waste effort on things that are unnecessary. In other words, if you didn't need a Savior, he wouldn't have sent one. The very fact that God sent a Savior means you need one.

The truth is, if you are honest about it, sometimes you feel like your life is out of control. That's a pretty common feeling. Welcome to the human race!

The apostle Paul felt that way 2,000 years ago. Paul says this in the Bible: "I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does" (Romans 7:24-25 MSG).That's the answer!

You may be looking for salvation in the wrong places, that's why you're frustrated. You're looking for that one thing that's going to give you fulfillment and meaning and peace in life.
Some of us think that if we could just get married, or if we could just get a certain job, or a promotion, or attain a certain level of wealth, or have a baby - or if our babies would grow up and graduate! - things would be great.

You're looking in the wrong places. The answer is not in a place. It's not in a program or a pill. The answer is a person: Jesus Christ. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life is never going to make sense.

Getting Past Our Human Nature
by Jon Walker

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Mark 8:33
When Jesus calls you, he expects you to begin thinking like him. This isn’t as impossible as it sounds because the Apostle Paul says you have been given the mind of Christ: “‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV)

The issue is in accessing the mind of Christ as you mediate upon God’s Word and listen to the Holy Spirit, who is your guide into all truth (John 16:13). If you imagine discipleship as a physical journey, then you can easily see that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to understand his way of thinking.

As you walk with him day in and day out, you will become intimate with his likes and dislikes; you will see what he sees and hear what he hears. You will know what he cares about and you will know what he considers insignificant, petty, or distracting. You will witness how he responds to problems, expectations, and laughter, and you will learn what he thinks about your future.
All of this will teach you to think from God’s perspective, to engage the mind of Christ available to you through the Holy Sprit.

The Apostle Peter shows how this transformation takes place. As he follows Jesus, he begins to submit his mind to the Father and that changes his perspective. He begins to see things as they appear inside the kingdom of heaven.

In other words, Peter begins to clearly see reality and he is able to see the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus says, “For this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)

Christmas: God Is for You by Rick Warren

But the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Luke 2:10 (NLT)

"And if God is for us, who can be against us?"

Knowing God is for you will change your whole perspective on life. You'll stop thinking of God as someone looking down from heaven, ready to yell, "Gotcha!" anytime you mess up.
Instead, you'll realize God loves you; God is with you; and God is for you! God is for your success in life; he created you for a purpose and he wants you to succeed. It is God, your Creator, who will measure your success in life, and no one else.

This is extremely good news!

It means you don't need to be afraid of God because God is for you. Yet, some people are so afraid of God they get nervous just talking about him. Do you know why? They feel guilty, and then they start thinking, "If I get close to God, he's going to lecture me. He's going to remind me of all the things I've done wrong, and then I'll feel even worse!"

Nothing could be further from the truth of God. Jesus said, "I did not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it." In effect, Jesus is saying, "I didn't come to scold you, I came to save you."

And if God is for us, who can be against us?

Jesus came to save us, not to scare us. That's why when the angel was telling the shepherds about the birth of Jesus, the first thing he says is: "Don't be afraid!"

In fact, when God sends a message to people in the Bible, it's not unusual for the first words to be: "Don't be afraid." There are 365 messages from God in the Bible that begin with a phrase like, "Fear not!" In other words, every single day of the year you can read a message from God that says, in effect, "You don't need to be afraid. I am for you; I am with you; I love you."

We celebrate Christmas because of this good news from God!