Date:
October 10, 2022How to Have a Miserable Year
If you want to have a great year, focus on these five things: contentment, trust in God, self-acceptance, forgiveness, and setting realistic goals.
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Jesus…What a Gift!
When a baby comes into our lives as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, or sisters, we rejoice in the magnificence of God’s gift of life. But how much more did the family rejoice in wonderment when the child was Emmanuel, God with us? When God took on human flesh at the birth of Jesus, He brought a wonder to the world that had yet to be seen.
Unwrapping the Gift
When was the last time you gave a gift to a loved one expecting a payment in return? Probably never because if you receive payment for a gift, it ceases to be a gift! Likewise, God’s gift of salvation has been freely given. We can’t earn it and He doesn’t expect payment for it. God wrapped His indescribable gift in eternity, equality, deity, and humility. Open it today!
Indescribable Gift
Boredom is the real danger we face when we approach the Christmas story. It’s so familiar, our minds just hit the highlights, because we think we’ve already plumbed the depths of every detail. But if we could approach the nativity as if we’ve never read it before, we’d discover something new and exciting—we’d discover the birth of Jesus is a gift too wonderful for words.
Transforming Tragedy into Triumph
Tragic situations are transformed when God steps in. And He takes the most (seemingly) insignificant things to transform. Underdogs become overcomers, weaknesses turn into strengths, and obstacles are nothing but opportunities that launch significant events.
A Plea for Morality
Sexual promiscuity is neither new nor novel. It is as old as humanity, always promising more than it can deliver. More palatable words have replaced the obsolete and ugly ones. Inviting terms cause the ugliness of illicit sex to be veiled in mystery, fascination, and excitement.
Hiding Inadequacy
God does His best work in you after you’ve exhausted your own strength. He doesn’t use “super-strong” people. He uses the inadequate and ill equipped, “...for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Strength in Weakness
Strength in weakness—sounds like an oxymoron. However, when you are weak it is possible to be strong, just as Paul says in 2 Corinthians.
What If You Struggle with a Permanent Disability?
Paul called his disability “a thorn in my flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). The downside of this “thorn” was the awful torment it brought. The benefit was that it kept Paul from being self-sufficient. The pain he endured forced him away from self-serving pride and toward an all-important discovery: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).
When Thorns Rip Our Pride
From 2 Corinthians 12:2–10, Pastor Chuck Swindoll extracts Paul’s lessons and concludes that God’s grace is not only sufficient, but His power works best in weakness!
