Friday, December 28, 2012 -- Certainty In An Uncertain Future
Friday December 28, 2012
Audio for CERTAINTY IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Many of us face a new year wondering about the unknown. If we're honest, there's a bit of uncertainty and tension that lies beneath the excitement and anticipation that the new year brings. What difference does being in relationship with God bring to this condition?
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:1-5, 10-12 NLT)
The same power that created the universe is available to create a new life from our hopes. Jesus Christ is the light that exposes and drives away the darkness of the human race. Jesus Christ is also the light that brightens the dark corners of our personal world. He comes to live within us and goes before us into the unknown with light that darkness can't cover, with creative power that nothing can withstand, with acceptance and love that is unfailingly faithful, and with practical applications that really help us daily live out what's in God's heart for us. What's better than that?
How do we welcome God's amazing light into our lives? The first thing we do is make a binding decision to live in relationship with God. We confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us from everything not right in us. We give God control of our lives. We surrender our thinking to God’s description of life and we start obeying a new set of life principles, as described in the Bible. We regularly read God’s word and learn what God says works in this new life. When God’s way of living and our usual way of doing things conflict, we change and turn to the new way. Ongoing surrender is vital to a new life. We talk to God and share our lives, our circumstances, our hopes and our dreams with God and trust that God hears, God understands, and God cares. In gratitude for God's faithful love we reach out to care for others, and share the good news of God's love with them.
God has power and wisdom far greater than ours. We are not asked to produce or reason our way to our own solutions. We are gently but clearly informed that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the guiding light to show us how to live. As He directs our path we will begin to know life as it was truly meant to be. By His power He enables us to live that life. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
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