It’s All About Jesus!

Read:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (paraphrased): Jesus is patient and so very kind. He never once displayed jealousy. He did not boast about who He was or the things He had done. He was never proud or rude. He never demanded His own way and was never irritable. To you, He promises never to keep a record of your wrongdoing. He does not rejoice in Your hardship and injustices, but He rejoices when you faithfully walk in truth as an overcomer! He will never ever give up on you – of that, you can be sure! His faith was unwavering, and He freely blesses us with hope! Jesus endures everything WITH you. He will never abandon you, and His love for you is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! We can therefore have faith in Him! We can have hope because of Him! And our greatest gift is to love Him above all else!

Act:

Let us REMEMBER this week that:

Christ is our Light in this world. He tells us in John 8:12 (NIV), “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Looking around us, we see the overwhelming evidence of hurt, disappointment, worry and darkness. Yet, we can know that as children of God, we have the Light of life shining within us. That Light, the Light of Jesus, sets us apart. So, may we go out in faith and show Jesus to a hurting world – bringing hope, life, and blessings to everyone we encounter!

Every treasure and blessing in the Kingdom of God is wrapped in faith. In Hebrews 11:1 we learn, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” It is truly the beauty of the unseen that gives us confident hope. And yet, we so often wonder if our own faith is strong enough. May we REALISE that it is not about the size of our faith, but the size of the One in whom we have faith that truly matters. The God we have faith in has created and owns this entire world, you and I included, and continues to show His great love to us on a daily basis. So, no matter the size of our faith at this time, may we experience Jesus tugging at our hearts to learn more about Him now and in 2023.

Transformation occurs as we experience the presence of God. May our heart’s goal be to REPRESENT the radiance of Jesus as we become more and more like Him. May we REALISE that it was the warmth of Jesus’ love that drew people to Himself. He loved people in their sin, sickness, and anger, and showed them how His touch on their lives could transform them. May we do the same – may we be His light no matter where He places us.

Christmas is a wonderful time for REFLECTION. A time of RECOMMITTING ourselves fully to Christ, our source of Truth. Revelation 3:20 (NKJV), reminds us how our gentleman Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” May we REALISE that as we humbly open the door of our lives to His Lordship, He will show us areas where we need His touch and power to change. May we REMEMBER that this will only happen as we invite Him to take control. May we invite Him into every detail of our lives. In so doing, we will experience that peace that passes all understanding, and be sanctified by the truth of His Word. We will also see His miraculous hand accomplish miracles that we could only dream of.

Our prayer for you this Festive Season echoes the words of Wilda English, a 20th-century writer, in her ‘Prayer for Christmastime’:
May God grant you…
The light of Christmas, which is faith.
The warmth of Christmas, which is love.
The radiance of Christmas, which is purity.
The righteousness of Christmas, which is justice.
The belief of Christmas, which is truth.
And all of Christmas, which is Christ.

Pray:

Father God, Lord we just thank You so much for the gift of Your precious Son, Jesus Christ. We thank You that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Lord, we thank You for the promise of Your Word. We thank You for the promise of hope. We thank You for the promise of victory and we thank You for Your promise of transformation. Thank You for the light that is Jesus and that it lives inside of us. Open doors of opportunity for us to share that light everywhere we go. In Jesus’ name.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great love for us. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to this world to offer us freedom from the guilt we carry, because of our past slavery to sin. Thank You that we can celebrate Christmas with His light, warmth, radiance, righteousness and belief – because of His purity. Lord, help us find ways to serve Jesus during this season and every day of our lives. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit Lord, and equip us to go out into the world and shine the Light of Jesus to others. We ask You to prepare the eyes and ears of lost hearts to see Your light and hear Your truth. We ask this in the purest name of all… the name of Jesus.

Father, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You for Your Son. I thank You that even though we live in a world where we are drowning in injustice and untruth, we can reach out to You and You can keep us afloat, because You are justice and You are truth. Thank You that we can have a personal relationship with You. Thank You that You give us truth and meaning. You lift so many burdens that we suffer as a result of injustice and untruth in our lives. Lord, we give You glory and we honour You. In Jesus’ name.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the light of the world, Jesus Christ. I ask that Your love and light would shine brightly in my heart, in each of our hearts. We thank You that Your love is rich and pure. Jesus, whom You sent to save us, is the embodiment of Your love. No greater love, and no greater gift than Your matchless grace. In Jesus’ precious name.

I pray that each one of us Lord will come to that point and say, ‘Come in Lord Jesus. Come sup with me,’ so that that last part of the poem that we’ve been following this week, that all of Christmas, which is Christ, will be in us! May the Light of the world reflect from our lives. May all of us share that precious gift with those around us. In Jesus’ name we ask this.

Lord Jesus, we come humbly before You, knowing that as we examine our lives, You already know every detail. You are such a gentleman Lord. You will never barge Your way into any circumstance, but oh, how You long to be invited! At this moment Lord, may we recommit our lives to You, saying again with confident joy, ‘Jesus is my Lord and Saviour.’ Beyond that O Lord, we ask You to show us areas of our lives over which we have held personal control. May we willingly invite You to take control of those events, those relationships, those heartaches. You have done so much for each of us, forgiving our sins past, present, and future. We almost hesitate to ask, but we hear Your knock, Your voice calling us to surrender every detail of our lives to You. We ask You Lord to forgive our sin of personal control, and indeed lead us in ways that please You. Thank You Lord, that as we surrender every detail of our lives to You, we will not only have peace that passes all understanding. We will also see Your mighty hand at work in our lives. We love You and thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

(This WRAP is with great appreciation towards Nicole, Lisa, Roald, Mary Lynn, Ginny and Lydia)

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