With all these things in mind, dear brothers
and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to
you both in person and by letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God
our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a
wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and
say. 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17
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| A ray of Hope in a gloomy sky |
Don’t let any unmet expectations of
Christmas…or gloomy weather get you down. The CDC website reports that suicide
rates are highest in the fall and spring, not December. That is good news. The
best good news is God’s love for us…and the sacrifice and Resurrection of Jesus—that
give us hope for our future. That should result in hope for each day. For
today. What is your HOPE? Do you hope that you’ll be invited to a New Year’s
Eve party? Do you hope you’ll find a great new dress at the after Christmas
sale today? Or how about hoping that you’ll lose those ten pounds that crept
back onto your body? Loosing those excess pounds again my hope…but spiritually,
my hope is to let God’s love shine through me. It is such a wonderful feeling
to be used by the Lord. I find it so very humbling, yet exhilarating and
encouraging. God is so good. I WANT Him to be not only part of my life…but all
of my life. I do want to find the lost in the community around me, to assist in
healing those with broken spirits, to feed the hungry—spiritually and
physically, to release those who are prisoners within their emotions or homes
that they would be rebuilt physical or spiritually, to bring peace to those
nearby and to make music within my heart—that it may flow out to others around
me. How about you?
Prayer
~ Dear Lord, let the work of Christmas continue in my heart and life…and in
those of my family and friends that we would reach the lost for You. Open our
eyes and hearts to the opportunities to serve You and release us from the
boundaries that we have set for ourselves so that we can see beyond the box of
our lives—to see the possibilities that You have for us and to allow You to
work in and through us. Give us strength in every good thing that we would say
and do the right thing to comfort and offer hope to others.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
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