She Reads Truth: EmmanuelSample

The Grace of God That Brings Salvation Has Appeared to All Men

Reflection

Well, Sisters, we prepared for Him and He came.

Now what?

This passage from Titus is so rich with admonition and truth, I need a list of bite size pieces to process it all. See if any of these jump out at you in light of the scripture we’ve read over the last 28 days.

1. This is salvation. This is it. God’s appearing to us in Christ is the main event, the whole shebang. 2. This is for all people. Everyone. Period. 3. Freedom, not mandates. Because of Jesus, we can “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” We can. We get to. 4. He’ll be back. This is not the last we’ll see Christ’s glory. He’s coming again. He is our present and future hope. 5. We’ve been redeemed from lawlessness. We are His possession. We are secure. 6. This message matters. We will not bury this in the debris of our lives, we will not let it get looked over. This is everything. This is the thing. 7. We must not forget to truly live. We don’t have to be foolish anymore. We don’t have to be slaves to our whims, to waste our time hating or being hated. We are free to be gentle and obedient, to do good work and be kind. 8. It’s all because of Him. All of this is because Jesus came. When He appeared in love and goodness and kindness, He saved us. HE saved us. We did not save us. 9. We did not earn this, and we can’t mess it up. He did this. We can’t undo it. 10. It is a forever thing. This life is eternal. This hope is eternal. This offer expires never.

Advent season has come and gone, but what’s happened here changes everything. The scripture we’ve read together and the truth we’ve learned does not change with the calendar. It will be as real in the summer heat as it is today.

So let’s pray together, Sisters, for ourselves and for each other, that the glory of Christ’s birth will stay with us as we begin the new year with its new blessings and new challenges. As we move through the coming weeks and months, may we point back to the Christ child in the manger, the beautiful, disarming, grace-giving reality of Emmanuel - our God with us.

Prayer

Lord, you are with us. You came as a child, lived as a man, suffered and died a death that should have been ours. You came to us then and you are with us still, you are our Emmanuel. Will you help us to remember? Will you keep us close to you? We long to live the coming year in belief of all we’ve learned, in trust of who you are. You are Messiah, you are God with us, and we praise you alone. Amen.

Advent Action

Make a list of five major goals for the new year. Pray over that list, giving each item to the Lord and asking the Holy Spirit to help you put forth Christ in each thing you hope for, whether a deeply held desire or a practical need.

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