Hey everyone, Merry Christmas! May God bless you and may He give you strength and grace so you overcome all challenges and obstacles.
I have a question. What does Christmas mean to you? Is it a holiday, to spend time with family? Are you happy? Are you relaxed?
When you sleep tonight, and your head hits the pillow, will you be at peace? Do you have joy in your heart, the kind that is not shaken, even when the world around you is?
You might think, ''Oh rhetorical questions'', you might be rolling your eyes at the over-the-top language, but I ask all this with reason.
I find that the two most precious ''commodities'' (if you will) in this world, is not diamonds or gold or hi-tech gadgets. It's peace and joy.
The whole world seems to be in pursuit of this. This elusive happiness. There are so many solutions and suggestions to gain that joy and peace.
Some people find it in material things, or so they claim. Money, gifts, admiration from people and love. These things drive them, but over a period of time we all realize that this fails at some point of time. Take away all this, will you be at peace? Tomorrow a disaster occurs and you lose everything, will you still be standing?
Some people say joy and peace, are not to be found on the outside but the inside. ''Self discovery'' and philosophy, meditation and exercise, all aid towards it.
But who are we kidding? The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
If the inside is dying, if the inside is in turmoil and confusion, how can there be peace?
Even if the whole world commends you, if everyone turns a blind eye at your faults, how can you escape that guilt that your conscience throws at you?
When your heart is broken, when it is torn apart by people who you once trusted, when it has felt so much pain, how can it miraculously give you healing?
This is my experience, there is just one who has loved you so much, He bore the price of that sin on that cross, so that YOU can have the peace that passes all understanding.
Only one person , who can give you peace.
When He was born, this is what the angels said.
Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And this was what was said about Him
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And who was this ? He was a man of sorrows, of grief
Isaiah 53:3-5
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [SUP]4 [/SUP]Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
And there is peace and there is joy only in HIM.
I know this is a Bible forum, and there are so many seasoned Christians, this message must be done over so many times, especially during Christmas, but the excitement I gained from learning this was too much.
I HAD to share it with my brothers and sisters.
So many times, even as believers, we can be robbed of our joy and peace. Life gets to us, and the troubles and the hardships can hurt us that we can look away from the Lord.
But he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
I hope you guys share more about joy and peace in the Lord. The thread title says, Man of Sorrows, but really we rejoice!!!
Because this is what the Lord says,
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
He has overcome it all!
And so,
1 Peter 1:18
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
Joy to the World, because our Saviour has overcome!
This world, will one day fade away..
Your life on here will end.
When the new heaven and new earth comes, will you be IN it or OUT of it? Are you at peace, do you have joy, do you have love?
Merry Christmas.
I have a question. What does Christmas mean to you? Is it a holiday, to spend time with family? Are you happy? Are you relaxed?
When you sleep tonight, and your head hits the pillow, will you be at peace? Do you have joy in your heart, the kind that is not shaken, even when the world around you is?
You might think, ''Oh rhetorical questions'', you might be rolling your eyes at the over-the-top language, but I ask all this with reason.
I find that the two most precious ''commodities'' (if you will) in this world, is not diamonds or gold or hi-tech gadgets. It's peace and joy.
The whole world seems to be in pursuit of this. This elusive happiness. There are so many solutions and suggestions to gain that joy and peace.
Some people find it in material things, or so they claim. Money, gifts, admiration from people and love. These things drive them, but over a period of time we all realize that this fails at some point of time. Take away all this, will you be at peace? Tomorrow a disaster occurs and you lose everything, will you still be standing?
Some people say joy and peace, are not to be found on the outside but the inside. ''Self discovery'' and philosophy, meditation and exercise, all aid towards it.
But who are we kidding? The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
If the inside is dying, if the inside is in turmoil and confusion, how can there be peace?
Even if the whole world commends you, if everyone turns a blind eye at your faults, how can you escape that guilt that your conscience throws at you?
When your heart is broken, when it is torn apart by people who you once trusted, when it has felt so much pain, how can it miraculously give you healing?
This is my experience, there is just one who has loved you so much, He bore the price of that sin on that cross, so that YOU can have the peace that passes all understanding.
Only one person , who can give you peace.
When He was born, this is what the angels said.
Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And this was what was said about Him
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And who was this ? He was a man of sorrows, of grief
Isaiah 53:3-5
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [SUP]4 [/SUP]Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
And there is peace and there is joy only in HIM.
I know this is a Bible forum, and there are so many seasoned Christians, this message must be done over so many times, especially during Christmas, but the excitement I gained from learning this was too much.
I HAD to share it with my brothers and sisters.
So many times, even as believers, we can be robbed of our joy and peace. Life gets to us, and the troubles and the hardships can hurt us that we can look away from the Lord.
But he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
I hope you guys share more about joy and peace in the Lord. The thread title says, Man of Sorrows, but really we rejoice!!!
Because this is what the Lord says,
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
He has overcome it all!
And so,
1 Peter 1:18
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
Joy to the World, because our Saviour has overcome!
This world, will one day fade away..
Your life on here will end.
When the new heaven and new earth comes, will you be IN it or OUT of it? Are you at peace, do you have joy, do you have love?
Merry Christmas.
It would be nice if you shared that ^_^
