Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

⁵ But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. ~ Micah 5:2

The Scripture says to the Little town of Bethlehem, you who are too little to be numbered among the clans of Judah… God does not choose the greatest or the largest. Neither does He choose the richest or the swift. It doesn’t depend on who you are, and neither is your past held against you.

Bethlehem was the smallest because the Benjamites had done an outrageous thing in Israel in Judges chapter 19. When the men of Gibeon wanted to rape the man from the hill country of Ephraim, he sent his concubine out to them, and they rapped her all night long.

In the morning, the man found her dead, her hand still clutching the threshold. A civil war broke out, and the men of the tribe of Benjamin were almost wiped out. Yet, God did not hold their past against them. But because of His servant David, the littlest town in all of Judea was chosen.

If God chose Bethlehem, because of His servant King David, in spite of their ancestors, how much more will He choose us in spite of our failures because of His Son Jesus Christ. He chooses those who are willing. All we have to do is come. For many are called, but few are chosen because few come in obedience.

Come in obedience. Come in faith, and the LORD Jesus will receive you this Christmas.

Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing us and loving us even though we were unlovable. Help us to live for You in obedience so that we might be pleasing to You. In Jesus Name, amen.

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¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:10-12

God gave us the most precious gift of all that very first Christmas. He gave us Jesus Christ. In Him, there is salvation and everlasting life. There is freedom and rest. There is hope and joy. And the free gift that is Jesus is free for anyone who wants Him. And if we want Him and accept Him, He will not be taken away from us.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I did not say we couldn’t give it up. I said it will not be taken from us.

They might ban Bibles in schools. They may outlaw prayer in government buildings. They may try to lockdown churches. They may try to prohibit praise and worship in our services, but they cannot take the free gift of salvation from us. No man can pluck us out of His hand.

This is a gift like none other. Don’t keep it to yourselves. Don’t keep the name of Jesus quiet and hidden from others. This is the time of hope and rejoicing, for Christ has come down to us and has not left us as orphans. This is the time we remember His birth, His first sacrifice. He left all He had, His throne, crown, and Godliness. He set everything aside for us. Don’t keep that to yourself. Tell everyone who will listen to the good news of Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go Tell It On The Mountain.

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⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon His shoulder: And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. ~ Isaiah 9:6–7

Therefore, Christmas is all about Giving, for a child was born, but a Son was given. God gave us an eternal Christmas present that very first Christmas. This is indeed the gift that keeps on giving because no matter when you are born, no matter where you are born, you still have the free opportunity to accept that eternal Christmas present. Christ was given, not just to the Jews, but to all of mankind. To everyone that will accept Him.

Why? Because we are living in a time that God has poured out His Spirit on all flesh. Not some. Not most. But all. Therefore, anyone who calls on the name of the LORD. No matter their bloodline. No matter their sin. No matter their past. ANYONE who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept The First Christmas Gift.

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³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ~ Romans 8:37

We have been set free from the yoke of slavery of sin and have been granted the status of sons and daughters of God Almighty. So, we no longer have to give in to sin; but instead, we can overcome sin through Christ Jesus, for we overcome through the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony according to Revelation 12:10-11. We are not overcome, but we overcome through Christ Jesus, for we are more than conquerors. We are sons and daughters of God Most High.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be More Than Conquerors.

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¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:1-2

You were once a part of the world. You were once filled with sin. You were once a drunk. You were once an adulterer. You were once a liar. You were once a thief. You were once a homosexual. You were once a sinner. But that’s not who you are anymore.

The world will try to tell you that your past is your identity. Your own mind will try to tell you that your past is your identity, but it’s not once you accept Jesus. Once you accept that free gift of salvation, then you will see your true identity. The identity God intended you to have. I’m not saying that from that moment on, you will never be tempted again by these sins, and you will be perfectly happy. I’m not saying that.

I’m saying that it’s gonna take some work. Why? Because Paul tells us, we have to renew our minds. We have to change the way we think. There is no sin known to man that does not start with an idea or a thought. There’s a choice in everything, whether we see it or not. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes that we may see our escape route.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Your Escape Route.

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⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ~ Matthew 27:50-51

The New Covenant is based on better promises through God –Jesus Christ– Himself. Since the Old Covenant brought death, the new one brought life. God said He would write His new law not on tablets of stone like the Old Covenant but rather on hearts and minds. Therefore, Jesus had to die physically, thus breaking through the veil, which is His body, to let us into the very presence of God. Now we can gaze upon His beauty with unveiled faces to behold the glory of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Beyond the Veil.

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⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. ⁹ He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. ¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. ¹³ As a father shows compassion to His children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. ~ Psalms 103:8-13

A lot of us carry around the shame of our past, but we don’t have to do that. We don’t have to allow the past to keep us from our future. David said in the Psalms how amazing the love of God was; keep in mind this is pre-grace, so imagine how much more this is true today, during the time of grace. This was written during the time of The Law, but we are now under grace. Under faith. The Law of Liberty. So how much more true is this in today’s world?

Never let the world define your identity because they only want to focus on your past and your current struggles. But our identity isn’t found in those things. Our identity is found in our God. Why? Because our identity is Child of God. Not our sin that we struggled with. Not the sin that we struggle with now. But instead, we are Children of God Most High. We are confident Sons and Daughters of God Almighty.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Your True Identity.

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²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ~ Matthew 11:29-30

Jesus encourages us by telling us that we can carry His yoke, but how is that less than the yoke we are given, as His yoke led Him to death? I believe Jesus was telling us that we can carry His yoke because He already paid the price, He already paved the way, we just have to follow.

Jesus already paid our debt. He paved the ground so that we have a road to run on; we just have to follow His path. Does that mean it’ll be easy? No. At times we will feel like giving up, but Jesus says that if we take His yoke and learn from Him, we will become more like Him. We will become humble, gentle, and most of all, we will find rest for our souls.

The yoke we are taking from Jesus is His peace, His love, His mercy, His kindness, His breath, His life. Through Jesus’ yoke, we can overcome. We are persecuted, beaten, crushed, but we are not overcome. We are not destroyed. Our LORD was persecuted and murdered, but He overcame and defeated death by rising three days later, and in doing so, we shall overcome and defeat death again.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take His Yoke.

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²⁸ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. ~ Galatians 4:28-31

We were once slaves to sin. We were once slaves to fear. We were once slaves in general, but now we are sons and daughters of God. We are now fellow heirs with Christ Jesus. We have displaced our mistress as we have become overcomers of the world. No longer having to bow down to sin, we are now free from our past mistress, the World. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Free.

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