“To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass” – Acts 26:22

Most American Christians steer clear of the Old Testament because it is difficult to understand. If that describes you, please reconsider as you make your plans for the new year. As Paul explained in his trial, the coming of Jesus, His perfect life, His sacrificial death, His resurrection, and His glorious reign as King of Kings is exactly what Moses and the other Old Testament prophets promised. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. All of the Old Testament points, in one way or another, toward Jesus. Understanding that connection helps you better understand Jesus.

As a Christian, your understanding of your faith and the New Testament deepens as you grow in your understanding of the Old Testament. For those fascinated by Revelation, it’s impossible to understand that book without knowing the Old Testament because it constantly references the Old Testament. Embrace the challenge of reading and studying the Old Testament if you haven’t done so recently. It’s certainly much older, more culturally distant, and harder to read. You won’t understand it perfectly on your first, second, third… read. However, each time you read it, it becomes a bit easier to understand. You see more of the connections within it and more of the ways it points toward and connects with the New Testament.

What are your plans to grow as a disciple of Jesus in the new year? What plan will you follow in reading and studying the Bible for yourself each day? What new area of Kingdom service or evangelism will you try? How will you seek your Lord more deeply and joyously in 2024? #FollowJesus

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35

This is a basic principle of Christianity but it can’t be repeated too often. Jesus came as a gift from God to rescue us from our sins and reconcile us to Himself. As followers of Jesus, we have received so much through Him that we should be deeply moved to give like Him. Sacrificially. Painfully. Joyfully. Freely.

During our earthly life, our greatest blessings come from pouring out our lives, energy, time, talent, and treasure to make disciples and care for those who are in need. This is particularly true during this special season when our celebration of the incarnation of Jesus is constantly bombarded with commercial messages about what we “need” or “deserve”. As nice as receiving presents can be, our restless, dissatisfied hearts will quickly move on from whatever we receive and begin desiring something bigger and better. On the other hand, what we give during this season, particularly to those who can’t afford to give back, is the greater and more lasting blessing.

If you want to truly be blessed this season, focus on giving. Work hard to be able to give more. As we enter the final stretch run to Christmas, how is your mix of giving vs. receiving? Are you embracing the blessing of abundant, overflowing generosity? You will be blessed! #FollowJesus

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” – Romans 16:20

Now that’s a great promise! God is the God of peace. One day soon (as He understands soon), God will *CRUSH* Satan under your feet! The Father of Lies, the sower of discord and conflict, will be crushed by God Almighty. Under your feet. It is inevitable.

How soon is soon? That’s difficult to say. We all have our idea of soon. It probably means sometime between “the end of the day” and “next week”. That isn’t how soon works for God. For God, a thousand years is like a day and a day is like a thousand years. He is eternal and we can’t grasp what that’s like. God views and experiences time radically different from the way we do. What is soon to Him feels far too long to us. But it isn’t. Not from the perspective of eternity.

Here’s the deal…. don’t worry about the timing. Trust the promise. Peace is coming. Real, lasting peace that’s rooted in the utter defeat and humiliation of the devil and his lies, divisions, and corruption. When the Bible promises Jesus is the Prince of Peace, that’s what it means. He’ll usher in unending perfect peace all over creation when He returns to complete His Kingdom. Satan will have nowhere to run or hide. He’ll be crushed beneath your feet.

In the meantime, how should you live? By grace! Let God’s grace dwell richly among you. Contemplate the grace of Jesus Christ. Meditate on the grace that saves you, sustains you, and transforms you. Tell your friends about that grace. Worship Jesus with fellow believers. Delight in the grace you’ve received. Show grace to everyone around you. The grace of Jesus Christ will let you taste that perfect peace before it arrives. Then, one day, without warning, Jesus will return and peace will reign forever! #FollowJesus

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 6:11

Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Then this command is for you! You are alive to God in Christ Jesus. You have been forgiven your sins and raised to new, eternal life in union with Jesus Christ. God’s Holy Spirit lives within you. God is your Father, your friend, your King. Live for Him and with Him.

Then, consider yourself dead to sin. You must think of yourself as being completely, utterly dead when it comes to sin’s temptations. Dead things can’t flirt with sin. So, stop flirting with sin. Dead things can’t respond to sin, so stop responding to sin. Dead things aren’t under sin’s power, so stop shifting blame or making excuses for sin’s influence in your life.

Whatever it is that tempts you – anger, addiction, attention, lust, greed, fear – tell yourself that you are DEAD to its influence. Stop living for… anything other than living and delighting in God. He should be what animates and excites you, not the pursuit of sinful behaviors or things. Consider yourself dead to all that. Act like you’re dead to them. Pretend you’re a corpse the next time they come knocking. After all, those things only lead to death anyway. Embrace the new life you have in Jesus Christ. #FollowJesus

“Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” – Romans 3:25

A propitiation is a sacrifice necessary to satisfy the righteous anger of God. This is what Jesus entered our world to be. As you rush around this Christmas season, contemplate the truth that that baby born in Bethlehem came to be a propitiation by His blood. His innocent, sinless blood. The blood of Jesus Who is fully God and fully human is the blood required to satisfy God’s righteous anger for your sins and the sins of the world.

God was patient and long suffering in the face of mankind’s stubborn rebellion and sin. Why? Because He had a plan. Before time began, God knew that you would sin and that everyone else would too. So, He had a plan. When the time was right and the world was ready, God sent His eternal Son into the world as a human baby who grew up to be an incredible man before becoming a necessary propitiation.

God is righteous. He will not ignore sin forever. He is also merciful, gracious, patient, and kind. For this reason, He gave us a gift. A child. His child. He gave Jesus to teach, to lead, to love, to die, and to rise from death. This gift can only be received by faith in Jesus, the gift, the propitiation, the Savior, the Lord. #FollowJesus