HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

Throughout life, there will be times when our sins and failures lead us to conclude that God is disappointed or angry with us. How can He still love me after what I’ve done? If I’m really forgiven, why do I still feel so guilty? At such tiimes, we need to fix our eyes on the truth of Scripture and ask the questions Paul posed in Romans 8.

If God is for us, who is against us (v. 31)? Our heavenly Father proved His loyalty to us when He delivered His own Son over to death in order to save us. Without Christ’s atoning death on our behalf, we would face eternal separation from God.

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect (v. 33)? No accusation against us can stand, since at the moment of salvation, the Lord justified us. This means we were legally declared righteous, while still in our sinning condition. No one can reverse this transaction and make us guilty again. To doubt our blameless standing in Christ is to declare His atonement insufficient to cover our sin.

Who is the one who condemns (v. 34)? Although Satan rails against us, Jesus’ death and resurrection are proof that we are right with God. Christ took our condemnation and gave us His righteousness in return. Now He sits at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us.

When doubts about the Lord’s love and faithfulness arise, focus on truth. If we judge His loyalty to us by our circumstances or feelings, we will never get an accurate view of God. True security lies not in our good performance, but in our relationship with Christ, and no one can take that from us.

Throughout human history, God has been speaking to mankind in various ways. His prophets were moved by the Spirit to proclaim and write His words, but His ultimate expression came through His Son. Today most believers acknowledge that God speaks primarily through His written Word, yet the voice that dictated the Bible has not ceased. Through His Holy Spirit, the Lord still communicates to every Christian who takes the time to listen with an open and receptive heart.

Stop to consider the wonder of having a God who speaks—not just a distant deity who thunders orders and admonishments from heaven, but one who actually wants to have a conversation with you! Why would the Lord of all creation go to such lengths to communicate personally with each of us? Consider the following reasons:

• God loves you and desires a relationship with you.

• He wants you to know Him personally through intimate communication.

• He longs to encourage you to trust Him. As you experience the fulfillment of His words, your faith grows strong.

• He wants to guide you. The Lord has a good purpose for your life and is willing to direct your decisions and ways so you can experience all that He has planned.

In our busy world, it’s easy to take for granted this invaluable privilege of communication with God. If we are too busy or distracted to hear, His voice will not stop—but we’ll miss out on the riches of an intimate relationship available only to those with receptive hearts and ears.

Hebrews 1:1-2
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”

Israel can be a dusty place, and sandaled feet get filthy walking here and there. In ancient times, a person entering a home removed his sandals and cleaned his feet. Or if the homeowners were wealthy, servants would do the washing. This distasteful but necessary task fell to the worker of lowest position in the household.

Imagine the disciples’ surprise when the Son of God put Himself in the role of a lowly servant and knelt to wash their feet. The need for such a service was great, as they had been traveling for some time. But not one of them offered to do it.

Jesus did more than fill a need; He offered an object lesson. As He explained, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15 nlt). Some churches have incorrectly interpreted this
as a command to make foot washing an ordinance. But it’s possible to clean someone else’s skin without contemplating the significance of Christ’s actions.

In fact, the act itself is not the main point; attitude is what counts. Jesus desires that we be willing to humble ourselves to serve others. He is looking for men and women who will ignore pride, position, and power in order to do whatever must be done, wherever it needs doing, and for whoever requires assistance.

Jesus performed His greatest and most humble acts of service within 24 hours of each other. He washed dirty feet using two hands that would be pierced by nails in less than a day. The message here is that every task God gives us is important to His kingdom.

In the world’s thinking, great men are the ones with authority, prominence, and power. Though Jesus Christ had all that, He gave it up to become a servant (Isa. 42:1).

Jesus gave Himself completely to fulfill the Father’s plan of redemption, even though the beneficiaries—namely, each of us—were undeserving. God is holy and righteous, and He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He must separate Himself from those who are stained by wrongdoing. That includes all of humanity (Rom. 3:23).

Everybody is born captive to the desires of the flesh (Rom. 6:16-18). When someone claims to be living on his “own terms,” he is actually serving whatever his human nature craves. The penalty for that false sense of liberty is death (Rom. 6:23).

Jesus’ ultimate act of service was to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). The word describes the price paid to set a slave free—Christ voluntarily purchased our liberation. There was only one way our holy God could remove our guilt yet remain true to His own law: Someone sinless had to pay our sin debt for us.

Jesus’ sacrifice spared us the penalty we deserve. Instead, we receive the gift of grace and have been declared no longer guilty. Moreover, we are elevated from slaves to sons and daughters of the Almighty!

Jesus served the Father’s purpose faithfully. He gave up His righteousness to carry the weight of all our wickedness—and endured a crushing separation from His Father. To meet our needs, the Savior held nothing
of Himself back, and thereby set a powerful example of servanthood for us follow.

Matthew 20:25-28
“Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

Amid all the preparations, decorations, and celebrations of the Christmas season, we need to set aside some quiet time to reflect upon the divine gifts that forever changed the course of human destiny. When that tiny baby entered our world in Bethlehem, the first of a never-ending stream of blessings was unleashed from heaven.

We generally focus on the Father’s gift: He gave His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). But all three members of the Trinity have a part in this divine display of generosity, which continues into eternity. Jesus came to offer His life as a ransom for many, and after His death and resurrection, He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live inside believers forever (Mark 10:45; John 14:16; 16:7) . The Spirit in turn gives spiritual gifts to all believers and produces His marvelous fruit in their lives (1 Cor. 12:7-11; Gal. 5:22-23).

The divine presents don’t end on earth. They continue in heaven when the Lord judges Christians and grants them rewards for good works that they could never have accomplished apart from His strength (1 Cor. 3:13-14; John 15:5). All the credit and glory belong to Him, and yet He graciously showers praise on His followers
(1 Cor. 4:5).

We serve a caring, generous God. Think about the nonstop outpouring of blessings from His throne, and ask, How will I respond today? He needs nothing from you, but He wants every part of you—not to ruthlessly control but to show you the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness” (Eph. 2:4-7).

We hope you have a wonderful and merry Christmas, and a blessed day.  We hope you celebrate this day with as much excitement as baby John the Baptist when he leaped in his mother’s womb, lol.

Luke 2:4-20
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

Christmas is one of the happiest holidays because during this season, people are more generous than at any other time of the year. The practice of giving is not a recent innovation however — it began on the first Christmas when Jesus was born. Everyone in the story had something to give.

• When Mary submitted to God’s plan, she gave her body to be the first home of the incarnated Savior (Luke 1:30-38).

• She also surrendered her good reputation in order to fulfill the Lord’s calling for her life.

• Joseph offered his love and protection to Mary and the child who was not his own (Matt. 1:18-25).

• An angel gave an announcement of the Messiah’s birth to some lowly shepherds who were watching their flocks at night.

• A heavenly host of angels offered praise and glory to God.

• The shepherds shared the first personal testimony about the Messiah.

• The wise men relinquished the comfort of home to seek the newborn King and give Him gifts worthy of royalty (Matt. 2:1-11).

At first glance, these gifts may seem to pertain only to the first Christmas, but they each have application for us today. Believers are called to give of themselves to the Lord and to one another in similar ways.

Look at this list again. What gifts could you give to Christ today? Maybe you need to submit to His will in a difficult area or endure misunderstanding in order to obey Him. And how about others? Who needs your protection, love, or perhaps the good news of salvation in Christ?

Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to suffer so much when He came to earth as a man? One might expect that the Son of the living God would live a comfortable life and die a peaceful death. After all, wouldn’t His blood have paid for our sins whether it was shed painlessly or torturously?

But Jesus took on human flesh and came to earth not just to die for our transgressions but also–with the exception of sin–to identify with us in every area of our lives. And that includes suffering (Heb. 2:17-18).

How would a Savior who had no experience with pain help us when we hurt? Also, when it’s difficult for us to obey the Lord, we need the help of One who learned obedience from the things He suffered.

Unlike us, Jesus didn’t move from being rebellious to becoming obedient. Rather, He learned by personal experience the pathway we have to walk when God calls us to do something difficult or painful. In His humanity, Christ struggled with the assignment that lay before Him: death on the cross. Even though the Father heard His cries, the plan was not changed, and Jesus walked through all of it in complete submission, just as He had done with every divine “assignment” throughout His earthly life.

The only reason you and I have salvation is because Jesus always did what pleased His Father–had He rebelled in that one area, all hope for lost humanity would be cancelled. If His obedience in suffering resulted in such a great benefit, just imagine what is in store for us when we do what God wants.

Hebrews 4:14-16
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

We do not have a Savior who’s isolated in heaven with no idea what it feels like to have human struggles. No, our Lord left the glories of heaven behind and added humanity to His deity. He temporarily gave up the use of some of His attributes, applying them only as the Father directed Him.

Jesus understands precisely how we feel because He went through the same types of situations we do. Though details of our lives may not match His, the experiences and feelings are alike. Let’s look at several examples of how He identifies with us:

• Misunderstanding: People constantly misunderstood His claims to be the Son of God.

• Rejection: He was unappreciated by the ones He came to love and die for.

• Pressure: Crowds surrounded Him, begging for help and demanding His attention.
• Exhaustion: He experienced all the weakness of humanity.

• Loneliness: At Gethsemane, when He needed human companionship the most, His closest friends fell asleep.

• Temptation: Satan hit Him with every imaginable type of attack and temptation.

• Hatred: Religious leaders despised Him.

• Injustice: Though Jesus lived a sinless life, He died a criminal’s death.

• Pain: He suffered the excruciating pain of scourging and crucifixion.

Whatever you’re going through right now, remember that Jesus knows how you feel and sympathizes with your pain and weakness. He may not remove the anguish or change your situation, but He’ll always give you the grace to resist temptation, endure suffering, and grow in spiritual maturity.

Today, let’s tackle patience: Believers must learn to wait upon Him.

Have you ever wondered why the psalmist coupled the admonition to wait upon God with encouragement to be strong and courageous? The reason is that sometimes delaying is the hardest thing to do.

Modern culture is in such a hurry. Gotta have it now! Gotta do it now! Can’t wait! We’ve been primed to stay in a permanent state of readiness. It takes courage to be still when the world is rushing past. Everything in us hollers, “Go!” while God whispers, “Wait.” But people are quick to act, because they are afraid of missing out on something. Believers who buy into that attitude make a move and then hope God will bless them.

God leaves nothing to chance. He does not place a decision before us with the hope that we’ll make the right choice. That would be irresponsible and out of character. The Father is more than willing to show His children what to do, because He is personally interested in their welfare. But until the Lord makes clear what is the way forward, we’ve got to pause and wait.

Waiting upon God is not passive. It is not lazy. It is not an excuse to be careless. In fact, the opposite is true. Those who pause are seeking His will—which means that they are praying, searching Scripture, perhaps even fasting. And they are still serving the Lord wherever they can.

Psalm 27:14
“Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.”