We continue to focus our hearts and attention on Christmas and the Christmas season as we again seek to help keep our minds focused on Jesus’ birth this year. We have already considered recently the fact that Christmas is about Jesus. In fact, we highlighted and celebrated that Jesus Cares, Jesus Saves, Jesus Forgives, and Jesus Intercedes! Today, we consider the next thought about Jesus as we continue our countdown to Christmas.
CONSTANT PROVISION – JESUS PROVIDES!
Throughout the Christmas season, the demands upon each of us mount and multiply seemingly. As we used to say in the country, we seem to have many different irons in the fire. Families, friends, work, church, neighborhoods, and even strangers all need something or want something. Our time disappears quickly. Stress builds. Plus, none of us lose the normal pressures in living either. Our goals in the midst of all of this remain to move toward Christlikeness in various ways. Regardless of where we are or what is going on, Peter provides us hope — Jesus provides!
Jesus Provides for Us Every Day — Everything We Need
Peter leaves the goods for us when he describes what Jesus does for each one of us every day, all day, twenty-four/seven, three sixty-five, even during the Christmas season. Jesus provides us everything we need for life and godliness. Check this out…
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
Did you get that? All things that pertain to life and godliness!
Jesus provides you 100% of what you need to live a life that honors Him in the Christmas season and every other time of the year. That’s incredible, isn’t it? Peter highlights this work in two key ways. First, Jesus fulfills all the promises made to us in Himself. The life promised to you in Christ is the life that He provides. In face, Peter calls these precious promises. In that, he nails it. What a joy that Jesus makes promises and then delivers on them to us.
Second, one area of great concern for every person considers his or her inner man. When we are born, our sinful disposition continually strives to please self and not submit to God. We want, and want, and want. However, in Christ, our sinful disposition is replaced by new life in Christ. We partake of Christ’s divine nature which means that the power of our sinful corruption is forever broken. We can now live in a God-honoring way. Your lust no longer controls you; you have escaped its corruption through Jesus Christ.
The Implications of Jesus’ Work
For each one of us, there are two great implications of these provisions in Christ to each of us. First, you possess hope. Hope is yours. No matter of what your life consists, you have hope in the midst of it. You can change. Christ broke your slavery to sin. Instead of succumbing to discouragement, anger, frustration, and worry, you can honor Christ instead. Thankfully, you can practice living in a God-honoring way because Christ makes it possible. You have hope. You have hope!
The second implication impacts your focus. This Christmas season you can truly focus on others and not yourself since the power lust has in your life was broken in Christ. In other words, you can serve and help selflessly, joyfully, and creatively because your heart transitions in Christ to a giving heart instead of a taking heart. Where you are tempted to focus on you and not on and for Christ and others, Christ enables you by His grace to instead focus on what truly honors Him instead of yourself — Jesus provides!
Continue Your Celebration
As the Christmas season reaches its peak with excitement and busyness, Christ provides everything you need for life and godliness in the midst of it. Yet another great reason to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas!
Image Credit Jonathan Borba
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