Hope

Does your hope include the people you see as against what you believe, or does it war against them?

Jesus' hope was for His enemies, too.

Right now, the darkness in the world is causing many to search for hope. I want to be ready to give a testimony of the reason for my hope and that reason needs to be the same as Jesus'.

For God so loved the world...

Jesus came meek...in a manger. That is the kind of king He is, too. He didn't alter his personality to come into the manger, and he won't alter it at His second coming. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The manger is His strength. He could have called on 12 legions of angels to prevent the cross, but the cross was His strength. Demonstrating the heart of His father in perfect submission to the values of God was Jesus' mission...revealing the Father. That made the Father His strength. No one will ever defeat the uncreated God.

I have to believe this about God to be His and respond to Him in faith. It takes faith to obey Him and choose His value of love, even when it means my own life. There is no greater love than laying down ones life for His friend. Jesus is our friend if we obey Him and follow Him to love the world.

There are many false teachers teaching hate in this hour. They dehumanize 'liberals' or the 'conservatives' to gain a following, and what they are sowing are seeds of death. They don't try to see the value in the vision people have, and instead preach fear and hatred in the name of Jesus. They do it to beautiful inspiring anthems and at conferences with big names, but it is still fear and hate. Jesus isn't afraid we will miss the 'Kairos' moment to defeat our enemies. He is contending we dont miss this Kairos moment to learn how to love our enemies, pray for those that mistreat us, bless those who spitefully use us...He really is...

Jesus is raising up a remnant loyal to His heart...sifting them out of the weeds of hate. Jesus is growing up a company of companions that love what he loves.

He could have chosen a different plan to ready the earth and pave the way for His return. He could have chosen a political victory, military might, the vanquishing of His enemies before His second coming...but that would defeat the REASON for His coming: to show the world what love really looks like and how unquenchable the fire of love is.

His enemies will be dealt with...in love. If they don't relent into His love they will perish...but, He will never turn from love. Otherwise, He would be defeated in His purpose.

This Christmas, I am praying for the church to return to His love...to repent from hijacking His name for political strength or some other plan that isn't His.

We will be known by our love, because that is what He chooses. Always. If we are His, we will choose it too.

1 John 3:15Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

17But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

18My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

John 17:15“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

16“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

17“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

18“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19“And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 13:35“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”