Steps of Faith~ Epiphany 1st Sunday in January

Is. 60:1-6

Ps. 72:1-7, 10-14

Eph. 3:1-12

Mat. 2:1-12

Is. 60:1-6:Prophecy that Kings come to see Jesus radiance: Camels will bring gifts of gold and frankincense.

Ps. 72:1-7, 10-14: A prophecy of Jesus and that the kings would bring gifts to Jesus.

Eph. 3:1-12: Paul brought to light the mystery of God in Christ Jesus.

Mat. 2:1-12: Wise men  came from the East to bring gifts of gold and frankincense following the light of a star to look upon Jesus who is the light of the world. 

  The Old Testament prophesied that kings on camels would bring gift of gold and frankincense to Jesus, and see his light. In the New Testament, we see the fulfillment of those prophecies. Paul said that he was to bring to light the mystery of Christ Jesus to those who had not hear yet. We should follow his lead and bring the Good News that Jesus is the light of the world. 

Challenge of the week:

This week are you going to be God's light by bringing the Good News to your corner of the world? How do you plan on doing that?

Accomplishment  of the week:

What did you do this week to bring God's Good News to the world?

Steps of faith~New Years Day

Ecc. 3:1-13

Ps. 8

Rev. 21:1-6a

Mat. 25:31-46

Ecc. 3:1-13: There is a time to do everything. Be glad in doing well & enjoy the fruits of ones labors. Also enjoy God's works.

Ps. 8: God has placed man to take care of his creation.

Rev. 21:1-6a: A new heaven and earth. God makes all things new.

Mat. 25:31-46: Judgement of our works on earth." When you did it to the least of these you did it to me.

These verses are good ones to think on as we enter the new year. In them, we are told that God made the earth and then he made mankind to take care of it.
God wants us to enjoy the fruits of our labors(Ecc. 3:1-13; Ps. 8). 

But remember that God created the earth with seasons(Ecc. 3:1-13).He wants to know that there are seasons in our lives. Think about it, there is being a baby, a child, youth, young adult, middle age and senior years. These are seasons of our lives. With each season are different responsibilities and challenges. Even in ministry there can be seasons. The ministry you did yesterday was getting you ready for the ministry you are to do tomorrow. And the ministry you are doing today will help you get ready to do a ministry that God may call you into in the future. So do not be afraid to change your ministry when God says, " I am doing a new thing"(Rev. 21:5).

 Speaking of ministry, God also expects us to minister to others. He even said that when we do something to others, we are doing it to him also. We will be judged for what we did and did not do while we were here on earth, when we leave it(Mat. 25:31-46).I believe that what we are faithful with on this earth, we will be rewarded in the new heaven and earth to do (Rev. 21:1-6a). 

Keep all this in mind as you make your goals, and plans for your new year!

Steps of Faith~ Christmas Day

Is. 52:7-10
Ps. 98
Heb. 1:1-4 (5-12)
John 1:1-14

Is. 52:7-10: Messengers will bring good news that God saves

Ps. 98: Let the earth and it's people sing praises for God saves

Heb. 1:1-4 (5-12): Jesus made everything and is above all because he died and rose to save mankind.

John 1:1-14: Jesus made everything and came to make us the children of God if we believe in Him.

Like it or not, Jesus is the creator of all we see in nature, and is the one who came to save it all from the pains of sin. Even the Bible says that all creation groans for the salvation of man (Rom. 8:22). Christmas was the beginning of His plan to come to earth and save mankind and in turn, all of creation from the pains of sin. But the people of the world do not know of this great gift of Jesus and his salvation. God needs us to be his messengers to those who do not know. We should be those messengers.

Challenge of the day:
Who will you share this great news of God's great gift of Jesus, and His great salvation with? Sart by including this message into your Christmas day celebration.

Today's accomplishment:
How did you include the message of God's great gift into your day?

Steps of Faith~ Christmas Eve

Is. 62:6-12
Ps. 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2 (1-7) 8-20

Is. 62:6-12: These verses speaks of the prophecy of God restoring glory to the Jews in the Holy Land and the nations seeing and praising God.

Ps. 97: All nations will see God pour blessings on His people and land and praise God.

Titus 3:4-7: We can be saved because of what Jesus did on the cross.

Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20: Jesus the son of David was born in the city of David (Bethlehem); God's angels delivers the message of Jesus' birth to the shepherds. I find this interesting for in the message it speaks of peace on earth because of Jesus who is the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:5. It is believed that the shepherds that were told of Jesus' birth were the shepherds who tented the sheep that were sold in the temple for sacrifices. If this is so, God told them about "the lamb who would take away the sins of the earth" (John 1:29).

All the blessings that come to God's people all over the world is because of God's son, Jesus. He is the first and greatest Christmas gift.Why? Because he was born to die for our sins, so that we can know peace for he is the Prince of Peace, and without him, we can know no peace.

Challenge of the day:
Today, let us ponder on the great gift God gave us when he gave us Jesus. Let us think about the fact that we can have peace, because of what Jesus did for us. Then let us thank God for this great gift.

Today's accomplishment:
Write your thoughts on Jesus as your gift and a prayer thanking God for this great gift.

Steps of Faith- Advent week 3

Zep. 3:14-20
Is. 12:2-6
Phil. 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18

Zep. 3:14-20 tells the daughters of Zion & Israel to rejoice for the Lord your God is in your mist. He will take away your reproach.

Is. 12:2-6 also tells us that his people will praise the Lord for he has become by salvation, so we can now draw from the wells of salvation.

 Paul tells all people to  rejoice in the Lord for the Lord is at hand.  He goes on to tell us that when we have things that concern us to take it to the Lord in prayer. Lastly, he tells us that if we do that, we will have the peace of God ( Phil. 4:4-7 ).

 In Luke 3:7-18 John the Baptist was baptising people for repentance. When the people asked him what they should do, he told them to share what they had with those that does not have. When the Publicans asked him, he told them to do not take more than your wages. Lastly when the soldiers asked his the same question, he told them not to be violent towards anyone and to be happy with their wages. Then when the people thought that John was the Christ, he told them that he was not the Christ, and in fact =, he was not worthy to tie the sandal of the Christ.Lastly, he showed them the difference between him and the Christ, by telling them that he only baptised with water, but that the Christ will baptise with the Holy Spirit & fire.

You see, the prophets Zephaniah & Isaiah both prophesied of Jesus coming. John the Baptist came right a head of Jesus to announce his coming. All of this was to prepare the hearts of God's people for Jesus coming. Where Paul came to people telling them that Jesus the Christ has already come & brought salvation to them if they would but reach out and accept the gift of salvation. We need to prepare our hearts for what Jesus has in store for us this Christmas season.

Steps of Faith- Advent week 4

Mic. 5:2-5a
Luke 1:47 or
Ps. 80:1-7
Heb. 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

Mic. 5:2-5a, prophecies of a ruler that will come out of Bethlehem. This is an interesting statement since all the kings were to come through Judah's tribe. But God changed that when he choose David to be the king over his people. You see, David was from the tribe of Benjamin, who was the youngest son of Jacob. Also David was the youngest boy in the family. This goes totally goes against their culture, as the oldest son of Jacob in a family should get such an honor. But God changes the culture and gave this honor to David's offspring, the tribe of David. And Jerusalem was the city where the king lived. this is why they did not see Jesus as the Messiah. They were waiting for a ruler from the city of Jerusalem, not Bethlehem.

Ps. 80:1-7, was written to be sung by the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. In it, we see the people crying out to God to not be angry with them any longer, but to come and save them from their enemy. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph's sons that he had while he in Egypt, so they were from the tribe of Joseph. Joseph and Benjamin were both sons of Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel. History shows that they went through many trials at the hands of their enemies. So it would make since that they sang these words.

In Luke 1:39-55, we see Elizabeth and Mary praising God about Jesus being the fulfillment of promise that God had made to Abraham and his offspring, of how he would sent someone to show mercy towards them. Some believe that they sung these words.

Because of the Jewish peoples disobedience over the generations, God allowed their country to be overtaken by enemy countries. But behind the scene God was always working on a way to save his people from their enemy. What they did not realize was that the enemy God was talking about was not the countries, but Satan. You see, Satan is the enemy of our souls. In god's mercy, he sent Jesus down on earth Christmas day to become the Spiritual Ruler that would defeat Satan, save us from his kingdom of darkness, and rule over us with love. All we have to do is reject the kingdom of darkness, and accept Jesus as our Savor, and make him Lord, and King of our lives.

Challenge of the week:
This week, take the time to ponder on the great love God showed when he sent his beloved son to earth for you. (write these thoughts down). How will these truths change how you will celebrate Christmas? (write down).

This week's accomplishment:
How did the above truths change you and how you will be celebrating Christmas differently?

Steps of Faith-Advent week 2

Mal. 3:1-4
Luke 1:6-8-79
Phil.1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6

In Malachi 3:1-4. we read the prophecy about John the Baptist being the messenger who would go before Jesus the Messiah who will bring salvation to all mankind.

In Luke 1:68-79, John the Baptist's Father Zacharias prophecies that John is that messenger that will prepare the way of salvation when he is born.

In Luke 3:1-6, John starts to fulfill these prophecies and the one in Isaiah 40:3-20 when he starts to preach about turning away from the remission of sin, preparing the people for the coming of Jesus' ministry. John later points Jesus out to the people as the lamb that will take away the sins of the world.

Why was John the Baptist's ministry important to the Jewish people? In their culture, someone always ran ahead of the king announcing that the King was coming into a city or village. This was so the people of that city or village could gather and prepare for the King's arrival. In the same way, God sent John the Baptist ahead of Jesus to prepare the people's hearts for Jesus who is the King of kings, and Lord of lords.

But John the Baptist was not the first one who had ran ahead to announce Jesus' coming. In these verses we see that prophets had been running ahead of John the Baptist for many generations. Why? I believe that it is because wanted to make sure that His people was indeed ready for Jesus' coming. In fact, the whole Old Testament was doing that. John was just the last of the prophets to do so just before Jesus started his ministry.

So you see, that many prophets went ahead of Jesus before he started his ministry here on earth that ended with him bringing salvation for all who receive. But who is to go and prepare the hearts of people to receive Jesus now? We see the answer in Philippians 1:3-11. In these verses, we see that Paul was rejoicing in the fact that the Philippians were spreading the Good News of Jesus' salvation. We too as Christians should be telling others of what God has done in our lives and give them a chance to have salvation come to them. We may not see the harvest of what we tell them, but remember sometimes we may just be the one who is running ahead preparing hearts for Jesus'
salvation.

Challenge of the Week:
This week, seek to tell someone about Jesus and his great love, forgiveness, and salvation. Write whom you might share this good news with. (write here).

This week's accomplishment:
Who did you tell? (write here)