There are few times of year as attention-getting a milestone as the start of a new year. Yes, special events in our lives–happy or sad–do get our attention. But a new year is pivotal. We stop to pause and consider what has been and what shall be. Whatever the year has held, Jesus has held the year.
He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. This is the Scripture from Colossians that anchors Three Kings Ministries. Indeed Jesus is before all and in Himself He binds all. The glad. The sad. The misunderstood. The unknown. The clear. Your future. Your past. Your today. Jesus is the One–the only One–who can keep all aspects of life centered in Himself. Whatever has been and whatever shall be, letting Jesus be the focal point of one’s life is certain to result in meaning. Even if meaning is not clear at first. May the Lord of all love, instruction, and purpose give warmth to your spirit as you turn your gaze to the new year. Jesus will be there. He would have it no other way.
Lord Jesus, You have held this past year in Your heart–whatever has happened. May each one hold You, Risen Christ, in his or her heart so that faith and love abide in the fullness of fellowship with You–whatever circumstances bring. Blessed Redeemer, Thank You for being our constant presence throughout all the days and years of our lives. In the Name above all names, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Looking ahead can seem impossible when life here and now is not as we had hoped. When loss and sorrowful experiences color the days, the future can seem meaningless and even hopeless. It is not. In Jesus there is always hope. In Jesus there is tomorrow. Jesus is the future. Jesus is the way to the future.
Christmas is all about hope. It is the great hope for all people. At all times. This means in times of grief and when life changes dramatically. To look ahead knowing that Jesus is there is to have hope. May you find the courage and confidence only Jesus the Saviour brings to give you hope this Christmas and all the days of your life. He is with you. Trust Him. He loves you so.
Lord Jesus, You came. We praise You and we exalt Your Name. You came to us. Because You did, we are never ever alone. May Your heart be full of our love for You this Christmas and all the days of our lives. In Thee, Saviour and Lord Jesus, Amen.
One of the marvelous certainties about belief in Jesus is the presence of Him with a believer. Jesus came to the world out of love. Love stays. Love gives. Jesus is the utter Giver. Therefore, He keeps His presence with you, with me, at all times and in all places. Even if that presence is not felt.
Grief tugs at the heart at special times. Christmas is one of the times when grief can be especially acute. Whether a loss is raw or if a loss happened quite some time ago, the season provokes emotions and memories. If reminders are sad or glad, Jesus is with the one who believes in Him to make the experience of remembering tender in Him. Only Jesus can absorb the pain of difficult remembrances and brand it with His touch to soothe. This Advent Season know that the living Jesus lives inside of you to be your balm.
Lord Jesus, this Christmastide we celebrate the arrival of You into the world. Some who are in pain due to grief may not feel celebratory. Yet, You, the conquering Christ, promised to be there with those who grieve. By faith, Lord, we trust You to be our companion when life hurts, and be our hope through all the seasons of our lives. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Throughout the Christmas season, we hear much about giving. Gifts, treats, and cards are exchanged in abundance. For those who experience a loss, giving can be a hollow thought. People who grieve feel depleted; there is nothing to give. Each one of us will experience phases of grief in the course of our lives. At Christmas, and each season, when we feel as though we have nothing left to give, Jesus remains our Giver.
Jesus gives. Jesus blesses. Jesus renews. Feelings have nothing to do with whether or not Jesus is giving. He is. Because He never changes. You do. I do. His commitment to care and support is in place. Nothing can stop it. Not circumstances, not indifference. The breadth of Christ’s love for people cannot be comprehended by the human mind or heart. Faith requires trust. So this Advent Season that is filled with giving, keep your heart set on Jesus–the Giver. Everything you could ever hope for is gained when thoughts, prayers, and attention are devoted to the Lord Jesus. Keep receiving Him by faith.
Lord, You stay. You give. You comfort. You remember. You uphold. You. No one but You. Thank You, Lord for Your sustaining grace, protective love, and eternal promises. In Thee, Amen.
Time
To every thing there is a season, a time to every purpose under the Heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Time. It passes. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes not. But this is so because often our hopes and expectations are entwined in time. When we anticipate something special, time moves much too slowly. But when something is ahead that we would rather not face, the hour comes too swiftly. In truth time moves at its usual pace—whether we are ready for it or not.
For some, this Christmas will be a season long anticipated as loved ones reunite with those home from military service. Or those who rejoice because they are given the gift of a clean bill of health. Or those with new babies who will celebrate their first Christmas. Indeed this will be a time of joy.
Others will meet this season with resistance and tears. Loved ones who gathered together may no longer be alive. There are loved ones who may not be together due to divorce or estrangement. Relocations for jobs, homes made in new cities, military service, and missionary callings will make this Christmas less joyful than some would like. Illness, economic strain, and various challenges life imposes, will make this time of Christmas one that may not want to be faced. Oh, but Jesus. Jesus is the reason for Christmas. Jesus is the reason for hope.
Jesus came to give hope. Not the hope that humans can conjure but hope that is spiritual, lasting, and complete. Without Jesus one truly has no hope. With Jesus, one does have hope, perhaps weak but it is Jesus Himself who keeps hope alive, not you, not me. Jesus.
Whatever view you take of time this Christmas season, take time to be with Jesus. Do not let the activities of the season overtake your time with Him. Jesus is the peace-giver and the hope-giver. Rest your days in Him this Advent and Christmas. Raise your sights afresh on the One who keeps hope raised for a world in deep need of hope. His love never fails. His hope lives. Let His love and hope wrap around you so that time does have worth. So that He can make time count—no matter what.
Lord Jesus, thank You for the precious gift of hope that you give to us. Your arrival in this world signifies a joining with us so that we would never be without You. May hearts be filled with Your hope this season. By faith, may all of life’s circumstances be entrusted to Your care and Your view. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
To be encouraged is to receive encouragement. Encouragement is ever available but it may not be able to get into one’s spirit because of one kind of blockage or another. Grief, emotional turmoil, routine activities, special events, can prevent encouragement from getting inside of a spirit. Furthermore, life’s circumstances not being as one would like them to be can be so negative as to build a wall around the heart such that encouragement is banned from the heart. When encouragement is blocked, hope is blocked.
These weeks leading to Christmas are weeks to be mindful of Jesus, the One who came into the world ever mindful of you and of me. He IS encouragement–personified. To receive Jesus and the life-giving message His presence offers, is to allow Him entry into a heart by seeking His way and not our way. Do you think this is hard to do in the throes of grief? It can be. However, Jesus is with you in the challenges of goodbyes and transitions that are painful and unwanted. He still and forever wants to be beside you and walk with you through this time in your life.
Lord Jesus, You came into this world to be the beacon of hope to a lost and dying world. When people experience personal loss, it may seem as if all has died. You have not. Your life brings life anew. Help each one who grieves, Lord Jesus, to be encouraged by Your presence and to trust Your heart of faithfulness beyond their own. In Thee, Lord Christ, Amen.
Blessings are both seen and unseen. Known and unknown. Loss takes travelers on a journey through grief that is blessed with certain remembrances clear and others that are blurry at best. When grief comes into a life, “blessing” takes on a different meaning entirely. Jesus defines blessings.
If you or someone you know struggles to see the blessings in life due to a significant loss and transition, Jesus is the only One who can make a difference in that struggle and enable one to find meaning in it. Leaving matters to Jesus is a choice. He wants to help. He is the help. He is the One who brings meaning out of uncertainties and makes gratitude possible–still.
Lord Jesus, because of You even in losses that hurt and dismay, there is still reason to give thanks and to remember. Help those who griieve to recognize what Your heart already sees. Thank You, Lord, Jesus, for everything. Amen.
Openings. They come in different forms. When loss enters a life, it may seem as though life has closed rather than opened. Grief does that. It limits one’s sense of new possibilities and opportunities–but only for a time. Grief has a way of sensitizing one to emotions, actions, memories, and choices, that nothing else can. This sensitivity does allow for new openings. Experiencing them takes time.
The Lord is the giver of life. When endings in life come, there is still something new ahead. Grief may blur that truth for a time. However, the Lord walks with those who grieve, and the Lord’s presence accompanies a griever to new life, new openings. When one is ready to walk into areas of new hope, Jesus will be there. Readiness for new openings and beginnings differs but the presence of Jesus remains steady. He will be there.
Lord Jesus, You want life. You want continuance. You understand fully how grief can weigh down a spirit. Yet, You companion with those who grieve and offer quiet hope for the future. Thank You, Lord, for Your steady presence. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Sometimes life brings experiences that we can either run from or grow from. Grief is one of those experiences that we may want to avoid. But if wisdom is given proper place, then grief becomes a catalyst for growth. Losses in life stretch us–emotionally, physically, mentally. Because of them we are given to see who we might become. That may or may not be a welcome sight—at first.
With Jesus, every loss can be turned into something of benefit for spiritual growth. But letting Jesus in to be part of that growth process, and trusting Him to redeem loss, is an act of faith. Grievers often do not think there is much faith to invest but it is not personal faith one offers. In such times of loss it is Jesus’ faith in you, in me, that matters. His faith is needed to trust Him with the future; a future as close as the next hour.
Love of Life, You promised that those who will trust You will never walk without you. Thank you, Lord, for making THE difference in times of loss and transition. Because of You hope is real and the potential for growth is as close as Your breath. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Three Kings Ministries 
You must be logged in to post a comment.