Move from acknowledging to affirming

This past Sunday we KICKED OFF our new series "Carols?" This entire series we are going to look at 4 specific Christmas Carols and how they apply to our lives!!! This past Sunday we looked at "Oh Holy Night." You can listen to the podcast or download it at http://wyandottefamily.libsyn.com/  

This past Sunday we focused on the phrase from O Holy Night, "The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn." We talked about how we all cling to various things in our lives like stress, worry, fear, anxiety, anger etc.

Hebrews 10:23—Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

We are challenged by the writer of Hebrews to hold tightly (cling) to the hope that we have in God. We have that hope because he can be trusted to keep HIS PROMISE.

We need to acknowledge the situation we are facing or walking through. If we are walking through financial trouble we need to acknowledge it. If we are walking through sickness we need to acknowledge it. If we are walking through anger and relational challenges, we need to acknowledge it. But as a follower of Jesus Christ we have a huge benefit. We don't stop with acknowledging but can move on to affirming. We can affirm the promises of God for the situation we are in.

In order to do this though, we need to meditate on and memorize God's promises. When we are in situations, pain or hardship, everything around us is going to scream there is no hope. However, we do know the sun will rise in the morning. That is when the promises of God brings fresh hope, courage, strength and joy into our lives. Because God can be trusted to keep his promise.

One way you can do this is go to www.biblegateway.com and type in money, fear, joy, peace, strength etc. It will give you every verse in the Bible that uses that word. You can sort through the verses and select 2-4 that you are really going to focus on. Click on the verse and it will give you the opportunity to read that verse in context. When you identify a few verses that God is making promises to us, then write those verses down and move from acknowledging your situation to affirming His promises. You can do it!