Love Is The Greatest

                                              

 “And now these three remains:

faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

Why is love the greatest of all? Because it has the power to transform lives, heal mental and physical challenges, satisfy the soul, direct our goals, comfort the mourning, beautify the world, soften the hardened heart…. There’s no end to what Love can do because “God is love” (1 John 4:8 KJV). 

And because “God is love,” God’s love is not a one-time gift given a couple millenniums ago. God’s love is ever-present. God’s love was with all the patriarchs and the prophets. It was with the shepherds on the night of Christ Jesus’ birth. And it is present and powerful today.

~ BibleWise.com

“YOU ARE LOVED”❤️

The Joy Of The Lord

 “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10

The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus was born, the angels announced “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). All who find Jesus know, with the shepherds of the nativity, the joy He brings. Even before His birth, Jesus had brought joy, as attested to in Mary’s song (Luke 1:47) and by John’s response to hearing Mary’s voice as he “leaped for joy” in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:44).

Jesus exemplified joy in His ministry. He was no glum ascetic; rather, His enemies accused Him of being too joyful on occasion (Luke 7:34). Jesus described Himself as a bridegroom enjoying a wedding feast (Mark 2:18–20); He “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21); He spoke of “my joy” (John 15:11) and promised to give His disciples a lifetime supply of it (John 16:24). Joy is reflected in many of Jesus’ parables, including the three stories in Luke 15, which mention “rejoicing in the presence of the angels” (Luke 15:10) and end with a joyful shepherd, a joyful woman, and a joyful father.

Nehemiah told the repentant Israelites that the joy of the Lord would be their strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The early church was characterized by gladness and the joy of the Lord (Acts 2:46; 13:52), and “joy in the Holy Spirit” is a distinguishing mark of the kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). Those who are part of the kingdom share in the kingdom’s delight.

~gotquestions.com

Stay In Faith

 “Be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ.”

2 Timothy 2:1

“Christ grows our faith by revealing the truth to our hearts through the power of His Holy Spirit, and by providing concrete evidence of God’s power and goodness. Circumstances may go from bad to worse, we may endure suffering, and there may be times when the trials of life tempt to overtake us. But true faith not only perseveres through testing, but it also gains strength and makes us stronger during the process (James 1:3,4).”

~ christianity.com

God’s Plan For You

 “For I know the plans I have for you, 

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“We’re all encouraged by a leader who stirs us to move ahead, someone who believes we can do the task he has given and will be with us all the way.  God is that kind of leader.  He knows the future, and his plans for us are good and full of hope.  As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill his mission, we can have boundless hope.  This does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering, or hardship, but that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion.”

~ Life Application Study Bible

Peace

 “May we be in this world a ray of that light which shone forth from Bethlehem, bringing joy and peace to the hearts of all men and women.” – Pope Francis

The second candle on the Advent wreath represents Peace. Like the first candle, it is also purple. Often called the “Bethlehem Candle,” the second Advent candle reminds us of Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem before Mary gave birth to Jesus. Building on the meaning of the Prophecy Candle, this second candle recalls that after all of the division, destruction, and dispersion of the kingdom in the Old Testament, there might finally be peace on Earth – Jesus is coming, and so is his Kingdom of Peace. As we read in the quote from Pope Francis, this light of peace shone forth from Bethlehem for all the world. 

~ Hallow.com

Hope

 “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” – C.S. Lewis

It is only fitting that the first candle on the Advent wreath represents Hope – the first Sunday of Advent not only leads us to anticipate the birth of Christ but celebrate the beginning of a new liturgical season as well. The first candle is purple, the primary color of Advent and a color symbolizing royalty. Sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle,” the first candle harkens us back to Isaiah’s foretelling of the birth of Christ and all of the promises God gave us in the Old Testament that would be fulfilled by the birth of Jesus. 

~ Hallow.com