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Tag: Christ is born

The Courage Equation [Sermon]

December 26, 2019 MatthewRuttan

What are you facing in the next year? This Christmas Eve message explains ‘the courage equation’ and four ways to draw closer to God in the pursuit of courage.

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In our weakness that strength goes viral⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 22⠀ ⠀ There’s an expression that drives me nuts: ‘God helps those who help themselves.’⠀ ⠀ (No, it’s not from the Bible.)⠀ ⠀ Even though it’s true that God helps those who help themselves, he doesn’t ONLY help those who help themselves. He also helps the down and out and those who are chasing their tails.⠀ ⠀ In Romans 8:26 and 27 Paul writes, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans… the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”⠀ ⠀ God helps us “in our weakness.” Even when we don’t know “what we ought to pray for” the Holy Spirit continues to intercede “for us through wordless groans.” And he does so in a way that honours his own will!⠀ ⠀ Talk about a loving and understanding God! He advocates for you—even when you’re a bumbling mess who is too exhausted or hurting to think straight.⠀ ⠀ In his book The End of Me, Kyle Idleman says, “God is always strong, but in our weakness that strength goes viral.”*⠀ ⠀ In and through our weakness, when our masks are removed, and when our guards are down, and when the illusion of our own self-sufficiency is shattered into a thousand pieces, God continues to work.⠀ ⠀ Take the pressure out of your prayers. Be honest. And ask for the Spirit to help you, even when you can’t stammer a single sentence together.⠀ ⠀ Our lives are built not on what we can do, but on what God can do.⠀ ⠀ “God is always strong, but in our weakness that strength goes viral.”⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ --*As quoted in: Kyle Idleman, The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins (David C Cook: Colorado Springs, 2015), 184.⠀ --Bible quotes are from the NIV.⠀ ⠀ #kyleidleman @kyleidleman #weakness #strength #strong #holyspirit #God #prayer #faith #inspiration

When you have something good to look forward to⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 21⠀ ⠀ When you have something good to look forward to, it softens the blow of what you’re currently going through.⠀ ⠀ We all know it’s true.⠀ ⠀ If a child doesn’t want to go to school on a Thursday, remind them that the weekend is almost here and it helps.⠀ ⠀ If you’re having a tough week, and if you have a fun gathering with friends to look forward to, you’re better able to buckle down and get it done.⠀ ⠀ If you have a cast on your arm, and if the cast is coming off in a few weeks, and if your baseball season starts a few weeks after that, the burden of a cast gets a little lighter.⠀ ⠀ Light at the end of the tunnel has a way of shining backward to the one who sees it.⠀ ⠀ That’s the idea behind Paul’s thinking in Romans 8: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” One day, all of God’s creation “will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (verses 18, 30).⠀ ⠀ He offers a reminder that life’s current difficulties are not the end of the story. Sooner or later they will come to an end, all suffering will cease, and glory will be revealed to and in Jesus’ followers.⠀ ⠀ Difficulty is a comma, not a period, in the language of eternity.⠀ ⠀ So, do you have something good to look forward to?⠀ ⠀ If you’re a follower of Jesus, the answer is Yes. Remind yourself about God’s eternal and amazing promises that are yours.⠀ ⠀ And if you still need some help for your day-to-day life, plan something good—maybe an outing with friends, a Saturday adventure, or a new experience that reminds you who God made you to be.⠀ ⠀ “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”⠀ ⠀ When you have something good to look forward to, it softens the blow of what you’re currently going through.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ --Bible quotes are from the NIV.⠀ ⠀ #perspective #suffering #hardship #heaven #hope #faith #inspiration #romans8 #eternity #pain

It’s not You-ianity⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 20⠀ ⠀ The word ‘religion’ comes from the same Latin root as ‘ligament,’ meaning ‘to bind.’⠀ ⠀ In this sense, ‘religion’ refers to a system of beliefs and practices that ‘bind’ us to God and other people in a community. That’s obviously a good thing.⠀ ⠀ But there’s another way the word ‘religion’ is used which I think is a problem. It has also come to mean all the religious boxes I can check on my to-do list which make me feel holy and which make me think I can earn my way off of God’s naughty list.⠀ ⠀ Don’t get me wrong: It’s good to do things that help us grow spiritually. And it’s good when we ‘bind’ ourselves to God and to the people around us.⠀ ⠀ But here’s the issue. Religion—at least the kind of religion that is just about checking all the right boxes—is about what you can do; but Christian faith is about what God can do.⠀ ⠀ Speaking to Paul, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). He didn’t say his power is made perfect in those who help themselves, or in those who tick all the right boxes, and in those who are the best spiritual thing since sliced bread. His power is made perfect in weakness—which, if we’re being honest, is very good news because all of us are somehow weak!⠀ ⠀ The reason I share this today is because someone told me it’s one of the most depressing weeks of the year. So this serves as a reminder that your mess ups, missteps and mistakes don’t define you—and they don’t even define your religion. God does.⠀ ⠀ It’s not You-ianity. It’s Christ-ianity.⠀ ⠀ Today, in the middle of January, celebrate that we have a powerful God who helps us with the minutia and moments when we are anything but at our best.⠀ ⠀ “Religion” is about what you can do. But power Christian faith is about what God can do.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ --Bible quotes are from the NIV.⠀ ⠀ #faith #religion #Christianity #Jesus #Godfirst #spirituality #inspiration #grace #powerofGod #weakness

Personal THEN powerful⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 17⠀ ⠀ At a monthly meeting of church elders in central Ontario, my colleague and friend, William Han, spoke about evangelism.⠀ ⠀ He’s served as a pastor, as the Executive VP at Lausanne Canada, and is currently a church planting catalyst with the North American Mission Board.⠀ ⠀ The more he spoke, the more passionate he became. Afterward he told me that his level of enthusiasm had even surprised him!⠀ ⠀ But I was so glad he shared his passion with us. I think God wanted to give us a verbal charge of power—like those pads doctors use to zap your chest after your heart has stopped beating!⠀ ⠀ One of the things Will highlighted was that Christians need to preach the good news about Jesus to themselves first. We need to know it personally, to experience it personally, to rejoice in it personally. In Jesus, God has come to us personally and victoriously to renovate all things through his teaching, work, crucifixion and resurrection. He offers us hope, love, forgiveness, salvation, truth, and purpose.⠀ ⠀ But you can’t share powerfully what you don’t know personally.⠀ ⠀ Jesus has come—for you.⠀ Jesus gives hope—to you.⠀ Jesus pours out love—for you.⠀ Jesus offers forgiveness—to you.⠀ Jesus gives salvation—to you.⠀ Jesus shares strength—with you.⠀ Jesus speaks truth—for you.⠀ Jesus sets out a purpose—for you.⠀ ⠀ No one else can do what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do—for you.⠀ ⠀ In Romans 1:16 Paul says the good news about Jesus “is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…”⠀ ⠀ Do you think the good news about Jesus is primarily for someone else? Well, it’s certainly for them. But it’s also for you. God sees you. He knows you. He reaches out to you. He loves you. You’re not perfect. And yes, you mess up on a pretty regular basis. But God still gives a life-changing gift that no one else can give—to you.⠀ ⠀ You can’t share powerfully what you don’t know personally.⠀ ⠀ So know it. Personally. Powerfully. And don’t be shy to honestly share or show the good news of Jesus that has changed—and continues to change—your life.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ #faith #gospel #evangelism #dailydevo #faith

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