Delightsome Land

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year—it’s a time to celebrate the birth of Christ! And just like every holiday season, there’s a very good chance you’ll be spending time with friends and family members…sharing meals, shopping, giving and receiving gifts, attending special Christmas programs…and the list goes on.   But even when your days are filled to overflowing with all kinds of activities that can drain you of your physical energy and leave your mind reeling from the sheer volume, you can still have a “peace that transcends understanding” (see Philippians 4:7 AMP).  Advent gives us a chance to focus on the God-given peace that came in the form of a baby. Jesus came so that we could experience the peace of God, and He even taught us how to do that by the life He lived. Jesus is the Prince of Peace; He left His peace for us to enjoy, and He wants to help us live and maintain a peaceful life. The way to do that is to pursue peace and go after it. First Peter 3:10-11 ...

The Gospel of John chapter 19. When it comes to the crucifixion of Jesus, everything happened as God said it would. I’m sure you noticed in verse 24 the phrase, “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” https//bible.com/bible/114/jhn.19.24.NKJV. This was referring to the soldiers who gambled to see who would win Jesus’ jacket. The crazy thing is, David wrote about this moment 1,000 years earlier in the book of Psalms.  "They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.22.18.NKJV And there’s a lot more where that came from. In verse 28 of John chapter 19, we see the same phrase being used again when Jesus says, “I thirst!” David described this moment in Psalm 22:15, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaws, you have brought me to the dust of death.” David even goes on in Psalm 22 to describe Jesus on the cross with his hands and his feet pierced.  David wrote this 500 years before cruci...