Comfort one another with these words….
One of the tools that Satan uses so effectively against us is the tool of isolation. There are many times when we isolate ourselves from those who are in a position to help us because we do not know how to receive comfort or even worse, ask for help.
There can be a fear factor of being vulnerable (and or weak). We also isolate ourselves when we do not want other people to know our business. We may not want to admit we’re doing it wrong, or thinking incorrectly, so we just go forth with wrong thinking and then our children carry the wrong thinking into the next generation.
When we place ourselves in isolation, Satan wins and we perpetuate the error. God always has someone out there to share His word, His wisdom and His comfort with us just as we are to be sharing that same comfort with others.
Paul the apostle shared words of comfort with the church concerning death, because there were many who were trying to bring believers under the bondage of the law, which always promotes fear, or error which produces insecurity and uncertainty.
First Thessalonians 4:15-18 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. (the appearance of Christ) And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words”.
What a comfort it is that scripture lets us know that those who believe in Christ now, will not go through the tribulation period of judgment which is coming upon the earth. 1Thesselonians 5:9 “For God has not appointed us to wrath (judgment), but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, v11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also you do” .
Since Jesus took our judgment when He died a substitutionary death, and His atonement was accepted of the Father, we do not have to fear judgment, but rejoice and look forward toward favor and blessing through the salvation we are provided as we believe upon and accept Him as our Savior.
There is great comfort in the truth, for the truth shall set us free from all the areas where we have uncertainty concerning what is beyond this life and the grave.
Paul also tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “(We walk by faith, not by sight:) v8 We are confident, I say, and willing, for to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord”.
This indicates that when we leave this body, we are transported in our glorified body, into the presence of the Lord. There is no mention of purgatory, a place somewhere in between, for those who have received Christ. Scripture is clear that Jesus relocated what once was “purgatory” and moved it to heaven, or paradise.
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore He has said, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. v9 (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth (pergatory)? v10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.)
Another exciting scripture about this is found in Matthew 27:50 “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. v51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks split. v52 And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, v53 And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many”.
These Old Testament saints, were residing in what was referred to by Christ as “Abraham’s Bosom”, which the Catholic church named purgatory. But Christ went into purgatory and presented His victory so those who were waiting for the fulfillment of their salvation, could be released.
Jesus shut down purgatory and moved it to heaven which Jesus referred to as Paradise. Luke 23:42 “And the thief said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom. v43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, today you shall be with me in paradise”.
So it is clear in this, that purgatory, where the righteous resided, before Jesus died and resurrected, is now in heaven, where all those in Christ will also be.
Luke 16:19 “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: v20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, v21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. v22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried v23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. v24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. v25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented. v26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great void fixed: so that they which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they that are there pass to us”. Jesus Himself let’s us know that those who have gone into heaven, are not able to cross the great void to visit those on earth in any form. Anyone who claims to communicate with the dead, is calling Jesus a liar!
Some other words that are of great comfort to the believer are those scriptures that tell us what will be going on in heaven, while the 7 years of tribulation are going on in the earth, following the rapture of the believers. The first thing which is mentioned is the Judgment seat of Christ, where believers receive their rewards for their faithfulness while in this life.
Crowns will be given and all believers will be given positions in the coming kingdom. 2Timothy 2:11 “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him v12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him”.
Scripture indicates that we will be given rulership and that we will reign with Christ, first during the thousand year millennium, and after that, into eternity.
Romans 14:10 “But why do you judge your brother? or why do you put down your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. v11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. v12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God”.
We must understand that this is not the Great White Throne of judgment, where those who never accepted Christ will appear to be judged, but this is where only believers will appear.
We also see the judgment seat referred to in 2Timothy 4:8 “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing”.
Crowns speak of positions of authority and ruler-ship. 1Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that they which run in a race run all, but only one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain. v25 And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we strive for an incorruptible crown”.
It is indicated that much of what we do here will not pass through with us to the other side, and it is compared to “passing through the fire” in 1 Corinthians 3:12 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble v13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. v14 If any man's work abide which he has built upon, he shall receive a reward. v15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, even as by fire”.
Having said all that, scripture also reveals another event which will be experienced by those in heaven, during the tribulation on earth. It is called the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb”….The believers will attend a banquet prepared by Jesus and served by angels. Revelation 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife (believers) has made herself ready. v8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. v9 And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God”.
We are told that at the end of the tribulation, the believers will return with Christ as He sets up his rule upon the earth, for a thousand years. I believe that we can get insight about how the rewards we receive will determine our status in the millennium, by reading Luke 19:17.
“And he said unto him, Well done good servant, because you have been faithful in a what you have been given, you shall have authority over ten cities. v18 And the second came, saying, Lord, I have doubled what you gave me. v19 And the Lord said unto him, You shall have authority over five cities”.
During the Millennial reign, every person who is in a position of authority on planet earth will be a person who has received a resurrected, glorified body and we'll be reigning over those who passed through the tribulation and still have fleshly bodies. So, every mayor, every governor, every president, king, and all those in positions of authority, will be those of us in glorified bodies.
Then you also must add to that from Matthew 6:20, where Jesus talked about laying up our treasures in Heaven. So that means we will have different degrees of treasure. Then, In 1 Timothy 6, Paul is exhorting those who are rich in this world to be generous and to be rich in good works so that they may lay up treasures in Heaven which is a firm foundation for the coming age.
So, we've got those in Heaven, who are going to have different crowns. They've got perhaps different ways that the glory of God is revealed through them. They've got different authority that's been given to them, which has been delegated to them by the Lord Jesus Christ, based on their faithfulness in this world in serving Him. So, not everyone is going to be the same in Heaven. There's going to be distinctions in position, authority and wealth among us.
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. v12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. v13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. v14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean…..v19 And I saw the beast (anti-Christ), and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. v20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone”.
Another scripture which describes this Millennial period of peace, where Satan is bound and unable to interfere in the affairs of earth for 1000 years is found in Revelation 20:1 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. v2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, v3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. v4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years”.
This battle at the end of the 7 years of tribulation is referred to as the battle of Armageddon. After this period of 1000 years of peace, when Satan is loosed for a short period, he is ultimately defeated at the battle of Gog and Magog. We are then allowed to view something else which will take place at this time. It is referred to as the second resurrection, when those who died before and during the tribulation without accepting Christ as their savior now are summoned before Jesus, who is now their judge.
Revelation 20:5 “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. v6 Blessed and holy is he that is part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power”…
Revelation 20:11 “And I saw a great white throne, and He that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. v12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. v13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. v14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. v15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”.
It is at this point in Bible history, that the earth and heavens are renovated by fire….2 Peter 3:11.. “And the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. v11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, v12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? v13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness”.
We can also see further in Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. v2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride (believers) adorned for her husband. v3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God".
The “New Jerusalem” will hover over the earth above the location of present day Jerusalem….Revelation 21:16 Gives us the measurements of the New Jerusalem….The city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as its breadth. “And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal”.
In modern english, the city is 1363 miles in length, and in width and in hight. If there was one floor per mile, there would 1,363 floors, with each floor having 1.8 million square miles of space, the total space would be 2.5 billion square miles. If there were 20 billion souls in the city, each person would have about 10 acres of space with one mile of vertical space above, not including room for parks and streets.
Again, the division of space in this city is based on the numbers given by John. Revelation 22: 5 tells us that there shall be no night there, and they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
Isaiah 35:8 “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness….v10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away”.
At this point the thing that came into the earth as a result of the curse, which has stalked mankind for thousands of years and been a constant reminder of the moment when sin entered the earth is finally dealt with. The thing that has pressured our lives, set up dead lines for us to meet, made us late for all those appointments, bound us to a clock and measured the span of our existence, shall be done away with and God who created it, shall simply eliminate it, since it will no longer be needed.
Revelation 10:6 “And he swore by Him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that are therein, and the earth, and the things that are therein, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer”.
Eternity will officially now begin, since there will no longer be the measuring of time as well as the measure of space. God will take the limits off of our existence as the universe welcomes us.
1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him”.
1 Corinthians 6:2 says “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world system, and if the world system is being judged by you, are you unworthy to judge lesser matters”?
The word “world” which is used here, is “cosmos” and means “the orderly system” or universe. There is an indication that in the new heaven and earth, more than this planet is being referred to as part of the “orderly system”….
Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
Hebrews 1:3: "He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power."
In conclusion, we as believers in Christ, can look forward to an inheritance from the creator of all things, and that extends out to all that the creator has created. Given that Paul is the only biblical author to use the phrase, “New Creation” and the phrase occurs in two climactic texts of his letters (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), let’s first consider the scope of Paul’s vision for the new creation.
Specifically, what was “old” and what has now become “new”? Also, what does Paul imply with the phrase “new creation”? This will provide a framework to elaborate on Paul’s vision for us today, who live as new creations in the twenty-first century. Does Paul limit the scope of new creation to individual persons, or is Paul’s use of the phrase “new creation” primarily about something more going on here?
2 Corinthians 5:16–17 reads: “So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” - In a sense, a person who comes to faith in Christ is now experientially and fully participating in Isaiah’s grand vision for a renewal of cosmic proportions. –
Paul is describing the community of believers who live within the dawn of a new reality. New creation people must know what time it is. In Christ, we literally live in a new time zone. New creation means living as a new inclusive community of God. New creation means living in the freedom of the Spirit rather than being entrapped by legalism; and New creation means being recreated and transformed into the image of Christ. –
Paul’s writing about the church is his conviction that Christ had inaugurated an entirely new age within the old. This shift is directly linked to his understanding that the people of God were to radically transform all of history as God’s purposes are now manifest in a new age on the earth.
A self -fulfilling prophecy is a prediction declared as truth when it is actually false and may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or confusion of the facts, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prediction, causing it to come to pass. In other words it is a belief in something, so much that we cause an impression that is not true, to come true by our expectations, beliefs and attitude. Someone has said that our past has formed us, but it does not determine us. What determines us, is what we think of ourselves. I used to think that people whine and complain because they have so many problems… now I realize that people have so many problems because they whine and complain!
A man was sleeping soundly when his wife shook him and said, “Wake up, someone is breaking in the house!” The man had gone through this same scenario many nights of his marriage, and he knew that the only way he would get any rest was to get up and go check it out. This time, however, he found that there really was a man with a gun who entered to rob the house! As the thief was about to flee the man said, “Stop! Please don’t go yet….Would You please come with me and meet my wife. Surprised, the thief turned around abruptly and said, “Why would you want me to meet your wife?” The man replied, “You might as well meet her, She’s been keeping me up, expecting you for 20 years.” If our expectations are messed up, they eventually will show up!
Great comfort comes to us as we enter God’s new creation thinking and let go of all the religious bondage and obligation. Here are 10 errors that when corrected, bring a great sense of peace, comfort and joy into our lives.
(1) I’M JUST A SINNER SAVED BY GRACE….Some of us grew up hearing frequently in church that we are sinners saved by grace. In one sense this is true… but the problem is we still identify with the past rather than the logical conclusion. A sinner saved by grace is by definition no longer a sinner. We are saints. We have been made righteous. We must identify with the new nature, not keep dragging around the old.
(2) GOD CREATED US TO WORSHIP HIM…We are often told that we were created to worship God. But that’s not all that accurate really. Believing that creates a very warped image of God. Is God so insecure that He needed to create us to worship Him. God did not create man to have more beings worshiping Him… He is all sufficient in and of Himself. In fact, even if we didn’t worship Him the rocks would cry out. Rather, God created us to enjoy relationship with Him! It is in that place we will worship Him. We were made to be in relationship with God. Worship is a byproduct of that.
(3) I HAVE TO TRY HARD TO LOVE GOD…Have you ever read the “greatest commandment” and felt good about yourself? Reading “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” rarely makes you feel encouraged about the degree to which you love God! The truth of course is that Jesus was not giving us a rule to follow. No, He was summing up the law and showing us that we couldn’t love God in our own strength. It is God’s love that allows us to love Him. Our job is not to love God more but to receive His love more. As we focus on God’s love for us our love for Him will grow as a result.
(4) I HAVE TO BECOME MORE HOLY… What a funny notion it is to “become more holy”. Holiness by very definition is an either/or thing. You are either holy or you are unholy. So where do we get the idea that we can become more holy, if only God can make us holy? Of course, as we study the scriptures we discover that we are holy! God has made us holy in Christ. Sure there is an outworking of that in our lives, as we discover it. But we don’t become more holy rather we continue to discover our holiness, produced because of God’s Spirit within! In that place God will transform our lives and bring forth more good fruit.
(5) IT’S MY JOB TO CHANGE PEOPLE’S ACTIONS…..This might really be some disappointing news to you… but we can’t change people. God changes people. Not only that but it’s not our job to change people. Discipling people is not a process of getting them to clean up their act and stop sinning. Discipling is the process of helping people connect with God and allow His spirit to get on the inside and renew their minds to the truth about who God is and who they are in Him. In that place, sure, they’ll stop sinning, but it is God who does the work… not you. Let Him be the Messiah.
(6) THE WORLD IS GOING TO GET WORSE AND WORSE BEFORE JESUS RETURNS… This would be funny, if it wasn’t so prevalent and damaging to the body of Christ and the world around us! The church today seems to be hell bent (no pun intended) on seeing the world “go to hell”. The stats are in and no matter what folks might say the world is unanimous… things are getting better in every area of life. There has never been a better time to be alive on the Earth than today. People often complain about “the world these days” and if we asked them… when exactly would you prefer to live? The question speaks for itself… the past really sucked in comparison to today and few people would be signing up for a one-way ticket to 1600AD :) For a Christian, His kingdom has no end, and we are part of an eternal kingdom which is not subject to the conditions of the world. Sin is sin, and still needs a Savior, as it always has.
(7) THINKING EVERYONE SHOULD AGREE WITH YOU….If you are the type of person that can’t be around people who disagree you are going to have a bad time. In fact, you are probably already having a bad time. There isn’t a person on the planet you will agree with 100%. If you know of such a person you just haven’t gotten to know them well enough yet! Doing life with those who disagree with us is inevitable, we can’t avoid it so we should learn to do it! Also, you need to embrace differing opinions as a good thing. It is in relationship with different people that we are sharpened, we learn new things, discover our blind-spots and help others discover theirs.
(8) THINKING YOU NEED TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS…I don’t know about you but I still have my moments. Learning to be humble, teachable and say “I don’t know” is a huge life skill to learn. It helps us grow, connects us with people on a more meaningful level (nobody likes a know-it-all) A huge amount of bad theology was born because someone wasn’t willing to say “I don’t know”. This causes us to have to come up with the best thing we can think of at the time. Learning to say – “I don’t know about that. What do you think?” is one of the biggest steps towards maturity you can take. As Socrates said – “When I was young, I knew everything but now the longer I live, the less I realize I know.” Learn to be humble and admit we don’t have all the answers. Peace comes from leaning on His understanding, not ours and listening to others.
(9) BELIEVING THAT YOUR SIN SOMEHOW CAUSES GOD TO SEPARATE FROM YOU….Few things are more stupid than believing God can’t handle your sin. I mean, that would make God a very little God! If Jesus taught us anything it was that God has no problem being around sinners. He chooses to love them where they are, amidst all their faults and failures. We most certainly don’t want to have sin in our lives. We have been made righteous, and our nature in Christ is to produce righteous fruit. So don’t think I’m saying that it’s good to sin, or that we should turn a blind eye to it. However, in our lives, if and when it occurs we need to know that it in no way separates us from God. We have to learn to trust that God is bigger than sin and fully dealt with it on the cross. Our task is to love Him, remain sensitive to His presence and have a humble, open spirit to Him and His love for us.
(10) THINKING GOD WILL PUNISH YOU IF YOU DON’T TITHE AND GIVE….The amount of people who think that they will come under a curse if they don’t give 10% to their local church every week scares me! Christ became a curse so that we could be delivered from the curse completely! We are blessed in Him and as it says in Numbers – “What God has blessed no man can curse”. Here’s the deal, we are Christians, we are in God’s image and likeness… of course we want to give. But God does not want us to give under compulsion, or simply out of obligation! And we certainly should not give because we might be cursed if we don’t! He wants us to give freely and generously because we are givers by nature and He enjoys blessing us.
Let’s be careful that giving is not an area where we allow Satan to bring us back into bondage. If someone puts you in bondage about giving, you should probably question their motives. “God loves a cheerful giver”, because He loves to see us blessed. It is as we give out of our love for Him, that the rewards and blessings that are promised in God’s word, come to us. And yet, all over the world, church leaders are telling their beaten up congregations that they will be cursed if they don’t conduct their finances in a certain way.
What are some things you have thought in your Christian life which have turned out to be toxic in the long run, and have taken away your peace and robbed you of your joy? Are there any of the ones above you need to rethink? Are there some that may not have been mentioned here, but they have put a question mark where your confidence in Christ should have been? God’s word should bring comfort, confidence and spiritual stability!
Negative attitudes and life patterns, may start small, but can quickly take over and strangle the life out of everything. It reaches the place that it seems futile and useless to make the change! But, the Holy Spirit within us is an awesome revealer, motivator, and agent of change. He guarantees that we will be well reward for every effort in breaking the destructive patterns of our lives, that have been set in motion.
Romans 12:1 “I encourage you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your total being, as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. v2 And do not be shaped and formed by this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
He invites all people to set their watches and their thinking according to His kingdom time zone and the influence of His kingdom upon and within the kingdoms of this world.
Paul expresses this in 2 Corinthians 6:2 “See, now is the acceptable time, see, now is the day of salvation!”
Paul tells us that God’s new world overcomes the old creation by a new creation life style….which he calls the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” He refers to these characteristics as the image of the invisible God who was not just present at creation but is active everywhere in it even now.
He is the firstborn in it, and the head of it, this corporate worldwide body which is the physical expression of Himself. To all believers everywhere, we now live within the “already” and “not yet” of the new creation. In the midst of this present reality, in and through Christ, God has established the church as those who are new creations, for a new day, who have been, and are continually being transformed, by the image of Christ.
The Spirit of Christ molds us and compels us to live as witnesses to the hope of the present and yet, a more fully to be revealed new day. The church is called to be the transforming light of Christ to a world that desperately needs good news, and a message of comfort, hope and joy!
