The year 2022 is just around the corner. Some are excited, hoping for the best. Others are anxious, not sure of what would happen. Although many are wishing for a better new year, in reality, no one can really be sure. The only thing we can do is to stand on the promises of God. But which of the promises? And how do we stand on those promises?

RLCC Podcast

Standing on the Promises of God

Resurrection? Why talk about the resurrection at this time? It’s Christmas time, right? The reason why most of us are probably wondering is that we believe Christmas is just a holiday season. Because it’s just a holiday season, we expect food, fellowship, family reunions, festivities, and fun times. Nothing less, and nothing more. To talk about the resurrection seems out of sync with this general expectation. In fact, we hope that Christmas will last longer so that we can continue to enjoy these experiences. What we need is divine intervention to change our expectations about Christmas.

The Joy of the Resurrection

Those who are young in the Lord are often passionate about reaching out to their loved ones and friends who do not know the Lord. But over time, they lose their passion. Some of us today are probably like that. We are not that excited anymore about reaching out and leading others to faith in Christ. We have lost our passion for the lost. What has happened to us?

The Joy of Leading Others to Christ

It seems that we might have more freedom this December. Who knows? We might even have Christmas parties! But as followers of Christ, we may have mixed feelings. Is there anything to rejoice about this season as followers of Jesus?

The Joy of Following Jesus

If you have been to the malls recently, you will notice many people, even children, walking around. They all seem to be very happy and excited to be there. As we hear more and more about the number of cases going down, many of us are looking forward to doing the normal things that we used to do prior to the pandemic. Naturally, we are all very happy. Finally. But something tells us this may not be over yet. The threat of variants and mutations is still hanging over us. So, how do we celebrate Christmas now?

How do we celebrate Christmas now?

Every day we see evil all around us. Just when we thought that the pandemic is almost over, we hear about a new and much deadlier variant appearing in some countries and threatening the rest of the world, including us. We also continue to experience corruption and injustice. A lot of people are dying, sometimes for no reason. When will this end? The good news is that evil will eventually stop. It will be finally removed. How?

All Evil Will Be Removed

People are concerned about the end times, especially when they think about their unsaved loved ones. They know that unbelievers will suffer the wrath of God on Judgment Day. Understandably, some Christians feel relieved knowing that they will be spared from all these. They believe that they will be "raptured" just before the Tribulation. But is this really God's plan? In the Book of Revelation, God shows us that the church is actually called to evangelize the world until the very end.

God's word will endure always

It's easy to get scared when we think about the Book of Revelation. We tend to imagine all the terrifying things that could happen. There will be a lot of suffering, of course. But actually, this book is a blessing to us. It tells us that our suffering will not last forever. The Lord Himself will see to it. Why do we believe this?

Suffering will not last forever

Many people are afraid of the Book of Revelation. For sure it is not easy to read and understand. Some misinterpret it to their own peril. Others use it to come up with elaborate timetables depicting precise events or personalities in history. But how should we read and interpret it? One important way is to see it as a blessing for God's people.

Jesus is Coming Very Soon

When near-sighted and blind, our vision of God and His eternal plans are often blurred or out of sight. By default, we will tend to only rely on our feelings and experiences to survive a world of chaos, sin, and uncertainty. However, we can continue to serve God passionately if we think and believe that the final outcome will be good for us. That's why it's important to know God’s word concerning the future (2 Tim 4:1-8). But how can these future events encourage us in our sufferings now?

The Grace To Receive Our Reward

We all know that faith without works is dead. But not many know that faith without hard work will not last. We cannot live our lives on autopilot. We have to persevere. And perseverance takes hard work. People will work hard for their studies. They will work hard for their careers. But they will not work hard to remain true to their calling in Christ. It's time we learn that grace is not opposed to hard work.

The Grace To Persevere

Nowadays many are losing in the game of life. They are either getting disqualified or totally getting eliminated. Some cannot even stand another round. Others are quitting too soon. The only one who seems to be winning in this game called life is the enemy of our souls. So, how can we win? We need grace. Lots of it. But how do we experience the grace to win?

The Grace To Win

We need to be strong through the grace of God to thrive in these difficult times. Otherwise, we will not overcome. That requires having specific attitudes that would ensure victory rather than defeat. One such mindset is to be like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. But what does it mean? We need to reflect on this to understand its meaning and implications.

The Grace To Fight

Do you sometimes feel that you cannot handle this prolonged pandemic anymore? Where will your strength come from? It will not come from you for sure. It will come from God through His grace. But how can we avail of that grace? Although grace is a gift from God, there are certain things we can do to posture ourselves to receive it.

The Grace To Be Strong

Except for a few negative people, most people have some kind of hope. But not all hope is the same. Most people are just hoping for (or wishing for) a better situation. They are just hoping that the virus would go away and we will be able to finally go back to our normal way of living. But the longer it takes, this kind of hope often leads to frustration and eventually hopelessness. What kind of hope do we truly need? It's the kind of hope that the apostle Paul calls "the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-5) What does it mean?

The True Substance of our Hope

Real Life Christian Communities, or RLCC for short, is a fellowship of Christian communities located in various places but united under one vision frame. For more information, please visit https://rlcc.ph.

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RLCC Podcast

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