Believe

Thursday, December 25th, 2025

2:45 pm

Merry Christmas!!!!

Good afternoon! I hope you have had a very Merry Christmas so far. It has been a really good day so far. Very nice and relaxing. I am thoroughly enjoying the days off. I don't have to go back to work until Monday, so lots of chilling around the house for all of us here. This time of year can be very hard for many people, especially if you have lost a loved one. I lost my brother back in January, and it is so hard to believe that I will not be talking to him today. But I know that God is good, and He is taking care of me when those times of grief really hit. He tells us in His Word that He is close to the brokenhearted. That is one of the awesome gifts of God. When we are hurting, He is right there with us to comfort us during that time. God sees. He knows when we are struggling. He knows and He is there every step of the way. Give that pain and grief to Him, He will help you. Okay, on with the Bible study for today.

Today I am in John 5:16-30. After Jesus healed the paralyzed man at the pool, the Jewish leaders started harassing Him for breaking the Sabbath rules. Jesus tells them that His Father is always working, and so is He. So the Jewish leaders started trying even harder to find a way to kill Him because He was making Himself equal to God. Jesus told them all that He can do nothing by Himself, that He only does what He sees His Father doing. And what ever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing. And His Father will show Him how to do even greater works than healing the paralyzed man, then they would truly be amazed. For just as the Father gives life to those He raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone He wants. He goes on to tell them that the Father does not judge anyone, but has given the authority to judge to the Son, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. But anyone who does not honor the Son is not honoring the Father who sent Him. He tells them that those who listen to Him and believe Him and believe in the God who sent Him will have eternal life. That they will never be condemned for their sins but they have already passed from death to life. He tells them that they are living in a time when the dead hear His voice, and those who listen to Him will live. He tells them that the Father who has life in Himself, has also given that same life-giving power to His Son. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. Then He tells them to not be surprised when all the dead in their graves will hear His voice and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. He goes on to tell them that He cannot do anything on His own, He judges as God tells Him, therefore His judgment is just because He carries out the will of the one who sent Him, not His own.

Man there is a lot of good stuff in this section! God is so good. He tells us right here that there is life after death. That there is a better life for all those who believe in Him, and the one who sent Him. We do not have to be afraid of death. God is the giver of life. He is the one that gave us this life, and He offers us eternity with Him. But He also warns us that if we don't choose Him, then we will suffer an ultimate judgment. That choice is a permanent decision. One we must decide before it is too late. It is through our belief in Jesus Christ, that we will live eternally with Him. Once we make that decision, we die to our old sinful nature, and we begin walking with Jesus. With the Holy Spirit residing in us, walking out heaven here on earth. Just as God guided His Son here on earth, so the Father will guide us through the Holy Spirit that is dwelling within us. But in order to do the will of the Father, we must spend time with Him, in His Word that He has given us. That is how we know the Father, and what His will for us here on earth is. The more we walk with Him through His Word, the more He will direct our steps. This also gives us hope for our loved ones that have already passed before us. That we will see them again if they believed. That is why it is so important to share the gospel with all who will listen, so they can have that same gift that God has given to everyone. But we must believe in the one He sent to dwell among us, Jesus Christ. That is why we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate because of the most amazing gift of all time. The gift of the Son. Jesus came to earth because the Father loves us all so very much, and He wanted each of us to have the opportunity to choose Him. He does not make us choose Him. He gives us the option. It is our choice. That is love.

Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is? If you still doubt, do your own personal research. The more you search for the answers, the more He will reveal to you. All through history people tried to disprove God, some chose to never believe, but many proved He does exist, and Jesus was who He said He was. People are still making discoveries today that show that everything that happened in the Bible was real. We all have to question for ourselves. We all have to believe for ourselves. It is our choice. God loves you so much He gives you the option. Choose Him today, and He will change your life. Merry Christmas!