December 11: Encouragement / Ánimo y Aliento

Do these lyrics sound familiar? “...Santa Claus is coming to town! He’s making a list, And checking it twice, Gonna find out, Who’s naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town! He sees you when you are sleeping, He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, So be good for goodness sake!”

How many of us grew up with a “Santa Claus-like God?” How many of us have since grown more mature and can now readily embrace a God who is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness? (See Psalm 145, 8) Do we see how a narrow view of God, as one who is always watching us to catch us doing something wrong, can be debilitating? How many of us see ourselves only as "full of cracks and flaws," as opposed to “created in the image of the God who loves us?”

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Advent has been repeating over and over how important it is that we not only see God as kind and merciful, but also that we trust His promises to “make the deserts lush” and “let the water run through dryness.” (Isaiah 41)

Ours is a God of abundance, a God of “too much” – too much love, too much mercy, too much beauty ... and we have been given a share of all of it, and we can hardly take it in! There is cause for rejoicing here. Join us in prayerful Adoration today from 8:30am to 8:30pm.

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Es alentador oír, en estos días de Adviento, un fuerte y repetido mensaje de ánimo y aliento. En esto es precisamente en lo que creemos, si confiamos en la cercanía de Dios en la persona de su Hijo Jesucristo. Cuando la gente es pobre y vive afligida, Dios está cerca como su Salvador, es decir, Dios es alguien que está vinculado a ellos con lazos íntimos de afecto, y que con toda seguridad vendrá a asistirles. Los pequeños, los débiles, y los pobres son los que confían en Él. Él les promete una nueva esperanza y gracia sin límites.

A nosotros también nos dice Dios hoy: “Yo, el Señor tu Dios, agarro con cariño tu mano derecha y te digo, ‘No temas, que te voy a ayudar.’”  Que ojalá seamos conscientes del cuidado cariñoso de Dios por todos sus hijos e hijas. Todos están invitados: habrá Adoración hoy desde 8:30am hasta 8:30pm.