Anchor Your Life This Christmas
I want to touch on three simple areas to which we can anchor our lives this Christmas, which can help us gain more confidence and hope in Jesus.
1. Anchor my life to Jesus.
This is the foundation of our hope. I just wonder how many of us have our lives anchored to so many other things than Jesus – our careers, educations, wealth, friends, families, social status…? What would it look like to anchor our lives to Jesus instead?
In John chapter 1, we find that it’s all about Jesus. John 1:1-4 says…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
John 1:18 says…
No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side – he has revealed him.
The NIV says that Jesus has made him known. So, it’s all about knowing Jesus so we can know the Father. If you were to read through the Gospel of John, you would get to know Jesus pretty well.
In John chapter 1, Jesus is fully God and fully man.
In John chapter 2, Jesus is a miracle worker.
In John chapter 3, Jesus is the Savior of the world.
In John chapters 4 and 8, he extends grace and forgiveness to two different women.
In John chapter 10, he’s the good shepherd.
In John chapter 11, we see Jesus with emotion as he weeps for his friend who has just died.
In John chapter 12, he’s gentle and riding on a donkey.
In John chapter 13, he washes his followers’ feet as an example of serving one another.
In John chapter 14, he reveals that the way to the Father is through him alone.
In John chapters 15 and 16, he’s our helper through the Holy Spirit.
I apologize for getting all nerdy on you for a moment, but what I want you to get here is that John’s purpose in writing all these things about Jesus is that John wants us to know Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we can know a lot about Jesus, and we can know a lot about God. But some of us know more about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift than we know about Jesus. John wants us to know Jesus.
Why? Every room that Jesus steps in, he makes better. When our lives are anchored to Jesus, his light shines on our situations – issues, problems, troubles – to make our lives better; to give us real hope and confidence to get through any storm.
When we anchor our lives to Jesus and really get to know him…
Addictions are overcome
Relationships grow stronger
Wounds are healed
Friendships are reconciled
The oppressed are set free
Life is just so much better even through the storms when Jesus is our anchor. His name is power. His name is healing. His name is life.
So, how can I anchor my life to Jesus? How can I get to know him? Let me give you a couple things…
Read the book of John. There are 21 chapters. Take 21 days to read a chapter a day to discover who Jesus is.
Instead of binging on Netflix, maybe watch The Chosen series.
Josh challenged us a couple of weeks ago to spend two hours with Jesus this Christmas. That could be two hours of prayer, Scripture reading, playing and singing along to worship songs, and spending time in silence and solitude.
Find a way to anchor your life to Jesus.
2. Anchor my life to the cross.
John 1:17 says…
for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Grace and truth came through the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you know what happens when we don’t anchor our life to the cross? A couple of things…
One, if we don’t anchor our life to the cross, we can minimize sin. We can be like, “Well, that’s grace. I’m good to the end. So, I don’t really need to worry about it.” And pretty soon, we think sin isn’t that big a deal. It’s just a part of who I am and what I do. And sooner or later, we couldn’t care any less about sin’s impact on us or on others around us.
But when we see Jesus betrayed by his friends, face six unjust trials, receive a crown of thorns shoved onto his head, beaten within an inch of his life by a bunch of soldiers, spat upon, mocked, and nailed to a cross, we’ll never minimize sin because we’ll realize that’s exactly where sin wants us – dead and gone.
Two, if we don’t anchor our life to the cross, we might see our sin as insurmountable. We’ll think we’ll never get over what we did in the past.
There’s a story about a Catholic priest who was struggling with this very thing – getting over something that he had done in his past. He thought that becoming a priest would atone for it, but he could never do enough good deeds to make himself feel better. Some of you may know what that’s like. Well, he heard about this nun that people flocked to because God spoke to her to give encouraging messages to her visitors. So, the priest goes to visit her, and he asks her, “Would you see if God has a word for me?” She agrees to talk to God and get back to him if she hears anything from the Lord. So, time passes, and all of a sudden, the nun wants to meet with the priest because she’s heard a word from the Lord. The priest is anxious and can’t wait to hear what God has to say to him. So, he rushes to see the nun, and she tells him, “Here’s what God has to say to you: He wants you to know that he loves you, and he doesn’t even remember what you did.”
Some of you are still anchored to who you were or what you did in the past. You’re anchored to your past. Listen, Jesus took care of whatever it was you did by dying on the cross. The cross is the reality that our sin is actually a huge deal. We can’t minimize it. Nor can we hold onto it. Because of the cross, our sin is gone.
The way we anchor ourselves to the cross is by confessing our sins to God and then believing that God actually forgives us through the cross and blood of Jesus.
3. Anchor your life to the resurrection.
1 Peter 1:3-4 says…
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
We’ve got an inheritance that can’t be kept in a bank. God is keeping it in heaven for us. And this is a living hope – confidence – we can have because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I don’t know if you know this, but there are 7,487 promises of God found in the Bible – 7,487. You’re welcome. All of those promises find fulfillment in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is God’s proof that he is who he says he is. And he is a promise-keeper.
How do we anchor our lives to the resurrection? We hold onto God’s promises.
If we’re facing challenges like never before, remember John 16:33…
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
There’s nothing Jesus can’t overcome. He’s already taken care of what we’re facing. All we have to do is have the confidence that God’s got this.
If we’re being tempted like never before, remember 1 Corinthians 10:13…
No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.
When it comes to being tempted, God’s not gonna make us bear the unbearable. If we ask for his power, then he will show up and reveal a way to escape every temptation as difficult as we might think it is.
If we’re not sure how we’re gonna make it financially, remember Philippians 4:19…
And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
For some of us, this is a very difficult promise to believe. But we need to have the confidence that God will come through one way or another; that he will give us what we need.
It’s Christmastime…how many of you are exhausted, anxious, or stressed out? Remember Jesus says in Matthew 11:28…
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you…”
…40 hours of Netflix on the couch this weekend. That’s not what he said!
Do you feel that? God is exposing all the things you go to get the things that only he can provide. He says, “You want to be filled? Come to me. Are you stressed out? Come to me. Are you feeling overwhelmed?...
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Receive the promises of God. When you’re feeling stuck, tempted, anxious, worried…go to the Bible, read God’s promises, and ask God for his power in your life. God will show up and will restore your hope.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.