Tag Archives: christmas devotion

November 28, 2017 · 5:46 AM

Fixing Our Brokenness

My son is very interested in bells. He loves learning about them and watching them ring. When we went on vacation, he found a porcelain bell and wanted to get it. I tried to talk him into one of the metallic bells, but they weren’t as pretty. When we got home, my fears were confirmed as I unwrapped the porcelain bell. It was broken. I didn’t have the heart to tell him what had happened and I hoped he wouldn’t ask for it.

I went to the store and bought some gorilla glue. Before we left for school, I ran back into my room and glued it back together. When I got home, I went to check on it. The glue left a white streak all the way around it. When I tried to make it ring, it didn’t sound like it had. I was disappointed in my ability to try to put it back together. In my effort to fix it, I was hoping to make it as good as new, but I couldn’t.

Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, you and I are born broken. We spend a lifetime trying to compensate for our brokenness, and we do everything that we can to fix or cover up our brokenness. The problem with fixing things like brokenness is that we never return to our initial potential. We think we need to be fixed, but the truth is that we need to be healed. We need to be made whole, and only God can do that.

Isaiah 9:7 contains one of the most famous prophesies of Jesus. It says, “For a child has been born—for us! the gift of a son—for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings” (MSG). I love that God’s desire wasn’t to fix us. It was to make us whole. He knows that each of us are broken, and He sent His Son to bring the healing that we desperately need.

Photo by Daniel Tafjord on Unsplash

6 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 27, 2017 · 5:26 AM

God With Us

There’s a story of how the Cherokee would perform a right of passage for all boys before they were considered men. To become a man, the boy would be led into the woods at night. His father would sit him on a stump, blindfold Him and then leave him. He was told that he had to sit there all night, but he couldn’t make a sound. When he saw the sun rays through the blindfold, he could take it off and find his way back to camp.

It was tough to sit there silently. With their eyes covered, their sense of hearing was enhanced. They heard ever twig break as an animal stepped on it. They could hear the sounds of all the animals in the forest that were out at night. I’m sure they could hear the sound of their own heartbeat as they wondered whether they would be attacked. In the morning when he removed his blindfold, he would see that his father was sitting beside him the whole night watching over him.

I love that story because it’s so much like what our Heavenly Father does for us. We often feel blind and alone as we go through this world. Our fears can get the better of us if we aren’t careful, but God is right there with us through it all even though we can’t see Him. Isaiah 7:14 says, “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (NLT).

Immanuel is one of my favorite names for God. It gives me hope when I feel blindfolded as I go through this life. When I’m unsure of how things are going to turn out, and I feel vulnerable and open to attack, I remind myself that God is right there with me. He’s watching over me, protecting me and caring for me. He has never left my side no matter how dark the night has been. He remains true to His name Immanuel. He is God with us.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 25, 2015 · 12:00 AM

O Holy Night

This by far is my favorite Christmas Carol. So many try to sing it, but so few do it justice. I have put my favorite part of this song in bold. I have also embedded one of my favorite versions of it below.

Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angels voices
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night divine.

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever
His power and glory evermore proclaim

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine

Merry CHRISTmas!

If you are unable to play the video below, click here.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 24, 2015 · 5:30 AM

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

This time of year, it becomes obvious that many of us don’t remember much more than the first verse of most Christmas Carols. As we lead up to Christmas this week, I want to explore some powerful verses in some of my favorite carols.

  
On April 8, 1966, the Time magazine cover asked, “Is God Dead?” In a world where we have a telescope in space looking to the far reaches of the universe and using the Hadron Collider to try to find the “God particle”, many people wonder if there is a need for God in order to explain the creation of the universe and our existence. They see God only as an uneducated person’s explanation of the universe instead of a diety involved in our lives.

When we reduce God to just an explanation of creation, we allow Him to be seen as of no use and dead to society. When bad things happen in our culture, people always ask, “Where is God? Why did He allow that to happen?” But when we fail to put logs on a fire, we don’t ask, “Where is the heat? Why are we being allowed to freeze?” We can’t kick God out of our culture, schools, and government then ask where He is when bad things happen.

He sent His Son into the world to bring life and light into our darkness. John 1:4-5 says, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (NLT). He was sent to right the wrongs of sin and to chase away the darkness that it brought. The star above the stable was representative of what He was doing. He was sending light into our world that will lead us to salvation.

There is a Christmas Carol called “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day”. It’s very powerful and moving. Here’s the verse that stands out to me:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

God is not dead, nor is He simply an explanation for our very being. He is a loving God who is involved in our daily lives. We were created with purpose and our lives have meaning. To think there is no God and that we are simply here by random chance is to say there is no right or wrong and that life has no meaning. God sent His Son to us to show us that we matter. He sent Him to show He cares about our struggles mentally, physically, and spiritually. He came to right the wrongs, to bring peace on earth, and goodwill to men. 

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 23, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Joy To The World

This time of year, it becomes obvious that many of us don’t remember much more than the first verse of most Christmas Carols. As we lead up to Christmas this week, I want to explore some powerful verses in some of my favorite carols.

  
If you’ve ever read the Genesis account of creation, you know that we were banned from Eden because of Adam and Eve’s inability to obey God’s simplest instruction. They had access to everything in Eden except for one tree. When they sinned through disobedience, God responded to Eve first and then to Adam. He told Adam the ground would be cursed and, “It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains” (NLT). The second Adam, Jesus, came to set us free of the spiritual aspect of that curse.

The third verse to “Joy To The a World” says the following:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

Because Jesus came to earth, sin no longer had free reign. The antidote to its effects came in the form of a baby born in Bethlehem. Galatians 3:13 says, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law.” No more could sin grow, nor its spiritual thorns pierce our souls. The curse of sin was broken and joy was returned to the world for every heart that has prepared room for Him. There is no place the curse has gone that grace cannot find.

Each of us have been under the effects of the curse. Each of us have sinned against God according to Romans 3:23. It was while the world and each of us were in this helpless estate that God sent His Son to redeem us from the curse. You and I can return to spiritual Eden when we accept that the baby born in Bethlehem was the Son of God who sacrificed His physical life for our spiritual one. That night in the Judean hillside, Joy was indeed sent into the world.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 22, 2015 · 5:30 AM

O Little Town Of Bethlehem 

This time of year, it becomes obvious that many of us don’t remember much more than the first verse of most Christmas Carols. As we lead up to Christmas this week, I want to explore some powerful verses in some of my favorite carols.

  
A few years ago, we were preparing for Christmas. I was putting gifts in boxes, then sliding them to my wife who was wrapping them. After she would wrap, she would ask who the gift was for. On one such gift, she looked at me with pen in hand expectantly. I looked at the box, smiled, and said, “That one is for you!” She had been so busy wrapping that she couldn’t remember what was on the box.

That’s kind of how God snuck the gift of our savior into the world. It wasn’t a big showy presentation. It was delivered in a barn through a humble girl who was barely known. The world would expect the King of Kings to get around the clock coverage, tweets wondering what His name would be, and hashtags so everyone could follow. But that’s not how God did it. He did it oppositely from the way we would have done it.

The lyrics of “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” described it like this:

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in

God silently sent us His gift of redemption. The path to Heaven was illuminated by a star instead of spotlights. It was announced to shepherds instead of to people of social stature. Those who were looking and listening for Him found a baby lying in a manger in the small town of Bethlehem, which wasn’t even the capital. God entered this world silently so that those who are seeking Him will find Him. Those who find Him and receive Him will have His peace live in their heart and their sins forgiven. Oh what a gift that was given in the little town of Bethlehem.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

December 21, 2015 · 6:43 AM

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

This time of year, it becomes obvious that we don’t remember much more than the first verse of most Christmas Carols. As we lead up to Christmas this week, I want to explore some powerful verses in some of my favorite carols.

  
I have an angel as part of my annual Christmas decorations for my yard. This year, my son has been asking me, “Dada, what’s he saying?” I tell him, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12 KJV). Then several other angels joined him and they started singing!”

We can only imagine what that celebration looked like. The farther we get from an agrarian society and into a technological one, the harder it is to imagine sitting on a hillside at night, watching sheep, and having angels pop out of no where. In 1739, Charles Wesley must have been imagining that incredible night as he composed, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. Nor did George Whitefield in 1758, who adapted it to what we sing today.

The verse I want to focus on is this:

Christ by highest Heav’n adored, Christ the everlasting Lord; Late in time behold-Him come, Offspring of the Virgin’s womb. Veil’d in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity! Pleas’d as Man with Men t’ appear, Jesus our Emmanuel here.

My favorite part of that is the second half. This time of year, we celebrate that God came down, took on the form of a human, so that He could be Emmanuel, God with us. He veiled Himself in flesh so He could better be acquainted with all we experience. Philippians 2:6-7 puts it this way, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being” (NLT). 

This Christmas season, let’s not forget that the baby birth we are celebrating was God veiled in flesh. He came to being peace on earth and goodwill toward men. The Angels celebrated that night and we have been celebrating since. Our God came to us so that we could be with Him. This baby grew up and died a criminal’s death in order to pay for our sins. When we think of that, we can celebrate with those heralding angels that God and sinners are able to be reconciled.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

December 23, 2014 · 7:07 AM

Entertaining Unaware

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/166/35840493/files/2014/12/img_0232.jpg

I don’t think the innkeeper ever gets enough credit at Christmas. Sure, we mention him in passing when reading Luke 2 for our plays, but no one ever really thinks about him. To me, he played a critical role in the birth of our Savior. He provided the setting for every nativity you’ve ever seen. Yet have you ever looked at a nativity and thought of him? I know the scene isn’t about him, but it wouldn’t look like that if it weren’t for him.

We know that Ceasar Augustus had called for a census. It’s not like the censuses we take today where government workers come to your house and ask you questions. Each family had to travel to the hometown of their ancestors. For Joseph, that was Bethlehem. It was an 80 mile trip that he and Mary had to walk or ride by donkey. Mary was obviously in her third trimester and I’m sure had to stop pretty often.

By the time the two of them arrived, the town was full. I’m sure they went to his family to try to stay with them. After having no luck with any of his family, they started going to the inns in the city, but quickly found out it was no better. Joseph must have been getting desperate. Mary could have been having contractions and he needed some place for his son to be born. As the sun set, he knew they were out of options. Maybe this particular innkeeper had compassion on them and offered shelter in the stable.

We really don’t know the details, but what we do know is that they ended up in his stable. This particular innkeeper thought differently than the others. With no room in the inn, he offered them the only other place he had. He wasn’t going to turn a weary pregnant woman away. I’m sure he had no idea that she was carrying his Messiah. I’m sure he didn’t know that his stable would become a sanctuary. We simply know that he offered what he had and it was more than enough to be the setting for the birth of the King of Kings.

It makes me wonder how many times I’ve not had time or room for people in my life. How many times have I been like the other innkeepers in Bethlehem? What if some of them were sent to me by God? I believe that God gives us daily opportunities to open up and let others into the inn of our lives, but too often we are busy and are full so we turn them away. I believe if we found even just a small space for them, we could change their world. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood – being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without even knowing it (AMP).” The innkeeper entertained the Son of God unaware evacuee he was open to helping others.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 22, 2014 · 7:18 AM

The Angel’s Announcement

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/166/35840493/files/2014/12/img_0231.jpg

In my front yard I have one Christmas decoration aside from lights on my house. It’s an angel that is lit up. Every time I see it, I hear the words in my head, “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-14 KJV).”

To me, the Angels played an integral role in the birth of Jesus. They got to be the ones who announced His birth. I know there had to be excitement in Heaven that day. As soon as that angel finished the announcement, the Bible says that a multitude of the heavenly hosts joined him praising God. They said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” I wonder what it was like for those shepherds to experience such an announcement. We know that as soon as the Angels left, they went to Bethlehem.

God used Angels that night to announce the birth of His son. The Angels sent people to the manger where they could worship their Savior. Their task must have seemed simple. Go to the hillside where you will find shepherds and tell them to go to Bethlehem. They took what God gave them to do and did it with joy. We don’t know if Angels appeared to others to let them know about the birth of Jesus. We don’t know if others went. What we do know is that this group of Angels made such an impression, the shepherds went immediately to the manger.

Before jesus left this earth, He gave you and I the same task that was given to the Angels. “Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all (Mark 16:16 MSG).” Each of us have this call to announce His birth, death and resurrection wherever we go. Our job is to point people to the place where they can be saved. We celebrate Christmas in memory of the birth of Jesus. Without Him coming into this world, living a sinless life and dying on a cross to pay for our sins, there would be no salvation. Go out today and announce it.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 18, 2014 · 7:57 AM

Mary’s Mindset

When looking into the birth of Jesus, you have to look into Mary. She is the first one to get the news that she would give birth to our Savior. We don’t know how old she was or what she was doing when the Angel Gabriel arrived to give her the news. We do know it frightened her though. Gabriel reassured her and said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!” That words “found favor” can be translated to “brought joy, pleasure or delight to.” The Angel was telling her that she lived a life that brought joy to God and he was there to bring good news.

I wonder what went through Mary’s mind as he began to tell her that she was going to be pregnant with the Messiah. Did she start to wonder what kind of mom she would be? When he said her child would reign over Israel forever, did she grasp what he was saying? He gave her a lot to think about as he laid out God’s plan for her child. I don’t know what all she thought about, but I do know she was concerned about being pregnant. She asked, “How can this happen? I am a virgin.” She wasn’t questioning him. She, like you and I, wanted to know the specifics of God’s plan.

I love Gabriel’s response in Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment (AMP).” When God promises something to us, He will fulfill it. It doesn’t matter how impossible it may sound to us, God has the ability to make it happen. He is not bound by our limitations. He isn’t limited by our income. He is not intimidated by our fears. He is able to do exceedingly above and beyond all we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). The angel’s message to Mary (and us): If God said it, He will do it.

I think Mary’s response to that should be our response to God. It showed who she really was and why God chose her for such a task as to bring His Son into the world. Luke 1:38 says, “Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.'” It didn’t matter how impossible it sounded or how big a task it was, she was ready to do what God asked her to do. She pushed past her fear of the unknown. She looked beyond the possible shame of being pregnant out of wedlock. She agreed to do whatever it was that God asked her to do.

You and I need to learn to trust God’s plan above all else. It may seem impossible, out of reach or even outlandish, but if God said He would do it, our response she be like her’s. We should be willing to endure shame, push past our fears and trust that God knows what He’s doing. If we want our lives to bring joy, pleasure and delight to the King of Kings, then we should be a servant who’s willing to serve in whatever capacity He has for us. God’s looking for us to simply trust Him and say, “May everything you say about me come true.”

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,