2023-12-26
Luke 2:20 NIV
An early pioneer traveling across the Great Plains stopped at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Amazed to discover a vast chasm one mile deep and eighteen miles wide stretching out of sight, he exclaimed, “Something must have happened here!”
And as Haddon Robinson observed: “At… Christmas… anyone who stops to look and listen must ask what the hustle and bustle is all about. A thoughtful man or woman seeing the lights… decorations… festivities, and… religious services might also conclude, ‘Something must have happened here!’ Of course, something did happen. We need to tell the world… God has visited our planet. His Son… came to reveal God and to die for our sins (See John 1:1-14). He lived among us that we might live forever with Him.”
When the shepherds found the Messiah lying in a manger, they marveled because it “was just as they had been told” (Luke 2:20 NET). As a result, they “returned, glorifying… God for all the things they had heard and seen.” They returned to their fields and flocks with fresh energy. But they still had to return.
Jon Walker writes: “After we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we return to the office… to school… to the things we normally do… God takes us to the mountaintops… shows us great miracles and wonders, but He doesn’t leave us there. It’s in the fields and among the flocks that our faith grows, nurtured in the soil of the mundane… The conflicts over… who cleans up the mess, who gets to go home early, or who gets the biggest piece of pie, test whether it’s really Christ who lives in us.”
Soul food: Zech 1-5; John 20:1-9; Ps 113; Prov 31:14-17
2023-12-25
Isaiah 9:6 TLB
Jack Hayford writes: “Who is this Babe of Bethlehem… who became flesh… who called forth songs of angels… this Christ of Christmas? …the answer comes back with ringing authority… He is the Redeemer – ‘in whom we have redemption’ (Colossians 1:14 NKJV). We who believe on His name have been ‘qualified’ (v. 12 NKJV), ‘delivered’ and ‘conveyed’ (v. 13 NKJV) into a new… kingdom, by… a price once-paid to secure our freedom, potential, and fellowship.
He is the Revealer – ‘the image of the invisible God’ (v. 15 NKJV). The veil of mystery is removed… no one need wonder what He is like – His Son Jesus has come to disclose His heart, His nature, His ways, His very being. Christ reveals all of the Father we could ever want to understand (See John 14:9).
He is the Creator – ‘by Him all things were created’ (Colossians 1:16 NKJV). All things – in heaven and earth – were made… for His use, pleasure, and glory. He is the Sustainer – ‘in him all things consist’ (v. 17 NKJV). He, the Word, spoke all things into existence (See John 1:3)… and ‘upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3 NAS). Just as He creates (See Hebrews 11:3), so He keeps.
He is the Leader – ‘the head of the body, the church’ (Colossians 1:18 KJV). He gained this position by reason of His proven power and authority demonstrated in His resurrection. He who created all beings and powers (See v. 16) confined Himself within His own creation and voluntarily submitted to death (See Philippians 2:6-9). But to the dismay of hell, He rose from the dead, gave birth to the Church, and is now Lord over all.”
Soul food: Isaiah 9:1-7; Luke 2:1-20; Micah 5:2-5a
2023-12-24
John 1:14 NKJV
When the angel visited Mary, he said, “Don’t be frightened… God has decided to… bless you!” (Luke 1:30 TLB). Yet when it comes to approaching God directly, many religions are ruled by fear.
Philip Yancey says: “Certainly the Jews associated fear with worship… A person ‘blessed’ with a direct encounter with God expected to come away scorched or glowing or maybe half-crippled like Jacob… Among people who walled off a separate sanctum for God in the temple and shrank from pronouncing or spelling out the name, God made a surprise appearance as a baby in a manger. In Jesus, God found a way of relating to human beings that did not involve fear… A New Covenant… that would not emphasize the… gulf between God and humanity but instead would span it… I learned about incarnation when I kept a saltwater aquarium… You would think, in view of all the energy expended on their behalf, that my fish would at least be grateful. Not so. Every time my shadow loomed above the tank they dove for cover… to [them] I was deity… too large for them, my actions too incomprehensible. My acts of mercy they saw as cruelty; my attempts at healing… as destruction. To change their perceptions… I would have to become a fish and ‘speak’ to them in a language they could understand. A human being becoming a fish is nothing compared to God becoming a baby. Yet… that is what happened at Bethlehem. The God who created matter took shape within it, as an artist might become a spot on a painting or a playwright a character within his own play. God wrote a story, only using real characters, on the pages of real history. The Word became flesh.”
Soul food: Isaiah 11:1-10; Luke 1:39-56
2023-12-23
Luke 1:31 NIV
We have sung the words of that Christmas carol since infancy. But those words actually do not come from Scripture. “Silent Night” was a poem written by an Austrian priest in 1816. The words conjure up a serene picture with the happy couple watching their newborn baby. It’s not likely, however, that there was silence. After an exhausting journey on a donkey, Joseph and the very pregnant Mary didn’t check into the master suite of the Bethlehem Grand Hotel. They begged the use of an animal shelter, complete with the clatter and scents of barnyard animals – anything but silent! Ask any mother about giving birth. Even with the help of modern pain-reducing medicines and sterilized environments, the bravest woman rarely remains silent while giving birth. For Mary, Joseph, and Jesus – this was hardly a silent night!
“Oh, Holy night”: Of all the nights in history, this was the most holy. God set in motion His eternal plan to come to earth as the Redeemer of lost people. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV). Jesus came to take on Himself the sins of doomed humanity, so “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (v. 21 NKJV). It doesn’t get any holier than that!
“All is calm, all is bright”: On that holiest of nights, our spiritual and moral darkness was forever dispelled by Jesus, the Light of the World. And our fears as lost sinners were replaced by the peace and joyful assurance that we are His eternally forgiven people.
Soul food: 2 Tim 1-4; John 19:31-42; Ps 128; Prov 31:10-13
2023-12-22
John 13:35 NRSV
Have you seen the poster depicting three men, each representing a different version of Jesus? The first looks like an uncouth mountain man, the second is tanned and athletic, the third is a slight, meek-mannered character. The caption underneath says, “Will the real Jesus please stand up?”
In John 13, the real Jesus stands up. He tells us what He is all about and what He wants us to be all about – and it’s love! In the upper room, Jesus recognized that His time was short. The cross was looming, Judas was about to betray Him, and He had to prepare His disciples to continue without Him. It’s like asking a pastor, “If you had one last sermon, what would it be?” Or asking a teacher, “What great truth would you most like to convey to your students?” Or asking parents, “If you could tell your kids only one thing, what would it be?”
Jesus spells it out: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you… By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (vv. 34-35 NRSV). Like a last will and testament, Jesus’ final message is important not only because of its content but because of its tone and timing. It sums up His life and our responsibility to God and to others – to love them! Now, since love isn’t what you say but what you do – today go out and find practical ways to express God’s love to those you meet. They will feel good, and you will too.
Soul food: Micah 5-7; John 19:17-30; Ps 47; Prov 31:6-9
2023-12-21
Proverbs 11:25 MSG
One of the best ways to keep your life in balance and stay on track spiritually is to pass on what you know to others. The Bible says, “Those who help others are helped.” As you pass along your insights, you will get more insights from God. Paul challenges Timothy, “Now I want you to tell these same things to followers who can be trusted to tell others” (2 Timothy 2:2 CEV).
If you know people who haven’t discovered their God-given purpose in life yet, it’s your job to share with them what has been shared with you. For example, don’t just read this devotional and keep it to yourself, share it with your friends. The more you know, the more God expects you to use that knowledge to help others. That’s how things are supposed to work in His kingdom. James writes, “Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning” (James 4:17 NCV). In other words, increased knowledge brings increased responsibility.
Passing along the purpose of life to others is more than just an obligation; it’s one of our greatest privileges. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone knew their calling. That’s why Paul writes, “If you teach these things to other followers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 4:6 CEV). Not only does God want us to live out His purposes, He wants us to help others do the same.
That is what assignment-centered living is all about. Regardless of your age, the rest of your life can be the best of your life if you will do this one thing – start living on purpose!
Soul food: Micah 1-4; John 19:1-16; Ps 12; Prov 31:1-5
