2025-12-25
Luke 2:12 RSV
Arriving at church one Christmas morning, a pastor paused to admire the nativity scene. The figures, lovingly crafted, sat on a small stage… shepherds… wise men… animals… and in the centre, the Holy Family. Then he noticed the manger was empty; the baby Jesus was missing! After searching the church he called the associate pastor and the elders, but they knew nothing. The baby had obviously been stolen. Solemnly he reported the theft to his congregation, disappointed to think one of them might be involved. “If the baby is returned by the end of the day there’ll be no questions asked,” he said.
But the manger remained empty all day, and that afternoon, heavy-hearted and discouraged, the pastor took a walk through the wintry streets. Ahead he noticed six-year-old Tommy, bundled up against the cold, proudly dragging a bright red wagon. Knowing Tommy’s family struggled financially, the pastor was touched by their sacrifice and sped up so he could wish Tommy a merry Christmas and admire his shiny new wagon. As he approached, however, he noticed the wagon wasn’t empty – inside, wrapped and blanketed against the cold, lay the baby Jesus!
Solemnly the pastor crouched down beside Tommy. He was just a little boy, but old enough to know that stealing was wrong. The pastor made this crystal clear as the child listened; his eyes filled with what the pastor assumed were penitent tears. “But pastor,” the little boy replied, “I didn’t steal Jesus. It wasn’t like that at all. I’ve been asking Him for a red wagon for Christmas for ages – and I promised if I got one, I’d take Him on the first ride.”
Soul food: Isa 9:1-7; Matt 2:1-12; Micah 5:2-5a
2025-12-24
John 1:14 NIV
Here’s a great story from Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. It’s about a recovering alcoholic called Jim. It was his first Christmas alone, and when a young family sat down beside him in the pew he couldn’t handle it. As he was leaving the church he met Pastor Thomas Tedwell, who asked where he was going. “Out for a drink,” he replied. Tedwell said, “You can’t. Where’s your sponsor?” “On vacation,” replied Jim. “I came here tonight looking for a word of hope and ended up sitting beside this happy family. And if I had my life together, I’d be here with mine.”
As the pastor walked to the pulpit he prayed, “God, give me a word of hope for Jim.” Then after welcoming the congregation, he said, “I’ve an unusual request. If anyone here is a friend of Bill W’s, and if you are – you’ll know it, please meet me in the vestry. (Bill Wilson, better known as Bill W., cofounded Alcoholics Anonymous). Immediately people from all over the church began to respond. As Dr. Tedwell observed, “While I was busy preaching about the Incarnation, the Word was becoming flesh before my eyes!”
This Christmas some of the people around you are hurting; they’ve lost hope. So, “Let the word become flesh.” Lift the fallen, encourage the despairing, and minister to the sick, the lonely, and the forgotten. Jesus said, “When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40 TLB) Instead of keeping to yourself this year, reach out to someone. Go ahead – it’ll be your best Christmas ever!
Soul food: 1 Cor 10-11; Matt 1:18-25; Ps 139:1-12; Prov 31:25-27
2025-12-23
Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV
For many years Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse pastored Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church. One Sunday morning a twelve-year-old boy in the balcony was transfixed after hearing him speak about the length and breadth and depth of God’s amazing grace. Barnhouse closed his sermon by summarizing many of the great promises from Scripture in one impressive sentence: “Our sins are forgiven, forgotten, cleansed, pardoned… covered… blotted out as a thick cloud, removed as far as the east is from the west… cast behind God’s back.” At the end of the service when Barnhouse went to the back to greet people, the boy approached him, tugged at his sleeve, and said, “Good sermon, Doc! We’re sure sittin’ pretty, aren’t we?”
That glorious phrase “in Christ” speaks to the redemptive miracle God performed for us through his Son (See Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:6-13). The word “in” assures us that just as our natural birth positioned us in Adam, our forefather, at the new birth God deliberately and precisely positions us in Jesus, our Redeemer.
Think about it: “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses… raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV). Note that we’re seated together in heavenly places in Christ, not beside Him. And it gets even better! We’re seated there so closely identified with Jesus that we’re inseparably and eternally one with Him! Now if that’s not sitting pretty, tell us what is!
Soul food: 1 Cor 7-9; Matt 1:17; Ps 97; Prov 31:22-24
2025-12-22
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Psychologists say our self-worth is based upon what we believe the most important people in our lives think of us. For children, that would likely be their parents. For adults, that could be a spouse, a boss, a friend, or mentor. The problem is that people disappoint us. They can do things that bring us heartache and pain.
The key to really knowing and sustaining a true sense of self-worth is to let your heavenly Father be the most important person in your life. Form your sense of value on what He says about you. When you make mistakes, some people may criticize and make you feel overcome with guilt. But God says, “I have mercy for every mistake. Get up and go again. Your future is brighter than your past” (See vv. 4-10 NLT).
The Bible says that you are “God’s masterpiece.” A masterpiece is not mass-produced or created on an assembly line. It’s not average. It’s unique. It’s original. It’s custom made. It’s one of a kind. That’s how God sees you. And that’s how He wants you to begin seeing yourself. The psalmist put it this way: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” (Psalm 139:16-18 NLT).
Soul food: 1 Cor 4-6; Matt 1:12-16; Ps 117; Prov 31:18-21
2025-12-21
John 2:10 NKJV
Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding reception. There were six waterpots, each capable of holding thirty gallons. First, He said, “Fill those pots with water.” Next, He said, “Take some out and bring it to the host of the party.” When the host tasted it, he told the groom, “This is amazing. Everyone serves the best wine first, and after people have had a lot to drink, they bring out the less expensive wine. But you have saved the best wine for last” (See vv. 7-10 NLT).
Do you know how long it takes to make wine? It begins with planting seeds, then takes several years for the vines to grow mature grapes. Then they have to be picked and processed to produce the wine. It often takes three to five years before the first wine is ready to be bottled. The better-quality wine takes five to seven years to make. And people consider the best wine to be twenty to thirty years old. Jesus produced in a moment in time what normally takes decades to produce.
So if you’re concerned that you don’t have enough time to achieve your goals, remember that Jesus can do in a moment what might usually take years. Maybe it would typically take you twenty years to pay off your mortgage, or ten years to build your business. But God’s Favour can thrust you years down the road. He still turns water into wine. Be encouraged, the God we serve knows how to accelerate natural laws. He can take you further, quicker than you can ever imagine.
Soul food: John 14:6-11; Acts 4:8-12; Acts 16:22-34; Matt 1:18-21
2025-12-20
Psalm 91:11 NLT
A college professor once took a group of students to China for a field trip. Several days into the journey, the professor experienced unimaginable stomach pain and was rushed by ambulance to a local clinic. It was a tiny town and the medical staffer in charge of the clinic observed that the professor’s appendix had ruptured. Poison was spreading all through his body, but since there were no surgeons around, there wasn’t much that could be done for him. The professor went into convulsions and in and out of consciousness.
Back home in America during a church service, the professor’s father, a pastor, began to feel an extraordinary burden for his son. He said to the congregation, “We must stop and pray for my son. Something is wrong.” In China it was two o’clock in the morning when suddenly one of the country’s most famous surgeons walked into the clinic – the very surgeon who travels with the US president when he visits China. The staff was amazed to see him.
“I’m here to take care of the American,” the surgeon said, and he operated and saved the professor’s life. The next day, the surgeon said to the professor, “Who were those two men you sent into my office yesterday?” The professor replied, “I didn’t send anybody to you. I don’t know anybody here in China.” The surgeon said, “That’s odd, because they said you were a very important person and that I needed to be here and operate on you.” God’s Word says, “He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”
Soul food: 1 Cor 1-3; Matt 1:6b-11; Ps 113; Prov 31:14-17
