Christmas 2007

Devotional - December 21

Only 4 more days 'til Christmas - where has the time gone?

I found this article in "In Touch" magazine - it's the December 2007 edition. My mom subscribes to it and I've been visiting my mom - so, thanks Mom, for helping me out here!!

"A Lesson Learned From Jesus' Birth"

READ: Luke 2:1-7 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Every portion of Scripture is significant. (2 Timothy 3:16). It can be surprising to discover what favorite Bible stories reveal about God. For instance, many families have a Christmas tradition of reading the account of Jesus' birth. The words are a comforting reminder that Christ came to earth to die for our sins. But the details of His birth also teach us that what may appear unimportant can have far-reaching consequences.

Some people of Jesus' time expected the Messiah to be a man of power and standing, who would free the Jewish nation from Roman rule. But the Savior of the world, whose life, death, and resurrection would have eternal impact, was born into lowly circumstances. Neither Joseph nor Mary had position or power, and even Jesus' birth city of Bethlehem was politically unimportant. Those who were keeping vigil for a Messiah with wordly status no doubt missed the Savior when He came.

Modern believers shouldn't scoff at the shortsightedness of Jesus' contemporaries. Like them, we often ignore the seemingly insignificant while waiting for God to do something dramatic. Our attention can be so focused on our situation and how we want it to resolve that we miss the Lord at work in unexpected ways.

EARLY LIGHT: The saints of God are called to live with eyes and hearts open to His guidance. When we seek His will and commit to following Him in everything, we will not miss opportunities to obey Him. And our obedience, even in matters that seem trival, does have eternal consequences.

Devotional - December 18

Reflect: A favorite movie quote: "Buddy the Elf speaking, what's your favorite color?" I love the innocence and exuberance of Buddy, the main character in the Christmas movie "Elf." Buddy personifies the type of child-like wonder and joy I need to have infused into the core of my soul at Christmas time...how about you?

Read: "Joy to the world, the Lord is come...let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing." Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is in your midst...He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." God is with us and rejoices over us - we are with God and we rejoice over Him - sounds like a continuous state of joy!

Imagine: Just for a moment, look at life through the eyes of a child - children have a way of seeing what we don't see - they see people and details that we completely gloss over. They see beauty in simple things like dandelions and silver crayons. They squeal with joy at an energetic puppy's antics. Their eyes open wide at the sight of a birthday cake with candles burning brightly. They jump up and down in anticipation of a cookie - even a store-bought one. Today, find something to jump up and down about! Even better yet, find a friend to jump up and down with!!

Pray: God help me to see You through the eyes of a child today. Restore a sense of wonder and anticipation to my heart and help me to rejoice in the simple things.

Celebrate: Only 8 days 'til Christmas!

Devotional - December 17

I have a friend who is the lead pastor of a church in California. He writes some very thought-provoking posts on his personal blog. He recently wrote a post called "Christmas Time Is Hear." Here's an excerpt..."Driving into our neighborhood just a week ago we were singing, "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas," today with just about everyone's decorations up; we sing, "Christmas Time is Here!"

Which is the real point of what I would like to discuss. Seeing Christmas is much different than hearing Christmas.

There is so much in music; emotion, beauty, encouragement, companionship... if seeing is believing then hearing is being.  In other words, decorations let me know what time of year it is, while listening to Christmas music transcends time. Music can transport me back in time to a moment or Christmas music specifically can put me in the spirit of Christmas even if it's July." Click HERE to read the entire post.

Devotional - December 16

This devotional came from Greg Laurie, a pastor in Southern California. I've struggled for years to keep the real reason for Christmas totally in focus. This perfectly expresses what I've known and felt for a while now. I challenge you to read, reflect, imagine, and respond!

I heard a story about a little girl who noticed that her mom was getting really stressed out around Christmas. Everything was bothering her mom, and she was very irritable. Evening came and the mom bathed the little girl, got her ready for bed, put her under the covers, and had her say her prayers. She would usually pray the Lord's Prayer. But on this particular evening, she amended it a little bit. Her petition went something like this: "Father, forgive us our Christmases, as we forgive those who Christmas against us."

That is what happens when we lose focus of the real meaning of Christmas, isn't it? We get so caught up in the busyness of the season that sometimes we forget the wonder of it all: that deity took on humanity, that God became a man. Scripture sums it up well in 2 Corinthians 8:9, which says: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (NKJV). Jesus literally went from the throne of Heaven to a simple little cave or stable.

Can you imagine what must have gone through Mary's mind that day when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she would be the mother of the Messiah? Her head must have been swimming. "What about Joseph? What are people going to say?" But God had it all put together, because the time was just right in every way.

But there was one small detail: The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, as Scripture prophesied (see Micah 5:2). So the Lord touched the mind of a little man who was big in his own mind. His name was Caesar and, at this particular time in history, he was the most powerful man on Earth. One day, Caesar gave a decree that all of the world should be taxed. In reality, he was nothing more than a pawn in the hand of God. The Lord needed Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, so He moved events.

So Mary and Joseph had to make the difficult journey to Bethlehem, which was especially perilous for a woman who was as far along in her pregnancy as Mary was. But they did make it, and there the miraculous birth of Christ took place, just as Scripture said it would.

This little baby grew up quickly and, although we would love to know more about his boyhood, the Bible offers only a few details. But one day in the synagogue in Nazareth, as the custom was, the time had come for Jesus to read. He walked to the front of the synagogue, opened up the scroll, and began to read from Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18–19 NLT)

When He had finished, He sat down and said, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (verse 21). He had declared himself the Messiah. His public ministry had begun.

This One who was sent from God was always in perfect sync with the Father. While He spoke with the learned spiritual leaders, He always had time for the outcasts of society—people like the woman at the well and the tax collector, Zacchaeus. People like you. People like me.

His ministry on Earth was only a few years, and then He was crucified. You can be sure that as He hung there on the cross, where all of the sin of humanity was placed upon Him, this was God's most painful moment. But then it was finished. Jesus rose again from the dead and, after a time, ascended back into Heaven, promising to come back to this earth. And we eagerly await that day.

This Jesus who was born in a manger, who walked this earth, who was crucified, and who rose again, is not some mere historical figure, although He was that. He is alive, and He is still in the business of changing lives.

That is the reason He came: to put us in touch with God, to forgive us of all of our sins, and to give our lives purpose and meaning.

~Greg Laurie~