The Face of God

“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them

into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another,

‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that

has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’

And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph,

and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had

seen Him, they made widely known the saying which

was told them concerning this Child. And all those who

heard it marveled at those things which were told

them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

      Luke 2:15-19 (NKJV)

I’ve been thinking a great deal of Mary this Christmas season.  The amazement and wonder she felt at hearing the angel announce her role in the Messiah’s coming.  Considering the impact on her life and Joseph’s.  Experiencing the reactions of Elizabeth and the unborn baby John; the rejoicing of the shepherds and later, the worshiping of the Magi.  Learning of the suffering to come from Simeon. How did Mary respond?  She exhibited a simple, trusting faith.  She was humble, obedient to God’s will, submissive to His plan.  Mary exalted the Lord for regarding her “lowly state” and doing great things for her.  And she pondered all these things in her heart.

As a mother, I remember the thrill when my son was born—how cherished he was, how precious his little fingers and toes were, how sweet his cheeks were to kiss, how dear every development “milestone” was, how I loved to cuddle and hold him close.  Mary must have felt these things too.  And yet this Babe was not only her beloved child, He was her Savior!  As the song goes, when she kissed her little baby, she kissed the face of God!

Emmanuel. . .God became flesh to dwell among us. . .to be with us.  Like Mary, let us ponder these things in our heart, let us wonder and rejoice at how God has regarded our lowly state and done great things by proving for us a Savior!

Wishing you a blessed Christmas!

Thursday Devotional - 2018 Christmas Letter/Picture

For this week’s devotional, I thought I would include our Christmas letter and picture that we’re in the process of sending out.

Merry Christmas! Every year life seems busier, but God knew just what we needed as we faced several health crises for my parents, asthma attacks for James, another basement flood and decision dilemmas. We clung to verses such as Psalm 59:16 “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”

James (6) started kindergarten! He loves that his grand mom comes for reading time and lunch on Mondays. This Fall he also started going with me to Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and kept me accountable to learn the weekly memory verse with him. Gymnastics is another new favorite activity for him and Sarah.

Sarah (4) loves preschool three mornings a week! Her teacher said she sang to (and calmed down) a kid throwing a tantrum. Most importantly, she accepted Jesus as her personal Savior (partially through James’ invitation). The Holy Spirit’s work in her life is evident. She uses memory verses to encourage others.

Joe continues to counsel. In his free time, when he’s not dealing with a rental unit problem, he tackles our never-ending home projects. We both enjoy this year’s new BSF study and having the same leadership role! At church, we started teaching our preschool class and continue with the pre-service prayer team. In addition to work, I continue to write the Thursday devotional for believers at work (and externally post at: https://trdailydevotional.blogspot.com).

I pray you and I will seek and focus on God and His gift of Jesus our Savior, whether Christmas is merry or not.

Psalm 27:1-2, 7-8 and 13-14        

The Lord is my light and my salvation—   whom shall I fear? ²The Lord is the stronghold of my life—   of whom shall I be afraid?

⁷Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. ⁸My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”   Your face, Lord, I will seek.

¹³I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Alice

What Christmas Is All About

My evolution as a Christian continues.  The other day, A Charlie Brown Christmas comes on.  It was perfectly timed because my daughter had one of those ‘playing indoors and hitting the 55” HD TV’ wrong moments (see the 12/5 ‘God’s Righteous Anger’ Devotion), and I really wasn’t up for my initial reaction.  So, I’m laughing as Snoopy boos the announcement of Charlie Brown, his owner, as the director and Schroeder plays ‘Jingle Bells’ practically breaking each piano key for emphasis.  Then of course my heart warms as the Peanuts gang fixed Charlie Brown’s awkward looking tree with Snoopy’s Christmas décor to make it a shiny Christmas tree.  But for some reason, I never really gravitated to the most important part of the cartoon … until this year.

To set the scene, Charlie Brown is dealing with his less than enthusiastic cast as they resist following his direction.  As they laugh at his choice of a sparse little Christmas tree, he yells out in the auditorium, “Doesn’t anyone know what Christmas is all about?”

And so, Linus steps up to the microphone, and then asks for the spotlight to shine on him.  Then he says:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 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. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  Luke 2:8-14 KJV

As followers of Christ, we are always reminded that He is the reason for the season.  However, I admit this was falling a bit on the ‘checklist’ side of things, and I might have lost sight of it.  I focused on what to get my wife or how happy my granddaughter will be when she gets that new doll.  These are all great things and part of the celebration, but I should always remember the word ‘Christmas’ begins with ‘Christ.’  We often focus on the lessons we learn from Jesus, and that He died so that we may have eternal life.  But none of it is possible without His coming to being.  God understood what our problem was, and despite all His warnings and amazing feats by His believers, He could not bridge the divide of our separation from us because of our sins.  And thus, a solution was given.  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior.”  A Savior!  The answer to our long-needed question of, “How do we get to heaven?” No matter how our lives mirror the examples of Moses, Joshua, Jonah, David, or any others, we all fall short of God’s glory.  But on this day, “the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”  Not a few.  All!

We are so blessed to have a God who loves us.  John 3:16 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  He certainly did not have to.  He could have chosen to leave us be, and washed us away like the great flood during Noah’s time.  But He did what we often do this time of year.  He gave, and it was the best gift we could ever get.  One we could neither buy nor earn.  He gave us freedom from our past mistakes and the opportunity for eternal life.  Let us ensure we understand the depth and level of thankfulness this wonderful and glorious day brings!  How will you share the story of Christmas this season?  Who in your life needs the Good News today?  My prayer is that we remember the closing line of Linus’ speech as he says, “That’s what Christmas is all about.”  May He bring you and your family peace, good will, and a Merry Christmas!  Amen.

Good News!

Luke 2:8-12

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Think about a time that you had good news.  Maybe it was that you were expecting a baby or maybe it was a new job. When you have good news, you typically want to shout it from the rooftops.  Both of those however, are situations that you may not be able to show it from the rooftops right away. 

When Christ was born, the good news could not be contained.  It was too great and therefore brought forth a huge announcement.  As we approach Christmas, the excitement of Christ’s birth is still alive today.  It is something that we should still be excited to share with everyone we come in contact with. 

How are you sharing the good news of Christ’s birth?  Do you shout it from the rooftops?  Today I want to encourage you to not withhold this fabulous news.  It may just be what leads someone else to be reborn and have their own good news to share.

Merry Christmas!