Thursday Devotional - Christmas Peace?

Did you have a peaceful Christmas yesterday? I don’t think the first Christmas was peaceful. Ours started out peaceful, but it didn’t end peaceful.

James had an asthma attack that started just before bed and lasted many hours before he could finally calm down and sleep. Joe and I tried numerous things (inhaler/nebulizer/motrin/wedge under his mattress/chest massages/vapor rub/hot water to drink/standing on the front porch in the cold, etc.). Some of it would seem to help, but a few minutes later he was gasping for breath and coughing non-stop all over again. I kept praying for wisdom. Many times I told God I didn’t know what else to do and asked if we needed to go to the ER. I felt we had tried all we knew, but then He’d give one of us something else to try. Finally, after 3 different wedges, a final glass of hot water, and scratching his head, James started breathing well enough to fall asleep and stay asleep for several hours.

It was hard not to be afraid, but I knew God was with us and would give us direction. It made me think of the following promises of Jesus:

John 14:27    ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 16:33    ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Whether you had what you would define as a peaceful Christmas, we can all claim the peace God offers. Most importantly, He offers eternal spiritual peace. He also offers emotional peace, when we look to Him for direction. He is Immanuel – God with us!

Alice

Thurs Devo - Jesus who was and was and is and is to come

We were talking at dinner one night this week about how long ago Jesus came to earth as a baby. It’s hard to explain to a 5 and 3 year old how long 2000 years is!!! James voluntarily added that then Jesus became a kid, then a teenager, then an adult and now in Heaven with God! Yes!

Another new concept we talked about was that Jesus existed with God in the beginning before He came to earth as a baby. His incarnation is another hard thing to explain. We’ve worked this week on memorizing Genesis 1:1 and so we also talked through the truths from the following verses.

Genesis 1:1-2, 26 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters… ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Matthew 1:21-23   She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

A baby didn’t grow up and save you and me. God Himself came to earth to save us! Jesus was in Heaven in the beginning, Jesus was born as a baby, Jesus is in Heaven now and Jesus will come again. As the kids and I sang last night “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!” We can rejoice, knowing Jesus will come again!

Alice

Certainty over Luck

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.  `Hebrews 11:32-34, 39-40

There are many things in life that people will say is left up to chance.  “Hopefully, we will get lucky,” one would say.  “There’s risk in everything,” another might say.  With so much uncertainty in the world, why should we ever feel certain that things will turn out in our favor?  After all, what goes up must come down, right?

Faith in God gives us certainty that all things happen with good intention.  Last week, I mentioned faith as, “Assurance about what we do not see.”  (Hebrews 11:1b)  Years ago, I remember getting into an accident and totaling the car I was just about to finish paying off.  This was just after my wife and I had just purchased a new home which we knew would tighten our budget.  Then, my wife was laid off from work just prior to our move.  Did I mention that this was the year of the Great Recession?  I still remember vividly where we had nothing left in our bank account, and I just looked to God crying, “I don’t know what else you want me to do.  I can’t do this on my own.”  Now some would believe that we were victims of bad luck or unfortunate circumstances.  Yet when we had nothing, we still had God.  The very next day, a check came in the mail covering all the upcoming expenses for the next week.  That’s what faith will do.  And what did God’s intention teach me?  First, I learned dependency on God and surrendering all to Him.  Second, I learned contentment appreciating what God has blessed me with.   When we have faith in God, there is no luck or coincidence.  There is God’s righteous intention and the chance to gain wisdom and clarity of His purpose for our lives from it.

Acceptance of God’s will gives clarity in all situations.  Things cease to affect us adversely, and become opportunities to gain understanding of God’s plan for our lives.  What circumstances have you been given that need a God-centered perspective?  How can we have certainty of God’s goodness in uncertain times?  My prayer is that we don’t buy into luck but instead have certainty in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - Angel Quiz

In past years, I've done a couple quizzes at Christmas time to see if we really know the details surrounding Jesus' birth as well as we think we do. So, this year, I was led to put together a quiz to see what we know about the angels surrounding His birth.

1. How many people were visited by an angel leading up to Jesus' birth?

2. Who were each of the individuals?

3. How many of the angels are named?

4. What are their names?

5. How many times is it recorded that an angel appeared to Joseph before and after Jesus’ birth?

I'll post the answers next week. Or, for those who can't wait, you can figure them out now on your own by reading the Matthew passage below and Luke chapters 1 and 2!

Matthew 1:20-24 "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."

God came to live among us and in us! God incarnate, as Jesus, came to live among us. After Jesus death on the cross, to save us from our sins, we have God the Holy Spirit to live in us as believers. As we've been studying the last few Thursdays, God is always with us!

Alice