Spotlight on the Baby

“Listen to me, my people;
hear me, my nation:
Instruction will go out from me;
my justice will become a light to the nations.

My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation is on the way,
and my arm will bring justice to the nations.(Isaiah 51:4-5)

God used His prophet, Isaiah, to spread hope, to tell the people to 'listen,' Isaiah has been told by God, things He wants the people to hear. Things like: justice will become a light to the nations, righteousness draws near, salvation is on the way. These are encouraging words for a suffering people to hear.

Waiting for a Messiah to appear is not easy, especially when you have heard of this promise all your life and don't really understand what it is all about. Then, one day, you see for yourself. All the waiting and anticipation is over. The Star shines above, the shepherds follow the light and are rewarded when they find the baby, the light to the nations, the righteousness and the longed-for Savior.

Fast forward a couple thousand years. Imagine you are a shepherd and you have just seen the bright star shining above. Light has covered your once dark world. Things look different. Your life is new and laid out before you are opportunities to embrace; a Savior to follow. 

Do you remember when you first basked in the light of your Savior? Do you recall how everything changed when you first encountered the baby Jesus, when you saw Him for the first time? Tell about that blessed moment. Comment below or email here.

Isaiah 51:4-16

Tremble In AWE

Read Jeremiah 5:22 

In seasonal transition, summer is passing the torch to fall. As I write, outside the palladium window I see the beautiful sunrise with radiant shades of pink and purple. It’s awesome!

The first time I heard a live performance of Handel’s Messiah I was filled with awe. I sat alone for a while in the auditorium worshiping God with adoration as the Hallelujah Chorus echoed in my heart. Every Advent season I look for a time and place to hear again the Messiah.

George Frideric Handel composed Messiah with little sleep or food. He never left his house during the three weeks he was writing. A friend who visited found him sobbing with intense emotion. As Handel described what he had experienced, he alluded to Saint Paul's words, “Whether I was in my body or out of my body when I wrote it, I know not.” When he completed the Hallelujah Chorus, he told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne with a company of Angels” (Revelation 19:6).

This awe and adoration must be a small measure of what Jeremiah sensed when he wrote this verse.

QUESTIONS:

1. What grips your soul? Is awe by itself worship of God?

2. How do you move from awe to adoration?

PRAYER:

Father, open to me the mysteries of the Gospel of Your Christ Jesus. Fill my whole being with the presence of Your Holy Spirit.

Diane Ward

Awesome Deeds

Read: Psalm 66:1-4

I’m picturing a new mother or father at the first sight of their newborn baby. The awe and wonder of new life is quite profound at that moment. It shows on their faces. It’s the face of Mary and Joseph, repeated each time new parents lay their eyes on their child.

Other amazing deeds of God are no less profound, so let’s not miss them. The word “Selah” at the end of this passage in Psalm 66 tells us to “pause and praise, to think about carefully.” According to these verses, God’s awesome deeds and power are worthy of our praise and deep thought. This week alone we have seen many of His workings:

•The promise of the coming of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah

•The fulfillment of this promise at the pregnancy of Elizabeth

•The promise of the coming Messiah who will bring salvation and peace

•The restoration of joy at His salvation and offer of forgiveness

Yes, our God is an awesome God indeed! Let’s keep our sights expectantly on what He is about today. He is every bit as involved in stunning deeds now as He was in Bible times. Selah!

QUESTIONS:

1. How can we be more aware of what “awesome deeds” God is doing in and around us?

2. How might we continue to be awed by what God is doing rather than becoming complacent about His activity in the world?

PRAYER:

Wondrous God, overwhelm me with truth in Your Word and with deeds in Your world that I might sing praises to Your name! Amen.

Mary Lou Garves

Who Is Jesus?

READ: Matthew 16:13-18

Who is Jesus?

Some say he is a fictional character. Others, that he existed but very little written about him is true. Some think his sayings are true; he was a wise teacher, but not a miracle worker. Still others, that he was a prophet, a way to relationship with God—one of many valid paths.

I say he is who he says he is: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) And who Peter says he is: “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matt 16:16)

Ever wonder how so many of Jesus’s followers could hear his words, see his miracles, and still get it wrong?

Ever wonder how so many people in your own life could see the Spirit’s work in you, hear your teaching about Jesus, receive the love you give them from the Father, and still not believe?

Maybe if I studied more apologetics, phrased things in a more culturally relevant way, we think to ourselves. Maybe if I loved better or tricked them into church with a bait-and-switch promise of free food, fun games, or great prizes!

And then we hear the words of Christ and realize that even we still have it wrong. As Jesus said to Peter, “This was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matt 16:17)

Have a friend or family member who doesn’t know who Jesus is? Pray for them. Your logic and love cannot save them; only God can save them.

Ponder If You Must, Then Trust

Luke 1:26-38

 

Mary was a ponderer. When the angel Gabriel visited her and said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you (vs 28),” she pondered what he might mean. Gabriel continued to tell her the purpose of his visit.  “You have found favor with God…and you will conceive…and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

“He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end (vs 30-33).”

It seems by her question after this wonderful news regarding the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah coming through her, that she was pondering the logistics of it all.  “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Was Mary about to miss the main message of the coming Messiah by focusing on details of the process?

Being a bit of a ponderer myself, I identify with her question and thought process.  Many years ago, I attended nursing conference in Orlando, FL. We had an afternoon that was meeting-free, during which many of us chose to visit Disney World. I went on “It’s a Small World” ride and was totally blown away by all the intricate interaction of the extravaganza.  I began focusing on looking behind what was presented to the public to try and discover the inner workings of the ride.

Once I was satisfied in my ponderings of the behind-the-scenes workings, I was able to turn to the animation and thoroughly enjoy it as we moved through the ride.  Perhaps Mary needed to do the same: explore her ponderings of the “How” in order to trust the process God laid out for the miracle.

Mary was favored by God.  He did not become impatient with her question.  Perhaps He gave her enough information to help her trust Him with the process, which allowed her to rejoice in the miracle in which she was about to play a pivotal part.  In her final words to the angel, Mary showed her complete surrender to God’s plan to be accomplished in and through her. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word (vs 38, ESV).”

Prayer:  Lord, help us to trust You in the process You lay out for us – that we might see the miracles you plan to accomplish in and through our lives. Amen.

Heirs together

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--( Ephesians 3:1)

We face many different types of dissent in our daily living. Often, the workplace is a prime target for backbiting and unhappy people. If there isn't a strong relationship with our co-workers, it can be hard to enjoy the job. If the supervisors don't present an open and honest environment, unnecessary competition takes over and tensions escalate.

Unrest of any kind is detrimental to the well-being of its people, its members. It is the workplace, the family unit, even the neighborhood. We aren't always going to agree, but we can still get along and even respect each other's point of view.

We find Paul in jail, a "prisoner in chains for Christ," as he calls himself. The conflict in our text today is between believers and politicians - sound familiar? Paul had been arrested because he took a stand for the equality of Jews and Gentiles as Christians. The Jewish leaders saw this as radical and destructive so they imprisoned him.

God got a hold of Paul and revealed that Jesus Christ truly was the promised Messiah of the Jews and a light to the Gentiles, thus ending the life Paul lived before. The life of persecution and hatred. In a flash of light, God changed Paul's life and therefore yours and mine too.

Paul's conflict wasn't with the followers of Jesus any longer, but with the religious leaders whose mission it was to put an end to them. Once God gets a hold of us, we are changed too. Any conflict we have with our Christians brothers and sisters must be dealt with head on, with honesty and love. That is what separates us from the rest of the world.

Like the lyrics to the song go:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side...etc.

Ephesians 3:1-6

Better Know Messiah

Today’s reading is John 4:1-26.

 

Jesus asked a woman for some water at a well. Jesus knew this stranger, a Samaritan, like the back of his hand. He knew that she had been married five times. He knew she was currently living with a man who was not her husband. He also knew that, while she worshipped God, she really did not understand God.

 

In fact, Jesus told her, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

 

The woman did not know who Jesus was. As the conversation went on, she caught on that he was special. She even called him a prophet.

 

“I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us,” she continued. With that statement, Jesus told her that he was the Messiah.

 

She had no idea.

 

Most of the Samaritans worshipped the same God that the Jews did. The Samaritans were a mixture of the Jews who remained from the Assyrian exile and the people that the Assyrians relocated to Israel. They were a mixture of races, and they worshipped both the true Lord and many pagan gods brought from places east.

 

More interesting, the Samaritan Bible consisted of the first five books of the Bible, that is, the Pentateuch. They did not believe the other books in the Old Testament were of any significance. They were deprived of the word of the prophets that told of the coming Messiah.

 

It should be no surprise that while she knew Messiah was coming, she knew next to nothing of the Messiah.

 

Today, we not only have the entire Old Testament at our disposal, we also have the New Testament. We have God’s Word in its entirety.

 

It is important that we know Messiah is coming. It is also important that we know who Messiah is and have a relationship with him.

 

What can you do to better know Messiah?

Better Than Ice Cream

I love ice cream!

 

When my kids were young and growing up, an almost nightly summer ritual got them very excited. They would hear a bell, and perhaps some music. Immediately they would stop whatever they were doing and come running home, yelling, “The ice cream man! The ice cream man!”

 

I would grab my wallet, and we would all go outside, flag down the truck, and happily enjoy ice cream.

 

Today’s reading is John 1:1-12.

 

Prior to Jesus beginning his ministry, John the Baptist is sent to tell everyone that the Messiah is here. He “came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.”

 

What an awesome responsibility John had! What a great joy to be God’s mouthpiece to announce the coming of the promised Messiah!

 

The Baptist certainly had a large following. He had to remind his disciples that he was merely God’s mouthpiece, and not the Messiah. He even told them he was not worthy of untying Jesus' sandals.

 

Most of his life must have been happier than my family having ice cream. (Yes, I am sure John did not enjoy his beheading!)

 

My kids announced the coming of the ice cream man. John the Baptist announced the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.

 

We are a lot like John the Baptist. We have an awesome responsibility. We can also be the Church’s, that is God’s, mouthpiece.  

 

John told the world that Jesus is coming and what he would be doing. We get to tell the world that Jesus has come, and what he has done for us. And Jesus has done a lot for us.

 

The forgiveness of sins. Bodily resurrection. Eternity in heaven.

 

It is even better than ice cream.

It Starts at the Cross

John 1:34 (NIV)
 ^" I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." 

John the Baptist's job was to point people to Jesus, the long awaited Messiah. This is our job also. I never really made this connect before. John, Jesus's cousin, was the first to be charged with telling the world the good news and then pointing right at him and saying, "Make straight the way for the Lord." John was preparing the hearts of man to receive the Savior into their midst.

The prophet Isaiah foretold John the Baptist, who would come into the world proclaiming a Messiah would soon appear. Isaiah's people had been exiled for their sin, they had been in captivity for 70 years as a result of their evil and wicked ways. They spend 70 years living in a foreign land as a way to atone for their sin.

Isaiah and John were preparing their people, their world, for a long awaited Savior, one who would forgive sins and cleanse hearts the moment repentance took place. It sounds so easy, doesn't it? It seems like a free pass.  To think we can simply change our behavior and turn to God for forgiveness and it is done. But anyone who has ever attempted to change a behavior knows it isn't easy.

We struggle daily to do the next right thing. We fight temptations, addictions, resentments, and many days we have to start over again. But the wonderful thing is, we can start over. We have a God who loves us and wants us to keep trying and He will be at our side.

Our flesh is weak and we need help, lots of help. We need forgiveness and understanding. We need grace to get through each day.  We need the love of Jesus even give us the desire and then the fortitude to continue through each day, battling Satan. For that is what we do every day. Temptations abound.

Our world is filled with pain and suffering and sin.  But Jesus has overcome the world.

 John 1:19-34

Matthew 2: 1-12

                                                      Epiphany Sunday

                                            God in the Flesh                                   

Epiphany comes from two Greek words basically meaning to shine upon, to reveal, or to appear or manifest. At this place in scripture, the Epiphany celebrates God’s revealing or manifesting of Jesus’ identity as true God, Messiah, and Savior of the world.

From The Journey (A bible for seeking God and understanding life)

Reasons to Believe:

Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Micah wrote that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5: 2) When the Maji and King Herod wanted to know where the new king would be born, the Jewish leaders who knew the passage well were able to tell them. Detailed predictions like these, show that the Bible is unlike any other religious book in the world. Jesus is the only holy founder of a major world religion whose birthplace was prophesied hundreds of years in advance of his birth.

Today “wise” men and women continue to seek the word of God, and strive to live as Jesus lived. The Maji (wise men) who followed the star and found the Christ child, were a great example of ignoring worldly directions to protect the sanctity of the Lord. Herod told them to find the child and report back to him so he too could go and worship the child. Knowing that the intentions of the king were not to worship but to harm the baby, they did not comply with his command.

Each day of our lives we are faced with worldly choices that can result in dishonoring the word of God. We can choose to ignore the negative forces in this world for the honor and glory of His name, or we can weaken and comply. Though we may falter along the way, and it is difficult to remain strong, it is “wise.”

Read/Listen to Matthew 2:1-12 

Psalm 22

Prayer is Crying

The amazing Bible is set apart from any other book for many reasons, one of them being fulfilled prophecy. In this psalm alone, hundreds of years before the Romans came to power, David prophesied that the Jewish Messiah would be crucified. The details he included are incredible. Check this out for yourself:

Prophecy                                                                     Fulfillment

Messiah would be forsaken (verse 1)                           Matthew 27:46

Messiah would cry out in darkness (verse 6-8)             Matthew 27:45-46

Messiah would be mocked (verse 6-8)                         Matthew 27:39-40, 43-44

Messiah would be “poured out like water”                    John 19:34

(verse 14)

Messiah would be thirsty (verse 15)                            John 19:28

Messiah would be crucified by non-Jews                     Matthew 27:27-31, 35-36

“dogs” (verse 16)

Messiah’s executioners would gamble for                    Matthew 27:35

His robe (verse 18)

Jesus cried out to the Father, just as we do. His pain was real as ours is. God allowed him to go through intense agony for a far greater cause, as he does with us. The difference is that the pain of Jesus was to save us…......wait, isn’t that the reason for ours as well? Are not the burdens and struggles we face similar to those of our savior? God waits for us to cry out to Him as Jesus did. He longs for us to seek his love and mercy through all our trials, so go ahead and cry out to Jesus! He's "been there, done that." He understands.

Read/Listen to Psalm 22

Listen to Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day

This is Not A Competion John 3:25-36

At first glance of today’s scripture I want to chuckle. John the Baptists disciples are complaining because more people are going to Jesus to be baptized then they are John. It seems ridiculous to me that they would feel they are in competition with the King of kings. Of course when you think about it they did not really know who Jesus was, even though John had explained to them that, “‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.”

We have no excuse though today. We know Christ is the Messiah. We understand that He is the way, the truth, and the life yet so many still feel they are in competition with Him. As a youth director I would get families who were upset when we had a youth Bible Study during the week. They would say that their child was already too busy with school activities and now they had this to add to their calendar.

I may be hitting a nerve here, but think about what I am saying. Are Bible studies, or worship services something we have to add to our calendar? Do they get in the way of the other things we want or need to do? If so then we are too busy. Christ is not the one getting in the way of our life. Life gets in the way of our relationship with Christ.

I am not saying we need to be at church every night of the week, if that was true then we would never have an opportunity to tell others about Christ. I am saying though, that if we don’t have time to spend with Him because we are too busy, we don’t really know who the Messiah is.

Ready today's passage at Biblegateway John 3:25-36

There Are No Bad Questions Matthew 11:2-19

I remember the first time I met someone who didn’t believe in God. I was about eleven years old and on summer vacation with my family. I was talking with a couple other vacationing kids about God, when a local boy told me he didn’t believe in God. I remember feeling shocked and saddened that someone actually had no faith in God.

I also remember my own questions after encountering the young atheist. I asked myself why I believed so easily and wondered what if God didn’t exist. My questions didn’t scare me, but they needed answers.

This reminds me of our passage today. John the Baptist is in prison and has sent some of his disciples to make sure that Jesus is The Christ. If John simply asked the questions to himself while sitting alone in a jail cell, he could have been left feeling very alone and afraid. Instead he put action to his questions, and in turn he got answers.

When asked with the heart to find answers, questions can actually make our faith stronger. They only weaken our faith when left hanging. I remember asking my pastor some of the questions I had that summer. He didn’t laugh at me, thinking me young or naïve. He sat with me, opened the Bible and prayed with me. We sought the answers together.

Just as Jesus reassured John though the message he sent back with his disciple, Jesus reassures those who seek answers today through his word, the Holy Spirit and other believers. Do you have faith questions? Go ahead ask.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Matthew 11:2-19

Isaiah 9:1-7 “Those in darkness see a great light”

As I am writing this devotional, I am sitting in a hospital room.  My husband was admitted last night and I totally forgot to get this written.  So, this morning, as he was eating his breakfast of broth and jello I read today's text to him.  I asked for his impression of the words of Isaiah.

We talked about Isaiah 9:2 "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." We agreed this verse paints such a picture of hope.  During this time, Isaiah was sharing the prophecy of the Messiah.  The people of Isaiah's day felt hopeless, much like many people today.  The world was bleak to the eye that wasn't trained on a Savior.  The same holds true today.  We are facing wars, poverty, unemployment and general unrest - all feels hopeless to those who don't have their eyes on Jesus.

Jesus is the Hope of all nations. Because we are unable to attend worship services today, we were discussing what favorite songs would be lifted up in Praise this morning, the second Sunday of Advent.  Isaiah 9:6 gave us a clue.  "For to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Hope is a wonderful emotion and one neither of us want to live without; how about you?


To read the entire text for today click here.  To return to this page follow the back arrow.