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Devotions

Christmas Songs

by TerryLema

The last day in November I watched the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting special on television. It was late in my day, and I had taken my hearing aids off and was curled up in my recliner. There were many stars (celebrities?). I knew a few. There were a lot of “Christmas” songs, I knew fewer.

I find I can no longer understand what contemporary singers are saying. I do not know if that is because I don’t hear well (while hearing aids can increase volume, they do not always help distinguish words). Of course, that could also be because contemporary singers do not ‘pronounce’ their words when they sing.

I did enjoy the adorable children’s choir singing “Deck the Halls.” And the Muppets were cute. And I heard a few “Christmas” songs that I recognized, but I honestly had no idea what most were.

There is something about music that always sets my heart free. When the Christmas season arrives, I can hardly wait for the radio to begin playing carols. I love the old Christmas carols. They have a message and that message centers on the “Reason for the Season,” Christ Jesus our Savior and LORD.

At Christmas, the music is to remind us of the angels’ message to the Shepherds, and all that led up to it and all that flowed from it.  “Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.” [Luke 2:11 HCSB]

That is the Reason for the Season. That is the hope that is found at this time of year. That is the core message of those Christmas carols we love so much, and hopefully often hear this time of year. Amen & Amen

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The First Evangelists?

by TerryLema

The last story is one of my favorites. It is found in Luke 2, and it is the story of the first evangelists found in the New Testament. The word evangelist has a bunch of meanings, but to me it is simply a person who passes on the Good News they received to another person.

“When the angels had left [the shepherds] and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” [Luke 2:15-18 HCSB]

The Good News brought to those shepherds that night was “of great joy that will be for all the people:  Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.” [2:10-11 HCSB]

The Shepherds left their sheep and hurried off to find Mary and Joseph and this marvelous baby who would be Savior. Then after seeing the Baby, they told everyone they could find about Him.

These Shepherds were uneducated, hard-working men. Yet, God chose them to be the first evangelists in the New Testament, telling everyone they could about the Savior who was born. (On a side note, God chose women to be the evangelists to spread the news about this same Savior who was resurrected after being crucified.)

We don’t need to be a Bible Scholar or have a profound education to be a good evangelist. We just have to have received the Good News and have the desire to share it with others.

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Samson

by TerryLema

Growing up I remember going to a bunch of movies that were based on biblical themes. Some were directed by Cecile B. DeMille, such as The Ten Commandments, The Sign of the Cross, and Samson and Delilah. My favorite was Samson and Delilah staring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamar. I liked it because Victor Mature was so handsome and for his day–buffed.

When I looked up the movie recently, this was the description: “When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.”

When I read the original story, it is just a bit different. Samson was the one in love, Delilah was a prostitute who seems more interested in the money offered to her by the Philistines for the secret of Samson’s strength than she is in Samson. (Judges 16:4-31)

Which raises the question, if Samson was as buffed with muscles as he is always portrayed in movies, why would anyone question the source of his strength? It would be evident! Personally, I think Samson might have been a bit puny. After all, the source of his strength was not his muscles, it was his God.

As the angel told his mother when he announced to her that she would have a son, “the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” [Judges 13:5]

There were special conditions to be a Nazirite (Numbers 6). One of which was that he was not to cut his hair. All the conditions were outward signs of an inward separation to God. The strength was not in the outward signs of that separation, nor in the muscles of the body, the strength came from God through dedication and obedience to God.

Like Samson, our strength is not in the outward signs. It too, comes from God through our dedication and obedience.

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Daniel

by TerryLema

When I think of Bible heroes of faith, I immediately think of Daniel. Daniel and the Lion’s Den. What fun it is to read the story of how Daniel was thrown in with a bunch of hungry lions and how God send an angel to keep the lions from harming him. It’s a great story, one that all the little kiddies love. [Daniel 6]

I love it too, because when I think of Daniel and the Lion’s Den, I focus on what got him tossed in there in the first place. We could probably define it with two words, integrity and jealousy. The integrity was Daniel’s, the jealousy belonged to all those around him.

Daniel had defined himself as man of integrity. He always did what was right in the sight of God. While God was pleased with Daniel’s integrity, those who worked with him were not. Daniel’s integrity had captured the attention of the king, and because of it, the king wanted to put him in charge of everything except the throne.

That made those who worked with Daniel jealous. He was getting what they wanted. So, they conspired against him and even deceived the king who loved Daniel into setting him up. The plot was to turn Daniel’s own integrity again him. How ironic that his enemies actually relied on Daniel’s integrity to indict him under their sentence of death.

Of course, we know the story. Daniel worshipped his God just as he always did, in his window where all could see. He didn’t stop, nor did he hide, he was true to his God. That got him thrown in with the lions. The best part however, is that Daniel’s God was also true to him.

I wonder as I think about Daniel, what I would have done … I wonder even more about my own integrity. Would it be enough to get me tossed in with the lions? Do others even notice?

Oh Lord, help me to live with the integrity of Daniel! Amen

 

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James

by TerryLema

His name is James. He’s not James, the brother of John, who were sons of Zebedee and Apostles of Jesus. He’s the James of Mark 6:3, “James, Joseph, Judas and Simon,” the oldest of Jesus’ brothers. He is also known as “James the Just” and in Acts we see him leading the Jerusalem church. Many scholars attribute the Epistle of James to him.

Growing up with Jesus as a brother couldn’t have been easy. We know that the brothers were not exactly thrilled when Jesus left the carpentry shop and took off preaching.  John reports that “his own brothers did not believe in him.” [7:5]

A couple times they even dragged their mother along and came looking for him to bring him home. They thought he was crazy. But then something changed for James. Jesus appeared to him following the resurrection. Paul gives that account in his great chapter on the physical resurrection of Jesus, 1 Corinthians 15. He reminds his readers of the evidence of Jesus’ bodily resurrection by citing those who saw Him afterwards.

Jesus appeared to Peter, the Twelve, to more than 500 brothers (most of whom were still alive), then to James, and finally to Paul himself. The James that Paul mentions is believed to be Jesus’ brother James.

What was James thinking of when Jesus came to him? Here was his brother, the one he thought was crazy, the one he wanted taken out of ministry, the one who was crucified as a common criminal, now standing before him in glorious splendor, resurrected from the dead. I wonder what they said in that personal private moment.

For all who come to call on Christ Jesus as Lord, to each there is a “James-moment,” a personal private revelation of Christ Jesus who comes to us resurrected from the dead. Whatever we may have thought of Him before, it all changes in one glorious moment as it did for James.

Thank you, Lord, for coming to each of us in a personal “James-moment.” Amen.

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Eve, Mary

by TerryLema

Everyone has a story. You do. I do. And so do all those people in the Bible. We tell “Bible Stories” to our children so that they might learn about God as they see Him work in the lives of Bible “Heroes.” Maybe we should take a few days and look at some of those Bible Stories ourselves. I am certain we have not outgrown them. I know I haven’t.

 

How about starting with two women who played a pivotal role in “beginnings.” First, Eve; then, Mary. Both have a story. Both had a choice to make.

 

Eve, alongside her husband Adam, had walked with God amid perfection and beauty. They were given one rule, don’t eat the fruit of the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” When Satan in the form of a serpent visited Eve while she was alone one day, he convinced her that God was wrong, and that God’s one rule was keeping her from knowing everything she should know. She bit. Then she gave the fruit to Adam, who also bit. And that was the beginning of the sin, death, struggle, and pain that has since plagued humanity. Gone was the perfection and beauty, replaced now by frustration and hopelessness. (Genesis 3)

 

Mary was a young maiden, engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. Alone one day, she had a heavenly visitor who gave her the news that God wanted her to bear His child. She was to give this child the name Jesus for He would save His people. Mary was afraid, after all she was probably just a teenager, and while every young Jewish woman desired to be the mother of the Messiah, this was still a very strange message. Mary didn’t completely understand, but she responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”  (Luke 1:26-38)

 

And with Mary’s response came a new “beginning,” one that would bring the offer of forgiveness, healing, life, peace, and redemption to humanity.  Gone was the frustration and hopelessness that entered with Eve’s choice. Now purpose and hope would be available to all who respond as Mary did, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”

 

Two women, each with a story. One disobeyed what God said and brought death, the other obeyed in faith and gave birth to life.

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Your Story

by TerryLema

What’s your story?  You do have one. Everyone has a story, and December seems to be a time when we reflect on our story. Today, we begin the last month of the year, rapidly approaching the end of 2022. It seems to me as if we just began this year and we are now getting ready to put it in the record books.

What story are you going to tell this year? Is it a light-hearted one, filled with success, joy, peace, and prosperity? Or has it been a devastating year, one filled with struggles, griefs, failures, or affliction?

God is a master storyteller Himself. Instead of handing us a book of instructions, He gave us a book filled with people, all of whom have a story. From Genesis to Revelations, people with stories capture our attention.

Adam, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, Habakkuk, Mary, Simon Peter, Saul, John, and many others tell their story in God’s book. There is much we can learn from them, beginning with the amazing fact that we do not have to be doomed by our story.

In God’s book, every story can end in redemption. That’s God’s business. When we allow Him to be part of our story, He is eager and able to redeem it.

“He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We have redemption the forgiveness of sins, in Him.” [Col 1:13-14 HCSB]

What’s your story? Everyone has one. Perhaps the more important question is, have you allowed God to be a part of your story?

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Melancholy

by TerryLema

If I had to define my state of mind as I write this, it would be melancholy. Melancholy means “a state of pensive sadness, often with no obvious cause.”

Melancholy sounds so much better than other terms that I might use, especially when tied with the term “pensive,” which means “engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.”

I do think I know the cause for this pensive melancholy. We just celebrated Thanksgiving a week ago. My California kids were here, including the grandson that is technically from Arizona where he attends college. We do not see them very often. They have a life in California and cannot always travel to us, and we have gradually become less able to travel to them.

When they do come, they have other family now in Idaho and so even their time with us is limited. When I anticipate that it may be May until we see them again (since Christmas travel over the mountains is always an iffy endeavor), I get melancholy.

I hate the separation, but I remind myself that at this time of year, many people are sad. Some separations are more than distance or time. Some of us have experienced losses through the death of a loved one and are having to endure the fact that they will not see them until they too reach the other side of this life.

 As I think about my tears this morning, I remember what Paul wrote to his son in the faith Timothy when he was away from him.  “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.” [1Timothy 1:3-4 HCSB]

I might see my California loved ones at Christmas, or I might not see them until May. I have other loved ones I will not see until I depart this life. So a few tears, a lot of prayers, and the hope of the joy of reunion might mark this upcoming season.  Maybe a little pensive melancholy too. And it is okay.

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Blessing in Discipline

by TerryLema

I was complaining the other day and a bit ungrateful. I made the mistake of voicing that to a friend. I should have simply taken my frustration to the LORD.  I needn’t have worried that God would miss my attitude, however. He did not. Before I went to bed that night, I had to get right with Him. I repented and asked forgiveness. He gave it, then helped me to change my attitude the next morning.  Perhaps that is why this next blessing is so important.

“Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; you grant him relief from days of trouble….” [Ps 94:12-13]

“How Happy!” we are in the midst of discipline. Most of us would shout “Not!” at the end of that statement.

Discipline isn’t usually something that we associate with happiness. And yet, when discipline is received correctly, when we allow ourselves to learn what God wants to teach us, discipline can create happiness in us.

The psalmist tells us how that happiness takes shape after discipline … it becomes “relief from days of trouble.” 

God was gracious to me the other day. He did not allow that ungratefulness to linger in my life. He did not allow it to take root and bring deeper and more lasting problems. In the space of a few hours, He grabbed my attention, poured out a spirit of godly sorrow over my actions, and brought forgiveness to me.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me in discipline, for restraining my wayward ways and bringing me relief from days of trouble. Amen.

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Blessing in Praise

by TerryLema

If there is anything that being blessed should do in us, it should be to cause us to become people of joy and praise, people who exalt in who God is and what God does.

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.” [Ps 89:15-16]

“Acclaim” in the original language indicates a roar of joy or a battle-cry (KJV joyful noise) – both fit the Christian walk. I love to hear the saints of God worship and praise their Savior. I love to see hands in the air, hear the clapping and shouts, singing and joy.  There is something that ministers deeply in us when we rejoice.

The psalmist reminds us that we are to rejoice in the Name of the LORD all day long! It is not just a Sunday-Morning-Go-To-Meeting rejoicing. We exult God in every situation and setting.

Often when I drive somewhere, I pray that when I arrive I might be a good Christian witness. I pray whatever I do I will do in the strength of the LORD through my day. Then I rejoice. And when I rejoice, I sense God’s presence with me. My car, my home, my walk become filled with the praises of God, those “How Happy!” (blessed) shouts of joy.

Thank you, LORD, I am blessed to praise You and rejoice in You. Amen.

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