Devotions

I am going over to pray at CFC Middleton this morning. I have missed a few Thursdays for various reasons, and I don’t want to miss this one. Praying with others always reminds me of the grace of God that brought us all together as His children. I pray with people I would otherwise never know.

A few years ago, a beloved family at The Way Assembly of God gave me a mug for my birthday that I absolutely adore.  Inscribed on that mug are two words, “Grace Wins.”  

I grew up in a denomination that had the rite of confirmation. Confirmation was a public acknowledgement of both adulthood and a “confirmation” of the vows taken by my godparents at my infant baptism. They acknowledged faith and rejected the work of the devil for me as a baby. At confirmation I acknowledged those vows as an adult (I was 12).

In this rite of confirmation, I was also to choose an additional name to add to my baptismal name of Teresa Kay. I chose the name of my sponsor. Her name was Grace.  So now, at least according to that denomination, I am Teresa Kay Grace.  Grace Wins!

I had no idea when I chose the name Grace, how much grace would mean to me. God took me to a small church in the little town of Loomis, California, a few years after I was saved. The pastor was a preacher of grace. He taught me well. I am now a preacher (even if retired) of grace.

I know in my heart that we are born again by the power of God’s grace, given in Christ Jesus. We live every day in the power of God’s grace, given in Christ Jesus. And one day when we stand before the LORD our GOD our MAKER, we will be there by the power of God’s grace, given in Christ Jesus.  Yes, Grace Wins!

Zechariah 4:6-7:  This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

One of my favorite traditional Christmas carols is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”

It came upon the midnight clear / That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth / To touch their harps of gold! Peace on the earth, good will to men / From heaven’s all gracious King! The world in solemn stillness lay / To hear the angels sing. 

Ah, but if we are honest, we must admit there is no peace on this earth. Daily we see war in nations, battles on social media and in government, discord in families and among friends and neighbors. We are always at odds with someone. We long for the “peace on earth, good will to men” that the Christmas carols remind us of each year. Have we mistaken the message of the angels?

No, not mistaken, but perhaps misinterpreted? The old KJV says, “On earth peace, good will toward men.”  The NIV says, “On earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  The NLT says, “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” [Luke 2:14]

None promises a world-wide, all-encompassing peace—at least not yet. The promise of peace sung by the angels, flowing from heaven’s all gracious King, is not a general peacefulness with prosperity and a trouble-free life. Scripture is clear, our most fundamental need for peace is peace with God. We have been at war with God since the rebellion in the Garden. We are hostile to Him and His rule in our lives. We do everything we can to keep control for ourselves. There is no peace on earth because there is no peace with God.

But that all changed that night. Peace was now born into this world.  The true peace had come and will never depart – that true peace lives in the hearts of all those who accept God’s offer. We now look forward to a time when the King of King comes to reign and all war will be banished forever. Only then will true peace be world-wide and all-encompassing. We look forward to that time  …

When peace shall over all the earth / Its ancient splendors fling / And all the world give back the song / Which now the angels sing.

“The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”  [Luke 2:20 NLT]

That first Christmas changed everything for a group of rough-hewn men who had probably spent most of their life out in the elements guarding sheep. They were the first given the announcement that the Savior of the World had been born that night. They had rushed to confirm what the angel had told them. They had then shared their news with everyone they met.

How ironic, these men who by law were not considered worthy to give testimony in court, were the very ones to whom God gave the greatest testimony of all time. “Good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of Bethlehem a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ Jesus the Lord.”

I wonder what was racing through their minds as they returned to their flocks that night. The excitement of the evening must have been overwhelming. God had testified to them of His Son. They had testified of God’s Son to everyone they met. Now they did what we all must do when we receive the testimony of God in our hearts, they worshipped. They glorified and praised God.

That truly is where this simple story must end. We must become like these simple shepherds. We find the “Wonder of wonders” in the presence of God. We testify to that to everyone we meet. But we must never fail to give glory and praise, to worship the One who loved us so much that He provided the way to salvation in the birth of Christ Jesus that night in Bethlehem.

Wonder of wonders!

“After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.” [Luke 2:17-18 NLT]

Isn’t that always the way it is. When something is wonder-full, you just must tell someone about it?

That’s what happened with the shepherds. First there was the angel and the bright light. Then the announcement about the babe, followed by heavenly praise. They’d raced through the streets, searching to find what the angel promised. And when they found Him, they are racing through the streets again, this time telling everyone about their experience.

Maybe by now it was morning, and the shepherds weren’t actually banging on doors, waking people up to tell them what they had seen. Still, it must have seemed strange to see a bunch of shepherds away from their sheep, in town, talking about angels and bright lights in the sky and a baby who is Christ, Jesus, the Lord.  Luke simply says that people were amazed at what the shepherds had to say to them.

That made me stop for a second and ask myself, when was the last time I was so filled with wonder from being in the presence of the Lord that I had to tell people about it.

Wonder is contagious. It must be shared.  Wonder of wonders!

“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 of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger….’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’” [Luke 2:8-12, 15 NIV]

And that is exactly what they did. They dropped everything, left their sheep to fend for themselves (a big no-no for shepherds who care about keeping their jobs) and raced into Bethlehem to find this “Wonder of Wonders.” Can’t you picture them racing through the narrow lanes, ducking into every animal enclosure looking for a newborn?  They would not be satisfied until they saw what the angel told them about.

Then suddenly they find Him, that baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feed trough. They were in the very presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This little baby is the Savior that God had been promising. He is the Messiah, Christ the Lord.

There were probably no more jaded group than a bunch of shepherds. Shepherding was a most unworthy profession. Because of their profession they were considered ritually unclean. Acceptable society didn’t have much to do with them. But it was to them God chose to first announce the birth of His Son.

If we want to experience the “Wonder of Wonders” of Christmas, we need to be like the shepherds. We need to drop everything and run to the presence of God! That is where wonder begins. God beckons us to come.

 Wonder of wonders!

Christmas really is simple; despite all we have done to complicate it. It’s a simple story, a simple message. God’s gift of salvation had arrived in the form of a helpless baby, completely dependent upon simple parents who welcomed Him and loved Him.

Oh sure, there were angels appearing to shepherds and a caravan of Magi from the east who arrived later with gifts, but before all that there were simply a humble man, a trusting young woman, and God’s child.

Joseph had been told by an angel in a dream that the child conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit. The angel in the dream had instructed him: “Joseph, son of David do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.” [Matt 1:20-21 NLT]

“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.” [Matt 1:24-25 NLT]

Now, about six months later, all that had come to pass. Before too long the shepherds would arrive with the most wonderful of confirmations … an angel had appeared to them to announce the birth of God’s Child. They had come to worship Him.

What began in travail must have turned to joy before that night was over. “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” [Ps 30:5 NKJV]

Wonder of wonders!

This time of the year it is dark most of the day. We are heading toward the longest night of the year in late December. It is dark when I eat dinner, dark when I go to bed, dark when I wake up in the morning.

As I sat in the dark this morning, I could not stop thinking about the wonder of that first Christmas. What it must have been like that dark night before the shepherds arrived with the news of the angel’s message.

What was it like for Joseph? He must have felt a bit helpless, perhaps even like a failure. He’d taken Mary on a long trip during her last trimester of pregnancy, when she was the most uncomfortable. They’d ended up in the lowliest of places. He must have been humiliated. Perhaps he was also a bit angry that those who had more sheltered areas in the “inn” would not relinquish them even to a young girl in labor with her firstborn.

What was it like for Mary?  I imagine she was scared. I know I was scared with my firstborn, and I had a lot of help around. Had she seen other women in her family give birth? Did she know what to expect? She knew this was God’s child – if anyone knew that, she did. Did that same faith that she had when the angel first appeared to her to announce that she would be the Messiah’s mother rise again as she faced the travail of labor?

Whatever it was like for them, before that dark night was over Jesus was born. Mary would have been like all mothers, counting his little fingers and toes, kissing his cheek, placing him at her breast.

God’s Son had arrived on earth and for the next 33 years he would share in the limitations of our mortal flesh.

John 1:9:  The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. [NLT]

I am heading over to St. Luke’s Imaging this morning so that they can take a peek inside. They are trying to figure out why I have a pain in my middle. The Emergency Department did a C-Scan a few Sundays ago. That did not show anything that would explain the pain. It did show that much of my inside is in pretty good shape for my age. Lungs clear, aorta fine, kidneys, adrenal glands, liver, pancreas, etc., all looking good.

This morning, I am having a special type of MRI. (MRCP with/without contrast). They are focusing on my bile duct. I had my gallbladder out in my 40’s – where, as the surgeon explained, I was 4F (Fair, Female, Fat & 40).

My internist thinks I have a small stone or some “sludge” in the bile duct that didn’t show up on the C-Scan. Funny to think that a small stone or some “sludge” would cause such a giant pain!

Isn’t amazing what medicine can do now. They have machines that can see inside me and locate a small stone or some “sludge” rolling around in a small piece of duct work.

Even more amazing is what my God can do. By the power of His Holy Spirit in me, He can locate the smallest inkling that isn’t right and warn me. He can encourage the briefest flame of fidelity into a roaring fire. He takes the desires of God’s heart and makes them mine.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” [Psalm 139:23-24 NLT]

One of my favorite NT books is Colossians. There is something about that letter that delights and uplifts my soul when I’m tired or discouraged or battling that unseen enemy of our soul. And I always read it kind of funky.  I begin with Chapter 3, verses 1 to 4. Then after I have that deep in my mind and heart, I go back and start reading from the beginning.

 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” [Col 3:1-4 NIV]

Now that really gets me energized. Paraphrased.

Realize beloved, it’s very true, you have already been raised to life with Christ.  Your life is now, in the present, hidden and secure with Christ in God. And there is coming that unbelievable day … when Christ returns to set up His eternal kingdom, you will be with Him, sharing in His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords.  So quit worrying about the things of this present time and present place, those earthly things that will soon pass away. Focus your mind, your heart, your energies on eternal things.

Perhaps nothing ministers to my soul more than knowing that I am already raised with Christ.  Yes, my physical self is still subject to the decay found in the present, but my life, my real life, is already seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Paul reaffirmed that truth in Ephesians 2:6: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” [NIV]

Father, remind me to look at my life not with my physical eyes, which can only behold my physical self. Help me to see with spiritual eyes and know that I am safe, secure, and hidden with Christ. Amen.

I have been thinking about repentance. Peter on the Day of Pentecost told his listeners that “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:38 NLT]

According to Strongs Lexicon the Greek word translated “repent” means “I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God).”

To repent is to change our minds. How we think always governs how we act. True repentance also means we change our actions.

Too often we think that repentance is limited to AFTER we sin. I think that repentance is a way of life for the Christian. It is changing our minds BEFORE we sin … when we first entertain those thoughts that will lead us away from God.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t wait until AFTER we sin to warn us. He warns us at that first inkling of temptation. If we heed His warning, we can avoid heading down the wrong path.

To glorify God, we must live a lifestyle of repentance – constantly changing our minds as soon as a thought of sin enters.