What’s your favorite part of the Christmas story, dear one? Is it Mary’s response to a visiting angel? Or perhaps the terrified shepherds tending their flock who found themselves engulfed in glory? I love the image of Magi from the east bowing to present costly gifts to a toddler King. If you let them, the details surrounding Jesus’ birth inspire awe and wonder.
I love Christmas. It’s always been my very favorite time of year. Don’t get me wrong. If we’re talking about weather, summer wins. No question. Warm breezes, cookouts, and sunshine beat the gray winter doldrums any day. But Christmas to me was never about the weather. It was about the feeling.
For many of us, routine has replaced much of the marvel of the holidays. And let’s be honest; the work often overshadows the wonder! Many have even lost the thrill of surprise on Christmas morning, having purchased and wrapped the gifts bearing their name beneath the tree with their own hands. And Jesus, the One whom we gather to celebrate, is almost forgotten, worked into our festivities with brief mentions and a visit to church on Christmas Eve. Perhaps we have been missing something. Let’s invite the wonder of Christmas to return! Gifts bearing your name await your attention under the tree.
He didn’t create us to be slaves or puppets to serve Him. He didn’t need us. He desired to create living beings into whom He could pour His love. He created us to enjoy Him, and so He could enjoy us. He made us to share life with Him, allowing us the privilege of drawing on all that He is. But it only works when we come close.
Life isn’t always kind, and when we find ourselves struggling over circumstances we wouldn’t choose, we don’t naturally feel grateful. In fact, we tend to get angry. Even bitter. Yet Scripture suggests that God desires for us to give thanks in all circumstances. Every one. That includes the good and the bad.
We like having our way. We think we know what’s best, and we’d like God to cooperate by fulfilling our desires. After all, scripture teaches that ours is a God of grace. So when He withholds something we think we want, we tend to get a little angry. It doesn’t seem fair. But what if God’s “no” actually flows from His mercy?
Are you the kind of person that likes immediate results? I am. I’ll admit I’m not a very patient person by nature. Waiting frustrates me. Beloved, just as God calls us to trust His plans, He also insists we trust His timing. So how do you and I keep from becoming weary while we wait? Perhaps we need to allow God to change our perspective. Let’s dive into God’s Word together and see how.
Bread that is blessed, broken, and given away feeds and satisfies the hungry. Christ became the Bread to nourish our hungry souls and He invites us to follow His example. When Jesus fed the 5000, the disciples gave the bread away, and each returned with an overflowing basket. Do you want your basket full, beloved? Join with me on this week’s Word on Wednesday.
We get stuck on our limitations and often allow them to rob us of joy and blessings that wait just on the horizon. Even our friend Moses left some things on the table, and scripture records that he left a legacy like no other.
We serve a magnificent, all-powerful God. Nothing is too difficult for Him. Things that loom beyond our human realm of possibility become quite possible when the Almighty enters the scene. Unfortunately, most of us don’t live as though that’s true.
