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A Call to Humble Faithfulness
I was listening to a talk that was being given and I heard a phrase I had heard before but I heard it in a new way. For two days now that phrase has been turning over in my mind. ”God hasn’t called you to be successful, he has called us to be faithful.”
Wow, so many of us have it completely wrong! The world around us says you have only made it if you are what others perceive as successful, if others acknowledge your success, or if it’s seen. We strive to stand out and even push others back so we can be seen. Who cares about the others anyway? It’s crazy and it’s prideful, this arrogant attitude of doing whatever it takes to get ahead.
This is not what God has called us to as believers. God despises the proud. According to scripture God humbles the proud and that he exalts the humble. What he prizes is not us standing out or being loud and proud of our service or faithful work, no instead he desires us to be humble and faithful. First Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourself therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” In Hebrews 10:27 it declares “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who has promised is faithful!” In Matthew 25:21 the phrase that we want to hear God say to us is written. What is that phrase? “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
We think God wants our success for him, like he needs us to make him famous or to bring him acclaim. No, God forbid that we would think that’s his goal for us. He wants our humble obedience and our faithful service. Knowing the glory and honor is his alone, and not only recognizing it but living that way.
Maybe you have felt that what you do for God is not enough because you aren’t “successful”, “followed”, or “seen”. Are you faithful in your love and humle in your service of Christ? That is enough. Maybe you walk around and are proud of all that you do for the Lord. I guarantee you that you are missing the point. Be humble, serve faithfully, and by doing so know that you are following Christ’s example. If you receive praise then you turn it all back to him, the one who made you able and the one who deserves the glory. If there’s acclaim you give it to God and God alone.
Hear me today and know it’s true, God did not call you to be successful, no god called you to be faithful and humbly serve.
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Mercy
One attribute shown to us by God is mercy. We sing about it, read scriptures about it, and hear sermons about it. But do we really understand what mercy is?
According to the Oxford language dictionary mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. Prior to looking this up today, I had not really thought about what mercy truly is. After reading the definition my thought was wow! Mercy is getting compassion and forgiveness, instead of harm or punishment. This is a very real picture of what God has done for us.
It says in Psalms 14 that the Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there is any who understands, or who seek after God. “They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, no not one!” According to scripture mankind is corrupt and unrighteous. We are absolutely lost. We are deserving of punishment and eternal damnation because of it. In Jeremiah 17 verse 9 through 10 it says, “The heart is a deceitful, corrupt thing, and desperately wicked!” That’s why we deserve punishment because we’re not good, not at the heart of man and that’s what matters. Essentially, we are all unrighteous.
I’ve said it before, this is not a very flattering way to view mankind but if we are honest with ourselves, we know it’s true. The source of so much evil and depravity is within mankind not without. We are truly lost without God.
Yet equally true to how corrupt and deserving of punishment we are, is the truth that God is all powerful. He is the one in authority over it all. In Job it talks of all God did by his power. Things such as stretching out the sky, creating the horizon, calming the sea, and making the heavens beautiful. Basically he did and has seen things beyond what we can even imagine or conceive. He is truly an Almighty God. He is the one who gives authority to all as it says in Romans 13 verse one ”For all authority has been placed there by God.” In Romans 1 it declares that through everything God made we can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and all powerful. There is truly no other God beside him. So, it should be apparent that he has the ability and the authority, even the right to punish us if he so desired. He could easily harm us. It is within his power to punish us and not forgive us. To withhold mercy.
But is that what he’s chosen to do? If we are broken and unrighteous and he is all powerful and holy, his posture toward us should be anything but mercy. Yet he chooses mercy. Time and again he offers mercy freely though we’re undeserving. In Psalms 103 we see him demonstrating his mercy. ”The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquity.” In the New Testament it says in Ephesians 2 verses 4 and 5 ”but God who is rich in mercy, out of great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved.” So, because of his great mercy, given out of his love for us, he has shown us grace which is undeserved favor. He doesn’t punish us or harm us, which our actions deserve, but instead he forgives us and gives us grace. Amazing mercy! Not just Amazing Grace. Wow, this freely given out of his own great love.
If we look deeper, we see a place where he offered mercy to his people in scripture. In the temple there was a mercy seat. It was a place of transference of sin for forgiveness, a place of reconciliation between God and man. (Exodus 25:10-22). It was the cover that was made for the ark of the covenant, the atonement cover. This was the place that God told Moses he would communicate with Moses passing on the laws for Israel. The place where the atonement sacrifices were made, and mercy was offered to the people of Israel.
No, there is no longer a literal temple on earth that we are required to worship at or go to. There is a mercy seat though still for us. There is a place, although not set or literal, but a place of transference of forgiveness of sins. This is the place of mercy, where we are reconciled with God as our father.
You see, knowing what mercy is, understanding how it was offered, and what it means for us will transform our lives if we get a hold of it. It will free us!
We will never be perfect in this life, and his mercy will always be there to forgive us and that same mercy will transform us and bring us back into connection with the Savior of our soul. Don’t just lean on God’s grace and thank him for his Amazing Grace. Remember, his marvelous mercy that forgives us instead of harming us and that reconnects us to him again. The mercy that doesn’t leave us separated from a God who we can never be worthy of, but instead brings us back into union with our Savior. So today, bow your heart at the mercy seat of God and receive it, his amazing mercy, which is meant for you!
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Beautifully Broken
I have this mower that functions correctly, it will mow, but the handle, well it’s broken really. You can move the handle up and down in a way that it’s not supposed to move. I started thinking about this. How something can be broken but still function or at least serve the function that it was meant to serve. This thought struck me because as a human that’s lived 45 years, had heartbreak multiple times, and who has been disappointed in relationships, I have said to myself that my heart just doesn’t work right anymore. It’s a joke really but it’s not very funny. The truth is these heartaches have affected me and caused me to be more cautious, perhaps a little jaded, and hopefully a little bit wiser. My heart functions but definitely not the same.
When I was young, I had rose colored glasses on for sure. I looked at the world always in a very positive way. I still do see it positively but it’s not really the same. Long ago, I was just sure that people could change, and things would work out. I understood that it wasn’t a fairy tale world where everybody got a happily ever after. That was not the expectation I held. However, there was some idea that somehow our stories would be filled with amazing moments and predominantly be more positive than negative.
As I grew, I realized that was not the case for the majority of us. Not only do we not get the Disney World happy ending, there’s also not a 50/50 split of positive versus negative in our lives. Yes, there’s positive and there’s high moments, but there is also a lot more mundane moments in between. Then there are the other moments at the opposite end of the spectrum that are very low. Sometimes the low and mundane outweigh the mountain tops.
Through these different heart aches that I’ve dealt with I’ve realized that my rose-colored glasses had fallen off of my face and become broken. Still potentially wearable but with cracks that made it hard to see through. Most recently though, they were torn of my face and stepped on again, but they were absolutely crushed and broken into 1000 pieces. It felt completely irreparable. I was broken, like that mower. I just didn’t work right anymore, but thinking about my mower I had a revelation. A revelation that gave me a little bit of hope this evening.
As I sat here, I realized that perhaps I’m broken but I still work. Meaning there is no working right or working wrong. Either it functions or it doesn’t and despite the number of times that my heart has been shattered and glued back together, no matter how many cracks and scars would be evident if you could see it with your eyes (I’m not talking about my literal heart I mean my soul and spirit). None of that really matters and it doesn’t mean that I can’t love and have joy. I’m not broken and hopeless, even if at times I have felt broken and hopeless. It just means I go about it in a different way, my heart works differently now, but it still works.
As the case with many other things I write about, I know I’m not alone in this feeling and in this truth. I am not the only one who’s dealt with multiple broken hearts and disappointments in relationships. I’m not the only one who’s had the rose-colored glasses torn off their face and stomped on by other people who were supposed to care and even made promises to care. I’m not the only one who’s felt the absolute numbness and completely empty and hollow feeling, empty in a way that you’ll never be filled again or you can’t imagine you can be. I’m 100% sure that I’m not the only one whose felt broken and thought “I just don’t work right anymore.” That’s why I’m writing this now. For those like me, to offer you a new perspective and a bit of hope.
The truth is that things never go back the way they originally were, not really. We can’t go back to what we were before the fallout, the heartache, the fears, and the pain. We can’t unsee the things we’ve seen. We can’t unexperience the things that we have lived through. We can’t unhear and unfeel the things that we’ve heard and felt. All of it, our history has already been written and it’s not something we can ever change. What we can change is how we look at today and our future. You see today I realize that I still work. Yes, I still do you see joy and positive things. That wasn’t all taken away from me. I might be a little more cautious and probably act a bit more wisely when it comes to decisions regarding relationships because of the lessons I’ve learned. Yes, my handle probably flips back and forth and is not what it should be. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t work. My heart can still love, I can still see the world in a positive hopeful light, and I can still keep keeping on. There is no deficiency in me. There’s not in you either.
Maybe you’re like me, that dysfunctional functional thing. That broken yet repaired and still functioning item. Maybe you don’t work exactly like you used to, but you still work. That truth goes for all parts of you whether it’s your heart to love and have relationships, your mind to find peace and courage, or your spirit to persevere and keep fighting.
I challenge you to see yourself in a new way today as I have seen myself. Broken perhaps, but still fully able to live an amazing life. You can walk in freedom, with your head held high because you are exactly as you need to be. Amazing with all your uniqueness because of your experiences and your history. Wiser, because of the lessons you’ve learned. And stronger because of the battles you have faced and overcome. I thank God for reminding me tonight that I’m beautifully broken and that’s not a bad thing. I still work, I just work different now and so do you. Don’t let anybody tell you any different, not even yourself.
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Surrender
Surrendering is not so easy with your hands full or when life is hard. Your hands get all tangled and tied up and you can’t free them in order to lift them or you are terrified to let go because what would happen then.. Instead, you stand hands full, heart heavy, and unable to let go or surrender anything. This is where I stand right now, and I know I am not alone.
I know I must surrender because there are things that I can’t control, and these things are much too heavy for me to carry. Yet I feel completely unable to do the thing I know my soul needs the most. Have you ever felt like that? Knowing you should surrender but unable to release the burden to God.
Surrender, it is the truest test of faith. Can you let go of the unmet need, the out of my control situation you are facing and believe that God will work all things out for your ultimately good? It is difficult to believe that God will take care of you no matter the trial, the test, or the storm you are facing. It feels like it would be crazy to sleep like Jesus, in the boat during the storm, securely resting because he knew that he was in his Father’s hands. Yet that is what we have been called to do as believers. To have faith and trust in every situation, even those when surrender feels impossible, and peace seems like a dream.
I pray God will give us the strength to believe, even when we cannot in our own strength and abilities. We can do this as believers because we know that God alone is God and that he loves us. I know that God alone can give us the faith that we need to surrender. He can give us the strength to say “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give. I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all. All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender.” It doesn’t just have to be a good old hymn. It can be our anthem, our declaration or freedom and praise. We will not be bound by our doubts and fears, we can surrender, rest in his peace and our faith for a God we know never fails. We can sleep in the boat no matter how crazy the storm.
I challenge you today, surrender and find true peace and freedom in Christ.
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Apathy
I was prepared for sorrow. After all, I had lost something I hoped for. My life was, well, it was a different life than what I had ever imagined I’d experience. Honestly, life was disappointing and painful and all too real. Not bad, just not good or as great as I wanted it to be. I did not think I would get a fairy tale, but I did not expect this. So the idea I would feel down or sadness made absolute sense.
I was prepared for denial, because that had been my go to for most of my life, although I was growing out of that. Denial wasn’t my go to option anymore because I was starting to face my life and problems instead of not facing them..
I was even prepared for anger and pain associated with loss and disappointment. After all, I had plenty of reasons to be angry over those who had legitimately hurt me with their selfish actions. The actions that lead to pain or disappoint in my life..
Yet to my surprise, what came instead of the sorrow, denial, pain, or anger was something I was completely unprepared for, apathy.
Apathy, that feeling of not feeling, caring, or wanting. It was like I went through the motions of my day completely blank. I had always wanted. I had hopes and dreams. I had always had some motivation from my feelings to live from. So when this numbness set in, I felt such a terrible emptiness. I didn’t even care that I didn’t care, although logically I knew I should.
The only emotions I would feel were the extreme ones and it was with an odd detached sense of the emotion. Things that I had the will to power through before, I just no longer saw the point or had the motivation to push through. Why even try? It was disconcerting. You see I realized that I had lived from emotion, from some intrinsic drive to keep going. With that gone, I was at a loss about what to do and why to keep living.
One thing I have learned as I have grown is that when you lack wisdom or understanding you ask God for it. So I asked God, what to do with this? In spite of feeling that the apathy made me look bad or weak, I knew I needed Godly counsel and prayer. So I reached out to a few trusted friends about my emotionless situation. I even researched apathy and found a few other sources such as google. I found that what I was feeling was completely normal, although that didn’t make me feel better.
Wonder of all wonder, everyone will be in this unmotivated, and in an apathetic state at some time in their life. Interestingly enough I discovered that the lack of feeling was a feeling in and of itself. More importantly, I learned that there are ways to cope and that like all emotions it would only last for a season. The trick would be thriving even in this season.
I could find a way to live even here by reaching out. I would have to choose to continue to go through the motions even when I didn’t feel it. I knew that only God could pull me from the deep emotionless mire I was stuck in. He rescues us in part through the support of others, through the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and through his word. When someone is being pulled in by quicksand you don’t get picky about what you use to help them out. You get the closest and most solid looking lifeline. In that moment I realized that I had lifelines but I just needed to reach out and take them. This had to be done without the emotions to motivate me, This time I would have to choose. I would have to choose to keep reaching even when I didn’t feel anything, to keep living even when I just wasn’t sure I even wanted to, and to have hope that this season like all others would pass. Oh, I realize even though it will pass most likely it will return again at some point in my life when I have to face grief again. Apathy, Sorrow, Anger, Denial, Depression, and Doubt – none of these can separate us for God’s love. I’m holding on to that. If you find yourself here, in a place not much dissimilar to mine, take heart. Choose life even when you don’t feel it. Remember above every storm cloud that blocks our view of it, the Son never stops shining on you! The warmth of it rays will eventually reach you and you will feel them warm on your face again. You will feel again.
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The Commute
Some of you might have to commute long distances to work. I’ve had to a time or two depending on my job. It’s interesting if you look around when you’re commuting what you’ll see.
You see what I have seen in my commuting days is lots and lots of vehicles full of lots and lots of people. I’m sure it’s the same experience for you. All the people are heading somewhere in a hurry to get there. After all that’s the point, they’re traveling to get somewhere. It’s interesting when you think that they’re people very much like yourself, not different from you and me. Today I look beyond the cars, and I saw the people. I asked myself “do they have needs that I could pray for? Are they frustrated with life and just want to be through and done with the day even if it’s just begun? Are they blissfully ignorant of what and who God is?
I realize that those cars I compete against in traffic are not just cars they are vehicles that house human souls. I know this should seem very obvious, but a shift in our focus completely changes what we see. Today I see people in need not just a bunch of cars. So maybe I can be a little more courteous instead of competing against them to get where I’m going because they just want to reach their destination like me. Maybe I could even be considerate and think of their needs above my own. Instead of always pushing to get my way and get the best place on the road.
It is easy to get caught up in the rat race, in the commute and the mad dash to get to work. It is easy to forget that it is your calling to be salt and light. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, know that you are a witness for him. So, pray for the souls around you, in cars or otherwise, and consider them above yourself. That’s what God would want us to do, that’s what Christ did for us, shouldn’t we do the same in response.
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True Communion
Communion is defined as the sharing of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. It is also defined as the service of Christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared. Honestly, I could not count how many times I have participated in communion as defined in this second definition. Thousands of times probably. I sit here this morning, looking at a “This is the body, This is the blood” banner and wonder. Have I been looking at the right definition? Have I been taking communion or experiencing communion?
Let’s look back to the beginning. There was a feast of Passover, Jesus being Jewish celebrated the feast, so he celebrated Passover as was the custom with his disciples. At this point, he was traveling and ministering. So he is not in his home, he was invited as a guest, an honored guest. He sits around the table with his 12 disciples and others. He breaks the bread and blesses it. He invites them to come in and commune with him. He’s with his friends and his enemies. Even his betrayer was there. He knows his time here on earth was coming to an end soon and that the appointed time for his sacrifice was soon to arrive. So, he calls everyone to attention and holds the bread. He breaks it so it can be passed around and shared, and he declares this breaking is a symbol of his own body, which will be broken for you. He then holds up the cup and declares that the wine is his blood, that it will soon be poured out for many, and that we should drink this and remember him. This communion supper, this ritual is a way that we take time to remember. Remember, this was the Passover meal before his sacrifice when he passed out the elements, and the days that came directly after the supper were when he became the sacrifice that was broken and poured out. Scripture also advises that this ritual is not only the taking of the bread and the wine and recalling Christ’s sacrifice but that it is a time of self-examination as well. That we should self-reflect and confess our sins if there are any and that we should remember what he has done so that we can receive forgiveness and reconciliation.
So you can see clearly that although communion could be consider by some as simply taking elements. I would argure here though, that it is something more. I find myself asking “have I missed the real point of communion because I’m caught up in the ritual? What about the first definition of the word communion, does it also apply? Am I intimately sharing thoughts and feelings, on a spiritual level with God? Am I truly communing with God and other believers as I participate in the Communion experience?” The thought that for all my life I could have been missing out, that there is a greater meeting or a greater purpose to communion is making me stop and wonder. The truth is that the name “Communion” shows that the meaning is both the ritual and the intimate sharing of thoughts and feelings at a spiritual level. They are both true and accurate definitions.
Communion is the sharing of the Lord supper, a time of worship where we remember and recall all Christ has done for us, and bringing to mind how he has saved us and keep saving us. It is also a time or self-reflection and confession as we realize in the light of Christ glory, that we are undone and in need of him. Much like Isaiah in the presence of God, when he was overcome and proclaimed “’Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” When we come to God, when he sees us, all our failings and sin cannot stay hidden. So, communion is also a place of God light shining on us and giving us a chance to experience what Isaiah did in those moments- redemption and cleansing. We worship God who sees us through Christ sacrifice and receive forgiveness and healing all while recalling as we take communion together that this was for all of us. This time is an intimate act of worship where our spirits commune with God and each other as well. I don’t want to be flippant and dismissive about Christ sacrifice or the Communion experience. Communion is not a boring ritual, but instead it is an opportunity go find truth, freedom, and to experience intimate worship of our Savior. That’s what communion truly is.
Wow, if you could see this, and get ahold of this, it could change you forever. For my part, I can’t change my past, but I can move forward approaching communion the right way, starting today! How amazing that we get to participate, we get to consume, we get to worship and remember and partake of his body and blood. The body and blood of our great high priest who was the very sacrifice to redeem us! I challenge you to do the same. Don’t let communion be what it has been in your life before, if you were like me and taking it for granted. Instead let it be as it was the first time, and they way he truly intended it to be- a time of true communion with God!
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Unified Uniqueness
I went with my daughter and her boyfriend to one of those painting classes. It is one where the teacher walks you through step by step how to paint a certain picture that she has created a model of already. There was another group of people who had joined the class as well, so there was about 11 of us in all painting this one particular picture, the same picture. You would think that all of us would come out with the exact same product, but what really happened was that we each created (12 in all including the instructor) a unique version of the same picture. Our color mixes we’re a little different, the number of leaves, the shapes of the leaves and the vines, the design for the beautiful fairy figure in the picture, and there were so many unique characteristics.
My daughter’s boyfriend had created flowers not leaves and they were a bit darker. His picture was more Halloween like. My daughter had beautiful thick vines with big leaves and a bright fairy. I had made the vines thinner with lots of leaves of all shapes and sizes. I had also outlined my fairy. Others made the fairy all white. Some painted her gold. One even painted her dressed in a Ballerina Tutu. Every single picture turned out unique and beautiful in its own way.
We all received the exact same directions from the exact same instructor looking at the exact same model. Yet despite the similarity in our instructions, we all created a very different picture. Why? We are unique as individuals, and we see things a little differently than each other. We had different talents and abilities. We also put different amounts of effort in the various parts of the picture depending on what we thought was the most important. Some people really focused on the leaves while others focused on the fairy or the vines. The point is despite the similarity in the instruction we received and in the model we used to copy the design, the outcome was very different.
The same principle of uniqueness in living out instructions applies in our walk with the Lord. The Bible, God’s word and instruction guide to us on how to live and walk out our faith, is the same Bible for all of us. We all have the same word and the same set of instructions to follow. We also all have the same model Jesus. We are to be like Christ, he is our example. The finished product if you will and a demonstration of how we should be and live. So, if we have the same instructions, God’s word, and we have the same model, Christ, then how is it that all of our walks of faith are a little different? After all, we had the same input, but the output is beautifully diverse. It is because of our uniqueness. We put more emphasis on different areas of the faith and this is based on our interest, our talents, and our experiences. We all have varied perspectives even while looking at the same thing.
For example, I may be focused on God’s faithfulness and living that out. You may be focused on God’s mercy and offering grace to others in need. You may be looking through the eyes of forgiveness towards others or you may be looking at peace that he restores to our souls and sharing that with others. These are all aspects of Christ likeness. We are not wrong. No, instead we are just focused differently. As it says in first Corinthians “now there are varieties of gifts but the same spirit; and there are varieties of service but the same Lord.” Or as it says in first Corinthians in a different portion of scripture” just as the body is one and has many members (unique members), And all members of the body, though many are one.” This uniqueness was God’s design and his plan. He did not want 12 identical pictures; he designed beauty in the variety we create as we walk out our faith. What an amazing thought! We are not wrong because of our differences; we are exactly as he made us to be unique. Even though we are all unique members, we are still unified in Christ as one body.
How amazing and marvelous God’s plan! That we have freedom to walk out our faith in the unique way God has called us to. So, walk out your faith and work out your salvation with fear and trembling in your own unique way. In the end, each of our life stories will be beautiful in its uniqueness, each of our life’s paintings a masterpiece. Don’t keep looking at other people’s pictures to decide how yours should be, just look to Christ and his work and live out your faith accordingly. That was his plan and it is exactly the way Christ wanted it to be. He wants us to be more concerned with being like him and less concerned with being like each other.
This is a powerful unified uniqueness that leads to the same place for us all. It brings us to more of him and less of ourselves. In that beautiful unified uniqueness we shine the most brightly. Shining with our uniqueness to a world that’s just as diverse as we are. Do you think that’s why God did it this way? I think so. It turns out he did have a master plan. So I challenge you today to walk out your faith in the beautiful amazing, unified uniqueness he is creating out of you. Only you can be the you he created you to be, fully connected to him and to the rest of the body in Christ.
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Where is Baby Jesus?
I was walking by the nursing mothers’ room at church on the way to the restroom. I stopped in surprise when I looked and in the room was a manger. Baby Jesus was not in the manger instead there was a box. Not what I expected to see. The question that ran through my mind “Where is baby Jesus?”
Contemplating this, I realized that the Nativity Scene was just one moment in time, a snapshot in history. One setting where our Savior had a starring role. Sure, it was a monumental moment. Like a stone in Joshua, taken from the river Jordan, to remember. This moment was a stone. By it we stand in awe that Christ would humble himself. Amazed that he would stoop so low, that he would come as one so small and helpless, and that this stunning moment ever happened. We have a whole entire season where we remember that one sacred event. This is good, because in it we see God’s faithfulness and provision. We see his sacrifice and his great love for us.
Yet we cannot forget where Jesus is right now. He is not in the manger any longer. Neither is he walking the earth and ministering as he did in his lifetime. Nor is he on the cross or in the tomb. No, he is risen! He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Right now He reigns, he rules, and he is reaching out offering us freedom and salvation.
Yes, we should remember, we should observe the stones which show God was a God who worked in mysterious ways, amazing perplexing ways when he sent his son so humbly to us. We can’t get stuck there though, in the past staring at a now empty manager and thinking we will find Christ there. We need to live for right now. Look for Jesus right now.
This is the only moment we have. The past is gone, the future may never come, and right now, it’s all we have. Right now, I know where baby Jesus is. He grew up, he rose, and he is at this moment making intercession for me before God himself. His spirit is within me, comforting, empowering, and strengthening me. His Father calls me child/His. Wow! As amazing as the Christmas story is, and even the incomprehensible way he saved us by dying for our sins on the cross. Right now is just as amazing! Just knowing where He is right now gives me hope and peace and joy. It can do the same for you.
Do you know where Jesus is? If not, just ask Him to be with you. He wants to be, that’s why he came, that’s why he died, and that’s why He is even now interceding and reaching for you!
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The Star
I may not be a wise man but like them I love to star gaze. There is such beauty in the twinkling night sky. To think that each of those shining lights are massive orbs of burning gas, that they are the suns of other universes so far, far away. Even more exciting is the knowledge that some of the lights have already gone out but it takes so long for the light to reach us that it is still shining long after it is gone. Fabulous, wonderful, beautiful stars. The wise men watched them for signs, and one was the sign of the star that showed the coming of the king of kings. They saw the star and they followed it.
This must have been a miraculous thing to witness. How could it be that the star that shown that night was somehow brighter and unique when it shone in the sky above, surrounded by so many other stars. But if you believe the story, you must admit that the star was not just a star like any other. It also did not just shine for one night like some might assume, since the true story has the wise men arriving sometime after Christ’s birth. It was sometime within two years after Christ was born. Two or younger was the death order that Harrod gave, so it gave us a timeline. It is true that the wise men did arrive when Jesus was a babe, but not when he was a newborn babe.
This got me thinking. There was a fabulous, unique outstanding star that shone night after night, but only the wise men followed? Wouldn’t everyone see it? Why didn’t everyone recognize its significance?
Instead, only that group of wise men watched and waited and saw if for the sign it was. I think this is significant because it reveals the truth. You will not see a sign, no matter how obvious it is, even if you observe it, you won’t recognize it, unless you are looking for it. God opened the wise man’s eyes, these heathen kings’ eyes, to see the sign of his sons coming and they brought gifts to honor him.
They honored this humble child as the king of kings. They were important men from other parts of the world. Imagine it, first they had to know what the sign was, obviously it was something that they had been waiting on and looking for as well, and when they finally saw it, they had to respond. People will say well if God just sends me a sign, then I’ll listen. Perhaps he already has but your eyes were closed to it, you didn’t know what you were actually looking at when you saw it, or your heart was not open to receive it. You have to know what the sign is that you’re looking for.
Like the wise men we have been given notice about signs that will occur before Christ returns to us once again. Not unlike the first time, many will not see the signs or recognize the signs though they will be obvious and though the signs will continue for an extended period of time just like the star.
We can learn from the star the lesson of looking, waiting, watching, and then acting. When the wise man saw the star, they prepared and began to travel. This was no short journey. It was hard to travel back in those times, uncomfortable even. There were no planes, trains, sat NAV to guide, posh hotels or on the road entertainment. They saw that beautiful star and followed in a dusty, hot, dirty, long caravan. I imagine the cargo must have been heavy. But they went. You see a sign is a call to action, to preparation.
Like a woman about to begin labor, every twinge and feeling triggers the thoughts “is it time, is this it?” She watches for the signs that it’s real labor. The long process gives time for the woman to get ready. When you look for the signs, you won’t be surprised, or at least you won’t be caught unprepared. If a woman doesn’t pay attention to the signs soon enough, she could end up having her baby at home, in her car on the way, or a million other potential places. So it vital she pay close attention and look for the signs. In some ways this was like what it was for these wise men. They watched with expectation, not knowing when but anticipating, and when they saw the signs they responded and went and traveled far so they could see the child king of kings. So, they could worship and honor him as he deserved.
We watch, we recognize, we act, all because we see the signs. The first time Christ came only these foreign kings, the wise men, and the shepherds whom the angels sent the night of his birth realized what happened. Outside of those already mentioned and Mary, Joseph, and Elizabeth no one else recognized his coming. The next time Christ comes, it’ll be different. You see as believers all of us should be looking, watching, waiting, living as his children by faith and believing that we will see him come again. We should be actively keeping our lamps burning and full of oil as we await our bridegroom. The day Christ comes as the Mighty Son of God. He will split the eastern sky coming in power and authority and take us to himself.
It’s true, I did not get to see the star as the wise men did, instead I wait to see the Son of man returning in the clouds. He promised to come again, he told us the signs to look for, and he advised us to get ready!
This is not an easy road that we are called to as believers, this is not for the faint of heart or the impatient. We must be ever alert and stay ready. But what a day it will be!
Can you imagine how they felt, those wise men, when they finally arrived after their long journey at that humble home and the even more humble king. Those mighty wise men bowing low to worship. All the anticipation, expectation, effort, sacrifice, and miles traveled spent just for the opportunity to worship, and give him gifts, and then go back home.
Their journey is a little bit different than ours. You see when we receive our promise of Christ return, Christ will take us all to our home with him. There will be no long return journey. Just think, as lovely as that magnificent and unique star was that shone the way for those wise men so long ago, The Son of Man’s return will be more brilliant. When he comes he will shine brighter than we could ever imagine, in a moment in a twinkling of an eye all of our watching and waiting finally come to fruition. So, we have a light we’re looking to see also in the sky, our true star – Jesus – and we look to see Christ come again, split the eastern sky and shines brighter than any star ever could.
Devotions For Real Life
God moments, lessons learned, and hope for the journey
Look for a new post every Sunday. My hope is you find encouragement, wisdom for real life moments, and share them with others who may benefit from any of the posts.
