As a child, I felt special every time I took a bath at my Granny’s house.
At that time, Granny only had one bathroom. The tub, sink and toilet were probably 30 years old. The water pressure wasn’t that great, but I didn’t care about any of those things.
Christmas is about _________. Would you say Christmas is about presents, lights, families gathering…? Many words could fill that blank, but only one word fits that blank best—Jesus! Christmas is about Jesus!
On this Christmas day let us fix our eyes upon our unique Savior, Jesus.
My friend told me the story about her early Christmas present. Her mother bought a new car for her and her husband. At first I was struck by the generosity of this mother, but the rest of the story intrigued me more.
A few years ago, we had a most unusual Christmas day lunch. It was the “in-law Christmas,” and so, our girls and their families were coming the day after Christmas. I had been busy preparing food for the week and just didn’t have the energy to prepare another meal for Christmas day. Therefore, we went to eat at one of the few restaurants open.
It was an ordinary night. The shepherds were attending their sheep and watching for intruders by the light of the moon. They had grown accustomed to the darkness, accustomed to watching for shadows that might present danger.
Changes. The Christmas story revolves around changes.
Mary’s life was forever changed with the heavenly news she would bear the Son of God. Her response to this change was humble submission and praise to God. Joseph’s plans for an extended betrothal and later marriage were changed by the news his virgin fiancé was pregnant. He initially rejected the change, but later moved forward in belief. Lord, when unexpected change comes, help me be quick to praise You. Help me not reject the change but trust Your eternal faithfulness and move forward acknowledging Your goodness.
Our mature live oak trees suffered terribly during the severe winter last year. Barren and stunned by the record cold, the branches, which appeared to be dead, eventually began to sprout foliage in late spring and early summer. Green life appeared!
The battle with perfectionism is an ongoing challenge for me, especially during the holidays. The perfect decorations, food planning, gifts, church activities and family fun and accommodations often result in uncontrolled stress if I begin my agenda with an “upside down plan”—ignoring the inclusion of “unplanned” time.
A recent social media response from our daughter’s friend encouraged me.
Now, a mother of teenage children of her own, she recalled how she enjoyed being in our home when she was a child, and especially remembered the “Joy Jar” on the kitchen counter.
Joseph’s story is a great lesson in obedience.
Not only was his fiancé pregnant with a child he knew could not biologically be his own, the government had complicated his life by issuing a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Since Joseph belonged in the lineage of King David, he and Mary were required to travel from their hometown, Nazareth, to the town of Bethlehem of Judea. (Luke 2:1-4; Micah 5:2)
I have discovered that I typically experience the highest quality of encouragement and renewal during a few days of solitude at the beach.
The amphitheater of the roaring surf, the rolling water, the clouds, bird sounds all around bring peace of mind while my soul quickly relinquishes my list of life’s pressures into His hands.
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come.” Having created the universe in the beginning (1:2), and having sustained all things in the meantime (1:3), Jesus did precisely what He had come to do. He came “to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.” The curse of original sin had most certainly left the proving ground of mankind’s soul a thorny mess that only a Savior could uproot. So the Son came to earth and provided purification for sins. He paid our penalty in full. Now that’s a reason to joyfully sing!
Ah yes, “the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love!” Joy to the world! That God would speak to us and share His glory with us through the Son—a cause for celebration indeed. But hold on; that’s not all. I am mesmerized by the detail in these first verses of Hebrews as the author paints the Christ in technicolor for his readers.
Meditating on this first chapter of Hebrews, I sense the author’s intensity as he draws out a picture of God’s Son for the readers of his day as well as for us. Sixty years after His birth—how quickly the Judean Christians had forgotten who Jesus was. 2021—how the world has overshadowed the Son.
The joy of Jesus’ birth seems to reverberate through Hebrews 1. To my mind it underlines “Joy to the world! The Lord is come”. God spoke in the past, speaks now, and will continue to speak—God, the great “I Am” of forever.
It’s the beginning of December ladies, and the carols are ringing out loud and clear. “Joy to the World” keeps running through my head:
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!”
Just as the disciples watched Jesus leave this earth, we now await His return. The angel on the Mount of Olives who spoke to the disciples didn’t specify that Jesus would return in a cloud, but John did. In his Revelation, John used a variety of Old Testament scriptures to describe what the world will one day see: Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him… (Rev. 1:7). Toward the end of his revelation, John wrote, “Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand (Rev. 14:14).
New Testament references to clouds typically appear in settings involving Jesus. In fact, He even said to the crowd “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does…. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Lk. 12:54, 56).
As I investigated Old Testament references to clouds, I noticed that when speaking to Job, God described clouds as the sea’s garment and thick darkness its blanket. (Job 38:9)
Our car’s glove compartment bulged with roadmaps. Mother would mark our vacation route in pencil and navigate Dad from pit stop to pit stop. And, I can still envision her attempting to refold those maps once we safely arrived.
