Luke 1-15

To Guide Our Feet in the Way to Peace [Luke 1]


68"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,69And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant--70As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old--71Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;72To show mercy toward our fathers,And to remember His holy covenant, 73The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,74To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,Might serve Him without fear,75In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.76"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;77To give to His people the knowledge of salvationBy the forgiveness of their sins,78Because of the tender mercy of our God,With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,79TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace."80And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
 
God
Blessed
Visitor to earth
Redeemer
Savior from enemies
Merciful
Covenant Keeper
Enables us to serve Him without fear
Most High
Giver of Prophets to prepare people
Tender Mercies
Provider of Light
Guide on our path to peace
May you spend time asking God to believe these things about Him today and in the days to come. He will lead you in the path to peace as you trust Him each day.
 

Recognizing Jesus [Luke 2]

 
25And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29"Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; 30For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel." 33And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed--35and a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."36And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
37and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.38At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

There were two people who recognized the baby Jesus when Mary and Joseph brought Him to the temple. They were Simeon and Anna. Simeon "was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him." Anna was a widow who "never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers."

They recognized Jesus as:
God's salvation
A light of revelation to the Gentiles
The glory of God's people Israel
Appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel
A sign to be opposed
A sword to pierce your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed
The one they were looking for
The redemption of Jerusalem
We praise You, God, that You have made a way for us to recognize You through the Word, prayer, the Holy Spirit and fellowship with other believers just as You did with Simeon and Anna. Enable us to look for the grace that is to be revealed at Your coming. Cause us to be filled with Your Spirit , like Simeon, encouraging many to trust in You. We can't, but You can!

 

Identified With Jesus [Luke 3]

15Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, 16John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  17"His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

21Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

John the Baptist was a man who knew his mission and was willing to fulfill it.  He declared, "One is coming that is more powerful than I.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  John was sent to "prepare the way for the Lord" and he did not waver in proclaiming who Christ was.  He also said in another passage that Christ must increase and he must decrease (John 3:30). He humbly submitted to be sent ahead of the Messiah, preparing hearts to receive Him.

When the Holy Spirit showed up, we know something significant was happening. From creation on, we see the Spirit involved in pivotal moments of God's plan, especially in the life of Jesus and the birth and growth of the church. In this case, He was part of the baptism of Christ and God's announcement affirming Jesus as the Christ.

The word baptism means to identify with something. It was found in an ancient recipe for making pickles. The cucumbers were to be baptized in the liquid so as to be identified with the liquid as it permeated every part of the pickle. The cucumber was no longer a plain old cucumber, but something radically different because it had been baptized.

Baptism with water is just an outward sign of the inner change, baptism or identification with Christ. When we accept Christ, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and His nature permeates our being changing us radically and forever. The old creature we were is gone and the new creature takes its place. And we can know that when the Father sees us, He is saying, "You are My beloved Child, in You I am well-pleased."

We praise You, God, for Jesus, Your beloved and well-pleasing Son. Thank You that Your Spirit that identifies us with Jesus. Cause us to remember that we are radically and forever identified with Jesus and that You are well-pleased with us. Cause us to bear the fruit of that change by Your amazing grace. May we know the One who has been declared God's beloved Son - the One who pleases the Father well.  May we joyfully prepare His way by declaring who He is.


 

Today This Scripture Has Been Fulfilled [Luke 4]

14And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. 15And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
    18"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
         BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
         HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
         AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
         TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
    19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

 20And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

 As Jesus read these words from the prophet Isaiah in his home town, "they were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth."  They were caught up in the wonder that Jesus was by the Spirit of the Lord making the blind see, setting free those oppressed by unclean spirits, setting free those who were captive of lies and that this was indeed "the year of the Lord's favor." (Holman,CSB). The poor were being sought out to hear the good news.  Was this the Messiah?  Yet, something kept them from believing.  We know this kid.  Isn't this the boy we have watched grow up in Joseph's shop?  The Messiah can't be a normal guy.  He can't be one of us.  He has to be, you know, heavenly.  They didn't know what to do with these opposing thoughts running around in their minds.  Since it didn't look the way they thought it should, they ignored the wonder of what the Lord's Spirit was doing in Jesus.

 
Lord, I know I have been in this same dilemma.  I have seen Your Spirit at work setting captives free and doing a healing work in my life and in others.  Yet it didn't look quite right to me and so I walked away mulling over my doubt instead of rejoicing that I had seen You at work.  Grow me today in recognizing when You have fulfilled Your word and cause me to worship You instead of doubting.

Follow Jesus Into Deeper Waters [Luke 5]


1Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; 2and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.
 4When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
5Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." 6When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; 7so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men."
 11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

There are several things I learn about Jesus from this incident. First, it was morning and Jesus was teaching at the edge of the Sea of Galilee while a bunch of people pressed around Him to hear what He had to say. Some of those present were fishermen who had returned from a night of fruitless fishing. Second, He convinced Peter to go out into the deep water in spite of his protests that there were no fish. But when Peter obeyed Jesus, the catch overwhelmed him and his net. Third, Peter couldn't bring in the catch alone. He needed others to join him and even then, the boats nearly swamped. Finally, Jesus turned Peter's focus from catching fish to catching men.

As I consider these things and what they could possibly mean to me, I see once again that listening to Jesus is critical and that He has something to say that is always worth hearing. However, by His grace, I have to put myself in a position to hear Him. In general, that means reading my Bible each day asking Him to teach me about Himself. It also means praying and talking to Him about who He is, what is going on in my life and asking what He wants to do through me today. It means spending time hearing and studying the Word with others.


Often, as I listen to Him, He directs me to go out in the deep water even though I can't understand why I should go there and it is somewhat uncomfortable. But that is where His work happens to be and if I want to be in on it, I need to, by His grace, go where He commands. Finally, His best work through me is in concert with other believers who are willing to go back out into the deep water with me where God is working.

We are like Peter and His friends, fishers of men and women. However, it is Jesus who calls You, guides You to the people and stays with You providing wisdom, courage, strength and other believers resulting in the abundant harvest.

We praise You, God, that you have called us to follow You into the deep waters to share the gospel and catch those You have given to us to catch. Give us the wisdom to listen to You, the courage to go where You take us and the strength for us to bring in the catch. By Your grace alone, we can't, but You can!


Radical Jesus! [Luke 6]


5And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."6On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.7The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him.8But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward.9And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?"10After looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored.11But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

I can't imagine standing up in a public forum knowing that some important people present will be offended and then do the "offensive" thing anyway. Jesus could have avoided the whole rage thing by waiting a day to heal the man's hand. But Jesus didn't change His behavior for any man. He was radically obedient to what the Father wanted. The things He did and said shook up the people of His day. However, His legacy of radical obedience, as daunting as it may be, is now our legacy as His followers.

Thank You, God, that You allow us to follow in His steps to be part of the radical transformation You are doing on this earth in the lives of men. Cause us to listen to You, to find strength in You and to do what You want us to do no matter what. We can't, but You can!

 

Is Jesus the Expected One? [Luke 7]


19Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?"20When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, 'Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'"21At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.22And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.23"Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."

Jesus did not tell them He was the Expected One, but He allowed them to make their own conclusions about Him by pointing to the proof of His actions. He challenged them to figure it out themselves by seeing that all He did was in concert with what was prophesied concerning the Messiah. He was saying to them, look at the evidence, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck and acts like a duck, it is probably a duck. People often don't want to think and decide for themselves, but want to be told all of the answers. However, Jesus wanted the people to think. He never wanted people to blindly follow Him, but to follow Him because they saw the truth about Him and therefore, were willing to put their faith in Him.

We praise You, Jesus, for showing You were the Messiah by giving the blind sight, making the deaf hear and raising the dead. May we exercise our mind as we spend time in Your Word and choose by Your grace to walk by faith in this awesome Messiah.

 

Go In Peace...[Luke 8]


 41And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house;42for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him. 43And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,44came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
45And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." 46But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me."

 47When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

You can’t read this chapter of the gospel of Luke without sensing the tenderness of Jesus.  I am particularly struck by the interaction between Jesus and the woman who had bleeding for 12 years that could not be healed by anyone.  It sounds like she had tried everything on the market to stop the hemorrhaging. Now she has heard about another possible cure – Jesus!  I suspect she had been on the outskirts of the crowd for days, hoping to get a chance to speak to Him.  Finally, she is right beside Him as He is on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter.  She reaches out and touches His robe and is immediately healed.  She tries to slip away unnoticed but Jesus stops the whole procession to talk to her.  He wanted her private moment with Him to be public for her sake.  He gave her the opportunity to declare in the presence of everyone why she needed to be healed and that she had been healed.  What a tender moment when He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

Do you sense the importance of that moment?   She now could not go on her way wondering if she was really healed, doubting that moment of the power of God.  She had declared it to everyone!

Lord Jesus, we praise you for Your tenderness to this woman and to us.  You knew what she needed and You carefully provided it for her.  You know how important it is for our private moments of healing to be confirmed in public so that Your light may be revealed.

"Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” Luke 8:16-17

Listen to My Chosen One [Luke 9]


 28Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.29And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.30And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
 32Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.33And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not realizing what he was saying.
 34While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"
 36And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
 37On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.

They went up to the mountain to pray and did not come down until the next day.  So that means they prayed all night, which was a consistent pattern for Jesus.  However, Peter and his companions had a hard time staying awake to pray.  But they finally woke up in time to see that God had provided Moses and Elijah to fill in the gap to talk with Jesus and to encourage Him in the things that were about to happen to Him. Peter must have been a little groggy as He recognized the significance of what he had been sleeping through. Thankfully, God interrupted Peter's fumbling speech with an important one!  "Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!'"
 
We praise You, Jesus, that You are God's Son.  You are God's Chosen One.  Lord, cause me to listen to You!
 

Rejoice in Your Salvation [Luke 10]

17The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."
 21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
 23Turning to the disciples, He said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them."

As the seventy returned with joy after seeing all that God had done through them Jesus encouraged them not to rejoice in that power or the results of it but to rejoice that their "names are recorded in heaven."  He wanted them to rejoice in God and in their great salvation.

Jesus then exemplified for them rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Thank You, Jesus for showing us the way to rejoice.  We praise You, Father that Your Son knows You and desires to reveal You to us.  We are blessed to see Jesus and to see the prophesies fulfilled in Your Son.  Cause us to rejoice in our great salvation today. Our names are recorded in heaven because of Jesus!

 

The Best Gift Giver [Luke 11]


9"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10"For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.11"Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12"Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

Jesus is the entrance to the Father, the Almighty God and the door is always open to all who come through Jesus. Not only that, but God is looking for ways to bless us with good gifts because we are His precious children. His best gift to us is His Jesus and Jesus' Spirit living in us. We can go to Him each moment and fill to overflowing with that amazing wise and powerful Spirit.  God knows even better than an earthly father how to give us good gifts and He desires that we be persistent to go into His door often and fill up with all that He has for us. His door is always open!


We praise You, Father, that You are the giver of good gifts.  You want us to ask, seek and knock and You promise to open to us.  You are a good Father and You will not give us a snake when we need a fish.  You know how to give good gifts to Your children.  Thank You for the best gift of all - Jesus, Your only Son.

 

God Knows and Cares [Luke 12]


21"So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
 22And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23"For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing 24"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!25"And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? 26"If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
 27"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28"But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 29"And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30"For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
 31"But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. 33"Sell your possesions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. 34"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Are you worried about things - about your life or what to wear or what to eat or drink?  "Your Father knows that you need these things."  And if He is willing to clothe the lilies, "how much more will He clothe you?"

These words spoke volumes to me this morning.  I have been doing some worrying.  As I am reading this passage I am reminded that what I worry about and what I am seeking are the things I am worshiping.  He is calling me to set those things aside.  He is  drawing me to willingly say, I am being one of little faith.


I have been seeking something besides You, Lord. Cause me to seek You eagerly.  Thank You for understanding that I am a "little flock" that gets fearful easily.  Thank You for choosing gladly to give me Your kingdom.  Thank You that I am much more valuable to You than the birds and that You are taking good care of me.  Cause me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to treasure these truths in my heart today.  I praise you that You are my Father and You know exactly what I need.

 

Jesus Longs to Gather Us [Luke 13]


34"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

Every time I read this verse, I have this picture in my mind of Jesus gathering us under His wing where it is safe and warm and where we can feel His heartbeat. And I imagine that all of us little chicks are overwhelmed by His heartbeat so that all of our hearts under that wing beat as one with His heart. I see in the verse that I have to choose to let Him gather me (He never forces His invitation on me) with the rest of His brood, my brothers and sisters in the Lord. In addition, I believe we each have a responsibility to help each other in this gathering process, too, by nudging each other along. This last idea isn't from reading this verse, but from the many verses throughout the New Testament that encourage us to love one another and to minister to one another.

However, the historical picture is not so cozy. When Jesus spoke these words, He was just a few days from His arrest, torture and death and He was looking over the city where God chose to place His name, His precious Mt. Zion or Jerusalem. He lamented over her because His people, the Jews, repeatedly rejected His invitation to be gathered under His wing of love and protection. Instead they killed God's messengers. Still He died for them continuing to invite them and longing for them to accept His invitation. But because He died for the whole world and not just for the Jews, everyone who believes in the name of Jesus is invited to find peace and comfort under His wing.

We praise You, Jesus for being the One who gathers and protects. May we accept Your invitation to be gathered under Your wing. By Your grace, may we nudge many other chicks to join us under Your wing.


Salty for Jesus? [Luke 14]

 
6"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

 27"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

 33"So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34"Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35"It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

These words cut through to my heart this morning. In an effort to get ready for Christmas, my focus has been family, friends and gifts. I've spent the last couple of days pondering what I want for Christmas in order that my secret Santa will know what to get for me, and so these words hit especially hard. In addition to thinking about family, I realize that I have a lot of possessions accumulated through many many years. What is it that Jesus is saying to me about my possessions? Am I supposed to sell them? Stop buying things? Refuse to let my secret Santa get me anything?

No, Jesus wants me to put Him first before all else. He is to be my only focus. As I focus on Him and let Him have charge over the people and things in my life, He will show me what to do with them. Focus and surrender are the words that I need to remember during this season of gifts. As I give Him my family and how to serve them this holiday, He will guide and love them. He loves them more than I do. There is no anxiety or frenzy when Jesus is given Lordship over Christmas.

Thank You, God, that You have provided clear teaching about what to do with family and possessions now and throughout the year. I praise You for the focus on Christ, a man in heaven Who was born and lived and died for us. Thank You for His Holy Spirit who will guide us and empower us to live with peace and joy in this season of celebration of His miraculous birth. Cause us to keep our eyes on Him, surrendering all to Him so that we may live for You and be filled with Your peace and joy. May others taste the salt of our lives and be led to You as a result.

 

More Joy In Heaven [Luke 15]

8"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9"When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!' 10"In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

What makes God and the angels rejoice in heaven?  It is a sinner becoming a saint. It is a lost person finding God. It is seeing one whom Jesus was seeking being saved.

I (Beth) woke up this morning all anxious about how I was going to get everything done. There's the blog, read Luke 12 to Mom, have a phone meeting with Verna, take Mom on her errands, pick up John from the car repair, get to the store for Christmas dinner, and attend a meeting about the Sister Celebration and on and on it goes. Then, as I read Luke to my Mother, at least 12 times it says don't be anxious or afraid. Seek God and He will take care of the rest. When I came back upstairs to read Luke 15 for the blog, God reminded me of what He cares about and what makes the angels rejoice. So now I have a choice. Will I stay anxious and bothered about so many things, or will I trust God by His grace to guide me through the day and take care of things? Will I focus on the temporal or will I be on the look out for that sinner who is ready to hear about Jesus.

Thank You, God, that You have made Your word so clear concerning Your care for us and for Your joy in seeing a sinner become a saint. Cause us to rest in You today with all the things that need to be done and follow You to know what those things really are. And cause us to be available and ready to share the story of Jesus as we go. May we get to participate this season in heavenly rejoicing by Your grace!
 
Verna McCrillis, 2/22/2010