Believe the NEED for Christmas…Fill in the Potholes!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the COMFORT of Christmas!”
No one likes rough roads. (Unless maybe you are in an offroad vehicle.)
I remember a road we had to take out to the beach in northern California. Every year we went it seemed to get worse. There was not a smooth path through the ever growing ruts. We navigated ever so slowly to avoid damaging the suspension on the car or van. It was not a comfortable ride.
I remember thinking, “A load of gravel and a grader would take care of this in an afternoon.” Even though it was a year between visits, it just seemed the road was never fixed. The pot holes remained. The road remained rough.
This road reminds me of our hearts. There are some potholes of sin with which we get comfortable, work to navigate around, or just are content with them impeding life and making it difficult.
Perhaps some of these potholes of sin have lingered for years. Some may think it would be easy to fix, but we just are content in allowing the pothole to exists.
It may be a pothole of pride. It may be a pothole of pent up anger at someone from your past. It may be a pothole of addiction that keeps us relying on something other than God to navigate life. It may be greed, envy, or lust…and the list goes on. What are your potholes?
Isaiah points out to us that these potholes, rough and crooked roads in our heart need to be fixed for Jesus to enter.
Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and the last of the Old Testament prophets was the fulfillment of this passage. He pointed out the way for the potholes of sin to be filled and the path level and straight for the Lord was through repentance.
He called all people, tax collectors, soldiers, and religious leaders to turn from sin and relying on self to rely on Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
As they turned from sin to Jesus, he baptized them for the forgiveness of their sin. What filled the hole, raised the valley or made the path straight was the forgiveness Jesus came to give.
Luke 3:3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[b] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
John knew that every person to whom he preached needed Jesus because every person was sinful.
The same is true today. We need Christmas because we all sin. Because we all sin, we all need Jesus. Because we need Jesus, we need Christmas!
Apply: What are the crooked roads, the valleys, the high places that need leveling by God’s call to repentance and filled with his forgiveness?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for coming into this world so that my heart might be filled with your love and forgiveness. Give me power and strength to remove the potholes of sin and have a heart that is level and smooth for you to enter and reside forever. AMEN.
Believe the NEED for Christmas!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the COMFORT of Christmas!”
“What do you want for Christmas?”
“Do you have your list of things you want for Christmas?”
I remember as a kid paging through the Sears catalogue (Yep, I’m that old.) and marking with my initials things that I wanted for Christmas. Our family didn’t do Santa, but my parents would use those markings as the starting place for gifts for our family.
None of it I needed.
In fact, I didn’t want to get things I NEEDED for Christmas – that was no fun. Who wanted to get socks, and underwear, or a new pair of shoes that you needed anyway. Christmas was about getting things you WANTED, but didn’t necessarily need.
If Christmas is just about the commercialism of gift buying and opening presents on Christmas morning hoping to “get what we want” we may, in fact we probably will, miss the greatest gift of Christmas.
Christmas isn’t about what we WANT, it’s about what we NEED.
Our humanity wants the presents, the cookies, the parties, the decorations, the lights etc. but none of that is what we need.
What our soul NEEDS is what the angels announced to the shepherds: 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
Why?
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,… (Romans 3:23)
This past Friday, a man by the name of Immanuel delivered flooring for our church updating. I commented, ‘That’s a great name, especially for the Christmas season!’ He came up to me a few minutes later after finishing unloading and said, “When is Christmas?” I understood his point to be that there are many man-made traditions around Christmas (including the date of celebration). We agreed that the main point was celebrating Jesus’ birth as our Savior.
It was a good reminder to remember that Christmas isn’t about what we WANT, Christmas is about what we NEED. Our greatest need in life is a solution for our sin. Preparing for Christmas is reflecting on how God filled our greatest NEED with his greatest GIFT: A baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
Exactly what we NEEDED!
Apply: Consider all you are doing to prepare for Christmas. How much helps you focus on the need for Christmas? How much distracts? How can your Christmas this year focus more fully on the gift God gave to take care of your greatest need?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for coming to earth to take care of my greatest need: a solution for my sin. AMEN.
Everyone Needs Christmas!
Free Devotion Friday…
15 weeks? 24 weeks? “When is life viable?”
This question is at the center of a case heard by the supreme court that comes from Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. The landmark case of Roe vs. Wade marked it at 24 weeks. Many are concerned Roe v. Wade will be overturned or at least stricter limits enforced.
Yesterday morning there was a social media threat against Forbes Middle School in Georgetown where our youngest daughter attends (The threat was investigated and deemed over). Obviously this is disconcerting as a parent especially in the wake of the tragedy and evil in Michigan where a number of high school students unnecessarily lost their lives to a sophomore shooter.
Almost two weeks ago a man drove his car through a Christmas parade in Waukesha killing six and injuring many others. He is upset that people are labeling him a monster and his mom is blaming the lack of mental health support for her son.
The list goes on, but one has to ask “What is going on?” and “What is the solution?”
Some say, “It’s a lack of mental health institutions and training.” Some say, “It’s guns that are the problem.” Some say, “It’s a woman’s right to choose.”
At risk of over simplifying, many of the assessments and proposes solutions are looking in the wrong place. Most solutions look to address the surface issue: Put a new law on the books; take guns out of certain people’s hands; have stricter bail and incarceration enforcements. Good arguments could be made for these solutions to address some of the surface issues.
But they still don’t get to the heart of things.
The issue is almost as old as humanity. Prior to the flood in Genesis 6, here is God’s assessment of the real problem: “ The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5)
Thousands of years later, things had not changed much as the Apostle Paul observed, “19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-21)
When a society throws out God, a biblical worldview, and a moral compass we are left to simply try to address the surface issues. When we acknowledge God, view the world through the lens of the bible and allow God’s truth to provide a moral compass for life, we are getting to the heart of things.
Again, not to over simplify, but the root cause of evil is the sinful nature that resides in each of us. That sinful nature hates God’s commands and wants to always do contrary to it. That sinful nature wants to disconnect from God and be its own god. The sinful nature loves to serve self at the expense of others.
Our sinful nature is no different.
So what’s the solution? God sent the Solution in the manger of Bethlehem the first Christmas. The angels announced his purpose, “11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
The shooter in Michigan, needs a Savior. Those that kill the unborn, need a Savior. The one who mowed down lives in Waukesha, needs a Savior. Christmas is for them too. Let’s pray for the message of Christmas to change their hearts.
We need Christmas too. We need a Savior just as much as those that make headlines for their evil. We have been given a Savior. We are here at this time to bring the message of God’s love for the world at Christmas to the world around us.
Apply: Look at the headlines of the day. How would you address the issue from a God-centered, biblical worldview?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me your Spirit to combat my sinful nature or I too would make news headlines for evil. Use me to bring your message of love and grace to the hearts of individuals…changing society one soul at a time. AMEN.
Believe the Comfort of Christmas: You Shouldn’t Have!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the COMFORT of Christmas!”
“You shouldn’t have!”
When someone presents us with a gift we weren’t expecting or was way beyond the point of generosity, it catches us off guard.
Especially if the person from whom you receive it is not one you have the best relationship with.
When we receive mercy beyond what we expect, it is humbling and comforting at the same time. Mercy tells us that the relationship that was strained or broken is restored. It means things are good again.
God is a God of mercy. Israel had suffered greatly because of their sin and drifting or outright denial of God. Yet in this message of comfort God reminds them:
40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
… that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
Commentators differ on what the meaning of this phrase is whether it is referring to the punishment for their sin was double or the mercy they experienced surpassed their sin. Due to the context of the flow of thought, I would side with the latter understanding. It is also in line with God’s character to allow his mercy to surpass our sin.
Romans 5:20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is also true that comfort comes when mercy surpasses sin.
There is no greater comfort than knowing that God’s mercy exceeds our sin. There is no greater miracle of grace that God would show mercy to sinful human beings. But that’s just who he is and is why he came to earth at Christmas.
His heart is bent on showing mercy. Consider Psalm 103:8-12:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
The Lord is certainly just and will punish sin. In fact, that’s what makes his mercy so much more amazing and the reality of Christ coming into the world at Christmas so mindblowing. The reality is God’s heart of mercy far surpasses the sin we commit. If it did not, we would always have to wonder if his mercy was used up on other people. But the fact that his mercy always surpasses sin leaves us with the very real comfort that there is plenty of mercy to go around this Christmas and every day.
Apply: How would God treat you if he treated you as your sins deserve? How does he treat you because of his mercy?
Prayer: Lord thank you for having a never ending well of mercy that you are more than willing to draw from and cover over all our sins.
Believe the Comfort of Christmas: “Paid in Full!”
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the COMFORT of Christmas!”
How much does it cost?
Estimates project that the average household will spend about $1050 on Christmas gifts this year. Did you know that if you put that on a credit card and just pay the minimum payment you would be paying for this year’s Christmas gifts for 5 years…and in the end pay another $553 for them?
You may not think of this as you are in the “Christmas spirit” and shopping for your family and friends. But then the stress comes in January when your credit card bill comes and you wonder, “Why did I spend all that money?”
Debt is stressful.
Perhaps for some you live in debt so much that it is the “norm” of your household. Yet living “paycheck to paycheck” causes strain on marriages and stress to know you are one paycheck away from not being able to pay for the things you need let alone the consumer debt you’ve incurred.
(Tip – set a budget for Christmas and get creative to stick with it.)
There is relief when the debt is paid off. To know that you no longer owe the credit card company and you can actually save that money reduces the stress and the likelihood of a financial emergency.
This isn’t intended to be a “financial advice” devotion, but hey, you got some of that this morning!
I do want to capture the emotions of being financially in debt and stressed that it seems you will never pay it all off and apply that to the words Isaiah is given to speak to God’s people.
Isaiah 40:2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her … that her sin has been paid for,
How amazing would it be if someone for Christmas paid off all your financial debt…including your house? What an amazing Christmas that would be!
How much greater is the debt our sin accumulates every day. It’s like swiping your spiritual credit card to the limit and beyond. The debt we own our perfect, holy Father in heaven is beyond are ability to pay off. Jesus wanted his followers to understand the debt we owe because of our sin.
Matthew 18:23-27 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
He cancelled the debt and let him go.
What relief this servant should have felt! (Yet as the parable ends, he couldn’t even forgive a fellow servant who owed much less.)
This scenario plays out for you and me.
The baby born in the manger of Bethlehem is truly our Savior from sin. He is the one whom God sent to pay the price for our sins. He is the one who cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” the very words a shopkeeper would stamp when a debt was fully paid.
It would be nice to have our financial debt gone (check out daveramsey.com for help), but what has been paid off is your sin. That’s what we get to celebrate this Christmas: Your sin has been paid for!
Comfort truly does come when the debt of sin is fully paid. Jesus paid…it… all!
Apply: Make a list of sins that plague your conscience. Write them on a piece of paper and then when you are done take a red marker and write over the top of it, “PAID IN FULL by JESUS!”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for initiating a payment plan for my sins through your Son Jesus. I praise you that you have given to me the comfort of knowing that the debt my sin incurred before you is paid in full by the blood of Jesus! AMEN.