Where is God?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the GOOD NEWS of Christmas!”
Where is God?
Where is God when homes and businesses are ripped apart by tornados? Where is God when innocent unborn are killed? Where is God when a pandemic ravages the lives of people around the world?
Do you feel like sometimes that God has just given up on our world? Does it seem like the forces of evil are so strong and prevalent that God has just abandoned us to their wickedness? Do you think that God doesn’t care anymore? Perhaps you feel like he’s left YOU all alone.
These thoughts have crossed my mind.
Searching for God amidst the tragedies and challenges of life is certainly elusive at times.
But that’s why we need Christmas.
Not parties, presents, and eggnog. In fact, perhaps all those things that “go” with Christmas are clutter to look around, move aside, or crawl through to see what God wants us to see at Christmas:
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
What was that good news? “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11).
Isaiah put it this way (Isaiah 40:9)
You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
One short phrase the messengers were to proclaim from the highest spot they could find, “Here is your God! (was this the angels on Christmas morning?)
These four words seem pretty simple, but they are so profound!
HERE is your God! Not over there…not in the distance…not coming soon…but HERE…WITH us! At Isaiah’s day and today we have given God many reasons to NOT be here. We have turned away from him, sought solutions in our selves and science, discounted his message as myth and disregard his view of the world in place of our own. Why would God want to be anywhere near here?
No one would want to be somewhere where no one wanted him.
Yet into that very world, God sent Jesus, his Son, to be HERE…with us!
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
Here, in the manger of Bethlehem is YOUR God! This simple pronoun takes what is generic and makes it personal. It’s like saying “There are presents under the tree” vs. “There is a present for YOU under the tree.” The second phrase compels you to action. The first leads you to shrug it off. The messengers of good news were told, “Tell all the people, ‘Here is YOUR God!’” Personal. Born for YOU! Lived for YOU! Died for YOU! Rose for YOU! Rules for YOU! Will return for YOU!
Yes, the pain of losing earthly possessions is real. The evil around us is challenging. The fragility of life is sobering. Yet none of it deters the good news of Christmas. God came to be WITH us. And that promise has NOT changed!
Apply: What changes in your heart and perspective when you pause to consider, “God is with YOU!”?
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for not abandoning the world of sin, but stepping into it to be with me and be my Savior! AMEN.
“It’s not supposed to happen this way!”
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the GOOD NEWS of Christmas!”
“This isn’t supposed to happen…
…especially at Christmas.”
For unknown reasons, the Lord allowed a devastating tornado to roll through the mid section of our country the end of last week. In an interview with one of the business owners of a factory making candles, the reporter expressed condolences for eight lives that were lost during that storm. “It’s supposed to be a season of joy and hope. This is especially hard at Christmas.”
It is. And our hearts and prayers are with the people whose lives are disrupted by this storm (A way to help is to contribute to WELS Christian Aid and Relief https://wels.net/serving-others/christian-aid-relief/)
Anytime news like this or similar experience of loss of life or property, it is hard to watch and hear about and certainly hard to experience first hand. However, when these things happen around Christmas, it has a heightened sense of bad news.
No one likes bad news around Christmas.
Even our culture knows that Christmas is supposed to be good news! We “expect” good things around Christmas…visits with family, bonuses at work, or special gifts and memories. It’s these things and others which makes Christmas time good!
Or do they?
On an earthly, secular level they do. However, any earthly good news can quickly turn bad. Bonus the end of this year…jobless at the end of next. Great memories with family this year…loved ones missing due to death next year. A favorite present received this year…only to be lost or stolen next year.
Good news can quickly turn into bad news when the good news we are focusing on is simply things we have or experience on this earth.
That’s why we need to believe the good news of Christmas and understand why it is so good.
The good news of Christmas is so good because the good news of Christmas is based in Jesus, not anything earthly.
Not a surprise, right? You expected me to write that. It’s what the angels said 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.” (Luke 2:10)
What was that good news? “11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
As we did on Sunday, this week’s devotions are intended to reflect again why the good news of Christmas is so good and what makes it so good.
Because no matter what happens around Christmas, God always wants us to have the good news of the angels…even when “bad news” enters our life around Christmas, we can still have peace, joy and hope knowing the good news of Christmas rests in Jesus, not life’s circumstances.
Apply: How could you help someone who has had bad news at Christmas…this year or in years past?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for coming at Christmas to always make the day and season about good news! AMEN.
Same Gift for Everyone?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the NEED for Christmas!”
Are you good at giving gifts?
Some of you are really good at buying individual gifts for people. You take time to understand the likes a person has, the things they notice and keep track of the things they like. Your Christmas shopping list takes you all over town in search of the perfect gift for each person on your list.
Some just get the same thing for everyone. One trip to one store and done. Each person gets the same thing regardless of what they like, what their interests are or what things they need.
Would it be possible to combine these two?
I suppose you would be a rich person if you could develop a gift that is the same for everyone yet customizes itself to the recipient to provide exactly what he or she needs and/or wants.
The irony in this is that there is such a gift.
It is one that everyone needs, but is unique to everyone.
It is a “one size fits all,” yet it gives to each person according to their needs.
What is that gift?
Jesus.
We all need Christmas because we all need Jesus.
So God gave his Son to the world…the same for everyone:
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
What he gave for everyone, he gives to you personally:
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
And what he gives you personally, is exactly what YOU need:
Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
God doesn’t get rich off of selling this gift. He gives it a way freely each Christmas (and every day for that matter). It’s the same for everyone, because everyone needs Jesus. It’s unique for everyone, because Jesus comes individually to forgive YOUR sins, to give YOU joy, to shepherd YOU in the path he desires for YOU, to wipe away YOUR tears and to give YOU comfort in all YOUR trials…and much more.
Gift giving can be challenging – at least it is for me. Yet, it is also rewarding when the person receiving your gift exclaims, “Wow, that’s amazing! How did you know that’s exactly what I wanted?”
Good luck in your physical gift buying this year! However, the one gift I know is safe to give generously is the gift of Jesus. Everyone on your list needs Jesus, so let’s give Jesus to everyone on your list!
Apply: Maybe include a card or ornament or little gift with each present that tells the person receiving the gift that God gives them the gift of Jesus this year!
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for giving me both what I want and what I need in Jesus this Christmas. AMEN.
Believe the NEED for Christmas: Temporal or Eternal?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the NEED for Christmas!”
How many of you remember what you got last year for Christmas?
How about five years ago?
If you do, either you have a good memory or the gift was really fun and significant!
For most of us, Christmas presents don’t really stick in our minds. Their excitement fades. Their use diminishes. Perhaps many gifts have been given to Goodwill or thrown out. They just don’t last.
Yet, we spend a lot of time searching for gifts to give and we anticipate with great joy the gifts we will receive…even though they are temporary.
I’m the same. What we can see, touch, and experience today is what we focus on. We are earthly people and easily focus on the temporary.
That’s why God’s Spirit works so hard to get us to focus on the eternal.
Yesterday we saw how we need Christmas to see God’s glory…today, Christmas is a way God uses to focus on that which is eternal.
Isaiah was given insight to share to compare that which is human to that which is of God. Humans bloom and fade like the flowers. The Word of God lasts forever.
6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:6-8)
A secular Christmas does nothing but focus on the temporary…cookies, presents, and parties. The TRUTH of Christmas celebrates the eternal stepping into the temporal.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
We need Christmas to connect with that which is eternal, our relationship with Jesus Christ. The eternal, Son of God stepped into our temporal world so that our time in this world would end in eternity with him.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Christmas has a lot of temporal traditions…don’t let them overshadow the eternal reality! I bet when you make the eternal gift of Jesus the center of your Christmas celebration, you will never forget what you got last year for Christmas…because it will always be the same: A Savior born for you!
Apply: What can you do this Christmas to make sure the eternal significance of Christmas is real for you and your family this year?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for stepping into the temporal world to provide for me what was necessary to spend an eternity with you. AMEN!
Believe the NEED for Christmas: See God’s Glory!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Believe the NEED for Christmas!”
We’ve all done it.
As soon as there is the first Christmas gift under the tree we try to guess what is in it. We assess the size. We pick it up to feel the weight. We shake it gently to determine if it is made up of many parts or just one. We look at the name on the tag. We notice who is the giver…and whatever other clues we can find to try to guess what is in the gift before it is opened.
But the gift is not fully revealed and realized until the paper is ripped off and the present is revealed. The recipient then holds it up to reveal the gift to everyone in the room.
The one reality: the gift can’t be opened until Christmas.
For many that’s what makes Christmas so exciting…all the gifts get to be opened and reveal their glorious reality to all around. Without Christmas…no presents…no opening…nothing exciting to reveal.
Isaiah alludes to another gift that had to wait until the first Christmas to be opened. Sure people tried to size up the promises of the Messiah. They tried to piece together the words of the prophets. They formed their idea of who the Messiah would be, what he would look like and what he would do.
But it wasn’t until Christmas that the full glorious reality of God’s plan was revealed.
Isaiah put it this way (Isaiah 40:5) And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
While the baby Jesus has been born in Bethlehem and his ministry and message is complete and recorded in the Gospels, we still all have a need to see the glory of Jesus and his birth in the manger of Bethlehem.
Because sometimes we still guess about who Jesus is and his significance.
He looks and talks like a good role model – so that’s what he becomes.
WWJD sells bracelets and T-shirts and so Jesus is a good marketing agent for that.
He seems like a good moral teacher, so its practical to follow his message and guidance.
But perhaps we still miss the key part of who Jesus is and why he came into this world.
That’s why God orchestrated Christmas! He wanted us all to see his glory!
First, the amazing, glorious reality that GOD became FLESH.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Second the glorious reality that Jesus came to this earth to be our Savior. He came to live in our place, take our punishment on the cross, and rise victorious to give us the hope and promise of eternal life with him.
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. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
The great news is you don’t have to wait until Christmas to open this gift, but Christmas is a great day to see the glory and salvation of God revealed…and given to you!
Apply: What aspect of Christmas highlights the glory of God to you the most?
Prayer: Lord God, open our eyes and hearts to see and marvel at your glory this Christmas! AMEN.