Tag: christianity

Habits of Faith: Loving Ourselves and Loving Others as God First Loved Us is Going to Take Time. 1 John 4:7-10

1 John 4:7-10 The Message

God Is Love

7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

As Christians, we are encouraged to love one another which includes ourselves.

So in a world where love is defined in many different ways, who better to look at and follow His example than God, who is love (1 John 4:8)? 

Like 1 John 4:16 explains, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:7-10 New King James Version

Knowing God Through Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  10  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Please, in this moment, stop what you are thinking about to take a few seconds or minutes and think about all the undefinable depths of love Jesus has for you.

Depending on the day, the time of day, circumstances of the day, perhaps you feel a barrier, because we may know all too well, how we often fail, falter, take our eyes off our King, and at times maybe even want nothing to do with Him.

But God is here to tell all of us right now that in those exact moments, Christ’s all-encompassing love is yet all the more present and there to sustain you!

For He has chosen all of us, though we each will fail, called each of us His own, though we will certainly falter, that we all have a place at His table even when our gaze is not perfectly fixed and laser focused on the divine host. 

So, in the coming moments, in the hours, days ahead do think about how Christ’s love for you is like a consuming ocean you cannot swim away from. 

Do think about that He is the greatest joy in times of both defeat and triumph. 

Do think about that He is your deepest comfort, hope, in your most trying of sorrows. Oh, what love he has for his children…Oh, what love he has for you!

So, now is as good a time as any, join me in praising God, for His persistent love.

Praise God, that He continually reveals to us what love is even right now.

Praise God, that he first loved us which enables us to, therefore, go and love on others exactly where they are. 

So today, remainder of this week, continually, let there be no shortage of love from the children of God especially during the times we are all experiencing.

Ask Jesus right now, to reveal to you how to love others through you as He has so graciously, so indelibly, covered you in his love.

Love Others First – but be sure to include yourself because you matter to God.

For many, love is a reciprocal response.

Someone loves us, so we love them back.

This all started with God, as 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because He first loved us.”

So what if, like God, we just start loving other people first?

So, what if, like God, while loving others, we also included ourselves – first?

Often this is easier said than done.

Especially if, maybe like me, you’ve experienced a time when someone decided they just didn’t like you or when that someone was YOU not loving yourself.

In these cases, we usually don’t know why or what is the reason behind their feelings or even our own feelings for that matter. 

When something like this happens, we can choose to overlook their attitudes toward us and love them anyway.

Sometimes our unconditional love will win them over, but sometimes it doesn’t. 

Still, that’s the risk we take when we choose to love others first.

In these situations, we get a taste, a very small glimpse of what God has been dealing with down through the ages in loving those who don’t love Him back. 

In everyday life, we’re given countless opportunities to step out and love others in our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities.

We have countless opportunities where we can choose to even overlook our own feelings in the matter-considering God’s love for His own Son through the ages.

Love others and ourselves Even When It’s Messy

God knows loving men and women in their sins is pretty messy. 

God knows exactly how well we love others, how well we will love others.

God knows how well we love ourselves, how well we will love ourselves.

But, God cuts through all that messiness with this indelible truth …

Romans 5:8 explains, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Likewise, parenthood helps many men and women understand how God could love us in our messes.

It’s also good training ground for learning how to love others in their disarray. 

All around the world, moms and dads face unpleasant scenarios in taking care of children.

From diaper disasters, food mishaps, exploring incidents, and more, parents push through the chaos to keep loving and caring for their children.

Likewise, loving others can be messy, especially when walking through various situations with them that are uncomfortable, unpleasant, or inconvenient.

Love others and ourselves Sacrificially

Real-life TV shows of love, romance, and marriage often give insight into how individuals view love and what they believe loving one another involves.

Frequently when a prospective bride or groom is asked how they fell in love with the other person, his or her answer involves how the other person’s love makes them a better person or feel special and loved.

But what if once married, the other person stops making them feel like a better person – what happens if they stop feeling loved by their spouse or children?

For many couples, whether married for a few years or longer, with children or not, they start to realize that love isn’t about how a spouse makes us feel but rather establishing just what costs are we willing to pay to show them love.

Are we willing to give up our pride, selfishness, resources, plans, and more if needed to love our husband or wife or dare to go ahead, including ourselves?

John 3:16 describes the high cost God was willing to pay to demonstrate His love to us “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.” 

God demonstrated the high cost of loving others and how to love sacrificially.

He deliberately, intentionally, paid the ultimate price to prove His love to us. 

As the Author, Creator, and only Source of love, He modeled what it means to express love to those around us by loving us first, loving us in our messiness of our breakdowns, break ups, faults, failures and sin, and loving us sacrificially.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

Are you willing to lovingly reach out to others this week?

Are we willing enough, daring too, to lovingly reach out to ourselves this week?

If so, ask God to help you love others, being sure to include loving yourself like He loves you by loving self and them first, sacrificially, and in their messiness.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 New King James Version

The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not [a]want.
2 He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will [d]dwell in the house of the Lord
[e]Forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Recognition of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Day; As His Message, as God’s Message, Is Now Committed Unto All Of Us. 2 Corinthians 5:16-20

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 Easy-to-Read Version

16 From this time on we don’t think of anyone as the world thinks of people. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we don’t think that way now. 17 When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world.[a] The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Dr. Martin Luther King and the Kingdom Of God

In the United States today we commemorate the life and work of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK).

As well we should.

Dr. King stood before the thousands who had gathered – said he had a dream …

A significant God-sized dream …

Dr. King dreamed about the kingdom of God—where the children of former slaves and the children of former slaveowners would see each other as family, and the message; where everyone would share equally in freedom and justice.

Dr. King also did what he could to influence people to refocus their mindsets into God, so to make that kingdom dream real, even at the cost of his own life.

Even today, we are challenged mightily to be true unto that same dream to see all people not by the color of their skin as Christ saw people, but God’s children.

In a word, reconcile the world to God.

As if God Himself is communicating to His Creation … through His Son and through his messengers like Dr. Martin Luther King … His desired message …

Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian followers that the word of reconciliation has been committed to us by God and that God makes His appeal through us.

He is in us.

Emmanuel, God with Us …

Emmanuel, God within us …

John 14:15-17 Easy-to-Read Version

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, you will do what I command. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper[a] to be with you forever. 17 The Helper is the Spirit of truth.[b] The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.

And He’s doing it, and that is what saves us from fear and from uncertainty and stumbling from mistakes in the work of witnessing.

Our reasoned logic, our wisest arguments, and so on are of no effect whatsoever in this topic, except as they be the living expression of the Holy Spirit within us.

He will do his work; all we need to be is to be bold enough, courageous enough, ready enough to respond to the situation, depending on Jesus to do His work.

This relieves one of the greatest fears that keep people from witnessing.

It should help us tremendously to realize that we do not have to pump up our courage, “to gird our own loins” and tackle a situation in which we hardly know what we are coming into at all – because we know that God is already on the job.

We may be talking to somebody that is a stranger to us.

We do not know what their background is, what their ability is, what their mental acumen is, or anything of the sort.

We do not need to know.

All we need to know about or do is just carry on a normal conversation about ordinary things.

If we can but look to the Lord to find an opening to insert just a word that will switch the conversation over toward the things of Christ, that may lead the time towards deeper conversation about the deeper things, more meaningful things.

If this is a prepared heart, that person will respond.

If it is not one that the Holy Spirit has prepared, then they just won’t respond.

Therefore, the work of testifying and witnessing to God’s message is impossible until the Holy Spirit has made the person ready to receive God’s message alone.

We do not practice this work of witnessing without realizing that sometimes the initial response is sometimes different than what we would hope, expect.

One may discover that the person is often belligerent at first, but has a hungry heart underneath.

One learns to be quick at perceiving that and paying no attention to what he says, but instead speaking to what he is displaying in their own inner hunger.

But any kind of response is a good response, an open door opportunity as long as it is an open door by which you could pursue the subject deeper and further.

We do not need to pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare hearts.

He is already preparing them.

He has them prepared all around us.

Jesus said, Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).

These prepared, hungry hearts, hearts yearning for answers, are all around us.

Our ministry and mission is simply to be so available to the Lord, that as we have the kingdom opportunity to make contact from day to day, we can be used of Him to find who they are, learn about them, and carry this witness forward.

As children of God, we represent the family of God, whether we are aware of it or not.

The world will judge our Father based on our words, behaviors, and attitudes.

Jesus challenges his followers to let their light shine into the world’s spiritual darkness.

Our deeds, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, will reflect an image of the Father that others will see.

If we are a Christian, we each, without exception, bear the name of Christ.

We represent Jesus quite literally wherever we go.

The Bible goes as far as to call us “Christ’s ambassadors” to the world.

Christ made His appeal to the world through Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

In 2024 and beyond, Christ is now making His appeal to the world through us.

He sends us forward to share his transforming love with our neighbors, friends, relatives, coworkers—through every single one we encounter on any given day.

We carry the family name of Jesus Christ wherever we go, in whatever we do.

On this Martin Luther King Day 2024, How well do we carry the name of Jesus?

Walk through today expecting the Holy Spirit to give you opportunities to share the truths of Jesus and be an ambassador of reconciliation.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Here is a prayer of Dr. King’s prayers from a collection titled, “Thou, Dear God”: Prayers That Open Hearts and Spirits (edited by Lewis V. Baldwin):

1)  Prayer to forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be

O Thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being, we humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hearts, souls and minds, and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us. We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive. We love our friends and hate our enemies. We go the first mile but dare not travel the second. We forgive but dare not forget. And so as we look within ourselves, we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against you. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know your will. Give us the courage to do your will. Give us the devotion to love thy will. In the name and spirit of Jesus we pray. Amen. (p. 7)

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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As We Have Accepted Christ Into Our Lives: Freedom From Worldly Rules. Colossians 2:6-7

Colossians 2:6-7 New Living Translation

Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Parents quickly understand the necessity of rules in order to keep children safe.

Six years ago, when I ventured into pre-school teaching for four and five year old’s, I learned for toddlers, the rules are very simple but often life or death!

Rules like listen to your mom and dad, listen to your teachers, sit up straight, don’t run out into the street; don’t touch a hot stove; don’t run into a burning campfire; don’t jump into the water without a life jacket before you can swim …don’t get lost.

When they reach school age, the rules include manners- respecting their teachers and other adults in their lives; and honesty, reading, and studying hard for tests instead of their peering over onto another classmate’s paper.

As they grow older, and they observe people, the rules become a more tangled mess of life, morality we, ourselves, struggle alongside our kin to maintain.

At any age, rules more often allow us to frame how we become the best version of ourselves rather than always inhibiting us from experiencing life to the full. 

A rule, as a noun, is defined as a principle or regulation governing conduct, an action, procedure, arrangement, etc.

As a verb, to rule means to control or direct; to exercise domination power, to have authority, or influence over; to govern.

I found it interesting that the heading before today’s verses, in the NLT translation of the Bible, reads: “Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ.” 

Jesus didn’t come to abolish the necessary growth we obtain through following rules; He came so we would have freedom, “to be free indeed,” to benefit from complete obedience, though we cannot obtain perfection this side of heaven.

Christ Jesus makes up for our lack.

Freedom From Rules?

Matthew 5:17-18 The Message

Completing God’s Law

17-18 “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

Two spiritual poisons are deadly to the soul: legalism and lawlessness.

Legalism implies that God loves and accepts us because of our performance.

We ingest this toxin when we look favorably at our own brief history of good behavior and think and then (gasp) come to believe that’s why God loves us.

Lawlessness says we are free to live however we wish because God’s love is not based on our good works.

We ingest this toxin anytime we brush aside the importance of obedience to God or we self reason and self rationalize then (gasp) minimize some sin in our life.

Jesus warns against both.

To those who insist that God’s law is unimportant, Jesus says he has come to obey God’s law perfectly.

Obedience to God matters so absolutely much that Jesus had to keep God’s commandments perfectly (fulfilling the law) so that we might have salvation.

At the same time, also Jesus warns that if we try to gain God’s approval based on our moral and ethical performance, our goodness must then surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law – “be the wisest above everyone’s eyes.”

They were high and mighty religious authorities and experts famous for their “obedience to the law” but still so far from perfect, as Jesus often pointed out.

The Gospel is that although we cannot obey God’s law, Jesus fulfilled it for us.

Then he was punished for our sake as a law-breaker so that God might view us as law-keepers!

As the gospel truly lives in us, may we live a life of obedience to God that flows from deep gratitude to Jesus, who frees us from both legalism and lawlessness.

Freedom from rules, through Christ, releases the pressure of a burden we can never hope live up to. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, willing to walk out the will of His Father to free us from the burden of our own sin …and lack of obedience.

Though our hearts are often in the right place as we wake each day to follow Jesus, we carry with us a hopeless entanglement of sin that trips into our daily lives and then, prayerfully rolls over into our confession of them in the next.

Grace-filled and unfailing in love for us, God made a way for us to be forgiven and a chance to repent …to change. 

From the Parable of the Sower, we know that seedling planted in the ground slowly makes its way up through the soil and breaks through to see the sun.

Our lives are a continual process of blooming where we are planted.

Paul uses the illustration of our “being rooted in Christ,” the Life Application Bible explains, “Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, we draw our life-giving strength from Christ.

Colossians 2:6-7 The Message

From the Shadows to the Substance

6-7 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

The more we raise up, draw our strength from him, the less we will be fooled or entangled by those who falsely claim to have life’s answers apart from Christ.”

Our Life Now On God’s Terms, New Life In Christ.

Romans 8:1-2 The Message

The Solution Is Life on God’s Terms

8 1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

Today’s verses from Paul’s letter to the Colossians I pray encourage us to keep raising up, a life straining for the light and to let our roots grow down into Him.

Perennials are those plants that return year after year and spread out each time they come back to life in the Spring.

I like to plant things that tend to grow and spread out without my obvious lack of a green thumb to hindering their life cycle.

What begins as a spacious garden soon overflows with fresh wildflowers.

I love giving nature a space to take over in my yard and plodding out to pick fresh blooms each day as more and more cut through to the light of the sun. 

Our lives are new every day, just as God’s mercy is new every day.

He is faithful to complete His promise of our new life in Christ.

We are a new creation in Him, and it doesn’t happen overnight!

A bulk of the change occurs progressively over time, season after season, and year after year.

“New life in Christ starts and continues when we acknowledge Him as leader over all we are and do,” just as the Life Application Study Bible explains;

“Then we must accept his leadership daily by being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith.” 

Intersecting Faith and Life

Ephesians 2:16-22 The Message

16-18 Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

Today’s verses talk of freedom in Savior Christ overflowing with thankfulness as a result of the truth we are being taught.

Gratitude is a natural by-product of knowing God.

It’s impossible to know Him and not be able to grasp gratitude, even in the worst and hardest of times.

Today’s beautiful verses, written by the apostle Paul, I pray remind us all of the amazing gift of freedom we have as we embrace life within the love of Christ.

If ever we find ourselves feeling burdened by rules, we can be assured the guilt is not rooted in Him!

But freedom is.

We are free to admit our weaknesses, run to Him in our lack, and know without a doubt He sacrifices His perfect life so we could live ours to the full.

He is with us, always.

Let’s release the pressure, follow Jesus, allow our roots to grow down in Him, and our lives be built on Him.

Let’s proclaim freedom, embrace the promise Paul penned: Then our faith will grow strong in the truth we are taught, and we will overflow with thankfulness.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,  

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 The Message

16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
    I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
    Without you, nothing makes sense.

3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
    what splendid friends they make!

4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
    Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
    like brand-names.

5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
    And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
    And then you made me your heir!

7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
    is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
    I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination!

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
    all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
    I’m on the right way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Togetherness in Christ: ‘Deliverance When We Doubt’ — Isaiah 43:18-19

Isaiah 43:16-21 New Living Translation

16 I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
    making a dry path through the sea.
17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
    with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
    their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

18 “But forget all that—
    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
    the jackals and owls, too,
    for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
    so my chosen people can be refreshed.
21 I have made Israel for myself,
    and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

I don’t know where we find ourselves emotionally today.

But I do know that, being human, we are finding ourselves locked into some emotional state that we cannot seem to shake as easily as we would like to do.

Life seems to guarantee that we will face significant times when we feel alone, abandoned, under attack, forgotten, targeted, under siege, and overwhelmed.

In such difficult times, I like to remind myself of three biblical truths:

Jesus felt abandoned on the cross (Matthew 27:46) even though He knew God would never abandon Him (John 16:32). 

We need to acknowledge that our feelings are real and sometimes raw, even too raw, but they are not always correct.

Jesus’ “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” expressed how He felt.

But reading the rest of Psalm 22 it goes on to describe the horrors of the cross that the Lord knew were coming on Him, yet finishes with the truth of what God was going to accomplish through His death on the cross and His resurrection.

We do not have to believe our feelings and doubts.

We can express them to God and remind ourselves of God’s promises.

When we have difficulty believing, we can cry out like the father who desperately wanted to believe that Jesus could heal His son and said,

“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

We can look back on God’s history of work with His people and see how God repeatedly delivered His people through harsh times — Israel from Egypt through the plagues and the Red Sea are but one of many examples.

Even John the Baptizer’s ministry that led to the coming of Jesus seems to be foreshadowed in today’s passage. (Mark 1:1-8)

And, as Mark’s narrative reminds us as God’s people in His Gospel word, despite all the worst, there is room for our publicly declaring over the very worst of personal doubts; “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” 

We have the God Who is “about to do something new” to deliver His people!

Isaiah 43:18-19 New Living Translation

18 “But forget all that—
    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

We have the promise of God’s permanent presence in us and with us made clear by Jesus (John 14:15-17) the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 13:5-6), from Apostle Paul. (Romans 8:32-39)

Those promises are forever sealed by Jesus’ loving sacrifice for us to deliver us from sin, death, and hell.

John 19:28-30 New Living Translation

The Death of Jesus

28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”[a] 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

And, as Paul reminds us, that if God would allow the gift of His Son to save us, will not He also give us all the things we need to get us home to Him, as well? (Romans 8:31-34)

Romans 8:31-34 New Living Translation

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Dear brother or sister in Jesus, don’t let the devil’s deceiving words, personal doubts, or the voices of cynics, skeptics, and haters rob you of your confidence.

Your Father in heaven is the God of new things – after all, He Created them all!

John 1:1-5 New Living Translation

Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
    and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]

When the doubts assail, take heart my friends, take refuge in the heart of God.

Nothing in this life is so stuck the Lord will not provide us a new way forward!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Father, I do believe, but help my unbelief. I want to trust in Your deliverance in my current circumstances as I read about those great acts of salvation. You performed to deliver Your people in the past. I need the Holy Spirit to help me sense Your presence and infuse me with the power to endure as I place my faith in You, not listen to my doubts, circumstances, and enemies. I pray all this in the authoritative name of Jesus.

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First, Foremost, Utmost, Uppermost: Our Full Contentment in Christ Jesus! Philippians 4:10-14

Philippians 4:10-14 The Message

Content Whatever the Circumstances

10-14 I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Sometimes we have the distinct pleasure of meeting a non believer or Christian who just exudes calm, peace, and contentment even though they are living with physical, mental, spiritual limitations or ailments that are difficult and painful.

Or maybe they are facing, have faced heart-wrenching tragedy in the past—and yet there they are, almost serene in their faith and utterly joyful on every level.

When we see such people, we sometimes conclude that God must have wired them really well.

We figure that such people must have been born right side, sunny-side up with a personality and disposition that naturally lends itself to a contented nature.

But if we think or believe that way, we are usually wrong.

Talk to such folks long enough, and you will discover what Paul wrote to the Philippian followers: their contentment is a hardcore, hard learned behavior.

You are not born with it. It does not come easily for anyone. But by grace we grow, we learn, we mature. And as we do, contentment becomes a way of life.

But it is not inevitable.

Many of us know someone who got trapped by their suffering long ago.

For a time, they turned inward and curdled into an angry, resentful person.

Not one of us can ever avoid some ­level of pain, hardship, or deprivation in life.

Our prayer is that when we find ourselves facing such difficult times, we can learn what Paul learned over the long haul: a contentment anchored in Christ.

Have I Really Learned How to be Contented in Christ?

Philippians 4:11-13 New Living Translation

11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength.

From something to nothing.

From nothing to something.

From everything back to nothing.

From nothing thrust into everything.

But, can we really expect to have quite literally everything?

And still genuinely claim that we are content with our measure of success?

We live in a society permeated by discontent.

All kinds of Commercials condition us to be envious.

Can we be happy and content if we cannot afford those $$$$$$ Tesla vehicles?

Can we be content with even those “pseudo-cheap” electric cars or hybrids that are not big enough to hold a growing family and all of those groceries they need that will not travel more than a couple of hundred miles without recharging it?

Can we stand to be so limited in our abilities to go on those nice vacations which are well beyond the driving range of those tiny electric cars, and the insufficient numbers of charging stations for us to plug into when we’ll finally get ourselves to the middle of nowhere where there is nothing but peace, joy, contentment?

Can we be content with living in apartments when our dream is to buy a house but we cannot afford even an “as is house” because “as is” costs far too much?

The real issue, though, is not so much how we are limited or not limited by the financial bounds of society we live in but the state of our own hearts and minds.

Truth: we are drawn away from contentment by so much of “what our hearts desire” which clamors for our attention: titles, possessions, influence, or fame.

Yet all of these and more seek to rob us of any sense of joy in what our God has given us, persuading us that it will never be enough -the chase is never-ending.

Paul, though, from chief Pharisee to Roman jails could say not only that he was merely content but that he could be fully content “in whatever situation I am.”

This is what everyone is searching for!

What was the secret, then?

It was to ground his sense of self and his outlook on life in the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul didn’t champion a stiff upper lip in the face of hardship or offer a false gospel of self-sufficiency.

No, his contentment was the removing himself from everything, a result of bowing his heart and mind to God’s will, no matter what conditions he faced.

Philippians 3:7-9 New Living Translation

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[a] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Not everyone has lived on both sides of the street.

Not everyone wants to live on both sides of the street.

Not everyone knows how the other half lives.

Not everyone wants to know how the other half lives on the other side.

Not everyone needs to know how the other half lives on the other side.

But Paul did.

He knew what it was to be successful, rich, educated, respected, warm and fed, he knew what it was to be cold and naked, beaten many times to within an inch of his life, threatened with his life, to be killed, and thrown into a Roman jail.

If he had derived contentment from his circumstances, his life would have been a constant roller-coaster ride, leaving him intoxicated by all of those wonderful luxuries one minute and thoroughly overwhelmed by their absence in the next. (Acts 9:1-19)

Under the weight of such an extreme life condition and transition, such a fickle spirit could, would have, neutralized Paul, making him unable to serve Christ.

Paul was a normal man with normal needs.

In a letter to Timothy from a dungeon in Rome, Paul wrote, “Do your best to come to me soon ….. Bring the cloak ..… the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:9, 13).

He had been deserted by others and lacked certain possessions.

Yes, Paul wanted things like clothing, books, and company—but he knew he would be fine without them, for his peace rested in something much greater.

Like the Apostle Paul, my own contentment, your contentment can and should ultimately be grounded in your union with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Refuse any worldly ambition other than the eternal ambition of belonging to Him alone remaining entirely unequivocally in His will and at His full disposal.

When you know Christ, how wonderful He is—that He is your all in all, more precious than silver, more costly than gold, more beautiful than diamonds, and nothing you have compares to Him[1]—the way you view your circumstances, and the measure of your contentment will be completely, finally transformed.

1 Lynn DeShazo, “More Precious Than Silver” (1982).

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 English Standard Version

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam[a] of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
    in whom is all my delight.[b]

4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.[f]

11 You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Some days, dear God, we confess that our needs seem to outnumber our resources. But whatever the day brings, whether in our richness or from our poverty, from our healthiness or infirmity, in the end, help us to be content and joyful in you. In Christ, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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First, Foremost, Utmost, Uppermost, For literally Everything, There is God! Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 GOD’S WORD Translation

Everything in God’s Own Time

3 Everything has its own time, and there is a specific time for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and
a time to die,
a time to plant and
a time to pull out what was planted,
3 a time to kill and
a time to heal,
a time to tear down and
a time to build up,
4 a time to cry and
a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and
a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and
a time to gather them,
a time to hug and
a time to stop hugging,
6 a time to start looking and
a time to stop looking,
a time to keep and
a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear apart and
a time to sew together,
a time to keep quiet and
a time to speak out,
8 a time to love and
a time to hate,
a time for war and
a time for peace.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

As this new year of 2024 begins to unfold before us, it’s vital we take time to both reflect on what God has done, allow him to prepare us for what’s to come.

A new year marks a fresh opportunity to center life around the goodness of God.

I pray that as we all begin looking toward what is to come we will allow God to unfold before us will, make space to gain God’s perspective, ground your hopes and pursuits on his grace, and celebrate all God has done and is, will be doing.

Begin to renew your mindsets from 2023 to 2024, May your time with God this week and beyond will be filled with the loving presence of your heavenly Father.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 GOD’S WORD Translation

Everything in God’s Own Time

3 Everything has its own time, and there is a specific time for every activity under heaven:

The seasons of the year which have just passed by were created by the powerful hands of our heavenly Father speak of the need to slow down, stop, and reflect.

With the Word of God for His Children in hand, times of reflection create space for God’s Spirit to speak, helping us remember what he has done, making us aware of what he is doing, and stirring our hearts for what he wants to do next.

God is the Author of Creation, God is the Author of all life, God loves to use a change in season to remind us to center our lives around his pervasive works.

Whether it be a change in jobs, weather, moving, our health, our wealth, or the day to day unfolding of a new year 2024, it’s crucial that we make space for God to live in us, ro speak to us, prepare us for the wonderful things He has planned.

Quite Literally, Everything Begins and Ends With God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 The Message

There’s a Right Time for Everything

3 There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

The best place to begin reflection is in remembering.

I don’t know whether this past year was one filled with heartache or laughter for you, I do not know whether you experienced loss or brand new beginnings.

I don’t know whether in the year 2024 you will cry more tears of joy or sadness.

But please take heart right now that the #1 truth is your heavenly Father does.

And whether 2024 becomes a year to remember or to forget. recall it’s in quiet remembrance He wants to comfort you, rejoice with you, wrap you in His arms.

It’s in sacred and most holy remembrance that He wants to bring about healing, He wants to impart His grace, love, perspective – take time today to remember.

Next, resolve to take time to ask the Holy Spirit for revelation on the present.

Just as our seasons help us to remember the past, they beg us not to stay there, they beg of us to ask of God for the grace of God to move up, live in the present.

The indelible truth is God is doing a mighty work in and around you right now.

This is a time for faith and deep encounters with the transforming love of God.

This is a time to savor the beauty of the current and to rest in the goodness of the immediate.

Creator God is always going to be present to meet with you, love you, fill you.

He has more than sufficient strength, grace, comfort, and joy for you if we will renew our mindset, make space to receive the fullness of what He wants to give.

Resolve then, in the name of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, to take time today to savor.

Lastly, God longs to fill you with hope and expectancy for his future plans.

The new year of 2024, filled with its infinite possibilities and also infinite new beginnings, is moment by moment, quickly unfolding right before your eyes.

Your heavenly Father, Author of your very life, who weaved you together in your mother, who dwells in all of eternity, longs to prepare us all for what is to come.

Moment by precious moment, He longs to lay a foundation for our days our year with a fresh anointing, fresh revelation of His love, faithfulness, and presence.

He longs to fill you with hope and desires that he will see through to fruition.

Resolved: Take time today to allow Him to prepare you for all next year holds.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

May your time in guided prayer be marked by clarity and revelation in the Holy Spirit as you engage in these three practices.

Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on this past year. 

What were your triumphs? What were your failures? How did God meet you in both? Allow Him to comfort you in any pain and rejoice with you in any victory.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

2. What is God doing right now? 

What is He teaching and instilling in you? What is He calling you to savor?

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:31-34

3. Ask God to plant hopes and dreams for next year in your heart. 

What do you want to see happen personally next year? What do you hope God does in and the now through you? What good works has He prepared for you?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

May Galatians 6:7-10 stir within us a covenant commitment to fully engage in the season in which God has you and me:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 

Psalm 100 The Message

100 1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
    Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
    He made us; we didn’t make him.
    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty,
    all-generous in love,
    loyal always and ever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Seasons With God, My Days With My Savior Jesus, A Prayer of Surrender to Jesus’ Calling. Mark 8:34-38

Mark 8:34-38 New King James Version

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Preparing ourselves for the coming of the new year of 2024 …

As part of that preparation …

Have you ever prepared for and practiced the discipline of dieting?

Have you ever prepared for and practiced the discipline of fasting?

Have you ever prepared for and practiced the disciplines of self denial and of self sacrifice?

Have you ever prepared for and practiced the discipline of talking to God?

Although most followers of Christ agree that the discipline of prayer is a highly valuable practice, there’s some debate about the practicing discipline of fasting.

Fasting is the disciplined practice of refraining from normal activities to focus our full attention on God, the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Most commonly, fasting is about avoiding food for a certain period of time.

In today’s verses from Mark’s Narrative, Jesus tells his disciples that following Him will require His disciples to disciplined practice of self-denial and sacrifice.

We might be able to intellectually understand, agree with the call to self-denial.

We might be able to see the benefit of obeying Christ, even when it contradicts our better more worldly desires.

We might even sincerely pray we would have the self discipline, the strength to discipline ourselves to overcome our “not so glorious worldliness” to obey Him.

However, when that time and that season arrives, summoned by God, called our by Jesus, comes to lay aside our desires and obey God’s commands, we’ll falter.

If we would ever get around to telling ourselves the God’s honest truth, it is not easy to say no to our own desires, especially when we have the means to satisfy our whims – the discipline of fasting helps us practice saying no to ourselves.

We do not gain virtue points by saying no to wolfing out on our favorite foods or not eating gobs of chocolate during the season of Lent, but we do learn the habit of setting aside our desire to make room for praying for, pursuing of, God’s will.

Self-Discipline: Prayer of Surrender to Jesus’ Calling

Mark 8:34-38 The Message

34-37 Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

38 “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”

Most days, my day to day life feels like a back-and-forth battle with control.

One day I’m easily relinquishing my own way in favor of God’s plan.

Other days I have to physically, spiritually, struggle to keep surrendering over and over because of my weakness, the pull of being in control is just too strong.

“Give up your own way…”

That phrase sounds ridiculously easy – some days even – embarrassingly easy.

Truth Be Told …

My Confession for today …

“Not so much … If at all …”

“Who am I trying to run a con game on today, who am I trying to scam?”

Those five simple words Master Rabbi Jesus spoke to the crowd are probably the very ones I wrestle with the most.

Even after my heart surgery, I get too attached to my own way of doing things.

Even so, too soon afterwards, self-sufficiency rises and I start making decisions in my own former strengths, I am trying way too hard, and wearing myself out.

I end up exhausted instead of welcoming the peace Jesus offers.

Surrender. 

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Surrender is a hardcore concept to grasp because God gave us the will to choose.

Surrender means to give up complete control.

To yield to the power of another.

Surrender is an amazing gift offered to us.

Wouldn’t when we are at our weakest physically and spiritually, not rather hand over control of our lives to our Creator who literally holds power over all things?

Then why, in our great strengths, do we struggle to surrender when Jesus calls?

God designed us to hope, dream, create, and build.

Do not we long to do great and little things and make an impact on our world.

Do we not desire to great and little things, make an impact in God’s Kingdom?

So whether from our strengths or weaknesses, we must discipline ourselves to pray and find our purpose using the gifts God gave us, while daily surrendering, while daily disciplining our lives and daily subjecting our whole hearts to Him.

Mark chapter 8 tells us about Jesus’ ministry—from feeding four thousand people to healing one blind man.

After a private word with his disciples, Jesus turned to a crowd and explained how to surrender. Jesus said,

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:35-36)

In our efforts to do good, let’s not forget the presence of our Holy God.

Jesus is calling us to release control and follow His ways instead of our own.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Heavenly Father,

I hear your precious son Jesus gently calling me, yet I realize I’ve let the temptation of control keep me from responding to his voice. Forgive me for trying to do things on my own when I know your ways are best. I resolve to surrender to Savior Jesus today.

Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to draw me back to you in those times when I’ve relied on my own strength. Your Word in John 14:26 says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Thank you for reminding me that if I want to follow Jesus, I need to release my own way resolve to surrender to my Savior.

I have felt the weaknesses in my own body mind, spirit, I have felt your Holy Spirit tugging at my heart. So I am laying down my own plans, desires, and goals. I replace those right now with total surrender to your will. I am grateful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus never stops pursuing a deeper relationship with me.

Your will be done in my life, Lord. I will follow where you lead me. In Jesus’ name,

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Seasons of Reflection: Seasons With God, Seasons Seeking After Our king or OUR KING, Jesus. Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12 New King James Version

Wise Men from the East

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the [b]wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Many people in ancient Judea were aware that the prophets of God had spoken of a Messiah who would one day come and finally, ultimately, set things right.

Most of these residents of Judea eagerly anticipated the wonderful things this Messiah would do for God’s people.

But, ironically, in the natural course of human events, most of them missed the arrival of Jesus – most had long since stopped praying with the expectation of their receiving an actual answer from God – actual physical, viewable, answer.

But far to the east there were Magi, scholars who studied the stars, and one night they noticed something new in their observations shining in the heavens.

Were they aware of prophecies about a Messiah?

Did they have the assumption that somewhere under that heavenly event, this promised Messiah, who would bring salvation for God’s people, had arrived?

To these scholars, a sign in the heavens meant something important, like the arrival of a new king, they started on a journey, a season of seeking after a star, a season of seeking God with inquiring minds to see what God might be doing.

Others Were Not So Eagerly Seeking Messiah’s Arrival

Matthew 2:3-6 New King James Version

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Isn’t it ironic that we can think we have every intention to seek God, but we ultimately have ulterior motives for doing so and we miss what he is doing?

When Jesus was born, seven centuries after the prophet Micah had prophesied where He would appear, His arrival was met with a variety of different reactions—and those responses are much the same today as they were then: hostility, and jealousy – perceived threats to our power base, indifference, or no faith.

King Herod was the epitome of hostility toward Jesus.

He stands for everyone who says to themselves, “I don’t mind some religious person sitting quietly in the back seat, but I don’t want anybody driving the car of my life.” “I am the “king of the kingdom, the one who is in authority here!”

A “king of their hill” who keeps quiet is acceptable; the one who makes higher claims on any person’s life, does not agree with what they already think, is not.

King Herod did all he could to ensure there would be no other authority, no other king to rival him and his authority over his kingdom (Matthew 2:16-18).

And many do so still today.

Jerusalem’s religious professionals of the day responded to the arrival of Messiah with prophetic indifference – some with well established fears.

Fears for their lives and personal safety – fears for what Herod would do to anyone – man, women or child – to ensure that Herod would remain #1.

When King Herod asked them about the coming of the Christ, they were able to go to the temple search their scrolls answer his questions with great specificity.

They were aware Micah had prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem; but they were indifferent, they were so helpless to help, simply didn’t care.

Notice they wouldn’t make the effort, even take the time to make a six-mile journey to meet and worship the newly born, long-awaited King of the Jews.

They completely disregarded Him – perhaps in fear of him or to protect him.

Were they too busy with their religion to make time for their rescuing King?

Or were they welcoming and protective of the child, protective of the people?

Then there were the arrival of the wise men to the kings throne room, this group of foreign kings (?), astrologers who saw a star in the heavens, worked out what it was announcing, packed their bags, and responded to Jesus in faith.

What moved these powerful men who were authorities in their field, to presume on their king’s time, not to bow to him but to bow down at the cradle of a child?

How in these seasons of expectation and seeking a “king” does that happen?

How in these seasons of anticipation, of expectation and seeking “after one whose authority over a kingdom and its citizens is literally second to no one?”

Only by the power of God. And it was the wise, not Herod or the priests, who were the ones who “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10).

There is only one true dividing line between people.

It has nothing to do with ethnicity, skin color, intellect, sexual orientation, or political correctness or social justice or social status, authority of government.

Which “king or KING” do we the people seek after?

1 Samuel 8:1-12 New King James Version

Israel Demands a King

8 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

It is the chasm, the grand canyons, raging rivers, between unbelief—whether or not that unbelief manifests itself as hostility or indifference—and unbelief.

We may take note, make harsh commentary that the Western world grows in hostility to a God who insists on ruling His world, but we should also note that “religious” people are also at risk of unbelief: the unbelief of high indifference.

Proverbs 3:5-8 New King James Version

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall [a]direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your [b]flesh,
And strength[c] to your bones.

Those of us “wisest of the wise ones” who have all heard the Christmas story countless times, who know our Old Testaments, and who are in church Sunday by Sunday are not immune to the indifference that is seen in a lack of joy over the Lord and a lack of response to His word when it calls us to change our plans.

And whoever we are, or however wise we believe we are if we won’t have Jesus as our King in this life, we won’t live in His kingdom on the other side of death.

If we choose to ask Jesus to leave us alone, either in our hostility or in our wise only and alone in our own eyes, religiosity, He will leave us alone—forever.

Our response to our seasons of seeking after Jesus has high eternal significance.

Look highly upon Him who came to die for hostile and indifferent sinners, then, and in that season of “king gazing” allow His great love to soften your heart so that you may respond to Him in real, joyful, obedient faith, today and every day.

Psalm 13 New King James Version

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

We either seek after a king or we seek after a KING to have #1 authority over us.

But, will we recognize and acknowledge and confess we all know the difference?

We pray for healing but might not recognize healing that has already occurred.

We will ask for prosperity without pausing to give thanks for the ways God has already provided.

The good news of Jesus is far too magnificent to be contained, yet it can still be missed if we ourselves are complacent or indifferent in our search for our king.

The king of this world?

The KING of all the expanse of the heavens above, our hearts, the earth below.

But when we are open to seeing what God is doing, the wonder of his mighty acts can move us from seasons of being so very far away from his presence we are no heavenly good to seasons of our approaching him with sincere worship.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27:1-9 New King James Version

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.

Father in heaven, separate me from my wisdom, keep me from having such a narrow view of your saving grace that I miss the wonderful things you are doing. By my Jesus

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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A Prayerful Christmas Eve Reflection: Praying For A ‘Silent Night.’ Luke 2:9

Luke 2:8-20 GOD’S WORD Translation

Angels Announce the Birth of Jesus

8 Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. 9 An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. 10  The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those who have his good will!”

15 The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.”

16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. 17 When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. 18 Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed.

19 Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

20 As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Silent Night, Holy Night is a beloved Christmas carol with humble beginnings which dates back to 1816.

It was written by a young priest in Germany after a longstanding war and fall in political and social status, this song was inspired when he took a long walk one cold winter night, noticing the cold stillness and peacefulness of his little town.

Since then, it has risen, been picked up by multiple composers and performed in a ton of churches all across the world, from quaint churches in small towns into the largest of majestic cathedrals, and even presenting it to the King of Prussia. 

All that to say, there is a beautiful message intertwined between the beautiful words in this song.

It touches each of us who sing it on a different level and in an intimate way.

Calling us to pause and reflect and take notice of what is a silent, a peaceful, and calm, in the ultimate revelation of the glory of God in the highest – a holy night.

In the midst of all the political ruckus, in the midst of a government census to raise more taxes, to gain more wealth and more prestige for the government,

In the midst of all the subsequent consequences – whole families are uprooted to travel vast distances to places where they were born as Joseph, Mary were.

All kinds of hoops to jump through at the very utmost inconvenient of times.

Mary is ready to give birth – how is it to ride on the back of a donkey, mile after mile, up and down as the donkey walks upon and over the sandy and rocky soil?

All this supporting the weight of a child in her womb, near end term pregnancy.

The weight of mine months weighing heavily already upon her teenage body.

Would Joseph had made her walk any of that distance leading the donkey as he sat on the donkey’s back – we would have a much different opinion of Joseph.

Up and down off the donkey so Mary could walk around all through the night.

The weight of all that responsibility upon both of their lives, generations more.

Can we read their minds right now – when will the night ever come to an end?

And just when they hope they have come to their desired end – a place of rest and a place where they could attend to the labor and delivery and care of their newborn son – what do they hear that night – “Sorry, but no room at the Inn!”

And somewhere off in the distance, in the middle of the night there are a bunch of shepherds going about their regular rotations of guarding someone’s sheep.

A quiet night for them – like any other night which has not created for them a regular routine – suddenly a host of angelic beings explodes great light into the darkness – praising God – bursting into song, singing loudly 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have his good will!”

How is that for a senses shattering wake up call in the middle of the night?

How does that put your “regular ho hum hum drum” routines on the edge of “Danger, Danger, and pending doom and all out “fight or flight” sheer panic?”

Then just as fast – the night settles down as the angelic hosts disappear.

And the shepherds are left wondering what just happened?

Wondering about the mysterious words the angelic host just left them with:

10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

So much to sort out – actually too much to sort out in the middle of what had started out to be just another quiet and relatively peaceful regular night shift.

Just another of those quiet and relatively peaceful regular night in Bethlehem?

A family in need of a place to bring their first born son into the world – but there is no place – there is no room in the inn – so they’re on their own to find a place.

The noise coming from the inside all of those occupied rooms in the at night?

An explosion of the brightest light anyone had ever seen, night eyes having to suddenly accommodate themselves to that light, ears which a long tuned into the long expected sounds of the silent darkness – on alert for all the dangers – now have been rocked, shocked by the songs of “Glory to God in the highest!”

Reading these words in the year 2023, it does something to our weary souls.

So, lets try to settle all this down “was it a silent night holy night?” a bit …

Just the words of the first verse sets the much needed, required tone for us all;

Silent Night. Holy Night. All is calm. All is bright. round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

These words are so easy to utter, but truly being silent and seeking His holiness in a season that is wrapped and consumed with all the pressures and demands to do more, be more, get more, can drive us to a place of unforeseen busyness and even disappointment – unfortunately, the end result can steal our peace!

Stepping away from it all, recalling the history of this hymn reminds us to step away from all the noise, open our hearts in a way to receive the gift of stillness.

2. Silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight; glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!

3. Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light; radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

4. Silent night, holy night, wondrous star, lend thy light; with the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King; Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!

1. In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Text: Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1894

In the bleak midwinter, may you and I find time to seek the silent moments this season, where you and I are met with the very highest glory of our Holy Creator.

Let the sound of that “silent” beautiful interaction allow us to lean in and rest, prompting us to praise Him for His faithfulness and rejoice in His Son’s birth!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father God,

We come to You with weary but humble hearts full of thanksgiving. You are a kind and gracious Father, with such unspeakable love for us, giving Your one and only Son to take on our sins so that we can have a life with You outside this one (John 3:16).

Lord, I lift up those that are in need of rest. Those who are craving a silent night. I lift up the mom who is striving to make special memories for her children, only to just become overwhelmed by the stress of it all. I pray for the parent rocking a fussy baby to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, in need of much physical rest. I pray for the dad crunching the numbers, wondering how he is going to financially afford all the items on his child’s Christmas list. My heart and prayers go out to the lonely grand parents missing their children and wishing they were closer – as you are close to us.

O Gracious not so silent God, You know each and every one of us intimately and our dire situations that pull us away from You. Please remove the distractions, heavy burdens, and demands, and grant us Your peace. Replace the fallacies with Truth found in Your Word. Give us grace and space in our schedules to meet with You and be refueled by Your tender love. Create vacancies, make room in our hearts to receive that precious gift of stillness, silence, born from a night of your glory being revealed.

In the coming stillness of the night, We stand upon Your promise to extend rest for not just our physical, mental, and emotional well-being but to meet us and grow us spiritually as well. This is not just a gift we want to receive at Christmas but year-round as You extend Your mighty hand to those in need, calling us to take hold.

Please make room open our hearts and minds to accept the image of Your pure rest when we fall into the patterns of this World and become consumed with things that keep us restless. Things that keep our minds swirling all night. When we do this, we fail to recognize the nature of Who You are, distracts us from the good You are doing.

Thank you, God, for offering us the gift of a silent night and a bright and brighter and holy night in the gift of the birth of Your precious Son, as well as an invitation to call silently upon You to meet with us intimately. You deserve all our thanks and praise.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: Do We Know With a Certainty How Silent a Night it Was? Luke 2:1-7

Luke 2:1-7 English Standard Version

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.[c]

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

“Silent Night” is a favorite Christ­mas song for many people around the world.

Its gentle swaying melody suggests a “heavenly peace” in which “all is calm.”

But let us listen again to this calmness

Do you hear what I hear? that our usual picture of Jesus’ birth is far from calm.

Above the fields near Bethlehem, sometime in the night, out of nowhere, an angel army disturbs the shepherds calmness, breaks into their evening, shocks them out of their senses, sings out, announcing good news – the glory of God.

The Good News: somewhere back in town, shepherds and wise men and sheep, cows, camels, and gifts are all crowded together around a family inside a stable.

And somewhere in the midst of all that burst of commotion is the baby Jesus.

Trying to stay warm in its swaddling cloths, trying to sleep with cattle lowing.

But hold on.

Let us take a step back for a “silent” moment to sort this exciting business out.

According to Matthew’s Narrative, the three wise men don’t show up until later.

So let’s take them out of the picture, along with their gifts.

And there’s no mention of a stable—just a manger, a hay filled feeding trough.

So there might not be animals making any of their natural sounds there either.

Now let’s back up to the first hour or two after Jesus’ birth.

Commotion will come later, when the shepherds find “Mary and Joseph, and the baby . . . lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16).

But for now, as lamplight flickers, all we can see is Mary, the baby and Joseph.

Hurting, exhausted, Mary is fast asleep. Joseph might be a bit tired too and perhaps, he is able to find somewhere where he can get warmed, and rest too.

Meanwhile, Mary’s snugly wrapped baby, now content from his first first life experience, feeding, sees light, shadow, and movement with his newborn eyes.

Let’s stay right where we are, “silent as the night with the newness of the light just born, shining brighter and brighter and brighter still, in the deep darkness.

And let’s pause here, for just as much time as is needed to take in that picture.

The God of all Creation is the Light – a newborn baby watching shadows sway.

Against What We May Call “Silent Night Holy Night”

Like most people, both believers and non believers, once or twice a year folks, I have sung “Silent Night” hymn many times, often on Christmas Eve in church.

Yet lately, since my open heart surgery, contemplating my life as I do now, the “silence” referred to in the iconic carol recently took on new meaning to me.

The word “silence” appears many places in Scripture.

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=silence&version=AMP

but I found much more than just an absence of sound in several references.

STARTLING SILENCE

In Revelation chapter 8, silence creates a uniquely powerful scene.

John writes, “When he [the Lamb] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour” (Revelation 8:1 NIV).

While John describes many things, creatures and beings in heaven prior to this, it is suddenly unfathomable that it all goes silent as described in this moment.

In this silence is a depth of awe, deep reverence, reflection, and anticipation like nothing before, as the revelation of Jesus Christ is about to come to fulfillment.

THE PRAISE OF SILENCE

In the prophetic book Habakkuk, we see another reminder of the reverent place of silence – The Word says, “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20 NIV).

And in the prophetic book Zephaniah, we see “Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near” (Zephaniah 1:7 NIV).

There is mounting, maturing praise within the silence of a God-fearing heart.

A SILENT NIGHT?

Luke 2:6-7 Amplified Bible

6 While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth, 7 and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [[a]swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

The popular carol declares that the night of Jesus’ birth was a “silent night,” a “holy night” with all “calm and bright.”

But, think about it has any woman ever given birth in complete silence or calmness, what would her smile sound like, her joy, her tears sound like?

It’s hard for me to imagine that the animals weren’t making their natural sounds, especially among the sudden unrest, unexpected commotion in the stable; the sound of a newborn crying or that Joseph wasn’t offering a word of encouragement, a prayer, or a declaration of praise as Mary was giving birth.

Was that ancient setting really like an inanimate, decorative tabletop nativity set that we are used to seeing in our homes, our churches, or live nativities ?

Knowing what is in my heart right now, rehabilitating from my heart surgery, looking even deeper than ever before into the eyes of my wife, listening to my dog barking -it seems unlikely that the momentous night was literally silent.

The lyrics of the song simply frame the event in wonderfully poetic terms.

Luke 2:6-7 Amplified Bible

6 While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth, 7 and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [[a]swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

But perhaps what is true, what is hidden, waiting to be revealed in us, from deep within us, is that there was this ever growing and maturing holy atmosphere of silent praise, would be an indescribably raucous act of worship pleasing to God.

Realize: on that ancient night, in that ancient time, there was so much more to observe, to listen to, to speak of this particular silent night than a lack of sound.

A CHALLENGE

My challenge, then, as Christmas Eve, Christmas approaches, as we get all of ourselves ready to go to evening or midnight church, as we sit in all our pews is for us not to, as we hold lighted candles or even fake ones, sing “Silent Night” envisioning only a perfectly still and orderly scene with everyone comfortable and content – for in reality – comfortable and content were far from the truth.

Instead, let’s intentionally try to grasp deep in our hearts what was surely the ultimate awe, reverence, reflection, and anticipation that humankind had ever experienced as God Himself entered the world in human form – a crying child.

This Christmas, let us not be without praise even if we can somehow be without the usual noise and commotion – within the silent night, let us declare a godly silence as the true act of worship at the revelation of He who is worthy of it all.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 King James Version

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

1. Silent night, holy night,
all is calm, all is bright
round yon virgin
mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.

2. Silent night, holy night,
shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from heaven afar,
heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

3. Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
radiant beams from thy holy face
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

4. Silent night, holy night,
wondrous star, lend thy light;
with the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Text: Joseph Mohr, 1792-1848; trans. by John F. Young, 1820-1885 (sts 1, 2, 3) and anon. (st 4)

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