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December 24: Matthew 1:18-25
Key Verse: Matthew 1:24
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
Devotion:
As we wake up tomorrow, we should be remembering what God has done for us by remembering the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It was no ordinary birth; not that there are ever ordinary births because we are all God’s children! This birth was to be remembered for many good and many bad reasons. We remember all the good reasons because we know what God was doing and we see the results of what He has done for us.
On the other hand, some people would be looking at this birth as something not welcome and even a disgrace to the Jews. Something God knew was going to happen and what had been foretold many years ago by the prophets. All this was unravelling just as the prophets had said, but people did not want to believe because it meant big changes in the way they had grown used to living.
None of us like too many changes in our lives because we have to get used to all new things, but God wants us to see how change can be good and change can welcome in new ways of living. If we are willing to change our ways and walk away from the sin in our lives, we will see changes which God wants in our lives; Jesus came to change things in a big way!
Joseph was ‘on the front line’ of this extraordinary birth and in normal circumstances would have every reason to reject Mary and the baby; but God called Him to love and protect the baby Jesus because He was a gift from God. We should never turn our backs on what God is giving us – no matter what the world has to say about it!
Points to Ponder:
Do you see what God is giving you?
Will you accept God’s gift with open arms?
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December 23: John 1:19-23
Key Verse: John 1:21
They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’
Devotion:
What would you do if someone mistook you for someone famous? Would you revel in the mistake and take advantage of it, or would you try to persuade them you are just plain old you? I do remember seeing someone in a film who looked just like me (albeit about 30 years ago) and wondering what it would be like to be them...
Most of the time I have passed on opportunities to raise my profile and have, instead, wanted to remain anonymous. I do see the attraction of publicity, but also fear what it would bring me. I do, however, like being able to help others whenever I can and wouldn’t mind if I had the opportunity to do more for people; but my choices should be guided by Christ and not by money or notoriety!
When God calls us to step forward for Him, it is not so we can gain popularity or gain massive income from working in churches; God calls us to be faithful servants, willing to do things when He asks. This is a very different culture to some large organisations or even large churches. Jesus did not command any salary, and even warned the disciples they should go out and teach the gospel without expecting anything; instead waiting on God and allowing Him to give what was needed.
John was living what we may think of as a rough life, eating strange foods and wearing what was provided. He did this because God had called him to be a servant, preparing the way for Jesus and not lining his own pockets.
Points to Ponder:
What rewards do you expect for doing God’s work?
How hard would you work if you knew there was no income?
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December 22: John 1:15-18
Key Verse: John 1:15
John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”’
Devotion:
John was faithful to do what God asked of him and to continue doing God’s will even when people began to flock around him. I fear many of us may well give in to the publicity we gain and allow the notoriety to get to our heads, taking us away from the true calling God has asked of us. But John remained faithful to God’s calling, no matter what.
The people around him began to ask questions like these in this passage – questioning whether he was Elijah come back to teach people or even a prophet sent from God to continue bringing them God’s word. Instead, John simply told them the truth as God had given it to him and continued to persuade people to show outward signs of believing in the Messiah who was to come – one of those signs was to be baptised.
When God calls us into His work, we are often asked to do things showing our belief to others in an outward manner. If we are covert Christians, nobody else is going to hear the Gospel and nobody is going to be encouraged to try and find out who Jesus is and what He can do in our lives... instead we may only succeed in developing an underground church where people will be forced to lie about their relationships with Christ, just as Peter did before Jesus.
God calls us to be faithful servants and to promote glory to God. To do that we need to be outwardly confessing Jesus is our Saviour and has given us the grace we need to be set free from our sin debt. Don’t let your life take you away from God’s calling in your life.
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to God?
Are you really listening or going along with the world?
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December 21: John 1:9-13
Key Verse: John 1:10
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him.
Devotion:
When you make something, you will normally be able to recognise what you have made for some time; some of those things will be your pride and joys which you will never forget. When God made the world, He created something which He was proud of and something we all marvel at in our lives; but still there are people who refuse to believe He was responsible for creating the world!
It is wonderful to be able to study art and construction because many things will please us in ways we cannot explain in full. How does a piece of art invoke such emotion within us? How do people not have more emotion invoked by what God has done for us?
God has given us something which is so special it gives us what we need to be children of God; we just make the choice to believe in Him and He makes sure we are filled with love, joy and peace. But the person standing by our side may choose to not believe in God and they will have to rely on our love, joy and peace rather than having their own.
As we make our way through the last few days before Christmas, many of us face the idea of not being able to be with the people we love on Christmas day because of the pandemic still affecting so much of the world. Though we may be apart, we still will have the love, joy and peace God has already given us to sustain us until we are able to be with each other safely once again.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you get out of your relationship with God?
Will you step forward and take on a complete relationship with Christ this year
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December 20: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:16
Rejoice always
Devotion:
Ok, who is going to start the online party today? Seems such a far cry from last Christmas where we were able to be with each other in person most places around the world – but this year things are going to be very different for many of us. I am moving this Christmas! That is going to be a bit different!
I love the words from these verses: Rejoice always! We always can find something to be happy about and to share that happiness with others! We need to keep rejoicing in what we have. We recently said our final goodbye to my dad a few weeks ago, but we found so many good memories about all he was able to do over the years he was alive with us. We were able to rejoice as well as mourn on the day of his funeral.
If you are finding it hard to think of anything to rejoice about, stop and lift up your prayers to God. Yes, He knows about your position, but if you don’t acknowledge things to Him, you are never going to get them off your chest! God wants us to be free from our burdens, which means giving them to Him so we can rejoice is what we do have!
Listen to the good news from those around you and lift it up for others to be encouraged with. God wants us to share the good news, not just the gospel and His miracles, but everything we do with Him. Turning away from temptations and evil in our lives will allow us to see better and better things. Evil always eclipses everything when you focus on it instead of on God. Allow God to bring you the peace you deserve – the peace He has promised you!
Points to Ponder:
What are you focusing on today?
Will you allow God’s peace to shine today?
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December 19: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:13
Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
Devotion:
Wouldn’t the world be so much better if we were all able to live in peace with each other! Well, there is nothing stopping us from making a start because peace does have to start with someone making the first move after arguments, fighting, wars and such... But far too often we allow our pride to get in the way of things and we stop trying to make the peaceful move in the first place!
How about stopping to think about who does what, where and when... I know lockdowns are hard on everyone and we all try to just get on and do something, but we do need to acknowledge those people who are already trying. We have some fantastic church leaders who are striving to share God’s peace and faithfulness with a peace and faithfulness of their own...
How about stepping forward and asking if you can help with something or asking a neighbour if they need a hand with anything. Someone must make the first move to start the ball rolling. Jesus came into this world to not just make the first move but to start an avalanche which would shake the core of the church!
One way of starting to share peace is to mobilise people who have sat on the outskirts watching what others do. Getting people involved with what God is trying to do in your communities will make for a community which think about others. Yes, there will always be those who do not embrace the peace, but this should not stop us from making the peace grow in the first place!
Points to Ponder:
What are you doing to show others some of God’s peace?
Will you stop and help someone today?
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December 18: Luke 7:31-35
Key Verse: Luke 7:34
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
Devotion:
What do you really think Jesus was like? Did He stand out from the crowd? Well, obviously He did at times when He was surrounded by people trying to get healed or blessed, but what happened early in His ministry? We don’t get to hear about all His days of growing up learning carpentry or what He used to do in His home town at the time...
To me, Jesus would not have stood out from the crowd as we think of it nowadays – but He would have stood out because of the way He acted toward others. Too many times in our lives we do things because it seems like that is what is expected, or we do something because someone else has done it. We copy and emulate others. Jesus did not. He did things because that is what was required! He was purposeful!
In His brief comparison to His life and that of John the Baptist, He shows the meanness of human ways. When we see someone acting differently, we have got to find a cause... we blame them or their lives for what they are doing because it is different to the normal. I like being different. I like to show people they can be different. I don’t stand up and shout about it, but try to be persistent in my ways to bring attention to God and not to me...
People talked badly about John because he lived outside the city and dressed and ate very differently from others. People spoke badly of Jesus because He dared to reach out to the marginalised in society – something we should be proud of doing, not shying away from doing just because it may look odd.
Points to Ponder:
How do you treat people around you?
Are you willing to try to treat all people as equal?
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December 17: Luke 7:18-23
Key Verse: Luke 7:22
So he replied to the messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
Devotion:
Yesterday we had this passage at the beginning of our estates meeting. What is the first thing you get out of this passage? Is it the importance of John and Jesus getting introduced? Is it the miracles Jesus was performing: healing the sick, releasing people from evil spirits, giving the blind sight, allowing the lame to walk, giving hearing to the deaf, even raising the dead! Or is it the giving of the good news to the poor?
Jesus was doing so many things which were catching the attention of the priests, the scribe and the pharisees. It wasn’t as if He was going out of His way to upset them, but what He was doing was certainly getting their attention. The people were getting used to a hierarchy of religion which was becoming more important than the telling of the gospel. It seemed like people did not want to upset others and keeping to this hierarchical structure helped them to do that!
But, in amongst all the miracles Jesus was listing for the two disciples to go back to John with, was the giving of the good news to the poor. Those people who maybe did not feel worthy to be able to enter the temple. Those people who had been marginalised and missed out of the religious circles. These are the people Jesus was reaching out to because they were the people who needed to hear the gospel most of all!
We have seen people rebelling against hierarchical structures in society lately, what with the Black Lives Matter movement, equal rights and pay structures between sexes and races – we are beginning to see people take notice of the age-old structures in society which were placed there by the privileged few. Let us take the gospel, the good news, and tell it to the people who have been left out of society just because they don’t fit the normal!
Points to Ponder:
Who did you get to hear the gospel from?
Why did they pick you to give the good news to?
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December 16: Luke 1:26-38
Key Verse: Luke 1:35
The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Devotion:
Here we have a young Mary who is probably just getting used to the idea she is going to be married soon, when the angel Gabriel appears to her and tells her she is going to have a baby! Before she has even been with Joseph! And Joseph is not even going to be the father! Let's start to get that round our heads...
But Mary accepts what Gabriel says and starts to prepare herself for the road ahead. What are the people going to say? What is Joseph going to say? We can’t really begin to wonder what she was getting ready to face – other than she knew God was in it and God was going to take care of her!
Gabriel did not say everything was going to be fine and dandy, he did not say it would be smooth sailing from here on in. He did not say they would be placed in danger as soon as Jesus was born. And I don’t think Mary would have foreseen that either. But she was willing to say ‘yes!’ and to go with whatever God deemed necessary.
Her faith was going to make it all ok in the end – that is what she was clinging to and what we should be focusing on in our lives. We need to have faith God is going to tell us where and when we need to be in order to fulfil His will in our lives. We need to listen to that will and say, “here am I, send me!”
Points to Ponder:
Are you ready to listen to God?
Will you say “here I am, send me” today?
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December 15: Luke 1:11-20
Key Verse: Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’
Devotion:
You’ve got to feel sorry for Zechariah! Here is a man doing what any one of us would do – questioning someone when they say God is going to do something great in your life! We all have doubts and because we are accustomed to those doubts controlling much of our lives, we give in to them all the time and don’t quite believe things people tell us anymore...
But Gabriel was quite strict on Zechariah because he held a position of great respect in the church at the time. Zechariah had probably given up hope in having a son because both he and Elizabeth were getting on in age (I know the feeling.) God does not give up on us, no matter how long it has been since we asked for His help and no matter how much we grow weary of our prayers being answered.
We must never give up hope in God. We must always trust in His faithfulness and in His power over everything. Jesus came to earth and demonstrated just a little bit of what God can do when we have absolute faith and trust in Him for everything. God wants us to be more like Jesus and have that faith. He wants us to remember all the things which happened because Jesus asked them of God. He wants us to remember and have hope in what He can continue to do in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How is your hope holding up this year?
Will you give God a bit more time to answer your prayers?