The SeekGrowLove Bible Reading plan is ready for 2024! Join with us as we read through the Bible in a year – with three readings every day:
Old Testament – 1-3 chapters a day, with the books of the prophets chronologically arranged amongst the books of history (with thanks to Bob Jones for his help setting that up)
Poetry – reading Job through Song of Solomon, usually one chapter a day, but often repeating a Psalm two to seven days in a row to really get to know it more
New Testament – often reading one chapter a day, but sometimes slowing down to read a shorter passage or even one single verse a day (for instance for Jesus’ parables, fruit of the spirit, armor of God, churches of Revelation, etc…)
If you haven’t yet, visit SeekGrowLove.com to find daily devotions and reflection questions based on the Bible readings . You can also subscribe to receive the daily devotions in your email every morning.
Here we are, the last day of 2023. We’ve come to the end of the year. We’ve also come to the end of this eight day focus on the life of Jesus. We started with the announcement that he was to be born, then his birth announcement, his escape to Egypt, his new beginning in Nazareth, his baptism and testing, his ministry, his death, this resurrection, his ascension to heaven and now we’ve reached the end. Revelation 21 is a picture of what the future will be after all of the other prophecies surrounding the end of this age and the return of Jesus to reign are completed. I’m going to insert one passage from 1 Corinthians 15 to help transition us to Revelation 21.
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-24).
Paul here gives the basic outline: Christ died and became alive again. When he comes again those who belong to Christ will, in the same way become alive again, never more to die. Jesus will reign for a time, Revelation 20 says it will be 1000 year or a millennium, and at the end of that time there will be a final judgment and all of the powers which opposed God since the beginning will finally be destroyed, at which time Jesus will hand over the kingdom to God himself who will come and reign over us in person.
Today’s reading in Revelation 21 shows what will happen after Jesus hands over the kingdom to God. God sets up his kingdom on earth, in what Revelation calls the New Jerusalem (it’s much larger than the present city of Jerusalem).
This brings the Bible full circle. In Genesis 1-3 when God first created the earth, he came to the Garden of Eden to visit with Adam and Eve in person. After they sinned and were cast out of the garden, they were separated from God. They could no longer dwell in the presence of God. God made provision for his people through various tabernacles and temples that would have a very holy place where the glory of God would come and where a representative of the people, the high priest would come once a year. But God’s presence was always mediated by other forms- a burning bush, an angel, pillar of fire or pillar of cloud. Now, in Revelation 21, God is back fully on earth with his people, in an unmediated direct way. There’s no need for a temple now, for everyone who is there has been made holy by the blood of Jesus which has cleansed them from their sins. They are immortal and sinless. There will be no more death or pain or brokenness. The Lord God announces, “I am making everything new.”
Tomorrow begins a new year, 2024. My best guess is, not much will change in the world. Yes, you’ll need a new calendar. People might have a new insurance plan. But there will still be sickness, there will still be wars, people will still be snarky on social media and the Democrats and Republicans will continue to fight. And people will still die. That’s not going to change until Jesus returns and puts a final nail in the coffin of evil in this world. This passage gives us a hopeful picture of what the world will be like after that happens, when God comes to live with us, when the final enemy of death will be destroyed and God makes all things new.
The world will be the same tomorrow, but you can be made new. If you put your full faith and trust in Jesus and follow him, he will make you new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”. Will you choose to be in Christ, will you be made new? Happy new year and happy new you!
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
How would you describe Revelation 21 to someone who has never read it before? What do you find most exciting about the New Heaven and the New Earth and New Jerusalem?
Have you chosen to be in Christ? How does life in Christ create a new creation?
Through your Bible reading what have you learned about God and His Son Jesus in 2023? How can what you learned change you? How can you put this knowledge to use in 2024? Who needs to know what you know? Thank God for revealing Himself to you through His holy Scriptures.
Watch for the NEW 2024 SeekGrowLove Bible reading plan to be revealed later today!
Have you ever been a witness and had to testify in court? I have. I once witnessed a crime while I was on vacation at the beach. I was called to come back and testify at the trial. I didn’t mind, it was a free trip back to the beach.
There are different kinds of witnesses. If you ever watch television shows that feature courtrooms like Law and Order or CSI you know that different people are called to witness different things. You can have a character witness who tells about the defendant as a person. You can have forensic witnesses to talk about evidence. Maybe the most important is the eye-witness, who talks about what they saw with their own eyes. If you get two or three eye-witnesses who testify the same thing, there’s a good chance the defendant will be found guilty.
In today’s reading from Acts, we get a small glimpse of what Jesus was up to during the first 40 days after he was raised from the dead. He went around showing his disciples that he was still alive. Luke, who wrote Acts, says that Jesus gave “many convincing proofs” that he was alive.
Most of my adult children live a good distance from me, in another state, and one lives in another country. If I haven’t heard from one of them for a while I will text them and ask for “proof of life” which means- “send me a text, call or Facetime with me so I know you’re doing okay.” Fun fact: Dads are happier when they can see proof that their kids are okay (even if their kids are in their 20’s and 30’s and have kids of their own.). A phone call, text, or Facetime is pretty low level proof of life, but I doubt that anyone is kidnapping my kids and doing a deepfake proof of life. If I can see their face or hear their voice, I’m good.
For the disciples in the first century, they had proof of life right in front of them. Jesus was there, in his newly resurrected body, still bearing the scars from his crucifixion. They were eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus. But it wasn’t enough for them to just see for themselves that Jesus was risen, he told them that they had an important mission. They were to be his witnesses. They were to take the story of his life, teaching and resurrection to the whole world. And they did. That is why, 2000 years later there are people all over the world who follow Jesus Christ.
The disciples also witnessed Jesus ascend up from the earth through the clouds to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of God. As they were eyewitnesses to Jesus ascending, they also witnessed the angels who assured them that Jesus would return in the same way that he left, visibly, in the clouds. For 2000 years the church has kept alive this testimony from the eyewitnesses: Jesus died on the cross for our sins, God raised Jesus from the dead and many people saw him in his risen body, Jesus ascended to heaven and we heard the promise that he would one day return in the same way. Each generation of Jesus’ followers have kept this message alive and spread it. Now you have received it, it’s up to you and your generation to continue keeping this eye witness testimony alive, until Jesus returns.
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
If you were called up as a character witness for Jesus how would you describe him? What do you know about Jesus as a person?
If you were called up as a forensic witness testifying to the evidence of Jesus what would you say? What convincing proofs do you have that Jesus is alive?
If you were called up as an eye-witness for what Jesus has done for you what would you say? How is your life different because of Jesus?
Who needs to know what you know about Jesus, about the evidence surrounding his life, death, resurrection, ascension and coming return, and about how you have experienced Jesus and what he has done for you? How will you share?
It feels funny to be talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection during Christmas week. Sunday we were expecting a baby to be born, Monday the angels were singing to the shepherds announcing his birth. Here it is Friday and he has already been crucified and his cold, dead body lies in a tomb. It is kind of jarring to go from celebrating a baby born to be king to suddenly mourning his death.
Life is often experienced as a kind of emotional roller coaster. Something great happens, and you are laughing and joyful. Then, suddenly you are hit with bad news and the laughter turns to tears. The events we have been reading about took place over 30+ years from the time Gabriel first appeared to Mary with the announcement that she had been chosen by God to bear his son, the Messiah until she stood at the foot of his cross and watched him die. As you may recall, there was death surrounding Jesus right from the beginning, as King Herod was trying to kill him when he was a baby, when the little innocent baby boys of Bethlehem were slaughtered. Jesus warned in John 10:10 that “the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy”. Right from the beginning evil was out to destroy Jesus. It took 30 years, but finally Jesus was dead. The rejoicing has turned to weeping.
The good news of the Gospels is that death doesn’t have the final word. Evil doesn’t win. God wins! At the Last Supper just before Jesus was arrested he laid out for his disciples what was about to happen:
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:16-20).
This brings us to today’s reading in John 20. As we saw yesterday, Jesus was unjustly killed for political reasons. The principalities and powers tried to buttress their own power and control and they saw Jesus as a threat, so they had him unjustly killed. However, it takes more than the death of his son to thwart God’s plan. As it turned out, the powers who orchestrated Jesus’ death played right into God’s plan that goes back to the very beginning. That’s right, since the time of Adam and Eve and the Fall, God’s plan to defeat evil included the sacrificial death of the one who would be the son of God and Messianic King. Revelation 13:8 speaks of the “lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.” Before Jesus ruled as King, he first had to die as sacrifice, as savior, as redeemer. He died to bear our sins as Isaiah 53 prophesied would one day happen.
God raised Jesus from the dead. Death did not have the final word, God has the final word and it is life. Along with life, Jesus offers the gift of forgiveness. When you believe that Jesus died and was raised to life and give your loyalty to him as your king, you will share in that blessing Jesus promised. Your sins will be forgiven and you will have your fellowship with God restored. The result of this restored fellowship is peace, the peace that only Jesus can give.
Jesus points out to the disciples that they came to believe in him by seeing him in person after the resurrection. Thomas even had the benefit of physically touching Jesus’ scars to help him accept the truth of the resurrection. Jesus points to those who will believe in him without the benefit of having seen him after his resurrection. Those who have faith in the message of the gospel passed down for 2000 years in the Bible from the first eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus. The good news is, that is you, if you believe that God raised Jesus from death to life, you receive the blessing Jesus promised. I hope you believe, I know I do.
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
What do you love about God and His plan as revealed in John 20? What questions do you have about God and His plan and Jesus’ part in that plan?
What has Jesus offered to you? Have you accepted these gifts? Why or why not?
What is the next step in God’s plan and what is your role in it?
There’s an aphorism that says: “Two subjects that you should never talk about in polite company are, religion and politics.” Why is that? Because they often turn into arguments that can never be resolved. Why can’t they be resolved? Jonathan Swift wrote in 1721 that: “You cannot reason someone out of something he or she was not reasoned into.” Quite often people don’t choose their religious tradition or their political affiliations, they accept them from their parents. (Some do reject their parents’ religion or politics, which can create some unpleasant conversations at family dinners). There is no doubt that conversations around religion and politics can and do grow contentious at times. In my 60 years of living, I would say politics have become more contentious in the last 5-10 years than I can remember in my earlier life. Some might argue that Trump is the cause of divisive politics, and others might argue that Trump is the outcome of divisive politics. I would say that there is some truth in both of these arguments.
What I really want to say as I reflect on today’s reading in Luke 23 is that to say religion and politics is to present a false dichotomy. Religion and politics are not two separate things. Religion is political. One early political philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 BC) envisioned the role of politics to be that “government exists to promote and foster virtue in a way that leads to the good life of its citizens.” Virtue is doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. For him, the good life was the positive result of doing the right things. Jesus lived between 300 – 400 years after Aristotle. Jesus taught that if we “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” then we would experience good outcomes in life. (Matthew 6:33-34). Notice the similarities between Aristotle and Jesus? Government or Kingdom and virtue or right living. There has always existed a strong correlation between the governing powers and the right behaviors of the people and how that results in peaceful and good living for everyone.
In today’s story, we see politics at work. Israel’s religious leaders felt threatened by Jesus’ massive popularity among the common people. At the time the religious leaders of Israel had a comfortable arrangement with the Roman authorities. Rome pretty much left them alone to practice their religion, run their temple sacrifices, and hold their religious feasts and pilgrimages. As long as the Jewish leaders kept their people in line there wasn’t much of a problem. But Jesus came along bringing up the ancient talk about the Kingdom of God and God’s anointed King ruling. That kind of talk made the religious leaders very nervous. When Jesus came to Jerusalem right before the Passover he was greeted by crowds who wanted to install him as their King. This would have undoubtedly led to a major conflict with Rome that would have enormous consequences for the leaders of Israel. So they needed to put a stop to Jesus and his followers. They needed to get rid of him before his followers got out of control.
Remember the original Herod tried to have Jesus killed as a baby. Now, Jesus was brought before this Herod (descended from the previous Herod) who was not Jewish and not heir to the messianic throne of David, but merely a puppet of the Roman Empire. Pilate was the Roman governor and was Caesar’s representative in that region. Both Herod and Pilate needed to keep the peace and keep the Jewish people in line or else their positions would be threatened. They both had comfortable lives in palaces. The Priests and scribes lived comfortable lives too. They all had vested interests in maintaining the status quo in the region. Jesus was a threat to their political power.
So, in very political acts, all of the various groups worked out their plan to publicly execute Jesus, even though he had admittedly not committed any crime worthy of capital punishment. They chose to set free an actual murderer and insurrectionist, while they crucified an innocent man, who also happened to be the son of God, the heir to David’s throne, the true King and Messiah.
As you continue to celebrate Christmas, eat Christmas leftovers and get ready to celebrate New Years, take a moment to think about what’s truly important to you and why. Do you commit your allegiance to Jesus as King? Do you want to seek first God’s Kingdom and the way to live right that Jesus taught? If so, you are making a political act. And if you reject Jesus and the Kingdom of God you are also making a political act. You can’t avoid politics or religion. Just make sure that you make a thoughtful decision about Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
Do you agree that religion is political? Why or why not? What examples can you think of to support your position?
What do you think the following people thought about Jesus – Herod, Pilate, chief priests, a Jew watching the events unfold, the criminals, the centurion, Joseph of Arimathea?
Every writer, speaker, film-maker has their own particular style for telling a story or giving a presentation. When I preach a sermon I usually choose one particular theme. I often start with a story that I have personally experienced and then try to help the listener make a connection to that same kind of story/situation and then connect the Bible story/text to that same theme. It’s a slow build up to the main theme. That’s one way to do it.
Some choose to jump right in and focus on the action. If you’ve ever seen a James Bond movie or a Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie, you notice that almost always it begins right in the midst of the action.. very little warm up, just a kind of… boom! You’re right in the middle of the action- jumping out of an airplane, skiing down a mountain, climbing up the outside of a skyscraper, whatever.
When it comes to the four Gospels, each one is different in how they begin. Matthew goes back to the Old Testament and give a genealogy for Jesus, showing how his is connected to some of Israel’s great people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and King David and then he tells the story of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem and how Mary’s betrothed, Joseph, was a good and honorable man. Luke starts with the announcements of the pregnancies of John the Baptist and Jesus followed by their birth stories. John’s Gospel follows the pattern of Genesis one and goes back to the beginning with God’s word, his promise and plan and then showing that Jesus fulfills that plan. All three of those Gospels give back stories and slow roll outs. Then there’s Mark. Mark starts out… Boom! John the Baptist is an adult and doing his ministry of preaching and baptizing. Then Jesus appears as a grown adult and gets baptized by John and God’s voice descends upon Jesus proclaiming that he is God’s son and that God is pleased with him.
Mark’s Gospel is an action story. We know nothing about Jesus as a baby, how he came to be conceived of a virgin or in a manger. Mark doesn’t mention wise men. What matters to Mark is: “What’s Jesus doing now that his mission is getting ready to start?” We still know from Mark that Jesus is the son of God, because God announces it from heaven. Mark doesn’t feel the need to share how Jesus happened to be the son of God, God just tells us. Boom! Action!
Mark’s favorite word seems to be “immediately”. Jesus comes out of the water and “immediately” the heavens are torn open and God’s speaks. Then “immediately” the spirit sends Jesus out to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Compared to the other Gospels not a lot of detail. We don’t hear from Mark how Jesus was tempted by Satan or how he responded, just that it happened. Then Jesus is suddenly back in Galilee announcing- “It’s time! The kingdom of God is coming right away”. Can you feel the urgency in Mark’s storytelling?
Next, Jesus is by the sea calling the fishermen to follow him and “immediately they follow him.” He moves on down and finds two more fishermen and “immediately” he calls them. He goes to Capernaum and “immediately” enters the synagogue and starts teaching. Then he “immediately” casts out an unclean spirit from a young man. Then he “immediately” leaves the synagogue and goes to the home of Simon and Andrew where Simon’s mother in law is sick and “immediately” they tell Jesus about her illness and he heals her. From there every sick person in town is being brought to him to be healed.
Next, Jesus is getting up very early in the morning to go pray and the disciples come looking for him. There is urgency- “everyone is looking for you.” Jesus then leads them from town to town preaching and casting out demons. He meets a leper and touches him and “immediately” the leper is healed.
Each of the four gospels tell the story of Jesus but do it in different styles. Luke spends over 19,000 words telling the story, Matthew is right behind at over 18,000 words, John uses just over 15,000 words, and Mark, you guessed it- it is by far the shortest, telling the story of Jesus at just over 11,000 words- in just a little over half the words that Luke uses. Mark probably had his own reasons for telling the story with so much action and so few words. It’s still the story of Jesus, told from Mark’s perspective and it still touches on the main points- Jesus is the son of God, Jesus was baptized and tempted, Jesus preached the good news and healed people, and Jesus was on the move. Mark goes on to show that Jesus was crucified and that God raised him from the dead.
Isn’t it great that God allows us to keep our own personality and style as we serve him? The story of Jesus has never and will never change, but how we present Jesus to others may depend on all kinds of factors including our own personality and style as well as the needs of our conversation partners. God doesn’t make cookie cutter disciples. God tells the story of Jesus through many different people. How is he using you to tell the story of Jesus?
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
Why do you think God chose four different writers to tell the story of Jesus?
What do you appreciate about Mark chapter 1?
God tells the story of Jesus through many different people. How is he using you to tell the story of Jesus?
Tuesday, December 26, 2023. The Second Day of Christmas, Mathew 2
Have you ever noticed how the really good stories keep being retold? Sometimes it’s a remake. Like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- with Gene Wilder in the iconic role when I was a child, remade with Johnny Depp playing Wonka. Sometimes they take a classic story and give the backstory, which it seems they are doing with Wonka, with Timothée Chalamet showing a younger version. Some of the classic stories get some real twists- Romeo and Juliet was modernized and musicalized into West Side Story and Homer’s The Odyssey got Southernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou. You get the point. Great stories have the kind of universal themes that carry over from generation to generation.
We see the same thing when we read the Bible. Some of the key stories in the Old Testament reappear in the Gospels. That’s no accident. Jesus so identifies with the nation of Israel and its story that he, in a sense, re-experiences their story in his own story. Hebrews 4:15 says that he was tempted in every way as the people he gave himself up for were tempted.
Today’s reading in Matthew 2 is a great illustration of how Jesus relives the story of Israel. Let’s take a moment to consider the ways Jesus recapitulates Israel’s story. In the story of Moses, the evil Pharaoh was afraid that the enslaved Israelites were becoming too large and powerful and posed a threat to his power in Egypt, so he decreed that all the male Israelite babies born were to be killed. Moses was spared while many other male children were not. Moses, the one who was spared grew up to lead Israel out of their bondage and go toward the promised land. Notice in today’s reading, Herod is afraid that Jesus would be a threat to his power so he seeks to have Jesus killed as a baby. In the process of trying to have Jesus killed Herod murders all the innocent boys of Bethlehem. Just as Moses was spared, Jesus’ life was spared, and he went down to Egypt until Herod died and it was safe to leave Egypt and come to Israel.
Another part of the story was a dream that warned the wise men not to return to tell Herod where Jesus was living. Dreams are an important part of the story of Israel. Jacob’s son Joseph had a dream about his family bowing down to him, which led to him being kidnapped and sold by his brothers where he eventually arrived in Egypt and became a powerful leader of Egypt, and his brothers did indeed come to buy grain from him and bowed before him, just as he had dreamed. In Matthew chapter 1, another Joseph, betrothed to Mary was told that the baby in Mary’s womb was the son of God and that Joseph was to marry her and raise Jesus as his own son.
After Jesus grew up and went through the waters of baptism, he went into the wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted. This was a reenactment of Israel as a nation that went through the Red Sea and into the wilderness for 40 years where they were tempted. Jesus relives Israel’s story in so many ways.
Israel celebrated God sparing their firstborn children by passing over their homes wherever the blood of the lamb that was slain was over their entrance. They celebrated God’s saving them each year by eating unleavened bread, drinking wine, and eating lamb. Jesus became the lamb of God whose blood was shed to spare us from death. During communion, we eat unleavened bread and drink wine (or unfermented grape juice) to remember that Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away our sins through his death on the cross so that we might have life everlasting.
As you read through the Bible during Seek, Grow, Love, notice how the same story is retold in many ways. The question is, is Jesus’ story a retelling of Israel’s story, or is Israel’s story lived in anticipation of the greatest story ever told, the story of Jesus? Either way, you and I can make Jesus’ story our own story if we follow him.
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
What is the value in reading and knowing the Old Testament?
What do you love best about Israel’s story? What do you love best about Jesus’ story?
How is Jesus’ story your story?
What do you learn about the author of Israel’s and Jesus’ stories?
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
It’s Christmas Day! The day we have all been waiting for. Unless you’re really, really good, you likely will have already gotten up, peeked in your stocking and maybe opened gifts with your family. You may have even eaten a large meal. Maybe now you’re taking a few minutes to check your email and give some attention to your devotions for the day. Whether you’re reading this at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m., it’s still Christmas Day. A day you’ve been waiting for. Christmas comes every year so at most, you’ve had to wait 364 days for Christmas.
The people of Israel had to wait hundreds of years for the first Christmas. From the time King David was first promised that his son would be the Messiah and would reign forever, it had been many generations. Now that day had finally come. Normally, when a royal birth happens, especially a future King, it’s a pretty big deal. There are grand proclamations that come from out of important palaces in important cities. The whole community might stand outside the walls of the royal palace to hear the great news officially announced. But this first Christmas announcement was quite different. It wasn’t in the city of Jerusalem outside the palace walls, it was in the fields of rural Bethlehem. The audience wasn’t the whole city gathered, it was a few sleepy shepherds in the middle of the night making sure their sheep were safe from predators. The one making the announcement wasn’t the royal page or member of the court of Jerusalem, it was an angelic messenger of God.
News of the Messiah’s birth went largely unnoticed for many years. It would take several announcements from God “a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” Eventually, his few disciples understood that he was the Messiah. What finally sold many people was his death and resurrection. The Bible says that one day “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord” (Messiah/king). On this Christmas Day, let us be sure that we not only hear and believe the Good News that at long last the promised Messiah was born in a manger in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago, but that he died for our sins and God raised him up from death and clothed him in immortality, he has ascended to the side of God and will come again to reign over all. One day every knee will bow, but for today, be sure that you are bowing and giving your allegiance to King Jesus, and be sure to share this news with everyone you know.
Merry Christmas!
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
How was God’s plan for a Messiah different from what many people expected? What do you love about how God brought about His plan for a Messiah? What does His plan reveal about Him?
Does your holiday festivities show that you are celebrating that Jesus is Lord? How are you bowing before him and confessing that he is Lord – yesterday, today and tomorrow?
How can you share the good news of great joy? Who needs to hear it?
’Twas the Night Before Christmas…. Originally published 200 years ago, in 1823, as A Visit from St. Nicolas authorship credited to and later claimed by Clement Clarke Moore. Moore was a theology professor- a Bible teacher. He originally wrote the poem for fun, he said, for his children. This story helped to shape the way many began to celebrate Christmas and has had a lasting cultural impact. I find it interesting that a Bible teacher is responsible for the way most Americans celebrate Christmas with its focus on Santa Claus, gift-giving, and all the rest of the things that tend to draw attention away from the original meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Now Bible teachers and preachers are trying to remind us that “Jesus is the reason for the season” but more often that plea has fallen on deaf ears. More people are interested in getting the latest iPhone or other coveted goodies. On this Christmas Eve day, we take a quick pause from our parties, food and gift-buying and wrapping and consider the first part of the Christmas story.
In today’s reading from Luke one, we see the announcement of two unlikely births, two cousins to be born named John and Jesus. Israel’s story in the Old Testament has a giant pause and collective waiting. Israel was waiting for the arrival of their promised king or messiah. Several hundred years BC God promised David, the King, that he would have a son who would reign as king over a kingdom that would be unending. At first, people thought Solomon was the fulfillment of that promise. Solomon started well, sought God’s wisdom above all else and the Kingdom of Israel prospered. But Solomon’s heart turned away from faithfulness to God, he was not to be the true Messiah. His son, Rehoboam ruled after him and things went from bad to worse. Eventually, civil war caused his kingdom to split. Eventually, God punished a succession of unfaithful kings with the destruction of the temple, the fall of the capital Jerusalem, and the end of the heirs of David ruling as kings. For hundreds of years, there was no heir of David. The hope for the messiah remained a longed-for and unfulfilled expectation.
The last of the historical/prophetic books of the Old Testament is Malachi. Malachi ends with the hopeful promise that an Elijah-type prophet will come and get people ready for the final day of the Lord that was to come.
Fast forward about 400 years, and Israel is still waiting for the 2 anticipated births- of the Elijah-type prophet, and the Messiah-King, heir of David’s throne. Out of this 400 years of waiting comes Luke 1 with the announcements of two unlikely births. Unlikely because one was promised to an older childless couple, and the second to a young, engaged couple where the young woman was still a virgin. In both cases, God would perform a miracle to bring forth these two baby boys, John and Jesus.
It’s important to note in the story that when the Angel comes to Mary announcing God’s plan for her, Mary offers her consent “Let it be to me according to your word.” This makes perfect sense. We know that in human relationships consent is morally required before union. Anything less than consent is unacceptable and morally reprehensible. It stands to reason that before God placed his son Jesus in her womb she would give consent. “Let it be” or “I agree to allow your word, your promise, your plan for your son, the Messiah to be formed in me.”
The same is true for all of us. God wants to place His word in us and for us to bear the fruits of Jesus. In Galatians 4:19 Paul uses this metaphor of birth: “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…”. God wants Christ to be formed in us. Christ was formed in the womb of Mary uniquely, but God wants all of us to be spiritually transformed, to become like Jesus in our character, in our singular commitment to bring glory to God and to seek first God’s Kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and righteousness (right living in covenant relationship with God).
Sorry this is getting kind of technical, but the bottom line is, for Mary to give birth to Jesus, she first had to give God her consent “Let it be”. For Christ to be formed in us, we must also give our consent. God will not force us to receive His word and be transformed, to have Christ formed in us, we must receive it.
So on this night before Christmas, as you watch the lights on the tree and listen to Christmas music, play games with your family, wrap presents and drink egg nog, or go to Church and any combination of the above, listen for God’s invitation. He wants to plant His word in you so that Jesus Christ might be fully formed in you. Will you give your consent? Will you say as Mary did “Let it be to me according to your word?”
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
How will you celebrate Jesus today and tomorrow and the rest of the week and in 2024?
Have you given your consent and received God’s word and spiritual transformation?
What might it look like and feel like to have Jesus Christ fully formed in you?
In my opinion, David had an amazing life. They chose him to be king! That’s something pretty impressive we can’t say (unless there are any kings reading this). He was a hero as a young child when he took down Goliath. That was such an impressive feat that someone made a song about him that we sang in Sunday School all the time. Has anyone made a song about you? Probably not (unless you are one of these people: Delilah, Billie Jean, Roxanne, Jude, Mickey, Jack and Diane, Mrs. Robinson, and some others). David had his ups and downs in life, but he seemed to have it together pretty well. It was a bit surprising to hear what he had to say in Psalms 142.
Apparently, he was hiding out in a cave when he wrote this, so he probably wasn’t having one of his better days. He starts out by crying out to God for mercy and telling him his trouble. He says his spirit is growing faint and that no one is concerned about him. In verse 4, he says that no one cares for his life. He tells God to listen to his cry because he was in desperate need. Clearly, David was down and out and feeling very alone. If that state of mind can happen to someone like David, it could happen to anyone. We all know that millions of people every day feel like this; probably some of you reading this. There are a lot of hurting people in our world.
It hit me to write about this topic because it is two days before Christmas, and I think a lot of these lonely feelings are magnified on the holidays for many, especially at Christmastime. We know the true meaning of Christmas has to do with the birth of Christ and you can celebrate that on your own, but the holiday has also become an important time for family for many. There are many family traditions celebrated and family gatherings taking place. This is how I knew I had cousins. But not everyone has a great family situation, and some have little to no family at all. Or maybe they don’t live anywhere near their family. Unfortunately, holidays can make people feel a lot like what David was feeling.
In verse 7, David compared his situation to being in prison and asked God to set him free so that he could go back to praising him. However, it was the end of verse 7 that caught my attention. David ends by saying that the righteous will gather around him because of God’s goodness to him. There may be someone crying out to God at this moment because they feel lonely and think nobody cares about them. That person needs some righteous people to gather around them, so they know God is still good. You and I need to be on the lookout for these people and be willing to sacrifice some time to surround them with some love. I also have a suggestion for anyone who is feeling lonely themselves; be on the lookout for others who are hurting and be willing to sacrifice some time to surround them with some love.
Obviously, there are countless ways you can make a difference in someone’s life. It is not difficult to figure that part out; the difficult part can be following through and doing it. I challenge you to find someone that could use some lifting up. I doubt it will take long to think of someone, but then move beyond the thinking to the doing.
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever stopped to think about those around you or are you too busy with your own Christmas celebration? Can you think of someone who may be having a tough Christmas because they are feeling lonely?
What are some practical things you could do to let someone hurting know they are loved?
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