Tag: daily devotion

The Workers are Fewer

Old Testament: Genesis 7-8

Poetry: Psalm 1

New Testament: Matthew 5:13-16

According to a study by the NORC at the University of Chicago, the last three decades have seen a rapid decline in those who confidently believe there is a God. In 1993, two-thirds of respondents answered “yes” to the claim they “know God exists and have no doubts.” In the most recent survey taken last year, this number has been reduced to 50%. That means in roughly a generation, 50 million Americans have reduced, abandoned, or failed to pass on their faith. No doubt, we are seeing the symptoms of this in our culture, where the most influential theology being preached is that each man or woman is their own idol and that their identity, narrative, or definitions supersede any relationships, including God.

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” – Genesis 6:5

“Remember this! In the last days there will be many troubles because people will love themselves, love money, brag, and be proud. They will say evil things against others and will not obey their parents or be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. They will not love others, will refuse to forgive, will gossip, and will not control themselves. They will be cruel, will hate what is good, will turn against their friends, and will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited, will love pleasure instead of God, and will act as if they serve God but will not have his power. Stay away from those people.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

I would love to end this first week of 2024 on a more positive note, but here we are at the ministry of Noah, and I can’t help but see the correlations. I consider myself a church half-full, not half-empty type of person, so please understand I am not hanging an albatross around the neck of the place I call home. Recently, we have seen and could see more revival as people realize there is no salvation in pursuing self. Nevertheless, as it stands today, it seems like the wind is blowing hard in a different direction, and I can’t help but look at the forecast and know that the rain is coming. It may not be here or now, but it is. It is so disheartening to see people jump off the boat, abandon their God, so they can instead find their own way swimming to survive. I want none of us to be the next person overboard, so let us be ready to answer the challenges of the storm that very well may lie ahead, and be defiantly obedient as the prescriptions of Jesus in Matthew 6

Leave your righteousness at the door – Jesus says that if actions are done for the sake of being seen by others or if we are religiously pious thinking that we are worth saving and others are not, that we have already received our reward in full. Noah was the only righteous man left, but while building the boat, he did not tout his own righteousness. He preached to bring salvation to others, even if it fell upon deaf ears. We do not decide who is and isn’t worthy (see: Jonah). Our own righteousness is as filthy rags and none of us can be restored without the atonement of Jesus.

Extend the grace of forgiveness of God – If for no other reason, we should forgive because it is the measure for which we are forgiven; however, we forgive because we have the love of Christ that shows us mercy every time that we fall short. By simply listening and looking for those who thirst, we become more like Christ. A quote that has stuck with me by psychologist Russell Barkley, “The children who need love the most will always ask for it in the most unloving ways.” Do not let rhetoric or trespasses keep you from loving those who need Living Water. You can be the bearer of grace and forgiveness they are most desperately looking for if you cut through the crap and see the child of God.

Endure any suffering with joy – Those of us in the United States have enjoyed a pretty good run of Christian values as the dominant culture. While this run has been far from perfect, it has been easy to avoid persecution. It is very likely that my children will not live in this world. God, I pray that they will be able to declare you in a world that will try to snuff them out. For us all, may we endure the coming trials with joy. When we are persecuted because of the Gospel, we suffer alongside Him. What greater joy could there be than to live out the fullness of Christ?

Don’t worry about not going with the flow – God has promised to take care of our needs if we trust in Him and share His words. We may be unflatteringly categorized, lose our social standing, our job, live threatened, or the reality of violence. If God takes care of the flowers and the sparrows, He will take care of you in every single instance. Even though the traffic may be moving against you, be singularly focused on the Gospel of the Coming Kingdom, and everything else will be added unto you. Ask for your daily bread and then get to work for His Glory because the harvest is becoming more plentiful, but the workers are fewer.

-Aaron Winner

  1. Describe the world you live in today. What similarities do you see to the time of Noah?
  2. What do you admire most about Noah? What can you learn from him? What do you learn about God in Genesis 7 & 8?
  3. What is the problem of going with the flow? How can you help yourself, your family, your church stay in the boat?
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Crouching at Your Door

Old Testament: Genesis 4

Poetry: Psalm 1

New Testament: Matthew 4

The most formidable opponent to our righteousness is the person reflected in the image of a mirror. Being solely tempted is not sin in itself, but it means that we will soon enter the ring or octagon for a fight.  The attack will come at the points where we are weakest.  Our pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, or laziness are soon exposed and without the proper guidance by the words of God, we will soon leave ourselves fully exposed to a finishing move.  No matter where the dragging and enticing draw from, submission to temptation to serve ourselves rather than submitting to our Heavenly Father’s will, leads down the slippery slope away from the Kingdom of God.

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” – James 1:13-15

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” – Genesis 4:7

We see this pattern unfold in Genesis 4 when Cain is issued a warning directly by God to stop jealousy in its path.  God states that “sin is lurking at the door.” By giving temptation a place to live, Cain and each one of us are inviting sin to be the next resident. What started as an unchecked emotion, turned into temptation, which led Cain to selfishly taking the life of his brother.  Temptation must be addressed and combatted, otherwise we will find ourselves on a path, either through deliberate action or indecision, that leads us far away from the Will of God.


“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.” – Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus, as always, provides our example of dealing with temptation because he was tested in every measure. Specifically in Matthew 4, Jesus is tested in the desires of his flesh, the integrity of his faith, and his pride. Jesus meets each one of these temptations head on, attacking them with words of his Father.  In doing this, he removes himself from temptation by placing himself closer to God Almighty.  By remaining perfect and being raised to life, He now sits at the right hand of God understanding our struggles and weakness.  Christ intercedes on our behalf and beckons us to remember that we have the advantage that Cain did not: we do not have to go through it alone.

The Apostle Peter is no stranger to succumbing , and in all reality, he is the disciple with whom we most identify. His advice to those scattered about Asia Minor in his first letter is to remain watchful and alert for the threat that may approach us. He likens our Adversary to a lion, crouching in the savannah, waiting for our guard to be down and becoming the next prey devoured. We have to be ready for the attack, by remaining sober-minded even in the duress of physical, spiritual, or mental stress. We do this best by filling our hearts with the words of God and repeating them time and again, so temptation is at bay, and when it comes, like Jesus, we are ready to strike it down with the Sword of the Spirit.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. There is a lot to think about in the following sentence: “Temptation must be addressed and combatted, otherwise we will find ourselves on a path, either through deliberate action or indecision, that leads us far away from the Will of God.” What examples can you think of from your own life? 
  2. What temptations do you need to address now? 
  3. With what 3-5 specific ways can you combat this temptation?
  4. What roles can God’s Word and God’s Son play in your spiritual battle against sin?
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Death and Life

*Theme week – Celebrating Jesus: John 20

Old Testament: Zechariah 13 & 14

Poetry: Psalm 148       

            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

  1. 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?
  2. What has Jesus offered to you? Have you accepted these gifts? Why or why not?
  3. What is the next step in God’s plan and what is your role in it?
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Religion and Politics

*Theme Week – Celebrating Jesus – Luke 23

Old Testament: Zechariah 11 & 12

Poetry: Psalm 147

            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

  1. Do you agree that religion is political? Why or why not? What examples can you think of to support your position?
  2. 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? 
  3. What do you learn about Jesus in Luke 23? 
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The Action Story

Old Testament: Zechariah 9-10

Poetry: Psalm 146

*Theme Week – Celebrating Jesus: Mark 1

            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

  1. Why do you think God chose four different writers to tell the story of Jesus? 
  2. What do you appreciate about Mark chapter 1?
  3. God tells the story of Jesus through many different people.  How is he using you to tell the story of Jesus?

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Great Stories: Jesus and Israel

Old Testament: Zechariah 7 & 8

Poetry: Psalm 145

*New Testament: Matthew 2

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

  1. What is the value in reading and knowing the Old Testament? 
  2. What do you love best about Israel’s story? What do you love best about Jesus’ story?
  3. How is Jesus’ story your story? 
  4. What do you learn about the author of Israel’s and Jesus’ stories? 
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Let it Be to Me

Old Testament: Zechariah 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 143

*Theme Week – Celebrating Jesus: Luke 1

            ’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

  1. How will you celebrate Jesus today and tomorrow and the rest of the week and in 2024?
  2. Have you given your consent and received God’s word and spiritual transformation? 
  3. What might it look like and feel like to have Jesus Christ fully formed in you? 
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Who Cares?

Old Testament: Zechariah 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 142

New Testament: Matthew 28

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?

-Rick McClain

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Oops

Old Testament: Haggai 1-2

Poetry: Psalm 141

New Testament: Matthew 27

Yesterday’s devotion was written to those with a strong faith.  Today’s devotion is written for everybody else.  Perhaps, some of you are a bit wobbly in your faith and have drifted away from God.  Some of you may not have decided yet to live for God instead of yourself.  I suppose it is possible some of you have no interest in becoming a Christian, but I am guessing most of those folks wouldn’t be reading this.  In Matthew 27, we read about the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross and the crazy events that happened right after he died.

Strangely enough, it was the religious leaders that schemed to find Jesus guilty so they could put him to death.  It’s not easy finding someone guilty when they never have done anything wrong in their life, but they managed to concoct a way to make it happen.  They believed in the Old Testament scriptures, but somehow ignored the many writings about a messiah that would be coming.  They also saw miracles, or at the very least heard about them from many others.  All the signs were there for them to easily accept the fact that Jesus was indeed God’s son, but they chose not to believe.

In verse 50, Jesus cried out and then died.  At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, rocks split, and the tombs broke open.  Here is the craziest part of all:  bodies of holy people who had died were raised to life and started walking around town where many people saw them.  Can you imagine what that scene must have been like?  I’m sure there were people flipping out all over the place, including those who had put Jesus to death.  In verse 54, the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened.  It says they were terrified and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  Oops.  Just minutes after they had crucified Jesus, they realized they had made a big mistake, but there was no going back at that point.  There was no do-over; they were clearly warned, but they chose to not believe.  I’m sure they felt terrible about their decision.

So, what does any of this have to do with you?  Well, you have a decision to make as well.  You must decide if you are going to live for God or live for yourself.  It’s a big decision so don’t take it lightly.  You can choose to ignore the signs if you would like, the same way the religious leaders ignored the signs 2,000 years ago.  Look at the incredible masterpiece called creation and try to justify that it happened completely randomly.  Read the Bible and try to convince yourself that all the ways the Bible has been proven to be accurate are just a coincidence.

Maybe you actually do believe in God, but you are putting off the decision until later.  Risky, risky.  You may die today, losing your chance.  Moreover, Jesus says he is going to come back like a thief in the night, meaning a lot of people are going to be surprised when that day happens.  In fact, on that day, I think the most said word of that day will be ‘Oops’.  A lot of people are going to regret they blew their chance.  Don’t let that be you.

Reflection Questions:

If you are not saved, what is holding you back from making that decision?

If you find yourself on the outside looking in after Christ returns, what thoughts will be going through your head at that point?

-Rick McClain

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His Love Endures Forever

Old Testament: Micah 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 136

New Testament: Matthew 22

If you are like me, it is troubling to watch what is happening today over in Israel.  Many lives have been lost in the Israeli Hamas war.  I feel bad for the innocent people who have lost their lives.  Moreover, I am confused about what I want to happen.  Of course, peace is the ultimate goal, but does blood have to be shed to reach that goal?

I wouldn’t necessarily pick such a grim and complex topic for a daily devotion, but I couldn’t help but think about what is happening today when I was reading today’s chapters in Micah, Psalms, and Matthew.  The topics were not all warm and fuzzy, in fact, they were quite violent at times.  I’m not sure what I read helped me frame my view of the war today, but I got a glimpse into the mind of God.  I still have more questions than answers, but I feel I am more prepared to understand why the events will unfold the way they will.

Let’s start with Micah.  When I heard what was happening in Israel, my first thought was that Israel was God’s chosen people and you really don’t want to mess with them if you value your own life.  I already know who wins in the end, and it is Israel.  But then I thought about all the times Israel turned their backs to God and bad things happened to them.  In Micah 3:9-12, it talks about the rulers of Israel who despised justice, distorted what was right, built Zion with bloodshed, and built Jerusalem with wickedness.  They thought that the Lord was among them so no disasters would come upon them.  Instead, because of them, Jerusalem became a heap of rubble.  Does this describe the leaders of Israel today?  Is it possible they are trying again to build up Jerusalem with wickedness and bloodshed?  Are they going against what God wants to happen when innocent people are killed?

Would God, the most loving being there is, be ok with so many people dying in a war?  Strangely enough, the answer to that came in Psalms 136.  The second part of all 26 verses says, “His love endures forever.”  It is a whole chapter that talks about many ways that God loved his people.  It starts out nice enough when it talks about how good He is and how He created great wonders for us, but it gets a bit weird later.  It talks about His love enduring forever because He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, swept Pharoah and his army into the Red Sea, struck down great kings, and killed mighty kings.  It is strange to read a verse that says, “to Him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, His love endures forever.”  I don’t usually consider killing children as a sign of His love enduring forever.  However, it was a sign of His love because he did it to help His chosen people.  He loved the Israelites so much, that He was willing to kill others that were against them.  Is it possible Hamas is being killed because of God’s love for the Israeli’s?

The chapters from Micah and Psalms are sufficient in framing the discussion, but I was surprised to see that even Matthew had a little bit to say about the subject.  The parable of the wedding feast includes the king who was so enraged, he sent his armies to destroy the murderers and set their city on fire.  And the chapter ends with Jesus quoting David who said, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies beneath your feet.”  These two examples in Matthew were not necessarily referring directly to the issue we are talking about today, but I thought it was interesting that God did not rule out violence to solve some of the problems talked about in Matthew.

I already mentioned I don’t have complete clarity about this war today, but in my position, I think that is fine.  I am not the one deciding how much death and destruction will occur and I really don’t think either side would listen to me anyways if I had an opinion.  I care about what is happening, but I am just not directly involved.  I am ok watching what is happening, and I think it will become clear with time how God wants this to play out.  My prayer is for peace, but I will be patient to see how that peace comes about.  Perhaps true peace won’t even occur until a time that Micah talked about in chapter 4 – when Jesus returns.  I will also pray for that day to come soon.

Reflection Questions:

Do you think God is an active participant in this war or is He just watching what is happening?

What is your prayer for this war?

-Rick McClain

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