Begin a New Tradition

Begin a New Tradition

by Vonette Bright

“She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

Too often, Christ is absent in Christmas.

Jesus often takes a back seat to Christmas programs, decorations and presents.
So how about beginning a new Christ-centered tradition?
Ellen Elwell shares these great ideas from Christian grandmothers:

After attending Christmas Eve service, one family reads Scripture together.
Another suggests having each person take a votive candle, lighting it,
and answering the question, “What do you like best about Jesus?”
Still another family acts out the Christmas story complete with costumes.
The grandmother makes a photo album to document the performance for each family member.

One grandmother without nearby family invites seniors just like her to share Christmas together.
She shows them the JESUS Film.

GOD'S WAY IS DIFFERENT

GOD'S WAY IS DIFFERENT


Matthew 3:13-15 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented. (NIVUK)

John's baptism was all about confessing sins and repenting of them. People came knowing that they were not spiritually clean. They knew they were not ready to meet God's Messiah: so they came to be baptized. But why would Jesus come? That was the question John asked as well. Although he was baptizing, he knew that he was also a sinner in need of God's forgiveness. So John suggested that Jesus should baptize him.

But Jesus persisted. It was necessary, He said, to please God and do what He required. Of course Jesus could not confess His own sin because He had done nothing wrong. He was not a sinner; but he identified Himself with sinners. Very soon He would carry the weight of all the sins of the world, in His body. His baptism was a prophetic action which looked forward to the cross when He was 'numbered with the transgressors' (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 22:37).

Jesus kept on surprising people because they did not expect Him to be different to them. But He was God, and God's ways are different to ours. Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." We would not have thought of God coming to live as a man, or for Him to accept responsibility for the sins of the world and be punished for them. But God's ways are different to ours. What is right to God may seem very strange to us, but that does not mean it is wrong. So do not judge God's ways by human logic or expect God to conform to human expectations. Indeed we should expect that God's ways, methods, timings, destinations and routes will be higher and better and more complete than we might ever have imagined.

Prayer: Father God. I am so glad that everything You do is good and right and perfect. Forgive me for doubting Your love and care, and for questioning what You do and the way You lead me. Please help me to enjoy the adventure of exploring Your plan for my life; and may I be grateful that You do everything excellently, and so much better than I could ever have planned. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

My Shepherd

My Shepherd

by Phil Ware

[Jesus said,] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15
Thoughts on today’s verse

The goal of our walk with Jesus is to come to know him as our shepherd just as intimately as he knows the Father. A key thing for us to remember: In a world where so many people want to attract our attention and are willing to give us advice, we can refuse their voice. We listen to Jesus because he has shown his love for us by laying down his life for us. He is not a hireling, he is the Good Shepherd.

Prayer:

Holy Father, you are wonderful and generous beyond description. You have shown your love by sending your Son to be my Shepherd. Help me hear his voice through your Word. Help me hear his voice through the wise counsel of spiritual friends. Help me hear his voice through the words sung by my brothers and sisters when we are assembled. Help me hear his voice in the Holy Spirit’s work on my conscience. Father, I want to follow your Son as my Shepherd and Lord because I know he, like you, is good! Through my Shepherd and Lord I pray. Amen.

Keep on Keeping On

Keep on Keeping On

by Marilyn Ehle

“…there was a priest named Zechariah…he was serving as a priest before God…an angel of the Lord appeared…” Luke 1:5-11

We only hear about him at Christmas, but Zechariah should be a yearlong model for us. He was a man who loved God. He was a man who prayed. And he was a man who struggled with doubt.

When we are discouraged, when we live with the confusion of unanswered prayer, when we feel God is distant, it is easy to remove ourselves from the fellowship of other Christians, to neglect the rituals of the church and put the Bible to one side. And yet Zechariah whose deepest heart longing was unsatisfied, continued his spiritual duties. How he must have wondered if the God he prayed to in the temple was really a trustworthy God. We know that he doubted God’s promise even when delivered by the angel Gabriel.

During the months of his wife’s pregnancy, Zechariah’s prayers were silent ones. He could only commune with his Heavenly Father in the stillness of his heart, but I believe his long years of faithful service—even when he couldn’t hear God speaking or see God working—provided strength during those silent months.

Be careful to “keep on keeping on” during the days when God’s presence seems to have disappeared, when the Bible seems to contain promises only for others. Gathering with fellow Christians—many who are experiencing your own doubts—can be encouraging. Participating with your friends at the table of communion will provide spiritual sustenance. God will, in his good time, speak again.

God, give me courage to keep on when I don’t hear your voice or when I seem to be making no “progress” in my faith. Teach me again that you are near.

How has practicing the essentials of the Christian faith helped you during dark times?