Chance Meetings

Exodus 3:1-12a

 (Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%203%3A1-12&version=NIV;TLB

 

What were your expectations for 2016? Whatever they may have been, no doubt you had some things happen that you didn’t expect. For me, one such event was meeting Tim.

 

The week before Christmas, during my lunch hour when I was trying to get home for a quick visit, I noticed that my car wasn’t handling properly. Upon inspection, it was apparent that the left front tire was almost flat. I drove to a nearby gas station only to find out that their air pump was out of order.

 

Frustrated and angry, I attempted to change the tire. After some time with little success, and with my head buried in the trunk as I struggled to pull the jack out, someone asked, “Do you need some help”? It was Tim.

 

For me, it was like an angel had been sent. During the course of changing my tire, Tim told me that he was homeless, but that the Lord was with him. When he had finished the job, I insisted on paying him even though he declined at first.

 

That “chance meeting” with Tim was an unexpected opportunity, for him and for me, to

help someone in need and to share the love of Christ. It helped me to be aware that “chance meetings” aren’t always by chance. In fact, God is in control and He can bring someone into my life in any circumstance; even a flat tire.

When Moses went up on Horeb, the mountain of God, he wasn’t expecting to find a burning bush, let alone one that God would use to communicate through to him. Was this unexpected event a “chance meeting” with God? I don’t think so.

 

God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. Moses was God’s chosen leader for this job; an unwilling one, but the one God chose through this “chance meeting”. Despite all the excuses that Moses came up with, it all boiled down to this statement that God made:

“I will be with you”.

 

That’s an important lesson for you and me to learn and to remember during 2017. No matter what our expectations are, God will have some “chance meetings” planned for us. The questions is, will we be ready for them? Tim was.

 

 

 

 

 

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Christmas is Magic

John 1:1-18 & 29

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A1-18%20&version=NIV;MSG

 

Christmas is magic. At least that’s how it seemed to me when I was a little boy. What other time of the year could you go to bed that night and the following morning find a tree brightly lit and decorated with gifts all around it? It was magic. But what makes it magical?

 

My parents had a nativity scene that one of us kids would place under the tree each

year. We would take our turn to decorate it as we saw fit. Wherever we wanted, we could place the shepherds, the wise men, the animals, but most importantly, the baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary.

 

Christmas is magic indeed, but not in the way an 8 year old boy thought. Listen to what John wrote:

 

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… ¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.            NIV

 

I like how The Message phrases verse 14:

 

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

 

The Word, that is Jesus, became flesh and blood and moved into your neighborhood; into the house next door to you; maybe even into your house.

 

That’s more than the magic that I thought of as a little boy. When the creator takes residence in his creation, that’s supernatural! Who can do that? More importantly, why would he want to do that? John gives us the answer to these questions later in chapter 1.

 

²⁹ “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world!     MSG

 

Christmas is about the Word who became flesh; who moved into your neighborhood so that your sins could be forgiven. Christmas is about the Lamb of God who was sacrificed to make it all happen.

 

That’s a lot for a little baby to carry on his shoulders. You might even say… that it’s magic.

 

 

 

 

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Your Best Gift Ever

(Love: The 4^th and final devotional on Advent.)
 

1 John 4:7-12
(Use the link below to read the verses.)

 

 

What was your best Christmas gift ever?

 

For me it was a Ford F150 pick-up truck! Never thinking that my wife would actually do it, I had been bugging Debbie either for a pickup truck, or a Mazda Miata. Low and behold, there was a full sized F150 parked in our driveway that Christmas morning with a bow on it.

 

For Debbie, her best Christmas gift ever was a diamond ring. Originally it had been her Step Mom’s engagement ring. When she passed, her Father had it made into a man’s ring. Following his passing, it sat in our lock box for years until I took the diamond and had a ring designed especially for Debbie’s Christmas.

 

Gifts are an important part of how we celebrate Christmas. Whether it’s as big as a truck, or as small as a ring, giving gifts to those we love, to show our love, can be very meaningful.

 

The original gifts of Christmas - Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh – were given in love to the child Jesus; the son of God; the creator of love.

 

^8b…for God is love.  ⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.    NLT

 

Over 2000 years ago, God sent you and me the best gift ever! It’s better than a Ford F150, or even an irreplaceable family heirloom. The baby Jesus grew into a man who gave his life so that you and I might live ours. He promised an abundant life on earth, and life without end in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father.

 

He is your best gift ever!

 

 

 

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204%3A7-12&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

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A Christmas Carol

(Joy: The 3^rd of 4 devotionals on Advent.)

 

Luke 7:36-50

(See link below to read the passage.)

 

 

 

When I was a little boy one of the Christmas Eve traditions that we had in our family was to sit down in the living room on the couch with our Father. He would start reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Why my Dad chose to do that is a mystery. Possibly, he was hoping we would get tired and fall asleep.

 

It is a story about a bitter, lonely and ill-tempered old man. He felt that life had been hard on him and that he had earned everything he had. Nobody had ever given him anything, so in turn, he wasn’t generous to anyone. Scrooge’s response to a “Merry Christmas” greeting was, “Bah, humbug”!

 

The story in Luke 7 is about a woman who lived a “sinful life”. The Living Bible refers to her as a common prostitute. She was at the bottom of the social, religious and economic ladder of society. Good people, like the Pharisee in the story, would have

nothing to do with her.

 

We don’t know for sure what her back story was, but we can assume that life had been hard on her. The little that she had, she had earned. Nobody had given her anything. However, she was smart enough and intuitive enough to realize that she was a “sinful woman” that was detested by respectable people.

 

For Scrooge, it wasn’t until his confrontation with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future that he was convinced to change his ways. The result was a joyful and generous Scrooge that went far beyond common courtesy to help others.

 

For the sinful woman, it wasn’t until she had a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that she changed her ways. She poured out her love for Jesus with her tears, drying his feet with her hair and anointing him with expensive perfume.

 

Two people who previously had no joy. Both recognized their brokenness. Both experienced redemption. One through his encounter with the fictional spirits of Christmas. The other through her encounter with the real life Emanuel (God with us).

 

May you and your family experience the true joy of Christmas this year; God with us.

 

 

 

 

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207%3A36-50&version=NIV;TLB

 

 

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A Plaster Cast and Peanut Jesus

(Peace: The 2^nd of 4 devotionals on Advent.)

Psalm 139:1-18

 

 

In 1982, at the ripe old age of 2, our daughter Tara made this Christmas ornament at church; a plaster cast of her hand print. Until she was married, this ornament hung on our Christmas tree every year. Christmas trees and ornaments go hand in hand. They are a Christmas tradition.

 

Traditions are very good at creating security, serenity and peace. When we think we know what waits for us around the corner of life, we experience peace. But life doesn’t always turn out like what we think we know. We can be the best planner in the world when something unexpected happens.

 

During those times, it’s important to remember who is in control. In fact, it is important to remember who is in control all the time. Tara may not have been aware of it when she made this ornament, but God was at work in her life… even before then.

 

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. ¹⁵ You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!  TLB

 

Tara also made this ornament. We call it, “Peanut Jesus”. It’s the baby Jesus (made of a peanut shell) in a manger. This baby who became a man is the one who brings peace into our world, not only during those times when everything is going according to plan, but also when our world is turned upside down.

 

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are here. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.   NIV

 

A plaster cast and “Peanut Jesus”… who would have guessed that Christmas ornaments could be symbols that would give us guidance for peace in our lives.

 

 

 

 

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One Hundred Envelopes of Hope

Hebrews 11:1

 

The fabric of Christmas is hope.

 

When I was a little boy I was always the first one up on Christmas morning. One time I got up and opened not just my gifts, but everybody’s gifts. Being the youngest of four, as cute as Joey was, he was not very popular that year.

 

My brother is 12 years older than I am. When he was in college and living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, he didn’t have much money for himself let alone for his little brother’s Christmas gift. But he was very creative.

 

One Christmas I was up first, as usual. When I came downstairs it was still dark. All I could see was a pile of gifts under and around the tree, but there was also something that caught my eye. It looked like there were stalactites hanging from our living room ceiling.

 

When I turned the lights on, I discovered they weren’t stalactites at all, but several links of envelopes taped together, end to end. Eventually, I discovered that there were one hundred envelopes. The reason I know this is that each envelope had a shiny new penny in it. My brother had given me one dollar for Christmas, but it was one of the most memorable gifts I ever got.

 

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”.             Hebrews 11:1

 

As a little boy that Christmas coming down the steps, I had no idea what I was going to see around the corner. But I hoped that there would be great gifts waiting for me; and there was.

 

Christmas is full of hope in what we cannot see. However, it’s not just wishful thinking like that of a little boy coming down the stairs. It is being “certain of what we do not see”. For God sent His one and only son to die for us so that we might live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We couldn’t hope for a better gift than that.

 

 

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The Cubs Win it All!

 

1 John 2:15-17

 

For the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series! The hero of the final game for the Cubs was Ben Zobrist. In the top of the 10^th inning, he hit a double driving in the go ahead run. In fact, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the whole series. But winning the World Series and being named the MVP is not what is most important to him.

 

"I think that we are all placed wherever we are to share the Gospel and the good news. And the good news is that we can all be saved from our sins. I am grateful to be able to bring that to the game and to my teammates, and to anyone I come in contact with. God's given me a great platform to be able to share that and I will do that as long as God's given me the breath to do it." (Taken from an interview with Tom Rust on Face to Face at www.facetofaceradio.com)

 

Here’s a man who on the surface has everything that the world has to offer. Fame, fortune and power; anything he desires he can have. Most of us will never experience anything close to this, but we still feel the pull of the world. In fact, John’s words strike

a little too close to home for us.

 

^15-17 Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A person cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. For the whole world-system, based as it is on human primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself. The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the person who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.               J.B. Phillips translation

 

For 108 years, the Cubs chased after another World Series. Isn’t that what the world-system is based on; “human primitive desires, greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid”?

 

Don’t get me wrong. I love sports and cheer for my teams; and I strive after things of

this world, but that’s just the point. We struggle every day to give our hearts to our Father; to love Him and not the world; and to follow His will.

 

Every day we face decisions that will reflect our love for Him… or not. Every day we struggle with the temptations of the world. Every day we fight the good fight so that in the end God will say to us, “Well done my good and faithful servant”.

 

 

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The Grass is Always Greener

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

 

 

You know the saying, “The grass is greener on the other side”. It’s human nature to always want what we don’t have. It’s also human nature to complain about what we do have. It’s easy to complain about your boss, your spouse, the weather, the traffic; take your pick. Yes indeed, we find something to complain about every day!

 

When I first started working for my employer, he hired me to do marketing. It was fun, challenging and rewarding. But about the second year the personnel needs changed, so he moved me out of a private office to the main entry office. Overnight, I became the receptionist, the operator, the mail boy and the filing clerk; all jobs that I felt were beneath me; beneath my experience and my age.

 

Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth about keeping their attitude in check about marriage, religious traditions, work, social and economic standing.

 

²² If the Lord calls you, and you are a slave, remember that Christ has set you

free from the awful power of sin; and if he has called you and you are free, remember that you are now a slave of Christ. ²³ You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears.            TLB    

 

“You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him.”  It took quite a while for God to straighten my attitude about being “demoted”. I suppose I could have looked for another job, but then I wouldn’t have learned a valuable lesson.

 

Above all else, no matter what your circumstance, you are a child of God. For Paul it didn’t matter whether a person was married or single; circumcised or gentile; slave or free – they were a child of God, “bought and paid for by Christ”.

 

The same message is true for you today. God has called you to serve Him in one capacity or another; through your marriage, your job, your church, your community. Find your calling and serve him with all your heart, mind and soul.

 

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.            NIV

 

 

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Making My Dad Proud

Micah 6:6-8

 

 

The last high school football game that my Dad ever saw me play was memorable… kinda. Actually there’s only one play that I really remember. It was a running play where the ball carrier ended up on the far side of the field. In front of me was an overweight defensive lineman who was huffing and puffing on every step he took.

 

Because we were so far from the ball carrier, anything that I did was going to be inconsequential. Yet I knew this was my opportunity. I laid the hardest block on him that I could, dropping him to the ground like a rock.

 

It had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the play, or the game. But it was my moment to shine. I wanted my Dad to be proud of me; to earn his approval.

 

Micah asks the people of Israel what they can do to earn their Heavenly Father’s approval.

 

⁶ “How can we make up to you for what we’ve done?” you ask. “Shall we bow before the Lord with offerings of yearling calves?” Oh no! ⁷ For if you offered him thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of olive oil—would that please him? Would he be satisfied?            TLB

 

Based on these verses, it seems that Israel can’t do anything to earn God’s approval. However, in the very next verse, through an ironic twist, Micah seems to foreshadow what God’s plan of redemption will actually be.

 

If you sacrificed your oldest child, would that make him glad? Then would he

forgive your sins? Of course not!             TLB

 

But if God sacrificed His “oldest child”, and made it possible for us to invite him into our heart, that would please our Heavenly Father. Then and only then, will we be able to stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done my faithful servant”.

 

“What does the Lord require of you? But to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your Lord and Savior.”         NIV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Giving Tree

Proverbs 11:24-31

 

In the 1996 movie, Jerry Maguire, a slick sports agent has a crisis of conscience which results in him getting fired and starting his own agency. Desperate to salvage the only client/athlete that he has left, the agent shouts over the phone, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” to show his client just how committed he is to him.

 

In the world, this is what it comes down to a lot of the time. Somebody somewhere is shouting, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!" As believers though, we’re to have a different view towards money; a different perspective for its use. Proverbs has this to say about it.

 

²⁸ A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
    a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.           Proverbs 11 MSG

 

This verse paints a picture that reminds me of the children’s book written by Shel Silverstein titled “The Giving Tree”. It’s a story about a boy and a tree.

 

During his childhood, the boy enjoyed playing with the tree; climbing her trunk, swinging from her branches, and eating her apples. However, as he gets older he begins to use the tree for his own selfish pleasure; selling her apples, building a house from her branches and cutting her trunk to make a boat.

 

The tree gave and gave and gave of herself until all that was left was “a stump”. This is an interesting twist on verse 28. In “The Giving Tree”, the stump actually became “a flourishing tree”.

 

Every time that the tree gave another part of herself to the boy, the narrative states, “And the tree was happy”. This is similar to what Proverbs has to tell us about giving.

 

²⁴ The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
    the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

²⁵ The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
    those who help others are helped.       Proverbs 11 MSG

 

THE Giving Tree of the Bible, gave and gave and gave of Himself to the point of sacrificing His one and only son whom He loved. Likewise, God calls us to invest ourselves in the lives of those around us; not just with our treasure, but also with our time and talents. If we do this, the result will be “a flourishing tree”.

 

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you, or touched your heart through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)