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.

 

 

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

 

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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”.

 

 

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

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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

 

 

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

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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