TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH

Sunday devotional 12/16/12

There was a great tragedy in this country this past week, when innocent little children were shot and murdered in a school in Connecticut. It is hard enough for us to wrap our heads around people being killed for absolutely no reason, but then to also have those lives that were taken be so young makes it even harder for us to understand.  This world is full of tragedies, and sometimes it seems we are so helpless to do anything about it.  

Just know that God understands.  He is familiar with grief and suffering and with the loss of his own only son in what would seem to us to be a senseless and cruel killing.  

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Isaiah 53:3 NIV

But in the grander scheme of things, that was a necessary death.  We may never fully understand what the bigger picture is, but we don't have to understand.  We only need to know we are in God's arms, like a shepherd carrying his little lambs. 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10:10-11

This Advent is a time of preparation for us for the coming of the Good Shepherd.  We are not just anticipating the celebration of his birth at Bethlehem, but also his death and resurrection, as well as his second coming.  We need to prepare the way for the Lord by helping others know God and his loving mercy and forgiveness. In that way we will be like John the Baptist, helping to make a path for Jesus to enter the hearts of all people.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:  “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”  Matthew 3:1-3 NIV

So in the midst of life's tragedies, we are not helpless, because our God will always triumph.  He knows and understands our suffering, and he has promised to give us abundant life.  May we help prepare the way for the Lord, praying for those who suffer, witnessing to God's great love. and supporting them through our words and actions.

written by Jan Andersen

Saturday Devotional...A Baby Changes Everything

               in Bethlehem

in Bethlehem on a
  very cold and dark night
a special expectation
the world
had been waiting
for
came to pass
 and the world
   was forever
      changed
in Bethlehem on that
 very cold and dark night

in Bethlehem
there was no room
  for the couple
      to spend the night
so they went
to a place
   where animals slept
and a baby was born
his mother smiling
       at him
    through joyful tears
in Bethlehem on that
 very cold and dark night

in Bethlehem
the baby cried
      in the freezing chill
so mules
  and cows
      and sheep
with tepid breaths
  warmed the babe
made the barn a cozy space
a place of comfort
   where he could nestle
safe
in Bethlehem on that
 very cold and dark night

In Bethlehem
the hills were cold
  still in the sky
were shining lights
     from little stars
        and a big oneshepherds
while watching sheep
heard singing oh so glorious
angels choruses
    telling them to find
      the little one
in Bethlehem on that
 very cold and dark night

in Bethlehem
they spied the cowshed
   and searched out
        the little one
sleeping in his mother’s arms
cozy
   warm
       protected
Emmanuel God with us
  come
     to show
glory and love
    abundant compassion
  such as
     mankind had never
       comprehended
         never grasped
he would lead them
      to their forever place
from Bethlehem
       on that
   very cold and dark night

Written by
©Corinne Mustafa
December, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a beautiful song to listen to that speaks wonderfully to this poem                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y0_wNPSOaw

Thursday Devotional...12/13/12...Music With a Purpose

I discovered Christian music in my 20’s when Amy Grant was filling the radio waves with reminders that God’s hand is always moving on our behalf and we aren’t aware of all the mishaps and harm that we are protected from each day of our lives. Today’s Christian music is filled with encouraging reminders, too. A Christian rapper named Toby Mac just received a nod of recognition from the music world’s Grammy judges.

The lyrics to his catchy, toe tapping song jump right into the center of who we are in Christ. Picking up in the middle of Toby Mac’s “Made to Love” are these lyrics:

“Whatever happened to a passion I could live for?

What became of the flame that made me feel more?

And when did I forget, that

I was made to love You,

I was made to find You,

I was made just for You,

Made to adore You.

I was made to love,

And be loved by You.”

As I am preparing for Christmas and filling my schedule with all the rituals and traditions that we do to fill the month with pleasant memories for ourselves, our family and friends, this song is helping to keep me centered in my focus. God has me here for a purpose and at its very core that purpose is that He should be the center of my life, my thoughts, my words, my actions, and my Christmas! It won’t keep me free from all the struggles and challenges that are a part of the world we live in. However it will give me comfort and courage to keep trusting and keep going.

Love the LORD your God

with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV84)

Dear Lord, thank You for Your plan for our lives. In Jesus name, amen.

Written by Mary M Wilkins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw_E3P__uFU
(cool video showing the lyrics to above song)

Wednesday Devotional...My Strong Tower

"My Strong Tower"

I am ever so thankful that my dad is "Papa God." I have the strongest dad in the whole world! I find great comfort knowing that at any given time in my life I can run to my Father and He will keep me ever so safe.

Proverbs 18:10 says,

" The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." Regardless of what is going on in my life, no matter how difficult, no matter how harsh the storms are raging, I can count on my Heavenly Father to be there for me

and keep me safe.

There is tremendous strength in our Lord. He is truly our safe haven and in His presence I want to be always. My Father God is my strong tower that can never be moved!

In His Radical Love,

Sandy Billingham

Tuesday Devotional...12/11/12...Blink

It is funny how often we will run into a friend or the child of a friend and realize how much they have changed since the last time we saw them? I am amazed by the changes in those that I seldom see, but often miss the changes in those I look at every day. Perhaps this is the case with you as well. We are so close to those in our everyday lives, we forget the wonderful gift of the everyday.

There are some people who are able to really see how life is slightly different every day. They notice the way their bodies change according to the weather, their activity level or the extra piece of pie they indulged in last night. Rejoicing or regretting yesterday’s choices, they can make allowances and adjustments quickly and avoid the pitfalls that take others by surprise.

Others tread very carefully, working hard to maintain control of what is going on now and what will happen next. They plot and plan their next outfit, meal, workday; believing that this will keep them on track. But this often leaves them helpless when the unexpected happens. Caught unprepared, they are unable to see beyond the tragedy, big or small that has come into their lives.

No matter how we approach our lives, each moment is a gift. I begin my day with prayer and my devotionals. I know that this does not mean that everything will flow smoothly; I also know that I will not be going through any single moment alone. I have loved ones I cannot see every day. So many friends and family are too far away for me to hug with more than my words and prayers. I cannot dwell on the “what ifs” and live in fear what may happen before we meet again. I must trust that they will one day meet those I love who have gone ahead and I see them all in eternity.

In our losses, if we turn to The Father, we can find peace in the memories that allow our hearts to be full of joy. We can remember when we danced, laughed and even cried with the ones we may have forgotten to call one last time, and God’s Peace can color those memories with His perfect Love.

Every day is a gift; each instant could be our last. We can choose repentance and redemption; forgiving those who have hurt us, financially, professionally, or emotionally. Or we can continue to live in resentment and regret, digging a pit of despair that prevents God’s light from shining everywhere.

Lives are changed in the blink of an eye, like the mist that forms at a waterfall; these tiny drops of water are almost unnoticed next to the mighty power making waves. A moment of distraction, a decision made in haste and everything is changed. Once each moment has passed, we move onto the next one, good or bad.

Today, I choose repentance and God’s Amazing Grace and Mercy. Today I pray for myself and for each one of us to make today another day to show the world His Love!

Why, you do not even know

what will happen tomorrow.

What is your life? You are a mist that appears

for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4:14

Written by Lynda Kinnard

Monday Devotional... When will the end come

Can you believe it, another year has passed? Remember the uproar when we started into this century? Everything was going to collapse around us! Businesses would have all kinds of problems with their computer systems! Things would grind to a halt! Life as we knew it would be no more. The news kept us up to date on the latest scare and everyone wondered just what would happen. Confess, weren’t you just a tiny afraid?

Now the end is supposed to come because the Mayan calendar has stopped! Again the news keeps us looking for something big to happen. Movies are cashing in on the end time theories and there is so much imagined fear.

Just suppose for a minute that the end does come, not because the Mayan calendar ran out but because our Almighty God has set the time and it is now!

1 Thessalonians 4-16-17

Then we who are

alive and remain

shall be caught up
together with them

in the clouds to meet
 the Lord in the air.

And thus we shall
always be with the Lord.

How different the coming of our Lord will be than as the world sees the end. This will truly be the beginning of our life and joy unspeakable!

Father God, Jesus said when He was here that only You know the time and date (Matthew 24:36) and Father we trust You and will wait upon You. We do not need to fear the outcome of this year or any year because You are in control and Your plan is perfect.

Written by Jackie Gilmer

GIFTS

Sunday Devotional for 12/9/12

Christmas time brings thoughts of gifts - buying, wrapping, sending, opening, and using them.  It can be such an exciting time, filled with anticipation.  We look forward to receiving gifts picked out just for us and find joy in using something that with special meaning.  However, some people may receive gifts they don't want and even "re-gift" them to someone else.  Or they put them away in a closet only to forget about them.  But generally when we give something that we carefully picked out, we anticipate that the person receiving the gift will utilize it and enjoy it.

God graciously gives each of us special gifts.  He gives us time, talents, treasures and our testimony, all to be used to his glory.  He does not expect us to lock those gifts away never to be seen or used.  He expects us to make use of  them for the building up of the whole body of Christ.  Not to use them would be like saying the giver didn't know what he was doing.  God certainly knows the best gifts to give each of us!

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.  Romans 12:4-6a ESV

written by Jan Andersen