Month: December 2016

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Jesus Matters Most

He’s Still the Reason for the Season.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“One more powerful than I will come,
the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to unite….”
Luke 3:16, New International Version

John the Baptist would not revel in the lime-light.  His was a ministry of preparing the way for the Way—Jesus the Christ.  People came to see and hear him and he pointed them to Jesus.

Jesus Mattered Most to John.

Jesus was the Reason for the season of human history that found John preaching and Baptizing in the Judean wilderness.  John knew it.

The wrapping paper is in the recycle bin.  Many presents have been put away.  The Christmas Tree still stands, but without its adornment of bright packages.  Perhaps a train still roams a tight circle about the base of the tree.  These images can sometimes create a sense of loss for me, I’ll admit.  That’s why I, and perhaps you today as well, need the reminder from our ancient brother and father in faith, John.  Jesus Matters Most.

We are still smack in the middle of the marvelous season celebrating the wonder of the Incarnation—the enfleshing of God himself in the person of Jesus the Christ.  He is the focus, he Matters Most to us.

What matters most to Jesus, do you think?  I think it’s you.  And me.  And everyone else.  He came for us.  He came because of our desperate need of salvation and restoration.  That need is made even more desperate by humankind’s lack of knowledge of the need in the first place.  Still, Jesus came in the miracle of the Incarnation and Birth.  Because we matter most to him.

Hark, of whom did the ‘Herald Angels’ sing?  Who sings to us, ‘From Heaven Above to Earth I Come’?  What ‘Rose’ is Blooming?  O, what happens in that ‘Little Town of Bethlehem’?  Who is Away in that Manger?  What Child Is This?  Jesus Matters Most.

We matter most to Jesus.  Jesus Matters Most to us.  It’s not a mantra.  It’s a profession of faith.

Text and picture, copyright Don Schatz.

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

Crowded Creche

All Nations Come to His Light!

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
Isaiah 60:3

When I stopped the other night to view our church’s outdoor nativity scene in the snow, I felt a bit sorry for the baby Jesus and His holy family.  In the midst of what should have been a quiet, “silent night, holy night” sort of scene with mother Mary, Joseph, and the child, there intrudes shepherds, sheep, a donkey, a cow, three magi, and two camels!  A quiet stable, my foot!  This looks like a crowded Christmas party!

But then, that is what was prophesied.  “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”  Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection were crowded with many characters, many people eager to come to His light, His salvation.  Shepherds crowded in at His birth, and lepers, blind men, and beggars flocked to Him in His life.  Kings came and worshiped Him as a child, and disciples thronged to Him as a man.  And yes, King Herod and his soldiers searched to murder him in Bethlehem, and the chief priests and soldiers taunted Him at His crucifixion.

But the greatest crowd of all, shall come when the Lord Jesus returns and gathers His people home.  People from every tribe, race, and nation will fall down before Him at His throne and the very angels will fill the skies yet once again to proclaim His salvation, power, and grace.

Perhaps it was not such a “silent night” at the manger or such a sleeping town of Bethlehem.  For there is joy in this world, for the Lord has come.  And every voice and every tongue will proclaim the celebration of the Lord’s birth, the King’s coming, the Savior’s return.

“He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love!”

May the glory of the newborn Christ draw you home to Him!

Photo and text copyright Steve Nickodemus

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

The Day After

With Mary as our example, it’s time to ponder.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” 
Luke 2:19 King James Version

It’s normal for children to play with the nativity figurines following one of our four worship services on Christmas Eve at Holy Cross. This donkey has been held by many children, some of whom now have children of their own playing with the same donkey. It’s no wonder that her ear is held on by duct tape.

On this day after Christmas, you might feel like the donkey looks. You’re tired and worn out.

Yes, you wrapped the presents and placed them under the tree before everyone arrived at your home. Yes, the turkey wasn’t over cooked and you only set off the smoke alarm once. Yes, you managed to keep your children from breaking their new toys nine out of ten times. But it takes a lot to enjoy a “successful” Christmas. All you want to do is sleep in.

I’ve got a feeling that Mary was pretty worn out after giving birth to her Child. My wife, Janice, was exhausted after 27 hours of labor without meds when our first son, Joel, was born. After all the prodding and poking, the crying and shaking Joel finally fell asleep as I held him. But his sleep was nothing like Janice’s. She had worked hard and she rested.

Mary had more to contemplate than the joyous rigor of giving birth. Heaven announced the arrival of this baby’s birth to shepherds, the first guests of the newborn King. These shepherds delighted in telling the holy family what they experienced. In the pain and recovery of childbirth, this new mother contemplated what she had experienced, treasuring these moments in her heart.

We’ve heard the story. We’ve lived the story. And now, for the next eleven days, we have the opportunity to treasure the story in our hearts. Though today we might feel like this child-battered donkey, may we see today as the beginning of an amazing journey into the mystery of God taking on human flesh.

Text and Picture Copyright Douglas P Brauner