DAILY PRAYERS & BLESSINGS

DECEMBER 29

In this world where human love is conditional and often temporary, it is a joy to know that God loves us unconditionally and eternally.  Nothing we can say or do will cause Him to stop loving us.  Our minds cannot even imagine the immensity of His love for each person on this planet.  He sent His son here to deliver that message of love personally.  When He died for us, He was saying through His action, “I love you.”  God remains always ready to lavish His love on His children.  May I open my heart to receive all the love He has to offer.  

WHAT GOD OWES US

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

WHAT GOD OWES US

READ:  Colossians 1:9-14

Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.  Colossians 1:10

A story is told about a vendor who sold bagels for fifty cents each at a street corner food stand.  A jogger ran past and threw a couple of quarters into the bucket but didn’t take a bagel.  He did the same thing every day for months.  One day, as the jogger was passing by, the vendor stopped him.  The jogger asked, “You probably want to know why I always put money in but never take a bagel, don’t you?” “No,” said the vendor.  “I just wanted to tell you that the bagels have gone up to sixty cents.”

Too often, as believers, we treat God with that same kind of attitude.  Not only are we ungrateful for what He’s given us-but we want more.  Somehow we feel that God owes us good health, a comfortable life, material blessings.  Of course, God doesn’t owe us anything, yet He gives us everything

G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Here dies another day, during which I have had eyes, ears, hands, and the great world round me.  And with tomorrow begins another.  Why am I allowed Two?” The psalmist said, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118::24).

Each day, whether good or bad, is one more gift from our God.  Our grateful response should be to live to please Him.    CHK

Living for Jesus a life that is true,

Striving to please Him in all that I do;

Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,

This is the pathway of blessing for me.-Chisholm

Life is a gift from God to be lived for God.   

   

WASHED IN LOVE

Washed in Love

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

James 2:24

READ JAMES 2:14–26

A small church in Southern California recognized an opportunity to express God’s love in a practical way. Believers in Jesus gathered at a local laundromat to give back to their community by washing clothes for those in financial need. They cleaned and folded clothes together, and sometimes provided a hot meal or bags of groceries for recipients.

One volunteer discovered the greatest reward was in the “actual contact with people . . . hearing their stories.” Because of their relationship with Jesus, these volunteers wanted to live out their faith through loving words and actions that helped them nurture genuine relationships with others.

The apostle James affirms that every act of a professing believer’s loving service is a result of genuine faith. He states that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14-17). Declaring we believe makes us children of God, but it’s when we serve Him by serving others that we act as believers who trust and follow Jesus (v. 24). Faith and service are as closely interdependent as the body and the spirit (v. 26), a beautiful display of the power of Christ as He works in and through us.

After personally accepting that God’s sacrifice on the cross washes us in perfect love, we can respond in authentic faith that overflows into the ways we serve others.

By Xochitl Dixon

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, please flood our lives with Your perfect, cleansing love, so that we can pour it into the lives of others.

How has someone helped you be more open to knowing Jesus personally? How can you demonstrate your faith in Christ through loving words and actions?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

The book of James has been compared to the book of Proverbs because both contain practical advice for living out a life of faith in God. James 2:14-26 is foundational for understanding the relationship between our faith and works. James introduces this topic early in his letter (1:27) and continues to tell his readers that true faith is demonstrated by actions. J.R. Hudberg

DAILY PRAYERS & BLESSINGS

DECEMBER 28, 2019

There are three kinds of people in the world:  those

who give off light, those who give off dark shadows,

and those who give off nothing.  Lord, help me to be a 

giver of light, a bearer of hope, a bringer of faith.  For

only light can dispel the darkness, and only light can

brighten deadened places and bring them back to life.

Jesus admonished us not to hide our light.  We were not

meant to cower fearfully amid the shadows or to

huddle in the dark corners undetected.  We were meant to

go forth into the world and shine.

GOD'S TRAINING SCHOOL

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

GOD’S TRAINING SCHOOL

READ:  Romans 8:12-17

[We are] heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ,

if indeed we suffer with Him.  Romans 8:17

Lew Wallace’s book Ben-Hur tells the story of a Jewish aristocrat betrayed by his best friend and condemned to serve as a galley slave in the Roman navy  On a forced march to the ship, Judah Ben-Hur meets Jesus of Nazareth, whose compassion fills him with hope.  Eventually, Ben-Hur saves the Roman commander during battle.  In gratitude, the commander adopts Ben-Hur as his son, instantly elevating him from slave to heir.

That’s what happens to us when God adopts us into His family.  But great privilege brings great responsibility.  Paul said that we become “heirs to God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him”  (Romans 8:17).  The gospel does not say, “Come to Jesus and live happily ever after.”  God’s syllabus for His children’s education includes training through hardships.

Ben-Hur’s years of enduring hardship as a Roman slave strengthened him and increased his endurance.  He eventually defeated his “friend-turned-enemy” in a chariot race.

As endurance and training were key to Ben-Hur’s victory, so are they vital to victory in the christian’s war with sin and evil.  The hard times we endure are God’s way to prepare us for greater service for his glory.  CPH

We conquer by continuing   

NEVER FORGOTTEN

Never Forgotten

I will not forget you!

Isaiah 49:15

READ ISAIAH 49:8–16

Egged on by my children to prove I’d endured years mastering the basics of piano, I sat down and started playing the C Major scale. Having played very little piano in nearly two decades, I was surprised I remembered! Feeling brave, I proceeded to play seven different scales by heart one right after the other. I was shocked! Years of practicing had imprinted the notes and technique so deeply in my fingers’ “memory” that they instantly knew what to do.

There are some things that can never be forgotten. But God’s love for His children is far more deeply imprinted than any of our fading memories—in fact, God can’t forget them. This is what the Israelites needed to hear when the exile left them feeling abandoned by Him (Isaiah 49:14). His response through Isaiah was unequivocal: “I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God’s promise to care for His people was more certain than a mother’s love for her child.

To assure them of His unchanging love, He gave them a picture of His commitment: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). It’s a beautiful image of God’s constant awareness of His children; their names and faces always before Him.

Still today, we can easily feel overlooked and forgotten. How comforting to remember that we’re “etched” on God’s hands—always remembered, cared for, and loved by our Father.

By Lisa M. Samra

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, thank You that I’m never forgotten by You. When I feel abandoned by others, help me to remember and rest in Your never-ending, constant love.

When have you felt forgotten or abandoned? In what ways has God always been present with you to remind you of His constant love?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

The book of Isaiah is one of the Major Prophets of the Old Testament, categorized as such because of its length. It’s sometimes referred to as a “miniature Bible” because it has sixty-six chapters divided into two major divisions of thirty-nine and twenty-seven chapters. The Bible contains sixty-six books and is divided into the Old Testament with thirty-nine books and the New Testament with twenty-seven books. Isaiah is the Old Testament book referenced most often in the New Testament, apart from the Psalms. Arthur Jackson

NO NEED TO PANIC

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

NO NEED TO PANIC

READ:  1 Peter 4:12-19

Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as

though some strange thing happened to you.  1 Peter 4:12

On a Bible-teaching cruise in the Caribbean, I was listening to the customary first-day safety briefing.  The precautions were vital in case the ship should have to be evacuated.

The instructions from the ship’s personnel concluded with a simple but significant explanation.  A specific combination of air horn blasts, indicating a drill, would be distinctly different from those indicating a real emergency. The distinction was critical.  A drill did not constitute a need to evacuate.  If passengers were to panic during the drill, it could result in chaos.

When we don’t understand the circumstances that surround us, it’s easy to be shaken by life’s alarms.  Peter’s generation experienced the same thing.  His warning was simple:  “Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you” (1 Peter 4:12).

The trials and heartaches of life may sound like a call to evacuate-to run away or to respond to life in ways that are disheartening and destructive.  But we would do well to listen more closely to our Lord.  The trial may be nothing more than a reminder that our trust is to be in God, not in people.  We can trust Him in those times when the alarms start to sound.   BC

We can trust our loving Savior

To protect from life’s alarms;

He’s prepared a place of refuge

Safe within His mighty arms. -Hess

Life’s challenges are not designed to break us

but to bend us toward God.    

DAILY PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS

DECEMBER 27

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:18-19

Mary delighted in her son.  What an honor it was to have such an intimate connection to Jesus.  And what a wonderful loving mother Mary was!  As she listened to the amazing things the visiting shepherds had to say about her precious child, Mary quietly listened, pondering these things and filing them away in her heart.  May all mothers look to Mary’s example, Lord.  May we parent generously and wisely, gently encouraging  our children to look to your plans for their lives.

LED BY HIS WORD

Led by His Word

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.

Psalm 119:133

READ PSALM 119:1, 133–136

At the BBC in London, Paul Arnold’s first broadcasting job was making “walking sounds” in radio dramas. While actors read from scripts during a walking scene, Paul as stage manager made corresponding sounds with his feet—careful to match his pace to the actor’s voice and spoken lines. The key challenge, he explained, was yielding to the actor in the story, “so the two of us were working together.”

A divine version of such cooperation was sought by the author of Psalm 119, which emphasizes living by the precepts of God’s Word. As Psalm 119:1 says, “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” Led this way by God and following His instructions, we can remain pure (v. 9), overcome scorn (v. 22), and escape greed (v. 36). He will enable us to resist sin (v. 61), find godly friends (v. 63), and live in joy (v. 111).

Theologian Charles Bridges commented on verse 133: “When I take therefore a step into the world, let me ask—Is it ordered in God’s word, which exhibits Christ as my perfect example?”

Walking this way, we show the world Jesus. May He help us walk so closely with Him that people glimpse in us our Leader, Friend, and Savior!

By Patricia Raybon

REFLECT & PRAY

Dear God, order my steps in the wisdom found in Scripture today, helping me to walk like You.

How closely do you walk with God? Finding your answer in Psalm 119, identify one key step you can make to follow God more closely. What benefit can you gain?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and chapter in the Bible; its 176 verses speak of the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures. The author isn’t named. One rabbinic tradition says Ezra penned it, whose devotion for Scripture is well-attested (Ezra 7:10; Nehemiah 8:1-9). But most scholars say David composed the psalm because it sounds Davidic in tone and expression, and reflects his own experience. Oppressed and persecuted by many powerful enemies, the psalmist writes of the encouragement and strength he received from trusting and meditating on the Scriptures (vv. 11, 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148). Acknowledging the Scriptures have protected and preserved his life, the writer commits himself to obeying them (v. 129). K. T. Sim

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE

READ:  John 10:22-30

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither

shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  John 10:28

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake shook the whole earth.  

Many people didn’t feel it, but the South Asian region and parts of Africa suffered a devastating tsunami as a result.  According to reporter Randolph Schmid, however, “No point on Earth remained undisturbed.”  That earthquake, he tells us, “shook the ground everywhere on Earth’s surface.”

The 19th-century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard says that his world was rocked when his religious father told him he had cursed God for the mistreatment he was getting from others.  His father’s actions shook Soren so much that he called the event “The Great Earthquake.”  He wondered for the rest of his life if his family was cursed by God for his father’s actions.

We too have had or possible will have “earthquakes” in our lives.  But it’s comforting to know that under the worst of circumstances, our faith in God can -and will-hold us fast.  After all, “He’s got the whole world in His hands,” and that means “He’s got you and me, brother and sister, in His hands.”

No one, nor any disaster, can snatch us out of our heavenly Father’s hands (John 10:28-29).  His grip will hold us into all eternity.   VCG

Neither life nor death can ever

From the Lord His children sever,

For His love and deep compassion

Comforts them in tribulation. -Berg

Our unknown future is secure in the hands

of our all-knowing God.  

THE BIG SHUFFLE

The Big Shuffle

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8

READ EPHESIANS 2:4–10

In The Call of Service, author Robert Coles, exploring our reasons for serving, tells the moving story of an older woman’s service to others. As a bus driver, she showed great care toward the children she drove to school each day—quizzing them on homework and celebrating their successes. “I want to see these kids make it in life,” she said of her motivation. But there was another reason too.

As a youth, the words of an aunt had shaken this woman to the core. “She’d tell us that we had to do something God would notice,” she told Coles, “or else we’d get lost in the big shuffle!” Worried at the prospect of hell after the “big shuffle” of judgment, this woman had devised ways to “get God’s attention”—going to church so “He’d see me being loyal” and working hard to serve others so God might “hear from others what I was doing.”

I grieved reading her words. How had this dear woman never known that she already had God’s attention? (Matthew 10:30). How had she not heard that Jesus took care of the big shuffle for us, offering freedom from judgment forever? (Romans 8:1). How had she missed that salvation can’t be bought with good deeds but is a gift to anyone who believes? (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Christ’s life, death, and resurrection take care of our future with God and set us free to serve others with joy.

By Sheridan Voysey

REFLECT & PRAY

God, help me to trust that You’ve done what’s needed for me to be accepted by You.

Why is it easy to mistakenly believe you must do good things to be accepted by God? How does understanding the gospel help you to love others better?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Around ad 60 or 61 Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians to the church in Ephesus—whom he loved dearly—after spending three years with them (Acts 20:17-31). He’d longed to make a friendly visit to them, but instead was imprisoned in Rome in “his own rented house” (28:30). Yet in that enforced confinement, Paul was free to have visitors and to write and preach. In fact, there “he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” (v. 31). While Paul awaited trial before Caesar, he wrote his letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians. Alyson Kieda

WONDER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

WONDER

READ:  Luke 2:15-20

All those who heard it marveled at those things which were

 told them by the shepherds.  Luke 2:18

Elmer Kline, a bakery manager in 1921, was given the job of naming the company’s new loaf of bread.  As he struggled to come up with something “catchy,” he found his answer in an unlikely place.  While visiting the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he stopped to watch the International Ballon Festival.  

Later he described the sight of the beautiful hot-air balloons launching into the Indiana sky as one of “awe and wonderment.”  The thought stuck, and he called the new product Wonder Bread.  To this day, the packaging for Wonder Bread is brightened by colorful balloons.

Wonder, however, is a word that evokes something more significant than a loaf of bread or hot-air balloons.  One dictionary defines wonder as “a cause of astonishment or admiration.”  It’s a word that captures the experience of all the people surrounding the events of the coming of Jesus into the world-the angels, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and all the people they told.  Luke said they “marveled” (2:18).  For all of them, trying to understand the birth of Christ was an exercise in wonder.

As we celebrate Christmas, may we be filled with wonder at His love and His coming!       BC

Have you felt the joy of the shepherds,

Who were first to behold the sight

Of that holy Child of Mary

On that wonderful Christmas night? -Brill

A wonder-filled life is yours when you know

the Christ of Christmas.

GROWING INTO GIVING

Growing into Giving

Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:8

READ 2 CORINTHIANS 8:1–9

“I got you a present!” my two-year-old grandson shouted excitedly as he pressed a box into my hands. “He picked it out all by himself,” my wife smiled.

I opened the box to find a Christmas ornament of his favorite cartoon character. “Can I see it?” he asked anxiously. Then he played with “my” present for the rest of the evening, and as I watched him, I smiled.

I smiled because I remembered gifts I had given loved ones in the past, like the music album I gave my older brother one Christmas when I was in high school that I really wanted to listen to (and did). And I realized how years later God was still stretching me and teaching me to give more unselfishly.

Giving is something we grow into. Paul wrote, “But since you excel in everything . . . see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7). Grace fills our giving as we understand that all we have is from God, and He has shown us “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

God generously gave us the most unselfish gift of all: His only Son, who would die on a cross for our sins and be raised to life. Any who receive this ultimate gift are rich beyond measure. As our hearts are focused on Him, our hands open in love to others.

By James Banks

REFLECT & PRAY

Thank You, Father, for giving me the best gift of all: Your Son! Help me to share Your generosity with others today.

In what ways do you need to grow in giving? What could you do today?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Paul motivates the Corinthian church by citing the inspiring example of the Macedonians. He’s also asking for a generosity that will demonstrate unity between churches. Division between the Jewish and gentile believers in Jesus plagued the early church. By giving to the church in Jerusalem, gentile disciples of Christ in Corinth and Macedonia would be contributing to a Jewish congregation, sending an implicit message of love and acceptance. Paul further notes how the Macedonian believers faced severe trials, yet gave out of “overflowing joy” and “extreme poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:2-3). This joy is a natural response to “the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches” (v. 1). Our circumstances don’t destroy our ability to give, and they can’t steal the joy that flows out of the grace God gives us. Tim Gustafson

A GIFT OF SHELTER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

A GIFT OF SHELTER

READ:  Luke 2:1-7

There was no room for them in the inn.  Luke 2:7

Life was tough for Datha and her family.  At age thirty-nine, she had a heart attack and bypass surgery and learned that she had coronary artery disease.  A year later, her fifteen-year-old daughter Heather became paralyzed as the result of a car accident.  Datha quit her job to take care of Heather, and the bills started piling up.  Soon they would be facing eviction.  Datha was so angry with God that she stopped praying.

Then came Christmas Eve 2004.  A young girl knocked on Datha’s door.  The girl wished her a “Merry Christmas,” gave her an envelope, and left quickly.  Inside was a gift that would cover Datha's

housing needs for the next year.  The attached note read, “Please accept this gift in honor of the Man whose birthday we celebrate on this holy night.  Long ago, His family also had a shelter problem.”

Luke 2 tells the story of Joseph and Mary as they searched for a shelter for Mary to deliver her baby.  They found a place with the animals.  Later in His life, Jesus said of himself, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20).

Jesus understood Datha’s troubles.  He brought her hope and met her needs through others who contributed funds.

We can cast all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7).  In Christ, we find shelter (Psalm 61:3-4).     AC

God will take care of you still to the end;

O what a Father, Redeemer, and Friend!

Jesus will answer whenever you call;

He will take care of you; trust him for all!-Crosby

You do the casting, God will do the caring.

A CHRISTMAS VISITOR

A Christmas Visitor

Sovereign Lord, . . . you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

Luke 2:29

READ LUKE 2:25–33

On Christmas Eve 1944, a man known as “Old Brinker” lay dying in a prison hospital, waiting for the makeshift Christmas service led by fellow prisoners. “When does the music start?” he asked William McDougall, who was imprisoned with him in Muntok Prison in Sumatra. “Soon,” replied McDougall. “Good,” replied the dying man. “Then I’ll be able to compare them with the angels.”

Although decades earlier Brinker had moved away from his faith in God, in his dying days he confessed his sins and found peace with Him. Instead of greeting others with a sour look, he would smile, which “was quite a transformation,” said McDougall.

Brinker died peacefully after the choir of eleven emaciated prisoners sang his request, “Silent Night.” Knowing that Brinker once again followed Jesus and would be united with God in heaven, McDougall observed, “Perhaps Death had been a welcome Christmas visitor to old Brinker.”

How Brinker anticipated his death reminds me of Simeon, a holy man to whom the Holy Spirit revealed that “he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (Luke 2:26). When Simeon saw Jesus in the temple, he exclaimed, “You may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation” (vv. 29-30).

As with Brinker, the greatest Christmas gift we can receive or share is that of saving faith in Jesus.

By Amy Boucher Pye

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, thank You for ushering in peace through Your death and resurrection. Help me to share Your gift of salvation with someone I know or meet.

Why do you think McDougall saw death as a welcome visitor for Brinker? How does Jesus bring you joy and change you?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Simeon (Greek, Simon) is a common name among the Jews and means “listen” or “he has heard.” Eleven men with this name are mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 4:18; 10:4; 13:55; 26:6; 27:32; Luke 2:25; Luke 7:40; John 6:71; Acts 8:9; 9:43; 13:1).

Nothing more is known of the Simeon in Luke 2 except what is told in this passage. Simeon, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth (the parents of John the Baptist; Luke 1:5-7), and Anna (an elderly prophetess; 2:36) constituted the righteous remnant of Jews who were “eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel” (v. 25 nlt). Luke says that “the Holy Spirit was on [Simeon]” (v. 25), a description that’s used of Old Testament prophets speaking for God (Numbers 11:25; 1 Samuel 10:6, 10; 19:20, 23). Since Anna was a prophetess and was in the temple “at that very moment” (Luke 2:36-38), scholars believe that Simeon was also a prophet. K. T. Sim

ORDINARY DAYS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

ORDINARY DAYS

READ:  Luke 2:8-20

Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory

of the Lord shone around them.  Luke 2:9

Writer Anita Brechbill observed in God’s Revivalist magazine:  “Most often the Word of the Lord comes to a soul in the ordinary duties of life.”  She cites the examples of Zacharias performing his duties as a priest and the shepherds watching their flocks.  They were at work as usual with no idea that they were about to receive a message from God.

Luke describes the ordinary days when these men received their message from God:  “While [Zacharias] was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,…an angel of the Lord appeared to him” (1:8, 11).  While the shepherds were “living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night…an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (2:8-9).

In My Utmost for His Highest Oswald Chambers said:  “Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations.  The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for the Lord’s surprise visits.”

On this ordinary day, the Lord may have a word of encouragement, guidance, or instruction for us, if we’re listening and ready to obey.  DCM

I wonder what I did for God today:

How many times did I once pause and pray?

But I must find and serve Him in these ways,

For life is made of ordinary days. -Macbeth

God speaks to those who are quiet before Him.    

A STRING OF YESES

A String of Yeses

Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

READ LUKE 2:15–19

One Christmas, my grandmother gave me a beautiful pearl necklace. The beautiful beads glowed about my neck until one day the string broke. Balls bounced in all directions off our home’s hardwood flooring. Crawling over the planks, I recovered each tiny orb. On their own, they were small. But oh, when strung together, those pearls made such an impression!

Sometimes my yeses to God seem so insignificant—like those individual pearls. I compare myself to Mary, the mother of Jesus who was so fantastically obedient. She said yes when she embraced God’s call for her to carry the Messiah. “‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled’” (Luke 1:38). Did she understand all that would be required of her? That an even bigger yes to relinquishing her Son on the cross loomed ahead?

After the visits of the angels and shepherds, Luke 2:19 tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Treasure means to “store up.” Ponder means to “thread together.” The phrase is repeated of Mary in Luke 2:51. She would respond with many yeses over her lifetime.

As with Mary, the key to our obedience might be a threading together of various yeses to our Father’s invitations, one at a time, until they string into the treasure of a surrendered life.

By Elisa Morgan

REFLECT & PRAY

Dear God, help us to respond, one yes at a time, to Your ongoing work in our lives.

What yeses do you need to say to God? How can you learn to be more obedient?

Help us share God's love with more people in 2020.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

In Luke 2:15-19, we see several responses to God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus. The shepherds responded by believing and then acting on their urgent desire to see what God had done (v. 15). After seeing Jesus, they shared the news (v. 17), which the people responded to with amazement (v. 18). But Mary’s response is arguably deeper than all of these responses, and likely one Luke intended to be a model of faith. When Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (v. 19), she continued a long tradition of God’s people responding to His revelation by internalizing it in their hearts through ongoing pondering or meditation (see Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 3:1-3). Monica Brands La Rose