about the true reason for celebrating Christmas, which is Jesus, than we do making gift lists and having their pictures taken with Santa?
Leading our kids to the Lord would provide a gift for all eternity. They wouldn’t need that bottle of joy I referred to earlier because they would carry with them a joy that surpasses all, knowing that they had been accepted by the Giver of joy Himself and that they’d belong to Him forever. That is my prayer for this Christmas season … may true Joy reign forever!
Heavenly Father, help our heart’s desire of wanting our kids and grandkids to grow up knowing You. There is no better time of the year to share with them all You are and what You mean to us. Thank you for helping us share our faith with them and thank You for the only gift that will last for all eternity … Jesus. Amen.
28…LIGHTEN THE LOAD
Good morning! I stand in awe once again of how God takes care of everything He has created. Recently, I was playing outside with my dog, when I heard a flock of geese getting close. As they came over my house, I watched how they flew in an inverted V-shape. When the one in the front had flown in that position for awhile, he’d break off and go to the back of the flock where it’s burden wasn’t as great and another one would take the front position.
This reminded me of what God calls us to do. Galatians 6:2 tells us to, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” When we have burdens too great to carry by ourselves, that’s when as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to come alongside and offer help. Each and every one of us will have our own load to carry, and God expects us to carry that load. But when life dishes out more than what we can handle alone, that’s when we need the help of others.
Holidays are a really good time to help those whose burdens are many. It might be a single mom, who, even though she works a couple of jobs, can’t afford to give her kids the Christmas that she’d like. It could be someone that has lost a loved one and the holidays just remind them of that void. Or it could be someone who is fighting a terminal illness wondering if this is their last Christmas. Whatever the need is, it doesn’t take a lot to step in to help bear their burdens. As you pick up gifts for your loved ones, pick up a few extra and drop them off to a family in need. For those that have lost loved ones or are fighting a terminal illness, give them some of your time. Stopping by to just say hello and to give them a hug lets them know that they’re not alone. So whatever God is calling you to do, I pray that you would be obedient. You might just be what they need to renew their hope.
Lord, thank You that Your Word shows us how we are to live this life. Help us lighten someone’s load today. Amen.
29…KEEP TURNING THOSE PAGES
Good morning! Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in reading a great book that you’ve lost track of time? A good author will captivate you by bringing each character alive. As you read chapter after chapter, you can’t read fast enough so you can turn the page to see what will happen next. I like the “happily ever after” endings to a book, but it doesn’t always happen that way.
Our lives are often compared to a book. We go through chapter after chapter, daily turning the page to find out what will happen next. There will be twists and turns in the plot. We will experience things that we never thought would happen to us, both good and bad. We will take journeys that stretch us in all sorts of ways. We will gamble and take chances that we never knew we had the courage to do. We will experience great love, but also great loss. Sometimes we will feel like we are on a roller coaster, while other times we will be sailing on smooth waters. There will be times of prosperity, and seasons of need. Weeks will go by where we are confident of what will happen next and there will be times when we feel like we are flying by the seat of our pants, as the saying goes.
Even though we aren’t sure about the events in our lives, God is. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us about God’s plans for us. They are plans for “welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” One truth about our biographies is that our chapters are written by the world’s best author, Jesus Christ. And the absolute best news is that if you’re a Christian, you already know how the last chapter of your story will end. Our final destination is Heaven, where we will live happily ever after. Praising God for that truth this morning. Our beautiful and rich stories aren’t finished yet, so keep turning those pages.
Lord, thank You for giving us the confidence that our lives as Believers are securely in Your hands. Thank You for the hope and future You give us. Amen.
30…LONE RANGER
Good morning! Have you ever surprised yourself about how easy it is to open up to a complete stranger and once you left their company, you left having a new friend? Sometimes God makes it so easy to share our lives with others, when we let Him. Sure, it takes an element of trust to open up to others, but what a return we can get from that single act of trust.
Trust is a common thread that we find throughout scripture and in our Christian walk. A couple of my favorite verses deals with that issue of trust. Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Over the years, I’ve done a lot of trusting when it came to my physical heart. Over and over again, I laid it in God’s hands through the skills He gave to different cardiologists and surgeons, and that trust continues today.
But God never intended me to be a “lone ranger” when it came to living with my day-to-day challenges. I thought that term was fitting as I recently opened up to a total stranger at the airport on my way to Texas. When we discovered we battled the same challenges, we started sharing things that had worked for each of us. That meeting was not by chance. God had His hand all over that encounter and because I took the risk to trust and open up, I was blessed. The next time you have the opportunity to talk to a total stranger, take it, instead of finding a way to avoid the conversation. Don’t bury your head in a book or get on your phone. Put them down and you might just find yourself on the receiving end of a blessing that God wanted to give you!
Lord, You are so good to us. Thank you for giving us the courage to take risks in life. With You by our side, those risks turn into something beautiful. Thank You for the blessings that come as a result of opening up. Amen.
31…WELL DONE
Good morning! Life is all about choices. We literally make hundreds of choices each day. Some of the choices are routine, like choosing to brush our teeth daily. Some take just a little thought, like which path we want to use to drive to our destination. But then there are the choices that take work on our part.
Several people that I love dearly have chronic health conditions. Their conditions force them to constantly make the decision on how they will react to their situation. It warms my heart, and I know it does God’s, too, when they carry on with life … joyfully. They could be a total grouch and bark at everyone around them, but they have made the better decision … to remain joyful.
In Titus 2:7-8, the apostle Paul was giving instructions on the duties of ministers. “In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” Since we are all called to be ministers of the Word, these verses apply to us, too.
Wouldn’t it be great if we lived our lives with the joy that comes from the Lord? A life lived so others would not have anything bad to say about us. A life where all of our words and actions glorified God. A life spent lifting others up in prayer as we help carry their burdens. A life where we minister to others by giving of our time. A life where “self” took a back seat to others. A life where we lived each and every day with the sole purpose of glorifying
