December 27, 2012 - Acts 28:8

            “His (Publius, the chief official of Malta) father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery.  Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.”  Acts 28:8.

            After the shipwreck, Paul found himself on the island of Malta.  After shaking off the viper that bit him while he was gathering wood for the fire and not being affected by its bite, Paul became an instant celebrity and was invited into the home of the chief official of the island.  While staying with Publius, Paul realized that the official’s father was in bed, suffering greatly.  Paul visited with the man and, after a period of prayer, he laid his hands on the sick man and he was immediately better.  Word spread all over the small island, and the people brought their sick for Paul to heal.  Paul had no possessions to speak of, but what he did have, he freely shared with all around him.

            There have been times in the past when I hoped that somehow I would become a rich man; a multi-millionaire, saying that if I was rich, I would give away large amounts.  Of course, I would keep large amounts for myself, as well!  Now I realize how much God has already blessed me, and He has challenged me with whether or not I would freely give whatever I had, if He asked me to do it.  Paul willingly gave out of the abundance God had given him, whether it was material gifts or spiritual gifts, such as healing.  God has blessed each one of us with gifts, and, if our hearts are open to it, we could learn to give of them freely to others.  I used to think that I was not very gifted, but that really doesn’t matter.  What is more important is not how many gifts I have but how I use them to help those around me.

            Questions to consider: How has God gifted you?  How do you share your gifts with others?  What hinders you from sharing your gifts with others?  Can you overcome those hindrances?  How?

            Prayer: Father, thank You so much for how You made me and for the gifts You have given me.  Please help me to use them freely and responsibly in order to glorify Your name and to further Your kingdom.  Amen.

December 20, 2012 - Luke 2:8-9

            “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”  Luke 2:8-9.

            The shepherds were doing what they always did: they stayed close to and cared for their flocks of sheep.  Shepherds were gritty people of the earth who spent all of their time caring for their animals.  Of all the people God could have chosen, it was the shepherds who were given the honor of witnessing the appearance of angels proclaiming the birth of the Messiah.  It wasn’t the richest or most influential ones who received the message.  Instead, it was the lowly shepherds, and they witnessed angels.  God had come in the flesh, not as a king, but as a peasant; not born in a palace, but born in a lowly stable; not laid in a throne-like crib, but in an animal’s feeding trough; not among the rich and famous, but among the hurting, the menial, and the downcast: not to a royal family, but to a poor, young teenage girl.

            As I reflect on this Christmas and the tragic events in Connecticut, I remember that God identified with and entered into our darkness by coming at a very dark moment in history.  Jesus’ people were oppressed and treated cruelly by the Romans.  He was born in a dark and dirty stable.  His father and mother had to take him out of the country to save Him from the killing of the babies by Herod’s wrathful hands.  God came in Jesus to identify with whatever horrible condition we, humans, find ourselves in.  He entered our messiness.  The shepherds responded to the angels’ message and came to worship at the makeshift crib of the new born Messiah.  In this dark time, I hope that we remember that, like the shepherds, we hear God’s voice calling us to a remembrance of His invasion of Jesus, His Only Son, against the darkness of this world.  We are called to go into the darkness and represent God’s kingdom to this lost, dark, and dying world. 

            Questions to consider? How have you experienced the presence of God in this dark world?  How will you celebrate the coming of the Messiah?  What are you doing as a result of His coming?

            Prayer: Father, like those shepherds, who experienced the coming of the angels, I would like to be more aware of Your presence around and with me.  May Your kingdom come in me, and may Your will be done in me.  Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

December 13, 2012 - Acts 28:3

            “Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.”  Acts 28:3.

            Once on land, the survivors of the shipwreck sought warmth, so they started a fire.  As Paul was gathering wood for the fire, a venomous viper, hiding in the pile of wood, latched onto Paul’s hand. Everyone who witnessed this thought that Paul must have committed some awful crime and that he was being judged by being bitten by the snake.  Everyone expected Paul to die within a brief time, but when he didn’t, all the people were amazed and thought Paul to be a god come down to visit them.  The snake had latched onto Paul’s hand, and all he did to get rid of it was to shake it off into the fire.  He remained calm throughout the ordeal, standing on the promise of God: “You shall take up serpents.”

            Many times when something bad happens to us, our first reaction may be similar to the people’s reaction to seeing the snake latched onto Paul’s hand: what did I do to deserve this?  I must have done something terrible to have this happen to me.  Or perhaps we react by saying, “I didn’t deserve that to happen.  I’ve been a good person, and yet this bad thing has happened to me.  Why?”  Notice that it wasn’t Paul who react first, one way, and then the other.  It was the people.  They had quite a swing of thought and emotions!  Yet Paul stayed very steady.  That is so instructive on how I need to respond within those potentially bad situations and is very helpful for me in my current situation.

            Questions to consider: When negative or bad things happen to you, how do you respond or react? If you ever wondered, “Why did that happen to me?”, how did you work through those emotions?  Do you see yourself as steady, like Paul, or with wide emotional swings, like the people?  How do you move toward being steadier, like Paul?

            Prayer: Father, I thank You that nothing seems to shake You from being so steady.  With all of the calamity going on in the world, You remain my solid rock!  Help me to become more solid and steady in the days to come.  Amen.

December 6, 2012 - Acts 27:42-43a

            “The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.  But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan.”  Acts 27:42-43a.

            The ship on which Paul was a prisoner was about to wreck on the coast of Malta, and the soldiers who watched over the prisoners were planning on killing all the prisoners so that they could not escape.  Paul had no control over who would or would not be killed, but the centurion did.  Because the centurion wanted to spare Paul, he ordered that none of the prisoners be killed.  Paul was at peace in this situation because he was fully aware that God was in control.  God had a plan for Paul, and the centurion was to be one who would be used to help Him fulfill it.

            Oftentimes, I start to get anxious when situations get out of my control.  This is precisely the moment that I need to stop wrestling and start to rest with assurance that I am in His hands.  Even when I do rest, it is very easy for me to slip right back into wrestling for the control, in my own strength.  It is an on-going struggle to stop the wrestling match and to trust in and rely on the Spirit of God to follow through in ways that I could never have done, anyway.  Paul recognized God’s protective hand over his life and focused his attention on following after His leading through the situation.  Paul wasn’t one of the prisoners trying to escape.  I need not be one who is trying to escape from my predicaments, but instead, I need to wait patiently to see what steps need to be taken in order to follow God’s leading.

            Questions to consider: When you have been anxious, how have you trusted God in those situations?  How did being anxious work out for you?  Are there any situations from which you are presently trying to “escape”?  If you take a moment to ask God, what do you suppose He would say to you?

            Prayer: Father, help me to not be like the prisoners in this verse, who were anxious and worried for their lives, but instead help me to be like Paul, resting in Your leading.  Amen.

November 29, 2012 - Acts 27:35

            “After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all.  Then he broke it and began to eat.”  Acts 27:35.

            After fourteen days of being caught in a hurricane, the ship on which Paul was a captive passenger was about to shipwreck on the island of Malta.  The crew and passengers hadn’t eaten during the whole time in the storm, and Paul exhorted everyone to take nourishment, they would need the strength provided by the food, before the ship wrecked.  As everyone on board was coming together to eat, Paul lifted the bread toward heaven and thanked God for His provision.  The scene looked very much like a communion service or sharing the Lord’s Supper, and it was very similar to what Jesus had done with his disciples during his last meal with them before his crucifixion.  For Paul, this was quite a remembrance of his Lord’s last meal, as well as a real celebration of their survival.

            I really enjoy coming together with others to share the Lord’s Supper.  I have some wonderful memories of different, various times of celebration, yet there is one that stands out.  Many years ago, a large group of us were traveling together by bus home from a conference, and our bus broke down.  We were stuck in the middle of nowhere and had very little money and no food.  We knew our replacement bus was on its way but didn’t know when it would arrive.  We decided to pool all of our resources together for one last meal, knowing that this would be all we would eat for another day or so.  As we were giving thanks, eating and celebrating together, a group of people who had been to the same conference heard of our plight and gathered their resources to share with us.  It turned out to be plenty for us to make the trip home comfortably.  We celebrated, gave thanks to God for His provision, and broke bread together in the middle of our stormy conditions.

            Questions to consider: What does taking communion mean to you?  Do you have any memorable communion experiences?  Have you ever experienced the breaking of bread in the middle of a storm in your life?  What was that like for you?

            Prayer: Father, thank You for the opportunity to remember the Lord’s sacrifice for us in the communion experience.  Each time I experience this, I remember and am deeply grateful for what You did for us.  Amen.

November 21, 2012 - "In and of myself...."

            During this Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?  It is my hope that, whatever it is, you have a time of giving thanks with those whom you love.  Happy Thanksgiving to you!

            “In and of myself, I am more sinful than I ever dared to believe,

                 but in Christ, I am more loved than I ever dared to hope.”  Tim Keller

            In reflecting on the Thanksgiving season, it is always helpful for me to remember from where I came before I entered into a relationship with Jesus as my Lord.  The above quote expresses for me the clear message of the depth of my own sin; the depth of the sin within each of us.  Only when we understand this truth about ourselves will we begin to fathom the depth of the Father’s great love for each one of us and the lengths He went to demonstrate it.  I don’t mean to belabor this point, yet it is important for us to remember from where we came and to realize that our sin is much deeper and darker than we could ever imagine.

            But my sin is not who I am; it is only what I have done.  Who I am is totally wrapped up in the fact that God loves me more than I could possibly imagine and has adopted me into His family.  No matter how deep and dark is my sin, the Father’s love for me in Jesus Christ goes so much deeper!  When Jesus came in the flesh, God moved into our world.  Jesus died for all sin for all time and for all people when He shed His blood on that horrible, yet wonderful, cross.  He took our sin and buried it in the grave, and God brought Him back to life, leaving sin and death in the grave.  This is what I am so thankful and grateful for this Thanksgiving!

            We are now called God’s sons and daughters!  This is who God intends for us to be!  He has given us the incredible offer to be His and to be part of His family!  And He says to each one of us, “You are my son; you are my daughter, and I am well pleased with you and I love you more than you could ever imagine.”  In this Thanksgiving season, take some time to reflect on the Father’s deep, abiding love for you, and give Him thanks.

            Questions to consider: Have you ever embraced God’s love for you in Jesus Christ?  Have you ever allowed Him to embrace you and tell you how much He loves you?  If so, how do you respond to Him?

            Prayer: Father, I am so grateful for the sacrifice of love You have shown me in Jesus.  Because I am deeply grateful, it is my heart to sacrifice my all and my life for Your sake.  Amen.