Darkness

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them. (Isaiah 9:2, Good News Translation)

One thing about December, which I don’t think anyone likes, is that the sun sets so early. Where I live, it’s getting dark by 4:30 in the afternoon. (But my husband just reminded me that there are less than three weeks until the days start getting longer. Yeah!)

I had to look it up online and discovered that Bethlehem’s days are nearly as short as ours this time of year. Who knew?

Well, God did, of course. His Son Jesus came into this world in the dark of the night, but ever since that Blessed night, there has been light in the world, 24/7, for those who believe.

Children

But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a child, or you will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17, New Century Version)

In many ways, Christmas is a holiday for children. Santa Claus, holiday programs, presents, even hot chocolate. They have a glow on their faces, and their eyes are filled with excitement.  

Then, we get older, and we lose that glow. Instead of excitement, all we feel is stress over paying for all these presents, planning family get-togethers, decorating the tree, and the list goes on.

 Why is that? As adults, shouldn’t we be able to feel the wonder of Christmas? And shouldn’t we feel the wonder of being a child of God?

Bethlehem

          And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. (Luke 2:4-5, English Standard Version)

Are you doing any traveling this Christmas season? Flying somewhere? Or maybe just going to the next town over to spend the day with relatives?

Joseph and Mary made a long trek to get to his family's ancestral town of Bethlehem. Then, after Jesus was born, they made an even longer journey to Egypt to avoid King Herod's men.

How far would you travel to save yourself and your loved ones? Or do you need to travel at all to be saved? All you need to do is turn your life over to Jesus Christ, and you will always be safe and saved.

Anticipation

          At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah. (Luke 2:25-26, Good News Translation)

Here it is, December 1. Twenty-four days until Christmas. The most anticipated day of the year. But what do we anticipate – look forward to – the most on that day? The presents? The food? Spending time with family?

Simeon was also anticipating something – meeting the newborn Baby who would grow up to be his Savior and ours.

Maybe instead of looking forward to that one day of the year – Christmas day – we should look forward to the day we meet our Savior Jesus in person.

Alpha and Omega; Beginning and End

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8, New King James Version)

One summer when I was middle school, I memorized the Greek alphabet. You know – alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, etc. Maybe I wasn’t as cool at the time as I thought I was; I’m still not cool now.

I just always imagined my achievement being something someone would ask about some day. You know, when people ask things like, “Can you touch your thumb to your wrist?” “Can you list all of the US presidents?” “Do you know the Greek alphabet?”

Anyway, I really have no wisdom other than that today. Except to let you know that I have another goal – post a blog here every day from December 1 thru December 24, each one covering a word that begins with a different letter of the alphabet, from A to Z (skipping two letters), with a story of how it pertains to the first Christmas.

And this won’t really be my achievement; it will be God’s. People always ask where I come up with the ideas for my inspirational blog posts, and my answer always is that it’s only through the grace of God that I can write anything here. And God was here from the beginning and will be here forever. 

 

Give Thanks

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Where did the year go? Christmas is right around the corner, and one week after that it will be 2024! (and another Leap Year). Wow. That also means it will have been four years since the outbreak of COVID-19.

So much has happened in the last few years. So many bad things, heart-breaking things. Disease and despair and death.

Yet, there are so many things I am thankful for.

I live in a home with cupboards full of food, running water, and electricity. And even though our furnace went out yesterday morning, the repair man arrived at our house only a few hours later and was able to fix it. Granted, now we have another bill to pay, but we have money in the bank to cover it.  

I have a wonderfully devoted husband, two great kids, and a list of other relatives and friends who care about me.

Nearly all of my physical and emotional needs are met every day, and I have little to fear. Yes, maybe the future – don’t we all worry about what craziness will happen next in the world?

But truly, we should give thanks to God in all times and all places, for everything He has done for us.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 118:29, Psalm 136:11, and 1 Chronicles 16:34)

Yes, that exact verse is in the Bible six times. So, yes, I think we should give thanks to our Lord.

Who do we turn to?

Last night, I ran across this blog post from ten years ago. I thought it was worth sharing again. 

 We must never stop looking to Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2a, Easy to Read Version)

One afternoon, a young mother brought her baby in to our clinic for her well-child checkup. As I laid the little one on the table to measure her, she kept looking at her mother with bright trusting eyes. I’d call her name to get her attention, and she would turn her head to me for just a second before turning back to Mom. At just two months old, she already knew who she adored, who supplied all of her needs and who would never let her down. 

Good thing she didn’t look at me with any devotion. When the doctor was done examining her, I returned with three immunizations.  

Most babies don’t like the first shot, but they can’t quite figure out the pain, so it’s not so bad. By the second shot, they have processed the pain and are not happy. At that point they are crying their heart out. The third shot. Well, it doesn’t matter by then. I just get the vaccines in as fast as I can. After I slap on the last Band-Aid, I tell Mom it’s ok to pick up her baby.  

The sweet little baby girl mentioned above was no different. She just wanted to get into Mom’s arms. That tiny two-month old brain already knew that Mom would make it all right. Her tears subsided quickly.

It just reminded me of life with our heavenly Parent. We look to God with devotion when things are going well, but as soon as the pain starts or we run into problems, we forget where to turn. It isn’t until He reaches down and takes us into His loving arms, that we feel safe again, that the pain eases. That we can look to Him again with devotion, knowing that He will provide our every need.

I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help. Like servants, alert to their master’s commands, like a maiden attending her lady, We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy. (Psalm 123:1-2, The Message)