“‘How can I be sure of this?’ ‘How will this be?’” Luke 1:18 and 34

It was a question I had been asking myself for a few days. Trying to finish up a project, I had run into a legal issue. Before I could do 1 thing, I HAD to do something else. The question before me was, “HOW?” I couldn’t do the project myself, so I HAD to depend on someone else to do the job. After making several calls, “HOW” was proving to be quite a problem!

Things are tough these days and every company in the building trade is slammed. When talking to potential contractors, I received lots of responses…and many non’s. Some told me they’d call back, meet,  or get me a quote. Out of 10 companies, I received 4 responses. And NO one who said they’d get back to me…did! It is clear that what people SAY and DO are often 2 different things. Angels aren’t used to that!

These 2 quotes from Scripture sound very much the same. They were spoken by 2 different people. The first was Zechariah at Gabriel’s announcement that HE was going to be a father. The second was from Mary when Gabriel told her SHE was going to be a mom! Though the words SOUNDED similar, they elicited different responses from Gabe!

Gabriel didn’t like doubt. Having just come from Heaven, He saw things ‘God said’ as DONE.  Zechariah…not so much! He questioned. A little too much! Gabe couldn’t take a joke and cursed Zach with a couple malady’s! Mary’s question got a dignified response AND a full explanation from Gabriel. Could it be that Angels respect women more than men? Or is something else going on here?

The Bible says, several times, that ‘out of the heart, the mouth speaks.’ Humans have a habit of saying things to try to cover all the bases so they don’t get caught, burned or misunderstood. The center of most conversation is ‘The Self!’ Which apparently, Zach was full of. Mary was not. She was honored to be chosen and didn’t need a lot of details.

I have to confess that I often read Scripture with a Zach attitude instead of a Mary one. When God says “DO THIS” or “DON’T DO THAT” I have a tendency to look at how His will is going to impact my life and choices. I subconsciously look for angles, not angels, to help decide to do what God says. If there’s a loophole…I’ll usually  find it! Today’s story is telling me to stop looking for one!

HOW do YOU respond to God’s Words?

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45

Well it finally happened! At my Doctor’s office yesterday, his initial diagnosis was simply a nasty cold. As the Doctor exited the room he said, “Just in case, I’m going to have them probe you for Covid!” For emphasis (or fun), he pointed his finger into the air and made a jabbing motion. He’s such a jokester! My thought was, “Oh great!!!! I’m about to be probed!”

I’d heard the stories of folks getting swabs shoved practically up into their brains for the viral test. None said it was pleasant! A nasal virgin myself, I had not had the experience! But that was about to change! I closed my eyes, sucked it up (like dad taught me) and rolled with it. Afterward, with water filling my eyes, I could only think…”glad THAT’S over!”

While reading the Christmas Story in Luke, it just kind of popped out at me. This verse, and in what is called “Mary’s Magnificat” that follows, shows Mary, the mother of Jesus, giving her response to God after what, quite literally, had been a Heavenly probe! When Perfect God invaded Mary’s sinful humanity, Mary was blown away! And she lived to tell about it!

Her response to God’s revelation that SHE was about to be the mother of ‘His Son’ is quite humbling! Her ‘soul glorified God and rejoiced in her Humble state!’ The great God of the universe had touched her, and with tears in her eyes, she ultimately realized just how blessed a servant she truly was! Her words, along with God’s Spirit, turned and probed MY spirit! Forcing ME to respond to His touch!

The one thing missing in Mary is conceit! She had every reason to feel above everyone else! God had chosen HER! It could have been easy to stick her tongue at humanity and look down on the rest of us. But she doesn’t! She goes on to include ALL of humanity under the watchful gaze of God’s eye. Praise and overwhelming joy are her only responses. Humbled by her wonder, I considered how “I” see things.

To become and be a believer in Jesus Christ is tough. The FIRST criteria is to DIE! To lose the sense of self and see oneself under the X-ray of God’s vision. I believe that is why so few Christians exist, since the entrance exam proves so debilitating! Christmas reminds me that life is NOT about me. But about God taking the time and paying the cost to REDEEM me! Ultimately, I join with Mary in saying…”My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”

What do YOU say when God probes YOU?

“‘…listen, and resolve to honor my name,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 2:1 (implied)

Christmas, being the most wonderful time of the year, has had me looking at life through a lens of mucus and ‘humbug!’ A week ago I intercepted a nasty cold virus, and lately, my main goal in life has been to simply breathe! Yesterday I felt terrible and apologized to the Church for what I felt was a terrible sermon! Then Scrooge came home to my opposite…Christmasland & and my Elf!

For the past week Katie has been decorating our house for Christmas. While I have been fighting for breath, popping pills and laying around trying to get better, SHE has been smearing the house with lights, baubles and the stuff of Joy! As of right now, there are 7 Christmas trees in our house! My dark office is the only room she HASN’T touched…yet!

I don’t like feeling this way! Because when I’m down and feeling ill, it is easy to let that spirit move in and set up camp. Last night I got up 5 times, and each time I could sense Scrooge looking down on me with satisfying contempt. He had me and knew it. Making my way back to bed, I passed the smallest tree, its light piercing the darkness. And something sparked.

When I awoke the 6^th time, it was still dark. The clock said I had 30 minutes before the alarm would go off. I felt Scrooge start to grin at my feeling of despair. When the chill of the air met the warmth of my bed, I suddenly smiled and replied in gratitude, “Ahhhhh!” I thanked God for peace in the darkness, the light in my spirit and the Elf who lay beside me! Scrooge ran!

First thing this morning my Bible opened to Malachi 2, a depressing chapter! I found God dressing down the priests of that day for ACTING like I have been FEELING. Flipping the verse around in my head forced me to see that THEIR actions COULD actually become MY instruction! I could sense Jesus crooking His finger at me saying, “get over here!” And smiled because I knew what was coming.

‘Feeling follows Faith,’ is something I learned long ago. Unfortunately, being human, I have to KEEP learning it. God wants me to listen and RESOLVE to honor Him BEFORE I take stock of how I FEEL! Katie Elf doesn’t love decorating as much as she loves how it looks after she has decorated! Looking forward gives her the motivation to move in that direction. Lesson learned!   THANK GOD this Scrooge lives with an Elf who loves Jesus!

Who lives with YOU?

“He (Jesus) replied, ‘The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables, so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.'” Mark 4:11-12

I like to work puzzles… sometimes. Tho they say it keeps my brain sharp, I don’t really do puzzles for that purpose. To be honest, most of the time I do it because I’m bored. I was taking a few minutes to play Sudoku and the game told me I’d get a prize if I finish within 6 minutes. 2 minutes into the game, the screen flashed and all my input was lost. Hmmmmm!

Every Christmas I make it a point to read and think on the Christmas Story from Matthew and Luke. God NEVER fails to show me a LOT of new stuff I had never noticed before. This year, I have been impressed with the number of times the Old Testament prophecy has been fulfilled. The guys (Matt & Luke) point it out, “Thus fulfills the prophecy.” Thus…I began to wonder why!

Jesus differentiates His listeners as those being either ‘inside’ or ‘outside.’ To those in His inner circle, the ones who WANT to know, He grants them the honor of understanding. Those on the ‘outside’…nada! Which sounds to me to be just like a puzzle. The KEY to SOLVING it being, do I REALLY WANT to know and understand?

Years ago I learned that God is NEVER going to MAKE me LOVE HIM. I must either WANT TO…or nada! When I met my wife, I wanted to know EVERYTHING about her because I LOVED everything I knew thus far! Why WOULDN’T I want MORE? It is the same with God. Christmas Gives God the ABILITY to love us, and opens the door for us to pursue Him. That is… if we WANT TO!

Satan has a different scheme. He HATES God and is CONVINCED that He can actually DEFEAT Him and take over His Kingdom. Which is kind of funny. Because God actually takes satan’s evil desire as a kind of game! He does that with prophecy. He tells satan and the world, in His Word, WHAT He is going to do. And sometimes, even WHEN He is going to do it. Then He lets the enemy take a crack at solving the puzzle. So far, God is about 900 to nada!

There are over 300 prophecies predicting Christ’s Birth. There are over 600 prophecies concerning His imminent return as King. Is God thumbing His nose at satan saying, “Catch me if you can?” Or is He laying love messages down as hints to His heart, so that you and I might actually FIND Him…and love Him MORE. I vote the latter.

How do YOU see it?

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1 KJV

Most folks don’t know this.. but Jesus owned a Honda! When He went home to heaven, He left it behind for His Disciples! If you don’t believe me, there are the 2 verses to prove it! Oh the Bible can be used to prove a LOT of things. Even God’s commission of Santa Claus! All in fun of course! And that is EXACTLY what we had last night.

It was the annual ‘Hangin’ O the Greens” Pizza Party at the church. The first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, the Congregation meets to enjoy Pizza, decorating the Church for Christmas and each other. And Jiminy Christmas…we had fun.

At the beginning there was a little concern on a few veteran faces. With so many new folks this year, and with so many decorations, would everything work out when they were all turned loose? I abstained from ANY directive advice because I didn’t want to speak ‘the seven last words of a church!’ You know…”We never did it that way before!” So staying in the background, I kept silent watch!

I knew there was nothing to worry about. Well… Kinda! Because of all the people that were there, the MOST important person was the Holy Spirit. And He was having a ball too! The noise level alone was enough to prove the atmosphere was Merry and Bright! At one point I asked the sound guy to play some Christmas background music. “I AM!” was his reply!

All those people, in 1 place, with 1 objective, and having fun doing it! Who’d-a ever thunk? But there it was. Proof that “The Church” is not boring and that ALL of us together…have it all. That is what happens when people come together under the Leadership of Jesus. Words like Joy, Peace, Unity and FUN are defined at such moments. And as the world struggles and fights, the Church sings!

I don’t know what YOU did last night. But this experience isn’t unique to 1 day out of 365. God’s People, united by the Holy Spirit, CAN be joyful together… AND in “One Accord!” Don’t think so? Why not come give it a try! All we’re missing is you!

Now where is that Santa Claus reference???  Can you help me?

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18

It was Cyber Monday… the day of the online deal! In order to kick off the Christmas season of gift giving, merchandisers had set up their online catalogs and specials… ‘just for me.’ The prices were promised the best of the year! I searched, found an item I needed, and was about to click to order… but then paused as the thought struck me…”What if…?”

I’ve run into this before because I have been BURNED before. We all have! So I backed up and looked at all the details surrounding the sale to see if there was ANY reference to the dreaded announcement that “All Sales are Final,” or “No Refunds, no Returns!” Just under the detailed description of the product I found the words, “Free Returns.” Instant peace was mine! So I headed back to the checkout box and ‘1 Clicked’ the box to order. DONE!

Later, I was later reading something on the Incarnation of Christ… from Omni-God to fleshy man. A question had been submitted asking “When and COULD the Second person of the Trinity cancel out of the deal to save mankind?” At what point could Jesus have changed His mind concerning the whole “save the world” experience? My mind went to the Bible.

I remembered Jesus in the Garden as He prayed to His Father, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” There is NO doubt that God the Son had second thoughts on physical death! Don’t we all? But at that point, Jesus had to consider my value AND the terms to ‘1 click’ on ME. Personally, “I” wouldn’t have saved me either! But the author of this article stated that the time to cancel the order HAD to have come, before the story even began!

It was a fun thought for me because I LOVE to think and meditate on The Word. But thinking about it didn’t cost me a doggone thing. So at what point did ‘The Word’ (Jesus) have to cross before the sale was final? Then it dawned on me. The point HAD to have been BEFORE He was deposited in the cart (manger) and given that name!

Once God had made the decision to become flesh, there was no turning back. ‘No deposit’ on the planet also meant ‘no return’ to Heaven when it was over! For God to cancel the transaction, once He became flesh, would mean that God would have failed, I would never have been purchased, and HE (a failure) would no longer be God!

O.K. So it may seem like a small point? But when I THOUGHT about it… it became HUGE! Before Jesus (the Savior) Christ (the Anointed One) could even be born, He HAD to consider HOW He would DIE! How horrific! And yet, by the time the angels informed Mary and Joe of what lay in her womb… the decision had already been made! The Story was already DONE!

Think about that!

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

Today is ‘Giving Tuesday’! If you do not know that you probably don’t subscribe to any online Christian Devotionals. Because I subscribe to as many as 6, I am WELL aware of this day and its purpose. And I’m sick of hearing about it! So I’m privately venting!

Over the years I have taken advantage of the wonderful Bible teachings of some nationwide ministries. When done right, and someone undertakes to write a devotional to reach people for Christ, it should ALWAYS be at the request and nudge of the Holy Spirit. That ministry becomes a call and gifting of God to do HIS work. When it goes beyond that… I have a problem.

For the last 2 weeks I have been devotionally reminded that ‘Giving Tuesday’ would be a PERFECT opportunity for ME to give $$$ to THEM, so that THEY could do the work of God, to which they have been called. Two devotionals I signed up for never even sent me the devotions! Only DAILY reminders of how I could give to their ministry. Sadly, unsubscribing from the ministry grants only a temporary reprieve.

On a few occasions, after a Holy Spirit nudge… or some guilt… I sent a check. The result was worse than if I’d ignored them. Once they had my address, pestering reminders of how ‘I’ could HELP overflowed into my mailbox! Trying to get off a MAILING list is almost impossible! It seems that the art of ‘taking,’ even in Christian circles, has become big business.

The Gospel is FREE! Jesus Christ came, died and rose again to give me FREE and ABUNDANT LIFE, both here and on into Heaven. Of all people, I am living proof of His Grace. But as in all things Jesus, the initial Word goes deeper. Being a Christian costs me my entire life! I am called and required to GIVE EVERYTHING to HIM. He, in return, gives me all of Himself. If I’m not giving ME… I’m not getting HIM!

I am a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But so is EVERYBODY who calls Jesus Lord and Savior. It is an honor and privilege to serve and give to Him. HE directs and calls me to pass on His message to those in my world. Asking people for money to do so just seems wrong to me.

If you like this daily devotional, I am honored to serve. But as much as you feel COMPELLED to do it… do NOT send me any money! God already has offering plates in His local Church for that very purpose. He already blesses me beyond words… just like He will you. Please be careful where you Give the King’s blessings. He watches THAT TOO! Merry Christmas.

What, how and where are YOU giving to ‘The King’?

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.” Matthew 22:2-3

When I got to the Church yesterday, I realized I’d forgotten both my wallet AND my cell phone. Now THAT sentence alone is enough for SEVERAL devotionals. It’s not that I NEEDED either of those things to worship or preach. We were planning to go out afterward and I needed my wallet. The phone was a habit… ‘just in case.’ I quickly reverted to my reliable back-up plan and called my wife from the Church phone.

Katie’s phone rang, then went to voicemail. I declined to leave a message. It just wasn’t THAT important! Besides, SHE has a credit card too. The church phone rang back within 45 seconds. Knowing it HAD to be her, I answered ‘Hey Baby…,’ which is strange, because I normally call her ‘Peaches!’ Ignoring the suck-up, she got straight to the point. “What’d you forget?”

It wasn’t until we got to the restaurant that I asked, “May I have my wallet and phone please?” Without words, she reached into her purse and handed them to me. Just like I knew she would! Her love for me proved reliable. It generally does!

The story from which I got today’s Bible verse is kind of like that. Except it involves a King and a HUGE Wedding Banquet, thrown for His only Son. Everything had been prepared and invitations had been sent for the lush and expensive ‘Party of the Century!’ Everything was going according to plan until… no one showed up! The King.. was OUTRAGED!

NO ONE would even consider missing such an event! Even receiving an invitation meant YOU were ‘special.’ To NOT show would be the greatest of insults! Yet missing didn’t seem to bother anyone in particular. Except…The King!

There was an unstated contract between the King and his subjects that EVERYONE knows. When the King calls, I’m to answer. What He asks for, I am to deliver. It’s just that simple. Jesus Christ ‘came’ to Earth, from Heaven, to save me and make me His. That is what ‘Advent’ means! At this particular time of year, the Christmas season brings a message from the King, delivered straight to YOU. He wants your time, talents, gifts, service and attention.

Will YOU be a ‘no show?”

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19

It’s hard to tell WHO brought up the subject, but the turkey hadn’t even been cleaned off my plate before someone caused an offense about decorating the NEXT upcoming Holiday with a fake tree instead of a REAL one! Setting around a rectangular table of 8 people, EVERYONE had an opinion! Which means EVERYONE had ALREADY made an individual choice.

The interesting part about the tree subject is that it brought on such a rigid response. Overlooking the fare at the kitchen table, there was fried or baked turkey. Steamed or roasted vegetables. And the pie department displayed at least THREE kinds to choose from! What was lacking was any controversial discussion over which choice was better. But bring up the Christmas Tree and… the gloves are OFF!

I have to admit I held a STRONG opinion in the LIVE TREE category for DECADES. Mostly because of tradition… and my wife! But a couple years ago, she cracked and we switched… both of us living to tell the tale! Now we find ourselves slightly less opinionated and more educated on the subject!! But come Christmas morning… there WILL be a tree in the house!

It’s only the day after Thanksgiving and Katie has already planned her day. “I’m going to take down Thanksgiving and put up Christmas. What about YOU?” With her words I feel a sense of irresponsibility because… well… am I SUPPOSED to be done with Thanksgiving already?! Is Baby Jesus already starting to fuss for attention? And why so soon?

While we Deck our halls and don our gay apparel… it occurs to me that these Holidays shouldn’t be separated. Christmas and Thanksgiving are VERY much partners because God intended them to be. The choice isn’t about what type of celebration or kind of decorations we want, but literally… about life versus death!

The Bible verse today makes it clear… LONG before I was a gleam in my father’s eye, I was CHOSEN by my Heavenly Father. And His choice to choose me was NOT determined by ANYTHING I had to say about it. Although His preparations left me with a very serious choice… and with very serious consequences.

Choosing death over life would certainly be STUPID. But according to God’s Word… that choice is made by the vast majority of people. God HAS to respect it. But respecting it doesn’t mean He has to LIKE it.. OR take it on the chin. He works OVERTIME to win my heart every day. It’s a battle for life and death for me every day as well. And today… I choose LIFE!

What kind of life have YOU chosen?