12/31 - Luke 8:22-25

Luke 8:22-25

Jesus calms the storm. Usually, the storm we need calmed is not on the sea but in our lives. Problems, stress, pressures, fear....they build in our lives. We feel in turmoil, as if our lives are a storm. When storm grows in our lives, we tend not to make the best decisions. Spend a few minutes in quiet reflection today. Consider your life and where your storms might be. Ask for God's guidance and direction to calm your storms.

December 30

Luke 7:11-17

We believe that in Jesus, God came to live in our midst. To be with us. In this passage you can see what a difference that makes. When Jesus sees the widow grieving the death of her child, the passage says "his heart went out to her". We can know that in the struggles of our lives that God is with us.

12/29 - Luke 5:17-26

Luke 5:17-26

When I was in Israel our guide taught us that around the Sea of Galilee most of the homes had roofs that could be removed. In that region it can get rather hot. They used this type of construction so that they could remove the roof and allow the heat trapped in the house to escape. Consequently, for these men to remove part of the roof would not have been that difficult.

What does seem amazing about this story is the boldness of the men in finding help for the paralytic. They were willing to do whatever necessary to bring their friend to Jesus. There is nothing half hearted about climbing on the house, removing part of the roof and lowering the man to Jesus.

12/28 - Luke 5:12-16

Luke 5:12-16

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

In this passage we see Jesus dealing with the needs of another and caring for himself. He healed the man, and spent time alone with God. We need both in our lives. Serving others is central to the life of faith. But we need the spiritual basis of time alone with God to replenish our souls to serve others.

December 26

Luke 2:21-52

In this reading the story picks up with Jesus being 8 days old. The passage then jumps to his return to the temple at 12. If you move on to chapter 3, the story has John and Jesus as adults beginning their ministries. We often want to speculate regarding what happened in the years between the stories. What scripture gives us is sufficient for salvation and understanding how to live the life of faith. It does not attempt to answer every question that we might have.

Decenber 25

Luke 2:1-20

May God bless you today as we celebrate how God has intervened into human history on our behalf.

December 24

Luke 1:57-80

After John regain his ability to speak, he prophesied. The final lines of his prophesy are "To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Into the darkness of our world Jesus came to give us light by which to live.

December 23

Luke 1:1-56

No one fears a baby. We might fear the responsibility of caring for a baby. We might be afraid of harming a baby. But a baby does not strike fear in the heart of a person the way the appearance of the angel Gabriel did. Every time Gabriel showed up he had to say, "Do not be afraid". Just his appearing caused fear. The appearance of a baby does not cause fear. Put a baby in the center of a room and everyone watches the baby. You could probably make the case that we are drawn to babies. We make funny faces when we look at babies. We change the tone of our voices when we speak to them. When a baby cries we want to comfort the child. No wonder that when God came into the world, God came as a baby. If God had come in might and power, people would have run. Since God came as baby, we come to see, no one is afraid of a baby.

December 22

Matthew 2

Try to imagine what Mary and Joseph are feeling. Angelic proclamations of God's intervention in their lives. A virgin pregnancy. Magi arriving after the birth too bring gifts for their child. Fleeing their country to escape from Herod. At some point they must have been wondering what would happen next! The one constant is that God is with them. They may not understand why events are unfolding as they are but they have faith in God. That faith is the guiding force of their lives.

December 21

Matthew 1

This week we will read the Matthew and Luke versions of the birth stories of Jesus. Notice in Matthew's story the role of Joseph. He is the main actor, Mary is only mentioned. What we see of Joseph is a man wanting wanting to do the right thing. When he believes that Mary has been unfaithful, he decides to just divorce her quietly. When the angel gives him instructions, he follows them immediately. He is portrayed as righteous man who loves God.

December 19

Daniel 6

Daniel is clear about what is most important to him. He does not let anything stand between himself and his relationship with God. We have read how he turned down the finest foods and now how he exposes himself to being thrown in with lions. He values his relationship with God above all else. Spend a few minutes today thinking about what you value.

December 18

Daniel 5

The son, Belshazzar, had the same issues as his father. He did not learn from his father's mistakes. Do you learn from the mistakes of others?

I heard a saying once. Goes something like this, we can either learn lessons from the pain of our own experience or the wisdom of others. It is much easier to learn the lessons from others, we just don't seem to believe the lessons unless we experience them ourselves.

December 17

Daniel 4

Daniel's interpretation of the dream ends with instructions of how Nebuchadnezzar might avoid the dream being fulfilled. Daniel says, "break away now from your sins by doing righteousness". In essence, he tells him if he starts living in right relationship with God, he might avoid this disaster. But Nebuchadnezzar does not listen.

When I look at Nebuchadnezzar, I see myself. There are times that I know the right action but somehow I end up doing just the opposite. Why do I act that way?

12/16 - Daniel 3

Daniel 3

What values are at the core of your life? What values are driving your life? We seldom encounter a situation that like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do in this passage where our values are so clearly brought into focus. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego respond with a stance that their belief in God is more important than their lives. I have never encountered such a life and death decision, have you? However, I do believe that we encounter many situations where our values are much more subtly challenged. Those situations are also very difficult because it is so easy to justify why giving in for this moment really doesn't matter that much.

December 15

Daniel 2

What is amazing about Daniel's situation is that he never complains. He never asks why. He doesn't get upset that he is living in captivity. He simply lives a life of obedience while living in Babylon. In the moment when he really needs God, in dealing with the dream, he speaks words of praise about God to the king. He lives with a confidence in God that is not based on the circumstances that he sees around him, but out of a deep relationship with God.

December 14

Daniel 1

This week we will be reading from Daniel. Watch the obedience of these young men. They stay committed to their faith regardless of what they encounter. In the first chapter, the story centers on what they eat. Daniel declines the best food the Babylonians had to offer to continue eating vegetables. Why? He did not want to defile himself with their food. He could have easily justified why it would be best for him to eat their great food, but he stood in his faith. Where do you need to stand in your faith today?

December 12

Judges 2

Why do people struggle to be obedient to God? In this passage the angel speaks to the people and they wept at their actions. However, they quickly forget, turn to other gods, and the consequences are enormous. Why do people live that way?

Why do we struggle in our obedience? We know how Jesus calls us to live, yet look at what we do. Why are we pulled between what God wants us to do and what we want to do? We know in the end which is better, so why do we struggle so?

December 11

Numbers 22

The donkey sees what the Balaam does not. The irony is how Balaam treats his donkey while the donkey is saving him. Do you ever become so intent on your task, like taking a trip, that you miss what is happening right in front of you?

December 10

Exodus 3

"The angel appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush"

Do we want God to tell us what to do? We say yes. We want guidance and direction from God. The irony is that so often in the bible when God gives a person direction, such as the angel does in this passage, the person doesn't want to do what God wants him/her to do.

I think what I want from God, is for God to tell me to do what I already have decided what I want to do. In essence, I want God to say "yes" to what I want. Unfortunately for me, God generally has different ideas than I do. Most of what God wants from me is taught rather plainly in scripture. Sometimes as plain as an angel speaking in a burning bush. The issue is not whether or not God will give me direction, the issue is will I be obedient to what God asks?

December 9

Genesis 32

The "man" was most likely an angel. Generally when angels appear in scripture it is to speak a message from God. Jacob needs more than a spoken message. Jacob has always run when things got difficult. This angel does not let him run. He forces him to struggle. As morning comes Jacob realizes that he has spent the night wrestling with the angel, he has encountered God. His life is changed. His name is changed from Jacob to Israel as a sign of how he has changed. That is right, this is the Israel. His name eventually is used for the whole people, nation.

Who would have ever thought an angel would "wrestle" with a man. Sometimes God acts in ways we don't understand because God knows just what we need.

December 8

Genesis 22

Abraham faith in God is stunning. Being willing to offer your son's life as a sacrifice is quite amazing. (A side note. God never required human sacrifice in scripture. The Israelites were surrounded by many other people whose gods required human sacrifice. Ancient Jewish people used this story to teach their children that God would did not want human sacrifice.) Abraham arrives at the spot but an angel speaks from heaven at just the right moment. I can only imagine how much relief Abraham felt in that moment. The depth of Abraham's faith was obvious. He was willing to submit everything to God. Are there places in your life where you hold back from God?

December 7

Genesis 16

The passages this week all include stories of angels. In this passage the angel becomes involved because of Sarai & Abram's impatience. They have been promised a child but Sarai has yet to become pregnant. Sarai gives her maid Hagar to Abram. The intention is that Hagar will bear the child that Sarai has not. Conflict arises between the woman and Sarai throws Hagar out. The angel intervenes to save Hagar. Islam traces itself back to Abram through Hagar's son Ishmael.

Do you ever grow impatient with God? Do you ever ask for God's wisdom but when you grow tired of waiting create your own plan? There is little patience found in our culture. Why do we choose to always be in a hurry?

12/5 - Titus 2-3

Titus 2-3

Do our actions save us? No. Salvation comes by God's grace. Salvation is a gift from God. But salvation doesn't mean that we have a one time experience and nothing has changed. We are saved from sin and are called to turn away from sin. That means that the way we live changes. We are not saved by those changes, but those changes reflect the gift of salvation God has given us.

These chapters deal with that changed behavior. Paul tell Titus what a life in Christ looks like. This is not about being legalistic, he is teaching him that salvation leads to a better way of living.

December 4

Titus 1

"They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed."

Our actions reflect what we believe. We can say we that we follow Jesus. We can say that our life is centered in faith. However, it is our actions that reflect what is in our heart.

December 3

Matthew 14

This chapter contains the last story in Matthew about John the Baptist. The stunning part of this story is that Herodias' daughter can have whatever she wants. She asks for John's head on a platter. I can't imagine the feelings that would drive such a request.

Learning to forgive is so important. When we hold onto anger or allow vengeance to grow in our lives, those emotions shape everything we do. Learning to forgive sets us free from the negative emotions that bring destruction to our lives. We often want to justify why we should not forgive, but not forgiving leads to terrible consequences. Like being able to ask for anything we want, and only wanting a head on a platter.

December 2

Matthew 11

Why would John ask if Jesus is the one? Hadn't he baptized Jesus? Why was he having doubts now? Doubt could come to him for many reasons. One reason for his doubts might be he had so much time to think while sitting in a dark prison cell. If Jesus was the savior, why was he in prison? Or maybe he had always envisioned the Messiah acting differently than Jesus was and it caused doubts. Whatever the reason, I believe that doubt is part of faith. Everyone at some point has questions and doubts, even John the Baptist. The issue is not whether we will have doubts, what is important is how we respond to our doubts. The greatest acts of faith come when in spite our doubts we still do the acts of faith. Doubt comes and goes but our actions are to remain constant.

December 1

Luke 3

Yesterday, we read about the announcement of John's conception by the Angel Gabriel. Today's passage begins his public ministry. He calls people to repentance. When they ask "Then what shall we do?", he is very specific with them. He offers instruction in generosity in verse 11, in verses 12-13 he tells tax collectors to be honest, and in verse 14 speaks to soldiers about their behavior. Repentance is not just saying we are sorry, it is changing the way we live. With each group John instructs them in how to change the way they are living. How would John challenge you to change your life?