Sunday, January 6th

"‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends." - Luke 15:29

Dear Jesus, it is confession time!  The words you put into the mouth of the older brother (in the parable) to show your friends how they sounded before God when he was giving his grace to sinners; they convict me.  Too often I view my service to you like that of a spiritual "employee."  I think of what's in it for me and measure how you have blessed others compared to me.  I forget that we have a loving, lasting family relationship.  I am your child and you have promised to give me everything I need for this body and life.  I repent of being so selfish.  Now help me to throw myself into loving you and serving others.  I want to lose my life so I can find it again.  AMEN

Taking stock of one's own blessings compared to others lowers the value of each share.

Saturday, January 5th

Be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing. - 1 Peter 3:8-9

Dear Jesus, when I am slighted or someone pulls out in front of me to get ahead, the first thought I usually have is not, "Don't be a proud self".  It is, "Hey, that guy is wrong and of all people he should not have wronged me!"  Then I sometimes say insults under my breath.  Help me to change that.  Help me to give a blessing and to be humble not expecting any special treatment.  I want to learn to smile from deep in my heart and wave at the irritation   I want to overcome evil with good.  Give me that wisdom and strength to bless and not curse when insults come.  And in the family, help me to not be so comfortable with my spouse and kids that I spar with them needlessly over silly things. AMEN

 Control of the tongue begins with control of the heart, a fruit of the Spirit.

Friday, January 4th

“So he got up and went to his father. ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’” Luke 15:20

PRAYER:  Everyone loves happy endings, LORD.  So was the case for this son.  The ending is happy not so much that the son humbly admitted his wrongdoings and was happily reunited with his father.  The ending is happy because the Father was still waiting for his foolish, rebellious son.  The ending is happy because the Father was waiting to reinstate his son as a son in full standing.  Day in and day out, from one year to the next, I find your arms open and feel your loving embrace when I come to you in prayer and when I listen to your Word.  Thank you for still waiting for me although I often wander from home.  Thank you for watchful eye and heart full of compassion.  Amen.

I look forward to a happy ending with Jesus every day.

Thursday, January 3rd

"My goal is to know Him (Jesus) and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." - Philippians 3:10

Dear Jesus, my mind and heart gets filled with goals every day and often the goal I see in this passage is only one among many.  Then when trouble comes, I chaff and complain inside.  I want to know the power of your resurrection living in my heart, how I can live above my world around me, how I can refuse sin and evil and fear of suffering, how I can have hope in all situations. When I see Paul's words that he wanted to fellowship in your sufferings, it is foreign to my mind.  Help me Jesus, to want to serve God's will, "come what may" so that my life reaches its full potential in your eyes, even if that means death.  I entrust my life in your hands.  AMEN

"We do not live until we die to our desire to ourselves."

Wednesday, January 2nd

"A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart." - Proverbs 18:2

 Dear Lord Jesus, I often find myself scheming on how to make myself understood by others.  I want them to know me, my passions, my purposes and my perspective.  Less often do I seem to want to know them, their passions, their purposes and perspectives.  I repent.  Help me to ask thoughtful questions and to thoughtfully listen to what people are trying to say to me.  Make me a person of understanding who draws out the real person deep down inside of others.  Help me to love them for who they are, to understand them in the way they think and to shed your light of truth on those places where they need it. And when they shed the light of truth on my heart, help me not to run for cover but to courageously listen and adjust whatever you might be telling me through them. AMEN "It takes courage and love to really understand another person."

It takes courage and love to really understand another person.

Tuesday, January 1st, 2019!

“Go to your brothers and tell them that I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” John 20:17

Dear Father in Heaven, your Son called you my Father too. That means you treat me like you did Jesus. That means all of my life has meaning, even those things that seem meaningless to me, which by the way is an awful lot. Thank you for caring about me so much. Thank you for giving me challenges to go along with successes. Thank you for holding me up in those times I thought I was doing all the work. Thank you for loving me enough to correct me when I am wrong and to draw me back to your arms when I am wandering. Help more people to know that your only begotten Son has removed your justice so they can be your children too. I will try to help by telling them about you and Jesus. Now, I will charge out and meet the day you have given. Amen.

When you know God is behind you as a loving Father. you can take on the world.

Monday, December 31st

“And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God” Philippians 1:9-11

Dear Jesus, I want to grow in faith and love and discernment, so I can tell right from wrong in my heart long before I have to decide what to do. I want my life to reflect a righteousness that comes from faith and love and not from rules and policies. It is no longer good enough for me to do the right thing. I want to do the right thing for the RIGHT reasons. I want to want to do the right thing naturally. So make my love and faith grow by reminding me of you and your life inside of my life. Draw me back to your gospels and show me the way to live in my context and among my generation. Make me into a person who shows others what you are like every day without even a word. Amen.

To grow in love and the knowledge of God is worth our wholehearted devotion.

Sunday, December 30th

“Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21

Dear Jesus, On your day of resurrection you delivered the very thing we all long for, peace. You delivered peace with God the Father. Now I know he has reconciled himself to me by sending you. You have given me peace about my past. Now, I can see that you have been watching over the good and the bad to make me into the person I am today. I have peace about the present, you are with me and will help me with everything. I have peace about the future. It is all going to work out okay either in this life or the place you are preparing for me. I have peace! There is no other way to get this kind of peace apart from following you. And I love it! Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Now, who is it you want to send me to? I will gladly deliver your peace to whomever is ready to receive it.

“If someone says they have peace apart from Christ, they are either lying or woefully naïve about what they will soon face.”

Saturday, December 29th

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

Dear Jesus, It is easy for me to get angry when I think I have a better idea than my family or coworkers and they just don’t recognize it. The more that time passes the more I am tempted to believe they are so foolish and hardhearted. But actually I see from this passage that sometimes I am the hardhearted, one. I am hardhearted to think that I can stew in anger and a surly spirit just because they do not see things my way. Help me Jesus. Help me to be peaceful and full of good deeds toward those who disagree with me while I wait for them to see it my way. And if I am seeing things wrongly, open my eyes to see it. Open my heart to accept the fact that I have been wrong and give me the strength to freely admit that I have ben mistaken. Amen.

He is wise who actively loves him who is a fool without frustration.

Friday, December 28th

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some fish.” John 21:6

Dear Jesus, you must have had a smile on your face that day after your resurrection when you let your disciples fish all day without one fish and then appeared on shore and told them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. They caught lots of fish and you caught their hearts forever. You have captured mine too. You control everything in my life, the “good” and the “bad”. Free me from the prison of thinking I am responsible for everything around me. I control very little and that which you have given me to watch for you- I barely know how to maintain. You put all my blessings in my net. To me you are greater than all your gifts. Help me to live in the joy of having you as Savior and God. Then I will smile at setbacks as much as breakthroughs. You send them both to bless me. Amen.

If Jesus leaves your net empty, don’t fret. He is making room for the other blessings.

Thursday, December 27th

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20

What do I do with a Christmas gift that I really appreciate? Do I store it on some closet shelf out of sight? Do I hide it in a drawer along with other odds and ends? Or do I use it? And when I use it, do I think of the giver Do I perhaps tell others about it? That’s what many in our world do with Jesus once Christmas is past. They take their annual look at the Savior and then store him away someplace as they go back to the business of the living. That’s not what the shepherds did as they left the Savior’s manger bed. I don’t know how long they celebrated Christ’s birth. I would guess their joyous response was ongoing. For me too! What better way to say thanks to God than by teaching my family to lay their sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God. Or to tell my neighbors about the friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. Or to help reach the unbelievers with Christ, the true and only Light. God’s precious Christmas gift of the Savior is something I need every day So do others in my world.

Thank you Lord, for your most practical and precious gift of the Savior. Amen.

Tuesday, December 25th

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2:6-7

Dear Jesus, It’s so grand that I can hardly wrap my mind around it; the moment you were born, you were God lying there in the feed trough, wrapped in rags. What a welcome we gave you and oh how similarly we have treated you throughout our lives. We say, “God you can be here with us,” but we won’t necessarily give you the honor and reverence you deserve. We give our “junk for Jesus” when our best gifts get cast down in front of idols.

Thank you for being the patient and merciful Lord who died for roaches like us. I’m so thankful for your grace and by faith I will do my best to give you more than a manger as a dwelling place in my heart and life. Since you are here with all your blessings, I will be happy in my Christmas celebrations no matter what they do or don’t look like. Amen.

When Christ is in your Christmas it’s always the best ever!

Wednesday, December 26th

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:16

Sometimes it’s hard to marvel at a Christmas gift. What do you say when the gift doesn’t quite match what you wanted? When it’s a present you secretly hoped for, but didn’t think you’d ever receive, it’s much easier for eyes to light up.

Not to many eyes lit up that night at Bethlehem. Mary’s eyes did. She knew who her child was because the angel had told her nine months earlier. Joseph’s eyes lit up too. An angel had told him months earlier that the baby’s name was to be Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins.

What about the shepherds? The humdrum darkness of their night watch had been gloriously interrupted. Never again would darkness rule over their hearts. Unto them had been born a Savior, who was Christ the Lord. Can we imagine their legs carrying them a bi faster than usual to that lowly stable? Or their hearts beating faster than usual as they knelt before their Savior?

I can’t explain how the eternal God could be a little baby in a manger. Neither can I explain the divine love behind this miracle. But my eyes light up when I hold in hands of faith the present I so desperately needed but never thought I would bet—my Savior, Christ the Lord.

Never stop marveling at the most wonderful Christmas gift of all!

Monday, December 24th

“When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Galatians 4:4

Dear Heavenly Father, I have spent my entire life wishing things would happen either sooner or later than they did. I always want Christmas to hurry up and get here. I couldn’t seem to wait to get my driver’s license either. On the other hand, I never wanted our vacation to end and always hoped the holidays gatherings could go on for days. With the strong desire you had to redeem mankind and restore our love for you, it must have been hard to wait centuries for your Son to do his magic in saving us. You wait with your creatures don’t you. But when you wait there is no impatience, no groaning, no disappointment or angst. You wait with understanding that you have just the right time for everything. Because you do, I wait with you in faith filled peace. Your time is the right time all the time. You work your timing into my life and I will work my obedience from a trusting heart, with your help of course.

God’s timing is the right time all the time.

Sunday, December 23rd

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:1, 4-5

Dear Heavenly Father, The prophecy in Micah had said that your Son would be born in Bethlehem and yet your chosen couple was in Nazareth. It’s fascinating to me that you used the high and mighty Caesar to move them to Bethlehem by upsetting the entire Roman world with a census. I wonder in my heart how many world decisions are driven by your plans to move your people around and spread your salvation to more souls. Public events are not just public events. Many are heaven’s private plan being enforced on earth. I’m learning to trust you with how you guide my country and state in your providence instead of judging events based on political and social reasoning. Your Christmas gospel reminds me that you have eternal purposes for people behind everything you guide or allow. It gives me peace and keeps me centered in you through every circumstance. Your providence fulfilled Scripture in having Jesus born in Bethlehem. Your providence will fulfill your spiritual purposes for me and everyone else. Thanks for being God of everything in my life with grace.

God’s good and gracious plan is behind every decision that he allows to affect our lives.

Saturday, December 22nd

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

Dear Jesus, What was your mother pondering when she peered at you in the manger with shepherds arriving to gawk at you? She knew she was a virgin. She knew you were God made out of her flesh. She knew you were her son and her creator. She knew so many things and so few things all at the same time. She didn’t know how you would live through trouble. She didn’t know how you would die and rise again. She didn’t know how she would fare being your mom. Her heart must have been so full that the thoughts just spilled over the edges. What a blessed life she experienced to have had the most intimate connection to you. Thank you for creating her and then choosing her to be your Alma Mater. Your choice brought me salvation. Help me to treasure all these thoughts in my heart too. So, I realize how rich I am without having owned anything. Amen19

God took on the same flesh as us. Is there a bigger mind blowing thought?

Friday, December 21st

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” Matthew 2:1-2

Dear Lord, You moved honest men who were seeking spiritual peace and wisdom to travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to find your son who is the personification of wisdom. And your own people were rarely ready to help them. If it were not for your word in Micah they would have been oblivious as to what to say. I know there are seekers all around me too but I fear we are not always ready for them. Help me to be ready to lead them to your Son and his story today so they find you when they find him. Give me a perceptive heart to discern when someone is really seeking to know you and the grace you have. And when my moment comes to share, give me the right words to reach into their hearts and give them grace. Amen.

God is prompting people everywhere to seek him by reaching out to his people.

Thursday, December 20th

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.’ ” Matthew 1:20-21

Dear Heavenly Father, You turned that little couple inside out by bringing your son into our world through them. I am eternally grateful that they were willing servants and let their lives be completely changed in order to participate in our salvation. Help me to be so other oriented that I allow my life to be turned inside for the greater good of others. Make me a servant in my heart so that I do not count the cost but find it a privilege and honor to serve. I praise you for the people you made Joseph and Mary to be for all of us. Make me that kind of person too. Amen.

When we say yes to God we will often have to say no to ourselves.

Wednesday, December 19th

“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. "‘ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:4-6

Dear Jesus, You had just been born in that beautiful little town to fulfill prophecy and join my human race for our salvation. Then after that glorious night, a power hungry king took the prophecy as his tip for murder. He wanted to know where you were to be born and the sacred prophecy was his road map to kill. Oh, how the way of the cross followed you from little on. Oh what love that you would allow such false motives to swirl around your life. Give me that same purposeful love for everyone around me that ignores the pressures of evil in order to serve the people who need me. Amen.

God forced his way into a hostile environment to rescue his dear ones.

Tuesday, December 18th

“But you Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are the smallest of the clans of Judah, out of you will come a ruler whose origins are from of old from ancient times…he will shepherd his people…and he will be their peace.” Micah 5:2-5a

Dear Heavenly Father, Oh, how the plan to send your son to earth burned in your heart until it was done. As you waited to right our wrongs and give us peace in our consciences you proudly prophesied of that day. You chose a small town and an insignificant place to give your Son flesh and bone. You demonstrated that you came for all people whether great or small, whether ancient or modern. You are no respecter of good or bad. You came to redeem us all. Now I ask, by the spirit of your Son, Shepherd my heart and life and give me peace to calm me every day. Help all your people to live in that peace and so reflect the salvation you have to their families and friends. Be our peace and help us to multiply peace in our peers. Amen.

Jesus comes to the small places and small people to give them big peace.