Christmas devotional

Our Christmas Memory Tree

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

For God so loved the world that he gave us His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life! John 3:16

Our Christmas tree has lights we bought from the store. But and from the angel near the top to the ornaments on every branch the rest are gifts – except the candy canes! Some are home made, like my sister’s sand dollar wreath and the bell made of yarn from our Nepali friends. An Irish porcelain cottage rings with memories of a man named Mark who lived at our home for a year and showed us how to boil and then fry cabbage in butter. The Teddy bear from my nursing home friends reminds me how our hearts are still linked even though a disease has separated us physically this year. Nancy’s mom who had a business of creating home made ornaments gave us enough to fill the branches with soldiers, rocking horses, reindeer and clowns. Memory of each person comes back to me as I hang our precious collection again on the branches. I see again both those Christmases filled with laughter, and surrounded by family as well as the ones when we were alone and struggling with disappointment and conflicts.

Yet the Bible tells us that all through these 2,000 Christmases since Jesus came, how God has given us more than a beautiful keepsake to hang. Instead He gave us his only Son who, hung on quite a different tree than ours. On His tree, He took on all the sin and shame of every forgotten heart. His gift was painted red with blood that flowed down from His hands and feet and a wound just beneath his heart made by a Roman spear.

So in the same way remember the first Christmas night when God sent His angels to wake up the shepherds, that He was also wanting to wake up hearts. God remembered our weaknesses and His promise. Jesus came and from that moment in the stable till with the bread at the Last Supper table, when He said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” God has forever remembered us. God has given us the cross which is His memory tree. If we will look there with eyes of faith we will see the very best gift of Christmas, just waiting to be opened!

Mary’s Assurance

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Though most of us are still trying to figure out what to do with all that turkey, tomorrow is officially the first day of Advent. I’ve been holding back on those Christmas stories and carols until now but today I offer to you my first Christmas devotional of 2020. God bless you and if you are interested you can find the entire collection over on Amazon under the title – Whatever Happened to Christmas? by Peter Caligiuri.

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called Holy – the Son of God. Luke 1:35 ESV

Often, we hesitate to ask God questions because we’re afraid, He’ll be angry. But if anyone had a right to question God about His plans, Mary certainly tops that list. When Gabriel announced to her that she was going to have a baby Mary didn’t jump up and down for joy. Instead she questioned, “How can this happen?” and then she filled God in on some intimate details by adding; “I have not known a man.” (God I’ve been good!).

But instead of God shooting off some thunderbolts or refusing to answer He gladly shared exactly how things would go down. That gives the rest of us great hope as we wrestle with our own worries. Whether our questions are about social justice, the spread of Corona virus or our own physical ailments God invites us to ask them. He is not upset when we come to Him with our doubts; instead, He delights to show us His answers. He knows our fears and He is saying, “I’ve got this! Life is uncertain, but My promises are not!” So, this Christmas if we will just trust Him as Mary did then we can know that whatever God sends us comes from Heaven, and just like Mary we will one day see the face of Jesus Christ.