Daily devotion

With Us Always!

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

While we sat together in our favorite restaurant after the Christmas Eve service it was hard to imagine (or even remember!) that we have celebrated 48 Christmases together. Through both the wonderful and the most difficult times God has shown us that He is good. He has been faithful and because He chose to come to Bethlehem, He has been with us.

But God with us is only good news because of grace. If He came only with justice then Emmanuel – God with us- is very bad news indeed. But He came to seek out and save us if we will only stop running and allow ourselves to be found. So, Merry Christmas and may His grace reach down to wherever you are and remind you that He came for you as well. Nothing more important was on His agenda that first Christmas morning and nothing matters more to Him today than your soul and your heart. He is our Emmanuel – God with us – both now and always!

Two Turtle Doves

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

And to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:24 ESV

This morning I was thinking of how, Mary and Joseph had heard from angels and watched shepherds and wise men kneel before Jesus, but when they came to the temple to dedicate God’s miracle child, they offered only the sacrifice of the poorest of the poor. Though they were not ashamed to come to Herod’s golden temple with their babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, sometimes I wonder why God chose two doves for their offering.

Think how different it might have been if God had picked a princess or the wife of a wealthy merchant in place of Mary. But God chose a young peasant girl from Nazareth to be the mother of His Son. He specifically selected a poor village for Him to grow up in and a simple carpenter to provide Him a home. No place on earth was too humble for the Lord of the universe to visit and no offering too small for Him to treasure. And maybe it is like when I tell my grandchildren, “One cookie isn’t enough! You need another so there will be one for each hand!” Maybe God chose two doves so that they would have something in each hand to give Him. So, if you wonder what you have to give God this Christmas, think of Mary’s turtledoves and then come with whatever He puts in your hands.

Receiving God’s Christmas Love

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 ESV

The last few weeks have been a blur of events and emotions. Our California trip to attend my wife’s sister’s funeral and then 5 Christmas Services at different long-term care facilities have all blurred together in my mind. Last night we settled down to watch White Christmas (20 times and counting!) and slowed down enough to catch our collective breathes. We will not see family but are grateful that we have children and grandchildren to miss. We have each other, a few friends and a quiet life. How different our experience is from Mary and Joseph on a chilly night in Bethlehem.

The stable was dark and dank. There was no soft bed for Mary to lie on, no nurse or even mid-wife to attend. When the baby came, Joseph tried his best to find a place to lay him, but a feeding trough was all he found. There in that cold dark place the love of God was born as a fragile child, wrapped in rough cloth and laid in a hay bin. That Holy Night reminds me of another cold dark day, thirty-three years later when God’s love was poured out again. This time on a rough wooden cross, with blood streaming down from His hands and feet Jesus gave Himself for us. Now anyone willing to come as a child can find forgiveness and receive His gift of love (Eternal Life). May God bless you and watch over you in this Holiday season. Jesus still comes and God’s love is still being poured out. What we need are the eyes of children to see Him and receive His gift today! My song video this week features Away in a Manger. Have a blessed week all!