Scripture says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)
No man had more reason to be miserable than Jesus—yet no one was more joyful. He was ridiculed. Those who didn’t ridicule Him, wanted favors. He was accused of a crime he had never committed. Witnesses were hired to lie. They crucified him. He left as He came—penniless.
He should have been miserable and bitter. But He wasn’t. He was joyful! He possessed a joy that possessed Him. I call it a sacred delight. Sacred because it’s not of the earth, delight because it is just that: the joy of God. And it is within reach—in the person of Jesus. He offers it to you, my friend…a sacred delight!
From In the Manger
Luke 2:1-24
The Birth of JesusAt that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
The Shepherds and Angels
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.”[a] 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”[b]
Footnotes:
2:23 Exod 13:2.
2:24 Lev 12:8.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Read: 1 Samuel 18:1-4; 23:15-18
Saul Becomes Jealous of David
After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. 2 From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. 3 And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. 4 Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
15 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. 16 Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” 18 So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the Lord. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh.
Insight
The deep friendship between David and Jonathan withstood the test of time and circumstances, evidenced when Jonathan went against his father, King Saul (1 Sam. 20), endangering his own life in order to save David (v.33). Although Jonathan was the crown prince, he encouraged David by assuring his safety and affirming that he would be the next king (23:17). After Jonathan died in battle (31:1-6), David honored him with the “Song of the Bow,” which was to be remembered by the people of Judah (2 Sam. 1:18-27).
My Friends And I
By Poh Fang Chia
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. —1 Samuel 18:3
John Chrysostom (347–407), archbishop of Constantinople, said this about friendship: “Such is friendship, that through it we love places and seasons; for as . . . flowers drop their sweet leaves on the ground around them, so friends impart favor even to the places where they dwell.”
Jonathan and David illustrate the sweetness of a true friendship. The Bible records an intimate and immediate bond between them (1 Sam. 18:1). They kept their friendship alive by demonstrating their loyalty to each other (18:3; 20:16, 42; 23:18), as well as nurturing it by expressions of concern. Jonathan gave gifts to David (18:4) and watched out for him through many difficulties (19:1-2; 20:12-13).
In 1 Samuel 23:16, we see the highest moment of their friendship. When David was a fugitive on the run from Jonathan’s father, “Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.” Friends help you find strength in God during the low points of life.
In a world where most relationships are about what we can get, let us be the type of friends who focus on what we can give. Jesus, our perfect Friend, demonstrated for us that “greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Thank You, Lord, for the friends You’ve given me to
love me in spite of my failures and weaknesses. Let
me treat them as You treated Your friends. Bind us
together in You and enable us to help one another.
The glory of life is to love, not to be loved; to give, not to get; to serve, not to be served.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Test of Faithfulness
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… —Romans 8:28
It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 18, 2014
THE GREATEST GIFT A PARENT CAN GIVE A CHILD - #7289
The Christmas season always involves these big shopping decisions, "What should we get for the kids?" Well, our children over the years were always helpful enough to provide us with a list. Now it's kids and grandkids. And now it's our grandchildren that really have great lists.
My wife and I have our own list of what we think our children and grandchildren need. For example, young boys need clothes but they don't get very excited about them under the Christmas tree. Right? They don't want clothes as Christmas presents. So we've got their list, we've got our list, and then there's a third factor: what we can afford, and that is pretty decisive. That's when I wish my childhood fantasies about Santa really were the way that gifts get under the tree, but then, sadly I know better.
If we put all this information in a spreadsheet it would probably make our lives easier. I don't know if I have any advice that will make your Christmas gift selections easier, but I can help you remember what your child really needs.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Greatest Gift a Parent Can Give a Child."
Which leads us to our word for today from the Word of God in Malachi 2, and I'll begin reading at verse 13. God says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears, you weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is acting as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth."
Now, the Old Testament prophet seems to be saying here that godly children come from a mom and dad who are keeping their marriage commitments to one another, who really love each other. The greatest gift you can give your child is to love their father or to love their mother. There's a tragic tendency in marriage that happens when we are not getting along as well as we should with our spouse. And that's to shift our love over to the children. We focus on the children instead of loving each other and that's not the way it was meant to be. A child is meant to be covered with the overflow of his parent's love for each other.
I remember when my wife and I were kind of kissing in the kitchen one time and our youngest was pretty little. All of a sudden he was pounding on his high chair, laughing, giggling, applauding. I don't know how well you kiss to laughter and applause. I don't do too well with that. But it's almost as if he was saying, "Go to it, Mom and Dad!" He was cheering for our love.
A child's security is rooted in knowing that the love from which he came is still going strong. So the Bible says, "Guard yourself in spirit." Look at what may have crept into your spirit to put out the fire recently. Have you neglected your time together? Have you forgotten some of the good in that person you married because you've become so conscious of the frustrations? Have you let romance be crowded out by routine? Maybe there are unresolved issues that could be helped if you could love enough to seek counsel together. Maybe you've even allowed someone or something else to claim some of the affection you promised exclusively to your partner.
The most important list you could make for the holiday season is the list of things you can do to strengthen your marriage, because the children are watching. God is watching. A Mom and Dad in love...that is the greatest gift you could give your child.