In Matthew 1:23, God called himself, “Immanuel”—which means, God with us! Not just “God made us” or “God thinks about us.” Not just “God above us.” But God with us…God where we are. He breathed our air and walked this earth. God. . .with. . .us!
Bethlehem was just the beginning. Jesus has promised a repeat performance. Bethlehem, Act Two. No silent night this time, however. The skies will open, trumpets will blast, and a new kingdom will begin. He will empty the tombs and melt the winter of death. Death, you die! Life, you reign!
The manger dares us to believe the best is yet to be. I love Christmas because it reminds us how God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Read more Because of Bethlehem
Luke 21:20-38
Vengeance Day
20-24 “When you see soldiers camped all around Jerusalem, then you’ll know that she is about to be devastated. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills. If you’re in the city, get out quickly. If you’re out in the fields, don’t go home to get your coat. This is Vengeance Day—everything written about it will come to a head. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Incredible misery! Torrential rage! People dropping like flies; people dragged off to prisons; Jerusalem under the boot of barbarians until the nations finish what was given them to do.
25-26 “It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.
27-28 “And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”
29-33 He told them a story. “Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here. Don’t brush this off: I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.
34-36 “But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”
37-38 He spent his days in the Temple teaching, but his nights out on the mountain called Olives. All the people were up at the crack of dawn to come to the Temple and listen to him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, December 05, 2018
Read: Ecclesiastes 4:8–12
Why Am I Working Like a Dog?
7-8 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—no children, no family, no friends—yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, “Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?” More smoke. A bad business.
9-10 It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!
11 Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.
12 By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.
INSIGHT
The author of Ecclesiastes (“the Teacher,” 1:1–2) is in the midst of a long lament about the meaninglessness of living for this world only. This particular section concerns a lonely rich man the Teacher has observed. Perhaps he has trampled all others on his way to the top. (Think of Charles Dickens’s Ebenezer Scrooge.) Regardless of how the man got there, the author recognizes the futility of such efforts and concludes, “Two are better than one” (4:9).
Throughout Ecclesiastes, the Teacher’s larger point is that living with an earthbound view is cruelly dissatisfying. We toil and strive, yet we remain haunted by a vague sense that we’re missing something. As with all Scripture, Ecclesiastes must be understood within the context of the entire Bible. The early church fathers Jerome (ad 347–420) and Ambrose (ad 340–397) were among the first to note that the companion we’re missing is Christ Himself.- Tim Gustafson
A Hand Up
By Kirsten Holmberg
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Ecclesiastes 4:10
My children have enjoyed the thrill of a backyard ice-skating rink during our cold Idaho winters. When they were young, learning to skate was challenging: persuading them to deliberately set foot on the hard, icy surface proved difficult because they knew the pain of falling. Each time their feet slid out from under them, my husband or I would reach out to pull them again to their feet, setting them upright and steadying their frames.
Having someone there to help us up when we fall is the gift of a helping hand depicted in Ecclesiastes. Working with another makes our work sweeter and more effective (4:9), and a friend brings warmth to our lives. When we encounter challenges, it helps to have someone come alongside with practical and emotional support. These relationships can give us strength, purpose, and comfort.
When we find ourselves flattened on the cold ice of life’s hardships, is there a helping hand nearby? If so, it might be from God. Or when someone else needs a friend, could we be God’s answer to lift them up? In being a companion, we often find one. If it appears that no one is nearby to lift us to our feet again, we can find comfort in knowing that God is our ever-present help (Psalm 46:1). As we reach out to Him, He’s ready to steady us with His firm grip.
Thank You, Father, for helping me up when life knocks me down. Thank You for the people You’ve used to encourage and strengthen me. Yours is the most faithful friendship I have.
How can you open yourself more fully to God’s presence in your life?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 05, 2018
“The Temple of the Holy Spirit”
…only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.
Paul said, “I beseech you…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. The Place of Help, 1005 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, December 05, 2018
Life's Biggest Regret - #8323
It was one of the most compelling television documentaries I think I've seen. It aired on an anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The stories of rescuers and survivors, told first-person, literally took the viewer into what that day felt like for the people who really lived it. One story I just can't shake was told by this British young woman who worked in a brokerage firm high up in Tower Two. She recalled with remarkable composure the confusion in her office on whether or not to evacuate the building. She's alive today because she made the right decision. But many of her coworkers never made it out. She actually broke down for the first time as she talked about her good friend in the office. All she could say was, "I keep thinking, 'I should have asked him to go with me.' I can't get that out of my mind."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Life's Biggest Regret."
Okay, change the scene. You're in heaven, and you're looking for a coworker you cared about...a fellow student or a teammate, a family member, a neighbor, maybe a friend. You ask Jesus, "Lord, is (and you put the name in there)... are they here? Is he here? Is she here?" What if He says, "Oh, did you bring her? Did you bring him? You never asked him. You never asked her to go with you." Another scene: I've been to funerals where I looked at someone I'd been close to and I realized I had talked with them about everything except one thing - my Jesus. And now I couldn't.
We can't have back any of those missed opportunities, but the future is yet to be written. I want to turn my regrets for the past mistakes of not telling someone about Jesus into a passion to be sure I don't make that mistake again. You and I have been placed in the lives of some people who are not ready for eternity, who have never been to Jesus to have their sins erased. God put us here to be their spiritual rescuer - to be their link to Jesus. To help them be in heaven with us.
Our assignment comes crystal clear in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning with verse 11. "Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men...for Christ's love compels us...God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." Okay, there's no doubt about it. You're the one God is counting on to deliver His life-saving message to the people who are within your reach.
You can't just depend on your life to rescue them. They won't guess Jesus died on the cross for them just because you're a good guy or girl. You have to tell them about Him dying for them. Start by loving them in their language of love. Pray with them when they share a burden with you. You'll be showing them your personal relationship with God even as you pray for them.
Share the difference Jesus is making in your life at a point where the conversation allows you a natural opportunity. I call that your Hope Story. In fact, each day pray for...look for opportunities. They're all around you. Let your hope story open the door for you to ask, "Has anyone ever shown you what the Bible says about how to have a personal love relationship with God and how to go to heaven?" And, in some cases, you might want to put your love for them and God's love for them in a letter where they can receive it without distraction and without debating.
You only have to be God's glove, with Him inside you helping you to do and say what you could never do without Him. Just like a hand empowers a glove to do what it could never do alone. But silence? That's not an option. Not if you want them to be in heaven with you. You know what they need to know to get there. You're safe. You got out. They're still in the collapsing building. Life's biggest regret would be having to say, "I should have asked him to go with me. I should have asked her to go with me." You still can. There's still time.
