Memory Verse 2017 -- Week 52

Sunday, December 31, 2017

And let us consider how we may spur one 

another on toward love and good deeds, 

not giving up meeting together, 

as some are in the habit of doing, 

but encouraging one another — and all the 

more as you see the Day approaching. 

Hebrews 10:24-25

This has been a good year. We have studied and memorized over 50 verses of Scripture! What do you think about that? Should I continue to post weekly Scriptures for 2018?

Spend the week focusing on this scripture: 

• Read the verse in your Bible. 
• Read the passage before and after it. 
• Write it in your journal. 
• Ask the Lord to show you how it applies to your life. 
• Put it on a piece of paper and post it in a prominent place in your home so that you can see it often. 
• Put the words to music. Make up a tune or use one you already know. Singing always helps in the memory process. It's a left brain / right brain thing. 
• Always memorize the scripture reference with the verse so you can remember where to find it in the Bible. 

I Miss You

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Once upon a time there was a grandfatherly man who lived by himself in a grandfatherly home. He had several children and grandchildren and he loved them all very much. 

One day, something happened. There was a misunderstanding between him and his daughter. He tried his best to reach out to her — to mend the hurt feelings — but she didn’t understand what had happened. Although he was not to blame for the miscommunication and really, meither was she — she blamed him anyway. Tensions were high between them. 

The daughter tried to talk to her father, but felt as if she were getting no where. The father seemed deafeningly quiet to her although he was doing all kinds of things to get her attention and to show her that he loved her more than anything. 

One day, the girl’s brother took her to see their father. He spoke to him on her behalf and related the father’s feelings back to his sister. Before long the three of them were laughing, hugging, and shedding a tear or two as the communication between the man and his daughter were finally restored. 

“I’ve missed you,” said the man with misty eyes. 

“I’ve missed you, too,” she replied as she buried her face in his sweater. 

And from that day forward, they shared openly with each other and enjoyed sweet communion until the end of their days. 

Father, thank you that when we get too caught up in our feelings — when we are oblivious of your attempts to communicate with us — you keep at it until we hear you. Thank you that Jesus steps in as our brother to assist in the reconciliation process that we need so much. Help us to understand that you need us and desire to commune with us more than anything. Remove that barrier we have thrown up. We want to experience sweet communion with you until the end of our days — and forever more. 

twi.org

Final Advent Bonus Day

Advent, 2017

Friday, December 29, 2017

One Last Thought for This Year

The number of days of Advent is different from year to year. In 2008, there were twenty-six days in the season. This year there were only twenty-three days. So the following few “bonus” days for 2017 will take us almost to the end of the year. Enjoy these extra devotions, keeping in mind that Christmas for the author didn’t happen until the next to the last entry.

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking up intently into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking in the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:6-11

This past week my son-in-law called to say that he wanted to come down for a few days’ visit. I was delighted and immediately began to get ready. I put fresh sheets on the guest bed. I prepared a spot in the closet for his clothes and a luggage rack for his bag. I moved things from my desk so that the computer would be accessible to him, knowing that he belongs to a generation that must get to a computer every day! I shopped for the things that I know he likes to eat. I prepared a meal that would not only taste good but would fill the house with aromas that were inviting when he entered. When he finally arrived I was ready, really ready for his visit.

When I read the above verses, I wonder if I do as much to get ready for Jesus to return as I do to get ready for my children? Does his coming produce as much excitement in me as did Bill’s recent visit? Will there be a sweet aroma of my prayer and praise to greet Jesus when he arrives the second time?

Has Christmas made any difference in us at all? What happens in the “in between” that we talked about earlier this month – the “in between” as we live ordinary lives for 365 days before we celebrate Christmas again? Will we just go from Christmas celebration to celebration or has God’s Christmas present changed us?

Jesus said over and over again that he will be back. It will happen. Will we be ready?

Father, we thank you that you promised Jesus and that he came to fulfill that promise. We thank you for the season that has allowed us to focus on him and the change that comes to us through him. Now we ask that you remind us often that he has promised to return. We trust that he indeed came the first time. We believe that he will come back, even as he promised. Thank you for this great coming event! Help us to get ready and stay ready – if it is soon or if we have to wait a long time. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

Third Advent Bonus Day

Advent, 2017

Thursday, December 28, 2017

The number of days of Advent is different from year to year. In 2008, there were twenty-six days in the season. This year there were only twenty-three days. So the following few “bonus” days for 2017 will take us almost to the end of the year. Enjoy these extra devotions, keeping in mind that Christmas for the author didn’t happen until the next to the last entry.

In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God.”

John 1:1

One of the things we like most at Christmas, at least many of us do, is to go Christmas shopping. We check our list to see how many gifts we need or want to buy, and then we check our pocketbooks to figure whether or not we have the money to do all we want to do. Unfortunately some of us fall into the trap of running out of money before we run out of gifts to buy, and we pull the plastic from our pockets to make up the difference – which, of course, means that we may be paying for Christmas long after the holiday is over!

God prepared only one present on that first Christmas. One present for everyone to share. My, oh, my, our first Christmas present was much more expensive than we can ever imagine! A perfect gift that “would keep on giving” for centuries and centuries – yes, for all eternity!

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit were in the beginning, inextricably joined – “the Word was – was with God – was God.” In that stable on the first Christmas morning, God the Father and God the Son were separated. I simply cannot imagine what that initial separation must have cost God! God the Father remaining in his eternal, omnipotent state, and God the Son bound by time, space, and human form – helpless in the arms of his earthly mother!

What an expensive Christmas present! How much God loved us that he would give such a gift, knowing not only the grief and loneliness of the separation but also the fact that the greatest grief was yet to come!

We cannot ever put such love and value into our gifts. We certainly can never give such expensive gifts. But perhaps we can choose a gift for God – something he really wants, one “that will keep on giving.” Perhaps we could wrap our hearts in a little package and put it under the tree, an everlasting gift of love and appreciation to God.

Father, thank you for being willing to let Jesus come here – away from you to us. Thank you for this most perfect of gifts! I have so little to give you in return, but here is my small gift. I give you my life, my love, my loyalty – for as long as you allow me to live on this earth. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

Second Advent Bonus Day

Advent, 2017

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

The number of days of Advent is different from year to year. In 2008, there were twenty-six days in the season. This year there were only twenty-three days. So the following few “bonus” days for 2017 will take us almost to the end of the year. Enjoy these extra devotions, keeping in mind that Christmas for the author didn’t happen until the next to the last entry.

He was despised and rejected my mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Isaiah 53:3

That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings . . . .

Philippians 3:10

The verses above from Isaiah and Philippians create a painful picture. Jesus, when he grew to manhood and even before the cross, knew sadness, loneliness, and rejection. He loved Israel, but she didn’t return his love. He poured himself into teaching his disciples so that they would be prepared to do the work of the Kingdom after he was gone, and they spent the last hours with him arguing about who would be first in that Kingdom. He didn’t argue with the authorities when they wrongfully accused him, and they beat him anyway. He fed them, healed them, delivered them from demons, held their children, ate with them, cried with them. But it was never enough. He asked several of his closest friends to watch with him, just before he died, but they were lazy and went to sleep.

I would criticize them, but I know that I am just like they were – so engrossed in my own ideas of what he is like that I often miss who he really is! I’ve sought to know him in his resurrected power, but he wants us to know something of his pain, his concern for his dying world. He wants us to care about those around us, to let him in us help the lonely, the sick, the frightened.

We buy a lot of presents at Christmas, but it seems that God is the one who really does the giving. We buy “stuff” and wrap it up in bright paper and ribbon. He gives himself, wrapped in a baby. Ben Johnson, a Methodist minister I met years ago, told me that a good way to live the Christian life is to give as much of ourselves as we can to as much of Jesus as we understand – today. That, of course, means that tomorrow we will understand more – of ourselves and of him – so we’ll have to make that commitment daily for as long as we live. God’s gift to us keeps on giving. If we make that kind of commitment, our gift to him would keep us giving, too.

Father, another Christmas is almost here. Help us not to criticize those who treated you poorly when you walked here on earth. Help us, instead to be sure that we do not do the same cruel things they did. Remind us that you still ask us to spend time with you, to watch and pray with you, to let you be a vital part of our lives. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

First Advent Bonus Day

Advent 2017

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

The number of days of Advent is different from year to year. In 2008, there were twenty-six days in the season. This year there were only twenty-three days. So the following few “bonus” days for 2017 will take us almost to the end of the year. Enjoy these extra devotions, keeping in mind that Christmas for the author didn’t happen until the next to the last entry.

This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

John 17:3

Here we are, just three days from the celebration of Jesus’ birthday, and the verse that keeps coming to my mind is this one from Jesus’ great high priestly prayer, the one he prayed just before he went to the cross.  The way that it came to my mind is so unusual that I know it must belong here.

We refer to the prayer in Matthew 6 as “The Lord’s Prayer,” though it is really not his prayer at all. We can know that for sure if we look closely at the words he uses. He never had to pray that God would forgive him of trespasses! He never trespassed! No, that prayer was the one he taught them to pray. They had watched him in prayer, and had come to the startling realization that they knew very little about prayer – certainly not the kind of praying that they saw and heard him praying. That’s when they said, “Lord, teach us to do that!” (The paraphrase is mine.)

So he taught them, and we continue to pray today the prayer that he taught them. But in the seventeenth chapter of John we have his prayer, poured out from his heart just before he died. He knew that life was never going to be the same for those he left behind, and he prayed fervently for them, including a petition for those who would come after them, believing because of their testimony. That’s us! That’s all the believers here in Homosassa United Methodist Church! Jesus, 2000 years ago, was concerned about us. Praise the Lord! We need his concern!

At the very beginning of that long and wonderful prayer, he makes the simple statement in verse three that is given above. He wants us to be sure that we know what eternal life is, and certainly knowing what it is helps us to know what it is not! Eternal life is not “pie in the sky someday.” Eternal life is not pearly gates and streets of gold after we die. Eternal life is now! Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. That is what we got for Christmas when Jesus came! Man could never understand God, know God, until God came and walked on earth as a man. And Jesus, in his prayer for the disciples and for us, asks God that we may know him! The present of God 2000 years ago brought a way back to God – for us! We have – now – eternal life.

“How marvelous, how wonderful! And my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my savior’s love for me!” (I Stand Amazed by Charles H Gabriel) The hymn writer really hit the nail on the head!

Father, thank you for your great love for us in giving us such marvelous knowledge and position in the eternal realm. We want to know you, to know you well! Help us to learn. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

Christmas Day 2017

Christmas Day

Monday, December 25, 2017

And she brought forth her firstborn and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7

I love this verse that most of us memorized when we were children, and the picture that it brings to my mind. I like to imagine a beautiful, young woman holding her infant tenderly, looking at his lovely face, having the feeling that she has just done the most wonderful thing a woman can do – bring a child into the world. I remember how wonderful I felt when I held our first child, almost as though I had done something no one else had ever done. Not so for me. Our baby was just one from many! But with Mary, it was so! She had just done what no woman had ever done before or would ever do again. She had given birth to the Son of God! She had the huge responsibility of being the mother to Immanuel, God with us!

What must have gone through her mind? She had borne the stigma of being pregnant in a little village where there must have been talk about her pregnancy! This was an extraordinary way to begin a marriage, and she had trusted Joseph not to abuse either her or her baby since now she held this miracle child in her arms. Was she overwhelmed? Did she cry? Did she feel afraid as she realized she would have to protect him, this God-sired child? Did she feel a sense of awe that she would be allowed to teach God to talk, to walk, to laugh, to play, to love? As she did what every mother does, as she kissed his head, his fingers, his toes, did she realize that she was kissing the face and hands and feet of God?

I love to wander in my mind back to that first Christmas. I love to try to imagine how it was and how it smelled and how it looked. I love to try to comprehend what it must have been like to witness – personally and first hand – this most important moment in history, when God entered the world as a human being. I imagine yet I cannot imagine.

Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Father, we cannot relive what we have never lived. We cannot imagine what is unimaginable. We cannot fathom your having allowed yourself to become a vulnerable infant. We cannot comprehend the joy, the fear, the uncertainty that Mary and Joseph must have felt. But we praise you that it pleased you to have such a wonderful plan. We thank you for this beautiful infant who became our Lord! Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Twenty-Second Day of Advent

The Twenty-second Day of Advent, 2017

Sunday, December 24, 2017

For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given: . . . and his name shall be called . . . The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

We’ve looked at this verse before, but a new thought has been rising in my mind – not about the whole verse but about this little portion. Jesus, God’s promise, is our Prince of Peace. Yet when he finally got here, he, himself, said something quite the opposite: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:9) How is this possible? Isn’t it contradictory? Not if we get the whole picture. Not if we also hear him say, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

One of the interesting things about language is that we must understand the nuance of words or we may totally miss their meaning. We hear the word “peace” and we immediately think “the absence of war.” We think of a time when countries are not sending their most beautiful children out to kill each other, assuming that the one who kills the most children wins! We think that peace is the absence of bombings, and shootings, and rape, and pillage. We think of peace as a time when people talk about their differences and don’t kill because of them.

I think we miss the point that God would have us get. The peace that he sent Jesus to establish is not an earthly peace; it’s a kingdom peace. It’s not the absence of war; it’s the absence of separation from God It’s the reconciliation of man to God, the kind of inner peace that keeps us from being afraid of God, afraid of having to face him, of having to tell him the truth about the pain and grief and guilt in our lies! Jesus came not to become a part of the governments of men but to establish his own government in his true church, that microcosmic portion of his kingdom on earth.

Jesus said, in his great Olivet Discourse, “You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars . . . for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” (Matthew 24:6a, 7a) Here in December 2008, we are eagerly looking forward to Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. But in this Matthew account, he reminds us that we can count on the fact that he is coming again, coming in a time when there is no earthly peace!

We long for the earthly peace, but that won’t come until Christ sets up his reign here. In the meantime, these verses urge us to yield to the Prince who gives the real peace, the inner peace that comforts our hearts as we know that all is right between God and us! The Prince’s peace is not temporal! It’s eternal!

Father, thank you that no man, no government, no failed wars can take away our eternal peace – that peace that comes when we have been made right with you through our Lord, who paid a great price for our peace! Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Twentieth Day of Advent, 2017

The Twentieth Day of Advent, 2017

Friday, December 22, 2017

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope; to Timothy my true child in the faith; Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I Timothy 1:1-2

Paul always begins his letters to individuals and to the churches in the format of greeting that was widely used in his time. We have come to expect this pattern, but let’s not make the mistake of taking this just as a greeting and of missing a message here as we move past the greeting to see what he has to say in the body of his letter. Look at these verses and see a couple of good morsels worth “chewing on” for a while.

The first one is right there in the first line. We are so guilty of “dividing God.” We really do not know how to express the Trinity, so we speak of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, almost as though we were speaking of three entities. God is the Creator; Christ is the Savior; and Holy Spirit is the Comforter and Presence with us today.

But Paul says he is speaking on behalf of “God our Savior.” Pretty clear that he does not separate the Father and the Son. That may not seem too important at first glance, but it is extremely important if we are to remember that this baby born at Christmas is no ordinary child! In some way that we – I – will never understand, Jesus is not only the Son of God but he is God. So it was God in the manger; it was God walking around healing; it was God speaking in the synagogue; it was God feeding the five thousand on the hillside near the sea. It was God on the cross.

And then Paul drops in a little word that should give us real peace right now at this time in our history. He says that Jesus is “our hope.” This fall has not been the brightest of times financially for this country, and the temptation sometimes is to lose hope. The market is bad; jobs are scarce; businesses are closing; real estate declines in value. Financially, things seem hopeless right now, and they are! That is, if we put our hope in dollars! The time is not hopeless, however, if we remember that “our hope is based on nothing less than Jesus Christ and [his] righteousness.” Money comes and money goes! The market goes up and the market goes down! But our faith is secure if it is based on Jesus who is our hope – who is God!

Father, it is so easy for us to look at circumstances all around us and begin to sink into deep depression, into a sense of hopelessness! Thank you for this wonderful greeting of Paul to Timothy that reminds us that you are our Savior and you are our hope! That really puts Christmas into right perspective! Amen

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Nineteenth Day of Advent

The Nineteenth Day of Advent, 2017

Thursday, December 21, 2017

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Genesis 49:10

Here is a verse with a wonderful message that is very easy to miss! Look at the reference: Genesis 49:10. The very first book in the Bible. But wait a minute; aren’t we talking about Christmas and the birth of Christ? What has this Genesis verse to do with that? Plenty!

The word “Shiloh” can be translated “the one to whom the scepter belongs,” and scepters belong to rulers, those in authority, to kings. So, the one who is to be in authority in Judah will be a king and authority will pass to him.

Then who is this Shiloh to whom authority will go? I did a little digging and found that “Shiloh” is a name derived from the Hebrew word for peace. Interesting. Shiloh will come with great authority, a ruler or prince of a kingdom. So this Prince Shiloh will take the meaning of his name into his title, and he’ll be called the “Prince of Peace.” Sound familiar? And the “kingdom?” Remember that Jesus spoke often about the fact that he had come to establish the “Kingdom of God.” Shiloh will be the Prince of Peace in the Kingdom of God!

So right here Jesus is in Genesis! Jacob, whose name had been changed by God to Israel when he made him a great nation, prophesied to his sons that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah!

And that is exactly what happened. Matthew tells us that Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1:2). Two thousand years after Israel gave the prophesy Christ was born! We may be a people who are impatient and want everything now, but God is not! He has incredible plans for this world he created, and time is not a factor for him! Israel prophesied, and every Christmas we get to celebrate the reality of his prophesy accomplished!

Father, We are so grateful that you are not a spur-of-the-moment God – that you make plans and then wait until the perfect time for them to be fulfilled. Help us to learn patience from you, to be less eager for everything that we want to be accomplished right now! Help us not to accept substitutes but to learn to wait – patiently – for the best! Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Eighteenth Day of Advent

The Eighteenth Day of Advent

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

For Christ, our Paschal Lamb, 

has been sacrificed.

I Corinthians 5:7b

We Christians are often uninformed about the Bible and all the messages that it holds for us – both explicit and implicit. The Christian faith is built on Scripture, yet if we know our Bibles at all, we probably only know the New Testament. Sometimes we even say, “We are New Testament people.” And that is true. We are a people whom God has called through his marvelous grace, and that theme resounds over and over in the books of Matthew through Jude. However, much of that message is built on truth from the Old Testament. This is one of those verses.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the story of the exodus of the Jewish nation from Egypt, of that cruel ruler who punished the people mercilessly, of their miraculous escape in the dead of night, driven out because God had made his great power known to the Egyptian government in a dreadful way. But let’s remember afresh the final moments of their sojourn there.

Moses, under God’s direction, told the people to kill a lamb, to drain its blood, and to smear the blood on the sides and over the top of the doors to their homes. Somehow, in God’s great plan, the sight of the blood was going to cause the “angel of death” to pass over the homes of the Jews. Death would come to the first-born in every Egyptian household, but no death would occur to the first born children of families with blood-coated thresholds. Can’t you just imagine first-born Jewish children saying, “Dad, are you sure you got it all the way over and all the way around? You didn’t forget anything, did you?” That rite became the Jews’ great Feast of the Passover, the remembrance of their being miraculously saved from death.

In the New Testament we are told that Jesus is our “Paschal Lamb.” He is the one whose blood spares us from the great and dreaded death! A lot of lambs died to spare the Jewish people on that dreadful night in Egypt. Our baby-Jesus-grown-to-be-a-man died to bring that same gift to us! Their bondage was gone; our bandage is gone! Though we die, yet shall we live! (John 11:25) All because of God’s Paschal Lamb!

Father, thank you for sending us a lamb in the form of a tiny baby. Don’t let us forget during this Christmas celebration just how expensive that gift was! Cause our gratitude to move us to love and serve you. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Seventeenth Day of Advent

The Seventeenth Day of Advent

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Wherefore seeing we also 

are compassed about with 

so great a cloud of witnesses, 

let us lay aside every weight, 

and the sin which doth 

so easily beset us, 

and let us run with patience 

the race that is set before us. 

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; 

who for the joy that was set before him 

endured the cross, 

despising thee shame, 

and is set down at the right hand 

of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Don’t you just love to think about yourself in light of the above verse? Isn’t it almost too good to be true to think that we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses?” I couldn’t comment about who those witnesses are in this little devotional, but if you will go and read for yourself, you’ll find that he is speaking about the many who have believed God down through the ages, some whose names we know and some whom we do not know. Some did great acts of courage, and they and their acts are recorded. Others died – some of them horribly – for their faith, but their names are not mentioned. In fact, the Hebrew account does not say how many, just that they were many. Chapter 11 of Hebrews, sometimes called the “Chapter of the Heroes of the faith,” is an inspiring account of the faith.

That thought challenges me, encourages me, and humbles me. Challenges me to do more to fit into such an elite group; encourages me when I feel insignificant to know that they would include me in their number; and humbles me to realize that my faith is probably severely lacking when compared to theirs.

But there is more! We are told that Jesus is the author of that faith. It was a gift from him; he thought of it. He established it. He paid for it. The Revised Standard Bible says that he was the pioneer; he, in other words blazed the faith trail! But he also is the finisher, and one who will complete what he has begun. What a comfort!

And then comes the “kicker.” He did all this, even to going to the cross, for the joy that was before him! The joy was not the cross! The joy was what the cross accomplished! His joy was knowing that what he was going to do would purchase each of us who accepts his atoning grace, so that he could present us faultless to God! Imagine! Jesus is going to get great joy when he presents you and me to God, faultless because of his vicarious suffering on that cruel cross! 

Father, we are so grateful that Jesus was willing to do everything necessary to bring us to you – faultless! Thank you for sending him; thank you that he was willing to come; thank you for the joy we bring to him by yielding to his Lordship! Thank you for Christmas where the whole plan was born in a baby. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Sixteenth Day of Advent

The Sixteenth Day of Advent

Monday, December 18, 2017

For unto us a child is born, 
to us a son is given, 
and the government 

will be on his shoulders, 
and his name will be called 

Wonderful Counselor, 
Mighty God, 

Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

We sing these wonderful words often. They are scattered through our hymns. At Christmas we sing them or hear them sung in the Handel’s masterpiece, The Messiah. But I wonder how often we think of them and add them to our prayers of praise.

Wonderful Counselor. How thankful are we that he guides us, sometimes when we ask and sometimes when we forget to ask? Our Counselor encourages us to do the right thing when we face moral issues, gently guides when we struggle with family crises, lovingly gets us back on the right track when we get so busy we allow ourselves to wander from him. Do I praise him?

Mighty God. We lean on him when we are troubled, afraid, sick, worried. Are we thankful that his shoulders are broad enough to carry us when we are tired, that his power is great enough to change the course of things when we fervently seek him in prayer, that his authority is absolute in our changing world? Do I praise him?

Everlasting Father. Fathers are wonderful but oh, so mortal. We grow up depending on them and trusting them and believing that they will always be there. Then suddenly they are gone. How can that be? They’ve always been there, and our world seems incomplete. Not so with God. Everlasting he is. He was, he is, and he will always be. Do we show our gratitude that we never have to worry that he won’t be there when we need him? Do I praise him?

Prince of Peace. The chaos in the world makes us wonder if there is real peace anywhere. Wars, murders, famines, natural disasters, financial crises shatter our peace. Do we remember that Jesus came to be the Prince, to rule over all and bring us his kind of peace, a kind that this world may never understand? Do I praise him?

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That’s who dwelt in that little manger on the first Christmas – God is amazing!

Father, you are indeed our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace. Thank you for these lovely words that reveal to us so much about your character and person. Thank you for coming on that holy night to teach us about yourself, to draw us to you, and then to provide through this baby a way for us to be restored in a holy relationship with you. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Fifteenth Day of Advent

The Fifteenth Day of Advent

Sunday, December 17, 2017

And when Jesus was baptized, 
he went up immediately from the water, 
and behold, the heavens were opened 
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, 
and alighting on him; 
and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, 
“This is my beloved son, 
with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 4:16-17

(I cannot begin this day’s comments without reminding you that this is one of the few places in the Bible where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned in the same verse. That little tidbit has nothing to do with today’s devotion, but I think it is interesting.)

I love to watch my children – who by the way are no longer children but they will always be children to me – as they deal with their own children. Believe me those seven boys and one girl are not perfect! They are great kids, and I love them, but perfection is not one of their characteristics! Sometimes they have been known to goof pretty badly, and I even have to admit that they occasionally have a bit of their grandmother in them. I struggle when I see characteristics in them that I dislike in myself. Watching interchanges between my daughters and my grandchildren are sometimes difficult. It’s not fun to watch your children living out what you have tried to teach them – that all children need discipline!

But it is fun when the grandchildren come in with some accomplishment – large or small. When one of the boys who doesn’t like to study comes home with an exceptionally good report card. When one who is becoming a pretty fine musician plays one of his own prize-winning compositions. When one of them does something extremely thoughtful for someone else. When one of them comes and says, “Mamaw, I’ve been studying this verse, and I don’t understand it.” When our only little girl takes such good care of her Daddy following surgery.

At those times, my heart is warm. I feel so grateful. I think I have just a tiny glimpse of the whole meaning of God’s words in the above verse, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” I wonder if that isn’t one reason God gave us children – so that we could understand a little better his joy in us when we do things well.

Father, we are so thankful that you found such joy in your son! Help us to do two things: to also find great joy in him and to live in a way that will allow you to find great joy in us. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.

The Fourteenth Day of Advent

The Fourteenth Day of Advent

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Christ is the head of the church, 

his body, and is himself its Savior. . . . The church is subject to Christ. . . .

Ephesians 5:23b-24a

Since I had the surgery to correct the torn rotator cuff in my right arm, I have been going regularly for therapy. Three days a week I have gone down to TLC for their great team to help me fully recover – or as fully as possible. The atmosphere there is good – kind and knowledgeable therapists, a lot of laughter and encouragement, and every day music from another era, the kind we used to whistle and hum when I was young. On more than one day I heard Frank Sinatra crooning, “I Did It My Way,” and I hummed along.

That may be okay for Sinatra, or for me to hum, or for a two-year-old who refuses help putting her shoes on, but it is not okay for the church of Jesus Christ! We take great joy in Christmas and in thinking of Jesus as a tiny infant, but according to the scripture above, we need to take a look at where he fits in our doing it our way all through the year.

In looking at scriptures to use in this Advent devotional, I thought of words that are used to define who Christ is and what he does. Inevitably that took me to several that call him the head. “This is Christ’s body,” Paul writes, “and that holy body has a head – Christ!” To be quite honest, I was disturbed as I thought about that. If this is his church and the plans for it are in his head, how dare we ever play Frank Sinatra and try to do it our way? Through his ministry, atonement, and resurrection, Christ earned the right to be the head of the church he established!

Our Spiritual Formation Chair, Marilyn Watson, has been encouraging us to light a tiny candle at every meeting, at every Bible study, in every class, every time two of three of us gather. There is no magic in the candle, but it serves as a good reminder that we are part of a body of which Jesus Christ is head, that he in the person of the Holy Spirit is part of every group that gathers. Maybe the candle will encourage us to remember who is in charge. Maybe he is speaking at our meeting, and we aren’t hearing his voice.

Father, somehow it seems very comforting to me to know that we are not in charge. It’s good to know that you, who have the big picture, can lead us in the way that is best if we will just allow it. Help us not to yield to the Frank Sinatra mentality. Help us to instead, do everything your way – from the simplest task to the most complicated. Enter all our services and all our meetings and all our studies! We’ll yield. You take charge! Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.