Countdown to Christmas: December 21, 2023

"BRING them to Me." Jesus' words, recorded in Matthew 14:18, may not come to mind when we consider the Christmas season. Until just the other day, they didn't for me. But I'm currently working with a sister in the Lord, and we are exploring John's account of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. John writes that Andrew approached with a young lad's lunch, five barley loaves and two small fish, asking Jesus, "But what are they among so many?" This was a lunch packed for a small boy, insufficient for one grown man, much less five thousand. Matthew records Jesus' response, "Bring them to Me." And with that begins a miracle of abundance. A multitude fed with twelve baskets of leftovers collected when all had eaten as much as they could!

In this season we tend to ruminate on God's Gift to mankind: the coming of the Savior to humanity, paying the penalty for our sin and restoring our relationship with our Creator. Jesus coming to us. But as I read these words the other day, what began to unfold was a picture of every nation, every race and every creed, more than eight billion people today, and the small Babe asleep and far from home. Born to a young virgin whose betrothed had wrestled with the idea of having her put away and their engagement annulled. Born, most likely, amidst shame and speculation, to be raised by parents who, by all indications, were relatively poor and living in a backwater town. What is He among so many?

Well, He was even then --long before then --still is, and forever will be the King of all kings, the Deliverer, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Creator who speaks galaxies and gardens out of nothing, whose breath gives life to dust; the King who makes priests and rulers from pagans and reprobates. He is the One who, again and again throughout His Word, invites every person to come. His birth was foretold for ages that those in whom godly passion burned might keep watch for His coming and share His promise with others. His betrayal, unjust conviction, brutal beating, ruthless murder, cross and crown of thorns have, by the plan and power of the Living God become the means and hallmarks of His love and His authority over death. He, through His Holy Spirit, still draws men to Himself and has given us the promise of reigning in His Holy Kingdom with Him. The simple mom raising her children, the man with a desire to serve others, the child who only wants to be loved, the addict struggling every day to find wholeness, the prisoner on death row, the patient who has heard the words, "There's nothing more we can do," the lonely college student sitting quietly before a Christmas feast of noodles and canned chicken. What are they among so many? 

BRING them to Me.

Midweek: As We Continue to Wait

The following devotional was written by Dianne Neal Matthews, and was printed in Guideposts' Mornings with Jesus, May/June 2023:

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

~ Micah 7:7 (NASB1995)

All four Gospels record the presence of the women who stood watching during Jesus' crucifixion. These devoted followers had traveled with Him and ministered to His needs . Now they stood helpless to intervene, their hearts breaking from sorrow. A couple of women stayed on after almost everyone else had left the scene. Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of James and Joseph, watched Jesus' body being taken down from the cross and wrapped in linen. They followed to the tomb where He was buried and saw the stone rolled across the opening.

Sometimes faith means watching and waiting. Even after all hope has been lost. Even when it seems as though our world has crumbled and there's nothing to wait for. A frightening medical diagnosis, a broken relationship the sudden loss of a loved one, or financial ruin. During these times, we show our trust in Him by quietly waiting and watching to see what He will do. 

The women's loyalty to Jesus brought great rewards on Sunday morning when they went to the tomb to anoint His body. They were the first to hear the news of the resurrection and to see the risen Savior. I wonder if I would have persevered in their situation. I admire their stubborn faith that would not let go. After all, that's the only appropriate response to a love that won't let me go.

~ Dianne Neal Matthews

Countdown to Christmas: December 18, 2023

What is the true MEANING of Christmas? Look around, you say. It's lights, love, joy, giving and receiving, peace. I can't disagree but let me add some other things to that. The meaning of Christmas is brokenness, cancelled plans, hard nights, pain and sickness, unpaid bills, and Christmas greetings left unsaid. The meaning of Christmas is all of those things that should be but are not. The meaning of Christmas is grandeur and glory that, at least for now, lie buried under the ruins of war and famine and death.

Last week was a busy, busy week. Cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, holiday visits, and aaalllll the other minutia that comprises a typical week in the life. None of it happened. It all came screeching to a halt on Tuesday. No light-looking, no laundry. I.Was.Sick. I'd been under the weather for several days, rallied on Monday, crashed and burned on Tuesday. By Wednesday, I was seriously considering a visit to the ER: in addition to the sniffling, sneezing, and coughing, I'd spiked a fever and had little to no focus whatsoever. By the time my fever broke, and I sat down to spend some time with Jesus on Friday morning, I realized the only thing I'd said to Him the past three days or so was, Please heal me. And that, my friends, is the true meaning of Christmas.

The wonderful world, the world God called "good" after He created each meticulously designed element, the world in which sin was meant to be rejected in favor of relationship with a loving and perfect God, was indeed destroyed by sin. Disobedience brought about the trouble and terror we see all across the world. Disobedience, the breaking of relationship with our Creator, bore the fruit it will always bear, sadness, loneliness, despair, rage, darkness. There can be no other fruit on that vine, for it was meant to bear fruit after its own kind. But the true meaning of Christmas is that there is a Savior, a Savior of all creation, who came to earth to die, paying the penalty sin requires, and His resurrection guarantees that all will be made new. And while creation waits to be made new, the followers of Jesus are today raised to new life! Those who cry out Please heal me, are indeed healed in a lifelong process to which we surrender ourselves. We trust Jesus, we obey Him, we commune with Him, we ask forgiveness for those moments when we allow selfishness to reign in our lives, and in those sleepless nights and days of great affliction, in the face of war and famine and death, we say all that we can, Please heal me. 

And we begin to understand the true meaning of Christmas.