Happy New Year – a Devotional

Jan1

A New Year dawns, and because of Christ in the manger and on the cross and in the grave … and risen on high and in our hearts, we can look forward with hope, knowing that He has a perfect plan for our lives and for the lives of those we love.

Nothing is too hard for God.

No prayer is too small.

And no person is too far gone.

Happy New Year. May we step forward with hope and faith, in the knowledge that Christ makes all things new!

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This reading is taken from Finding Christ in the Carols, inspired by lyrics from well-known Christmas Carols. Available for only $2.99 this month, this devotional will help you find refreshing moments of devotion and reflection during the busy holiday season.

Joy in Creation – New Year Devotional

Dec31

The first words God spoke into the darkness of pure void and nothingness was, “Let there be light.”

And there was light.

And He saw that it was good.

And so He continued to create. All things He made were good, and beautiful, and lovely.

The sum of His creation, set into the center of His world, was mankind, created in His image.

And as He joyed in creation and saw that it was good, so we over the millennia have found joy in creating. Of course, only God made something out of nothing. We have something to work with. Clay or marble if we are sculptors. Words and rhythm if we are writers or musicians. Movement and balance if we are dancers. All good things He gave us, and in His image, we seek to create to honor Him.

And if we do honor Him in our creativity, the things we create are, in their own way, light – reflections of He who is the Light of the world. And we seek to continue doing so, for it brings joy to us and hope to others.

The sun is setting on the old year, but it will rise on the new.

It is a good time to stop and think back on the year that has passed. Perhaps some of the creations we have made have not been what we had hoped to create. Perhaps, at the start of the year, we had one thing in mind, and the works of our hands have transformed into something we did not intend.

But the sun is setting on this old year, and it will rise on the new. “Let there be light,” God spoke, and there was light. There will be light again.

So tonight, as the sun sets on the old, it is a perfect opportunity to kneel before Creator of Heaven and Earth, and give the New Year to Him. To open your hands and commit to Him the works of your hands in the upcoming year. To tell Him that you seek to please Him with all that you create. To ask Him to guide your hands and your words and your movements, so that they may glorify Him with the rising of the sun on the New Year.

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All Things New – A New Year’s Devotional

Dec30

Another year is ending. So quickly. Like a small town beyond a highway. Blink and you miss it.

But unlike that town, you can’t make a U-turn. The year is gone forever.

The thought is bittersweet. Sweet, at the thought of ringing in the New Year, and considering all that it will bring. Making resolutions (and trying our best to keep them). Giving forgiveness, or asking for it. Turning over a new leaf. Seeing a year stretching before us, unsoiled and unwritten.

But also bitter, or poignant, at the things gone past that we can never experience again, at least not in the same way. The kids are a year older. That much more water has flowed under the bridge. Words have been spoken in anger that we cannot take back. We have made mistakes, experienced loss. Perhaps found a wrinkle or spotted a gray hair and know that more are to come.

Bittersweet, as “fast away the old year passes,” for time is always going forward and so much can never be experienced again … and yet …

“The memory of the just is blessed” (Proverbs 10:7). Even those memories that still bring pain, we can know that all things work together for good for us who love God and know that our life has a purpose in Him.

“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is not something to be sorrowful about, but to be full of joy for. In Christ, we are new creations, not just once, but every day. The future is bright, because the promises of God are great.

Let us look forward with joy and anticipation. Christmas had made it possible for us to do so, because in Christ, all things are made new.

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With Christmas Over

Dec28

With Christmas over, and the long winter stretching ahead, it is easy to forget the song, to let the music fade. For there are more important things to think about. It is time to quit the carols and get back to the real world. Put away the decorations, and accept a dreary existence. After all, Christmas only comes once a year. Right?

Wrong.

“The child sleeping in the night … He will bring us goodness and light.”

Not only at Christmas, but in the midst of the deadlines and aching muscles, in spite of the conflict and tension, in the heart of the hours that are too long and the breaks that are too short.

Goodness and light. Hope. Himself. The child. The Son of God. With us always, even to the ends of the world.

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God is With Us

Dec26

God is here. God is with us. Emmanuel. It might be only in a glimmer, a single cheery word or heartfelt wish. Or it might fill the hours until the seams of the day itself is bursting. But He is here.

God with man is reconciled. This is what Christmas wrought.

The day looms before me. Deadlines. Conflict. Tension. Sore muscles. Breaks that are all too short. Work hours that are all too long.

Where is the song?

But in moments of silence, when I quiet my heart, I hear it. “High above the trees, with a voice as big as the sea.”

It is a song of hope.

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Jesus Christ is Born

Dec25

Hiding at Christmas

Dec25

Even we who know God are very good at hiding from Him. We hide behind our good works or lofty ideals. We hide behind church pews or political systems. We hide behind the gifts we give to the poor, or the prayers we pray for the lost.

We are good at hiding. But thank God, He is better at finding us than we are at hiding from Him.

This is the story of Christmas. He reached down toward us, though we had hidden from Him and run from Him for so long. “God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn.”

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A Torn Veil – Christmas Prayer

Dec24

Lord Jesus, so many times I have not recognized You in my life. The veil is thick, so thick, between earth and heaven, between flesh and spirit, between you and me. Or at least that is how it seems.

But the veil has been torn. And You have entered the world so that all could enter in. Thank You that no longer is the Spirit of God hidden behind a thick curtain for only one person to behold once a year. No, with Your sacrifice all are ushered directly into the presence of God through You, His Son.

Thank You for taking on the veil of flesh so that the veil between God and man could be removed.

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Be an Angel – A Christmas Devotional

Dec23

Christmas devotional

Angel means messenger. If your created purpose was to relay a message, wouldn’t you want to share the greatest message ever? The birth of a child “who will save the people from their sin”?

We have that privilege. Today. It is no longer Heaven’s best-kept secret, but sometimes we tend to act like it is. I know I do. But the world deserves to know who Jesus is, what He has done, and how they can meet Him.

Let the whole world know “what the gladsome tidings be.” Be a messenger. Be someone’s angel today.

Lord, help me to take the time to tell someone today. Tomorrow. Every day. Christmas is such a wonderful time to do it, to share the “gladsome tidings” of Your Son, Jesus.

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Heaven’s Secret – a Christmas Devotional

Dec22

For thousands of years, it was Heaven’s best-kept secret. Only slight hints were whispered from time to time, visions to one prophet, words to the next. Spaced over hundreds of years, the image that was slowly built, frame upon frame, was disjointed and difficult to understand.

But Heaven knew. The angels knew. I wonder how the messengers kept it a secret. At times, I wonder if they were bursting with the news. When they would visit earth to relay a message to the prophets of old, I wonder if it was difficult for them to keep quiet. “It will not be long now,” I wonder if they wanted to say. “He is coming soon. Your deliverer. And guess what His name is?”

But one day, one night, He was born.

Jesus. A name that means “God saves.”

From the dawn of time, He knew that He would save. Heaven had only to wait for the time appointed, when He would traverse time and space to enter a virgin’s womb and be born of her in a stable.

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