A Christmas Prayer

December 20, 2023

Heavenly Father, In this Christmas season, remind us to make room for you. Help us to remember that you are the greatest gift. Use us to shine your light and to share your love, hope, joy and peace with the world around us. Amen

To us a child was born.

Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.

This gift of God incarnate, he came for you, and for me.

Born in a stable. Laid in a manger filled with hay.

The anticipated Savior came in an unexpected way.

Make room. In your hurry. In your busy. In your mess.

He comes to humble places.

His invitation is your redemption. Your restoration. Your salvation.

He is hope, love, joy and peace.

His gift is light in a world of darkness.

To us a child was born. Immanuel. God with us.

He came and he is coming again.

Hallelujah. Amen.

Verses to explore:

Micah 7:7
Isaiah 9:6-7
John 1:14
Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:21
Zechariah 9:9
John 1:9
John 8:12
Colossians 1:19
Luke 1:78-79

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photo by Joanna Klapperick

Hope For New Life

December 19, 2023

In just six short days, we are about to celebrate the very special moment when humans were given hope for new life. Have you been preparing your heart?

Mary's Response to God's Call

December 18, 2023

In scripture we read about Sarah and Abraham and the miraculous story of conception. God promised this faithful couple, the Father of a Nation, the man who God gave the unconditional covenant to, a baby in their old age.

What was their response?

They laughed.

Then God sends the Angel Gabriel to Zechariah, a man who God sees as righteous - 1:6, a priest who had the divine privilege of entering the sanctuary of the Lord. The Angel Gabriel tells him he was also conceive a baby.

What was his response?

Doubt.

Then we see Mary. A humble teenage girl in the town of Nazareth. She was to deliver the Savior as a virgin. A miraculous conception.

What was her response?

“I am the Lord’s servant.”

May our response to God’s will and impossible circumstances not be laughter and doubt but a willing acceptance and yes.

Stump of Jesse Prophecy - Meaning

December 15, 2023

“Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.”

Isaiah 11:1

Right before this verse, Isaiah tells about how the mighty will fall. The mighty cedar trees of Lebanon will be cut down which represents the Lord humbling the proud among Judah – His chosen people. All that will be left of the forest will be stumps.

The royal household of David will have been dormant for 600 years. Isaiah 11:1 shares it’s from this fallen and humbled nation the Messiah will come; it’s these stumps that a shoot will spring forth – Jesus, tender like a new green little shoot coming as the Messiah from a seemingly dead stump or nation. The Lord wanted Judah to know that even though the Assyrians and others would come and bring judgment, God would still use them to bring forth life from them.

fun side note:

By using Jesse the Lord emphasized the humble nature of the Messiah. Jesse was much less famous than King David. It’s more humble to say “from Jesse” than to say “from King David.”