CHRISTMAS AT McPHERSON GARDENS
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Posted:Dec 4, 2017 5:36 am
Last Updated:Dec 5, 2017 5:29 am 21107 Views
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Read: Luke 1:68–75
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 47–48; 1 John 3
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. Luke 1:68
About 230 families and individuals live at MacPherson Gardens, Block 72 in my neighborhood. Each person has his or her own life story. On the tenth floor resides an elderly woman whose have grown up, gotten married, and moved out. She lives by herself now. Just a few doors away from her is a young couple with two —a boy and a girl. And a few floors below lives a young man serving in the army. He has been to church before; maybe he will visit again on Christmas Day. I met these people last Christmas when our church went caroling in the neighborhood to spread Christmas cheer.
Every Christmas—as on the first Christmas—there are many people who do not know that God has entered into our world as a baby whose name is Jesus
(Luke 1:68; 2:21). Or they do not know the significance of that event—it is “good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (2:10). Yes, all people! Regardless of our nationality, culture, gender, or financial status, Jesus came to die for us and offer us complete forgiveness so that we can be reconciled with Him and enjoy His love, joy, peace, and hope. All people, from the woman next door to the colleagues we have lunch with, need to hear this wonderful news!
The good news of Jesus’s birth is a source of joy for all people.
On the first Christmas, the angels were the bearers of this joyous news. Today, God desires to work through us to take the story to others.
Lord, use me to touch the lives of others with the news of Your coming.
The good news of Jesus’s birth is a source of joy for all people.
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THE LAST WILL BE FIRST
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Posted:Dec 1, 2017 3:02 am
Last Updated:Dec 4, 2017 5:36 am 18849 Views
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Read: Mark 9:33–37
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 40–41; 2 Peter 3
Those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:12
Recently I was among the last in line to board a large passenger jet with unassigned seating. I located a middle seat beside the wing, but the only spot for my bag was the overhead compartment by the very last row. This meant I had to wait for everyone to leave before I could go back and retrieve it.
I laughed as I settled into my seat and a thought occurred to me that seemed to be from the Lord: “It really won’t hurt you to wait. It will actually do you good.” So I resolved to enjoy the extra time, helping other passengers lower their luggage after we landed and assisting a flight attendant with cleaning. By the time I was able to retrieve my bag, I laughed again when someone thought I worked for the airline.
We serve Him best by serving others.
That day’s experience made me ponder Jesus’s words to His disciples: “Anyone who wants to be first, must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
I waited because I had to, but in Jesus’s “upside down” kingdom, there’s a place of honor for those who voluntarily set themselves aside to attend to others’ needs.
Jesus came into our hurried, me-first world not “to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28. We serve Him best by serving others. The lower we bend, the closer we are to Him.
Loving Lord, help me to follow You into the needs of others and serve You there.
Jesus’s kingdom is upside-down.
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IMPERFECT,YET LOVED
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Posted:Nov 30, 2017 5:29 am
Last Updated:May 2, 2024 11:8 am 18666 Views
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Read: Luke 7:36–50
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 37–39; 2 Peter 2
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
In Japan, food products are immaculately prepared and packaged. Not only must they taste good but they must look good too. Often I wonder if I am purchasing the food or the packaging! Because of the Japanese emphasis on good quality, products with slight defects are often discarded. However, in recent years wakeari products have gained popularity. Wakeari means “there is a reason” in Japanese. These products are not thrown away but are sold at a cheap price “for a reason”—for example, a crack in a rice cracker.
My friend who lives in Japan tells me that wakeari is also a catchphrase for people who are obviously less than perfect.
Broken people are made whole by God’s love.
Jesus loves all people—including the wakeari who society casts aside. When a woman who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at a Pharisee’s house, she went there and knelt behind Jesus at His feet, weeping (Luke 7.37–38. The Pharisee labeled her “a sinner” (v. 39), but Jesus accepted her. He spoke gently to her, assuring her that her sins were forgiven (v. 48.
Jesus loves imperfect, wakeari people—which includes you and me. And the greatest demonstration of His love for us is that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8. As recipients of His love, may we be conduits of His love to the flawed people around us so they too may know that they can receive God’s love despite their imperfections.
I know I’m not perfect, Lord, so help me not to be hypocritical and pretend I have it all together. Open my heart to others in acceptance and love so that they might know Jesus’s concern for them.
Broken people are made whole by God’s love.
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THE POWER OF EMPATHY
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Posted:Nov 29, 2017 5:22 am
Last Updated:May 2, 2024 11:8 am 18703 Views
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Read: Hebrews 2:14–18; 13:1–3
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 35–36; 2 Peter 1
Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison.
Hebrews 13:3
Put on the R70i Age Suit and you immediately feel forty years older as you experience impaired vision, hearing loss, and reduced mobility. The Age Suit was designed to help caregivers better understand their patients. Wall Street Journal correspondent Geoffrey Fowler wore one and wrote, “The unforgettable, and at times distressing, experience shed light not just on aging, but also how virtual reality equipment can teach empathy and shape our perceptions of the world around us.”
Empathy is the power to understand and share the feelings of another. During a time of severe persecution against the followers of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews urged fellow believers to “continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (13:3).
Jesus calls us to stand with others as if we were in their place.
This is exactly what our Savior has done for us. Jesus was made like us, “fully human in every way . . . that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (2:17–18.
Christ the Lord, who became like us, calls us to stand with others “as if [we] were together with them” during their time of need.
Lord Jesus, we marvel at Your willingness to share our flesh and blood in order to purchase our salvation. Give us grace to stand with others who are in need today.
Jesus calls us to stand with others as if we were in their place.
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OUR POWERFUL GOD
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Posted:Nov 28, 2017 5:02 am
Last Updated:May 2, 2024 11:8 am 18491 Views
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Read: Amos 4:12–13
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 33–34; 1 Peter 5
[He] who creates the wind, . . . the Lord God Almighty is his name. Amos 4:13
One day by the seaside, I delighted in watching some kite surfers as they bounced along the water, moved by the force of the wind. When one came to shore, I asked him if the experience was as difficult as it looked. “No,” he said, “It’s actually easier than regular surfing because you harness the power of the wind.”
Afterward as I walked by the sea, thinking about the wind’s ability not only to propel the surfers but also to whip my hair into my face, I paused to wonder at our God the Creator. As we see in the Old Testament book of Amos, He who “forms the mountains” and “creates the wind” can turn “dawn to darkness” (v. 13).
God through His love created the world. Praise Him!
Through this prophet, the Lord reminded His people of His power as He called them back to Himself. Because they had not obeyed Him, He said He would reveal Himself to them (v. 13). Although we see His judgment here, we know from elsewhere in the Bible of His sacrificial love in sending His to save us
(see John 3:16).
The power of the wind on this breezy day in the South of England reminded me of the sheer immensity of the Lord. If you feel the wind today, why not stop and ponder our all-powerful God?
Father, thank You for Your power and love. Help us to daily rely on You.
God through His love created the world. Praise Him!
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KNOWING BETTER
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Posted:Nov 27, 2017 5:52 am
Last Updated:Nov 29, 2017 5:22 am 18568 Views
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Read: 2 Kings 22:1–4, 8–13
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 30–32; 1 Peter 4
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
2 Kings 22:11
When we brought our adoptive home from overseas, I was eager to shower him with love and provide what he had lacked over the preceding months, especially quality food, since he had a nutritional deficit. But despite our best efforts, including consulting specialists, he grew very little. After nearly three years, we learned he had some severe food intolerances. After removing those items from his diet, he grew five inches in just a few months. While I grieved at how long I’d unwittingly fed him foods that impaired his growth, I rejoiced at this surge in his health!
I suspect Josiah felt similarly when the Book of the Law was discovered after having been lost in the temple for years. Just as I grieved having unintentionally hindered my ’s growth, Josiah grieved having ignorantly missed God’s fullest and best intentions for His people (2 Kings 22:11). Although he is commended for doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord (v. 2), he learned better how to honor God after finding the Law. With his newfound knowledge, he led the people to worship again as God had instructed them (23:22–23).
God gives us a new start.
As we learn through the Bible how to honor Him, we may grieve the ways we’ve fallen short of God’s will for us. Yet we can be comforted that He heals and restores us, and leads us gently into deeper understanding.
Thank You, God, for showing me how to live in a way that pleases You. I’m sorry for the ways I’ve not done that in the past. Help me to honor and obey You now.
God gives us a new start.
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THE HEART´S TRUE HOME
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Posted:Nov 24, 2017 5:44 am
Last Updated:May 2, 2024 11:8 am 18402 Views
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Read: Ecclesiastes 3:10–11
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 22–23; 1 Peter 1
[God] has . . . set eternity in the human heart. Ecclesiastes 3:11
We had a West Highland Terrier for a number of years. “Westies” are tough little dogs, bred to tunnel into badger holes and engage the “enemy” in its lair. Our Westie was many generations removed from her origins, but she still retained that instinct, put into her through years of breeding. On one occasion she became obsessed by some “critter” under a rock in our backyard. Nothing could dissuade her. She dug and dug until she tunneled several feet under the rock.
Now consider this question: Why do we as humans pursue, pursue, pursue? Why must we climb unclimbed mountains, ski near-vertical slopes? Run the most difficult and dangerous rapids, challenge the forces of nature? Part of it is a desire for adventure and enjoyment, but it’s much more. It’s an instinct for God that has been implanted in us. We cannot not want to find God.
Beneath all our longings is a deep desire for God.
We don’t know that, of course. We only know that we long for something. “You don’t know what it is you want,” Mark Twain said, “but you want it so much you could almost die.”
God is our heart’s true home. As church father Augustine said in that most famous quotation: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
And what is the heart? A deep void within us that only God can fill.
Help me, Lord, to recognize my deep longing for You. Then fill me with the knowledge of You. Draw me near.
Beneath all our longings is a deep desire for God.
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HARVEST AND THANKSGIVING
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Posted:Nov 23, 2017 7:57 am
Last Updated:May 2, 2024 11:8 am 18438 Views
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Read: Genesis 8:15–9:3
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 20–21; James 5
Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Exodus 23:16
Several thousand years ago, God spoke directly to Moses and instituted a new festival for His people. In Exodus 23:16, according to Moses’s record, God said, “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.”
Today countries around the world do something similar by celebrating the land’s bounty. In Ghana, the people celebrate the Yam Festival as a harvest event. In Brazil, Dia de Acao de Gracas is a time to be grateful for the crops that yielded their food. In China, there is the Mid-Autumn (Moon) Festival. In the United States and Canada: Thanksgiving.
Gratitude is the memory of a glad heart.
To understand the fitting goal of a harvest celebration, we visit Noah right after the flood. God reminded Noah and his family—and us—of His provision for our flourishing existence on the earth. Earth would have seasons, daylight and darkness and “seedtime and harvest” (Gen. 8:22). Our gratitude for the harvest, which sustains us, goes to God alone.
No matter where you live or how you celebrate your land’s bounty, take time today to express gratitude to God—for we would have no harvest to celebrate without His grand creative design.
Dear Creator God, thank You so much for the wondrous way You fashioned this world—with seasons, with harvest-time, with everything we need to exist. Please accept our gratitude.
Gratitude is the memory of a glad heart
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MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE!!
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Posted:Nov 22, 2017 5:27 am
Last Updated:Nov 23, 2017 7:59 am 18490 Views
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Read: Psalm 98
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 18–19; James 4
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.
Psalm 98:4
Back when I was searching for a church to attend regularly, a friend invited me to a service at her church. The worship leaders led the congregation in a song I particularly loved. So I sang with gusto, remembering my college choir director’s advice to “Project!”
After the song, my friend’s husband turned to me and said, “You really sang loud.” This remark was not intended as a compliment! After that, I self-consciously monitored my singing, making sure I sang softer than those around me and always wondering if the people around me judged my singing.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.
Psalm 98:4
But one Sunday, I noticed the singing of a woman in the pew beside me. She seemed to sing with adoration, without a trace of self-consciousness. Her worship reminded me of the enthusiastic, spontaneous worship that David demonstrated in his life. In Psalm 98, in fact, David suggests that “all the earth” should “burst into jubilant song” in worship (v. 4).
Verse one of Psalm 98 tells us why we should worship joyfully, reminding us that “[God] has done marvelous things.” Throughout the psalm, David recounts these marvelous things: God’s faithfulness and justice to all nations, His mercy, and salvation. Dwelling on who God is and what He’s done can fill our hearts with praise.
What “marvelous things” has God done in your life? Thanksgiving is the perfect time to recall His wondrous works and give God thanks. Lift your voice and sing!
Lord, thank You for who You are and for what You’ve done.
Worship takes the focus off us and places it where it
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HELICOPTER SEEDS
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Posted:Nov 21, 2017 2:25 am
Last Updated:Nov 22, 2017 5:28 am 18675 Views
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Read: John 12:23–33
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 16–17; James 3
Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24
When our were young, they loved trying to catch the “helicopter seeds” that fell from our neighbor’s silver maple trees. Each seed resembles a wing. In late spring they twirl to the ground like a helicopter’s rotor blades. The seeds’ purpose is not to fly, but to fall to earth and grow into trees.
Before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers, “The hour has come for the of Man to be glorified. . . . nless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:23–24).
Lord Jesus, we are amazed by Your love. Give us grace to serve You today as we long to do.
While Jesus’s disciples wanted Him to be honored as the Messiah, He came to give His life so we could be forgiven and transformed through faith in Him. As Jesus’s followers, we hear His words, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (vv. 25–26).
Helicopter seeds can point us to the miracle of Jesus, the Savior, who died that we might live for Him.
Lord Jesus, we are amazed by Your love. Give us grace to serve You today as we long to do.
Jesus calls us to give our lives in serving Him.
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