To View the Daily Devotion from Charles Stanley please click on the Link below;
Monthly Archives: December 2022
Our Daily Bread — Beating as One
Bible in a Year:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Today’s Scripture & Insight:
Genesis 1:1, 27–31
Stories have captivated humans since the dawn of creation—functioning as a way to pass down knowledge long before written language existed. We’ve all known the delight of hearing or reading a story and being immediately engaged by such opening lines as “Once upon a time.” The power of a story appears to extend beyond merely enjoyment: when we listen to a story together, our heartbeats seem to synchronize! Though our individual heartbeats vary over the course of a day, and might only match another’s coincidentally, new research indicates our hearts may all fall into the same rhythm when we hear the same story at the same time.
God begins telling us His story with the words, “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). From the moment Adam and Eve first drew breath (v. 27), God has used that unfolding story to shape not just our individual lives but also—and perhaps more importantly—our collective lives as His children. Through the Bible—the most magnificent nonfiction story ever recorded—our hearts as believers in Jesus are joined together as people set apart for His purposes (1 Peter 2:9).
In response, may our hearts beat in shared rhythm, delighted by the Author’s creative works. And may we share His story with others, declaring “his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3), inviting them to become part of it too.
By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
What part of the story of the Bible most captivates you? With whom can you share it?
Thank You, Father, for showing me who You are through the Bible and making me one of Your own.
Grace to You; John MacArthur – God Becomes Visible
“[Christ] is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).
In Christ, the invisible God became visible.
Sometimes I listen to different preachers on the radio or watch them on television, and I get tremendously frustrated. That’s because so many of them present a confusing picture of who Christ really is. Since there are so many who distort the Christian faith, there should be in every believer a desire to defend it. The apostle Paul certainly had that desire. Since the heretics at Colosse viewed Jesus as a lesser spirit who emanated from God, Paul refutes that with a powerful description of who Jesus really is.
Paul describes Him as “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). The Greek word translated “image” (eikon) means “likeness.” Although man is also the eikon of God (1 Cor. 11:7), he is not a perfect image of God. Humans are made in God’s image in that they have rational personality. Like God, they possess intellect, emotion, and will, by which they are able to think, feel, and choose. We humans are not, however, in God’s image morally: He is holy, and we are sinful. We are also not created in His image essentially, since we do not possess His divine attributes.
Unlike man, Jesus Christ is the perfect, absolutely accurate image of God. He did not become the image of God at the Incarnation but has been that from all eternity. Hebrews 1:3 says Christ “is the radiance of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature.” Christ reflects God’s attributes and is the exact likeness of God. That is why Christ could say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
By using the term eikon, Paul emphasizes that Jesus is both the representation and manifestation of God. He is the full, final, and complete revelation of God. He is God in human flesh. That was His claim (John 8:58), and it is the unanimous testimony of Scripture (cf. Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13). To think anything less of Him is blasphemy and gives evidence of a mind blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4).
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank the Lord for removing your spiritual blindness so that you could “see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).
For Further Study
According to Romans 8:29, what has God predestined for all believers?
From Strength for Today by John MacArthur
Joyce Meyer – A Divine Attitude Adjustment
And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude].
— Ephesians 4:23 (AMPC)
Adapted from the resource Closer to God Each Day – by Joyce Meyer1 MIN READ
God wants us to always maintain a good attitude for two reasons. First, it glorifies Him and encourages other people to remain positive when they have problems; and second, it allows Him to work in our lives, bringing help and deliverance from our struggles.
Always having a good attitude is difficult unless we receive God’s grace to do so. Jesus said that apart from Him, we could do nothing (see John 15:5), but through Him we can do all things (see Philippians 4:13).
Don’t wait until you are tempted to have a bad attitude but pray daily that no matter what comes your way, you can endure it with a good attitude. We will always be tempted, but we can pray not to give in to the temptation.
A good attitude is one of our greatest assets. It keeps us hopeful no matter what is happening in our lives.
Prayer of the Day: Father, I trust You to grant me strength to face every difficulty I encounter. Help me keep a good attitude, filled with Your Holy Spirit, and always be thankful in every situation, amen.
Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – The Frailty of Life
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
The Bible does not condemn business acumen or future planning. What the Bible does condemn, however, is a prideful, self-centered way of thinking that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, leaves God out of our decisions and future plans—a mindset that assumes certainties that are never promised to us.
James confronts us in no uncertain terms with the reality of our finite knowledge and understanding. Indeed, he reminds us that we need to accept what we do not know. Do we want to be able to plan weeks and months in advance? Of course we do! But James points out that we don’t even know what will happen tomorrow. It is pride that leads us to assume that our next breath is a given.
He then goes on to remind us of our frailty. The fact is that our lives are each “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Like an early-morning fog that hovers over the grass and is gone at the first touch of the sun’s rays, our lives are transient; eventually, they seemingly vanish, without even a trace left to be seen by future generations.
In light of our frailty and limitations, how are we then to think about the future? James not only calls out our presumptuous thinking and planning, he also supplies the antidote. Very simply, we need to learn to make plans in humility, recognizing our complete dependence on God’s providential care. Nothing in the entire universe—including us—would continue to exist for one fraction of a second apart from God. As Alec Motyer writes, “We receive another day not as a result of natural necessity, nor by mechanical law, nor by right, nor by the courtesy of nature, but by the covenanted mercies of God.”[1]
Tomorrow is not promised. We may plan for it, but we may not assume we can control it. God’s mercy alone enables us to awaken to each new day. The sin of presumption is exposed as folly when we realize that our very life is grounded in God’s sustaining gifts. We cannot ignore our limitations and life’s brevity, but we can allow these realities to shape and transform our thinking and our decisions for the sake of His glory. So consider your plans for today, for tomorrow, for next year, and for further on in your life. Did you pray about them? Have you acknowledged that His plans are sovereign and that all of yours are contingent on His? Lift your plans up to Him now and place them in His hands. You cannot control the future. But you do not need to, for you know the one who does.
GOING DEEPER
Matthew 6:25-34
Topics: Christian Life Pride
FOOTNOTES
1 The Message of James, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP Academic, 1985), p 162.
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,
Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Is Called “Father”
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9)
One of the best ways to get to know God is to learn the different names that describe Him. Each of His names describes something about Who He is and what He does. One of the most often-used names of God in the Bible is the name Father. What is a father? What is a father like? Why might it be important that God is called a father? How should I think about a fatherly God?
To be a father, you have to have children. Usually a father lives with the children he helped bring into the world. Some fathers are fathers because they have adopted a child. If a husband and wife adopt a child, it means they go and get a child who does not have parents for some reason, and they take him into their home. An adoptive father treats his adopted child the same way he would treat a biological child.
A father is responsible to take care of his children. He provides them with food, clothes, a place to live, things they need, and maybe even some things they just want. He does that because he loves his children and wants to see them healthy and happy. No human father could ever be a perfect father, but most human fathers try at least to be good fathers. A good father teaches his children right from wrong, and he helps them to do what is right. Sometimes he has to discipline his children for doing wrong. Have you ever been disciplined by your father for doing wrong? If so, it was because he loves you and wants the best for you. A father also helps his children make the right choices. He hugs his children and tells them he loves them. He is there to comfort his children when they are hurt or are sad, or when they have a bad day.
God is a father, too. He has many, many children. His children are those who have turned away from their sin and are trusting in Him. He is everybody’s God and everybody’s Creator, because He created everyone, and it is because of Him that everyone has breath and life. But He is known as “Father” only to those who trust in Him, His adopted children. If we are God’s adopted children, it means God brought us into His family just like a human father adopts a child and brings him into his family. If we have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, Jesus is like an “older brother” to us. He has gone before us and made it possible for us to have father-child relationships with God.
God adopts children into His family because He loves them and wants the best for them. Because He loves us, He provides food and houses and air and every good thing in our lives. He teaches us right from wrong by giving us His Word. He helps us to under-stand His Word by His Holy Spirit and the parents and teachers He gives us. He also disciplines us when we do wrong because He knows doing wrong will hurt us. In these ways – through His Word and through the things He gives us – He reminds us that He loves us. And He is always there to comfort us when we get hurt or have a bad day.
What is so much more special about a father-child relationship than other kinds of relationships? If you have turned from your sins and trusted in Christ, then you are not just God’s “pet.” He doesn’t just feed you and teach you new tricks. You are not God’s “invention” or “robot.” You don’t exist just because God wants to boss you around or boast about all the neat talents He’s built into you. If you really have turned away from your sins and entered into God’s family by adoption, then you are (and always will be!) His child. God’s children can expect Him to act like a father.
Is God truly your father? Have you turned away from your sins? Are you trusting in Christ as your Savior and “older Brother”? If so, how do you feel about being a child of God? It should make you happy because you can trust He is always there for you, no matter what happens. He loves you very, very much – not just as any father, not just as any good father, but as the only perfect Father.
God is the heavenly Father of any who trust in Christ as Savior.
My Response:
» Do I know God as my Father?
» Am I happy and thankful for all He does for me?
» Do I really love Him as a child loves a father?
Denison Forum – Have you heard of “Chatbox cheating”?
An artificial intelligence (AI) tool called ChatGPT can respond to a question or topic with an essay that looks deceptively like it was written by a human. One college professor expects a “flood” rather than a “trickle” of plagiarism problems in the near future as a result. Such technology is being called “a turning point with artificial intelligence,” one that prompts the question, “How can we use these tools ethically and safely?”
Now consider this: half of the ten most-read stories in the New York Times this year dealt with shootings, abortion, or insults. Four others dealt with death, disasters, or aging. (“Wordle is a love story” was the lone exception.)
Given our fallen nature, how confident are you that we will master AI before it masters us? What about the other problems that plagued us last year and are likely to do so in the year to come?
Clearly, we need a Savior to save us from our sins. But, paradoxically, one of the sins from which we need to be saved is the sin of rejecting our need for a Savior.
Legend, liar, lunatic, or Lord?
Yesterday we noted that 52 percent of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more. Such a supposition is not new. In 1942, C. S. Lewis responded to this assertion in what later became the most famous paragraph in his classic, Mere Christianity:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
From this paragraph derives what is known as the “trilemma”: Jesus must be either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.
There’s a fourth option, however. We also noted yesterday that 53 percent of Americans believe the Bible “is not literally true.” If they are right, perhaps Jesus did not really claim to be Lord. Perhaps this idea is a legend that grew up over the centuries (a claim Dan Brown made famous in his bestseller, The Da Vinci Code).
If this is the case, we are not forced to choose among Lewis’s three options, since all of them arise from the supposedly faulty presumption that Jesus claimed divinity for himself.
“A hymn to Christ as to a god”
I have taught seminary classes and written extensively on this subject (see my Wrestling With God, for example). To summarize the remarkable extrabiblical evidence for Jesus:
- Thallus the Samaritan (AD 52) referred to the darkness of the crucifixion of Jesus.
- Mara bar Serapion (writing after AD 70) noted that Jesus’ followers considered him to be their king.
- Tacitus (AD 55–120) described early Christian belief as a “most mischievous superstition,” referring to faith in the supernatural or miraculous rather than simply following a human teacher.
- In AD 112, a Roman administrator named Pliny the Younger wrote that Christians “were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ as to a god.”
- And the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (AD 37/38–97) reported that early Christians called Jesus the “Christ,” the Messiah, and believed him to have been raised from the dead.
So, since Jesus’ claim to divinity was not a legend that grew up centuries afterward but a first-century assertion accepted by his followers, we are back to Lewis’s three options: liar, lunatic, or Lord.
However, a postmodern relativist will likely shrug his shoulders and say, “That’s just your truth. I have my own truth.” What do we do then?
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”
2 Chronicles 24:20 reports that “the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest” (this was not the biblical prophet by the same name), and he called the people to repent of their idolatry and immorality. However, “they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ” (v. 21). Here was his response: “And when he was dying, he said, ‘May the Lᴏʀᴅ see and avenge!’” (v. 22).
Fast-forward eight centuries to the Book of Acts, where we find a similar story. This time the person who was empowered by God’s Spirit was named Stephen (Acts 6:5). Like Zechariah, he exposed the idolatry and immorality of the people (Acts 7:2–53). And like Zechariah, he was stoned to death as a result (vv. 58–59). But unlike Zechariah, “he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (v. 60).
What explains the difference?
Stephen knew the example of Jesus’ vicarious atonement and his prayer from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And while Zechariah was “clothed” by God’s Spirit, Stephen as a Christian was indwelt by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).
As a result, he could manifest the “fruit of the Spirit,” the first of which is “love” (Galatians 5:22). His forgiving grace was witnessed by “a young man named Saul” (Acts 7:58), who soon came to encounter Stephen’s Lord and make him his personal Lord as well (Acts 9:1–18).
Here’s the point: the best way to show skeptics that Jesus is Lord is to show them that he is our Lord. And the best way to show them that he is our Lord is to love them as he loves us.
How will you imitate Stephen today?
Denison Forum
In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – Learning to Listen to God
To View the Daily Devotion from Charles Stanley please click on the Link below;
Our Daily Bread — When You’re Afraid
Bible in a Year:
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
Today’s Scripture & Insight:
Judges 7:8−15
I had a medical checkup scheduled, and although I’d had no recent health concerns, I dreaded the visit. I was haunted by memories of an unexpected diagnosis long ago. While I knew God was with me and I should simply trust Him, I still felt afraid.
I was disappointed in my fear and lack of faith. If God was always with me, why was I feeling such anxiety? Then one morning I believe He led me to the story of Gideon.
Called “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12), Gideon was fearful over his assignment to attack the Midianites. Although God had promised him His presence and victory, Gideon still sought multiple reassurances (vv. 16−23, 36−40).
However, God didn’t condemn Gideon for his fear. He understood him. On the night of the attack, He assured Gideon again of victory, even giving him a way to assuage his fears (7:10−11).
God understood my fear too. His reassurance gave me the courage to trust Him. I experienced His peace, knowing that He was with me regardless of the outcome. In the end, my checkup was uneventful.
We have a God who understands our fears and who reassures us through the Scriptures and the Spirit (Psalm 23:4; John 14:16−17). May we worship Him in thankfulness, just as Gideon did (Judges 7:15).
By: Karen Huang
Reflect & Pray
What fears or challenges are you facing? How does it help to know that God is with you and wants to help you?
Dear God, thank You for not condemning my fears, but always reassuring me of Your presence. Help me to turn to You when I’m afraid and trust in You.
Grace to You; John MacArthur – Defending the Faith
“[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:15-19).
A believer should defend the faith.
Despite the diligent labors of Epaphras, the Colossian church was in jeopardy. A serious heresy had arisen, and Epaphras was so concerned that he traveled to Rome to visit Paul in prison. The Colossian church had not yet been infected by that heresy, and Paul warns them against its dangers.
The heretics, denying the humanity of Christ, viewed Him as one of many lesser, descending spirit beings that emanated from God. They taught a form of philosophic dualism, postulating that spirit was good and matter was evil. Hence, a good emanation like Christ could never take on a body composed of evil matter. The idea that God Himself could become man was absurd to them. Thus, the false teachers also denied His deity.
Christ was also not adequate for salvation, according to the heretics. Salvation required a superior, mystical, secret knowledge, beyond that of the gospel of Christ. It also involved worshiping the good emanations (angels) and keeping Jewish ceremonial laws.
By far the most serious aspect of the Colossian heresy was its rejection of Christ’s deity. Before getting to the other issues, Paul makes an emphatic defense of that crucial doctrine. In Colossians 1:15-19 Paul reveals our Lord’s true identity by viewing Him in relation to God, the universe, and the church.
Perhaps you’ve met people who deny Christ’s deity, but you weren’t sure what to say to them. In the next few days, let Paul be your guide in showing you how to confront cultists in a biblical manner. By following his example, you’ll be able to defend our precious faith.
Suggestions for Prayer
Ask the Lord to teach you from His Word how to refute false teaching.
For Further Study
In verse 3 of Jude, what exhortation does Jude give to believers?
From Strength for Today by John MacArthur
Joyce Meyer – You Can Enjoy Your Life
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
— Genesis 1:31 (ESV)
When God had completed His six days of creation, He took time to look over everything, and according to the Amplified Bible, He saw that …it was very good and He validated it completely… (Genesis 1:31 AMP). By this time in the creation story, God had already created man and woman (see Genesis 1:27). So, when He pronounced that everything was “very good,” it included Adam and Eve, who represent all of humanity. Everyone God made is good, including you and me.
Many people feel worthless, insecure, and unacceptable, which does not agree with God’s opinion of us. He validates us completely. God knows everything about each of us, and He loves us unconditionally. God approves of us; He may not approve of everything we do, but He does approve of who we are as His beloved children. He does not want us to go through life discouraged, disappointed, wounded, or feeling bad about ourselves. He wants us to think about ourselves like He thinks of us.
Throughout His Word, God lets us know what He thinks about us. It says we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14 ESV). It says He rejoices over us with gladness and quiets us with His love (see Zephaniah 3:17). It promises that He has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and that He will complete the good work He has begun in us (see Philippians 1:6). It calls us the apple of His eye (see Psalm 17:8). And it says that He loves us with an everlasting love (see Jeremiah 31:3). Hopefully you can see that God approves of and enjoys you.
I encourage you to approve of and enjoy yourself as well. This may take some time for you, especially if you have been deeply wounded or if you have experienced things that have made you feel unlovable, unacceptable, or inferior to others. Never base what is true on your feelings because they don’t always agree with God’s Word.
I had to reach a point in my life where I had to decide to agree with what God’s Word says about me, even though I could have viewed myself as “damaged goods” because of sexual abuse by my father. Choosing to enjoy and accept myself is one of the best decisions I have ever made. God does not create anything worthless. He is good, and everything He does is good. We cannot believe that God created us and also believe we are worthless. Begin to accept and enjoy yourself where you are, and God will help you get to where you need to be.
Prayer of the Day: Father, show me Your will for me and help me be courageous enough to believe I am good, and to make choices that agree with Your Word. I want the life that You want for me, amen.
Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Christmas According to Christ
When Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.”
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke introduce us to a whole cast of Christmas characters with whom we’ve grown quite familiar: Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the wise men, and so on. Sometimes we even consider those who are less known, such as Zechariah, Elizabeth, Anna, and Simeon. With each passing Christmas season, we have probably been treated to sermons and studies from the perspective of just about every cast member. Yet there is one notable exception: surprisingly few of us have pondered Christmas from Jesus’ vantage point.
In this verse, the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that when Jesus stepped onto the stage of history, He took the words of Psalm 40 upon His lips. Just as Cinderella’s glass slipper fit only her foot, these words fit nobody but Jesus.
God was preparing for the first Christmas throughout the centuries of the Old Testament, for all the Old Testament sacrifices were mere shadows of the reality to which they pointed. Those sacrifices involved the death of animals that had to be prodded to the altar. They had no choice in the matter; they were simply pressed into service. But before He even experienced humanity, Jesus knew His role—His sacrifice—would be different. He willingly consented. In the humblest of forms and in an unexpected setting, God the Son took on a body that was prepared for Him—prepared “as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He looked at this broken world and its sinful people, and He said to His Father, Yes, I will go there. I will become one of them, and I will die for them.
Peter grasps the weight of Christ’s death when he writes, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus, being fully God and fully man, entered this world to do in His body what no animal sacrifice could do: He has borne our punishment, cleansed our consciences, and held out divine mercy. He perfectly accomplished all that is necessary for sinful men and women to enter into fellowship with God.
This is very different from the promise of mere religion, in which rules and effort become futile mechanisms for trying to climb into heaven. In contrast, the manger’s message is one of liberating mercy. God has wonderfully taken the initiative and come to rescue us through Jesus. We don’t need to make a long journey to find God, because Christ, the newborn King, knew His role. What is the right response? Simply to bow before Him humbly, praise Him wholeheartedly, and wait for Him expectantly all of our days.
GOING DEEPER
Psalm 40
Topics: Christmas Death of Christ Substitutionary Atonement
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,
Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Is Worthy of Public Praise
“Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.” (Judges 5:3)
During this Christmas season, some people are going out to do “caroling.” “Caroling” is when a group of people gather together and visit the homes of their family and friends, where they sing Christmas carols – songs about Jesus’ birth. Sometimes they bring cookies or hot chocolate or presents to give to the people they visit. But most of all, they give their time – they come sing as a way of saying “Merry Christmas!” and cheering up people who might be feeling sad or lonely. Often, groups of carolers will visit nursing homes or hospitals, in hopes of bringing some Christmas cheer to the residents and patients. Elderly people or sick people are usually unable to get out around town, or else they may not have friends and family – which is especially hard during the holiday season.
Some carolers even go out into the streets or public shopping malls and stand together and sing as crowds of people walk by. Unlike other times of the year, Christmas is a time where it is considered acceptable to sing religious songs in public. Even people who do not really know Jesus as their personal Savior are happy to hear Christmas carols as they go about their errands and do their last-minute Christmas shopping.
Have you ever gone caroling? Some of the more popular carols are very familiar songs to us – like “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World” or “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” Have you ever gotten so excited about singing Christmas carols that you discover you have forgotten to listen to the words you have been singing? In all the hustle and bustle of Christmastime, it can be easy to forget why we have so many popular songs about Jesus’ birth.
The whole celebration of Christmas is a very big reminder that God does exist, that we are a world full of natural sinners, and that we need a Savior. For some people, Christmastime is a very difficult season because it brings them face-to-face with the reality of God and their sins against Him. But it is also a time of great hope, because Jesus came to Earth to seek and save sinners like us.
During Israel’s early years as a nation, the people were ruled by judges whom God appointed. During the time of the judges, the Israelites often behaved very wickedly. They did not act like God’s people at all. The world was full of sinners, people who did whatever they thought was right for themselves – not even caring whether God thought their choices were right. But there were some people who knew God and loved Him. Deborah was a godly leader during the time of the judges. In the book of Judges, chapter 5, we can read a song that Deborah sang publicly in praise to God.
In Judges 5:3, Deborah sang, “Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.” She did not mind who heard her. Even the greatest rulers alive back then (kings and princes of other nations) could not compare to the Israelites’ God, Jehovah. From her heart, Deborah sang about God and all that He had done for His people, because she knew He was worthy of public praise.
This Christmas, you might have an opportunity to sing in public. Not just in front of the church and people who know and love your LORD, but maybe even in front of unbelievers who do not know Him. Isn’t it good news that God has come to Earth to seek and save sinners like you, and like those sick people or those shoppers at the mall? A God like that is worth singing about. We should not be bashful or scared when it comes to praising God. No one compares to Him, not even the greatest of human beings. We should listen to the words we sing, and we should mean them from our hearts, because God is worthy of genuine, heart-felt praise from His people.
God deserves to be praised publicly by His people.
My Response:
» Am I acting like a worldly person even though I say I am a Christian?
» How can I praise God publicly with my actions and words (and even songs)?
» Is there someone I can encourage today with the good news of the Savior?
Denison Forum – US military reports that Santa was undeterred by arctic blast
More than one million Americans and Canadians were without power over the weekend as a “bomb cyclone” wreaked havoc with snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures that affected nearly 250 million people.
But I’m happy to report that Santa Claus was not one of them.
US military officials assured anxious children that the arctic blast that disrupted US airline traffic would not prevent Santa from making his annual Christmas Eve flight. A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which tracks the yuletide flight, explained: “We have to deal with a polar vortex once in a while, but Santa lives year-round in one at the North Pole, so he’s used to this weather.”
My four grandchildren confirmed the military’s report by opening numerous presents from Santa yesterday morning.
Santa Claus has an official address
Of course, rationalistic skeptics might view both the military’s statement and my grandchildren’s testimony as somewhat fanciful. In their view, anything that defies human logic and experimental corroboration must be considered myth and tradition, nothing more.
This is especially the case if they can find rational explanations for the events in question.
For example, according to the United States Postal Service (USPS), Santa Claus’s official address is 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 8888. The USPS reports that letters sent to this address are received, personal information is redacted, the letters are published online, and generous people “adopt” them and ship gifts to the letter writers. This practice provides a naturalistic explanation for many gifts from “Santa.”
Another factor is the bedrock principle of scientific discovery that an experiment’s results must be capable of verification by others who perform the same experiment. Philosopher Antony Flew offered a similar approach called “falsification”: essentially, if a truth claim cannot be proven wrong, it cannot be proven right.
If I claim to have met with Santa Claus on his nocturnal visit Saturday evening, you will want evidence: Did anyone else see him with me? Did I take his photo or get other empirical evidence of our encounter? Can you speak with him? If the answer to these and any other investigatory questions is no but I still insist that my story is true, you will obviously dismiss my assertion.
And so it is that many view Santa’s “visit” on Christmas Eve with unbridled skepticism. Tragically, millions view the other event we celebrated this weekend in the same way.
Was Jesus a great teacher but nothing more?
According to a recent survey, 52 percent of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher but nothing more. In their view, it is as mythical and irrational to claim that the Christ of Christmas is the Son of God as it is to claim that Santa visited my home last Saturday evening.
I believe I understand their reasoning:
One: Since 53 percent of Americans believe that the Bible “is not literally true,” they do not allow clear biblical claims for the divinity of Christ (cf. John 1:1, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3, John 8:8) to change their minds.
Two: Since we live in a postmodern, relativistic culture where many people consider all truth claims to be personal and subjective, they are not persuaded by the extraordinary extrabiblical evidence for the deity of Christ. (For a survey of such evidence, see my “Is Jesus really God?”)
Three: If Jesus is only a “great teacher,” they are no more bound to do what he said than they are to obey the teachings of Buddha, Confucius, or any other “great teacher.”
Four: Thus they can choose which teachings of the “great teacher” they will obey and reject the others in order to live however they wish to live.
“The site of God’s surprising presence”
The illogical nature of this reasoning deserves a larger response than I have room left to offer today, so we’ll pick up the story tomorrow. For now, let’s close by focusing on the billions of people who do accept the biblical claim that the Baby of Bethlehem was and is the divine Son of God.
In her Sunday New York Times article, Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren explains what this truth claim means for them: “Because God took on a human body, all human bodies are holy and worthy of respect. Because God worked, sweating under our sun with difficulty and toil, all human labor can be hallowed. Because God had a human family and friends, our relationships too are eternal and sacred. If God became a human who spent most of his life in quotidian ways, then all our lives, in all of their granularity, are transformed into the site of God’s surprising presence.”
What does the incarnational miracle of Christmas say to the hurting and lonely? Warren continues: “God knows the depths of human pain not in theory but because he has felt it himself. From his earliest moments, Jesus would have been considered a nobody, a loser, another overlooked child born into poverty, an ethnic minority in a vast, oppressive, and seemingly all-powerful empire. We have tamed the Christmas story with overfamiliarity and sentimentality—little lambs and shepherds, tinsel and stockings—so we fail to notice the depth of pain, chaos, and danger into which Jesus was born.
“God identifies himself most with the hungry and the vulnerable, with those in chronic pain, with victims of violence, with the outcasts and the despised.” When Jesus was born, “it was not into a posh home in a cozy Christmas movie but instead into a place of hardship and sorrow.”
A time for choosing
You and I can dismiss the incarnational miracle of Christmas, or we can believe that “to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:7). We can trust that Son with our greatest fears and failures, worries and burdens. And we can invite those we influence to do the same.
Warren concludes: “The hope of Christmas is that God did not—and therefore will not—leave us alone.” But we can leave him alone and miss the miracle of Christmas in our daily lives.
The day after Christmas is a time for choosing what Christmas will be to us the rest of the year.
Choose wisely.
Denison Forum
In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – Resting in Jesus
To View the Daily Devotion from Charles Stanley please click on the Link below;
The Birthday of the Nation Is Linked with the Birthday of the Savior
'The Birthday of the Nation Is Linked with the Birthday of the Savior': Christmas and the Faith of America's Founders
It’s hard to imagine the Christmas season without evergreen trees, decorations, lights, stockings, Santa Claus, Christmas cards, and stacks of gifts for family and friends. Today, most Americans take these traditions for granted.
But when the United States was founded, Christmas was not celebrated the way it is today. While the birth of Christ was honored, and faith was central to the lives of many founders, History.com points out many popular Christmas traditions didn’t start until the 19th century. And Christmas was not even a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
As Time Magazine noted, December 25 was so inconsequential in early America that after the Revolutionary War, Congress didn’t even bother taking the day off to celebrate the holiday, deciding instead to hold its first session on Christmas Day, 1789.
Even though the new nation did not celebrate Christmas as we do, the men who were the founders and early leaders of the United States celebrated Christmas with their families and also wrote extensively about their faith in God and Jesus Christ, his son.
What Our Founders and Early Leaders Thought of Christmas, Jesus, and the Bible
GEORGE WASHINGTON – 1st President of the United States, Commander of Continental Army during American Revolution
Washington celebrated Christmas with his family at Mount Vernon. According to the Mount Vernon website, instead of celebrating on a single day, the Washingtons celebrated a holiday season beginning on Christmas Eve and lasting 12 days till Epiphany or Twelfth Night on Jan. 6.
Washington and his wife Martha frequently attended Pohick Church, an Episcopalian congregation, in Lorton, Virginia, on Christmas Day and also hosted family and friends to celebrate Christmas.
In November of 1783, Washington found out the treaty with Great Britain had been signed and the long war for American Independence was over, according to the Mount Vernon website. He rode to Annapolis to meet with Congress and resign his military commission. While he was in the city, he bought several Christmas presents, including a locket, three small pocketbooks, three thimbles, three sashes, a dress cap, a hat, a whirligig, fiddle, gun, and quadrille boxes. Quadrille was a game of cards using an ordinary pack but with the 8s, 9s and 10s removed, and it became popular in the early 1700s. The quadrille box was probably a place to keep modified packs of cards, according to British History Online.
Washington also wrote about his faith. The following was written in his private prayer book.
“O most glorious God … Direct my thoughts, words, and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit…. Daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy Son Jesus Christ… Thou gavest thy Son to die for me, and hast given me assurance of salvation.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN – Writer, Scientist, Inventor, Statesman, Diplomat
Decades before he would become a founding father of a new nation, Benjamin Franklin noted in his Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1733, “A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
Writing in his almanac in 1743, he would also leave the reader with this piece of advice: “How many observe Christ’s birth-day! How few, his precepts! O! ’tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.”
Responding to Ezra Stiles shortly before his death in 1790, when he was asked about his religion, Franklin replied: “I believe in one God, the creator of the universe. That he governs it by his Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this.”
“As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think his system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is like to see,” he wrote.
JOHN ADAMS – 2nd President of the United States
According to White House History, the first White House Christmas party was held in December 1800. President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams held it for their four-year-old granddaughter Susanna Boylston Adams, who was living with them. They invited government officials and their children to the party.
Adams would also write about his faith, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. … The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity, and humanity.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON & JAMES MADISON – 3rd and 4th Presidents of the United States
Like many people today, Thomas Jefferson thought of Christmas as a time for family and friends. As the website of his home, Monticello, reports, Jefferson even used the word “merriment” when he wrote about Christmas. In 1762, he described Christmas as “the day of greatest mirth and jollity.”
Jefferson also wrote about celebrating Christmas with his grandchildren. On Christmas Day 1809, he said of eight-year-old grandson Francis Wayles Eppes, “He is at this moment running about with his cousins bawling out ‘a Merry Christmas’ ‘a Christmas gift’ Etc.”
Jefferson also wrote his friends about his faith.
“I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others. … I am a real Christian — that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.”
But during Jefferson’s time at the White House as the nation’s 3rd president, it was Secretary of State James Madison’s wife Dolley, who became the official hostess for Christmas, because President Jefferson was a widower, according to White House Christmas Cards.
According to the website, during the Christmas season in 1805, Dolley invited six of Jefferson’s grandchildren and 100 of their friends to what became a joyous holiday party where the President played the violin while the children danced.
When Madison succeeded Jefferson as president, the celebration of Christmas at the White House continued with parties hosted by First Lady Dolley. White House Christmas Cards also noted her holiday attire would usually include some purple peacock feathers atop a turban or cap covering her hair, along with her dress of lace and pink satin. Although there were neither White House Christmas cards exchanged nor a decorated Christmas tree in those years, the holiday tradition would include wonderful things to eat, including seafood, stuffed goose, Virginia ham, and pound cake.
The Madisons continued their Christmas holiday celebrations after retiring from public life to Montpelier, their home in Virginia. The yearly tradition of sending Christmas cards hadn’t yet caught on with the public at the time, but the Madisons and their relatives and friends wrote letters wishing each other the best sentiments for the holidays.
Here is a note that was written by Dolley Madison for her nieces early in 1836: “A thousand wishes for your happiness and prosperity on every and many Christmas days to come!” according to the website.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS – 6th President of the United States
The 6th President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, used a large patriotic gathering on July 4, 1837, celebrating the 61st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to talk about Jesus Christ and his birth.
Adams, the son of John Adams, the 2nd president of the United States, asked his Newburyport, Mass., audience a question and then responded, answering his own question.
“Why is it that next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day on the Fourth of July?” Adams asked.
“Is it not that in the chain of human events, the birthday of a nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?” he continued.
A PRAYER BY GEORGE WASHINGTON
This prayer is used regularly at “The President’s Chapel” of George Washington University and voices the aspirations of the University for the fulfillment of civic duties and the promotion of national welfare:
Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
12-23-2022
Bible in a Year:
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds.
Today’s Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 71:15–24
An orca whale, who researchers have named “Granny,” apparently knew the importance of her role in the life of her “grandbaby whale.” The young whale’s mother had recently died, and the orphaned whale was not yet old enough to thrive without protection and support. Granny, though in her eighties (or older), came alongside to teach him what he needed to know to survive. Granny corralled some fish for the younger whale instead of consuming them herself, so he would not only have a meal but would also learn what to eat and where to find the salmon he’d need to live.
We too have the distinct honor and joy of passing on what we know—we can share about the wonderful works and character of God with those coming after us. The aging psalmist asks God to allow him to “declare [His] power to the next generation” (Psalm 71:18). He earnestly wishes to share with others what he knows of God—His “righteous deeds” and “saving acts”—that we need to flourish (v. 15).
Even if we don’t have the gray hairs of old age (v. 18), declaring how we’ve experienced the love and faithfulness of God can benefit someone on their journey with Him. Our willingness to share that wisdom might just be what that person needs to live and thrive in Christ even in adversity (v. 20).
By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
Who has nurtured your relationship with God? Who needs your wisdom today?
Dear Father, thank You for sending me wisdom through those who’ve walked ahead of me. May I do the same for others in Your power and love.
Grace to You; John MacArthur – The Revelation of Man’s Destiny
“He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, ‘What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him” (Heb. 2:5-8).
Man’s original intended destiny was to be king of the earth.
When we look at the vast, seemingly endless universe and then think about the little dot we call earth in the middle of it all, we cannot help but wonder, “What is man? What right do we have to be so much on God’s mind?”
David had an answer: “Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels . . . crowned him with glory and honor . . . appointed him over the works of Thy hands . . . put all things in subjection under his feet” (Heb. 2:6-8). The writer of Hebrews was quoting one of the Psalms (Ps. 8:4-6) to show that God made man to be king.
David undoubtedly penned his psalm based on what God said in the beginning: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26). God’s original design for man in his innocence was to be king over an undefiled earth.
When God made Adam, who was pure and innocent, He gave Him honor and glory. God crowned man king of the earth: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet” (Heb. 2:8). One day we again will be given the right to rule the earth, and all God’s creation will be put under our feet.
Suggestion for Prayer
Read Psalm 8 and offer it as your own praise to God.
For Further Study
Read Daniel 7:18, 27 and note the extent of the saints’ ultimate rule.
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur
Joyce Meyer – Choosing Godly Thoughts
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You.
— Isaiah 26:3 (AMPC)
If you want to live a peaceful, joy-filled, abundant life, you need to understand it all begins with the thoughts you choose to think. Your mind is connected to every feeling you have and every action you take.
A worried, anxious life begins with thoughts like this: How am I going to do everything I have to do? My life is impossible! This is more than I can handle!
But a contented, happy life begins with thoughts like this: God loves me, and He will take care of everything in my future. He will give me the strength and ability to do each thing I need to do as it comes up.
You can choose the thoughts you want to dwell on. Your mind is connected to every part of your life, so choose to focus on godly thoughts today in order to experience the life Jesus came to give you.
Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father, for helping me think positive, godly thoughts. I am grateful that I am not a prisoner to negative thinking and that I can choose to be happy, and joy filled.
Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Lord, You Know
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
The heart of Christianity isn’t found in doing a course on systematic theology or in memorizing doctrines to be regurgitated. The focal point for the Christian is a relationship with Jesus—to be known and loved by Him, and to love Him in return.
We see this illustrated firsthand when, after sharing a meal on the beach with His disciples, the risen Jesus initiated a private conversation with Peter. This talk resulted in both Peter’s conviction and calling. Supremely, though, it displays Christ’s intimate knowledge and care for those who love Him. Christ’s greatest concern was Peter’s response to His question, “Do you love me?”
In this exchange, Jesus asked Peter this question repeatedly. The question was not meant to provoke mere sentimentalism; it demanded a decision. The repetition served as a stark reminder of Peter’s three denials of knowing Christ (John 18:15-18, 25-27), and forced Peter to recognize that his recent actions had failed to show his love for Christ. He couldn’t point to his own works to justify himself.
We will come to the same realization as we consider times when we have stumbled. When Christ asks us the same question, there is nothing we can say or do in our defense to prove our love. The only thing that Peter could plead before the Father, before Christ, was God’s own omniscience: “Lord … you know that I love you.” Likewise, our only appeal is to the understanding heart of Jesus.
Our actions may discourage us, our circumstances may have buffeted and beaten us, and our love for God may be weak—but we can take comfort in the truth that Jesus knows our hearts! He knows our hearts will fail. He knows our faith can be weak. But our failings are the very reason why He came into this world, died on the cross, and rose again.
If we find ourselves needing restoration but having nothing to say in our defense, the wonderful hope we have is that we can say, “Lord, You know.” And if we find ourselves needing our love to be rekindled but having nothing within us to spark it, the wonderful truth is that we can look to our Lord hanging on a cross out of love for us: for “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Take a moment and reflect upon the immensity and the intimacy of God’s grace and love for you. Jesus bore all of your failures on the cross so that you might die to sin and live for Him (1 Peter 2:24), and He continues to pursue relationship with you despite all your imperfections. He knows you utterly, and yet He loves you perfectly.
Do you love Him? For surely there is none more worthy.
GOING DEEPER
1 John 3:16-24
Topics: Grace of God Love of God
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 