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Written by Sue VanderKlay - Heartland Church - Fort Wayne, IN Photo Credit: Rhonda Bailey  A devotional dedicated to my mom, who passed away on December 20, 2016.
“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20 NIV). I learned something new during our time together at church on December 15, 2019. The song, “Joy to the World,” was not actually written as a Christmas song! It’s a song celebrating Christ’s return! Often, as a child and young lady, I remember my mom humming “Joy to the World” or singing portions of it throughout the year. I remember thinking or wondering if maybe she just longed for Christmas to come as that was her favorite time of year. Family, whom we wouldn’t see but maybe once or twice a year, would come to visit. Now, I’m thinking that maybe mom knew it wasn’t “just” a Christmas song. Mom struggled so much during her life here on earth! Towards the end, she just wanted to hear His word and how it had brought growth and joy to those she loved. She also wanted to be told that she was loved by her family but, most of all, her Lord and Savior. During one of the last times I visited her, I remember hearing someone in the gathering area of the nursing home playing “Joy to the World” on the piano, and she was humming along. She couldn’t speak at that point, and it didn’t really seem as if she understood much, but she knew that song! This year, we have all faced some tough times, and we may face many more challenges in the days and years to come. But the rest of this year and in the new year to come, we have the option to CHOOSE JOY! Key Thought: As we come to the close of this year, remember that our Lord longs for us to draw close to Him, experience the joy, receive the blessings, fill ourselves with His truths, and see the wonders of His love as we prepare for His second coming! Joy to the World Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king; Let every heart, prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and flocks, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove; The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love. Written by Dcn. Sue Bliese - Holy Spirit Anglican - Akron, OH  When I came home from work I was greeted by an envelope on the kitchen table. It was from my health insurance provider. It was unmarked; no “Bill Enclosed” or “Important Information About Your Account.” Hmmmm. No thank you, I thought. I am done adulting today.
My day had not been particularly hard, but nothing makes me want to deny my responsibilities more than insurance. So many details, so many new vocabulary words. Where is the responsible adult who takes care of this stuff? Oh yeah, that’s me. Well, not that night. I’d had enough of reality and was ready to live in denial for an evening. 2020 has been a particularly difficult year. It’s been a year of racial tensions, crazy politics, and pandemic. Businesses have closed, student fail rates have doubled, and people have lost loved ones. If there ever was a time to feel like you are done adulting for a while this may be it. Sleeping late, staying in your pjs all day and watching cartoons until July might seem like the best solution. I feel you. Fortunately we adults do have someone more responsible watching over us, who loves us and provides for us. A creator who takes care of his creation. Whatever happens, I am not adulting on my own. I have this awesome heavenly Father, who delights in me and thinks I am worth, well, his son. In this year of unprecedented changes, he has not changed. Hard times do not intimidate him. He is still “turn[ing] the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water” (Ps. 114:8) I am still seeing friends find God and experiencing new life in Christ. My friend who works with college students reports full zoom small groups who want to be filled with the Spirit. Their natural resources are running out. That Spirit will pour out the Father’s love into their hearts (Rom 5:5). Circumstances do not matter; he is still offering those near and far strength that comes from outside themselves, a safe home within his heart where we can know we are his beloved child. Sometimes I mess up and run away and hide when I should face reality. And sometimes that makes me feel awful about myself. But the morning after I denied the reality of the insurance letter I woke up feeling fresh and new. God does take care of me, my sins and mistakes not because of what I do but because his grace and love is real. I can trust him. And the letter was only informational – I can adult that! And so, with spirits fully alive, safe in the care of our loving heavenly Father, we can change out of our pjs and put real pants on. We, like the gates in Psalm 24, lift up our heads as we face 2021, that “the King of Glory may come in.” You are welcome in my heart Lord. We look forward to your new year. Psalm 24:7-10 (NIV) Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty-- he is the King of glory. Written by The Rev. Andy Dunn - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Gray, KY  “You have found favor with God!”(Luke 1:30)
Can you imagine meeting an angel of the Lord and hearing this announcement? I cannot. We know from Luke’s gospel that a young Mary was in disbelief when she heard these words. This unassuming, innocent, girl going about her own business is suddenly and deliberately visited by this messenger of hope. What would you do? What did she do? Well, from Luke’s account, she simply obeyed and trusted in the Lord. During this Advent week and the soon to be celebrated Christmas season, we can reflect on Mary’s humble acceptance of God’s will in her life trusting in Him without knowing the outcome. That is faith. Faith plays a major part in our Advent journey to a stable in Bethlehem. Christians look to this babe lying in a manger with hope and expectation that He will come to fulfill the prophecies of old and usher in a new creation, a new eternal life of unending joy with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We wait with bated breath that our Savior will come again in glory, not as a mere babe, but as a mighty King. So, how do we find favor with the Almighty as did young Mary? Are we to be perfect saints to satisfy God’s requirements? We are not, of course, unblemished like Him. We are not without the stain of sin. Why would God find favor in us at all? It is because he loves us beyond measure. He wants us all to experience His unyielding love. Remember, Mary obeyed and had faith. It is the same with you and me. What does Christ ask of us? Call upon the name of the Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. We hear this command on most Sundays. Be Jesus. Let those around you see Jesus in you. That is how we can find favor with God - simple obedience and love. This time of year is a perfect time to shine the light of Christ on those who are living in darkness. For those without Christ in their lives, this season can be depressing or even empty. Feelings of loneliness seem to multiply. Depression can take hold. Darkness can overpower the light. It can even happen with our own Christian brothers and sisters. So, I ask you to be aware. Be aware of those around you. Ask the Lord to reveal someone to you right now that needs to see and feel the love of Christ Jesus. While we can be awake and aware and expectant of Jesus’ return, we can still spread His good news with those around us. As we journey toward the stable and beyond to Jesus’ glorious return, let us bring those who know not His story along with us. Love them. Tell them the story. Help lead them to Christ. That is the greatest Christmas gift we can give to each other. Let us all find favor with God when we answer His call in our lives to spread this amazing news in the same way Mary proclaimed, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Come Lord Jesus. Come. Written by Rev. Emilie Wierda - All Saints Anglican - Holland, MI  Today marks the 88th birthday of my dear mom.
She has outlived my father by more than 25 years and counting. This is a particularly significant year to count our blessings. There has been much news and divided opinions over counting votes. We are taught in Psalm 90 to count our days: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (v.12) One rabbi took this directive seriously. As the story is told, he bought a jar and filled it with marbles for each day of a life span of 80 years. Each day he took out one marble and put it in his pocket to remind him this day was unique, just as each marble was unique, and it would soon be over. The marbles in the jar continued to deplete. Each day he would ask himself the question, “How am I fulfilling God’s purpose for me today? What will I have to offer for another day God has put me here in this 80 X 365 day life?” According to the psalmist, we have 70 years. Only 80 years, or 29.200 days, are promised to the strong (v.10). The pandemic has made us all question, “Who are the strong?” There are seemingly healthy people well under the 70 year mark who are struggling to survive the COVID19 virus. And there are those well past the 80 year mark who are breezing through a bout with virtually no symptoms. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. As we celebrate Advent, a new beginning once again, we are counting the days until Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Lord. Our grandsons, aged 3 and 4, are counting the days with an Advent calendar filled with chocolates, anticipating each day closer to the day of celebration. On our advent wreathes, this is the Sunday we light the pink (or rose )colored candle, the day that symbolizes joy. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, tells the believer in the first few verses of his epistle: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing (v.2-4).. We pause as we are counting and wonder at these words. Do we want to discuss Christmas and joy and suffering all at the same time? Can we really count trials with joy? What do we really mean by “joy” anyway? Beloved theologian Henry Nouwen defined joy this way: Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing--- sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death--- can take that love away. So we count our trials as joy when we remember that God loves us so fiercely, he came as a humble, dependent baby, lived as a child and died as a man just to prove his love for you and for me. Nothing can separate us from this Love. Count your remaining days and make them count. Count your blessings. Count it ALL joy because- Joy to the World! The Lord is come! Written by Laura Strack - Heartland Church of Fort Wayne  ‘Twas the day before Christmas, and while lying in bed,
I found myself praying, many thoughts in my head. I thought of God’s mercy, His goodness and grace. I thought of His love for the whole human race. I thought of so many who were in great need, Of how God was the answer; yes, the answer indeed. My mind it was racing, the thoughts going fast, And I thought to myself, “How long can this last?” When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a vision of God and of Him drawing near. His eyes were like fire, His hair white as snow, His robes were so bright with a radiant glow. And as He drew near, His gaze so intense, It pierced through my soul, breaking down all defense. His smile was so loving, so gracious and kind. It quickly pushed out all the fears in my mind. He reached out and touched me and just as He did, My life flashed before me, not a single thing hid. I wanted to hang down my head in such shame, For I knew no one else but I was to blame; For the things I’d thought and the things I had done Were sins all my own. It wasn’t much fun. He lifted my head and gazed into my eyes, He showed me His scars, saying He was my prize. His blood that was shed was the gift that He gave So that I could have life and not be enslaved To all of the things that held me in chains, To all of life’s sorrows and all of life’s pains. To endure what He did for my sake was His pleasure So I could find life. He said, “You are my treasure.” I wanted to cry, for all through the years I had questioned and doubted, but He wiped away tears. He leaned in so close and spoke into my ear. He whispered so gently, “I want you to hear The truth of My message.” He said, “I forgive.” Then He breathed into my soul so that I might live. And then it all vanished, this vision I had; But it didn’t end there; I was not sad. My hope was awakened, my heart was so full. My joy was restored, my ears were not dull. My eyes once again saw the goodness in life; My heart was not troubled, no longer in strife. You see, on this day I was given a gift Not wrapped in paper, but one that would lift A soul from depression, a mind from its grief, A gift that brought pleasure, release, and relief. As I reflect on this Christmas Eve, I ask you a question, “Do you believe That God came as a baby, but lived as a man, Died on a cross and then rose again?” For your sake, He endured all the sorrow and pain, So you could have life and enjoy all the gain. So freely He gave, so freely receive Just confess with your mouth, in your heart you believe. His grace is sufficient, He’ll make you brand new, This gift is eternal and it is for you. He’ll fill you with joy, He’ll bring you such peace If only your heart to Him you’d release. May His angels surround you on this Christmas night To speak of His grace and show you His light. And now as we’ve come to the end of this story, May He bless you and keep you and show you His glory. Photo credit: Pixabay |
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