A Glimpse of Heaven

Sometimes, you are hiking in one of the national parks in the United States, where everything fades into the background, and the beauty of your surroundings encompasses you. That’s how I felt when I was in Glacier National Park. Its stunning beauty takes your breath away. That is one of the images I get when I try to picture what the shepherds in the field experienced when the Heavenly host appears. They got a glimpse of heaven.

Luke 2:8-11

And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

You’re Having a Son

It was nineteen years ago this week where my wife told me she was pregnant. It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. No one told us that our son would be autistic and all of the struggles associated that come with that. It wouldn’t have changed anything. Mary was visited by an angel who told her, “You’re having a son.”

Luke 1:29-32

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High

The encounter between Gabriel and Mary has many implications. Not only does Gabriel tell Mary that she is going to have a baby boy, but he tells her what to name her and how his life will turn out. Thoughts must’ve flooded Mary’s mind as she contemplated being the mother of the Messiah. It would be too much for anyone to take in, but she didn’t overreact but pondered it in her heart. Her son would be great and called “Son of the Most High.”

A Light to the Nations

What does your country do for Christmas? Does it have some celebrations or traditions that are specific to your culture? I would love to hear some of them down in the comments. For our family, Christmas lights are a big tradition. We decorate our house and love to make hot chocolate and hop in the car and go and look at how other people have decorated theirs. Since the kids were little, we have done it, and they still love it as teenagers. Did you know that lights on Christmas are a tradition born in Scripture? Jesus was called to be a light to the nations.

Isaiah 42:6

“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming Servant who is given as a gift. He would be a light to the nations in a dark world. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Jesus is the light of the world, and those who believe in Him will never walk in darkness. (John 8:12) Jesus is a gift of light to us in this dark world. In that light is the life that we desperately need.

Finding God in Your Weakness

There is the story of a boy with cerebral palsy who went to his church’s summer camp. He struggled through most of the events and even had difficulty speaking where the other boys could understand. At the end of the camp, the pastor asked if any boys wanted to give a testimony. The boy got up from his seat and struggled to get to the front of the room. Some of the other boys were giggling and pointing. When he got there said in his slurred speech, “I love Jesus, and he loves me.” There wasn’t a sound in the room as he walked back to his seat. Finding God in your weakness is one of the most important lessons you can learn.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭11:30‬

“If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.”

The Corinthians goaded Paul into boasting about his accomplishments. It pained Paul beyond imagination to do it, but he relented. He knew his resume was more impressive than anyone the Corinthians could put up, so it was fruitless to even talk about it. After he is done, he tells them that if he has to boast, it will be how God worked through his weaknesses. He was not too proud to admit his faults.

God Is My Portion

In Charles Dicken’s classic, “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge demands that his worker, Bob Cratchit, works on Christmas Eve. Scrooge barely pays Cratchit enough to feed his family and doesn’t give him anything for Christmas. Through it all, Cratchit, who has a young son who is not well, thanks the Lord for providing for them and chooses to remain with Scrooge even when everyone tells him to quit. Bob Cratchit knew that God is my portion forever, even when times got tough.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭73:26‬

“My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

All of us have days where it feels like our heart is going to fail. There are numerous causes for those feelings, but the feeling is the same. David had those days when Saul was chasing him and when Absalom was usurping his power. Anything that David tried to do in his flesh failed him. At those low moments, God showed David that He was everything David needed.

Are You Properly Armed

There is a lot of debate about firearms in the United States. With multiple mass shootings each year, many are crying out for the abolition of guns, while others say they have the right to defend themselves. As a Christian, you don’t fight with manufactured weapons because the war you are in is spiritual. Are you properly armed to fight this battle?

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭10:3-4

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

We exist in the middle of a spiritual battle. Most Christians are unaware, and others deny its existence. Do so at your own expense. God is using you to reflect the light of Jesus into a dark world, and Satan is doing everything he can to stop it. If you walk out your front door each morning unaware or ill-prepared, you will be blindsided by the constant attacks of the enemy. You need to properly arm yourself with the right battle gear and weapons to fight this war.

He’s Got You Covered

It may just be me getting older, but the fashions coming out today seem to be getting more ridiculous each year. Most likely, it’s a combination of both. So much emphasis is made on fashion. What you are wearing, who made it, how much you paid for it. It produces anxiety in people over what they are going to wear. Jesus tells us not to worry. He’s got it covered.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭12:28‬

“But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!”

What amount of worry has added an hour to your life? Has it accomplished anything positive? Jesus hits the topic of stress and worry on the head by saying, “If I take care of the birds and grass, how much will I take care of you?” We seem to discount this when we are engrossed in a stressful situation. It can even seem too easy, and we dismiss it. The fact remains that God has got it covered, and we need to step back and allow it.

God Knows Who is Naughty

Christmas time is upon us as I write this devotional, and seasonal songs are floating in and out of my head. A recent one is “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” I am not going to get into a debate whether Santa is good or not, but there is a line in the song which…

Sow Bountifully

I have a huge oak tree in my backyard. Every fall, it drops millions of acorns onto my lawn. They are everywhere, and they hurt when they fall on you. The acorn is the way the oak tree reproduces. I end up raking up most of them, but every spring, I have to pull up…

You Look Marvelous

Actor and comedian Billy Crystal did a character on Saturday Night Live named Fernando whose signature phrase was “You look marvelous!” By the end of each skit, he had told most everyone that they looked marvelous. It was pretty funny. There is a passage in Psalms where the author declares he has become a marvel…