Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Luke 2:6-7

⁶ While they were there, the time came for the

baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Reflection

Isn’t it interesting as we read this story that there is no

innkeeper. It is amazing that so many of our stories and songs detail the story of a person who is no where to be found  in the scriptures. In some ways this could be our attempt to find a scapegoat. If it were not for that evil

Innkeeper Jesus would have been welcomed to our world in the way that he deserved. If I had been there we would have done things differently. The trouble is that hindsight is 20/20 we would have not known more than the made up

Innkeeper. The question is rather are we still shutting Christ out? Are there parts of your life that you tell Christ there is no vacancy?

Monday, December 22, 2014

Luke 2:1-5

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

Reflection

Our scripture today reminds us that the story of Christmas is not an easy path. Mary and Joseph must travel a treacherous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. But it is important for us to remember that so often our response to God’s call is a journey. In some ways this is a daunting thought that the response to God’s call is to go to places that are outside of our comfort zone, but at the same time it is a comfort to know that answers for our life in faith are not instant but a process or a journey. How have you seen that your life in God has been a journey?

Weekly Theme December 21 through 27

The Innkeeper

 “...Joseph Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

  -Matthew 1:20b-21

Have you ever felt left out and alone?  Have you ever felt that there was no room for you in a certain situation? Being made to feel like there is no room for you is something that Mary and Joseph and the soon to be born baby Jesus experienced upon their arrival in Bethlehem.  Mary, who was very pregnant, and Joseph had traveled over 70 miles from the village of Nazareth to Bethlehem to participate in the Roman census.  When they arrived there was no room for them.  There was no room for Jesus.

Unfortunately, that is still the attitude that is shown toward Jesus.  Even those of us who claim to be Christians and follow Jesus will still hang out the “no vacancy” sign when it comes to letting Jesus into areas of our lives that we would rather keep off limits.  When Jesus tries to bring change into an area of our lives with which we are comfortable we can often respond by giving forth an attitude that says, “Hold on, Jesus.  I might follow you but there is a limit to what you can do in my life.  That area you want to mess around in is off limits.  There is no room for you there.”

Jesus is quite used to being told that there is no room for him in our lives.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Luke 1:34-38

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

 Reflection

Today’s good news is this, faith is hard and what we do in our personal faith and as the church will never be perfect but we are not alone. God has sent the

Holy Spirit to each of us and we have each other to lean on. The Holy Spirit empowers us to move through and do things we could not do on our own. Just as Mary has her cousin

Elizabeth to understand what she is going through, we have our brothers and sisters in Christ who are praying and caring for us. In fact today other people from the church are

reading this journal and thinking about you as you should be thinking of them. Take a moment to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ and thank God for them as partners on this journey of faith. 

Friday, December 19, 2014

Hebrews 11:17-31

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. ²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered

because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

 Reflection

If you have made it to today in the journal you might be wondering, “How are these terrible verses helping me grow my faith, everyone mentioned only got death, struggles, and strife for their faith?” Today’s scripture begins to offer help with that question because of the amazing things God does through those who are faithful. In a society that demands easy and quick answers faith is not something that is easy. If we are faithful to God, God has promised to transform the world through us. Are you prepared for the hard work of faith so God can transform the world through you? With all we have read this week what are your concerns about what you may face?

Thursday, December 18, 2014

2 Corinthians 11:24-28

 ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. ²⁸ Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 

Reflection

Paul recalls here how his ministry is not easy and by no means perfect. If we as the church think that the ministry that God has called us to is easy and/or going to be perfect, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. The church itself is a perfect example of not being perfect. The church on one hand is God’s vessel to work in this world and at the same time it is filled with fallible human beings. The church will make mistakes and at times fail, our only hope is to fail forward with the Lord’s help. But that should never be a reason to do nothing at all. It is better to fail and

struggle in trying to do the mission of God than to do

nothing. What do you think the church could do if we gave up on perfect and were not afraid to fail?

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

John 19:16-27

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be

crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 

¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called

Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. ²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his

mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his

mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

 Reflection

For those who have seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” the most heart wrenching moment is watching Mary’s reaction to the suffering of Jesus. We all want to

forget about Good Friday and jump to Easter so we can get away from the bad feelings of the brutal death of Jesus Christ. It is why Christmas and Easter are the best Sundays of the year because they allow us to celebrate the great heights of joy. But we would have  neither if it were not for the death of Jesus. This is like our lives. Our days are not filled with innumerable joys. We have good days and bad days. We endure moments of great joy and pits of

extraordinary pain and sorrow. Take a moment now to think about your life. Think about the ups and downs in your

history. Thank God for both.