John 3:30 -- He must become greater, and I must become less important.

You want a New Year’s resolution? There it is:

I must become less important so that Jesus will become more important.

What does that look like? Well, for one, the plans I make should be more about what Jesus wants for me, and not what I want for myself. The things I do should be to glorify Him, not me. The places I go should be by His direction and for His purpose, not due to human wisdom or desire.

But how, exactly?

Romans 14:17 -- In the kingdom of God, eating and drinking are not important. The important things are living right with God, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. So, what is the Kingdom of God? According to this passage it is living right, peace, and joy.

So if we are to “become less so Jesus can become more” then we need to focus on those things that bring or promote living right, joy, or peace.

This would be so much more than just a list of resolutions, most of which are usually mostly selfish in nature. And many of which are forgotten about within a few days or weeks.

Living right with God would be a “biggie” for decreasing myself and increasing Jesus. That is more than just a handful of incidental things. It would seem to be a whole-life idea.

Joy, well that is more than happiness. I often say that happiness comes from happenings, but joy comes from Jesus.

And peace? Well, let’s just say, “It begins at home!”

Lamentations 3:22-23 -- The Lord’s love never ends; his mercies never stop.  They are new every morning; Lord, your loyalty is great

If the Lord’s mercies are new every morning, then that appears to be the best way to accomplish the resolution we made at the beginning. Every morning I must renew my commitment to become less important so that Jesus can become more important. And if I do that every morning I am much more likely to be successful in keeping this one-and-only resolution.

Isaiah 58:11-12 -- The Lord will always lead you. He will satisfy your needs in dry lands and give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has much water, like a spring that never runs dry. Your people will rebuild the old cities that are now in ruins; you will rebuild their foundations. You will be known for repairing the broken places and for rebuilding the roads and houses.

Now there’s good news! Remember, we are not alone. Look at the promises God makes to those who become less so He can become more. Provision. Prosperity, Security. Strength. Stability. 

Check back here from time-to-time for a brief devotional. Some will be seasonal, the next series likely coming at Lent, others just on occasion.

Christmas Eve

Galatians 3:1a-13b-14 – You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. … It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed.” Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised.

Funny how we celebrate Christmas with a tree. We put a star or an angel on top. We hang things off the limbs. We put a skirt around the trunk. We place presents around it. All to celebrate the birth of our Savior. But fast-forward 33 years from the first Christmas and you find another tree.

Was there a “topper” on this tree? Yes. A note proclaiming the “King of the Jews”.

Were there “ornaments” hanging from its limbs? Yes. That self-same King.

Was there a “skirt” around its trunk? Yes. His own clothes.

Were there “presents” on the ground around it? Yes … Us.

The old German hymn “O Tannenbaum” has this stanza:

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, 
How sturdy God hath made thee! 
Thou bidds't us all place faithfully 
Our trust in God, unchangingly! 
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, 
How sturdy God hath made thee!

The passage from Galatians tells us that Jesus suffered as He did so that the promise made to Abraham could be fulfilled to us.

In “A Charlie Brown Christmas” a rather dirty character named Pig Pen tells one little girl, when it was pointed out to her that all his dirt and grime might be the remnants of some ancient civilization, “Kinda makes you want to treat me with a little respect”.

Knowing what we know about the death of Jesus, I think that if Christmas trees could talk, they might say the same thing.

Thank You, Lord, for Christmas. And for the reminder of Jesus’ work for us on the cross in the Christmas trees we celebrate with each year.

Fourth Sunday 

I Corinthians 13:13 -- So these three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:8b-9a -- …Because God is love .. This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his one and only Son into the world …

Jesus is called Immanuel, God with us. 

Think of it. God, as Jesus, is born in a barn. He grows up and performs His ministry for over three years, surrounded by a small group of 12 disciples and a larger group of up to 120 other followers. He serves those followers. He teaches those followers. He has friends. He shows compassion to those friends. He even raises one of them from the dead. 

Then He dies. And His friends and followers are scared. And lonely. 

But, oh, the joy when He rises from the dead. 

Then Jesus tells them He is leaving them and ascending into Heaven. Again, fear and disappointment. And more impending loneliness. 

Remember, however, that Jesus is called Immanuel. God is with us. And God is love. And love continues forever. 

So, today, we have Jesus available to us to fill us with this same love to become His witnesses so that those in our world will know this wonderful Immanuel.

Lord, thank You for being “God with us”. Thank You for being love. Thank You for filling us with Your love. 

Week 3, Saturday

Colossians 4:5a -- Live wisely....

This is a good time of the year to think about living wisely. It is also a hard time of the year to actually pull it off.

We can so easily get caught up in the pull of the season. We push ourselves to make this “the best Christmas ever”. We spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need. We give ten presents when two might do. Then we watch as each of those ten is systematically tossed aside after just a few moments in order to get to the next one.

And what do they end up playing with … THE BOX!

We cook oodles and oodles of food. Pull out recipes that we haven’t looked at for 364 days. Make things we normally do not eat. Set out 15 desserts at each meal. Drink gallons and gallons of egg nog.

And what are we thinking of the entire time … Next week I have to go on a DIET!

We pack the car with everything we own. We try to hide all the stuff Santa has already “brought” so the kiddos won’t see them. We plan to drive hours and hours to visit friends, family, and in-laws. Our nerves are frazzled a week before “the Day” ever even gets here. We get 15 minutes from our destination and tell the kids that “it is still not too late to turn this car around”.

And what are we wishing for … a good OLD-FASHIONED Christmas!

Lord, You tell us to live wisely. But at this time of the year it can sometimes be so hard. Please help us know how to balance the festivities of the season with the wisdom for living as You lead.

Week 3, Friday

Nehemiah 8:10 -- Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy good food and sweet drinks. Send some to people who have none, because today is a holy day to the Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.”

I want to share with you a brief story of how God blesses me with someone who has “the joy of the Lord”; one of our Grandmothers, Thelma Pittman – Mama Pittman.

Mama Pittman and I share laughs. And one laugh in particular. Mama Pittman is no longer able to carry heavy objects. So we will often go help he shop for groceries. It is hard for her to walk very far or for very long. So I taught her how to use those electric shopping carts.  And now we often remember that shopping trip and laugh about the “experience”; running into displays, having people scatter out of the way, seeing people trying not to laugh as they watched us race around the store.

The joy of the Lord is a special promise that we find in Nehemiah 8:8-10. In Strong’s Concordance the word “joy’ in this scripture is defined as “to be joined” to God. Therefore, the joy of the Lord would mean we need to be joined to God in order to have His strength.

Here are a few interesting things that God wants to teach us about having His joy:

• Joy comes from God’s Word. The “joy of the Lord” is a God-given gladness we find when we are with God
  
• We celebrate and give to others. Celebrations that honor God allow Him to fill us with His joy
  
• We cultivate and promote the joy of the Lord as a source of spiritual strength. His strength is a place of safety and protection. We gain strength from God’s Word, then it brings God’s joy. 
  

So to have God’s joy we spend time with Him. We listen to Him when He speaks to us. We read His Word. We think about Him. We think about how much He loves us, and we tell Him how much we love Him. 

Lord, I know You want to be the joy in our lives. Please help us to be joined to You in joy so we can have Your strength. 

 Karen Johnson

Week 3, Thursday

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 – These are the words of the Teacher, a son of David, king in Jerusalem. The Teacher says, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Completely meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

 

(Song lyrics from “Christmastime” by Larry Norman)

“Christmastime is coming and the kids are getting greedy … They know it’s in the store because they’ve seen it on the TV …”

We get up at 3am the day after Thanksgiving to stand in line for hours for the chance to possibly get one of a very few items that a store is offering at a great price. Then when the store runs out two people before us we get mad. Then we go to another store hoping that the special item in that store hasn’t run out before we get there.

“It used to be the birthday of the man who saved our necks … But now it stands for Santa and we spell it with an “X” …”

 

Then we stand in line with the kids for Santa Claus holding our breath and hoping beyond hope that they don’t ask him for that item the store ran out of, or for something we haven’t heard them mention before since we have already finished our shopping.

“I’ve got to buy a present, can’t remember who it’s for … But I’ll see you in an hour when I get back from the store…”

So we wait until December 22 to go shopping. Then we complain that nothing is left and get mad at the crowds who are also waiting until the last moment and who are, like us, thinking that they would have the store to themselves and magically the very items we (and everyone else in the free world) want are going to there.

Wow! Seems a little meaningless at times, doesn’t it?

Lord, At Christmas it is sometimes too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle. Help us to slow down, smell the roses, and acknowledge You. 

Week 3, Wednesday

 Luke 1:32 -- He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of King David, His ancestor.

Mark Lowery wrote, “Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water … Did you know that your baby boy was Heaven's perfect Lamb? And, the sleeping child you're holding is the great I Am?”

I wonder how Mary felt to be the mother of the Savior of the world! What an honor - what a responsibility. How do you raise a kid like that? And I wonder how Joseph handled knowing he had the responsibility for raising the Messiah?

All parents hold a miracle when they hold their babies. Speaking as one who never experienced that miracle, I can tell you that you are truly blessed. And I can imagine how that was magnified for Mary and Joseph.

But in a real sense, we all get to hold that “baby”. When we accept Jesus into our lives, we get to hold Him in our hearts. Wow! What a privilege!

Lord, thank You that You allow You creation such a great honor as  to hold You, the Messiah and Savior of all mankind, in our hearts. 

Week 3, Tuesday

 1 Thessalonians 5:19-24 -- Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit. Do not treat prophecy as if it were unimportant. But test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil. Now may God himself, the God of peace, make you pure, belonging only to him. May your whole self—spirit, soul, and body—be kept safe and without fault when our Lord Jesus Christ comes. You can trust the One who calls you to do that for you.

He who calls us is trustworthy, therefore he will do it.  What a great promise!  Especially in these haggard and perilous times in which we live. 

Think on this...He who calls us, not someone else on the other side of town, the state, the country, the world; but, He who calls us...is trustworthy.

What he says He will do, He will do, and do very well!  

What greater promise can we have today than to realize that there is a promisor, God, and there are promisees, us, who will receive what he has promised. 

I don't know about you, but this 72 year-old preacher is mighty glad of the promise of 1 Thessalonians, 

He who calls us is trustworthy and he will do what he has promised.

Lord, let your glory dawn to take away our darkness.  May we be revealed as the children of light at the coming of your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Fr. Chip Johnson

Week 3, Monday

Luke 2:11-12 -- Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.

 We often define our peace by our surroundings and our situation.

However, on a silent night -- when all was calm and all was bright -- our real peace came to us in the form of our Savior, whose birth we now celebrate.

But His arrival on earth wasn't as should have been expected. A young, unwed, teenage mother, late in her ninth month, rides across rough, rocky terrain on a donkey for a few days. She arrives at her destination only to not be able to find any rooms available. Her husband-to-be gets them a place in a barn, surrounded by animals.  No baby bed or basinet for her child, she has to lay Him in a feed trough. And who is first to arrive at the scene, the happy grandparents? No; shepherds. Stinky shepherds straight from the field.

If the Prince of Peace can be found in circumstances such as those, so, too, can we find peace in unusual places. Let us focus on peace this Advent season -- not as the world gives and not something that can be changed in an instant -- but, rather, on our Prince of Peace. Emmanuel. God with us.

Lord, may Your peace bear fruit in our lives this Christmas season. Not because everything is “fine and dandy”, but because Hope Arrived.