December 20 ~ Matthew 22:34-38
34-36 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: "Teacher, which command in God's Law is the most important?"
37-40 Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I tried to go shopping at Wal-Mart earlier in the week. I got as far as the parking lot, but when my tires started spinning on the slick street as the sleet pelted my windshield, I decided groceries could wait! So when I DID get to the store, my list was twice (or three times?) as long, and apparently everybody else in a 4-county area was in the same predicament. The store was packed with shoppers who were scrambling for items on the shelves.
I heard all sorts of comments, from “My husband lost his job, so we are just doing the bare minimum this year,” to “I haven’t even started on my Christmas shopping – I may have to just write checks!” to “I don’t know what this country is coming to – we may all starve!” I heard a few less than hearty “Merry Christmases” and even a truly joyful, sincere one or two. But the overwhelming mood was one of stress, urgency, and a “let’s just get this whole Christmas thing over with” attitude.
I am not always a cheerful person. I have my moments – just ask my husband! And in years past, I’ve been in the same stress-filled shoes as a few of those shoppers – trying to juggle a job, a home, family issues and the holidays. But I think it is time for ALL of us to stop and look at this passage from Matthew. Jesus never said this would be easy! We are to love Him with everything we have, and love others as much as we love ourselves. Those are the two most important things.
If we keep the focus on these things, then the long, long checkout line at the store becomes an opportunity to smile and be cheerful to others. Walking the aisles looking for green beans and sweet potatoes becomes a chance to hum a familiar Christmas carol. Perusing the shelves for that favorite video game to give your loved one provides you with time to think about that person and how much you love them – and how much joy your gift will bring.
The bottom line is that we need to get the focus off of ourselves and think more about Jesus – and others – this Christmas. Love Jesus with EVERYTHING you have, and then love others and treat them as well as you treat yourself. And try humming a carol or two in the store… or at least SMILE more! You’ll be amazed at the reaction of those around you – AND yourself!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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December 19 ~ Judges 13:9-25
8 Manoah prayed to God: "Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born."
9-10 God listened to Manoah. God's angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn't there with her. She jumped to her feet and ran and told her husband: "He's back! The man who came to me that day!"
11 Manoah got up and, following his wife, came to the man. He said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" He said, "I am."
12 Manoah said, "So. When what you say comes true, what do you have to tell us about this boy and his work?"
13-14 The angel of God said to Manoah, "Keep in mind everything I told the woman. Eat nothing that comes from the vine: Drink no wine or beer; eat no ritually unclean foods. She's to observe everything I commanded her."
15 Manoah said to the angel of God, "Please, stay with us a little longer; we'll prepare a meal for you—a young goat." 16 God's angel said to Manoah, "Even if I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead—offer it!" Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, "What's your name? When your words come true, we'd like to honor you."
18 The angel of God said, "What's this? You ask for my name? You wouldn't understand—it's sheer wonder."
19-21 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders. As the flames leapt up from the altar to heaven, God's angel also ascended in the altar flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. Manoah and his wife never saw the angel of God again.
21-22 Only then did Manoah realize that this was God's angel. He said to his wife, "We're as good as dead! We've looked on God!"
23 But his wife said, "If God were planning to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our Whole-Burnt-Offering and Grain-Offering, or revealed all these things to us—given us this birth announcement."
24-25 The woman gave birth to a son. They named him Samson. The boy grew and God blessed him. The Spirit of God began working in him while he was staying at a Danite camp between Zorah and Eshtaol.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Well! Now you know "the rest of the story" - the history behind the birth of Samson, a mighty man of God. If you want to read something really cool, keep reading in Judges about what happened to Samson. But for today, I want us to focus on the last part of Verse 16 from this chapter of Judges. "Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God."
I am afraid that much of the time, we are like Manoah. God sends angels to guide us, but we don’t recognize them. We are so busy with what WE think is important that we don’t focus on the things of God that make such a difference. We can spend three hours or better watching a Razorback football game on television, but we can’t spend thirty minutes reading a scripture passage and praying. We might skim over these daily devotionals for five minutes, but there is NO WAY we are going to sit down and read the rest of the story about Samson – or any other story – because we have things to do, places to go and people to see!
So we fumble along and hope that we hear from God often enough to get by pretty well in life. What we don’t realize is that tuning in to God more could have AMAZING consequences. EVERYTHING could change. I’m not saying our lives would be perfect, but surely they could be better! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to meet God’s angel and not recognize him! Even in this busy week before Christmas, I want to take time to stop and pay attention to the messages – and the messengers – God is sending my way. What about you?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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December 18 ~ Judges 13:2-7
2-5 At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, "I know that you are barren and childless, but you're going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression."
6-7 The woman went to her husband and said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God—terror laced with glory! I didn't ask him where he was from and he didn't tell me his name, but he told me, 'You're pregnant. You're going to give birth to a son. Don't drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.'"
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I don’t know about you, but I am amazed many times over when I read about how angels appeared to these people and gave them such heavy-duty information as this angel gave Manoah’s wife! I also find it interesting that long before Mary and Elizabeth, angels were appearing to women and telling them about a pregnancy! And you may be wondering why I am sharing these scriptures in the middle of the Christmas season – focusing on the birth of others besides Jesus Christ!
The truth is that I am still focused on the birth of Jesus. See, God could have just said one day, "I think I will send my Son to earth in the form of a baby." But that’s not how it happened at all! No… God planned EVERYTHING. He prepared for Jesus’ birth for centuries at least, maybe longer! He set things in motion even in the Garden of Eden. He used angels to deliver messages that had a direct impact on the events of the birth in the manger in Bethlehem.
Now I ask you… if God loved us so much that He put THAT much thought and effort into preparing for Jesus’ birth, is there any question how much He loves us? If God is able to orchestrate all of these events, can’t He surely send angels today to minister to us and deliver messages? Do we really GET how big God is?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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December 17 ~ Genesis 16:5-16
5 Sarai told Abram, "It's all your fault that I'm suffering this abuse. I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she's pregnant, she treats me like I'm nothing. May God decide which of us is right."
6 "You decide," said Abram. "Your maid is your business." Sarai was abusive to Hagar and Hagar ran away.
7-8 An angel of God found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur. He said, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here?" She said, "I'm running away from Sarai my mistress."
9-12 The angel of God said, "Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse." He continued, "I'm going to give you a big family, children past counting. From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you. He'll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family."
13 She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, "You're the God who sees me! "Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!"
14 That's how that desert spring got named "God-Alive-Sees-Me Spring." That spring is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15-16 Hagar gave Abram a son. Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave him his son, Ishmael.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Throughout the stories of the Bible, God sent angels to meet the needs of His children. We are familiar with the angel who appeared to Mary – and maybe even the angel Gabriel who told Elizabeth about her pregnancy. But there were many angels down through history who were important to our legacy. Indirectly, these angels had a hand in the "Christmas story," because they ministered to those in Jesus’ lineage.
I believe that angels minister to us today. A bright light may not shine around them… we may not "see" them physically. But surely you have had instances where you have said, "Angels were watching over me." And most certainly they were.It all goes back to the issue of listening and watching for God to speak to us in whatever manner He chooses, including angels. If we are not alert, we may miss His blessings. I am surely glad that Hagar was listening. I’m glad that Elizabeth and Mary were paying attention. And I hope that when the God who sees US speaks – even if through an angel - we will "see" Him, too.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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December 16 ~ Matthew 2:12-15
12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
13 After the scholars were gone, God's angel showed up again in Joseph's dream and commanded, "Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him."
14-15 Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod's death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: "I called my son out of Egypt."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever started to do something, and for some reason you couldn’t even explain, you stopped dead in your tracks and felt that you were NOT supposed to go in that direction? Sometimes, the “sign” is so strong and powerful that you just KNOW you need to switch gears. Other times, it may be a nagging sense that “something is just not right.” I believe we need to be paying closer attention to these signals. I believe a lot of times, God tries to warn us… or at the very least to steer us in a better direction… and quite often, we brush these thoughts aside and move ahead – sometimes with horrible outcomes.
We can’t turn back the clock – although probably all of us wish we could about at least one decision or another – but we can start today to listen and pay attention. Thankfully, Joseph and the scholars had their heads on straight and were listening to God. I’m not saying we all need to start interpreting our dreams – God may not speak to us that way. But we need to be more aware and alert in our everyday lives. We need to be in constant contact with God, so that when He does speak to us, we are listening and recognize His voice!
God may be calling you out of your own “Egypt” today. Will you know His voice – and will you be ready to follow?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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December 15 ~ Matthew 1:9-11
9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Several years ago, I knew some people who collected Santa Clauses. That seemed like a fun thing to have – a whole display at holiday time of the jolly old man in the red suit! And I have to admit, over the years, I’ve acquired a few Santas of my own that make me smile when I see them on a shelf. Other people collect those Christmas villages… the little houses and the people, and trains and cars and storefronts that all light up and sparkle. That seemed fun, too, but I wanted something different. So I started collecting nativity scenes. I began my collection with a beautiful tall white ceramic set – Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus with his own little bed. I also had a musical nativity snow globe that played “Silent Night.” Over twenty years later, I count 48 individual “nativities” on my piano and sofa table, and there are more on our Christmas tree. Every year I say I am done – that I have more than enough. And then I will spy a beautiful set at an auction or estate sale… or someone will give me one. This year, I added a very old chalkware set that belonged to my mother’s first grade teacher, an old Italian plaster set my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday, and an intricate little Italian set I discovered in a box of “treasures” I bought at an auction.
While I do still keep a few sets to add to my collection, I have started giving some away and sharing with others, especially children. I am in awe of a child’s face when he/she views a nativity scene. I remember being mesmerized by a life-sized set that graced our courthouse lawn each Christmas when I was a little, and I miss it being there today. I think there is an innate sense of understanding – a relationship between children and the Baby in the manger – that we sort of glaze over as we age.
This year, I have already given two nativities to children. One was to my cousin Olivia, who had been forbidden to touch the precious heirloom characters of her aunts’ nativities. Now she has her very own set that she can handle as much as she likes. And she is… Jesus sleeps with Dora (the explorer) in her house (His barn), and rides with Olivia and Mary and Joseph in her Barbie car. I don’t find this irreverent… you see, Jesus is always with her… even in her Barbie car! The other set I gave to some little friends who are just learning about Jesus. As Ada unwrapped each character, she kissed it and smiled at me and said, “Mine!” Do you see where I’m going with this? The nativity really is hers! The story of what happened in that manger is significant for these little children, and on their own level, they get it in a way many of us have lost!
The wise men, who knew scarcely more than these little children about what was happening, knelt and worshipped Jesus and showered Him with precious gifts. It is my prayer that this Christmas season, we would all wade through the maze of commercialism, busyness, skepticism… whatever… and worship like little children. It is my prayer that Jesus would be with us in every car and house, every day, and that we would always recognize that He is “mine” and yours forever.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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