Another year gone by.  A 2018 ahead as a year of promise, a year of hope.  Why do I say that?  Well, I prefer optimism to pessimism and I think it’s more biblical.  God emphasizes not fearing the future.  He reminds us He’s still God.

God’s focus is always on hope, faith, trust, and giving us ample reasons to believe God has good in store for us.

A while back, I was trying to earn money for a mission trip to South Africa with a group of nurses and doctors ministering to those who were HIV-positive and dying from AIDS.  One of the jobs I held temporarily to earn my way was doing telemarketing for a well-known charity before the negativity and rejection became too much for me. 

I discovered something profound though: discouragement is spiritual. 

It gets in your flesh. You can’t wash it off at the end of a day.  Nothing other than prayer and time in God’s Word could extinguish it…but even then, it lingered as an echo, a shadow, a placeholder, even a hook like Velcro waiting for a weak moment for discouragement to return and resume discouraging.  Spiritual things are like that.

For this reason, optimism and trusting in God go hand-in-hand, offering a better future.  God never sends a spirit of discouragement, depression, purposelessness, or futility.

As we conclude 2017, Americans (and others globally) can acknowledge that far too many of us have spent the year being negative, pessimistic, depressed, stressed, and discouraged people. 

Looking for bad news in our brothers instead of looking for what is good.  Going on witch-hunts, as if we were hoping to discover the worst in our fellow Christians!  And it’s no one’s fault but our own for partnering with evil and reaping the personal consequences in our own attitudes.

We have Scripture’s clear admonition to agree with each other in the Lord because it’s a genuine key to joy (Philippians 4:1-9).

As we look ahead to 2018, let’s consider it a year of promise, a year of hope.  Let us no longer succumb to a lack of faith, uncharitable actions and words, grieving the Holy Spirit by listening to our adversary’s lies and joining that work of the devil.  Instead may we find ourselves submitting to God, acknowledging that God’s plan is to bring good, perhaps in ways we cannot even fathom.  Yes, even good out of what man intends as harm (Genesis 50:20).

My New Year’s wish for you is a 2018 as a year of promise, a year of hope.  May your 2018 include seeing God’s actions in surprising ways, God’s faithfulness to you in every circumstance, an eternal perspective that melts the stresses and waters your faith, and a year in which you experience more of Jesus, day by day and become like Him.

Closing the year with something good and ringing in this year of promise, year of hope, here is my prayer for you:

Lord God, how wonderful to call you “Lord!” How marvelous to acknowledge all your faithfulness to us during the past year and the many years prior!  How awesome are your deeds and amazing is your sovereignty! How beautiful is your mercy!  How desperately we need your grace and forgiveness!  Your wisdom is so far beyond our understanding, Lord. Teach us to fear you daily and to honor you as Lord throughout 2018.

We ask, Lord, that you would be glorified this coming year.  May our submission to you testify to your goodness and may we display that beautiful virtue of humility.  Remind us daily of your love.  Keep us in safety and health according to your will.  Give us hearts of gratitude for your provision and spirits of contentment no matter our circumstances.  May we have enthusiasm and zeal for what is good and honorable in your sight.  May we grow in love for one another and have grace to show our fellow man.  Let us hate only what is evil and love fully what is good.  May we bring joy to your heart in our daily actions and receive joy in return to bless our days.  Let this be a year of promise, Lord, of witnessing many more of your promises kept, and a year of hope as hope in you never disappoints.  Strengthen us for the days ahead so that we might bring glory to you as we bring your Gospel of peace to a world in need.  We ask for your blessings upon our families and friends.  Most of all, we ask for you to be with us.  Thank you, Jesus, for all these good gifts.  Amen.

Luke 2:20 “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

What is the Christmas miracle the shepherds celebrated?  It’s not that virgins give birth or that women wrap their babies in cloths and put them in mangers.  Nothing is impossible for God. 

God could give us a million pregnant virgins and a million lowly babies without ever giving us … Himself.

* * *

Stop for a moment. Be Still and appreciate this miracle: The Word became flesh.  Jesus is “God with us”—Immanuel (Matthew 1:23). 

Jesus is God giving us of Himself…

… at Christmas in His birth

… continually giving from Himself and revealing the Father during 30 years of ministry on this earth

… giving Himself for us all the way to death on a Cross,

… and giving us shelter in Himself when we come to Him for forgiveness. 

Because there was no other way to reunite sinful man with a Holy God in mercy and forgiveness, the Christmas miracle is God gave us Himself.

* * *

Be Still, people.  The miracle that began at Christmas in Bethlehem makes the miracle in your heart even more profound.  Luke 2:11 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Be Still, shepherds and all who listen.  My faithfulness lasts for generations.  My patience is longsuffering.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I have brought My salvation. I am returning to judge.  My judgments are always true and what I have promised I will always do.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Psalm 98:1 A psalm. Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn– shout for joy before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Reflect today on these thoughts: 

1. Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with us, Lord from His birth. 
2. He ministered to us and brought His salvation because there was no other way.  
3. He revealed the Father’s love for us supremely on the Cross. 
4. He waits patiently for the full number of faithful to enter in to forgiveness. 
5. He will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and will judge the quick and the dead. 
6. All of which are certain because God ordained it. 
7. Will you open your heart to His forgiveness?  Still Christmas, Still time, Still waits with open arms to welcome you to His mercy.  Luke 2:11 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 

Merry Christmas!

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This concludes our series Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals which began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.  I will be posting other devotional thoughts periodically and resume a regular posting for Lent 2018.  

In the rush of Christmas preparations, do you ever stop and Be Still in order to ponder the true meaning of Christmas?  There’s so much noise regarding Christmas that we can miss what should be truly treasured.  To ask ourselves, “What Child is this?”

In Luke 2:19, we read,

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Maybe having nursed her baby (with Jesus now soundly sleeping) Mary might have looked at her son and thought about his being God’s Son. 

What does it mean that she treasured these things up or that she pondered them?  

Maybe: “But he looks like any other baby.  It could seem like just a weird dream if it weren’t for all the angels and the shepherds who came and what they said.  What does it mean that He will save our people?  How will He do it?  What’s expected of me?  It’s a lot of pressure raising a baby who is the Son of God.  Hey Joseph, this is so strange, isn’t it?  What do you think of all this?  Does He kind of look like you?  Does He kind of look like me?” 

How can He possibly be God’s Son if the LORD is One as ‘The Shema’ has always taught us?”

If you think we have questions about the Incarnation we have only heard about, just imagine the questions in the heart of the woman who was holding Him.  The Word made flesh.  A wriggling little baby.  Fully God, but fully man.

 * * *

Be Still, Mary.  Just treasure the moment.  You’ve worked hard for this event and the shepherds are evidence that I see humility as a plus and low status in a way that people do not understand.

Be Still.  Jesus is sleeping.  You will know Him someday as the Great High Priest about whom the author of Hebrews writes, Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are– yet was without sin.” For now, you don’t need to do anything special, Mary.  Just Be Still.  Enjoy the moment and believe that what I have promised I will do.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I don’t see things the way people do, Mary.  It’s how I already know this lowly baby, wrapped in strips of cloth whom you’re holding, is Messianic royalty.  He has been born King of the Jews.  Matthew 2:1 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Jesus will not return as a baby.  He will return as My appointed Judge.  He will return as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Revelation 19:11-16

Questions for Reflection. 

1. When you think of Jesus, do you think of royalty?  Do you think of supremacy?  Do you think of the final Judgment? 
2. In what ways is it marvelous that all these aspects were hidden, wrapped up with a tiny baby in the arms of a teenage mother? 
3. On this Christmas Eve, is it any wonder Mary would treasure them up and ponder them?  Shouldn’t we?

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.

Would you drop everything and leave it all behind to see what had been announced to you? 

The shepherds did. 

They even double-timed it to get there. 

Curiosity can be a great motivator. 

But angelic messengers were a definite plus.

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” (Luke 2:15-16) 

Just as the angels had told them…

Luke 2:17 “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”

When the shepherds returned and spread the word, we read that all who heard it were amazed, not that they dropped everything and ran to have a look, too.  Stop and think about it: they had the opportunity to witness a moment in world history, in eternal history.  Yet they were only amazed.  Were people amazed at the news itself or that it was shepherds who had been tasked with sharing that good news?

Same good news of great joy for all people.  Different messengers.  Different levels of curiosity and response.  A once-in-a-lifetime event and who knows how many responded to the good news?

 * * *

Be Still, shepherds.  Yeah, it IS a really big deal.  Let your curiosity invite you to meet My Son.

Be Still.  The good news is good not because of the messengers or evangelists, but because of the Savior.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I AM not a baby in a manger.  Unlike a million babies who could be in mangers, I have always been God.  Even my Son Jesus, who experienced the Incarnation—being sent in human likeness (Philippians 2:7)–has been God and foreordained Savior since before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20).  Without going all theological on you, know this: He was only revealed as Savior in the sign of the baby in a manger.  He and I have been One long before the Incarnation.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  If curiosity won’t drive you to consider My Son, perhaps a warning like recorded for you in the Book of Hebrews 2:1 “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. 5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?’”

Questions for Reflection: 

1. Would we drop everything or find excuses why our work is too important to leave? 
2. Was the good news better news when it was announced by angels than when it was announced by shepherds or to you? 
3. Why is it important that we remember God didn’t become man, that only Jesus was Incarnated (but fully God and fully man)? 
4. What is it about mankind that makes us special to God’s heart, even more special than the angels He created (see Genesis 1:26-27)?

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.

Now it’s not just one angel doing the proclaiming and worshiping.  As we continue our look at the birth narrative of Christ in our Advent 2017 Devotional Series, Still Christmas, we see the angel count has grown.  Now, it’s a multitude. 

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:13-14) 

If one angel wasn’t quite enough to convince the shepherds that this was a really big deal, this is the cherry on the top. 

And doesn’t God deserve that kind of praise? 

The angels are giving God glory for the peace He’s bringing to men (not themselves) who are recipients of God’s favor.  It’s all about Him.  It’s not about them.  Be Still.  It’s not about us either even if we experience all the peace.

Psalm 86:12 “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.”

When God is glorified, all the earth can be still in His presence.  Even the angels praising God are, in a sense, still before Him. 

 * * *

There’s no need to show off or draw attention to themselves. 

Glorifying God, indeed worshiping Him, ought never to draw attention away from God to make it all about us.

God’s glory demands it.  Be Still.

 * * *

Be Still, angels.  Silencing of everything “you” highlights the glory. 

Be Still, angels and men.  Shhh…. Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Glorify Me.  It isn’t arrogance for Me to deserve it.  It ought to be a natural response of genuine awe when your heart is truly still.  You see Me for who I AM.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Isaiah 44:24 “This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be built,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ 27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”‘

Questions for Reflection: 

1. Do we have a tendency to make worshiping God about us (our preferences)?  Why is that? 
2. Scripture says that when Jesus was coming into Jerusalem and the disciples were praising God, there’s always someone to criticize.  But… Luke 19:40 “I tell you,” [Jesus] replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Does the critic count when it comes to praise?  
3. How is it possible to Be Still and yet praise and glorify God?  What would that look like?

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.

It was almost like the excitement of Christmas morning!! (Actually, it was still dark but it was Christmas morning in the birth narrative of the Christ Child.)  The angel, probably giddy with excitement like a toddler couldn’t even wait for sunrise, rushes to wake up and proclaim to the shepherds there’s a seriously amazing gift just arrived! 

Be Still, angels. 

Just proclaim it.

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 * * *

Don’t you find it interesting that the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger isn’t the gift per se?  That’s only a sign.  The gift is the Savior.

And it’d be 30 years before that Baby Jesus, the Christ Child, would be–visibly and demonstrably–our Savior.

Be Still.  Take a moment to step out of hustle-bustle of Christmas and ponder the reality of this.  We celebrate the sign.  The gift wouldn’t be fulfilled until 3 decades later at the holidays we call Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

Thirty years!  And we get frustrated by 2 weeks with Amazon.  Will a gift arrive in time for Christmas?  Or will we have to make a card with an IOU for when it shows up finally?

Baby Jesus was not God’s IOU.  The angel was proclaiming that the Savior HAS BEEN born to you.  He IS Christ the Lord.  But the baby in a manger is just the sign that points to His identity.

* * *

Be Still, angels.  The Incarnation is exciting news!  Share it with all the joy His birth offers.

Be Still.  It will be thirty years and you can pace yourselves.  Jesus would not rush straight from the manger to the Cross.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  It will take thirty years of living, teaching, and revealing so that the world will know that Jesus is My Son and He finishes the work of revealing Me.  John 14: 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Matthew 11: 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27 All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Questions for Reflection:

1. How often are we tempted to worship the sign, the wrappings-if you will-rather than the gift?  Do we grasp the profundity of God’s giving us the Savior?
2. Thirty years is a long time to wait.  Were the angels and the shepherds premature in their celebration?  Why or why not?
3. What was the purpose of the proclamation of His birth? 
4. What was the purpose of the thirty years?  How much could the Incarnate Christ actually reveal of an infinite Father in that period of time?

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.

I wonder how angels feel about the task of sharing news that doesn’t impact them and they don’t even understand.  “A Savior has been born to you.”  Why to people and not to angels, too?  (The angels might ask, “What about us?”)

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

“He is Christ the Lord.” 

How is this all going to happen?  How will He save?  How will He be the Christ?  How can He possibly be the Lord?

Just look at Him:

He’s a baby.

Here’s the thing though: angels are created beings.  They have many of the same limitations we have.  And Scripture even tells us that the angels long to know.  They wait in eager anticipation. 

1 Peter 1:10 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”

And yet Scripture also says that we don’t have the full picture now.  Nor do the angels.  We’re all in the same boat. 1 Corinthians 13: 8 “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears…12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 

One of the great mysteries still unfolding is how and when the Jewish people will be grafted back in.  We don’t know.  Angels don’t know.  But they long to.  And maybe we should too.

 * * *

Be Still, angels.  It’s not your job to know right now.  Right now your job is to announce and to marvel.

Be Still.  My plan is unfolding just as it is supposed to.  You’ll know when the time is right.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I AM the God of angel armies and the God of Israel and the Gentiles.  Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Angels, Be Still, be patient: you’ll have a front row seat when the time is come for My Son to return.  Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.”

Questions for Reflection:

1. How likely are you to want to be in-the-know? 
2. Are you content with curiosity? 
3. Have you ever been asked to do or convey something that wasn’t explained fully, knowing your job to be only a courier and not a teacher?  How did that make you feel?

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.

Luke 1:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

I don’t know what would be more terrifying:  an angel of the Lord or the glory of the Lord shining all around my location.  Both would be completely out of the ordinary and sure to turn my world upside down: from real world to supernatural.  It’d quickly go from my eyes and ears and straight to the marrow of my bones.

What do you think of the supernatural?

Something about the supernatural makes it way too easy to dismiss in American culture.  We pass it off as fantasy, impossible, stuff of the movies and we’re entertained by it, but our rational, fact-based approach to life calls us to disbelief.  Oh, don’t take it seriously, our minds tell us. 

There must be an explanation for how it works.

So one minute these shepherds are admiring the starry, starry night, and then the next minute they’re scared out of their sandals. 

They took it seriously. 

As should we.  Still.  Awe-struck.  Terrified, even.

 * * *

Be Still, shepherds.  This is really happening.  And terror is totally understandable.  Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  Be still, be wise.

Be Still.  I invented the supernatural.  I am at home—every bit as much—in the supernatural realm just as I am in the world and universe I created.  But, I don’t live in a house made by hands.  (Chuckling) If you only saw where I live…

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  About Me, Isaiah writes, Isaiah 33:5 “The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.”  So go ahead, be terrified.  I won’t be offended.  It shows you’re seeking the key to a treasure you don’t understand, nor could you from your real world perspective—that My world is just as real.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I have something important to tell you.  Prepare yourself.  Turning your world upside down is about to take a cosmic and exponential turn and you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.  Just wait until you see My Son!  

Questions for Reflection:

1. Why is it hard for rational and logical people to accept the supernatural? 
2. In what ways are miracles and supernatural events embraced as reality in tribal cultures and in ones far from modernization? 
3. Do you think modernization is a hindrance to faith, a help to faith, or doesn’t impact it either way?  Why would you give that answer?

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.

Conflicts between one’s work and one’s spiritual life are nothing new.  They’re as old as the Garden of Eden.  Adam was put in the Garden to work it, but the competing voice to be one’s own master called out, “You will be like God.” 

How is it possible to protect yourself from letting your work be your god, and convincing you that all blessings come from yourself and your hard work?  Is it only Americans who fight this I-am-my-own-master-and-the-world-is-my-oyster mentality?

Self-made men and women soon become self-destroyed men and women.  

I see it all the time.  Even people who once followed God lose sight of Him when all they see is themselves.

Only those who have learned to Be Still When You Work know the joy of fruitful employment and prosperity as blessing.  As we look at Still Christmas, Advent Devotionals for 2017, let’s look at how to Be Still When You Work in Luke 2:8

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”

Maybe the challenge is a modern problem because these shepherds didn’t have the dings, bings, chirps, and fanfare of a bazillion emails and text messages calling them off-task to the electronic brush fires that seem to command our every attention. 

Maybe there’s something about living in the fields without modern conveniences that allowed these shepherds to Be Still.  Turning off the noise.

Watching over their sleeping sheep.

It was night and the sky was filled with stars.

* * *

Be Still, shepherds.  Keep watch over your sheep, but never lose the awe of the star-filled sky I put there.

Be Still.  You may be shepherds and considered bottom of employment ladder by your culture, but you haven’t lost sight of what’s important and that makes you winners in My book. 

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I created everything. It’s My joy to share it with you.  I placed the awe in your heart.  Indeed, My character and nature demand it.  Never lose sight of that for the sake of work I gave you to do.  All are blessings from My hand. Worship the Giver, not the gift.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Isaiah speaks from Me to you.  Isaiah 40:26 “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”

Questions for Reflection: 

1. In what ways does work command our attention and pull us from God?  Does it always?  Must it? 
2. Even in ministry, is it possible to be so focused on performance that what we gain in familiarity with the Scriptures, we lose in awe of God?
3. How big is your God?  What types of things diminish the size of God in your eyes?
4. What types of noise are present in your life, particularly at Christmas? 
5. How does performance present noise that calls our attention away?  Is this noise spiritual or earthly or both?
6. What noise can you turn off in order to Be Still, recapture your awe of God, and focus on the meaning of Christmas? 

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Still Christmas, Advent 2017 Devotionals began December 3, 2017 and are archived from that date.