Week of December 20, 2009
John 1:1-17
Light and Life to All He Brings
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:4
In one issue of OUR DAILY BREAD, the story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and applied for membership in a local church. “Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your Life?” inquired an old deacon. ”Yes, sir,” she replied. “Well, are you still a sinner?” “To tell you the truth, I feel I am a greater sinner than ever.” ”Then what real change have you experienced?” “I don’t quite know how to explain it,” she said, “except I used to be a sinner running after sin, but now that I am saved, I’m a sinner running from sin!” She was received into the fellowship of the church, and she proved by her consistent life that she was truly converted. The new life Jesus gives us is not perfection. That comes later in heaven. It is a new awareness, seeing ourselves as we are and God as He is. It is a new purpose, serving Him and others and not ourselves. It is a new direction, walking toward the light and away from darkness.
Prayer: How silently, how silently The Wondrous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in. Amen. (Verse 3, O Little Town of Bethlehem, The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, #141)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22 <Read John 12:35-36>
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12
Light is the perfect image for God. Like God, light is unchangeable and invisible. We cannot see it and only know it is there because it is reflected back to us by the things it illuminates. Without light, we could not exist or see. Without light, there would only be cold emptiness. God is unchangeable and invisible. We can see Him only as He is reflected in His creation or through the Word. He speaks through the Scriptures, or through His prophets. The wonder and the message of Christmas is that God was made visible to us for a while. Jesus is like light made visible because He is God made visible. The image of light carries with it truth, purity, love and holiness. Jesus was all of these things, too. Most of all, He was God with us for a while, light visible, God incarnate.
Prayer: Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth. Amen. (Verse 3, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, #133)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 <Ephesians 2: 1-10>
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1: 14
What exactly is grace? Grace is God’s unearned and deserved blessing. We get our first example of it in life itself. As William Willimon puts it, “If you have a belly button, you have parents.” That means that none of us made ourselves. Life was given to us. We did not earn it nor deserve it. Someone even changed our diapers, which is definitely our second example of what grace is. “Our parents are a visible, ever-present reminder that the significance of our lives is not exclusively self-derived.” Of course, the coming of Jesus into the world shows us an even bigger grace. Though we earned hell and deserve death, God sent His one and only Son into the world “full of grace and truth.” He died for us and offers the free gift of eternal life. We do not deserve it and we cannot earn it, but we can receive it. Have you?
Prayer: Yea, Lord we greet Thee, born this happy morning, Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing! O come, let us adore Him… Amen. (Verse 3, O Come, All ye Faithful, The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, #145)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24 <Read John 8: 32-46>
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
I remember talking to a man who did not believe in God. Finally, he said, “If your belief in God makes you happy and helps you live your life better, then that belief is true for you. That is fine. I do not believe and that is what is true for me.” For many in our day, there is no such thing as something that is true for everyone all the time. Truths are changeable, things that we take or leave according to whatever makes our lives better at any particular moment. This is not only sad, it is diabolical. When we are presented with Jesus and his message, we are presented with things that are true all the time, whatever they may mean to us personally. Furthermore, we are told that it is on the basis of such truth that all of us must give an account and will be judged. In other words, the truth of Jesus is the truth in the same way that 2 +2 = 4. Truth is true no matter how we feel about it or whether it is helpful not. Our eternal lives depend on it.
Prayer: Joy to the World! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room, And heav’n and nature sing, And heav’n and nature sing… Amen. (Verse 1, Joy to the World! The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, #125)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25 <Philippians 2:4-11>
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
King Duncan tells about a group of school children brought together to write their own version of the Nativity. “There were the familiar members of the cast: Joseph, the shepherds, the three wise men, the star and an angel propped up in the background. But Mary was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly from behind some bales of hay could be heard some soft moans and groans. Evidently Mary was in labor. Soon a doctor arrived dressed in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck. Joseph, with a look of relief on his face takes the doctor straight to Mary, then starts pacing back and forth. After a few moments the “doctor” emerges with a big smile on his face. ‘Congratulations, Joseph,’ he says, ‘it’s a God!’” That is our message too. The Gospel (good news) of Christmas to a hurting world is that God has been born. “Congratulations, world, it is God!” Immanuel! Lord! Savior! Amen.
Prayer: So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh, Come peasant, king, to own Him; The King of kings salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone Him. Amen. (Verse 3, What Child is This? The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, # 137).