A moment with Christ

The shepherds “went with haste” (Luke 2:16) to look for the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. I took some time this week to join them.  

I thought about what it would have been like to look for Jesus, the baby an angel had told them about. So, I placed myself in their group as they hurried through Bethlehem, inquiring about a newborn baby. When they found the stable, how did they enter? What would I have done if I had been invited to join the shepherds and be with the holy family? 

It only took a short moment of reflection to realize what I would have wanted to do. 

I’m a mom and a grandma. I would have wanted to do the same thing I did when I first held all my “babies.” I would have been enthralled with the tiny hand of Christ. I would have placed my finger in his tiny palm and smiled with joy when his little fingers instantly wrapped around mine. 

That was my moment with Christ. In my quiet meditation, I knelt at the manger and was held by the tiny hand that would one day be held to a cross, for my salvation. 

For me, that is the deepest meaning of Christmas. 

A quiet moment in a busy week

I have a lot to get done this week. 

I’ll be at the stores buying supplies for the holiday. How many people can Costco hold? 

It is a year of old traditions and some that will be new. I’m not a great cook, and now I have a “gluten-free” one to feed! But, I can cook his dishes with gratitude and love. I held his tiny hand as a baby too! It’s a great blessing to know that he will be here to hold mine one day when I need it. 

The gifts are under the tree and I’ll be ready for the family to arrive. It will be a Christmas with grandkids ranging from three to almost eight years of age. There will probably be someone with a cold and another who didn’t get enough sleep. There will hopefully be enough food for everyone to find what they like. And I think I remembered to install all the batteries so those toys come alive!  

As I look forward to the chaos, I’m thinking about that quiet moment with the baby Jesus. He was a three-year-old and an eight-year old too. I wonder what he liked to eat? I wonder what and who he loved to play with? 

I wonder if he looked at his hands and thought about their future?

We are called to be his hands today

Last week I wrote about giving to the great needs in our country following the tornado outbreak. My heart wrenched as I saw a woman interviewed who held her face in her hands and said, “I just want to go home. But I don’t have a home anymore.” I hope you were able to give what you can to a group that will help her be “home for Christmas” next year. 

As I was typing this blog post, I received a text from a friend. A forty-five-year-old Vietnamese evangelist just passed away. Debbie Tran worked to share the love of Christ with as many Americans as she could. She knew how amazing it was to live in this country and how blessed she was to have been saved through her faith in Christ.  

I’m glad I can spend Christmas with my Messiah. I can’t imagine what the holiday would be like without him. I hope the Lord will continue Debbie’s ministry through many others who will do the work of evangelism. We are in a season of history that requires “all hands on deck!” 

May the Lord’s presence fill your Christmas holiday

Whatever your Christmas will look like this year, I pray it will have moments for you with the presence of Christ. If you have the chance to hold a baby, think about that tiny baby in the manger and allow his hand to wrap around you. 

  • If you have grief, allow his hand to comfort you.
  • If you have chaos, allow his hand to quiet you.
  • If you have joy, allow his hand to joyfully squeeze yours.
  • If you have a chance, allow his hand to guide you to give, speak, and share the story of Christmas with someone who needs it.

Know that I, and all of us at Denison Ministries, are grateful for the chance to share God thoughts with you each week. God’s word is powerful, life-changing, and perspective-giving. So, I leave you with a picture of the newborn Messiah. Don’t move on with your day until you move to the edge of the manger and give the baby Jesus a chance to wrap his tiny fingers around yours.  

Scripture says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.  

The tiny fist that grips us is the hand of God. 

Let’s meditate on that moment this Christmas, and rejoice. 

I wish you joy, peace, and God’s glory for Christmas!
Blessings to you and yours.
—Janet

God wanted you to have Christmas

According to a Harris poll, Americans still pick Christmas as their favorite holiday, by a wide margin. Forty-six percent of all Americans enjoy celebrating Christmas more than all others. 

I was curious why people felt that way. 

I googled and read several articles from a variety of ages and backgrounds. Interestingly, the number one reason people listed Christmas as their favorite holiday was because of the “spirit of the season.” 

One writer simply said, “Christmas just makes everyone act like better people.” 

God knew we needed Christmas

God knows and has planned for every moment of human history. He doesn’t control every choice because he created people with free will. So God chose to give us Christmas, a season that reminds us of the blessings and the costs associated with a world full of free will choices. 

Most people use their free wills to help others—not always, but often. It’s been encouraging to watch the volunteers who have jumped to help those impacted by the terrible tornadoes that ripped through this country. Help has poured into these towns from all directions.  

A lot of the reporters describe such generosity as the “spirit of Christmas.” We know the spirit’s Name. The spirit of Christmas is Christ. 

Everyone needs Jesus, so God gave us Christmas. 

Christmas giving 2021

God knew in advance that a lot of our Christmas gifts would still be floating around on ships or not yet manufactured. 

Could that be God’s gift for Christmas 2021? 

My husband has used an illustration in the past about a wealthy man who gave a great deal of money to a university, just before the stock market crash of 1929. The Great Depression followed, and the man who had been wealthy became poor. The university felt bad about owning more of the man’s money than he did. His response was profound. 

He said he didn’t regret giving that money at all. 

He pointed to the new buildings his gift had purchased and said, “If I hadn’t given my money to you, it would have just been lost.” 

This is a good year to consider what we do with what we have. Maybe we should be giving less under our trees and more for the people who have the greatest needs. 

A passage to ponder

Paul passed his philosophy of giving to Timothy, his protégé, and his words speak to Christmas 2021. Paul wrote, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17–19). 

There are a lot of people in need this Christmas. And, even though I know this will sound a bit Scroogish, I want to say it: the children of this country don’t need more toys as much as some adults and children of this country need shelter, food, and clothing. 

Many adults of this country don’t need more now either. There are ways we can give this year that will provide what will not be used up, thrown away, or regifted someday. In the process, we can remind people to consider those things that matter most. 

For those of us who have what we need, let’s invest our Christmas spirit in “good works” and “take hold of that which is truly life.” 

There are a lot of great organizations that stand ready to help the people who are without everything this Christmas. My husband and I give to the Texas Baptist Men because we like to donate to a group that gives the gospel as well as meals, church recovery, clothes, food, and showers, and provides for so many other needs. 

People need help with “life,” but everyone also needs “to take hold of that which is truly life.” Christians should want to give to every aspect of a person’s life and well-being. 

God gave us Christmas

Christmas is a unique holiday that almost every country in the world celebrates this time of year. There is something unique about Christmas that unifies the world. Actually, there is Someone. 

The hope of Christmas is universal. “For God so loved the world” he gave us Jesus (John 3:16). God gave us Christmas for a reason. God gave us a season to help us remember we are to live and give as Christ exemplified. He left his throne and chose the manger. He left eternity to choose the cross. 

What will we sacrifice this Christmas for the sake of others? 

Christmas giving

If your inbox is like mine, there is no shortage of “requests” for giving. In fact, I’ll send a request for our ministry in a week or two. But, that isn’t my point today.  

God speaks to his children, and we need to be listening. Someone needs you today. Someone needs you to give them the love of Christ this Christmas. Pray, asking God to direct your thoughts and choices. We can help someone “take hold of that which is truly life.” Giving that gift is how you can take hold of Jesus too. 

I write to you each week but only know some of you. I want this message to be the gift I give each of you this Christmas. If I can encourage you to share the love of Jesus with others, God will give you the blessings of this Christmas season and the coming new year.  

God gave us Christmas so we could give Christmas away to those around us. The “spirit of Christmas” has a name and we know him. Give, in the name of Jesus, and you will experience Christmas yourself. 

May you “take hold” of the Christmas season and experience “that which is truly life.” May the blessings of Christmas fill your home today as you share the Christ of Christmas with others. 

God gave us Christmas so we could do the same. 

Let the world be our teacher too

There is an Amazon ad this Christmas that touches my heart. 

Actually, the Lord used the ad to convict my heart and inspire this blog post.

I hope you will take the time to watch it now before you keep reading.

Kindness, the greatest gift

Amazon has a wonderful message for our Christmas season. The title and message of their ad is “Kindness, the greatest gift.”  

The marketing aspect is not lost on me, but I don’t think marketing was their only goal. They know the pandemic has made them a great deal of money. They also know there has been a human cost behind their profits. 

The reason I wanted to write this blog during our Christmas season is that the message of the ad should be our message as well. I was struck by the idea that maybe we have believed Satan’s lies about the world more often than we should. 

God created human beings in “his own image” (Genesis 1:27). First John 4:8 tells us that “God is love.” Those two verses can assure us that every human being on this planet has been created with a capacity for love and a need to give and receive love. That’s why our most important commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). God created us in his image, and God is kind. Jesus told us the most important thing we can do with our earthly lives is to act like our heavenly Dad. 

Imagine your life if you had never been “adopted”

This is a lengthy passage, but take the time to read and soak in every word. This passage is a gift from Scripture for your day: 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3–6). 

If you are a Christian, God is your heavenly Dad. You were created by him but lost to him. When you made Jesus your Lord and Savior, God adopted you forever. Your life and your character were gifted again with his. That is who the Holy Spirit is and wants to be in your life. 

I’ve often said, “We shouldn’t be surprised when lost people act like they are lost.” Who would you be if someone had not led you to faith in Christ? Think about the last thing you did that you know God didn’t approve of. Think about what it would be like to live without that conviction. Wouldn’t your life develop into some wrong patterns too? I know mine would. 

If we sin this much while saved, imagine how much we would blow it if we didn’t have Jesus!

The lost are closer to God than they realize

No one wants to be lost. No one wants to feel lost. No one enjoys admitting they aren’t good enough. But, deep down under the pride, is the knowledge that all of us were lost, or we still are. 

In the Amazon Christmas ad, an older woman cares about, and for, a younger woman who needs her encouragement. That is the “gift” that comes out of the Amazon box. Amazon’s marketing company was wise to know that kindness is what people most need right now. 

The point of this blog post is: Amazon has worked to understand what people want and need. Christians understand that everyone’s greatest need is to be filled with the source of kindness. Human kindness is a great gift, but it is a temporary gift. Jesus is the gift of Christmas who is the source of eternal love and kindness. 

When I watched the Amazon ad, tears came to my eyes. People know what they need most. How do we tell them how to find it? How do we explain they are so close to finding an answer to their greatest needs? The Amazon ad was a good reminder. All of us who know Jesus simply need to care enough to do something in his name and for his kingdom purpose.

The end of the ad held the answer

When the ad came to a close, the older woman was sitting on a bench with the younger woman. They were both enjoying their time together. Isn’t that a picture of what it means to “love your neighbor as you love yourself”? 

Whom is God calling you to invest in? And, let me say in advance, that investment isn’t just for the Christmas season.  

Jesus told his followers to “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). Discipling a person is rarely a one-time conversation. Jesus wanted us to invest our lives into the spiritual growth of others. Whom has Jesus called you to disciple? That question is answered by specific names. Can you list those names? 

If Amazon knows what the world needs, how much more should we? We know the greatest gift of Christmas and every other season of life. He has a name too. The angel told Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). 

Evangelism isn’t just for some. Jesus called all of us to make disciples and teach them. We know what to say and we know what to do. But, that isn’t the first step. The first step is to care. 

When we see the ad run on our television sets this Christmas season, let it call each of us to this simple prayer: Father God, help me to care like that. 

Who will you be sitting next to if you do?

  

The Giver of good things

’Tis the season once again. 

Somehow the coffee just tastes better when it is enjoyed with the lights of Christmas. 

Somehow, the quiet, colorful mornings of the Christmas season put the rest of the day in a bright, more God-filled perspective. 

The news is a bit iffy right now, but our joy doesn’t have to be. Romans 8:31 reminds us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

And we know that God is for us!  

God is the Giver of Christmas and the source of our peace, comfort, and joy. Let’s plan to celebrate this month with the Giver of all good things.

The Giver from a biblical perspective

Aren’t you glad that you have God’s presence in your Christmas season? 

The non-believing culture has always tried to foster belief in anything but Christ. Santa isn’t a bad story; he just isn’t the true story. God has given us the perfect understanding of Christmas in his word. 

I’ve often said that we can’t understand Christmas without Easter. If we only think of Jesus as a babe in a manger, we miss the enormity of his birth. Paul gave us an important message for Christmas in his letter to the Roman church. He wrote: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). 

The Giver gave us Christmas so we could have Easter. The Giver has graciously given believers all things, now and forever.

The Giver from a novel perspective 

I read Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver when it was published in 1993. The book made waves in our world and in the church. It is on the list of the most banned books in the United States. Many say it is unsuited for the age group it targets because it addresses dark subjects. 

I understand the angst, but I’ve always held to the idea that we should educate children rather than indoctrinate them. Our relationship to Christ is a choice, and no one can choose if there is only one side presented. I didn’t fight the message of the novel; I used it to present the difference between truth and fiction. And, frankly, I took some heat from fellow believers over my position. 

I think the novel is an interesting read and provides a message about our world from a non-Christian perspective. The Giver won the Newberry Medal for young adult fiction in 1994 and eventually became a movie. Chances are pretty good that most junior high schools have it in their libraries as recommended reading. I read the book when it was assigned to my son and it sparked some great conversations.  

The Giver is a science-fiction novel that describes a dystopian world that aims for a utopian experience. The book teaches that truth can’t exist in utopia because people passionately desire freedom, choice, and love. Utopia can’t exist in a controlled, non-feeling existence where people are taught to obey rather than care. 

Jonas is a young man in the novel whom the “Giver” is hoping to influence. The giver, in the novel, is the one who knows the “truth” about their existence. At one point, Jonas tells the giver, “You and I don’t need to care about the rest of them.” As soon as Jonas speaks those words, he knows they aren’t the truth. The paragraph continues, “Jonas hung his head. Of course they needed to care. It was the meaning of everything.” 

The Giver is a well-written novel that attempts to inspire truth. Sadly, truth cannot exist without its Author. The giver in the novel is a man, not God. 

The true Giver of all good things 

There is so much about Christmas that sparks joy, especially this year. Or at least, hopefully this year. 

If I had to assign Satan a one-word description, I would call him a virus. As the news of this new virus progresses, it should serve as a reminder that our world continues to need our Christmas celebration. The world needs our Christian truth about the reason for this season.  

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16–17). 

I was inspired to write this blog post as I read the autobiography from Lois Lowry’s website in light of the verses above. It doesn’t help to condemn lost people for believing “lost” ideas. Christians aren’t superior people because we know the truth; we are just blessed by learning how to live it.  

Lois Lowry wrote, “My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane left a little girl fatherless and tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth. . . . I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another.” I thought it was profoundly moving that Ms. Lowry is most famous for writing The Giver, a book that proves her goal is humanly impossible. 

If I could share the truth . . . 

I wish I could talk to Ms. Lowry about God, the actual Giver of all good things. In some ways, I feel like I write for the same reasons Ms. Lowry listed.  

I believe we live “intertwined on this planet” too. I believe that “our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another.” But, Lois Lowry and I believe very differently about the Giver. I don’t believe human beings can do the work of God apart from the strength of God. 

Everyone we see this week is filled with the Christ of Christmas, or needs to be. God is the true Giver, who gives perfect gifts that are humanly impossible. His word tells us that he will “graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32).  

Let’s enter this Christmas season with his perfect strength, his complete truth, and with his inspired goals. And, may the Christ of Christmas light our way through the coming weeks. 

If the Giver is for us, who can be against us? 

Empty shelves, rich lives

I took my mom to do a little shopping and, I have to admit, the news reports were right about the shortages on the shelves. The stores are decorated for Christmas, but where are the stacks of merchandise that usually fill the shelves? “’Tis the season” but there “is no reason” to do much shopping!

Apparently, our Christmas gifts are floating off the coast of California. This is either an excellent marketing strategy for retailers, or we are going to have some amazing after-Christmas sales in February and March.  

The good news for this holiday season is the good news of God’s priorities. The most important holiday celebration this year might be Thanksgiving.  

The empty shelves at the mall might lead us to live richer lives, filled with better priorities. 

A turkey shortage?

CBS News reported that there will be ten things that will be tough to find and small turkeys topped the list. It sounds like we need to clean out our freezers to accommodate a giant frozen turkey in the next week or do without. I vote for a pork tenderloin and no stress or mess! 

Apparently, there is a gaming system that will be almost impossible to find. I think all of us can think of about forty reasons why we shouldn’t be too sad about that one! 

A lot of toys are floating on those ships. Maybe we will all use our imaginations to create gifts that require imagination instead of batteries. 

Sportswear is in short supply. But, how much sportswear do you have stacked on your shelves or hanging in the closet? I don’t want to admit this, but if I didn’t buy another piece of sportswear until 2025, I’d be just fine. 

There is an alcohol shortage. How is that a bad thing? 

As I scrolled through the rest of the article, I realized that this “CBS Essentials” article was really just an ad for all the things they were suggesting people buy that are in stock. If you click on the article and then choose to buy something, CBS makes a little money too. 

I miss the days when CBS made money for reporting accurate news or producing entertaining shows.  

A gift that “keeps on giving”?

I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a Bible shortage as well. No one has said anything yet, but a lot of our Bibles are printed in China too. How many cases of God’s word are floating on those ships? 

What if this is the year we give Bibles to the people we care about? What if we personalize them by highlighting our favorite verses before we wrap them up? It will take a while to do, but that time is part of the gift. Giving a gift that shares God’s word is an idea that the apostle Paul would recommend. 

Paul wrote about the value of God’s word to the church in Colossae. He encouraged them to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). 

Last year was a difficult year, and we have so many reasons to be thankful this holiday season. Our gratitude will be for what we have, not for what we can or cannot buy. If every one of those cargo ships carrying toys, sportswear, and other things we don’t need sank, we would be just fine. (Unless the ship is carrying coffee . . . that would be a problem!) 

What is the Lord asking us to be thankful for in 2021? 

Our offering of praise

We don’t know who wrote the book of Hebrews, but he was a wise and godly man. The words of that book are profound, written to Christians who understood the value of a life lived with God’s priorities. 

The writer of Hebrews closed his letter with some great advice for all Christians. He said, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He encouraged them to be strong in their faith and live godly lives that honored Jesus. The author said, “Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:15). 

Christians have the most amazing gifts to give this year.  

  • We can give the benefits of God’s word and wisdom with thankful hearts. The best thing about the current angst in our culture is that Christian calm and peace are really being noticed!
  • We can encourage a discouraged world by offering our praise for all we have instead of complaining about what we don’t have or can’t get.
  • The “fruit of our lips” will be the things we say that acknowledge the place Christ has in our lives.

Empty shelves or full hearts

What are you purely grateful for today? 

God is redeeming 2020 even as we close out 2021. We have a lot to be thankful for in our lives. What will be your “offering of praise” this holiday season? 

God is at work in our lives, changing our priorities to line up with his. Christians shouldn’t be focused on the empty shelves. Instead, let’s focus on our rich blessings. We are called to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God” because “the fruit of our lips” will be the things we say that “acknowledge his name.” 

Allow the empty shelves to inspire

The empty shelves are a strong reminder of everything we don’t really need. God doesn’t want our lives to be filled with stuff. He wants us to fill our lives with praise for all that matters most. That is our offering to him and to our culture. 

Praise God for the ability to be thankful, not the fact you scored a small turkey at the grocery store.

 Praise God for the ability to be with family, not shop for them. 

Praise God for filling your life with his rich mercies and those empty shelves won’t bother you very much at all. 

Let’s empty our witness of the cultural angst and allow our voices to be an offering of praise. God is redeeming 2020 with the unusual blessings of 2021. 

May the empty shelves cause us to be thankful for everything we already have, starting with our salvation in Christ. 

After all, there is a reason we call our holiday Christmas.

Christmas blessings to you and yours

My favorite Christmas meditation is Emmanuel, God with us. 

That was God’s pure intention for Christmas. The Creator of all there is wanted to be with us and always has. 

If, right now, as you are reading these words, you felt him put his arm around you or take your hand, you would experience the miracle of Christmas.

One of the first things I did when I held my sons for the first time was take their tiny hand in mine. I imagine Mary and Joseph did the same thing. God was tangibly with them that first Christmas and is equally present with us today. 

Jesus is Emmanuel. 

A PERFECT CHRISTMAS 

Each Christmas is filled with traditions, yet none are ever the same. Plans change. Some things work out and others do not. This Christmas will be like any other in that respect. The only perfectly planned Christmas is told from the pages of Scripture. 

There is a sweet simplicity to the first Christmas that I would wish for all of us this year. The angel told the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).

CHRISTMAS 2020 

Christmas—especially Christmas 2020—is a celebration of God’s good news and great joy. 

Christmas is for everyone even though everyone doesn’t receive the gift they were given. Jesus was wrapped up for all of us so that he could be our Messiah, our Lord. I’m praying there will be many who meet the Christmas child for the first time. Christmas 2020 will be perfected by their salvation. 

For all of us who have known our Savior for many years, we should take a few minutes to hold the baby close and take his small hand in our own. I can’t imagine how God could have allowed that hand to one day be pierced for my sake. 

God loves us that much.

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS 

This is my Christmas “card” to all of you. I am thankful and grateful to you for reading. It is my great privilege to share some “God-thoughts” each week. It gives me joy to know that I have all of eternity to get to know each of you—someday. 

For now, please know that I wish you a safe, joy-filled, blessed Christmas filled with special memories and moments. 

I hope one of those “moments” will be the quiet contemplation of a baby boy, born in Bethlehem, raised by ordinary people with an extraordinary calling. 

Christmas is about fixing our eyes on Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). He gave up heaven to become a baby and be with us. God wanted us to spend eternity with him. 

I wanted to send you this Christmas moment video to enjoy this year. It moved me to tears, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Take some time before Christmas arrives and allow Jesus to put his hand in yours as you listen. 

Emmanuel.

God is with you. 

Will you take this time to be with him? 

All of us at Denison Ministries wish you and yours a blessed Christmas.

We are privileged to send you a few moments with God’s word each week.

As you wrap up this unique year, would you consider making a tax-deductible gift to help us? 

Thank you for helping us send God’s biblical perspective to people around the globe.

Merry Christmas. 

Gratefully, Janet

A cozy, comfortable, COVID Christmas

It sounds like it will be a while before most of us can line up for a vaccine, but it is definitely coming. 

I’m happy that those who need it most will have it first. But I am excited to know that I will be in line someday. 

2021 is looking up!

It’s a cold, blustery day in Texas as I type this post. The wind is blowing the cold rain sideways across the backyard. But, inside, the fire is going, the tree is lit, and the Christmas candle is burning. 

I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas. 

FROM THANKFUL TO THOUGHTFUL 

I also have a lot to be thoughtful about. 

There are different seasons of life, and I am lucky. COVID has been difficult but doable. It’s just Jim and me in the house. We can work from our home office. We don’t have to make school choices for kids or keep up with their schedules. I can order what I need and it arrives at the front door. There have been some things to give up, but nothing that a vaccine won’t soon fix. 

But this is a random, indiscriminate virus, and not everyone has been able to avoid it. We all likely know someone who’s had to fight the battle. Most of us know someone who didn’t win their battle. There are a lot of families who will be thinking about loved ones they lost on Christmas morning. 

Everyone will have a different kind of holiday this year.

A MINISTRY OF PJ’S 

Yesterday, a friend sent me a front-page story from the Dallas Morning News about a woman we know. 

Jo Alch was a “regular” in the Sunday School class I used to teach. According to the article, “Alch is the director of Pajamas for Seniors, a Dallas nonprofit that provides new pajamas for low-income residents of nursing and assisted living homes.” 

“Pajamas for Seniors” is blessing a lot of elderly people this Christmas with a gift they need. In addition to PJ’s, they also receive love and attention they are often missing. 

I read the article with a smile because it was so good to read about her ministry. 

Jo was a hospice nurse when I met her, but the Lord has grown her life, her business, and her ministry in some amazing ways. I’ve linked to the article so you can read it. I was reminded of all the good God can accomplish through a person who wants to serve him. 

A lot of people are focused on what they have to “give up” this Christmas. Jo is focused on what we can give. 

So, from your former Sunday School teacher: WAY TO GO, JO!!! 

A lot of good can be accomplished through people who truly care. 

GOD USES YOUR LIFE MORE THAN YOU REALIZE 

D. L. Moody is one of the most quotable preachers of all time. A Christianity Today article described him this way: “With his boundless physical energy, natural shrewdness, self-confidence, and eternal optimism, Dwight Lyman Moody could have become a Gilded Age industrial giant like John D. Rockefeller or Jay Gould. Instead, he became one of the great evangelists of the nineteenth century.” 

D. L. Moody described himself as an ordinary man who sold shoes and had the equivalent of a fifth-grade education. Yet, he became the American preacher who is considered one of the finest evangelists in history. He preached the gospel to more than a hundred million people in his lifetime. 

D. L. Moody was a fan of ordinary people. He said, “If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in this world who have great talents.” 

Jesus had that same sense. When he chose disciples, he didn’t go to the synagogue in Jerusalem to find the trained talent. He went looking for the ordinary faithful. 

PURE PERSPECTIVE FROM D. L. MOODY 

I wanted to send some wisdom from D. L. Moody to you this Christmas. I’ve long thought that a great hindrance to living for Jesus is how we often allow our sense of “self” to influence our calling. D. L. Moody was right when he said, “I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I have ever met.”  

In the Christian life, success isn’t about what people accomplish for God. Godly success is measured by what God accomplishes through people. 

Jesus taught his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19). If Jesus knew he needed to yield his earthly life to God, we should be making every effort to do the same. 

D. L. Moody could advise our 2020 Christmas with these words: “No one can sum up all God is able to accomplish through one solitary life, wholly yielded, adjusted, and obedient to Him.” When you are yielded to God, you are accomplishing much more than you realize. You are accomplishing what Jesus wants to do through you. 

GOD’S WORD + GOD’S WILL = GOD’S GUIDANCE 

D. L. Moody also said, “I never saw a fruit-bearing Christian who was not a student of the Bible.” 

If you are reading this blog post, then you care about God’s work in the world. Our ministry is called to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). It’s safe to say that our readers are likely servants of God. But I would point out a key word in Moody’s quote. 

He didn’t refer to a “reader” of the Bible, although that is a great thing. 

He said a fruit-bearing Christian needed to be a “student” of the Bible. 

I am occasionally led by God when I read his word. I’m often led by God when I study it. 

I think about what I’ve read, pray about it, and listen for his will in it. 

This equation has been consistently true in my life: God’s word + God’s will = God’s guidance. 

A COZY, COMFORTABLE, COVID CHRISTMAS 

This isn’t a season to contemplate only what we have lost because of the virus. 

I have believed since last April that God would redeem all of this for our greater good—if we are called to his purpose (Romans 8:28). That’s a promise from God’s word. 

Going forward, we will learn more about what God has done. I can promise you that this time has changed almost everyone in some way. Our ministry has received some amazing correspondence this past year. God’s word is powerful. The COVID quiet has been used by God to draw people to himself. 

We will get a vaccine, and we will get back to our new normal next year. D. L. Moody has a suggestion for all of us to consider before then: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” 

Which “matters” matter most? 

God wants to answer that question for us. 

So, get comfortable in your favorite spot and look around. 

  • What do you have to be thankful for this Christmas? 
  • What does God want you to be thoughtful about? 
  • How does God want to use your ordinary life in an extraordinary way? 

The Lord will answer those questions as you study his word. 

Get cozy and comfortable this COVID Christmas. God always has something to say to those who are willing to study his word and listen. 

A warm fire, a cup of cocoa, and a thankful heart can provide a great start. 

The Invisible God

Christmas 2020 will have a uniquely important place in our lives. 

It’s different, yet the same. 

It’s not as merry, yet more profound. 

It’s not what we would have chosen, yet it is what God has chosen to allow. 

Christmas 2020 should be celebrated.

The only thing I really understand about this year is that God wants us to listen and learn. He has called us to be quietly careful this year. 

God has a crucial Christmas message for us, and we need to hear it, speak it, write it, preach it, and live it. 

Christmas is about God’s revelation to the world: the invisible God became visible. 

The Invisible God became a baby 

Why did God become a baby? 

Why did God want countless generations of people to worship at a manger? 

Those questions are answered in the book of Hebrews. We are to go to the manger so we can worship “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). 

Jesus left the joy of heaven to lie in a manger. Jesus was born as a baby so he could live and die as our perfect, sacrificial lamb. Jesus is the “founder of our faith” and the One who will “perfect our faith” when we worship him. 

If you had been one of the shepherds in the field that night . . . 

If you had seen the miraculous light of God’s glory . . . 

If you had heard the heavenly chorus of angels . . . 

If you had knelt before the newborn baby, lying in a manger . . . 

You would have seen the invisible God made visible. 

The image of the invisible God 

The apostle Paul said when the shepherds saw the baby in the manger, they saw “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15–17). 

When you and I worship at the manger, we are worshiping the greatness of God, the humility of God, the provision of God—born to make us perfect enough to one day live with God in heaven. You and I are invited to view the image of the invisible God when we kneel with the shepherds at the manger. 

Jesus is holding all things together 

When things feel out of control, we should remember who is in control. 

God allowed a virus to change this Christmas season, so we can trust that God has a plan to redeem this Christmas for his higher purpose. 

Jesus is holding all things together, including Christmas 2020. Mary held the image of the invisible God in her arms; now Jesus holds the life of every believer in his.

The light behind your mask 

Aren’t you tired of face masks? 

Jesus told us not to put our light under a bushel basket, but, honestly, it seems we have stuck it behind our masks. How can we share the joy of the season if no one can see our smiles? 

How can we be the light of Christ in spite of our masks? 

Only Jesus knows how to answer that question, and his answers will be individual and personal. He is the one holding all those answers together. “All things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). And that verse includes his plans for Christmas 2020. 

How will you make the image of the invisible God visible? 

God already has that answer for each of us. 

Christians are still the light of the world, even behind our masks. 

God is still invisible to some 

Christmas is a good time to study people with spiritual discernment. Some celebrate a baby while others celebrate a season. It isn’t hard to pick out the people who have worshiped with the shepherds and others for whom God still remains invisible. 

In fact, Christmas has become increasingly void of Christ. That blame falls on God’s children, not Hollywood or the politicians. It was never the job of our television sets or government to make Christmas about Jesus. Jesus told us, not the Hollywood producers, to go and make disciples. (And it’s great when the Lord calls his people to be Christian evangelical producers or politicians along the way!) 

A lot of people in our culture still believe God is invisible because he seems nonexistent. Whom can we bring to the manger this Christmas so he or she will be able to see his reality? 

That isn’t a rhetorical question. 

Will you ask God for specific names? 

If we see Jesus this Christmas 

I’ve allowed myself to imagine the moment when I see Jesus face-to-face. 

Most of us have a mental image of our Lord, but he no longer looks like a baby in a manger or a Galilean carpenter who carried his cross. 

God made himself visible in Christ, but we still see him vaguely from this side of heaven. The apostle John told us to look for our conquering hero riding on a white horse (Revelation 19). That’s the description of Jesus the moment he will be made visible to everyone. 

The apostle Paul also described Jesus as he is today: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).

Be still and know He is God 

The only thing I understand about 2020 is that God has called us to listen and learn. 

We should be carefully quiet so we can discern his voice. 

This Christmas, I’m called to bring people to the manger so they can meet and worship Jesus. Scripture promises there is a time coming when everyone will see the image of the invisible God face-to-face. 

God has a crucial Christmas message for all of us. 

If Jesus makes himself eternally visible this Christmas, are you ready? 

“O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
O Come let us adore him Christ the Lord.”

Christmas Blessings

Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd” (John 10:10–11). That is the “reason for the season.” 

This Christmas Day, I wish you many moments with the “good shepherd.” 

I wish you an abundantly joyful day. 

Even more, I wish you an abundantly joyful life. Christmas was never supposed to be about a day. Christmas is about forever and always. 

Something to remember . . . 

Interestingly, when Jesus spoke the words in John 10, he was speaking to Pharisees and other Jewish unbelievers. Jesus wanted them to know he was their Messiah, the “good shepherd.” Jesus wanted them to know joy in their faith, not just the rules of religion. 

Christmas is about joy because Christmas is about Jesus. 

Who will you spend time with today that needs to know Jesus is the “good shepherd?” Or needs his joy? 

Whatever gifts you give . . . 

In addition to everything else you plan to give, give joy. 

Bless someone today with words from Jesus. He would love to speak through you. 

Bless someone today with his kindness. 

Bless someone today with his love. 

Whatever gifts you give, include the gift of Jesus. 

John 3:16 

God loved you so much, he gave you that first Christmas. 

May this day be a reminder of how much you are loved by the One who is love. 

Merry Christmas. I wish you his perfect blessings for today and every other day.
It is a privilege to walk this journey with you. 

In his love and mine, Janet

Love, Jesus

What would it be like to wake up Christmas morning and find a gift under the tree from Jesus? 

I imagine it would be the first gift each of us would open. 

What would his handwriting on the tag look like? 

How would he wrap it? Would it be lavishly presented or very simple? 

The tag would probably say something like “Merry Christmas. Love, Jesus.” 

What would Jesus want to give? 

I wonder if we would tear open the package, anxious to see the contents. Or, would we take our time with reverent awe, not wanting the moment to pass too quickly? 

One thing is for sure: whatever Jesus wrapped up would be perfect. 

Maybe it would be: 

  • something amazing we had always wished for but had never bought for ourselves. 
  • a wonderful trip to see the most beautiful places he created. 
  • something we could eat that would provide a miracle of health or healing. 
  • a note containing the perfect words to say to someone we love. 
  • something we could put on a shelf that would be a constant reminder of his love. 

Jesus would give us our favorite gifts. 

Christmas wishes

What is your Christmas wish? Have you asked Jesus to give you anything this year? 

Sometimes we forget that Jesus loves us and wants to bless our lives with the best things. Jesus gives good gifts, but we don’t always know to ask for them. Not for ourselves anyway. 

Where did we get the idea that asking Jesus for things was selfish? Self-centered? Shallow? 

Why is it okay to tell Santa our Christmas wishes, but not Jesus? 

We should ask

Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount when he taught his followers to ask. 

He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7–11). 

Sometimes we focus on the what of these verses instead of the why. 

Maybe the key word in this passage is ask. Jesus points out that his Father wants to give and that his gifts are good things. He also points out that everyone who asks receives and everyone who seeks a gift from God will find one. 

Love, Jesus 

If you ask, there will be a gift for you this Christmas tagged “Love, Jesus.” It might be a thing, but most certainly it is a relationship. 

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, he already knew the “good gift” that God had wrapped up for each of us. Jesus knew that his Father gives “good things to those who ask him.” 

Jesus makes something else clear: God waits for us to ask him. Why? 

Because the greatest gift of life is a restored relationship with our Father, the Creator of all things perfect. 

Ask again 

We are supposed to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. The gift of our relationship with God is a “never-ending” one. The Christmas gift tagged “Love, Jesus” is also given on the twenty-sixth, the twenty-seventh, and every other day of the year. 

Jesus gave himself for Christmas. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and presented to the world with a tag that still reads “Love, Jesus.” 

If you are reading this blog, you probably know that. You probably have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. You probably know that the greatest gift of life is your restored relationship to God through salvation in Christ. 

So, why did Jesus tell us to keep asking? We already have what we most need. 

Because the gifts from our restored relationship with God continue. We need to ask again, and again, and again because God wants to continually “give good things to those who ask him.” 

What should you ask for? 

We should ask for the things that the name of Jesus can provide. We should ask knowing that our answers will provide the greatest joy we can experience in our lives. We should ask for what Jesus wants us to have. 

Jesus knew he was at the end of his earthly life when he told his disciples, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). 

Could it be that our greatest gift is the knowledge that we can always and forever ask God for what Jesus died to give us? 

Your gift

There is a box for you this Christmas with a tag that reads “Love, Jesus.” Inside is a promise that you can always ask God, for anything. 

Jesus died to give you that gift. Is it sitting on a shelf, or do you use it every day? 

God will always give you the best gifts. They will be what you have asked for or something even better. His gifts are always perfect and always what Jesus wanted us to have for our eternal good. 

Jesus said, “Ask God. All the time. Keep asking him.” Merry Christmas. Love, Jesus.