GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” . . . So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. Luke 2:12, 16 (NIV)

If we believe what we say we believe, then when God says it is so, it is so. But, we so often doubt.

The interaction between the angel and the shepherds in Luke 2 shows a simple, yet significant sequence: The angel says, “You will find a baby lying in a manger,” and when the shepherds got to Bethlehem, “there was the baby, lying in a manger.”

God told them what they would find, and they found exactly what God told them they would find.

You and I would live very differently if we followed a similar sequence: When God says it, we know it is true, and when we follow what we are told, we see that God’s promise is true.

If we could just stop slipping and sliding in our faith, we’d be so radically different!

Practical Nativity:

• Faithfully respond to what you hear. The shepherds could have questioned the message: “You know, maybe God really meant to check for the baby in the hotel. It just isn’t logical that a newborn would be out with the livestock.” In faith, they followed God’s voice.
• Toss the “Believe Harder!” hat. God’s not tapping his foot with his arms crossed, ready to pounce on you with a reprimand. He’s walking on the water, encouraging you to join him in his walk! Rest in God’s grace, knowing he wants you to succeed at hearing what he says and doing what he tells you to do.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. . . . And everyone went to his own town to register. Luke 2:1, 3 (NIV)

Jesus was born in Bethlehem because God decreed it. His birth in Bethlehem was foretold by the ancient prophets. But what would compel Joseph and Mary to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, especially late in a pregnancy?

How would they, just as human as you and I and still looking through the glass darkly, know they were to go to Bethlehem for Jesus to be born?

In Luke 2, we see God used a bureaucratic announcement made by a secular authority to guide Joseph and Mary. Augustus said the population should be counted, and that meant everyone was required to return to their “ancestral home.” Joseph was a descendant of King David, so he headed toward David’s ancient home—Bethlehem (Luke 2:4–5).

Practical Nativity:

• You were born at the right time. God was not surprised by your birth, the circumstances of your birth, or where you were born. He spoke you into your mother’s womb and he knows you by name.
• You can be active, not passive in circumstances. Move from “Why me, God?” to “What’s up, God?” God is working all things out; look for where he is at work (Romans 8:28).

You have a hopeful future. How would you view the circumstances of this Christmas season differently if you were certain God was working in those circumstances? “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

As I write this, I am sitting in a fast food restaurant observing a young girl, maybe five-years-old, celebrating an early Christmas with her mother. Her presents are spread out across the booth and she just said, “I miss you, Mommy.”

“I miss you too, baby,” her mother says.

Beyond their booth I see a woman casually, but carefully, watching them. Using my trained journalist’s eye, I put it all together: The watching woman is a social worker supervising a structured visit for mother and child, who are doing the best they can to celebrate Christmas in the booth of a fast food restaurant. A few minutes later, the foster parents arrive to take the girl home with them while the mother leaves alone.

There is a darker side of Christmas that we rarely acknowledge. We create this fantasy of the perfect homecoming that rarely matches reality, even in the best of homes. There are many of us whose Christmas memories are full of tension, not tinsel.

Some of us know that the holidays are just another excuse for Mommy to get drunk or for Daddy to be with his new family. It’s a reminder that the one we love the most is far away or perhaps never coming back.

Would it surprise you to know that the suicide rate is extraordinarily high in December, and that depression is as common as “Joy to the World”? I suspect there are far more people who hurt at Christmas than we would initially imagine.

For those tired of the hollow hope and the false fantasies of Christmas, the good news is that God is with us. A virgin gives birth to a son, and his name is Immanuel (God with us) (Isaiah 7:14).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? Luke 14:28 (NIV)

When we dream about what we want to be when we grow up, it’s rare to hear: “When I grow up, I want to be a slave. I want to sacrifice my entire life to serve someone who may not even know what I’ve done. And I want to do it regardless of how much my efforts are appreciated or if I even get credit for what I’ve done.”

Not too many of us would be attracted to a career as a slave; yet, that’s exactly what God is growing us up to be—sacrificial servants, motivated by the nature of God, the Holy Spirit, working from within us. My friend, Steve Pettit, says as Jesus-ones we count the cost of godly love, and then, no matter how much sacrifice the cost requires, we go ahead and pay the price so others can experience firsthand the sacrificial nature of God’s love.

Sacrificial love utterly destroys our comfort zones because it requires that we lay down any demands that life be lived on our terms. It’s a radical shift because we learned, even in our congregations, to serve on our terms. We often sing, teach, meet, and lead—as long as our interests and preferences are protected.

Where’s the witness in that? It reflects the mere thinking of men, which is all too common, and not the expansive love of God, a witness so rare that the world takes notice when it sees such sacrificial service.

In sacrificial relationships, someone pays the price so others can freely receive. All we have from God is freely received, paid for through the passionate sacrifice of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 4:7). Within us, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into Jesus-beings, able to freely receive from God and then sacrificially give to others so they, too, can know God.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.