December 18: Colossians 1 12-18

Key Verse: Colossians 1 17
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Devotion:
This week I want to set down a few reminders of what Christmas is all about. We would not be celebrating any Christmas celebrations without Christ. God is the one who instituted a day to remember in our lives where it all started. A day that was shrouded in despondency as people all round Israel were summoned back to their places of birth so the census could be carried out and taxes could be collected. Taxes, the only certainty in life besides death. Who would want to celebrate the collection of taxes!

But on that day, a few thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was born, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Just as it had been predicted by the prophets many years earlier, it came to pass. God had seen it fit to send His only begotten Son to earth to start His ministry. But this would be no ordinary child. A Human child who had a real mother, Mary, and a spiritual Father, God. God, lowered to earthly standards, having to depend on Mary for everything in the first few years as any normal human child would. Having to bow to the authority of His earthly parents whilst they brought Him up.

That single birth is celebrated the world over now. A date in history which will always be remembered – albeit for the wrong reasons nowadays! A birth which allowed us to be partakers of the inheritance God laid down. A birth that would allow us to be freed from our sin debt. A birth that would end in a death so horrible just so our sins could be forgiven. The ultimate firstborn sacrifice was born to us.

But let us never forget the firstborn was, is and forever will be our Creator, Saviour, Priest and King. All things were created by Him, all things exist through Him and all things are controlled by Him. Without Him, there is nothing. Without Him, we are nothing. With Him, we are forgiven, loved and cherished!

Points to Ponder:
What would be the best gift you could receive this year?

God has already given us His gift, all we need do is accept it!

December 17: Luke 9 51-56

Key Verse: Luke 9 56
For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Devotion:
How long do you put up with things before your break? How long do you hold your cool before it snaps? There are always times when we need to show others we are serious by going beyond our normal show of emotions, but it is at that point when we let our emotions take control we need to take care. When we are in an emotional state, we do not have full control of our actions...

Christ made sure His disciples knew exactly why He had come to earth and yet when the village they came to would not receive them, they got upset and wanted to 'nuke' them as Elijah had done to the prophets of Baal. They had let their emotions take control and were going with those emotions – not sound judgement. Christ lowered the boom on them and reminded them He was here to save and not destroy life!

Christ had shown His caring nature by sending messengers in to the town before He entered so the people would not be offended by having to turn Him down face to face. Maybe it was His way of giving them one more chance to accept Him as the Son of God. But they did not want Him to stay anywhere in their village. How sad a position it must have been for Him to know that that was their last chance at knowing Him personally...

Jesus wants us to follow in His example by reaching out to others so they will have the chance at knowing Him. He wants us to continue reaching out, even when people shun us or just don't want to know. He knows that we will get rejected by some, but He wants us to continue reaching out to people, showing them that we do care like He cares for us. Through that love we can begin to show them His love for us...

Points to Ponder:
Do you have a very short fuse?

Aren't we lucky Christ continues trying?

December 16: John 4 4-10

Key Verse: John 4 10
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Devotion:
What sort of people do you shy away from? What sort of people do you avoid trying to meet? What would you do if you were with a friend and they needed to go and visit such a person? What would you do if you were asked by your friend to visit them in their stead?

Throughout Jesus ministry, He was faced with people who you would think He would have tried to avoid at all costs. He was faced by people who seemed to be complete sin – if there ever were such a thing. He was faced with people who would not accept Him. Yet when He saw a chance to tell anyone of the truth and show them love, He would be there, knee deep in whatever it took.

When Jesus met the woman from Samaria at Jacob's well, He knew exactly what sort of a woman she was. He knew she was living in sin and knew what she was up to. He knew she was probably drawing water at a time when there were no other people around just so that she could avoid confrontation – yet Jesus was willing to overlook all of that and look at what could be possible if He explained Himself.

His love and compassion for a single soul went further than the sin a single soul was drowning in. He knew that throwing out His lifeline would save one soul from being condemned to eternal death. (John 3 16-17) How many times does our love and compassion fall short of the mark when we are up against someone who is a sinner in our eyes? How far short does our forgiveness fall when they are doing something we do not like. Christ has already paid for our sins and He is willing to give eternal life to absolutely anyone who asks. He will never turn anyone away who is willing to listen.

Points to Ponder:
How do you rate yourself against other people?

How do you think Jesus would rate you when compared with Him?

December 15: 1 Samuel 16 1-13

Key Verse: 1 Samuel 16 12
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”

Devotion:
Who can say who should be king of a land? Who would you choose if you were to choose a king? What sort of person would you look for? What sort of character would you look at? Our wisdom in choosing someone to rule over us is often short-lived! We all express desire to be able to vote for a leader, and vote who we think should be in a position of authority – but all too often they turn out to be as bad as the people we vote out!

We try to make good decisions based on past experience and we try to use our knowledge and wisdom to fortify those decisions. But all too often we are swayed by something that is said or done and our minds are made up! We go forward and find out what we have done is no better than fall into a trap that someone else has laid. Don't worry, you are not alone!

Samuel was a man of God. He was one of the few who heard from God directly! What an awesome responsibility that was! You would think he would be able to spot a king... And yet God had to guide him every step of the way. The people had chosen Saul and he had proved to be a good leader for a while, but as with most leaders he had let the power get to him and he began to do things for himself rather than for God. Whenever we see a leader take their first step away from God, we can be sure that that is the beginning of their downfall!

God chose David because of what He knew was inside David. He knew David would make mistakes and fall into temptation, but He also knew David would not turn his back against God. He knew David would always come forward to beg for forgiveness when he saw the error of his ways. We need to take direction from David's and Samuel's lives and remember that God alone is in charge and we need to seek and follow Him and Him alone!

Points to Ponder:
Who is the leader amongst your friends?

How often do they make decisions based on God's Word?