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December 14, 2023

Colossians 1:19-20  For in Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things.

It happens in a moment. One careless move and your favorite coffee mug falls off the table. You love this mug, and now it's broken, the handle snapped clean off. How will you put it back together? There's no lack of various glues and epoxies as you wander the aisles of a hardware store. I like anything with the word miracle on the packaging. Will it work? You'll have to try it to find out.

We are that shattered handle. Our once-perfect tie with God in the Garden of Eden was broken long ago. What will bring us together again? We're the broken handle, and there's nothing we can do to reconnect with God who made us. It will take a miracle of His own action to join us to Himself. That is the miracle of the incarnation of Jesus, who was born in the center of the nativity scene. He has all the fullness of God. In Him, the broken pieces come together. He makes an eternal union of God and man in Himself. That union brings peace to our broken world.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

December 13, 2023

2 Samuel 12:7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man!"

You are likely better at preserving memories than I am. If you have a box of old family photos, you likely have written the date, the event, and everyone's names on the back of each picture. That's certainly better than trusting that you'll remember it all ten years later.

Wouldn't it be great if a picture could come to life and tell us all about the scene and even draw us into the picture? That's what happened to David when Nathan finished the story of the selfish rich man, Nathan brought the story to life by saying, :You are the man!" David was the rich man who deserved to die.

We can fear that the story of our life will be retold and call for judgment. But we have the lasting story of Jesus, our hope. It is the living story that draws us all. The newborn Savior is our Savior, and the angel's words of peace are still true for us today. The nativity scene is our living picture and invites us to come near and hear His words or peace and forgiveness.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

December 12, 2023

2 Samuel 12:5  He said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die."

Isn't it easy to judge someone else? Just say, "Well, I've certainly never done that." Then announce that whoever acts this way should be punished.

That's the conclusion David had after hearing Nathan's story of the rich man who killed the poor man's lamb. David, with a shepherd's heart, was enraged that someone could be so cruel. So he declared that the rich man should die and repay the poor man four times over.

How blind can we be? It's true that David likely never killed a poor man's lamb, but by his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, he did far worse. We can only hold our breath for the judgment that must come. And while we watch David and Nathan, we have to remember our own stories. Could we recognize ourselves in a new telling of our story?

Our hope lies in the Lord, who lives. He lives as both the righteous judge and the one who justifies us. Our Lord lives from the manger to the cross and then again from the empty tomb. His life story ends with forgiveness and life for the world.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

December 11, 2023

2 Samuel 12:4  But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

How many times can you retell a story and keep it fresh? Even best friends will nod their heads when you start the story and then volunteer the ending before you get there. You've told that story one time too many. Perhaps you need to tell the story differently.

Nathan did that in 2 Samuel 12. He had to confront David about his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. Instead of retelling that story directly, he told a story about a poor man who had one beloved lamb. But that lamb was taken and killed by a heartless rich man. David was enraged that someone would be so cruel and declared that the rich man should die.
 

How easily we can miss ourselves in our own story. We often seek peace by telling our story in a new way. In this new version, we usually come out sounding much better than ever before. But will a generous retelling of our past really bring us peace? The good news is that God's lasting answer is not our story but the story of His Son. Advent is the time to find peace in this never-changing story of the Savior.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

December 7, 2023

Mark 4:41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

Which is more unnerving, noise or silence? If you're used to noise, sudden silence startles you. Parents can be almost numb to the sound of two children playing. But when there's suddenly silence, parents spring into action.

The sudden silence on the Sea of Galilee had a similar effect on the disciples. They had known the raging wind of the storm. But when Jesus said, "Peace! Be still!", the immediate calm was more frightening than the storm.

Is this surprising? A perfectly calm lake should be the ideal place of peace. But the disciples on that calm lake were terrified. However, it wasn't the lake or the calm that was unnerving but the nearness of the One who could bring that calm. And so Jesus asked why they were so afraid. He has shown a new dimension to His divine power, but it is the same power that healed the leper and cast out demons. He is the One with divine power, not to harm but to heal, cleanse, calm, and save. In Him, we find our peace.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

December 6, 2023

Mark 4:39 And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!"

Does one warning work in your family? Think of the many sentences that need to be said over and over: "Eat your vegetables." "Do your homework." "Go to sleep." You've uttered those sentences almost every day.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if just one sentence was enough? Vegetables eaten. Homework done. Lights out and sleeping. It's a great idea, but don't count on it.

But that's the wonderful power of Jesus' words. In the middle of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus only needed to say, "Peace! Be still! Immediately, there was a great calm. His words showed both His power and His care for the frightened disciples.

Jesus has that same power and care for us. His word of peace has echoed over the world from His birth to today. Look at the nativity scene that captures the night of His birth. See the peace, calm, and stillness. The angels announced peace to the world. That gift still resonates over us. The Savior's peace comes by His word and silences our fears. His word silenced the storm on the sea, and His peace reigns over us today.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

December 5, 2023

Mark 4:38 But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.

When a crisis hits, is that a time of peace? When everyone is frantically looking for a solution, is that the moment to take a nap? When frightened voices get louder and louder, is that the time for sleep?
 

Most of us would answer "No!" to these questions. When there's a crisis, we're on full alert. So it was with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee when the storm hit. Though many of them were fishermen who were used to being on the sea, they feared for their lives.

But in the midst of the storm, Jesus slept. They asked, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" To them, His silence meant that He either didn't know their danger or He didn't care. When we're in the storms of life, we often ask the same questions, wondering if God knows or cares.

The wonderful news is that God's apparent silence is neither ignorance nor carelessness. God knows and cares for us at all times. Peter said it so well: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God....casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7). Don't despair in the storm. Look to the Savior, who is with us, closer and more powerful than the wind and the waves.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

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