God Understands (thoughts on Ferguson and Christmas)

God Understands

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” Luke 1:31,32a

You may think it strange to begin a Christmas newsletter and devotion by referring to the recent tragedies in Ferguson, Mo. But, hopefully, if you bear with me, we can together understand one of the primary reasons that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth.

Your Ride, Your Majesty

“Do not be afraid, people of Zion! Look! Your king is coming. He is riding on a young donkey.” John 12:15

“Your Majesty”. Perhaps the first time we hear that phrase it is in the context of a child’s fairy tale or a Disney animated story. The “Majesty” is always the king or queen resplendent in their royal garb. The crown sparkles with gemstones on their head and the gold vestment flows down from their shoulders as they sit upon their elevated throne. A subject has entered, kneeling below, waiting for his “Majesty” to lower the scepter, indicating his approval.

Happy Holidays ya'll

“And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.’” Revelation 21:3

We are at it again. It is November 6 and Christmas decorations are popping out everywhere. I haven’t even finished the bite-size leftover chocolates from Halloween. Don’t take me for a Grinch, I adore Christmas. There is so much magic, joy, music and family all compressed into a Holy Evening and Everybody Up Early Morning.

True or False

“(Jesus is) there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them.” Hebrews 7:25

It astounds me how many words like “always” and “everyone” are used about God’s gift to us in Christ. When taking true or false tests, most of us have learned to mark “exclusive” statements with false most of the time. “It rains every day during fall in Washington,” might, at first seem to be true. The later in the fall that we wait for a patch of sun, the more convinced we are that the statement is definitely correct. Of course, if we looked at the weather charts, we would discover that it doesn’t rain “every” day; there are actually a few days without precipitation, despite the webbed feet we have sprouted.