Dear Ones,
Happy Christmas weekend! Hope each of you is blessed in a special way as you gather with family and friends etc to celebrate the birthday of the King of Kings. We are going to Ann’s this morning and stopping on the way to see a friend at Birchview. Nice to be able to see all 3 grandsons as Lars flew in from San Antonio for 10 days. We plan to get home in time to go to our church and then tomorrow will pack up for the hotel. Lots of food to get together!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Do we want to live a life for God, or are we wrapped up in ourselves and thinking of what is best for us? If we look around us, the happiest people are those that are helping and serving others. The apostle Paul found contentment but not because everything in his life was rosy and good, but in serving the Lord and the giving of his life for others. That sounds beautiful but it is not always easy to live that way. Paul says in Philippians 2:13(NRSV), “for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Sometimes we may not feel like obeying the Lord, and we need the power of the Holy Spirit to motivate us and help us to carry through to do what God asks of us. Maybe we are called on to bring a meal to a sick family, or to take care of someone’s children while the mom goes to the Doctor, or to fix the plugged-up sink of a widow. If we choose to obey, the Lord will come along side of us and give us the desire and will to do His will. And afterwards we are left with the sense of God’s pleasure and His presence with us.
When we walk with our friend David, he often remarks about how the Lord must increase in our lives and we must decrease. It’s really a choice and either we expect to be served or we are willing to serve others. But as Jesus’ followers, He is to become greater and we become less. It’s like John the Baptist; he was only the forerunner and knew when to get out of the way for the One who was to come. We also need to step aside and allow Jesus to be seen.
Paul goes on to say that we shouldn’t murmur but rather shine out like stars in the world. Others should be able to tell by our lives that we belong to the Lord. I think the secret is for us to humble ourselves and decrease that the spotlight will be on the Lord.
Challenge for today: The next time you receive credit for a good deed, give the glory to the Lord!
Blessings to you at this holy time and prayers and love, Judy