12 Days of Christmas Devotion Day 2

12 Days of Christmas Devotions

Day 2- Thursday

Good morning..I’m Grace Heart and thank you all for joining me in these 12 days of Christmas devotion calls.  If you haven’t already, please just mute your phones...and lets begin

I thought we’d talk about change today.  Life defining moments come from life defining situations.  The night Jesus was born, the shepherds had a life defining situation.  Luke 2:8-15 tell us that the Angel of the Lord appeared to them...now THATs a life defining moment!  Their focus no longer was on the sheep, but in going to see the Lamb of God.   Later on in time, Matthew 2 1-12 tells us about magi from the East came to seek out the child.  They were given a star to follow and were instructed in a dream to not go back the same way they came.  When you have an encounter with Christ, we should be changed...it should leave us changed.  I hope this Christmas that you have an encounter with Christ that leaves you changed and filled for a new year ahead.

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord;

   As we prepare to celebrate your birth, we dont want to get so caught up in the process of Christmas that we miss an encounter with you.  I pray that we leave Christmas changed...that we have a little more of you and a little less of us going into the new year ahead.  Thank you that once we know you, we cant possible go back to the way we came...you give us a new direction in life.  

               AMEN

12 Days Til Christmas Devotion Day 1

12 Days of Christmas Devotions

Day 1 - Wednesday Dec 12

I would like to welcome you all here and thank you for taking a little time out each day from now until Christmas Eve day to focus on what the season is really about.   

This morning I wanted to talk about “stuff”...there seems to be a lot of it around ....stores are jammed packed everywhere... there sure is a lot of stuff out there...and every year we seem to think we need more of it...the kids think their lives just will not be complete without that next new thing....we who are older and wiser know how quickly that newness wears off, and we are left empty and wanting more stuff...

We all have seen and know of the “grinch”...he tried to steal Christmas by stealing all the food, decorations and gifts...and he was amazed that even after all that, Christmas still came.  Would Christmas still come for you if there were no gifts or decorations?  There must be more to this day we celebrate than just the stuff....even the grinch commented:

    “Maybe Christmas” the grinch thought

          “Doesn’t come from a store.”

     “Maybe Christmas, ...perhaps....

             Means a little bit more”.    Dr Seuss

Christmas is about more...the gift that doesn’t empty us-but fills us....the gift of Jesus..

       “For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior,  which 

             Is Christ the Lord”.    Luke 2:11

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord;

   It’s so easy at this time of year to get caught up in all the “stuff” of the Christmas season.  Help us to remember that the only thing that will fill us and satisfy us is you.  Let us be so filled with the things of you, that Christmas would still come for us even our decorations, gifts and other things all were gone when we woke up on Christmas morning...I pray we would still rejoice at the most important gift of Christmas..a savior that was born.

               AMEN

Answers

My granddaughter is almost 3 and here is visiting me... I find that often she asks a question...

       We answer her question....and then she proceeds to ask the same question again....and again...

How often do we keep asking God questions that we already know the answer to?

Years ago I had a big decision to make about my work... I prayed for months about it...and one day my husband looked

      At me and said " so what are you going to do?"

I answered - "I know what I need to do, but I'm afraid to do it".

Often times we already know what God wants and expects us to do... we are just having a difficult time stepping out in faith

     That if he tells us to do it, that he will give us victory that we don't think is ours.

So .... maybe if you find yourself asking the same question over and over.....

           Chances are you already know what you need to do.... and you need to do it. 

Be Still......

It always amazes me
   how scripture change be the same over time...
and yet still change our perspective...

I always thought the verse "Be still and know that I am God"
   was all about learning to hear God in the
      quiet places in life...

The older I get...the more trials I go through... I've learned to look
   at this a little different....

I think that God is calling us to learn to be still in the MIDST of
       our trials and storms...
Because only when we become still...can we remember and KNOW
    that he IS God...

And there is NOTHING too big for our God....

   no trial...no life circumstance...no money issues....no relationship issues...

If you know that he is God...you know that nothing else matters.

Ruins

So many times in our lives

   We are hit hard by the storms...

We sustain maximum damage...

     And we are left in ruins....

All we have left is a pile of rubble

   From what used to be our life...

It's gone....our life's path is

        Forever altered...

But what if the devastation

    Is only the beginning and not the end??

God is in the restoration business....

We see a pile of rubble....

      And God sees something new

 Waiting to be built....

It doesn't happen overnight....

It starts one piece at a time...

    And slowly the rubble starts to

Look like something we recognize....

Is your life in ruins??

Let God do his thing and restore things...

    Give him the rubble of your life

And watch him -

       Piece by piece.....

He will rebuild your broken life...

     And turn it into something beautiful......

Chapters in our Lives....

Every day we wake up

      To a brand new day.....

A new page in our story....

     A fresh, clean blank page 

           That is ours to write on.

If you alive and breathing...

    Then your story is not yet complete...

You are free to write a new chapter...

    To change to storyline...

To add new characters or new changes....

What you write on those pages

   Is totally up to you...

When you feel tired and have run out of 

      Ideas...

When you feel that your story isn't what

   You wanted it to be...

Then that is the time....

           To give the book to God...to let him

Take the blank pages...

       And fill them with all the wonderful

Blessings he has wanted to give you...

He will take your story....

       And he will write something beautiful....

Something that will have some twists and turns...

But I promise.... If God is writing your story....

     The ending will be

           Better than you could have every imagined....

The Masks We Wear

Get up out of bed....

     What am I doing today??  Who will I be seeing??

I need to know so I can grab

     The appropriate mask for the day....

Being lazy, we just usually grab the "go-to"

    Mask with a smile... 

Our typical response when asked is just to say

     I'm ok....

But what happens what we are not ok???

Mostly others don't care...

     Which is what makes the world a sad place to be...

If we can't reach out and help other humans in our lives

   That what purpose do we really serve??

People ask "how are you?" But don't really want to know...

   Even when people know...they give you a 2 second "I'm sorry"

       And then they are gone....

Wouldn't it be a refreshing world if we could

      Just throw away the masks...

If we could just be .....

     Happy, sad, mad, depressed, tired, angry, etc...

And be honest about it??? 

Others could care and come along side when needed....and

    Could come alongside others in return?

We could live more authentic lives....

    Instead of the masquerade lives we live now...

Try it...

      Take off the mask.......dare to be authentic.