This year, I find my thoughts focused on what I do and do not have. Most people at some time or another feel a bit deprived. We all know people who just seem to have more than we do. They live in bigger homes, wear better quality clothes, drive newer cars, and take longer vacations to more inviting places. Meanwhile, we sacrifice, pray, and volunteer all kinds of time at church and perhaps community organizations, too, but seem to go without the things we want—sometimes without things we feel we really, really need.

These thoughts bring Jonah to mind. God gave him three days of time-out, so to speak, in the whale. There, during the quiet minutes and hours, he could meditate on what God wanted for him and from him. Or consider that Jesus himself spent 40 days in the desert, praying and reflecting and sacrificing even while Satan worked to dissuade him from God’s eternal plan that Jesus suffer and die to win our salvation.

As I reflect during Lent this year, my goal is to focus more on what God in his perfect love wants for me, letting that inform what I might think I need or want for myself.

God forced Jonah to contemplate. Jesus did it willingly. How about you? What might your Savior want to tell you? How might he want to change you? The weeks ahead are a perfect time to open your heart to his Word and find out.

Editor’s note: CTA’s new devotion book, “Power of the Cross,” would make the perfect guide and companion as you and others in your church meditate on the meaning of Jesus’ death during Lent this year. It’s not too late to order copies for your group or your whole congregation!

Actually, the “shadows” are not shadows. Nor are they reflections. Instead, they are projections. Stained glass does not reflect light. Rather, it permits light to pass through it.

As I sit in the worship area early in the morning, the image projected on the wall is far from clear. As the sun comes up and moves across the sky, the image formed by the light coming through the stained glass also moves. It slowly makes its way to the front of the church where, at one point, it frames a large cross. The closer the image gets to the window, the clearer the projection becomes.

This reminds me of how clear my own life becomes when I stay close to Christ and the forgiveness he freely gives through his cross. As I invest time in prayer and Bible study, a quiet peace settles in my heart, despite the changes and disturbing events swirling around me. As I take time to give of myself, I find clarity about life’s real priorities. But when I let life grow too busy, the peace and clarity fade. And I project a more distorted image of God’s glory. How thankful I am that he forgives our failures—every one of them!

And how exciting it is to think about what could happen if all of God’s people were growing daily in the kind of Son-shining-through lives he wants for us.

How will you stay close to him this week?

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV

 Now he’s arrived on the doorstep of your church. You are strangers to him, and he’s a stranger to you, too. But after a few months of intentional friendship building, you start to see leadership potential in Sam. Might you consider inviting him to step forward as a lay leader?

 He may be hesitant. He may have questions:

• Do I have enough Bible knowledge?
• What if compassion isn’t my strong suit right now?
• Could this be a nudge from God to test the waters? Can I trust him?
• Is this a safe enough place to plunge in?
• How will my wife feel about it?
• Will my mentors throw me in to sink or swim alone?

If you befriend a young adult, especially one new to your church, think about opening doors for service. But think, too, about the questions and concerns that might arise. Promise to be there—and then keep your promise. Help your “Sam” to see that he can lean on Jesus, he can trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5).

 If you’re not sure how to say that or if you’d like to reinforce that message, consider giving “Sam” a copy of Shaped to Serve: Celebrating Your Gift of Service.

 Will you leave a legacy at your church by encouraging the next generation to step forward to serve–and then helping to equip them to do it? Their gifts are a blessing to others; help them explore the possibilities.

Here in Minnesota, it can be hard to think of January as a time of new beginnings. We are in the heart of winter; everything is covered with snow and ice, and we are happy if the temperatures reach into the double digits.

Still, while I was driving to school after Mass this morning, I saw God’s glory reflected everywhere. The sky was a pristine blue, and the sun was shining. The overnight fog had crystallized on the trees, and snow blankets everything in sparkling white.

It reminded me that every day is new in Christ. Why? Because our sins and wrongdoings are things of yesterday. God is full of grace and healing, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. Every day when I arise, He gives me the opportunity to start anew, to consecrate the day to Jesus, and to remember that He lives in me.

May He bless your new day today in that hope!

Joy should be everywhere, shouldn’t it? Digging out from all the December craziness, we realize Christmas isn’t just a special day on the calendar. We’re journeying to Bethlehem in faith to kneel in awe and adoration at the little baby feet of the world’s Savior, Jesus Christ. We celebrate God’s gift of love, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, his gift that brings joy from heaven to earth. Jesus brings joy for the world—for everyone, everywhere. 

Jesus brings joy and blessings abound—enough for everyone! Maybe joy comes to you in new memories you create with relatives from out of town, in an unexpected bonus you receive at work, or in an extra measure of the Christmas spirit you feel in your heart.

Still, even with joy surrounding us, some of us  experience the “merry side of Christmas,” only to slide quickly into despair. Our fa’s are strong early in the season, but before long, our la’s fall flat. Some of us find our joy crumpled up like a pile of discarded post-Christmas wrapping paper.

Are you lip-syncing both the fa’s and the la’s, hoping others don’t notice your struggle to smile? Certainly, not everyone agrees that it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmastime can be a highly charged, emotional time. So many variables toy with our level of joy. Think about it . . .

• Some dread their first Christmas without someone they loved, while others anticipate their first Christmas with someone they love.
• Some receive a helpful end-of-the-year financial windfall, while others find themselves falling more and more into debt with no help in sight.
• Some find the season invigorating, while others find it nerve-racking.
• Some couples celebrate their first Christmas as husband and wife, while others experience their first as ex-husband and ex-wife.
• Some come to life, surrounded with people, while others come to deal with loneliness, even when surrounded by people.
• Some feel overly blessed, while others feel overly stressed.

As we come to adore our Savior, each of us brings blessings as well as burdens to the manger. So let’s pause in our journey to the manger to notice the people around us. We’re traveling together, and it’s important to realize we all travel by faith. We come, only because the divine Child first journeyed from heaven to earth. His birth, death, and resurrection conquers loneliness, anxiety, stress, and all our other burdens.

 Jesus’ gift isn’t necessarily a jump-up-and-down joy, although it certainly can be that. It’s primarily a joy that settles deep in our hearts. It’s a joyful, contented peace. This divine present comes with Jesus’ presence.

Jesus brings joy to the world. He also brings joy for the world. He knows our world is filled with sin and its accompanying heartache, pain, and grief. But let there be no doubt that he’s also intimately aware of every breath you take, every word you speak, and every situation you face. And he’s aware of your need for joy. So he wraps his miraculous joy within his gifts of forgiveness, help, and hope. It’s true! Jesus brings joy for the world—for everyone, everywhere.

Come and receive. Come and worship.

Come and go . . . sharing his gifts.

Editor’s note: Several Joy for the World gifts are available from CTA this Christmas. Get yours before they’re gone!

© 2007 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for ruse within a church or other Christian organization.

 The Scripture quotation is from the King James or Authorized Version.

This time of year, many of us give gifts. In fact, most of us probably give more gifts at Christmastime than at any other time of the year. Gift giving has its own protocol. If we fail to follow it, that failure can lead to some uncomfortable moments—for us, for our friends, or for both!

For example, we don’t want to embarrass someone by giving them a gift when they have not planned to get anything for us. On the other hand, we don’t want to be caught empty-handed when a friend rings our doorbell, brightly wrapped gifts for every member of our family piled high in her arms. Some people I know (maybe some of you, too?) buy an extra generic gift or two to keep gift wrapped in a dresser drawer for just such an emergency!

Another thing. We want the gifts we give someone else to cost roughly what we imagine they will spend on us. It wouldn’t do to give someone a box of candy and then receive in return that antique baseball card we have been looking for since 1981 that sells for $815 on eBay!

And finally, as the Emily Post Institute makes clear, we would never, ever, ever try to “re-gift” a present we have received, unless we can be 210% certain that the person who gave it to us will never find out.

Getting to the Heart

God gives gifts at Christmastime, too, just like we do. (And throughout the year as well, of course!) But He stands our gift-giving rules right on their heads. He ignores the rules about “not giving more than you will receive.” He never warehouses generic blessings to have in stock in case He receives an unexpected gift. No, He gives and gives and gives and keeps on giving to those of us who live on earth, to people totally undeserving of those gifts—people totally incapable of “payback.”

We certainly have not earned our heavenly Father’s generosity. In fact, we have often defied His commands. We have, in selfishness, taken advantage of His goodness and sometimes even presumed on His mercy. Our heavenly Father knew we would do this. Still, He gave His most priceless possession to us anyway—His only Son, our Savior, Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 9:15, Paul writes, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Let me set these words in context. Paul’s exclamation follows a “thank-you note” of sorts. At a time when the believers in Jerusalem had faced a serious lack of food, clothing, and other life necessities, the church in Corinth had come through for them—and had come through generously. So as Paul wrote about other matters, he also tucked in a paragraph of special thanks. Keep in mind that he himself had helped to organize the help drive in the first place.

The apostle doesn’t stop with a simple “thank you” though. He also wants his readers to know many people will praise God for their generosity. He wants them to know that the Jerusalem Christians will, in turn, pray for them. (Just imagine how surprising this sounded in that time and culture: Jews praying for Gentiles, Gentiles supporting Jews!)

Finally, Paul adds that the generosity of the believers in Corinth wasn’t something they dreamed up on their own or something they accomplished out of their own holy intentions. Rather, it came about almost incidentally as God’s love overflowed into their lives. Their generosity was created by the brimming-over, more-than-abundant grace of God at work in their hearts. It resulted from all the many gifts God had given, especially the gift of Jesus, the Savior, and His cross, the fountain from whom all blessings flow. That’s when Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

God’s good gifts—especially the gift of Jesus—defy description. One dictionary defines indescribable as referring to “a thing of untellable splendor.” Doesn’t that fit just perfectly? The forgiveness of sins, peace with God, the hope that defeats even death itself—these are things of “untellable splendor.” And all of them—all of them—came down to earth at Christmas when love came down—wrapped in the swaddling cloths of Bethlehem’s baby boy! Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

We celebrate that gift, especially at Christmas time! We sing! We praise! We act in love toward our co-workers, toward others in our family, and with our neighbors and friends.

Even better, this is one gift we can “re-gift,” worry free! In fact, the Holy Spirit urges us to give this gift away generously, to give it to others as we share our Lord’s unbelievable love with everyone around us. Miracle of miracles, the more we share God’s indescribable gift, the more we have for ourselves. The more we give it away, the more brightly and warmly His love burns in our hearts, despite the winter chill outside. What an indescribable gift!

We can never pay that gift back. We can never compensate the Gift Giver, and so, we “pay it forward.” We pass it on to everyone around us, to those in need of the Good News Jesus has brought into our own lives.

The Scripture quotation is from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 2008 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

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While we do these things, though, we can also prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. What a precious gift God sent to us! As I reflect on this, I wonder how one does best prepare for our Savior? How do we get ready to celebrate his coming to live among us to save us for all eternity? The gift is so big!

Considering that gift and Christ’s holy life, I think about being holy—like Jesus—in my day to day life. I ask that he keep my heart open to him and that he show me how to be his hands and feet for all those whose lives my life touches. This is my way of keeping my life simple and keeping Jesus as the center. Jesus is the one thing that really matters.

 One of my kindergarten students recently visited Disney World. She returned with a gift for me. Her mother told me, “She searched for days looking for the perfect gift for you. You have really touched her heart.” It was so humbling to realize that Jesus really is working through me, despite the commotion and busyness of life!

 Jesus is working through you, too! May he touch many hearts through each of our lives this Christmas season!

As much as we need courage, our Lord wants to give it to us. Courage is a virtue—one that comes to us as a gift from our Savior. He wants to pour courage into to us throughout life. That gift makes it possible for us to give ourselves to him and trust in him in body, mind, and spirit. 

As we face life’s difficulties, we can remember those who came before us. This past weekend in many liturgical churches God’s people observed “All Saints Day.” Among other thing, it reminds us that no generation was without its trials and sufferings, its ordeals and struggles. We thank God for our parents and for Christians in generations before them who relied on him, courageously raising their families, building our schools and churches, and inspiring us in our generation to take a stand for what is good, true, and beautiful. 

We “bend our knee before the Lord who made us” (Psalm 95:6). And we ask for his gift of courage.

As you walk or run today, think about the Scripture below. Ask yourself the questions. Talk with Jesus about your answers. Enjoy your time with your Savior! 

[Jesus] went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. (Matthew 14:23 NIV)

Runners (and often walkers, too) pay particular attention to their knees. Knee injuries can ruin an athletic career or an exercise program. 

† As I serve today in Jesus’ steps, how diligent am I in my “knee work”? 

† When have I seen my Savior respond to my prayers? What do I want to say to him about that today?

 Lord Jesus, you graciously choose to hear my prayers. You promise that my prayers touch your heart. Lord, teach me to pray, just as you taught your first disciples to pray. Amen.

As you walk or run today, think about the Scripture below. Ask yourself the questions. Talk with Jesus about your answers. Enjoy your time with your Savior!

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us. (Romans 8:26 NIV) 

† When do I “breathe in,” spiritually speaking? When do I “breathe out”?

† What will I ask Jesus to do for me, personally, today?

† What will I ask him to do for those I serve?

Lord Jesus, you once said, “I . . . enabled you to walk with heads held high” (Leviticus 26:13). And you have! Because of your cross and the grace poured out there, I walk with my head high—in forgiveness and hope! 

Help me as I breathe in your love today. Help me sense the aroma of heaven, and let it remind me why I do what I do for your people. Especially right now . . .