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Keep Christ in Christmas, December 23, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Here we are at the last week of Advent. Children wait expectantly to open the packages under the tree. Moms and Dads scurry around for those last-minute gifts and the trimmings for the Christmas feast at the family table. Everyone vies for their favorite Christmas movies on one of the six-thousand cable channels. At least it seems there are that many sometimes. The countdown to Christmas has almost finished.

But what do we expect when the countdown reaches zero?

Too often, the climax we expect feels like a letdown. When the paper and empty boxes pile up in the corner, the plates find themselves in the sink, and the leftovers fill the refrigerator, we sigh and ask, “Is that it? All that work and fuss for this?”

In just a few short hours, it’s all a memory and usually a relatively short one at that. We build our hopes around what happens around a Christmas tree or a Christmas dinner and find that what happens there just doesn’t last. The ribbons and bows and shiny paper don’t bring the joy we thought it would in the end. The perfect present we spent days and weeks searching out doesn’t carry the reaction we thought it would. The feast doesn’t create the festival we expected.

There is a reason why, but most won’t agree. You see, we miss the point. We celebrate Christmas, but forget to invite the person we celebrate. We forget to leave a seat for the namesake of the holiday. We welcome all our friends but put an “X” in place of the most important guest of the season. Even those who call themselves Christian miss this essential ingredient in celebrating this holy day. We forget to leave a place for him as we prepare the schedule crammed with fun things to bring special memories for the future.

Matthew records his birth this way:

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.

Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: “The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife. He did not have marital relations with her before she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the child Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 GW)

His short journey with us isn’t one most would want. He began his life marked as an illegitimate son of Mary, born in a cave with a stone bed filled with straw as the only place to lay his tiny head. He knew poverty. Most scholars think his earthly dad died shortly after his temple experience at the age of twelve. He became the breadwinner for his family in a village whose residents often operated on the wrong side of the law. And most of those villagers thought he was an illegitimate child, not the son of holy God they worshipped.

People expected the Messiah. The prayed for him to come to rescue them from the tyranny of Rome. They longed for relief from their long trial of oppression at the hand of godless nations after returning to Jerusalem from their defeat and exile.

But surely God would not send his Messiah through a poor peasant from Nazareth. Surely God would choose the wife of the chief priest or some other notable character in the temple to raise his Messiah. He wouldn’t possibly have some peasant girl from the lowest of towns on the dark side of the nation give birth to the savior of Israel.

For everyone who knew him growing up, Jesus didn’t seem to be anyone special. But he knew, Mary knew, Joseph knew that he would redeem Israel one day. He would bring freedom to the captives. They didn’t understand how. They didn’t realize it would mean his death on the cross, and he brought freedom from the penalty of sin, not freedom from political oppression.

But we know. We look back on two thousand years of history and see what God did through his Son, Jesus. We know the changes he made to the world. We recognize the incredible transformation his presence in one’s life brings. Still, we leave him out of our celebrations at this special time of year.

We stay absorbed in the world’s pleasures and what the world offers instead of the real treasure Jesus offers. We remove his name from Christmas, replace it with an X, or just call it the holiday season, so no one gets offended. Then wonder why there is no satisfaction when we get up from the feast or unwrap the last present.

I invite you in the last days before Christmas to stop and meditate on him. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, our Savior is the namesake of these holy days. He is the reason we celebrate. Be careful preparing the festivities for family and friends that you leave a place for him in your celebrations. Make him the centerpiece in all you do.

If you will, you will find this holiday most enjoyable. If Jesus is in the center of your celebration, this will be one of the best Christmases you’ve ever had regardless of your outward circumstances. Because he never fails, and he never leaves us alone.

Merry Christmas, and thanks for letting me share with you this past year.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Remember What Christmas is About, December 9, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Another mass shooting happened again this week. We can’t seem to get along very well. It appears the gunman didn’t know any of the victims. He just fired into the crowd indiscriminately. I don’t understand that mentality. I have a hard time wrapping my head around shooting someone for no reason.

I’m not against guns. That’s not the problem. We’ve been killing each other for a long time. It started with Cain. It wasn’t long until Lamech bragged about killing a man for wounding him. Violence seems inherent in us. We don’t like something, and rage begins to build in us if we don’t learn to control our emotions. It’s just that guns do more damage faster than other weapons. But clubs and knives and fists can and have been just as deadly. It’s about what’s inside the perpetrator that makes the difference.

Why do I bring this up in this second week of Advent? Because it reminds us Jesus came to do something remarkable for and in us. He brought hope to a hopeless generation. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:

Everything that is in the holy writings was written to teach us. They give hope and strength when we have troubles. The holy writings comfort our hearts. God gives people power to take their troubles and he comforts their hearts. I ask him to help you to think the same way as Christ did. Then, together you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, accept one another, as Christ has accepted you. Then people will know that God is great…God gives hope. May he make you very happy. May he give you peace because you believe. Then the power of the Holy Spirit will give you much hope. (Romans 15:4-7, 13 (WE))

Instead of living with fear and hate and all the negative emotions that drive the actions we saw in that gunman, Jesus gives hope, peace, joy. He replaces what the world cannot provide with an abiding security that only comes from the presence of his spirit in us.

Advent usually brings just a touch of that spirit into the lives of more people as we walk the streets and see the bright lights, the glittering decorations, the smiles on faces expecting something special in the holidays. But why can’t we keep that spirit all year long? Why do we only find it when we approach Christmas? What causes us to lose that spirit once we tear the paper from the packages and finish the dinner on the table?

I think more and more; we lose sight of what the season really means. With the marketing starting so early, the Hallmark Christmas specials starting in July and continuing nonstop through Christmas, the bombardment of commercialism that strips away the story of that teenage mother-to-be making that journey to Bethlehem with her husband. We lose the story of the shepherds, the angels, the magi, the miracles that point to the incredible events that create this holiday season for us in the first place.

We have lost the wonder of Christmas because of our focus on money and material things. We have so much, yet every year we ask for more. We have to add one more thing to our collection of unused and discarded stuff that piles up in the closets and the garage. I write those words pointing at myself as I look at three keyboards on my desk, three monitors, two computers, and all the gadgets that make it all work.

Do I use all of it? At least some length of time during the week. Do I need all of it? Heavens no. When I travel, I get by just fine with my laptop and in fact, am using it to compile the podcast now. It holds the software to edit my audio. It links to all my files in the cloud. Do I need everything else? Nope, it’s all redundant — just more stuff.

I’m trying hard to get back to what is important, what is necessary. It’s not much, and the Christmas story helps us understand how little that might be. Mary and Joseph were outcasts. They offered the sacrifice of the poor for their firstborn son. They fled with what they could carry to escape Herod’s wrath. They returned to a bump in the road village called Nazareth, one of those towns you just didn’t want to live in if you could live anywhere else. It had one of those reputations.

It’s the story, though, of the King of kings. His story tells me he accepts the lowliest of men and women. We don’t have to wait until we have a certain level of respectability to come to him. He accepts us as we are. Jesus doesn’t care about riches or skills or talents. He cares about your heart. He wants your love and worship. Jesus wants you to embrace his teachings with all your whole being.

He summed up his teachings in two simple but not so easy commands. Love God and love others. That’s it. When we do, we won’t get trapped in the cycle the gunman did. We won’t harbor the rage that sends over the edge to do the unimaginable. Instead, we will extend God’s love to the unloveable. We will give generously to those in need. We will embrace a lost world in arms of forgiveness to show them there is hope and joy and peace waiting for them if they will give themselves to Christ.

In this second week of Advent, remember the hope that comes to us because of Jesus first coming. He brought peace and joy to the world. We continue our confidence in him because of his promise to return. Advent looks backward to what he did, and it looks forward to what is yet to come.

Enjoy this second week of Advent remembering him. Don’t lose the reason we celebrate. He is what Christmas is all about.

Scriptures marked WE are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English (WE). Scriptures are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English, Copyright © 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications, Derby, DE65 6BN, UK. Used by permission.

Who Gets the Praise this Year? November 25, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

The focus of the lectionary readings for this week didn’t seem to fit the Thanksgiving season very well as we think of it in the United States. We gear up for the big meal with family followed by the football game complete with all the Black Friday advertisements. Then the enormous Christmas season.

Commercialization has taken over what use to be a time of joy and merriment. Now we rush around trying to find the same marvelous gift that is a must-have for every child if a parent wants to be a model parent. Of course, the stores sold out of that must-have present six months ago, but that’s not the point. We have to get that perfect present to make Johnny happy. We rush around doing too much. Decorating too much. Expecting too much of our families when they come home. We expect Christmas to meet our perfect 1950’s Donna Reed Show expectations. Then we show our disappointment when they don’t.

When you stop to think about it, though. Christmas isn’t about all that stuff. In fact, Christmas isn’t even about Jesus’ birth. If that were all that happened, we wouldn’t be celebrating. We would recognize a nice man who did some good things, taught a little and died.

But something happened that blew the socks off the disciples and caused them to give their lives for this man. They understood him to be God incarnate. It wasn’t because of some magic tricks. There were plenty of sorcerers and magicians in their day that fooled the people with magic tricks.

They didn’t willingly give up their lives because Jesus had nice words to say. He didn’t. He proclaimed things that got all of them in trouble with the establishment, both religious and government. He said things like, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” That won’t win you any friends at the dinner table.

Those men and women followed Jesus because they believed he rose from the dead. Not just a ghost or a vision they thought they saw. They knew he rose bodily from the tomb. They talked to him. They ate with him. They touched his flesh. They couldn’t explain how he appeared behind locked doors, but it was Jesus, their leader, their Rabbi, their Messiah. The one just a few days earlier they had seen beaten to the point of death, forced to carry his cross to Golgotha, hung there to die, stabbed with a spear, laid in a tomb bloodied, beaten and bruised, dead. But now, alive.

So Paul could write to the congregation that met at Colossae and encourage them with these words.

“May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his [Jesus] glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Where does this encouragement come from? The first Easter. The first resurrection. Jesus burst from the tomb, conquering death. He proved his ability to win over the grave and so his ability to forgive sin. He bought our redemption. The old sacrificial system disappeared with his perfect sacrifice. He paid for our sins, so we no longer need to wallow in guilt that comes from disobedience to the God who created us.

Paul goes on to say, ” He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

The resurrection empowered Jesus’ followers to do extraordinary things because they knew he was only the first of many to come. The promise of the New Covenant said those who believed in him would not die but have everlasting life. A resurrection day gives us assurance of a new life. Jesus rose, and all who believe will be raised with him. Courage comes from that belief.

What can you risk when you know you cannot die? What can you give up when you know life does not end here? What can you do for God when you know nothing can really harm you? With God on board, you truly are invincible.

Death in this life is a transition for those who believe in him. The criminal on the cross beside him found forgiveness and found himself in paradise. The resurrection is real. Thousands upon thousands gave their lives because they knew the truth of the resurrection.

So, what should Thanksgiving and Christmas and our holidays focus on each time we celebrate? Not gifts or food or trying to impress family and friends. But remember the fact of the resurrection. Remembering Jesus changed the world as the first to show the grave can not hold those who live in him. Remembering there is more to this world than what the world wants you to believe. Jesus told those who would listen, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

What did he mean? Open your eyes. Look around. See God in the world around you. Help others see God by loving them into his kingdom. John said, “God is love.” Jesus said, “They will know you are mine if you love each other.” He also said, “You cannot love God whom you cannot see if you cannot love your neighbor who you can see.”

Those are sobering thoughts as we already begin the bombardment by the politicians for next year’s election here in the United States. The other party is not the enemy. The other country is not the enemy. The other race is not the enemy. God made us all.

Jesus said, “Love your neighbor.”

What does that look like? 2000 years ago, a man with the Hebrew name Joshua, translated Jesus in Greek, was nailed to a rough wooden cross and lifted up to have it slammed into the ground. He hung there most of the day. At last, he said, “It is finished.” And he died, much faster than anyone expected. When he did, the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple split in two. The earth shook. Darkness fell over the land for three hours, far too long for an eclipse. Love looks like a cross.

Remember that cross as you begin preparations for the holidays this year. Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, New Year, all the holidays that jam our calendars over the next few weeks are meaningless without Jesus. Let’s stop and give Him thanks for what he has done. He does deserve it, after all.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Peace at Christmas, December 24, 2018

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

If you are listening to this on the day it’s released, it’s Christmas Eve. What an exciting time for all the kids! There is great anticipation of what tomorrow brings. What will be in those stockings hung by the fire? What will that jolly old elf pull out of his sack and put under the tree? For we adults, it’s about watching those kids and grandkids seeing those special gifts. It’s about the sparkle in their eyes and the joy they have in those special moments of surprise. Christmas morning brings with it some work for the family also as we prepare the feast for all of us to consume.

Christmas can also bring some anxiety. Family arrives that you don’t see very often and maybe some friends and family that you don’t want to see very often. You love them, but the pressure to be something or someone you’re not is pretty high. Unresolved conflict creates tension in the air and that atmosphere spoils some of the joy that should be the highlight of the celebration we should project throughout the day instead of some façade of happiness you just don’t feel.

We should remember, though, that Jesus came to bring peace. Micah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah says as much in chapter five. That’s the chapter that tells us the Messiah will come from Bethlehem, but just a three verses later, he says, ‘…and he shall be the one of peace.’

I don’t know about you, but I can use that kind of Messiah. The Israelites were not looking for one of peace at the time. They wanted a warrior who would free them from the oppressive rule of Rome. They wanted someone who would take charge and give them victory over all their enemies and they assumed that someone would be a powerful ruler with both political and military might.

God had different ideas, though. He spelled them out in many of the prophecies. Jesus would come as a suffering servant. He would bleed and die for us. He would sacrifice himself in our stead. The Israelites and their religious leaders did not want to accept those verses. They wanted to focus on the ones that talked about his kingship, his power, his strength, his sovereignty. They wanted someone who was able to judge and destroy all their enemies.

Micah’s words didn’t fit that bill. Born in Bethlehem? Some little backwoods hovel that held no importance except it was the birthplace of David and his brothers. And by the way, if you think hard about David’s family and read between the lines of scripture, they sound like a bunch of pretty bad dudes. Many of them are listed among his mighty men and leaders in his army. You only got into those position by your prowess as a warrior. They did things like kill a hundred enemy at a time…by themselves. David was no pipsqueak either. You can’t be that picture of a skinny little shepherd and kill a lion and a bear. I expect David looked a lot more like Atlas than the meek, mild shepherd boy pictures we see. Saul’s armor didn’t fit him when he faced Goliath, not because he was small, but because Saul stood head and shoulders taller than all the other Israelites.

So here was this prophecy about a peaceful Messiah born in a village that produced some of the fiercest warriors in Israel’s history. Jesus said the same of himself. When he talked with his disciples at that last Passover meal with them. He told them he was leaving his legacy of peace with them. He told them the world would hate them because of him, but despite the persecution they would face, they would face it with peace. They did not need to fear as much of humanity did and still does. They could face life with courage and determination and peace. He would assure them of it because of the hope he left behind for them.

He does the same for us. That legacy of peace extends to all who believe in him. John 3:16 sums up his purpose pretty well. “God loved the world (you and me) so much that he gave his one and only son so that whoever (that includes you and me, it doesn’t discriminate against anyone) whoever believes in him will not die but will have everlasting life. Now that’s a promise we can enjoy.

All that leads me to a sad celebration my family is experiencing at this time. As I’m preparing this, my brother-in-law is facing that final step into eternity. He is the first of my siblings or their spouses to face this milestone of life. This final step for he and his wife came so unexpectedly. At the first of December, he seemed fairly healthy, ready for their traditional early Christmas party with his children and grandchildren, and the excitement of the season. Then came December 11. He went from healthy to hospice and I expect as you are listening to this podcast, my sister is preparing his memorial service.

Through these couple of tragic weeks, though, my sister and brother-in-law have been pillars of strength. No fear. Sadness of course because we don’t understand why life should be cut short at 55. That’s way too early these days for disease to take over and decimate life so quickly. But their witness to their children, caregivers, family, and friends shows the legacy of peace that comes with knowing life doesn’t end with our last breath. He knows he will go to sleep very soon and will awake in another realm. He will step foot in paradise and be with his savior forever.

When we believe in the son of God, we can have that same assurance and like him, we face the worst life has to offer without fear. We can know the final outcome and understand that peace can be the predominant emotion even when the world would expect something far different. My brother-in-law has expressed no fear in this next step. Sadness? Some, especially for my sister and their children and grandchildren, knowing he leaves an emptiness that will be filled. Anxiety? Only in regard to making sure everything is in place to ensure my sister is taken care of at his passing.

Joy? Yes. Joy. Can it be true? Joy in dying? Yes. He knows his destiny. He knows his wife will not be alone for long, but will join him in just a short while. What’s a few years in terms of eternity? He knows her faith and she shares the same hope and peace and joy in seeing Jesus that he does. Even in this time the world expects deep sorrow, anger, denial, and a host of other emotions, they have that legacy of peace Jesus said he would leave with us. It is real. It is ours for the asking.

Would I ask for this situation? Absolutely not. Have we prayed for healing? Yes. Did it come? Yes, but not the way we wanted. He will soon have no pain, no tears, no disease. He will soon be perfected in every way. It’s not what we wanted, but God is answering prayer. And we accept that God knows what’s best in every situation. Are we sad? Yes. We will miss him.

We also celebrate with him, though. We will see him again. We will join him one day because as he knows his destination, so do many of us. We have peace and know that one day each of us will wake up on the other side of life. We will see all those who have gone before us and we will see Jesus.

Micah prophesied more than 2500 years ago the Messiah ‘…shall be the one of peace.’ I’ve watched it in the conduct, actions, and bearing of my sister and her husband. Their witness of his peace in their faith is remarkable. Their love for each other is overshadowed by their love of God and their realization that he is with them through every moment of this journey. His legacy of peace is real. We can have it, too.

Merry Christmas to all.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

What to do about Christmas, December 25, 2017

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We are taking a short break from The Story for Advent and Christmas season. We’ll be back into The Story next week. We’re taking this one more week from the consecutive schedule so that our readings at Easter coincide with the events as recorded in The Story. This is our third and last week away from that study, but rest assured we will go back to it next week and then finish our journey exploring God’s plan to bring us back into a face to face relationship with Him.

You may or may not be listening to this podcast as it is being released, but it was released at 5:00 am Christmas morning. Growing up, that was the about as late as my mom could stand it. She would wake all of us up (if we weren’t already awake). We’d rush down the hall to the living room and get stopped in the hallway until dad could set up the camera. Then we would rush into the living room to see what Santa left under the tree. The next ten or thirty minutes were spent oohing and aahing over that magical thing that appeared under the tree from the night before.

Next, we would open all the other presents under the tree that belonged to our family. As the family grew, with five kids, it took a little while for all of them to get opened, chaos to subside and all the wrappings to be gathered and trashed. Once the unwrapping was done we got to pick one thing to take with us to granny’s house where all who could came for breakfast. Granny’s husband died when my father was only five and remained a widow the rest of her life, so most of her kids came home every Christmas to join her for breakfast. Many of the grandkids also stopped by, so it wasn’t unusual to have forty or fifty people trying to run shifts at the table or sofa or just find some standing room in her tiny two bedroom house.

But one thing that always happened at Granny’s house was that someone read the Christmas story from Luke Chapter 2 after breakfast. Then we would shower her with gifts. She never wanted anything and after she moved into an assisted living facility, they found many of those gifts unused in closets, under beds, stuffed away wherever she could find a spot because she just didn’t know how to receive gifts very well and didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by taking anything back or regifting as is common today.

Granny made sure everyone knew what Christmas was about. It wasn’t about presents and decorations and shopping and the hustle and bustle we seem to make it so many times today. Granny made sure we knew it was about Jesus’ birth. She even made Him a birthday cake that all us grandkids enjoyed every year on Christmas day for lunch. She always made Him the center of everything that day and made it clear to the family we were celebrating His coming.

Granny would tell me when I was growing up that her call in life was to raise a Christian family. Of the 96 family members at her funeral when she died, a fourth were in full-time Christian ministry. Many served as Sunday School teachers, sang in choirs, served on church boards and committees, and gave their time and energy in myriad ways to their local church. You could count on one hand the number that weren’t in church regularly. And by regularly, I mean every service. Then it meant Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Granny raised a family committed to Christ.

We live in a highly mobile society and kids and grandkids no longer live close enough to do what Granny’s family did every Christmas. We were only an hour or so away the whole time I was growing up. When Carole and I had kids, we were half a world away from their grandparents. Unfortunately, that’s the way with a huge portion of the population now. We can’t spend time with family like we did in days gone by.

But we can still remember Jesus on Christmas. We can still embrace the importance of community and reach out to those around us. To build a family of friends, not to replace our flesh and blood kin, but to share the love of Christ and the importance of this special day. Does that mean we have to prepare big meals with ham and turkey and lots of side dishes and desserts and spend half the day in the kitchen for a 20 minute meal? No.

At Granny’s we had biscuits, eggs, bacon, sausage, and that’s about it. All of us pitched in to help cook so the meal was pretty simple, quick and easy and it wasn’t the food we went for anyway. We went for the fellowship. It can be the same with any gathering. We don’t need to impress anyone with preparations to enjoy their company. If you have to do that, then those are the wrong people to invite. Invite the ones that don’t care if pillows are out of place or dishes don’t match. The ones that will get their own beverages after you show them where they are the first time.

Spend Christmas in community with people you love. Just sharing Jesus’ love with those around you will make a big difference in your life and theirs. Remember those two commands Jesus gave us that wraps all the others together? Love God and love people. When we do that, something incredible happens. We share the grace and mercy we’ve been given to others in the same way God has give His grace and mercy to us. We learn to give cheerfully from a heart full of love. Those around us see Jesus in our actions when we truly love with His love.

I don’t know what kind of traditions you have in your family. Ours have changed through the years because of experiences we had through our military travels that took us far from family and even sometimes separated us. We made accommodations to what use to be long held traditions because of things that change around us with health and age and place and time. But through it all, there is still one constant.

Jesus is the center of our celebration. We recognize there would be no Christmas without Christ. He is the reason we have the holiday. He is the reason we gather together. He is why we laugh and cry and live and breathe. Jesus is why.

If we lose the real reason for Christmas we lose it all. Whatever you do this day or this season, don’t forget why we celebrate in the first place. Don’t lose the centerpiece of all that happens in this season named for the one to whom it truly belongs. Keep Christ, not just at Christmas, but all year long.

Next week we will return to our study of The Story, God’s plan to restore a face to face relationship with us. We finished chapter 14 before our short break. Next week we will begin reading chapter 15.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The peace of Christmas Day (Luke 19:40-44) December 25, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 3 John

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 19:40-44
Jesus: Listen—if they were silent, the very rocks would start to shout!
When Jerusalem came into view, He looked intently at the city and began to weep.
Jesus: How I wish you knew today what would bring peace! But you can’t see. Days will come when your enemies will build up a siege ramp, and you will be surrounded and contained on every side. Your enemies will smash you into rubble and not leave one stone standing on another, and they will cut your children down too, because you did not recognize the day when God’s Anointed One visited you.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Fitting words from Jesus for a podcast prepared for Christmas Day. “How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” That’s why Jesus came, to bring love and joy and peace to each individual heart, but He also knew His name would cause division and hatred and war. Jesus looked forty years into the future and saw the Roman seige against Jerusalem. He saw the soldiers marching through the city streets killing and mutilating the men, women, and children they saw trying to escape them. He saw the temple being torn apart stone by stone and every house being burned to the ground. And part of that destruction was because He came to earth to bring peace. His presence caused an uproar in the streets the Romans felt they needed to quell in a way the whole empire would never forget.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t the presence of the Roman guard keeping order. That didn’t work in Jesus’ day. It only served to stir the people and cause the more violent to rise up against the empire.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t wealth. Herod had that. Many of the Pharisees were wealthy as they collected the offerings and the temple taxes from those who came to the temple to worship. But the Pharisees certainly didn’t seem to be at peace with themselves or the people around them. The crowds were continually burdened by their rules and rose up against their 612 traditions. Factions grew up railing against their rules. And when the rich young man encountered Jesus, he went away sad, unable to find the peace that Jesus offered.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t health. Jesus touched a lot of people. He healed the blind and the lame and the deaf, but I expect many of those succumbed to the pressures of every day life like the seeds sown on the path or among the thorns and never found peace, only the physical healing they sought.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t membership in the right church or temple or synagogue. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and others thought they had that wrapped up. There were dozens of preachers and teachers like John who baptized disciples into their form of worship and following after God. But none could give the kind of long-lasting peace that Jesus promised. That wasn’t the answer.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t even doing good things for others. The disciples went out and did that when Jesus sent them out into the towns and villages. They drove out demons and healed the sick and proclaimed the message Jesus told them to proclaim. They had good results, too. But the good deeds they performed didn’t bring them peace. They still felt the confusion, fear, and despair the day Jesus died on the cross.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” There is only one thing that brings peace to each individual heart of humankind. We must each understand we are sinners, far from the holy state in which God wants us to live and our sins hurt both our fellowman and God. Then we must be truly sorry for our sins. Not just sorry we got caught, but sorry for the commission of those sins. Sorry we brought pain and suffering to God and others. Sorry we failed to obey God’s commands to live the way He instructed. Sorry we failed to please God.

Then we must humble ourselves and ask forgiveness in true repentance. True repentance means asking with the full intent of living differently. Working diligently with God’s help to avoid the sins we committed in the past and stay obedient to His commands and His spirit’s promptings, we intend to follow His footsteps wherever they might lead.

Finally, we let Him be the Lord of our life. It’s easy to say those words and we think we understand that word, Lord. But we borrow it from medieval days to describe the relationship God wants with us. The Lord is owner of everything, we are just managers. The Lord directs and guides our actions, we obediently carry them out. The Lord teaches and corrects us, we listen and learn from that instruction and correction. The Lord sometimes gives us projects to complete expecting us to use the assets He entrusted to us, we invest all our energy to do the best we can to carry out those projects to completion. The Lord expects complete and total loyalty from all His subjects, we give it because He has the power of life and death in His hands.

On this Christmas Day, Jesus still cries out, “How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” Do you have His peace? You can. He gives it to all who ask.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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I Came to You (Luke 2:1-40), Jan 2, 2015

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Luke tells of My Son’s birth in a magnificent way. He reminds you I didn’t come to the rich, the famous, or the powerful. I came in the form of a tiny baby. Completely dependent on a young mother and father to care for Me and raise Me as theirs.

I came to a lowly village called Bethlehem, which means the ‘house of bread’. My Son would one day call Himself the Bread of Life and you remember His sacrifice by eating bread together with other believers.

My Son came to a town crowded with visitors because of the taxes required by a foreign oppressor. He came to free you from the greatest oppression, sin. He lived a sinless life to become the perfect sacrifice for your sins. He gave Himself willingly on the cross so you might enjoy abundant life through Him.

My messengers heralded My Son’s birth in the heavens that night. They didn’t go to Herod’s palace, though. They went to the lowest class of people around Bethlehem – the shepherds. Wage laborers, barely earning enough to keep themselves alive. Young men, boys really, just eking out a few pennies to add to their families’ coffers to put a few more vegetables in the soup.

Luke reminds you My Son came to liberate everyone. If He came to the lowest, poorest, most outcast of Bethlehem, and My messengers cared enough to share His birth with them. He cares about you. He cares about your hurts, your troubles, your pain, your trials, your needs. He cares about your joy, your celebrations, your love. He cares about you.

My Son came to make you the best you can become. Read about Him. Listen to Him. Meditate on His words. Let His words fill your mind, your heart, your soul. Let Him permeate every part of you. He came to know how you live. He is My Son. But He is Me, too, wrapped in human flesh so I could participate in your world. I love you enough to make the story real. Then, in a little town called Bethlehem. Now, by you accepting Me as Lord of your life. Let Me live with you and in you so Luke’s story comes alive in you today.

Wherever you are, you can ask me into your world with a short sincere prayer confessing your sins to Me and asking Me to guide your actions from this day forward. I will stay with you. I will help you. I will never leave you. That’s My promise when you follow Me.

Ready – Luke 2:1-40
Set – Genesis 3; Luke 2
Go – Genesis 3-5; Luke 2

Luke 2:1-40

Around the time of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in Rome, Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a massive census— 2 the first census since Quirinius had become governor of Syria. 3 Each person had to go to his or her ancestral city to be counted.

4-5 Mary’s fiancé Joseph, from Nazareth in Galilee, had to participate in the census in the same way everyone else did. Because he was a descendant of King David, his ancestral city was Bethlehem, David’s birthplace. Mary, who was now late in her pregnancy that the messenger Gabriel had predicted, 6 accompanied Joseph. While in Bethlehem, she went into labor 7 and gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn had no room for them.

8 Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in the darkness of night. 9 Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light—the shining light of God’s glory. They were terrified!

Messenger: 10 Don’t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere. 11 Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority! 12 You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough.

13 At that moment, the first heavenly messenger was joined by thousands of other messengers—a vast heavenly choir. They praised God.

14 Heavenly Choir: To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God!
And on earth, peace among all people who bring pleasure to God!
15 As soon as the heavenly messengers disappeared into heaven, the shepherds were buzzing with conversation.

Shepherds: Let’s rush down to Bethlehem right now! Let’s see what’s happening! Let’s experience what the Lord has told us about!

16 So they ran into town, and eventually they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough. After they saw the baby, 17 they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. 18 Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. 19 Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard, and they glorified God for the way the experience had unfolded just as the heavenly messenger had predicted.

21 Eight days after His birth, the baby was circumcised in keeping with Jewish religious requirements, and He was named Jesus, the name the messenger had given Him before His conception in Mary’s womb. 22 After Mary had observed the ceremonial days of postpartum purification required by Mosaic law, she and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. 23 They were fulfilling the Lord’s requirement that “every firstborn Israelite male will be dedicated to the Eternal One as holy.” 24 They also offered the sacrifice required by the law of the Lord, “two turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 While fulfilling these sacred obligations at the temple, they encountered a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was a just and pious man, anticipating the liberation of Israel from her troubles. He was a man in touch with the Holy Spirit. 26 The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Anointed One. 27 The Spirit had led him to the temple that day, and there he saw the child Jesus in the arms of His parents, who were fulfilling their sacred obligations. 28 Simeon took Jesus into his arms and blessed God.

29 Simeon: Now, Lord and King, You can let me, Your humble servant, die in peace.
30 You promised me that I would see with my own eyes
what I’m seeing now: Your freedom,
31 Raised up in the presence of all peoples.
32 He is the light who reveals Your message to the other nations,
and He is the shining glory of Your covenant people, Israel.
33 His father and mother were stunned to hear Simeon say these things. 34 Simeon went on to bless them both, and to Mary in particular he gave predictions.

Simeon: Listen, this child will make many in Israel rise and fall. He will be a significant person whom many will oppose. 35 In the end, He will lay bare the secret thoughts of many hearts. And a sword will pierce even your own soul, Mary.

36 At that very moment, an elderly woman named Anna stepped forward. Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for seven years before her husband died 37 and a widow to her current age of 84 years. She was deeply devoted to the Lord, constantly in the temple, fasting and praying. 38 When she approached Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, she began speaking out thanks to God, and she continued spreading the word about Jesus to all those who shared her hope for the rescue of Jerusalem.

39 After fulfilling their sacred duties according to the law of the Lord, Mary and Joseph returned with Jesus to their own city of Nazareth in the province of Galilee. 40 There Jesus grew up, maturing in physical strength and increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God rested on Him.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

This entry was posted in Christian, devotional and tagged birth, Christmas, Jesus, messiah on January 2, 2015 by Agee.