He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3, Holy Bible, King James Version) What do you think of when you hear the word…
And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. (Luke 7:16, Holy Bible, King James Version)
God’s people had waited centuries from the promise of the fulfillment of the birth of a Savior. Now Jesus, a man of compassion, brought a widow’s son back to life. But they were afraid. Afraid of the Savior they longed for. How could that be?
A miracle, an unexplainable event that defied nature, first shocked the crowd. Then they understood. The promised Savior dwelt among men on earth. Even nature had to obey when He spoke.
Prayer: Lord, when I fear Your power, it is because I recognize my weakness in Your presence. Then, I glorify Your name because You continue to visit Your people. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, Holy Bible, King James Version)
Christmas is an exciting time of anticipation. Waiting for family or guests to arrive. Waiting for the perfect time to open gifts. Waiting for dinner to be served. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Imagine hearing this prophecy during Isaiah’s time. What great rejoicing from God’s people that they would be rescued from despair. They waited a week. A month. A year. Ten years, then fifty. One hundred years later, still no savior. It was a long wait.
One day, more than 700 years later, the prophecy became reality when Jesus was born. It was worth the wait.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for fulfilling this promise of a savior, not just for the ancients, but for us now. You are Savior of the world. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
John 15:11 “These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
I like this picture of a child, full of joy, enjoying her day. Some days we just wish to be a child again and be so carefree.
I know that we all have things in our life that take away from our joy. Life is not always pleasant, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. But no matter what our circumstances we can have joy in our hearts, because we know that the Lord is in control of every part of our life. And we can trust Him completely to bring us through. The Scripture tells us that He was tempted in all points as we are, and He knows just what we need even before we ask.
So the sun may not always be shining, the sky may not always be blue, but behind the clouds is the rainbow of His love. The Psalmist said, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
As we show an attitude of joy even in the midst of sorrow or trouble, the world will see Jesus shining through us.
When the world looks at you, do they see Jesus?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we know true joy only comes from you. As we put you first and others next, let joy flow though us to others.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
Romans 8:24 “For we are saved by hope…”
Jesus brought great hope to the earth, hope of deliverance from sin and hope of eternal life with Him.
Paul said, “If in this life we have hope, we are of all men most miserable.” Jesus has forgiven our sins, filled us with His Spirit, and given us a hope that one day we will spend eternity in His presence. Because of this hope, we spend time communicating with Him every day, growing closer to Him, and looking forward to what is ahead. Hope puts a song in our heart and a smile on our face.
As the world looks at us, they should be able to see that we have something within us that makes us want to smile. How great it is to be able to share that hope with others.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our hope is in you today. Help us to share that hope with all we meet, so they too will be able to share in eternity with You.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
Luke 6:37 “…..forgive and ye shall be forgiven.”
The greatest example of forgiveness is shown as Jesus hung on the cross, as He asked the Father to forgive the ones who were crucifying Him.
In the pattern for prayer that He gave His disciples, He said we were to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. That means that if we do not forgive others, we cannot expect the Lord to forgive others.
Forgiveness is for our benefit as well as the one who has wronged us. If we do not forgive, there is a danger of bitterness growing in our hearts and keeping us from a good relationship with the Lord. The one who wronged us may go merrily on their way, not realizing how we feel, but we think about it every day and let it destroy us.
As people look at us, do they see a forgiving spirit and know that it is because we love Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes it is hard to forgive the wrongs that others have done to us, but help us to see them as you see them, and to forgive, so that they will see Jesus in us.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
Matthew 5:17 “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.”
Jesus showed mercy to those who came in contact with. Even when He was dying on the cross, He extended mercy to the thief who hung beside Him.
Where would we be without His mercy to us? Some of us have known the Lord since we were children, others came to Him later in life; but if it wasn’t for His mercy, we would not have Him in our lives.
Because we have been shown mercy, the Lord expects us to be merciful to those around us. It is so easy to look at the mistakes and sins of others and judge them, sometimes even asking the Lord to punish them for their wickedness. But when we remember that we are all sinners in God’s sight, we realize we did not deserve God’s mercy, either.
When the world looks at me, do they see mercy?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am so thankful for the mercy you extended to me, even though I was not worthy. Let me always show mercy to others to they will see Jesus in me.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
Matthew 14:14 “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.”
As we read the stories of Jesus while He was on earth, His compassion is so evident. He healed the sick, raised the dead, restored sight to the blind, and even met the needs of a crowd of hungry people. In one place, it says He healed all who came to Him. He treated all alike.
As followers of the Lord Jesus, we must show compassion to those who are hurting, to those who are in need of comfort, to those who are searching for answers to life’s problems. This world is full of hurting people, and they should be able to look to us for help. We may not have the resources to help all of them, but we can lift them up in prayer, and ask the Lord to meet their need.
When the world looks at us, do they see that we have been with Jesus and that we care about them?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, give us a compassion for the hurting people around us, and help them to see Jesus in us.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
When we think of the attributes that Jesus manifested to the world, the first one that comes to mind is love. It was love that caused Him to come down to earth to redeem sinful man. Love caused Him to weep at the grave of Lazarus; love caused Him to reach out to the sick, the lame, and the blind that He came in contact with. His whole life radiated love.
We meet up with many different people in this world; some are easy to love and others are not so easy. But as followers of Jesus, we are commanded to show love to all. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus showed us that everyone is our neighbour, and that we are to love them as we love ourselves. When the love of God fills our heart and becomes the most important thing in our lives, it will overflow to those we come in contact with, and they will see Jesus in us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, fill our hearts with your love today, and let everyone we meet see that love, and know that it comes from you.
Devotion by Anne Johnston