Devotions for the 2017 Advent Season Written by the Members of St. Paul
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Devotions for the 2017 Advent Season Written by the members of St. Paul United Methodist Church Lakeland, Tennessee St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2949 Davies Plantation Road, Lakeland, TN 38002 www.stpaullakeland.com December 2 “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, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” -Isaiah 9:6 Is there anywhere a more beautiful promise? We read or sing or hear these words every Christmas season, but how much do we really think about them? Do we take them to heart and find strength and inspiration in them, or are they just another part of the familiar rituals that we’ve gotten used to and that give us that “warm fuzzy feeling” that usually goes along with the season? You know, “peace and goodwill,” “all’s right with the world,” “I’ll worry about that after the holidays,” etc.? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with those feelings, as long as they are genuine and not just ways of avoiding going any deeper. How about peace and goodwill, for instance? Are we doing anything about trying to bring peace, even if it’s only making amends for those hasty words spoken last week? What about goodwill? Does it mean any more than feeling good about dropping a dollar or two in the Salvation Army kettle in front of the store as we leave after spending too much money or giving that thin, ragged homeless guy on the corner that we pass every day a couple bucks extra? Is all really right with the world? We know better; we see the harsh truth every day in the nightly news, in the faces of people we meet on the street, in the sight of people of all ages so connected to social media that they are blind to the needs of those in front of them. When the holidays are past and gone, do we really think about the needs, the hardships, the hastily made promises we made to ourselves to do better, to really try, or does something new come along and push them aside? What does all this have to do with the promised coming of the Prince of Peace? Just this: if we as people calling ourselves by His name do not take to heart the things that add to the burdens of our neighbors and try with all we have in us to help—to aid the cause of peace—to spread honest-to-goodness goodwill—all year around and not just when the music and the trappings of Christmas have us in a mellow mood, how will we answer the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, when our chances to “do better” run out and we stand before him? Prayer: O Holy God, whose name is Wonderful, may Your people truly accept You as Counselor so we may be led to not just celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace for a few days or weeks every year, but to truly live it every day of our lives, so that we may be more nearly worthy to call Thee our Everlasting Father. Amen Mary Harris December 3 Self-care 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. During the Christmas season, I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are busy. Busy buying gifts; busy decorating our trees and the inside and outside of our homes; busy cooking, baking, and doing dishes (ohhhh, the amount of dishes washed during the holidays!). We are busy doing good things: helping others, shopping and donating Angel tree gifts, planning kids' class parties, buying and/or making gifts for our friends, neighbors, teachers, and families. We show love to everyone we come in contact with! Except when we don't. When we get rundown, tired, stressed, cranky, and even sick, we have a hard time showing love to others. Our Bible verse says that we love because He (Jesus) first loved us. God loves us and wants us to take care of ourselves so that we can love others. We've all been on airplanes and heard the flight attendant's safety brief where we are advised to put on our oxygen masks BEFORE helping those around us. Our oxygen mask is self-care. It could be taking a walk, having a cup of tea by the light of the Christmas tree, enjoying a hot bath, going to the gym, watching a favorite TV show, or reading a chapter out of a book. Self-care looks different for everyone. The part of self-care that is a constant for all of us is the need for time with God. Taking five minutes to read a daily devotional, praying while going for a walk or jog, bible journaling, listening to Christian music and talking to God during your daily commute are all ways to spend time with God. At the dinner table or at bedtime, ask your family members where they have seen God that day. One of my bible study leaders once told me that God will bless whatever time you give him. He knows that we are busy. He "gets" it. Show God that you love Him and let God love you in this season. Experience God's love so that you can love others. Shine Jesus's light wherever you go. May your holidays be merry, bright, and full of love. Dear God, During this season of distractions, please help us to make time for You. Help us to take care of our own souls so that we may bless others. Above all us, help us to shine your light wherever we go. In your holy name we pray, Amen. Amy Emerson December 4 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer.” -Psalm 19:14 I work at Sylvan Learning Center and enjoy my work very much. It is very exciting to teach a child to read. A few months ago, a young man who had just moved to the area, came to work with us. My director asked me if I would stay after closing and teach him the rules we use to be prepared for the next day’s classes. The following comments are his immediate responses to me, “Ms. Norma, when I first met you and we worked together, I thought you were very intelligent but now I know I was mistaken.” When I asked him why he had come to that conclusion, his answer surprised me. He remarked that he had listened to me answer questions from one of our young teachers, “You told her that Jesus is real, and He will change your life when you accept him. You and I both know that this is not true. He is not real. I quickly prayed a “sweet Jesus prayer” in my heart and then I responded to him. “Since we have extra time tonight and we won’t have interruptions, could we talk about Jesus?” His response was a loud “No!” He went out the door. He did not stay with us very long. I have no idea where he is. I pray with all my heart that somewhere a Christian is completing God’s work and helping him to know more about Jesus. Norma McCarroll December 5 “And Mary said: ‘my soul glorifies the Lord. And my spirit rejoices in God, my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done a great thing for me—holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.’” -Luke 1:36-50 When I was a child, there was a family in my neighborhood that I think of often at Christmas. A mother, widowed at a young age, with five children, one just an infant. She worked hard, fed her children with vegetables grown from her garden, made most of their clothes, and took them to church. But I especially remember that at Christmas, their house was a little different than most. They had a scraggly cedar tree that they decorated sparsely with ornaments. On top was Angie, the angel with one broken wing. A handful of gifts were under the tree, mostly trinkets. Everyone in the neighborhood knew she shopped at TG&Y. One of the really strange traditions they had was this: shoe boxes. Although they didn’t have stockings to be filled, they knew that on Christmas morning there would be a shoe box laid out, containing one apple, one orange, hard candy and nuts. The strange thing about this family, to me, was that they were happy. The mother made sure the kids had fun, but she also made sure they did their chores, had clean clothes, and went to church. At the same time, she laughed and hugged a lot. No matter how tough things were, there was so much laughter in their house. So much that everyone wanted to go there and get in on the good times. One year, Christmas actually fell on Sunday. One of the girls, my age, came home from church ecstatic. She went on and on about how special the day was, not only was it Christmas but when she got to Sunday School she was the only one there! She went on and on about how she guessed the other kids stayed home and played with their toys but how she had the best time ever.