A baby changes everything

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”  Luke 1:31

(Also, read Luke 2:1-40)

Have you ever fallen in love with a baby?  When was your first time?  I remember the first time I fell in love with a baby.  It was 2003 when my nephew made me an aunt for the first time.  I never thought you could feel that way over someone so tiny.  I was completely smitten.  Every time I thought of Nathan my face would light up with joy.  I had pictures of him everywhere, including my bathroom.  (Okay, I know that might be a little weird, but the cute little frame matched my bathroom decor.) 

 

I can’t imagine what Mary first felt when she laid eyes on the newborn King.  Did she ever feel inadequate, as many moms sometimes do? It’s hard enough to parent each special creation of God (as every child is), but I can’t imagine trying to parent the Savior of the world!  I would have loved to have been one of the shepherds, Simeon or even Anna who got to lay eyes on Jesus when he was just a baby.  How there hearts must have been ready to burst with such love, joy, peace and hope!

This Christmas, I invite you to fall in love with Jesus all over again. Imagine being there in the manger and what you might have felt.  Imagine what it would have been like to have been Joseph, Mary, a humble shepherd, Anna or Simeon.

“Simeon took him [Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’”   Luke 2:28-32

Kelly Rector

Children's Minister

Madison FBC

Be reconciled to God

In 2 Corinthians 5:20 we are urged to "be reconciled to God." During this Advent season our church is focusing on reconciliation. That reconciliation may need to be between you and another person, it may be within yourself as you struggle with past mistakes, or the reconciliation you need might be between you and God. Let's look at the latter one in today's devotional.

Scripture is clear that each of us have sinned against God, and that sin has separated us from Him. Jesus Christ came into the world to make possible the reconciliation we all need to experience with God. His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins. Those sins can now be forgiven, and we can enjoy the relationship with God we were intended to have.

Recently, I spoke with a young man who was somewhat regular in attending church about his relationship with God. As we talked it became clear he wasn't sure about that relationship. Like many of us he was trying to do the best he could to be right with God, but he wasn't sure if that was enough or not. When I asked if he had ever asked Jesus Christ to come into his life as his personal Lord and Savior, he responded he did not and did not know how to do so.

After we talked a little more, I led him in a prayer asking Christ to come into his life. What a joy and privilege it was to see the transformation begin to occur in his face! Through that simple prayer, prayed from the heart, he had been reconciled to God.

Because the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, we all need to be reconciled to God. The only way is through a relationship with Jesus Christ such as that young man experienced. If you are uncertain if you have such a relationship or if you want to know more about how to have that relationship, please DM me. I would love to talk to you about that!

The gift of joy

Joy is a precious commodity these days. There is so much in our world today to rob us of our joy. We live in very troublesome, dark times, and it's often hard to find much joy in what we experience. But, part of the reason for that is we often seek joy in the wrong places.

It's important to understand the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness comes from the root word "hap" which refers to luck or chance. If things are going our way, we are happy. If things begin to go in a different direction, we become unhappy. Happiness is completely based upon circumstances.

True joy is not based on circumstances but upon a person, Jesus Christ. Our circumstances will often disappoint, but He never does. A relationship with Jesus Christ provides us with the solid foundation we need to experience joy in every circumstance.

Yes, Christians get discouraged. We can become frustrated. We can be deeply hurt. There are many things that can bring us unhappiness in our lives, but if we maintain our focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ we can remain joyful in every situation.

The gift of joy was given to us on that first Christmas morning when our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born. It is a gift given to anyone who will receive it. All we have to do to experience that joy is to invite Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior. It is my prayer that you have done that and know the joy of which I write.

God's cake

God’s Cake

Sometimes we wonder why we are experiencing some tough life lessons, or why God is allowing unpleasant circumstances to enter our lives.  Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong; she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her, and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.

"Yuck" says her daughter as she rolls her eyes.

"How about a couple raw eggs?"

"Gross, Mom!"

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"

"Mom, those are all yucky!  Why would you want me to have such gross things?!”

            The mother smiles and replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"

            God works the same way. Sometimes we wonder why He would let us go through what appears to us to be unjust or difficult. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We must trust Him, and eventually, these life events and circumstances will all make a beautiful, delicious cake that we relish with deep appreciation.

            God is crazy about you! He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.  Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart! Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance and enjoy the cake God is preparing for us!  Anonymous, as retold by 

Nita Scarff

Madison FBC

A precious letter to you

Precious Letter to You

            Imagine you receive today in the mail a letter from someone you deeply love, who has passed from this world to the next.  You look at the envelope in disbelief as you breathlessly tear into the precious letter to make sense of such a gift!  You read every word of love, and savor each  word!  Your dear friend loves and misses you!  You re-read and take to heart the future plans and promises the letter spells out!  You place the precious letter near you, so that when you feel tested and stressed you can remember that what is now, won’t be forever!  Your friend has lifted your spirits and you look forward to seeing them again!  You can’t wait!

            The Precious Letter is your Bible and your friend is the very one who took the nails for us on the cross so that we can again, be together, in eternity.  Your Bible is a specific affirmation and promise of Christ’s love for you, yes you!  It is a personal letter from God to inform you in a thousand different ways of his plans for you; his lessons to keep you from dangers and harm, and His future spelled out with a promise of the work He is now doing to plan for your arrival!  Our Bible is a love letter penned just for you, reaching out of the grave, to point to a risen Savior and his crazy love for you!  

Nita Scarff

Madison FBC

Forgiveness to reconciliation

 “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”  Matthew 6:14-15

Forgiveness is not easy, especially when the other person isn’t sorry, doesn’t change or refuses to change.  My story of forgiveness was a long journey which took many years.  I had a rough relationship with my father growing up.  He was abused as a child and had a lot of wounds from that.  He never experienced unconditional love or grace and he is not a believer so he has never experienced the true love of Christ or true healing from Christ.  I had my feelings hurt a lot and even wrote letters to him trying to improve our relationship.  He never saw that there was a problem or that he needed to change in any way.  So, any change had to be on my end.  Unfortunately, I grew bitter and resentful.  I got to the point where complaints of him consumed my thoughts and I couldn’t think of anything good about him.  It was then that I was aware of the hate that was in my heart.  As a Christian, I knew I didn’t want hate.  I knew it was poison to my soul and would prevent me from growing closer in my walk with Christ.  

I knew I couldn’t remove the hate on my own.  My first step was asking people to pray for me.  Then, I prayed for myself.  I prayed that God would remove this hate from me and teach me how to love and forgive my father. I asked God to teach me to love him as He loves him.  Slowly, I could say that I loved him.  I didn’t like him, but I did love him.  Then, prayed that God would show me my father through His eyes and not mine.  Little by little, I could see Dad’s little quirks that made him who he is.  Those quirks were pretty funny, I thought.  I saw how generous he is and I saw that he loved me and cared for me, even though he might not have been able to show it how I would have liked.  (Gary Chapman’s book, The 5 Love Languages helped with this.)  I forgave him and I let go of the high expectations of a father that I placed upon him.  I grew to like my dad and love my dad.  It took many years and I can say that my heart is now free of the bitterness and resentment.  We talk about every day now too.

Forgiveness is a choice.  We forgive, not because the other person deserves it, but because our Heavenly Father forgave us when we didn’t deserve it.  Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive?  Ask God to search deep within your heart and show you where you need to reconcile.

“Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.”  Ephesians 4:31-32

Anonymous
Madison FBC

The gift of forgiveness

It was much easier to buy gifts for our children when they were smaller. As adults, we often struggle to know what to get them, and they tell us it's even harder for them to know what to give us. Most of us have that one person that's hard to buy for at Christmas.

Perhaps for someone on our Christmas list the greatest gift we could give them is the gift of forgiveness. I wonder if you paused when you read that as someone's name went through your mind. Chances are the next thought that entered your mind was that they don't deserve forgiveness. You're probably right, but then again, we didn't deserve God's forgiveness, either.

One of the most challenging verses in the Bible is Matthew 6: 14-15: "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

The reason this passage is so hard for some people is that they have not come to grips with how much God loves them. We forget how much we have been forgiven. God sent His Son to earth to make it possible for our sins to be forgiven so we could be reconciled to Him. Now, He asks us to forgive others their sins against us so we can be reconciled to one another.

But, Dennis, that's tough! Yes, it is. Some of us have deep wounds caused by other people, and it's hard to forgive those who have wounded us. However, this is exactly what we are called to do.

What a special gift it would be if you could honestly forgive someone who had deeply hurt you. Not only would it be a gift to the one you forgave, it would be a wonderful gift to give yourself. Just think how freeing it would be to not have to carry that anger and pain any longer. The gift of forgiveness to someone who has hurt you might be the best gift you will give this Christmas season.