Christmas Wonder
Micah 6-7; Revelation 13
After my first semester in seminary, my family was given airline tickets to fly home for Christmas. The night before our flight, we realized we had less than $20 for the trip. Parking, transportation, and other incidentals were certain to cost more than $20. Heartsick, we resolved to pray about it. Though our children were small (6 and 2), we included them in the prayer time.
As we were praying, we heard footsteps in the hallway of the apartment building, and then “whisk”—the sound of an envelope sliding under the door. Inside the envelope was an anonymous gift of $50.
The wonder reflected on our 6-year-old daughter’s face matched the wonder in our own hearts. Here was a mighty God writing His name on a little girl’s heart by hearing and answering our prayer in the same instant. And so we, like the psalmist David, could “talk of all His wondrous works!” (1 Chron. 16:9).
So it was that first Christmas night, when a mighty, all-knowing, all-powerful God wrote His name on the heart of humanity, stunning us with the generosity of forgiveness and the joy of unconditional love. The birth of Christ is the answer to our most fervent prayers for love and forgiveness. Can you feel the wonder?
felt most keenly when I first met Jesus;
for I long to tell the story with all the
joy it brought me that day.
The Drawing of the Father
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him . . —John 6:44
From: My Utmost For HIs Highest
humbly His
Daniel 4:19-37[God] is able to humble the proud (Daniel 4:37). |
Read Deuteronomy 8:12-15to see how prosperity can lead to pride. Read Psalm 138:6 to see how God relates differently to those who are proud than to those who are humble. |
Would you rather try to correct arrogance in your life, or to have God take action to do so? Why? How can pride and arrogance harm relationships?Only a handful of people know who wrote the book Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God’s Everything. The writer, who published the book under the name “Anonymous,” is a well-established author who is living out the main point of his (or her) message. According to Anonymous, the book is “a call to stop imitating the world’s formula for success and instead follow the model of our humble King.”
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This book, written for Christians, shows that we can know who God is, yet be dizzied by a sense of our own importance. King Nebuchadnezzar had this problem. After seeing Daniel and his buddies escape—unharmed—from a furnace, he praised God, saying ultimately, “There is no other god who can rescue like this” (Daniel 3:29). Nebuchadnezzar had the right idea about God’s greatness, but he needed a lesson in humility.
His lesson began one day when he was strolling along the roof of his palace. Surveying the scene below, he said, “By my own mighty power I have built this beautiful city . . . to display my majestic splendor” (Daniel 4:30). A voice from heaven interrupted his self-congratulation. The voice told him he would go to live with wild animals and eat grass like a cow. He would return to society when he learned that “the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses” (Daniel 4:32). This is exactly what happened.
When Nebuchadnezzar regained his sanity, he declared, “all [God’s] acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud” (Daniel 4:37). When we allow pride to pollute our souls, we can expect God to take us down a peg or two. However, it’s encouraging to remember that if we follow the Bible’s teaching and “humble [ourselves] before the Lord,” he will lift us up in honor (James 4:10). We will be humbly His.
From: Our Daily Journey