Imitating Jesus

As we start a new year, many of us will make resolutions. Some of them will stick while others will fade almost as quickly as they are started. The resolutions that stick are those that we desire most and commit wholeheartedly to.

In some cases, the resolutions that stick are those that are easy. We set the bar low at times, which is not all bad. Sometimes, we simply need to be able to state we accomplished a goal in order to build our self-confidence, which is important.

As followers of Christ, we need self-confidence as well as trust in God. Our human nature needs to trust ourselves just as we trust God. Yet, we cannot allow our self-confidence to overwhelm our trust in God. There is a balance we must achieve to successfully follow Jesus.

Using Jesus as our example, though He was and is God, He did not conduct Himself as high and mighty. He put others ahead of himself. He served others. Not as a waiter, but by addressing their needs. His miracles were not to lord His power over people, but to relieve people of pain and suffering.

We are called to imitate Him. How do we do that? We serve others with a humble attitude. How often have we heard that? Do we know what it means? Have you ever heard it explained? Here is a layman’s explanation.

When we go to give to charities, we are not to do so with a haughty attitude. When we give someone a few dollars to buy lunch, we are not to make them feel less than us. When we provide assistance to someone, we are not do so looking down our noses at them.

I’m willing to bet many, if not nearly all, of us have acted in one of the ways listed above at some time in our lives. After all, we are human, and we will make mistakes. But to truly follow Jesus’ example, we must stop such behavior. Otherwise, we are putting ourselves above God, even if we don’t think we are.

I pray we all look to Jesus to be our example. I pray we serve others with a humble attitude. I pray each one of us make a resolution to be more like Jesus as we start a new year. Be like Jesus. Build self-confidence. Be humble in attitude. Serve others. Start the new year right.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

New Starts

As we begin a new year, many of us will make resolutions. We will decide to make a new start. Our human inclination is to use certain times or dates as milestones. We make promises on specific dates for many different reasons. Some are kept, others are broken.

A new year brings out many new promises. What promises will you make to start this year? How long will you stay with them? There is one promise we all need to make and hold on to dearly, never letting go.

God is due our praise. We hear He has created us and brush that aside. We all know how children come along. Our thoughts immediately go to our moms and dads. So, we brush God’s creation aside. We are foolish for doing so.

God creating us is far more intricate than a woman becoming pregnant. The root of creation goes far deeper. Science teaches us about genetics, but who created genetics at the very beginning? Who created the first string of DNA?

It has taken science thousands of years of study to gain some understanding of DNA. It has taken the creation of intricate technology to assist in that understanding. Yet, scientists still cannot create DNA from nothing. They are now finding out there are even deeper, more intricate components of DNA. And that is just their study of humans.

As we contemplate the creation of all the animals, the earth, the planets, the stars, and everything we see, science has not even begun to explain how it was created. Sure, you can plant seeds, but those seeds come from the plant. There is a big bang theory and the evolution theory, but who or what caused them?

Why should we contemplate creation, both original and daily? It helps us understand where we stand in relation to God. We begin to get a glimpse into just how much greater He is than we are. Our world starts to come into focus. Oh, we are still far from full understanding, but it is a start. It is enough of a start to realize we should praise Him each and every day.

Deciding to praise God today, and every day, is a decision we all should make today. It is a promise worth keeping. If we will keep it, it is a promise that will completely change our lives. Praising God every day will lift us out of the gutter we too often live in.

I pray we all decide to praise God every day. I pray we make a promise and stick to it. I pray each one of us contemplate our place in creation. Praise God. Give Him thanks. Look deeper than the foggy surface. Truly appreciate God.

Psalm 145:1-2

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

Living In Fear

Have you ever experienced being in awe? Have you been overwhelmed with a feeling of admiration? Have you experienced fear? Are you in awe of something? Do you have admiration for someone?

Most of us have experienced one or more of these emotions. Our emotions come and go. There are times we admire someone for a season, and it leaves us. We discover something we don’t like about them and no longer admire them.

We may revere someone, holding them in high esteem. Perhaps it is due to their position. Maybe it is their stardom that catches our attention. Or it could be their natural leadership abilities that draw us to them.

There are some actions that put us in awe. A diving catch in the endzone. A perfectly executed dance move. An unreal light show at a concert. Maybe it was the birth of your child. Some things just amaze us and are unlike anything we have seen before.

We have all likely experienced fear in one fashion or another. This is not being scared out of your wits, but closer to being in awe. For instance, the first time you are the top of a rollercoaster, about to take that hundred feet plunge down the tracks. Maybe the first time you go skydiving. It is a mixture of excitement, fear, and awe. There is a pure feeling of being alive, so alive you can feel every nerve in your body, the world slows down, you can hear your heartbeat. This is the type of fear mentioned in today’s passage.

We can be reverent, admire, and be in awe of someone else. There is only One who can make us feel the fear or aliveness mentioned below—God. When we fully recognize Him for who He is, we experience all of it. When our relationship grows close enough to Him, we experience it. Our God has a way of making us feel so alive, we can’t believe it.

We all love that exhilarating experience. We love feeling like we are on top of the mountain surveying the world. We love that tingling feeling. In this world, those feelings are fleeting. However, we have experience them much more often, if we fully turn to God, and we can experience them forever in eternity.

I pray we all fully turn to God. I pray we recognize Him for who He really is. I pray each of us seeks a closer relationship with Him. Be amazed. Be in awe. Give God reverence. Feel truly alive. Feel the exhilaration. Grow closer to God. Seek to know Him fully.

Psalm 128:1-2

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,

who walk in obedience to him.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Learn To Praise

Have you ever stopped to reflect on what causes you to be happy? Think about what causes you to jump for joy. Are there several reasons that come to mind? What are they? Do they include blessings from God?

We often look for ways to make ourselves happy. We long for something or someone. Our viewpoint is small, typically just of ourselves. Sure, we may look at family from time-to-time, but it’s really about our happiness.

Take a look at today’s passage. Do you see that true joy comes from having learned to acclaim God? What does that mean? It means we praise and give the glory to God. It means we have learned, and now recognize, that all things are from God.

What do we need to happen to us to learn to acclaim God? Unfortunately, for many of us, we need to have something horrible or catastrophic happen. We need to be brought to our knees forcefully. It is quite unfortunate it takes something like that for us to learn. Even then, some of us don’t learn.

Why is it that seems to be the only way we learn? For most of us, it’s due to our individualistic view of the world. I sometimes wonder just how many people are willing to put the greater good ahead of their own personal preferences.

Yet, as we are told in today’s Scripture, if we are willing to put God first, we will rejoice. Does it mean all things are always great? No! It does mean we will experience joy in our life regardless of the circumstances. Who doesn’t want continual joy? Who doesn’t want to feel contentment that it will all work out fine? I suspect we all want that.

A key point to notice in this passage is that we must learn it. We can learn it willingly through reading and experiencing turning it all over to Him. Or we can learn it the hard way, having to be brought to our knees through bad experiences. It really is our choice. In the end, all will fall to their knees to worship God.

I pray we all learn to give God the glory. I pray we come to rejoice in His blessings. I pray each one of us make the choice to turn it all over to God. Learn to praise God. Experience true joy. Rejoice in God. Be righteous in Him.

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

They rejoice in your name all day long;

they celebrate your righteousness.

Blessing’s For God’s Glory

Why do you want God to bless you? Is it out of selfish ambition? Is it so you can have more? Or is it so that God will be praised? Is it so God’s plan will be executed? Too often it is for our own benefit and not God’s.

We don’t like to think of ourselves as selfish. Yet, if we all take a long hard look inside, we find that many of our reasons for doing one thing or another is for our own gain in the end. We are willing to lend a helping hand in hopes of getting one in return. We give a complement in hopes of getting one in return.

Not everything that everyone does is out of selfish ambition, that is true. But I challenge you to take a serious look at just a few actions as they happen around you and your own actions. Dive deep into the motive behind them. See for yourself what you come up with as a reason.

This isn’t an easy exercise. It takes hard work to challenge yourself like this. It takes opening up your heart to its very core. But if you want to continue to progress toward being the person God has called you to be, it is a worthwhile exercise.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not standing here pointing a finger at you without knowing there are three of my own fingers pointing back me. I only bring this to your attention because I think of it for myself and my own journey toward becoming more like Jesus.

When we ask God to bless us so that His glory is revealed and people praise Him, He works in mighty ways. He wants us to have a change in attitude—one of praise. God wants us to be thankful and praise Him for all that we are blessed with.

I pray we all turn to God for His blessings. I pray we ask for them out of selflessness. I pray each one of us seeks to have an attitude of Jesus. Ask God to bless you. Ask God to bless you for His glory. Be part of God’s plan. Seek to be who God created you to be. Praise God.

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine on us—

so that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, God;

may all the peoples praise you.

May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples with equity

and guide the nations of the earth.

May the peoples praise you, God;

may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;

God, our God, blesses us.

May God bless us still,

so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Praise Be To God

Are you blessed by God? Do you have confidence that He is always with you? Do you praise God for the blessings He has graciously blessed you with? Are you fully committed to God? He is waiting patiently for you.

We have been blessed richly by God. The real question is whether we recognize all the blessings or do we chalk it all up to our own hard work? We often leave God out of the equation. We quickly forget that He made everything.

We might acknowledge that God created everything, but we don’t fully understand what it means. Think about it. He created everything. That includes Him writing your DNA. What does that mean? It means He made you exactly who you are. He gave you your entire chemical makeup. You are His design.

It also means that He created all that we see. Yes, all of it. I know, you are going to argue that He didn’t create the computer or smartphone you are reading this post on. Perhaps it was a miraculous creation by His hands, but He created the person who designed it, the materials it is made of, and provided everything that went into it.

We recently saw the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter, which many were calling the Bethlehem star. God put those planets in motion and set the timing for them to align. Perhaps He did so to remind during a challenging year that He is still in control.

God provides His instruction through a wide variety of sources. He uses the planets and star. He uses other people. He even uses today’s technology to spread His word to more people than ever before.

Think about it. With many churches closing the doors of their buildings and going online, God’s word was being broadcast into more homes in 2020 than ever before. Perhaps, even more than all of history combined prior to 2020. That means there are likely people in some of those homes who were hearing a sermon for the very first time, because they had previously refused to enter a church building. Praise God for that!

I pray we all stop to think about the amazing creation God has created. I pray we praise Him for His blessings. I pray each one of us will stand firm on God’s promises. Praise God. Live in His promises. Listen for His counsel. Keep your eyes on God.

Psalm 16:5-8

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken

Rejoice The Birth

Can you imagine having a baby in a stable area? Not only that, but you must use a feeding trough as a bed for him. Of course, two thousand years ago was a different time. Electricity hadn’t been invented yet and all our modern conveniences were far into the future.

I am sure most of us would not dream of having a child in a stable. I’m also sure that wasn’t Mary’s first choice. Yet, there is an amazing thing that happens to us as humans…we adapt. When we have no other choice, we make do with what we have.

Perhaps that is why it is when we are at the end of our rope we turn to God. We have nowhere else to turn. We can no longer do for ourselves. We must rely on God. In the case of Mary, she had already given herself up to God. A good example for all of us.

If you have never been at the end of your rope, never been in a place of ultimate need and sheer helplessness, you likely don’t fully know what it means to give yourself up to God. That’s not to say you aren’t giving part of yourself up. I believe we all give up some to God.

Mary made do. The feeding trough became a cradle. The straw or hay became a mattress. A few cloths became baby blankets. And here is the real kicker—the baby had no care in the world about any of it.

God had planned the day. He had planned the setting. He put all things in motion to happen according to His plan. And He showed up in a stable to a young girl who wasn’t yet married and a man who wasn’t sure about all this until the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him it was alright. Oh, what trust God put into a couple of young people!

We should rejoice that our Savior was born on that day. We should rejoice over the awesome plan God put in motion. We should rejoice that we have a golden promise from God to spend eternity with Him. We should rejoice always.

May this Christmas Day find each of us rejoicing. May we be filled with the Holy Spirit. May we love one another as God loves us, willingly giving up of ourselves for one another. May we give thanks to God for all He has blessed us with.

I pray we all rejoice with the heavenly host. I pray we give thanks to God. I pray each one us decides to love one another and show it as God has. Rejoice over the birth of Jesus. Rejoice over our Savior. Rejoice over God’s plan. Love one another. Let go and let God.

Luke 2:6-7 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

The Story Told

Have you ever experienced something that you just to had tell everyone you saw? I don’t mean just your family and friends, but you may tell complete strangers, as well. It isn’t just a good thing but is an extraordinary thing.

The shepherds experienced something only a handful of humans had ever experienced. An angel had come to give them a message. They decided to go see this thing the angel told them about. After making the trip to Bethlehem, seeing the baby Jesus, they were compelled to tell others about it.

Now, we don’t know exactly where the shepherds were when the angel appeared to them. It is likely they weren’t far from Bethlehem. It is also likely that one of them stayed with the flock during night while. Perhaps they went to visit the newborn babe in shifts.

I can imagine them telling this story for weeks or months afterward. As they came in contact with other shepherds and people at the marketplace, they told the story. They were so excited, amazed, and overwhelmed by what happened, they couldn’t contain their excitement.

We are also told the people these shepherds told their story to were amazed. Have you ever heard a story that amazed you? Perhaps a friend told you about meeting someone very important. Perhaps they met a movie star or sports star. What did you think about that?

Evidently, the story the shepherds were spreading found its way back to Mary. For we are told that Mary treasured it and pondered it. If you were the one people were talking about, have you ever heard the story told by someone who didn’t know it was you? How was that? Did you quietly listen and say it was amazing, but didn’t let them know it was you? Did you hold the story they related in your heart and treasure it?

I can only imagine how Mary felt to have the tale of her giving birth being told throughout the town. Especially, as the story included the appearance of an angel and the heavenly host. It wasn’t just people talking about her, but all of heaven was celebrating. Imagine how it would feel to have heaven rejoicing over you. Do you know that heaven does rejoice when a lost sinner comes to Jesus? Heaven also rejoices when we are the hands and feet of Jesus, serving others.

I pray we all ponder the events that took place more than two thousand years ago. I pray we rejoice when heaven rejoices. I pray each of us decide to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Rejoice with heaven. Serve others. Return to Jesus. Live in His presence at all times.

Luke 2:17-18 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Angel Encounter

Have you ever seen an angel? Have you ever thought seriously about what it might be like to see an angel up close and personal? I’m guessing the shepherds in the field on that night more than two thousand years ago hadn’t really thought about it much either.

Imagine, you are out in the countryside wondering about with your flock of sheep, finding food and water for them. The sun is starting to set, so you find a good place to bed the flock down for the night. Providing you are a good shepherd; you find a place where the sheep are hemmed in and you can get a little sleep yourself.

You have probably encountered predators in the night who are looking to take one of your sheep for their meal. As mentioned by David, it may have been a lion or a bear. You scare them off or kill them with a sling and a couple smooth stones.

All of a sudden someone appears in front of you. You have never seen anyone like him. Since I have never seen an angel with my own eyes, I can only imagine what one may look like. My thoughts are a being that looks somewhat human but stands about nine or ten feet tall. I also assume he would have wings, since we read of them flying. Yet perhaps they don’t need wings to fly. I also imagine him dressed in flowing robes. Is this the picture you have in your mind?

Unfortunately, that picture is largely a result of ancient art and not really based on biblical accounts. I challenge you to find a description of an angel in the Bible. We see a handful of declarations made by angels in a loud voice. We see them playing a trumpet at the end of days. We know of Michael fighting against Satan. And we know Gabriel delivered messages to both Zechariah and Mary.

No matter what the angel actually looked like, the shepherds were initially terrified when he suddenly appeared. So, the angel told them not to be afraid (Luke 2:10), much like Gabriel had said to Zechariah when he proclaimed that Elizabeth would have a baby and he was to be named John. That tells me there was an awesome, overpowering presence projected by the angel.

Now imagine a large number of the heavenly host appearing out of nowhere praising God. Certainly, this is an event that you must act on and one that you will never forget. An everyday shepherd simply does not have these types of encounters. We don’t either, but we can use our imagination to put ourselves in the story.

I pray we all spend a little time this advent to think about the miraculous events that took place around Jesus’ birth. I pray we imagine an angel appearing. I pray each of us take action based on a miraculous event. Contemplate miracles this advent. Take action. Make decisions, based on Jesus, our Savior. Be in awe of God spending time on this earth as a human.

Luke 2:13-14 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, 

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

Mystery Revealed

We have all heard that God works in mysterious ways. Do you think He really works in mysterious ways or we just don’t understand? Though I don’t discount that God works in mysterious ways, I think we often don’t fully understand because we don’t know all the details.

Let’s take a quick look at why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We can quickly point to Micah 5:2 and state that it was to fulfill prophecy. We can also see in Isaiah 11:1 that a descendant of Jesse, who was David’s father, will come to bear fruit. We see in Isaiah 9:6-7 that a son will reign on David’s throne forever, meaning he will come from David’s line.

Yet why did there have to be a census in order to get Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem? Was it all part of the plan? Let’s think about that. As people, do we just arbitrarily decide to travel to an unknown place for no reason at all?

Now, you might think Mary and Joseph would know they needed to travel to Bethlehem, if they knew the prophecy. Perhaps. But we must understand the situation of their day and time. From Nazareth to Bethlehem would have been a four- or five-day journey. Not to mention that Mary was pregnant and traveling on a donkey or walking would have been challenging. We also must account for Matthew 2:23 telling us that prophecy stated He would be called a Nazarene. It would seem that prophecy contradicted itself.

God, who knows all, knew His plan. He works through kings, as we see in Romans 13:1, who are appointed by Him. When we understand this, we can make a logical conclusion that God urged Caesar to demand a census in order for Mary to be where He wanted her to give birth.

You see, when we put the pieces together, it is not so mysterious. We don’t know the whole plan. We don’t know God’s full intention. That is why it appears to be mysterious to us. In many situations, we wrestle with the same issue—we don’t know all the details. Unfortunately, we too often make judgments based on partial information.

As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 13:12, we see dimly in our current life, but we will fully know why God planned it the way He did when we come face-to-face with Him. What does this mean to us? It means we are to trust Him, even if it appears to be a mystery or unexplained.

I pray we all trust God. I pray we trust, even when it appears He is working mysteriously. I pray each one of us will follow where God is leading us. Put your trust in God. God has a plan. You don’t know everything. God’s mystery will be revealed.

Luke 2:1-5 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.