Morning Grace

  Hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I'll be taking a break for the holidays with this devotional while I do some work on it behind the scenes.  I will see you in the New Year beginning January 4th.  

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,  the Lord.  This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,  praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,      and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”  So they went with haste and found Ma...

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  All went to their own towns to be registered.  Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.  He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. ~ Luke 2:1-7 Part of beholding - seeing - is looking at the truth of yourself. Seeing where you are. Who you are. Who you really are. Living, breathing, being in this moment. Right now. Mary and Joseph were confronted with a reality in the delivery of their s...

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. ~ Isaiah 7:14 It's the King James version for today. This week, the word is "behold..." LOOK! And the KJV is the place where we find it. It's probably the version we are most familiar with from our childhood. Behold. Look. See what God is doing. Take a look in the manger. See the young man and woman - strangers in a far away place. Refugees seeking shelter in a barn. Or cave. Alone perhaps. Or maybe a kind stranger stops to help them in their hour of need. Behold their fear. Their hope. God with us. Emmanuel. Is this where you would expect him? Is this where you would look for the virgin to give birth to God with us? What does it mean to us to really look? To truly see. To behold that which we never, ever could have predicted or expected. Lord open my eyes to see what you would have me see. Amen. Thoughts for engagement: What is the most...

- Re-read the passages from this week's devotions. Choose the one that is most meaningful to you to be your prayer focus for today. They are: Philippians 4:4-5 Luke 18:1-8 Matthew 7:7-8 Luke 1:46-48 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

And Mary  said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,      and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.      Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me,      and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him      from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;      he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,      and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things,      and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel,      in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors,      to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” ~ Luke 1:46-48 And so ...

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ~ Matthew 7:7-8 I believe in the Kingdom come Then all the colors will bleed into one Bleed into one But yes, I'm still running You broke the bonds and you loosened chains carried the cross of my shame, of my shame You know I believe it But I still haven't found What I'm looking for*. ~ U2 Don't just ask... Rejoice because everyone who asks receives and everyone who searches finds. Really? Yes. Really. This text can be viewed any of ways. It can be seen as a gift. Or, a curse. Because, we have to wonder, what happens if we don't get what we ask for? What happens if we don't find what we are searching for? Why rejoice then? It's important I think as we wait this Advent to remember that the gift we are waiting for - that babe in a manger - wa...

Then Jesus  told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.  He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’  For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”   And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?  I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” ~ Luke 18:1-8 We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that God will get us involved in (God’s) plan for the a...

Rejoice  in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.   Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ~ Philippians 4:4-5 We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. ~ Joseph Campbell Rejoice. The Lord is near. Do you ever think about that? About the Lord being near? And that being a cause to rejoice? As Advent draws toward its closing, and we have both "watched" and "prepared," it is now time to rejoice. It's what you do when you feel in the air that good news is coming! When change - needed change - is coming. Rejoice in the Lord always seems perhaps sometimes hard to do. There are times, perhaps, when it feels too dark to do so. Times when it seems like terror is winning. Crime is succeeding. Violence is having its way. And yet still that is what our Lord desires from us. Rejoicing. And perhaps when we do, we will see the truth that is fully holding sway.  I rejoice in you Oh Lord! Remind me always - even in fear - ...

- Re-read the passages from this week's devotions. Choose the one that is most meaningful to you to be your prayer focus for today. They are: Isaiah 40:24 Micah 6:6-8 Joel 2:12-13 Luke 1:8-17 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

Once when (Zechariah) was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty,  he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense.  Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.  Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him.  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.  You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,  for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.  He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  With the spirit and power of Elijah he...

Yet even now, says the LORD,      return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;      rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God,      for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,      and relents from punishing. ~ Joel 2:12-13 To love, we must remove our armor, exposing our heart. For love cannot be had without the risk of being wounded. ~  John Mark Green To rend something is to tear or rip it apart in two. Often, in mourning, Hebrew people would tear their garments in two in their grief. So to prepare for our coming Lord, rather than tearing apart our clothing, God seeks our hearts to be torn in two. To be opened up. Ripped apart from those things that keep us from God. Do you remember what it is like to have your heart broken? It isn't normally something we seek or long for to happen. Yet the breaki...