Ensign: One Moment, Please
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye; when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 24 December 2015
For a brief moment we can glimpse it.
The devotion I was reading this morning focused on a Christmas Eve service -- of course -- on the day before Christmas. And in the course of the story we're so often read or even read ourselves in church or in a family setting regarding the birth of Jesus and the events leading up to it (Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem, setting up in the manger, the angels exploding with enthusiasm on the shepherds, etc.), it's easy to lose the significance of one moment. The Nativity. The Arrival.
For a brief moment we glimpse peace in our hearts and in our world.
For further details on that, please read Luke 2:1-20. Is it just me, or do you too feel that as believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are fighting and speaking and standing with one hand tied behind our backs? I know, I know, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world," and so on describing spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:12-20 ... but it's not enough TO know. Jesus ascended. We have work to do.
Our light, whether strong or flickering, is visible to others, if only for a moment.
If only, if only ... for some people that is enough. For each other sometimes it has to be enough. (I almost forgot, today's devotion comes from Carolyn Mowchan, a pastor in Minnesota who frequently contributes to Christ In Our Home and I remember writing one of these Ensigns with her as a focal character a year or two ago. I love a good writing style, and I hope you who've stuck with me when God does not directly show up here find my writing at least as good. And useful, forget not useful.)
For a brief moment we can see ourselves as the angel chorus singing out peace to the world.
No matter where we are, no matter what we're doing, no matter how mature we're supposed to be getting (and jaded we often get, this I'm guilty of) we have the room to give glory to God. For His story through the birth of Jesus two thousand years ago is one that, if it doesn't matter, nothing else does. I pray we can all have that belief, that hope, that is worth the trouble of destroying -- so it won't easily be destroyed -- and won't fly apart after the twenty-fifth of December.
For just one moment,
David
P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you and I pray I am an encouragement. If I'm not or you want me to get lost, please let me know -- thank you!
Thank You, Lord, that we are able to come to You in praise and prayer, and also that You have promised to provide for all our needs according to Your riche sin glory, even when we don't know what to ask for. Please, Lord, help me -- help us all -- to pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and around the world.
Thank You, Lord, for each of us and all those in leadership and service both here and abroad. Thank You, Lord, for the opportunities we are given here along with the promise of new life through You -- and may we all seek and have a blessed week and Merry Christmas! Amen.
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 24 December 2015
For a brief moment we can glimpse it.
The devotion I was reading this morning focused on a Christmas Eve service -- of course -- on the day before Christmas. And in the course of the story we're so often read or even read ourselves in church or in a family setting regarding the birth of Jesus and the events leading up to it (Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem, setting up in the manger, the angels exploding with enthusiasm on the shepherds, etc.), it's easy to lose the significance of one moment. The Nativity. The Arrival.
For a brief moment we glimpse peace in our hearts and in our world.
For further details on that, please read Luke 2:1-20. Is it just me, or do you too feel that as believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are fighting and speaking and standing with one hand tied behind our backs? I know, I know, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world," and so on describing spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:12-20 ... but it's not enough TO know. Jesus ascended. We have work to do.
Our light, whether strong or flickering, is visible to others, if only for a moment.
If only, if only ... for some people that is enough. For each other sometimes it has to be enough. (I almost forgot, today's devotion comes from Carolyn Mowchan, a pastor in Minnesota who frequently contributes to Christ In Our Home and I remember writing one of these Ensigns with her as a focal character a year or two ago. I love a good writing style, and I hope you who've stuck with me when God does not directly show up here find my writing at least as good. And useful, forget not useful.)
For a brief moment we can see ourselves as the angel chorus singing out peace to the world.
No matter where we are, no matter what we're doing, no matter how mature we're supposed to be getting (and jaded we often get, this I'm guilty of) we have the room to give glory to God. For His story through the birth of Jesus two thousand years ago is one that, if it doesn't matter, nothing else does. I pray we can all have that belief, that hope, that is worth the trouble of destroying -- so it won't easily be destroyed -- and won't fly apart after the twenty-fifth of December.
For just one moment,
David
P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you and I pray I am an encouragement. If I'm not or you want me to get lost, please let me know -- thank you!
Thank You, Lord, that we are able to come to You in praise and prayer, and also that You have promised to provide for all our needs according to Your riche sin glory, even when we don't know what to ask for. Please, Lord, help me -- help us all -- to pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and around the world.
Thank You, Lord, for each of us and all those in leadership and service both here and abroad. Thank You, Lord, for the opportunities we are given here along with the promise of new life through You -- and may we all seek and have a blessed week and Merry Christmas! Amen.
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