Daily Devotional

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

Cadi Williams is seven years old. Each Christmas Cadi opens a Christmas present from Ken Watson. Opening presents at Christmas is quite ordinary, but the presents Cadi opens are extraordinary. Ken Watson passed away five years ago. Ken was 87. He died of cancer. Before he passed, Ken purchased 14 years of Christmas presents for his neighbor, Cadi.

Each year Cadi and her family gather around and open the “Ken gift”…

My grandmother’s handwriting was distinctive. She wrote letters to me when I was in college, always encouraging me to stay on track.  She wrote recipes, like the one pictured.  Her recipes weren’t very accurate because she just threw in handfuls and dabs.  But she was a wonderful cook and loved to bake for others.

One of our family’s most cherished items is my grandmother’s Bible.  She’s been in Heaven for many years, but I remember her Bible, because it was always within reach of her chair.  She used it daily and wrote notes in the margins.  This well-worn book was her guidebook for life, and she spent a lot of time studying it.

Although I attended church and Sunday school my entire life, I didn’t really study the Bible until I became a young adult…

I grew up in a home that rarely called a repairman. Between my dad and my brothers, we often had the know-how and the ability to do most work required to keep the house in good order. My dad often made the point that, if we did the work ourselves, we would save money. We were not the most skilled workers, but we got the job done.

One day, my brother and I were going to install a new garage door opener. Neither of us had ever done an installation like this before, but how hard could it be? We took down the old opener and prepared to do the installation. It was a new Craftsman opener from Sears. We opened the box and began the work. To be honest, my older brother did most of the work. It did not take long to put the opener up and connect it to the door. We plugged in the new motor and pressed the button… nothing…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

“Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” -1 Corinthians 13:13

When you think about God and who God is, what images come to your mind? What characteristics are at the front of your thoughts about God? Is God merciful and kind? Does God seem to you to be angry, or concerned only about laws and rules? It is impossible to limit God to just one personality trait. However, as we read through the scriptures, we see one description of God stand out. Love.

When I think about who God is, I cannot help but think of the beautiful chapter found in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul spends a considerable amount of time discussing love…

“…with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26

The world changed on October 5, 1957.  The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik into orbit. In just a few years, on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. The United States quickly followed with launching Alan Shephard into space. On May 5, 1961, the United States launched Freedom 7 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The race to space had captured the world’s attention. It took years to develop the systems that would deliver satellites and these two pioneers beyond our world.

Sending people to space has become routine… almost.

The Christmas season is a special time of year. Although it is a busy time of year, it is made special when we take time to enjoy the season with our friends and family. Sadly, many people spend Christmas away from their loved ones. Often it is work that takes people away from celebrating Christmas with others. When Hal Vaughn realized that he would not see his daughter on Christmas, he went to great lengths to spend the day with her.

Peirce Vaughn is a flight attendant with Delta. She was scheduled to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She loves her job but wanted to be with her family on Christmas. Her father decided that if she could not come home for Christmas, he would just go to her…

“And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people’.” Luke 2:10

Since 1965, Charles Schultz’s A Charlie Brown Christmas has aired on television. For many people it has become as much a part of the Christmas tradition as Santa Clause, Christmas trees, and Christmas music. It is a television program that I have seen countless times.  In this animated show, the Peanuts gang is up to their usual antics, both in and out of school. The climax of the show is when Charlie Brown continues to ask, in great desperation, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

It is Linus, the smart, thumb-sucking, blanket-carrying member of the Peanuts who tells Charlie Brown that he knows the meaning of Christmas…