Christian Reflection and Prayer

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Scripture:

Read Matthew 8:23-27.

...and His Name shall be called ...
 Mighty God .... (Isaiah 9:6b)

Reflection:

Last June tow truck driver Pedro Arzola
was working under a 1990 Cadillac Seville
when the car lurched forward. The front
right tire ran over his torso and dragged
him about 10 feet before he was finally
pinned under the rear tire. He yelled to his
wife to help him. Even when she was joined
by two strangers they were unable to lift
the car.

That's when Danous Estenor, an offensive
lineman for the USF football team walked by.
Hearing the screams he joined them but was
also unable to budge the car at first. Then he
backed up, felt energy come into him and tried
again. This time he was able to lift the 3,500
pound car and save Arzola's life.

At one point or another in our life we will all face
troubles larger than we are, situations from
which we can't save ourselves. We will
experience that helplessness when our last hour
on earth comes. No one on earth will be able to
save us-no doctor, lawyer, celebrity-not even a
football player.

Isaiah wrote, "To us a Son is given ... and His
Name shall be called Mighty God." No situation
we face is too difficult for the Baby of Bethlehem.
The devil and all his fellow, fallen angels tried every
trick in the book but were unable to overpower Him.
Even as He was dying on the cross the mighty Son
of God was able to crush the devil's head while
paying for our sins. By His resurrection He has
defeated death and opened for us the doors of
heaven.

PRAYER:

Savior of the world, thank You for Your great might.
You have crushed all my enemies and promise to be
at my side always. Protect me through this life and
bring me to heaven when You return.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

This is our "morning after," so to speak: a
time to treasure all the Christmas events.
A time to ponder them in our heart. A time
to begin pondering what we want in the New
Year. How do we deal with the Christmas
story? What's it all about? How do we make
sense of it? What does it mean for our life?

A man who was feeling this kind of pain
decided to go to his doctor for a physical
checkup. After hearing the man's complaints
and conducting the examination, the doctor 
said, "You have to remember that after fifty,
it's just patch, patch, patch." A woman who
heard this story said that there is a much
better way to tell that you've reached the
"patch, patch, patch" stage in life. She said,
"It's when you wake up every morning with a
terrible hangover -- and you haven't been
anywhere the night before."

Jesus is not offering us a "patch, patch, patch"
existence. He wants to lead us into a style of
life that will make us whole. And we don't have
to wait until we're having those terrible hangovers.
He wants us to experience genuine living now if
only we will say "Yes!" to God by embracing a
style of life in which we place our trust in the
power of love in every situation. Accept your
assigned role as God's dependent child and, in
new and beautiful ways, the power of love will be
released in your life, and you will begin to
experience the joy and wonder of becoming the
kind of person you were created to be.

If, on this morning after, you're going around
feeling as though everything is patch, path, patch
then you have missed the overwhelming
statement of the Christmas Event: The virgin will
 conceive and give birth to a son and they will call
 Him Emmanuel, a Name that means 'God is with
us'" (Mt. 1:23).

GOD IS WITH US

(from Sunday Sermons Online)

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Scripture:

Read John 1:1-14.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us, and we have seen His glory .... (John 1:14a)

Reflection:

One of the greatest things about Christmas is
 getting together with family and friends. How
wonderful to actually see them face to face,
instead of only hearing their voice on the phone,
seeing them on Skype or reading their words
in an e-mail.

That's what made the first Christmas so special.
For the first time, people could look into God's
eyes and see Him face to face. And it wasn't the
terrifying face of a powerful and angry God they
saw. Rather, it was the face of a tiny, newborn
Baby. This chubby face will one day be the face
of a man, and it will show His great compassion
for the sick and needy, comfort for the grieving
and concern for the lost.

These tiny fingers that curl around the fingers of
Mary and Joseph will later touch the blind and
the deaf and heal them. They will stretch out to
take a dead girl by the hand and raise her to life
again. These little hands will be stretched out
and pierced with nails to pay the full price for all
our sins. And finally they will be pried off of a
cross and laid in a tomb.

Three days later those lifeless hands will move
once more, as the Lord rises from the dead. That
 night and in the coming days He will hold them
out to show His followers the nail marks that
prove it is Him-risen and alive forever! One day
we will stand before Him face to face, looking
into His eyes, and touching His glorious, nail-
scarred hands.

PRAYER:

Son of God, thank You for taking Your place as
a man among us, and laying down Your life to
save us. Fill us with joy as we wait for the day
when we too will see you face to face.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)