Christian Reflection and Prayer

(12TH Day of Christmas)

Read Matthew 2:1-8.

TEXT: Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star when it rose and have come to
worship Him (Matthew 2:2).

We end this Christmas season with two final devotions
that once again stress Jesus' Kingship. When He was born
God set a special star in the heavens to signal His birth to
the wise men. These counselors, astrologers and scholars
prepared gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and set off
for the land of Israel.

After journeying many months they entered the capitol
Jerusalem and came to the palace of King Herod. There
they inquired where they might find the One "who has been
born King of the Jews." Herod consulted the chief priests
and scribes who pointed to the prophecy of Micah. "In
Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 'And
you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a
Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel'" (Matthew 2:5-6).

Informed by the Word of God, the wise men hurried from
Herod's palace to make their way to Bethlehem and the
completion of their journey. On this 12th day of Christmas
we too are reaching the completion of our Christmas journey.
But a new journey is just around the corner. In a few short
months we will follow our King Jesus as He goes to battle
to save us from our enemies.

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, You set the Christmas star in the heavens
to guide the wise men to Your only Son. Guide us by the
light of Your Word to our glorious Ruler and King, Jesus
Christ. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Scripture:

Romans 15:7-13
New Living Translation (NLT)
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ
has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the
Jews[a] to show that God is true to the promises
he made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so
that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his
mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant
when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing praises to your name.”[b]
10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people,
    you Gentiles.”[c]
11 And yet again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
    Praise him, all you people of the earth.”[d]
12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne[e] will come,
    and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”[f]
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you
completely with joy and peace because you trust
in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope
through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted
you, in order to bring praise to God"(V.7)
Paul's claim here begs the simple question, "How
has Christ accepted you?" That seems like a terribly
harmful question. I cannot claim to answer that
question for you, but let me offer an image to guide
our reflection.
At the church I attend, when infants are baptized, the
service ends with this tremendous moment when the
pastor raises the newly baptized child and proclaims:
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is
what we are!" I must confess that I often need the
emphatic "And that is what we are!" Because the
truth is this claim-that Christ has accepted me like
this tiny and fragile child-is nearly too much to bear.

Prayer: 

God, to Christ you have accepted us and made us
your children; help us to honor our baptism by
excepting one another AMEN

(The Covenant Home Alter, author-Andy Meyer)

4 But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness
and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous
things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new
life through the Holy Spirit.[a] 6 He generously poured
out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
7 Because of his grace he declared us righteous and
gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
(Titus 3: 4-7)

Reflection:

On New Year's Day many of us make resolutions about
what we will or won't do in 2014.  We set out to accomplish
new goals or name aspirations in life we are committed
to.  Yet months, weeks, days,and sometimes hours  later we
find ourselves losing hope and giving in.  The doughnut
looks to good to pass up, or it's just a little white lie.
When we feel guilty sometimes we give up altogether.
That's why this passages has been one of my favorite
passages for many years. It doesn't matter how badly
we mess up;  God Saved Us.  He saved us because of
His own mercy, not because of anything we have done
or any promises we've made.  Salvation is completely
dependent on God's own mercy.  Sadly many of us
try to please God on our own strength and we fail.
GOD HAS GIVEN US EVERYTHING WE NEED,
including the ability to live righteous lives.  The only
reason we are able to do anything well is because
of God's mercy.  Will your new year's resolution be
based on your ability or utter dependence on God?

Prayer:

During this new year I commit myself dependent on
You and not giving up even when I fall.  Your mercy
never fails and your love endures forever.  AMEN

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(The Covenant Home Alter, author Jeremy Bower)