Christian Reflection and Prayer

Read Matthew 3:1-6.
John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around
his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:4

I grew up thinking our living room was the natural place for a
Christmas tree. But after I had grown up it finally dawned on me --
 a tree is not supposed to be sitting right in the middle of your
living room! It's totally out of place there! Trees belong outside
in the yard! In fact, in recent years we decorated one evergreen
tree in our front yard with lights, ornaments, and bows. The tree
belongs outside -- where it can live and grow year round. Cutting
a tree down and setting it up inside a house is an out of place
location for a tree.

That phrase "out of place" fit John the Baptist perfectly. John
wore different clothing from everyone else, and he ate very
different food from everyone else, and he lived in a very different
place than everyone else. Why? Because John was the prophet
God sent to prepare the way for His Son. His message was
repent! In other words, reverse the direction of your life because
the Kingdom of God is at hand.

We too must recognize how often we are going the wrong way
in life because of our sinful nature. We often see it pretty clearly
in our broken family relationships, our strained friendships, and
our divided congregations. Just like an evergreen tree that is cut
down and then propped up in a living room and decorated, we
are all dying.

John came to show us why we need a Savior. So John dressed
differently, and he preached out in the wilderness. And if you
wanted to hear what God had to say to you through John, you
had to go out of place too. You had to join him in the wilderness.
His location teaches us to leave our old way of thinking and our
old way of life to meet and travel together with our humble King.

Just as John the Baptist left his home in the hill country of Judea
to live in the wilderness, Jesus left His heavenly throne and lived
among us. The glorious Son of God, Creator of all, became a
human baby and lived out His earthly life among us in poverty and
want. He was rejected, suffered, and died that we might find
peace and forgiveness. Jesus was out of place on earth so that
you and I would be made right for heaven, His home.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank You for going out of place for us when You left
Your home in heaven to live with us here on earth. Through Your
sacrifice and death in our place, we are forgiven all our sins and
inherit eternal life. Move us to leave our sinful lives and walk with
You on the road to heaven. We pray this in Your Name. Amen

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Read Romans 15:8-13.
Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's
truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the
patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles may glorify God
for His mercy ... Romans 15:8B-9A

I have to admit, once the lights were on the tree, I was
satisfied. I didn't really care whether any ornaments went
on or not. But that wasn't the case with Mom. I never could
understand why she took each ornament in hand, carefully
inspected it, and smiled as she chose its precise place on
the tree. To me she was wasting time -- just get them up
there so we can put the icicles on!

Now that I have a few years behind me, I understand Mom
a whole lot more. Now I find myself looking carefully at our
ornament collection. "This was the ornament we got when
we were first dating!" "We were newlyweds when we bought
this." "This was Jacob's first Christmas!" "This was our first
house." And, like Mom, a smile spreads across my face as
I recite each ornament's history.

The promises God made about Jesus in the Old Testament
are like those ornaments. Each one has a beauty and
significance that grows deeper every year. Consider one
from Isaiah: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
son, and shall call His name Immanuel (which means 'God
with us')" (Isaiah 7:14b). Or Micah's famous, "But you, O
Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the
clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who
is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days" (Micah 5:2). My favorite is another
from Isaiah, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His
Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

Each prophecy is like a dearly loved ornament. We get it
out, examine it carefully, place it into the timeline of
Christ's life, and rejoice in what it shows us about our
Savior.

* He went around serving people through His words and
mighty deeds.
* He took our sin and guilt upon Himself and suffered
and died in our place.
* He perfectly satisfied God's wrath for our sins.
* He rose in glory on the third day.
* He ascended into heaven and took His place at the
Father's right hand.
* On the Last Day He will return to judge both the living
and the dead.

Like precious ornaments they hang on the tree of our faith
and strengthen our confidence and trust in Christ Jesus
who is our Savior and our Guide through this life.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for fulfilling all the promises
given to Your Old Testament people, our ancient brothers
and sisters in the faith. Give Your children great joy, hope,
and confidence in Your life so that we may glorify Your
Name and share Your salvation with all people. Amen

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Read Isaiah 11:6-10.
They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain; for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters
cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9

I love the smell of fresh cut Christmas trees, but I'm not crazy
about their sting. I was never a fan of those sharp needles. Your
each in to string some lights or attach an ornament and ouch!

That's one of the reasons my wife and I decided to go with an
artificial tree when we started our own family Christmas traditions.
You can reach in there all you want and know nothing will prick
you.

Wouldn't it be nice if the world was like that, especially this time
of year? How wonderful it would be to go shopping and know
people would be patient and polite. How refreshing it would be if
you knew people wouldn't cut you off to have that parking space
or wrestle you over those "must-have" presents this Christmas?

I imagine most of us would like our homes to be oases of
respect, safety, and peace. But here too the pressures of the
season can cause tempers to be short, words to be sharp, and
patience to wear thin.

Even in your church congregation there is undoubtedly stress
and strife. Slights and insults are exchanged like Christmas
cards; pessimism and doubt leads to discouragement and
apathy; selfish pride leads to deep divisions that splinter us.

But that is why Jesus Christ -- our brother and King -- is here
with us. He guides us in humility and meekness and teaches
us to treat one another in the same way. He who came to this
world as a little baby shared our humanity, our sorrows, and
our disappointments. He suffered from the cruelty and
murderous hatred of His own people. He wore a crown of
thorns and died on the cross for all the sins we committed
against our God and against one another. But now, risen from
the dead, He works to bring healing, peace, and harmony to us
and each one of our broken relationships.

Showing us the depth of His love in His holy Word He fosters
love within our hearts toward one another. Forgiving our sins in
our Baptism, He empowers us to forgive those who sin against
us. Reminding us of the price He gladly paid for our salvation,
He softens our hearts as He gives us His own body and blood
to eat and to drink so that we gladly sacrifice ourselves for each
other.

In Jesus Christ, God's Word through Isaiah is fulfilled: "The earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD," and nothing will hurt
or destroy us on His holy mountain.

THE PRAYER:

Holy Lord, tame our wild impulses, forgive our sins, and change
our rebel hearts so that we may no longer cause any hurt or harm
in Your holy house. We pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)