Christian Reflection and Prayer

December 26

Scripture:

Read Numbers 9:15-23. TEXT: And we have seen His glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth (see John 1:14).

How would you like to lift up your eyes any time of day or
night and look upon the glory of God? The Israelites who left
Egypt enjoyed that privilege for 40 years. The Lord revealed
His glory in the pillar that led them across the wilderness to
the Promised Land. By day it was a pillar of cloud, by night
a pillar of fire. After Israel settled into the Promised Land the
pillar disappeared. God was still present in their midst, but
their eyes could no longer perceive His glory.

On that first Christmas God's glory shone briefly around the
shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem. But when they
ran into the little town they saw nothing special, just an
ordinary-looking baby who was "wrapped in swaddling cloths
and lying in a manger" (see Luke 2:12). No halo shone
around His head. The fullness of the deity was concealed
within the tabernacle of Jesus' infant body.

His glory as the Son of God would not be revealed until His
Baptism at age 30. Only then did He begin revealing His
divine glory through His words and His miracles,
demonstrating His power over disease, accidents, nature,
demons ... even death.

Today His glory is hidden in common, ordinary things like
the words of the Bible, the water of Baptism and the bread
and wine of Holy Communion. But we can rest assured that
since Jesus satisfied God's wrath at our sins through His
suffering and death, we will live with him forever, always
looking upon His dazzling glory.

THE PRAYER: 

Lord Jesus, because of all You accomplished in Your first
coming at Bethlehem, I will stand faultless when You come
again in glory. Keep me in this faith so I will always be
ready for that great day. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Christmas Day

Scripture:

Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalms 98:1-6; Hebrews 1:1-6;
(John 1:1-18).

"The Word was made flesh, he lived among us"
(John 1:14).

On this Christmas day, I'd like to share with you a lessor-
known classic from years ago that never made it beyond
the pages of a Tennessee newspaper. The folksy language
and main character may well remind you of the 1940s film,
and for many, like the plot in "It's A Wonderful Life" this
story will "ring true" -- perhaps because it is true. The
article begins:

"On a Saturday night before Christmas, thirteen year-old
David received his weekly salary as usual. But he didn't go
home. He had a special delivery of his own to make.

"First he went down to the lot where the Christmas trees
were being sold. When he'd given a number of the trees his
careful inspection, he bought one and loaded it on his bicycle.
Then he wheeled it over to the home of a steady customer.
She was seventy-one, and she had been blind for
thirty-seven years.

"'It's me, David from Speedway,' he said when she came to
the door. And then David walked in and set up the tree and
talked cheerily as he trimmed it with the lights and
decorations he had brought along.

"The woman could hardly speak. Even as David was leaving
she could only mumble her thanks. But the old lady was
thrilled. She kept reaching out to touch the tree's branches
and to breathe its forest-fresh fragrance. 'I'm seventy-one
years old, she kept saying over and over. 'I'm seventy-one
years old and I've never had a tree.'

The author concludes, "Delivery boys come in all shapes
and sizes and some of them bring more to their jobs than
work."

OUR DELIVERER CAME IN THE SHAPE OF A SMALL BABY
WRAPPED IN SWADELLING CLOTHS LYING IN A HUMBLE
MANGER.  HE BROUGHT MORE TO HIS JOB, FOR HE
CAME TO SAVE THE WORLD!

GOD IS WITH US!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas Day

Scripture:

Exodus 40:34-38. TEXT: And the Word ... dwelt among
us (see John 1:14).


When God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt by the
hand of Moses, they traveled through the wilderness
until they reached Mount Sinai. On that mountain the
Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets,
and gave Moses the design to build the Tabernacle-a
special tent that served as the place of worship in the
wilderness. When Moses set up the Tabernacle with all
its furnishings, all Israel could see the glorious presence
of the Lord entering and filling that tent-a pillar of cloud
by day and a pillar of fire by night.

John has this Tent of Meeting in mind when he writes of
Jesus' birth. In Greek he writes, "The Word became flesh
and 'tabernacled' among us." Jesus' infant body is the
tent in which God's glory dwells night and day. Like the
Old Testament Tabernacle, He moves from place to place
among His people revealing His glory through word and
deed until His work of salvation is complete.

Of this same human body Jesus will later tell His
enemies, "Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in
three days" (see John 2:19). Indeed they nailed His body
to the cross and put Him to death. But through His
suffering and death Jesus satisfied God's wrath at our
sins, and freed us from hell. But His body didn't remain
dead. On the third day He rose it to life again, promising
one day He will raise our bodies and make them glorious
like His own.

THE PRAYER: 

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to dwell among us as
our Brother, revealing Your glory, and turning away Your
Father's wrath by taking our place on the cross. Fill us
with peace and joy this Christmas and always. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)