LifeLink Devotions

Friday, December 23, 2022

Luke 2:9  “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”

From Christianity Today comes this story:

“She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity convinced every word was revelation.

“She said, ‘They were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat and they went a long way from home without getting lost. The lady rode a donkey, the man walked, and the baby was inside the lady. They had to stay in a stable with an ox and a donkey, but the Three Rich Men found them because a star lighted the roof. Shepherds came and you could pet the sheep but not feed them. Then the baby was born. And do you know who he was?’

“Her quarter eyes inflated to silver dollars.

“The baby was God.”

“And she jumped in the air, whirled around, dove into the sofa and buried her head under the cushion, which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation.”

What is our response when God invades the ordinary of our lives? I had an opportunity one day to experience God’s invasion into my life. At 9:00 a.m. a man walked through the front door of the church offices and handed me a package. He said that he had been blessed by a message I had preached several weeks earlier on giving our best – our firstfruits – to the Lord. He said this package represented his firstfruits and he wanted me to have it. I slowly opened the grocery bag to look inside, and I was overwhelmed and amazed at the contents. With tears in my eyes I gave the man a huge hug and thanked him. He asked why I was so surprised and broken by his gift. I told him my story.

Two weeks earlier my wife and I had been planning the menu for our annual family Christmas dinner. It had always been Norwegian in flavor based of both of our family’s heritage. We have yulekaka (pronounced you-la-kaga) and yulagret, which is now called riskrem, meaning rice cream. Some of our family members have never taken to the Norwegian foods, so several years ago we decided to add an American tradition to our meal – steak and crab meat with baked potatoes. Denise and I were planning what kind of steak to get and how much we would need for everyone to have a small 4-6 ounce portion. I had an idea. Why not get a rib roast and have a slice of prime rib instead of the steak. We agreed to check out the price and keep that as an option. After talking to the meat guy at our grocery store, we decided we would not spend that much money on one small part of the meal. I began looking at small steak options, but something, or should I say Someone, told me not to get them yet. I would wait until the day before our meal to buy what I needed.

By now the man who had given me the package was in tears. He knew what he had brought me. When I had looked in the bag, I discovered an eight-pound prime rib roast. I buried my head in his shoulder in a warm and meaningful embrace and praised God for invading my life with His glory. He whispered in my ear, “I love you. You came into my life and showed me God. You have made me so happy.” I told Him it was God who has filled him with joy, and both our eyes were dripping tears. We both got to see God.

 “My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Philippians 4:19)

Sometimes He invades the ordinary and gives us our wants too.

Pastor John