LifeLink Devotions

Friday, December 24, 2021

As I was leaving one of our larger department stores in Eau Claire I passed by a couple of teenage girls who were ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. I dropped some money in their collection bucket and one of the girls said, “Thank you, and happy holidays.” I responded with a loud and emphatic, “Merry Christmas to you.” As I turned to walk away I heard her say to her friend, “Oh man! That’s another one I could have said ‘Merry Christmas’ to.”

My heart is gripped with sadness when I stop to realize that the sharing of the Good News of great joy is no longer for all people, but only for those who will not be offended by it. We have caved to the public notion of political correctness. We pre-qualify our audience and pre-determine our words, and the consequence is that the world doesn’t know in whom to believe. They do not call on Jesus because they have not heard of Jesus – at least not in the way they should hear about Him. They have not heard of Jesus as Savior because those who know Him have stopped preaching to those who don’t. Maybe we have stopped preaching the good news because we don’t believe we have been sent.

I know that we know that Jesus sent us when He gave us the great commission, but do we truly understand the authority behind the sending? Not authority as in the power to enforce a command, but rather the authority to be involved in the eternal purpose of God. God did not use His authority to issue a decree and then demand obedience: He used His authority to completely satisfy our need so that we need nothing from the world. He did not leave us to fend for ourselves and suffer the consequences alone. He did not under-equip us for the task. He did not demand our obedience but rather inspired our cooperation.

Luke 2:10 – 12  ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Romans 10:14 – 15 ¹⁴How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

We need to understand that when God sent us to preach the good news of great joy He did not intend for that to be a joyless experience for us. How convincing is our message of joy when delivered with voices of fear coming from faces of obligation? Yet that is how many of us respond to the opportunities to share the good news: we fear the consequences of people’s responses more than we rejoice in the promises of God’s authority. The telling of the good news is an outpouring of the love and joy we have personally experienced from God through our Savior Jesus Christ. His authority has fully equipped us with security and strength so that the people of the world can have no affect on our status before God. His authority has already conquered the enemy, so we need not fear. Death has been conquered. Fear has been destroyed. We have been set free by the authority of Jesus so that we need not fear the responses and reactions of the world.

The angels announced good news of great joy, and they did it with authority. The shepherds spread the word about what they had seen and heard, and they did it with enthusiasm and authority. Anna, the prophetess, told everyone she could about the arrival of the Messiah. Everyone who has a personal encounter with Jesus receives the joy, power, and authority of the Holy Spirit to share the good news.

Start sharing.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Life can become routine and even mundane. There are occasional high points of energy and enthusiasm, and low points of pain and disappointment, but overall, as time passes, life levels off. We want our lives to be level because we find security in the predictable and the known. We don’t like the fear of the unknown, and we certainly don’t like anything that threatens the status quo. We have come to accept the reality that mountaintop experiences don’t last, and we have worked hard to get life back in order after we’ve been in the deep valley of desperation. We protect everything that makes life normal by our own definition. We have adopted the philosophy that saneness is achieved through sameness, so we resist change. Change will invalidate our past and force us to redefine who we are and what we believe. Please Lord, just for today, can everything stay the same so I can feel safe?

If that had been true of the wise men from the east they would never have come searching for Jesus the King. These scientists, probably astrologers, had done pretty well for themselves in their professions. They were obviously wealthy and very intelligent. They had obviously studied a wide variety of writings, including the prophets of Israel, because they knew that when the star appeared in the sky it meant that Jesus was born. But unlike so many people who would seek to protect the security of their positions and possessions, these men were willing to sacrifice it all to find the One True King.

Matthew 2:1 – 3 ¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem  ²and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” ³When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 

What a contrast to King Herod and the citizens of Jerusalem who were disturbed by the news announced by the wise men. Why? Because it threatened the status quo of their lives. King Herod’s position was being threatened. All he had worked so hard to accomplish for himself could be lost. I can imagine his thoughts. “All of my power will be stripped away. Everything I own will be given to someone else. I will become a person of no value. I must destroy this threat.” And what about the people of Jerusalem? Maybe they were disturbed because they feared Herod’s response to the news. Maybe they feared the changes that a new King would bring to their lives. Would a new King change their economic condition? What about the political ramifications with Rome? The fears were real, and they forced action – actions to eliminate what they perceived to be the source of their fears.

So on the one hand we have a king and his followers who seek Jesus to destroy Him because they think that will eliminate their fear, while on the other hand we have a group of wise men who seek Jesus to worship Him and thereby have all of their fears eliminated. We still fall into one of those two categories. The fear of change drives people to eliminate Jesus from their lives. Sinners in the bondage of fear don’t want their motives questioned, their pursuits invalidated, their possessions devalued, or their position threatened. They may claim to want to worship Jesus, but they are really motivated by worship of self.

On the other hand, saints acting in faith leave the security of all they have in the world to seek the true King and worship Him.

In which group are you?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

It is an unfortunate tendency of human nature to become self-sufficient. The accomplishment of goals leads to pride in our own abilities. The accrual of resources leads to dependence upon those resources. The pursuit of social status becomes the means of measuring success and personal value. We are never quite satisfied with the essentials and we tend to live by faith in self rather than faith in God.

In the Christmas story, the shepherds were different than that. Their profession was religiously despised in their culture. Because of their constant contact with the animals they were not allowed to participate in any religious activities and were certainly never allowed inside the temple to worship. They were forced to live in the fields with their flocks, never owning their own homes or achieving an acceptable level of social status. Such conditions would cause most of us to develop a new life plan or hire a new life coach. We would look intently and lustfully at the greener grass on the next pasture, and it would not be for the benefit of the sheep.

But these shepherds were different than that. They had not only accepted their position in society, but they worshiped God where they were. They had some good examples from their culture’s past to follow: Moses spent 40 years tending sheep before he was called by God in a burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt. David was a shepherd boy who had a heart for God and accepted his position, yet Psalms 78:70 – 72 says,God chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. These shepherds lived the greatest faith anyone can ever live – God-sufficiency. God saw their humble state and He honored them with the first and only public announcement of the birth of Jesus. Humility is the prerequisite of honor.

Luke 2:8 – 12  ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

But we must be careful, because honor can destroy humility. Honor can become the means we use to set new goals and seek new status. But these shepherds were different than that. After they had gone and seen the King and worshipped Him in person, the Scriptures say that they returned to their flocks and carried on where they were. We never hear of them again. There was no attempt to use their personal experience to advance their personal status in any way.

That will be true of all who are sincerely humble, no matter how they have been honored. Why? Because the truly humble understand that it’s all about Jesus and His glory, and not about us. Jesus honored the humility of the shepherds 32 years later when He spoke these words: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

One day Jesus will honor all of us. Be careful of trying to honor self. Jesus also said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  The shepherds were humble. They did nothing to get noticed. God found them and honored their humility.

He will find you!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions 

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Luke 2:1 – 7 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

It was the busiest travel day of the year. Everyone was returning to his or her hometown. People were clamoring for a place to stay and something to eat. The hotels were filled to capacity. People were camped out in the streets. They had come to fulfill a government requirement. If only they had known what was about to happen. Would it have made a difference? Would they have stepped aside and sacrificed a motel room for the soon to be born King? Would they have stopped complaining about the inconvenience of the trip and started praising God as they saw the glory of God shining in the sky as His birth is announced? Would they have stopped pushing and shoving in line as they waited for a chance to get the last piece of bread? Might they have been more concerned about the Lamb of God than a slice of leg of lamb?

Let’s look at another scene in another time. It was the busiest travel weekend of the year. Everyone was returning to his or her hometown. They had come to fulfill a cultural tradition of turkey and stuffing, football and pumpkin pie. They were willing to camp out on the floor of the home so that everyone could be together. They spent the evening with all of the flyers from the department stores, planning a strategy to purchase all of the gifts being offered at incredible prices but at ridiculous times. They arise early the next morning to see the stores well lighted with the colors and glitter of the season. They shove their way into a line hoping that the item they want to buy is not sold out before they get to it. People’s smiles quickly turn to sneers as they complain that they didn’t get what they wanted, as if life depended on that item. There is no more recognition of the pretty decorations or the shining lights. There is only the frustrated attempt to get to the next store and the next line to get a gift that the hope bring greater meaning to life for someone.

After 2000 years, nothing has changed: there still seems to be no room for Jesus. He is given the place of lowest regard and seen as an intruder into the holiday originally instituted to be a holy day celebrating His birth. Any reference to Christ or depiction of His birth is eliminated from public display. Politically correct terms have to be used so as not to offend the non-believers. Even those who truly worship Him have pushed Him aside for a moment by canceling worship services when Christmas falls on a Sunday. Regardless of the arguments that they are honoring families or scheduling additional services on Christmas Eve, the real point is that personal pursuits, family traditions, social pressure and inconvenience have relegated Jesus to another manger because the rooms of our lives are filled. 

If only we would stop and look outside of our boxes: if we could just catch a glimpse of the sky again. We haven’t been able to see it for a while because of the cities and skyscrapers we have built – cities of social and cultural acceptance designed with skyscrapers of possessions, prestige, relationships, recreation, and more. Every time we look up we see what we have done. But there, in the sky, outside the city, where there is only what God has built, the angel still announces good news of great joy for all people. The glory of God is still appearing and proclaiming to all who will listen, “Peace on Earth.” We may not be able to see it because we’ve not been willing to get outside of our self-constructed cities. But when we do, we will discover that there is a place of humility. We must step outside of the comfort of our homes, businesses and relationships and discover that in the lowly place of personal sacrifice a King has been born, and He will change our lives.

Maybe it’s time to make room for Jesus in your skyscrapers. 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, December 20, 2021

There were those in ancient Israel who were still anticipating the coming of the Messiah. Though they had not heard from a prophet for over 400 years, the prophecies of Isaiah and others of his time still stood as the shining hope of national rescue and renewal. 400 years is a long time to maintain hope in the fulfillment of a promise, and most had forgotten the tiny details that would validate His coming, like the fact that He would be born to a virgin.

Matthew 1:18 – 23 ¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. ²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.“ ²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  ²³”The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”,which means, “God with us.“

 Try to put yourself in the position of the average citizen of rural Israel. You have heard of the promised Messiah, and you have heard the writings of faithful men who proclaimed the promise read to you in the synagogue. You have never had a reason to doubt the reality of the ancient prophets and the validity of what they wrote, and you have looked for His coming. But doubt certainly rises in your mind when someone from Nazareth tells you a rumor that a young girl is pregnant without ever being intimate with a man. You immediately conclude that this must be a deeply troubled young girl who is seeking attention. She most certainly has lied to protect some man’s reputation. Who could believe that she is really carrying the Messiah?

Yet that was the sign that God proclaimed would validate the birth of His Son – it would be a virgin who would give birth. How else would it be possible for God to dwell with men as man and still be God? An earthly father would have sealed His fate as a sinner, having inherited Adam’s nature from Joseph’s seed. But this baby was a child of the heavenly Father, created by the power of the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary’s sinful flesh. What an incredible miracle – God born as a man. Because I know the rest of the story of His life I believe it all to be true. But what would I have believed if I were there? Would I have left my sheep in the field to go see Him in the manger? Would I have traveled for two years from the farthest reaches of the known world to worship Him? 

Here’s how I know whether I would have or not: Did I get up today and prepare myself for His next coming? I have never had any reason to doubt the reality of the ancient prophets and the validity of what they wrote. I have not doubted the truth of what Jesus has said. But did I arise today in anticipation that this might be the day the Messiah returns? Do the tiny details of world events cause me to consider the closeness of His appearing? Do I live each day as I did the last or as the last day?

At His first appearing, it was “God with us.” At His next appearing it will be us with God. 

Forever.

Look up.

It may be today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Friday, December 17, 2021

Luke 1:38  “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

A fast food chain that had previously been relatively unknown became nationally popular by choosing a slogan that caught on quickly.  “Have it your way!” In an attempt to appear helpful and serving, what they were really doing was capitalizing on the self-centered nature of the customer. We are constantly bombarded from secular society with the philosophy of entitlement and the presumed rights we have to please ourselves by either having it or doing it our way.

In stark contrast to that philosophy stands the statement of Mary in response to the angel’s announcement of God’s purpose for her life. After asking how this miraculous event would happen to her, she fully surrenders self and accepts the nature of a servant. With an attitude of total humility Mary says, “May it be to me as you have said.” No debate. No suggested changes or adaptations to the plan. No looking around to see who’s watching this great example of humility. Just quiet and complete surrender to what God said. “Have it your way, God!“

We may be tempted to think that her surrender was easy because she was being asked to do something so wonderful. She got to be pregnant. She got to bear a son, the fulfillment of her cultural responsibility as a wife. She got to participate in the eternal purpose of Jehovah to save the world from its sin. That choice seems like a no-brainer, right? But what about all of the problems she would encounter by making that choice to surrender? There would be the possibility of losing her fiancé. She would be considered an adulteress by her society. Her son would have to grow up as an illegitimate child, scorned by his youthful friends. She had to know all of those things, and yet she considered the call of God to be more significant than the opinion of people.

The same call of God goes out to us today. He has called us to be a part of His incredible plan to bring His grace to a lost world? He has sent His Holy Spirit upon us to overshadow self and the flesh and empower us to accomplish God’s eternal purpose. We have the choice of two responses: we can look up to God in anticipation that the King will tell us “Have it your way,” or we can look up to the King and tell Him, “Have it your way.“ 

In the first response there appears to be safety because we believe we can control the social fallout of our choice. But in the second response there is incomparable fulfillment, knowing that we are participating with Almighty God in His glorious plan of salvation. Response #1 elevates self and society over God: response #2 recognizes the need of self and society that only God can meet. Response #1 leaves us at the mercy of man and destined to the world’s destruction. Response #2 puts us in the merciful hand of God and guarantees us eternal life. Seems like a no-brainer to me! 

“Have it your way, God!“

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Luke 1:37  “For nothing is impossible with God.”

What an incredible statement! What an opportunity for participation in the miraculous! There is not one thing that God has promised to do for us that is outside of His ability to fulfill. Whatever it is that He is asking you to do may stretch you to your limits and deplete you of your strength, but not His. Whatever miracle you need today so that hope is restored and survival assured is totally within the realm of possibilities with God. While there are timing issues and purpose issues to be resolved, there is no issue with the power. Anything God wills is done!

There is an old praise chorus that expresses the heart of this verse very well. It goes like this:

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?

God specializes in things thought impossible;

He’ll do the thing others cannot do.

So before you build your life raft and try to sail across the flooded river of frustrations, ask God to remove the river. Before you set your next stick of dynamite at the base of the mountain of madness hoping to tunnel through, ask God to move the mountain. Before you take matters into your own hands, trust the hand of God. His hand is strong and safe. Join the Psalmist in proclaiming…

“Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand, those who take refuge in you from their foes.” (Psalm 17:7) 

“His hand provides us with strength and endurance. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” (Psalm 18:35) 

“His hand protects us. Though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 37:24) 

“His hand is secure. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” (Psalm 73:23) 

“His hand controls all things. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.” (Psalm 95:4)

Nothing is impossible with God!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The battle to protect the life of an unborn child has become rather nasty. Recently, a television host made this outrageous statement about the Supreme Court decision to uphold a Mississippi abortion law.

“Do any of you men have any eggs or the possibility of carrying a fetus? How dare you talk about what a fetus wants! You have no idea.”

I do not intend to engage in debate about the total stupidity of this statement that in its substance actually discredits abortion. However, it is true that men are not capable of carrying a baby. However, it does not mean that men are not capable of knowing what its like to give birth to new life.

I had the wonderful experience of watching my wife go through three pregnancies. I watched as my daughter and my two daughters-in-law carried a total of eleven children. I marvel at the wonder of conception and birth, as God uniquely creates from His infinite mind the precious babies that we love and cherish.  But I do not claim in any way to know what it is like to carry life inside of me. I can only observe the expressions on the mother’s face as she feels the baby move, yet that is only a glimpse of the awe they must be feeling in their hearts. As a man, we cannot know what it is like to give birth to a new life. Or can we?

Luke 1:35 “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”

The angel’s statement to Mary declares the details of the miraculous birth of Jesus – God Himself in the flesh. But Mary is not the only one who gets to experience that. His statements are true for all of us who experience the spiritual birth of Jesus Christ in our lives. Mary understood the problem of sin and her unworthiness to bear the Holy One. She also understood her physical limitations to be pregnant, for she had not been in an intimate relationship with a man. We are also unworthy and unable to physically bear the likeness of Christ. Our sin has kept us from an intimate relationship with God that would produce any physical seed capable of birthing good works. But God has an answer for Mary and for us – The Holy Spirit will come upon us and the power of the Most High will overshadow our sinfulness so that the Holy One can be born within us.

When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 He said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”  Paul says it this way in Titus 3:5-7, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” The Apostle John describes it this way, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 

The same power of the Holy Spirit that came upon Mary and created the physical life of Jesus Christ in her womb is the power that each of us experiences when by faith we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. The power of the Most High overshadows all of our sin, and the Holy Spirit creates in us the spiritual life of Jesus. Paul calls this an explained mystery in Colossians 1, where he says, “God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Jesus Christ has been birthed in us, and that experience is to be more precious to us than any physical birth.

So the next time a woman says to you men that you don’t know what it’s like to give birth, use it as an opportunity to witness. Tell her that you have given birth, and that the wonder of spiritual birth far exceeds the wonder of natural birth.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

It’s been over seventeen years since my first grandchild spoke his first word. It wasn’t long until the questions started rolling off his tongue. His first question was, “Wha dat?“ He would ask it about everything he saw, and he fully expected an answer. Then the question became “Why?” and he would ask it over and over and over again. I would do my best to give him answers. I love the natural curiosity of children who need to know what things are and how they work. I love being the one who can tell them.

When God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit and as we read His Word, it is not wrong for us to ask questions. We must, however, ask the questions from a position of faith and not doubt. The Christmas story contains examples of both. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer, questioned the angel Gabriel after being told he would have a son. His question asked for proof before he would believe. “How can I be sure of this?” The result of his faithless question was the  discipline of God expressed as a speech impairment until the son was born. Then there was Mary, who also asked a question but clothed it in faith. 

Luke 1:29 – 34  Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.“ ^“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?“

Mary did not doubt the angel’s words like Zechariah did by asking how she could be sure of it. She affirmed the angel’s promise by asking, “How is this going to happen?“

We have two options for the kinds of questions we can ask God when He speaks to us: we can ask questions that seek faith or questions that affirm faith. We have the same two options when life’s circumstances change. We can ask questions that express doubt that God is really in control, or we can ask questions that state our faith in God’s promises. There is a huge difference between asking, “God, how is this ever going to work out?” and “God, how are you going to work this out?“

God hears both questions, but only one carries consequences. Questions of doubt will extend and deepen our suffering. But rest assured that suffering is God’s way of deepening our faith. Questions of faith also deepen our faith because God the Perfect Father loves to answer them and show us the how and why so we can know Him more deeply and trust Him more fully. I don’t know about you, but I am going to assume that you want to grow by asking the right questions instead of the wrong ones. So ask questions that spring from faith. God wants to show you even more than He already has.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions 

Monday, December 13, 2021

Every year my wife and I travel to North Dakota to be with family for Christmas, and ever time I go I am struck with the immensity of God. After traveling from the beauty of the forests and hills of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, the topography changes radically to flat and almost treeless plains where one can see for miles. As we drive the next farm is barely visible and the horizon seems unattainable. I imagine what is beyond, and my mind swirls as it swims in the depths of infinity. My limitations overwhelm me in the attempt to visualize the limitlessness of God.  

That is the way my mind is responding to the incredible grace of God as the angel Gabriel converses with the soon-to-be mother named Mary. 

Luke 1:26 – 28 “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  he angel went to her and said, ”Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

The great and overarching theme of Christmas is the grace of God. There is nothing that overwhelms our finite thoughts more than an attempt to comprehend the wonder of God’s grace. Our minds are befuddled when we try to qualify that which qualifies us. We who measure others and ourselves by qualifications cannot fully comprehend the unconditional qualification of imperfect people by a perfect God, yet that is what God does by grace.

Have there ever been sweeter words to the ears of any person than to be told that they have found favor with God? Mary was puzzled by this greeting, as are all of us when we are told that we are fully and unconditionally accepted into relationship with God. Yet those are the words that we long to hear. It is the deepest desire of our hearts to be accepted and to know that our lives have purpose and meaning. Yet we doubt the authenticity of the message. We are troubled by the thought that God can draw that close to us because we know the depths of our sin and unworthiness. But can you think of anything you would rather hear than the voice of God calling you His child, His heir, and His friend?

Why should we believe that God’s favor rests on us when the message was delivered to Mary? When God directed Gabriel to tell Mary that she was highly favored, He chose a word that in the Greek language is used only one other time in all of Scripture, and its use is very significant for all of us. It is found in Ephesians 1:6, and literally translated says, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” We have found, in Christ Jesus, the same favor of God that was proclaimed to Mary. We have been accepted into the beloved. 

Hallelujah! 

What a great message of encouragement for not only us but for all of those millions of people still seeking acceptance. We have the Gospel of Grace. We have experienced God’s unconditional forgiveness and acceptance. Let’s go tell the world that they too can be forgiven and accepted, and it’s FREE!

Pastor John