LHM Advent Devotion - December 21, 2017 "OBEDIENCE"

Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"OBEDIENCE"

December 21, 2017

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His name Jesus.

~ Matthew 1:24-25 (ESV)

Obedience is not a fashionable virtue. People are suspicious of it, talking about robots and mind control. We make jokes about it with references to dog obedience school. We make heroes out of rebels and those who "did it my way."

And yet, none of us likes to be disobeyed. When a child, or even a dog, disobeys us, we understand perfectly well why obedience matters. "Don't run into the street." "Look both ways." "Don't play with the fire." "Come here, now!" Obedience makes the world run smoothly. Disobedience ends up in pain and even death.

As human beings, we should know this well. Our first ancestors disobeyed God in the beginning, and we have been paying the price for it ever since. Sin, trouble, war, death, disaster upon disaster-if only we had listened to God! None of this needed to happen.

Thank God, Joseph listened. He woke up, got up, and brought Mary home to be his wife. She in turn obeyed the Lord by bearing and raising Jesus our Savior. And His obedience is the source of our salvation-though He was in the form of God, (Christ) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)

THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for obeying the Father and becoming our Savior. Let me in turn obey You with faith and love. Amen.

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Obedience is not a fashionable virtue. People are suspicious of it...

Devociones de Adviento de 21 de Diciembre de 2017 "Obediencia"

ALIMENTO DIARIO

"Obediencia"

21 de Diciembre de 2017

Cuando José despertó del sueño, hizo lo que el ángel del Señor le había mandado y recibió a su mujer, pero no la conoció hasta que dio a luz a su hijo primogénito. Y le puso por nombre JESÚS.

~ Mateo 1:24-25 (RVC)

La obediencia no es una virtud que esté de moda. Enseñamos obediencia a los perros, pero consideramos héroes a quienes viven "a su manera".

Sin embargo, no nos gusta que nos desobedezcan. Cuando un niño, o incluso un perro nos desobedece, entendemos muy bien la importancia de la obediencia. "No bajes a la calle." "Mira bien antes de cruzar." "No juegues con fuego." "¡Ven ahora mismo!" La obediencia hace que el mundo funcione mejor, mientras que la desobediencia causa dolor, e incluso la muerte.

Como humanos que somos, deberíamos saberlo bien. Al comienzo del tiempo, nuestros primeros antepasados desobedecieron a Dios y, desde entonces, hemos estado pagando el precio por ello. Pecados, problemas, guerras, muerte, desastre tras desastre-¡si hubiéramos obedecido a Dios, nada de eso hubiera sucedido!

Gracias a Dios que José obedeció: se despertó, se levantó y llevó a María a su casa como esposa. Ella, a cambio, obedeció al Señor cargando y criando a Jesús, nuestro salvador. Y su obediencia es la fuente de nuestra salvación:

"... siendo en forma de Dios, [Cristo] no estimó el ser igual a Dios como cosa a que
aferrarse, sino que se despojó a sí mismo y tomó forma de siervo, y se hizo semejante a los
hombres; y estando en la condición de hombre, se humilló a sí mismo y se hizo obediente hasta
la muerte, y muerte de cruz. Por lo cual Dios también lo exaltó hasta lo sumo, y le dio un
nombre que es sobre todo nombre, para que en el nombre de Jesús se doble toda rodilla de los
que están en los cielos, y en la tierra, y debajo de la tierra; y toda lengua confiese que Jesucristo
es el Señor, para gloria de Dios el Padre." (Filipenses 2:6-11)

ORACIÓN: Señor Jesús, gracias por obedecer al Padre y ser nuestro Salvador. Ayúdame a obedecerte con fe y amor. Amén.

© Copyright 2017 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.

The Daily Readings for WEDNESDAY, December 20, 2017 Ember Wednesday of Advent

Parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Slaves
Matthew 24:45-51

Daily Readings

Zechariah 3:1-10

Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." And to him he said, "See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel." And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with the apparel; and the angel of the LORD was standing by. Then the angel of the LORD assured Joshua, saying "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. On that day, says the LORD of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree."

Revelation 4:1-8

After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal. Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come."

Matthew 24:45-51

"Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.

Prayer of the Day for WEDNESDAY, December 20, 2017

Dear Lord, thank you for blessing us with your message of hope and love. With the Holy Spirit working in our hearts we shall grow in our faith and ability to face unafraid each new day of our lives. How precious to us are your thoughts, O God. How vast is the sum of them! In your holy name.

Amen

Verse of the Day for WEDNESDAY, December 20, 2017

Philippians 2:6-7 (NIV) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Read all of Philippians 2

Listen to Philippians 2

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Morning Devotions with Cap'n Kenny - Jesus the Human Being

Jesus the Human Being

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

~ Philippians 2:6-7 (NIV)

Oddly, the meaning of this somewhat difficult verse was wonderfully (if somewhat irreverently) captured by a hit song in 1995, “What if God Was One of Us?” The Christian understands what the song is really getting at, because God was, in fact, one of us. The song is asking us to consider the humanity of Jesus. Jesus was a human being. He intentionally took on very real “non-God” weaknesses, temptations, needs, and emotions.

We can infer, from Paul’s comment (together with what little we know of Jesus’ infancy and childhood), that Jesus developed as a normal person. He needed diapers as a baby. He cried when He was hungry. He had to be taught to speak. He was in some ways more than human — He astonished His listeners on His ability to expound Scripture when He was 12 — but in some ways, He was no different from you or I.

The most important aspects of His humanity deal with His crucifixion. Jesus did not face His torture and death with a smug smile on his face, as God might do. He did not have universal knowledge; He did not have a special way of sensing that He would rise again. Rather, He went to the cross as a matter of faith; God the Father instructed Him to do it, and instructed Him concerning His divinity. In fact, Jesus sweated blood in the hours leading up to his arrest (Luke 22:44) and prayed to the Father that He might not have to do it. (Mark 14:36)

But why? Just consider the benefits. First, it made Jesus the model of faith. Facing torture and crucifixion means more to us when we consider that Jesus suffered it as a matter of faith in the Father, rather than in the absolute knowledge of His resurrection that would come from omniscience.

Second, it gave us, in our weakness, more confidence in His empathy for us. We know Christ suffered exactly the way we suffer. He suffered as a human being. He was afraid! Absence of fear is not courage. Courage is demonstrated by acting in spite of fear; and the greater the fear, the more profound the courage, and ultimately, the more profound the demonstration of faith.

Does God know what it is like to feel lust, to be so hungry one wants to steal, or to feel the fear of death? I mean, does He really know, sitting up there in Heaven, invulnerable? Why, yes he does, because he made Himself vulnerable and ignorant, intentionally, to prove it to us.

A third lesson we might take away from Jesus’ humanity is this: It is not a sin to be human. We know for a fact that Jesus slept, got hungry, ate, and wept. He had friends. In fact, no matter how strongly we might infer it, and no matter how unlikely it seems, the Bible never says that Jesus did not marry.

It is not a sin to feel grief when a loved one dies; it does not show a lack of faith. How can one say this with assurance? Because “Jesus wept” when His friend Lazarus died.

So we celebrate at Christmas, not only because our Savior has come at last. Just as much, we celebrate the humanity of Jesus. We are not forced to love only an abstract God. We can love a human being.

Dear Lord, thank you for blessing us with your message of hope and love. With the Holy Spirit working in our hearts we shall grow in our faith and ability to face unafraid each new day of our lives. How precious to us are your thoughts, O God. How vast is the sum of them! In your holy name. Amen.

In Jesus,
Cap'n Kenny


Seeking God?
Click HERE to find out more about how to have a personal
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“What if God Was One of Us?”

Un Dia a la Vez - Convertidos de verdad

Convertidos de verdad

Mis queridos hermanos, como han obedecido siempre [...] lleven a cabo su salvación con temor y temblor.

~ Filipenses 2:12 (NVI)

Algo que ha enternecido mi corazón hacia Dios es conocer que Él siempre me buscó.

Que desde el vientre de mi mami ya sabía mi nombre y conocía mi destino.

Ahora, después de varios años de conocerle, puedo recordar que varias veces tocó a mi puerta como todo un caballero y a través de diversas situaciones me envió alertas de que mi vida corría peligro si no enderezaba mis caminos.

Hoy en día lamento no haberle abierto mi corazón desde antes. Con todo, lo que más me preocupa es que, conociendo su amor y su sacrificio, en varias oportunidades le he fallado y he caído una y otra vez.

Día tras día tomo conciencia de que la salvación no es un juego y que debo buscar siempre su rostro y vivir en integridad. Por eso Dios, que es amor, nos brinda la oportunidad de reorganizar nuestra vida y está dispuesto a levantarnos, fortalecernos y a darnos una vida diferente.

Pero todo dependerá de cada uno de nosotros.

Mi invitación para ti es a que tomes la decisión de abrir la puerta de tu corazón y aceptes el regalo de la salvación que te ofrece Dios.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón

Standing Strong Through the Storm - BECOME A DISCIPLE

BECOME A DISCIPLE

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

~ Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

Sixty-three-year-old Lena has established several secret churches in her Central Asia country. She now leads seven house fellowships which meet together in small groups. On several occasions she has had to cope with arrests. “One time police with guns entered the house where we were meeting with a group. We were taken off to the station. Of course we were afraid,” says Lena. The reason why Lena can talk so “nonchalantly” about her arrest follows quickly. She does not necessarily see it as a problem, but as an opportunity to testify.

“I experienced how God took away my fear and gave me peace. Even more, I had the chance to tell the gospel to the head of police. While we were locked up there, I simply started to talk. I was given the opportunity to tell him what God had done for me,” says Lena. “After some time, the man only said, ‘Take your group away.’”

While she is telling her story, there is not a trace of fear, anger or bitterness to be found on her face because of the injustice. When asked how this is possible, Lena only has one answer. In God’s Word, it says that for a long time there will be persecution, but that He will also grant a way out. She recalls Isaiah 41:10, which says, So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So Lena lives out her life in Uzbekistan, bearing in mind that God is watching over her everywhere.

She provides Bible teaching for Christians and has a heart for work with children and young people adding, “We have to do everything to help Christians to become mature believers.” For example, Lena and other Christians try to hold annual children’s camps where, for a few days, the children are introduced to the gospel through play. The enthusiasm of the children makes it clear that the camps are a success. But Lena and her staff encounter problems year after year. “It’s difficult to find a suitable location, where we can receive the children in safety. And things remain tense: the police may always come and disrupt the camp.”

Despite these difficulties, Lena does not give up. She sees the church growing and hammers home the missionary message of Matthew 28, in which Jesus calls on us to make disciples of all nations. This message is what Lena is living out, in the midst of persecution.

“We must understand that the church cannot grow without disciples,” emphasises Lena. “Become a disciple!”

RESPONSE: Today I will become a true disciple of Jesus using every situation—good or bad—to share my faith with everyone and encourage and train other younger believers.

PRAYER: Pray for Lena and others like her growing the Church of Jesus amid great persecution.

Girlfriends in God - That Little Sneaky Path to a Bad Place

That Little Sneaky Path to a Bad Place

Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

~ Psalm 23:3 (NKJV)

Friend to Friend

One Sunday my pastor had to do some housekeepin’ fussin’ at our congregation before he started his sermon. It was a “visitors, close your ears” moment as Jimmy interrupted the service for an important message from our neighbors.

See, right beside our church property is a city park. On Sundays, when our parking lot is full, we tend to use the city park lot for our overflow parking. The only problem is that the folks going to the city park don’t like the fact that those daggum CHURCH people are taking their parking spaces.

It is not nice of us. Really. I’m sorry. I’ve done it, too.

And while our sweet pastor calmly asked the congregation, once again, to STOP PARKING IN THE CITY PARK PARKING LOT (he didn’t yell, but I bet he wanted to) folks still do it. As soon as Jimmy finished his announcement and began his sermon, God had a sermon just for me. He wasn’t finished with me and the forbidden parking lot issue. That’s what happens when you make a path or keep a path open, He seemed to say, “You’re going to walk down it eventually.”

See, while we have been warned, scolded, and pleaded with not to park next door, there is this nice little path through the bushes from the city park’s parking lot to our church’s parking lot. The bushes are trimmed on both sides, cobblestones are succinctly placed, and a nice little bit of concrete forms a gently curving sidewalk. Someone keeps the bushes clipped and the grass maintained. The breezeway almost beckons us (me) to break the rules.

Now let’s go down a different path. Let’s call the path sin. Let’s say that you have decided that once and for all you are not going to park yourself in the parking lot of a particular sin.

• You’re not going to stop by Dunkin’ Donuts and eat a dozen chocolate-covereds in one sitting. You’re not even driving by.
• You are not going to sleep with that boyfriend…ever again!
• You’re not going to date that guy you know is bad for you…ever again.
• You’re not going to look at that particular website.
• You’re not going to flirt with the married guy in the next cubicle.
• You’re not going to gossip about other people.
• You are not going to drink because you know you have an alcohol problem.
• You are not going to indulge in online shopping because you’re in debt.
• You’re not going to _______________.

There are hundreds of vices you could put in that sentence. But then there’s a nicely groomed little path that you’ve kept open…just in case. You wouldn’t call it “just in case.” You wouldn’t say it out loud.

• The guy’s name is still in your contacts list on your smartphone.
• You still think about what that guy in the next cubicle would like when you get dressed for work in the morning.
• You still pull up that website when you think God isn’t looking.
• You still pull up a chair when someone begins to gossip.
• You still take the route home from work that goes right by the Dunkin Donut store.
• You keep a bottle in the cabinet…just for company.

The paths beckon you. And as long as you keep the breezeways open, you’ll probably breeze right through them…eventually.

The answer? Remove the path. Put up a gateless fence.

• Remove the contact.
• Change your job.
• Get rid of your computer.
• Get an accountability partner.
• Take a different route home from work.
• Remove the bottle.
• Unsubscribe.

Make the path impassable, implausible, and impossible to take, and put up a gateless fence instead.

Jesus said, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out” (Matthew 5:29 NKJV). That is pretty dramatic. I’m not telling you to pluck out your eye, and I’m not sure that’s what Jesus was saying either. But He was telling us to remove the cause of the temptation.

Remove the path. Put up a fence.

So here’s my question: Do you need to put up a fence where you now have a path?

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, thank You for always giving me a way of escape. Forgive me for not always taking it. Help me to keep my resolve to put up a fence and close the paths to areas of my life that I have left open to sin.
 In Jesus’ Name,
 Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

I’m erecting a fence the moment I press the send button on this devotion. Because now that I’ve told you about my little parking lot dilemma, I will never park in the city park’s lot again. Just telling you about it holds me accountable.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ve hit on a way for you to begin placing fences where those paths have been…tell someone, and ask her to hold you accountable.

Go back and look at today’s truth. What do you think it means “for His name’s sake?”

I’ve been pondering that. Here’s how the New Living Version translates it. “He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”

Are you willing to honor God’s name today by putting up a fence and avoiding that tempting path? If so, click over to my Facebook page and say, “I’m shutting down the path.”

More from the Girlfriends

I’ve compiled one hundred of my favorites stories, along with Bible verses and prayers in one book, Listening to God Day by Day. It is the perfect jump-start at the beginning of the day, pick-me-up during the day, or wind-down at the end of the day. The 15-minute devotional is also a great gift for a friend, especially one who is seeking a relationship with God or is new to the faith.

Seeking God?

Click HERE to find out more about how to have a personal

relationship with Jesus Christ.

Girlfriends in God

www.girlfriendsingod.com