As the rain and snow

“Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.  And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

“After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself…

“And [Hezekiah] set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” 2 Chronicles 31:20-32:1,6-8

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Hezekiah knew the Source of true strength and security. He knew his God, worthy of all praise and trust, and practiced walking with Him. So he was not surprised when the enemy attacked, for the enemy does not like faithfulness and uprightness. He saw this threatening plot as an opportunity for God to shine, and encouraged his people accordingly. When the Lord is God, our Helper in battle, we must not fear or be dismayed. Hezekiah’s confidence inspired confidence in his people, and God was exalted. Neither taunting nor tempted terror could unsettle those settled in the Lord. (2 Chronicles 32:9-21)

When life hums along with little conflict, we hum too. We find it easy to obey and do good. But when the enemy sets his teeth against us, and attacks emotions, pride, confidence, or security, we may be tempted to set ourselves against him in our own strength. Immediate flesh reaction is adrenalin-fueled and visceral: put up the fist, elbow our way through, arm ourselves with self-prescribed protection, push ahead with all our might. But we soon find we’ve expended empty effort.

The way to victory is to trust the One who sees every visible and invisible force against us and whose armies are mighty and able to save. He alone can vanquish any enemy threat and conquer any horde of fear, anxiety, doubt, and temptation. Will we let go of fretting and dismay, and take courage in Him?(Joshua 23:3; 2 Chronicles 20:17; Isaiah 41:10; Ephesians 6:10-18)

What attacks are we facing? In what situations do we feel overwhelmed and without hope? Where are we trusting the arm of flesh, our savvy and strength to solve and succeed? Would we ask God for faith to see His heavenly troops at ready defense, and confront temptation and despair head-on in His power? He is with us to help and fight our battles. (1 Samuel 17:47; Psalm 20:7; Zechariah 4:6; Romans 8:31-39)

Divine Victor, may I face every battle raising my arms only in surrender and praise to You.

“Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

“’I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were,.. and they have kept your word… I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you… All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them… They are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name… that they may be one, even as we are one… that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves… The world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world… Keep them from the evil one… Sanctify them in the truth… As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world…

“‘Father, I desire that they… may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.'” John 17:1-6,8,10-11,13-15,17-18,24

The pinnacle of Jesus’s final words before His crucifixion is His high priestly prayer. In this beautiful intercession, anticipating a heinous death, Jesus’s passion is glory. Not anguish, nor self-pity, blame, anger, hatred, or fear, but glory. Every hour, from birth in a crude manger through childhood years in a family, working as a carpenter, travels and teaching and healing, Jesus lived here on earth for glory. His life work was to glorify His Father by bringing His own to the glory of eternal life. (Luke 2:41-52; John 4:34)

What is my life purpose? What races my heart, ignites my affections, consumes my attention: work, ministry, learning, adventure, accomplishment, new thrills, a challenge, relationships, gastronomical satisfaction, luxury, leisure, worldly success? Do or can we see any or all of these as a gateway to glory? What if my highest passion was to bring glory to my God and Savior with every plan, every effort, every word? What difference would this lofty aim make to daily responsibilities and interactions? How can I envelop the necessary temporal within the glorious eternal?

What specifically will I do to glorify God? How will I receive and apply His word in obedience? Promote Christian unity and peace? Remain in and help others abide in His name? Engender joy? Guard vigilantly against the evil one? Remain faithful when hated, ridiculed, persecuted? Cooperate in sanctification, honed by God’s hands to reflect His glory? Behold His glory in worship so it infuses my every impulse and expression?

My Lord, may my daily motivation and work be to glorify You who are worthy of honor and glory and praise. (Revelation 4:11; 5:12)

“[John] said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said…’

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel… I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’

“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day… He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ)…

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph…’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’” John 1:23,29-39,41,45,49

John announced and introduced Jesus as the Light, the promised Lord, and the Savior of the world. He proficiently and humbly fulfilled his purpose of making the Lamb known, then stepped back for the disciples to see Him only. They would follow Jesus, learn of and from Him, join Him at the cross, and follow His example after He was gone. He became a sheep Himself to shepherd them to eternal life. (Isaiah 53:4-7; John 10:14-15,27-28; 13:15)

We have many challenges and distractions that vie for our ‘follow.’ Voices in social media, prescribed strategies for personal fulfillment and worldly success, both well- and ill-intended opinions for structuring our days and patterns, health and thinking. The way of a humble lamb does not always excite or entice or even draw notice. The way of self-sacrifice seems counter-intuitive compared to worldly mantras. But to follow the Lamb is the way to rich life now and forever.

What pulls our attention and affections elsewhere? Where do we succumb to temporal pleasures and forsake what is lasting? What makes us give in to instant glitz and satiation and forego the Lord’s richer fare? Would we ask Jesus to draw our whole heart toward Him and His ways, and follow? (Matthew 6:19-21; Hebrews 11:24-26)

Lord my King, help me see the supremacy of following You at every turn, in every way, for Your renown.

“Hezekiah began to reign… In the first year, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests… and said, ‘Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings… My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him…’

“The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found… and carried it out… Then they… said [to Hezekiah], ‘We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar and all its utensils… All that King Ahaz discarded when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.’

“Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials and went up to the house of the Lord… [He] commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the offering began, the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel.  The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded…  When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.  And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord… They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.” 2 Chronicles 29:1a,3-7,11,16,18-20,27-30

For Hezekiah, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord began with the temple of the Lord. In the first year, his first priority was to reopen the house of the Lord. He immediately set to repair all that had been neglected and reestablish proper sacrifice and worship to exalt his true King.

Tending the temple is an ongoing discipline. Hinges get rusty and stiff with lack of use, and utensils get misplaced. Apathy and laziness in our spiritual life yield nothing good or lofty, and breed only more self-interest, introspection, and ultimate misery. We have to let in light to see uncleanness, and exert effort to remove it and to prepare for and maintain pure, orderly worship. (Psalm 51:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

It takes care to tend to spiritual temples. What causes us to shut off our hearts to the Lord’s beckoning hand? What preferences and habits make us stiff-necked toward His grace and Word? Has specific rebellion rebuffed His fidelity? When we determine instead to open ourselves to His light, repair our relationship by genuine repentance and recommitment, and reinstate true Christ-centered worship, we will know gladness in fresh, astounding ways. Our vision and passions will be purified, our living renewed with eternal purpose, and He will receive the praise. (30:8-9,12,23-27)

Lord, may I daily open wide the door of my heart for Thee. Enter, reside, and rule to Your good ends and glory.

“Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense in Judah. He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,… and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and Benjamin. He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.  And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

“And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord,  and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made.  And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers.  They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.”

“But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread.., and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.” 2 Chronicles 11:5-6,10-17; 13:10-12

The time had come, with Israel’s divided kingdom after Solomon, for the priests to take a stand. They had faithfully set their hearts on the Lord, and when Jeroboam king of Israel introduced strange gods, they knew they had to put this heart into action and move to Jerusalem. While Jerusalem was not perfect, and Judah’s leader Rehoboam not fixed on seeking the Lord, they were able there to fulfill their call from God. (2 Chronicles 13:6-9)

While we live in this world, we will always meet opposition, and God does not waste it. Sometimes there are lessons to be learned in staying where we are, but there may come times when a heart set on God must translate into setting our feet in a new direction. The Lord God calls us to fear and faithfully serve Him, and if our situation makes that impossible or untenable, He may be calling us to move elsewhere.

Are there self-imposed limitations on what we are willing to do, even if God clearly calls elsewhere, in position or place? To what comforts or familiarities are we clinging? Whose will are we daily seeking, so we know what God’s clear direction is, higher and irrespective of worldly pressures or prohibitions? (Psalm 32:8; Proverbs 3:5-6)

Lord, may my call to serve and honor You reside and take precedence above all else. Compel me to follow and lead for You, to Your glory always.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people  did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:1-14,16

“Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46

In the beginning, from eternity past, Jesus. He was coming and came and is here, the Light shining now in darkness, enlightening everyone. Jesus. The glorious Word become flesh, the Savior of men.

“Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.” ~Charles Wesley (1739)

The Light of Life and of the world is the personal light of individual men and women and children of God. Each who receives is adopted as His child and owns that everlasting light. No darkness that might be looming in our lives, our minds or spirits, can overcome the magnificent and eternal light of Christ!(Ephesians 1:5)

Is there choking grief, incessant longing, fear, or physical pain, seasonal sorrow? God’s light shines into every recess! Every hidden heartache! Every bitter remembrance! Every lonely hour! Though the earth has its shadows, Jesus is present as Light, with us to warm and illumine and emanate in hope from every cloud. Would we bask in, receive, and rejoice in Him?

“Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.” ~Phillips Brooks (1868)

Jesus, fill me that I might shine Your heavenly light and spread Your joy to the world.

“Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and the products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord.  Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day… Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider:  Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you…”

 “I am about to shake the heavens and the earth,  and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down…  On that day, declares the Lord, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 15-19,21b-23

Woe to the Israelites. They’d returned from exile yet given up rebuilding the temple. Having been stripped of all that was theirs, they clamored to collect and repair for themselves and neglected building for the Lord. He planted a stake in their life ground through his prophet Haggai that from that day forward life could and would be different if they would renew their commitment to Him. His Spirit was with them to stir, strengthen, bless, and give hope of glory for the present and future. (Haggai 1:4-5,7-10,13; 2:4-9)

It’s easy to get bogged down in the present with the weight of the past. Regrets, failures, setbacks can all sully our vision and impede our progress. ‘Woe is me’ becomes our exasperated mantra as we trudge to make it another day. But God thinks differently about and toward us. He sees us as inestimably valuable, owners of every spiritual blessing in Christ, and longs that from this moment forward we would live that way. (Ephesians 1:3; Philippians 3:13-14)

What “but I always” and “but if only”s are hindering a fresh vision of life with Christ? What bitterness, regret, or hurt snaggles our way forward? If indeed we are forgiven, new creatures in Christ, and His love has been shed abroad in our hearts, are we not free to leave these at the cross and press on forward on the upward way? (Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

From this day onward, will I set aside angst and anger? Will I choose not to curse but to bless, not to despise but to love? Will I not complain but give thanks, not fret but trust, not resent but seek to understand? Will I set aside self for the good of others, and cease worshiping self in order to exalt Almighty God? Will I live in freedom and joy because I belong to Jesus and am secure in His everlasting arms, no matter what I have or how I’m treated by the world? (Matthew 5:11-12)

Father, please fill me with Your Spirit, that I might from this day on wholeheartedly worship you and serve your purposes with great joy, to Your honor and glory.

“The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.* They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord. ‘As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known… The pleasant land was made desolate.’

“‘I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy… I have returned and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain… I will save my people… and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness…

“’For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. As you have been a byword of cursing among the nations,.. so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing.’”

*Hebrew and made their ears too heavy to hear

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he.” Zechariah 7:8-14; 8:2-3,7-8,12-13; 9:9

Since Eden, the once-warm human heart has been plagued with a sinister chill. Throughout history God’s gracious offer of life has been rebuffed for the distorted privilege of serving idols and getting what we want: a pride-filled present and a hopeless future. And until the end of days, many will reject His free eternal gift of forgiveness and joy. (Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:14-15; Revelation 9:20-21)

But praise our gracious God! He’s come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found! His mercy unstiffens the shoulder to lean toward His forgiving embrace. It buoys the leaden ear to hear melodies of lovingkindness and grace. It softens the diamond-hard heart to welcome His word and respond with obedience and affection. This is our Redeemer, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! (Psalm 103:1-14)

Do you know Him? Will you receive the Savior as your own and know the delights of being held by everlasting arms, of attentive ears and a malleable heart? (Deuteronomy 33:12,27)

Even knowing Him, we still contend with the enemy’s wiles. What allures trigger stubborn refusal of His ways? What irritations, complaints, or woes pester our minds and dull spiritual receptors? Where have we shrugged off grace and refused to relinquish shame, regret, resentment? For whom will we trust God to soften our hearts, that we might love as He’s loved us? (1 John 3:16-18; 4:7-11,16,19)

Lord Jesus, may I bring your joy to the world by living lightly and gratefully in Your love. Prepare hearts for Your freedom and grace, that You might be known and exalted.

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him… By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother…

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers… and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?.. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him… And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

“This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us [and] we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 1 John 3:9-10,14a,16-17,24; 4:13; 5:14-15

John spells out many assurances and proofs of our status as God’s children: we increasingly become like Jesus and are therefore hated by the world; we abhor sin and ongoing conviction keeps us from continuing in it; we love one another in truth and deed; we have the Spirit and know His enlightenment, counsel, and comfort; we love God and His people; our prayers are effectual. How can these be true and evident? Because Jesus came as our propitiation to give us life! Because of Him God calls us His children and that is what we are! Now, for real, and forever! (John 14:16-20,26; 16:7-8,13; 1 John 3:1-3; 4:9-11)

And when we live as God’s children, bearing His name and mannerisms, people take notice. Our spiritual siblings are blessed and helped by our love. They see our engagement and trust our insights. They look to us for practical and prayer support, and we enjoy a mutual desire to be sanctified.

The world also sees a difference. Sometimes our proclivity to do things differently, use loftier language or choose different entertainment or lifestyle, stirs anger, resentment, or disdain, but in that we share the reproach of Christ and are most privileged. (Psalm 69:9; Matthew 5:10-12)

Do we know that we know Christ? That He came to earth in love to redeem us from sin and adopt and seal us as His children forever? That His Holy Spirit indwells us as a guarantee of our future inheritance with Him? If so, how does our daily living reflect our family resemblance? What areas of obedience have we neglected: generosity? hospitality? kindness? sacrificial service? If we are not experiencing pushback from the world, who should be observing genuine, robust love within the body of Christ, would we consider how accurately we’re displaying Christ’s love? (Ephesians 1:13-14)

“Never we know but in sleet and in snow / The place where the great fires are…” G.K. Chesterton. In the cold and bite, the spit and sting of the world, how and where are we making fires that reflect Jesus, stoking the warming flames of His love? How can we make Him irresistible to the needy, the lonely, the broken, the lost?

Lord Jesus, make yourself so evident in my life that others see and desire You, all because of and for Your glory.

“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty…’ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’” Luke 17:10; 18:9-14

“Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:22-24

Jesus entered the world in humility and His public ministry in unbounded love to draw people to the nature and majesty of His salvation. His very simplicity and straightforward manner exposed both underlying and obvious sin, and His glorious grace shone in stark contrast to dull thinking. By interaction, illustration, and strategic engagement with individuals, our Savior repeatedly told the story of lost man in desperate need and Savior to the rescue, an enticement only the hard-hearted could (and would) refuse. He was King, and we by mercy His servants, and that is the best and most privileged place to be. (Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10)

‘Tis a habit dangerous to our spiritual health to think we deserve the riches of God. This parading of rights stems from pride in our accomplishment, when what we need is to be undone. Once we recognize that we’ve been freed from slavery to sin to become slaves to righteousness and Christ Himself, and that this gift from Jesus pours forth from His mercy, not our desert, we will fall on our faces and thank Him. It is in the low place we best grasp His grace. (Luke 15:25-32; 17:12-19; 18:35-43; Romans 6:18)

Are there things about my place in life that chafe and unsettle and make me feel put-upon? Times I think I deserve better, or have earned the right to a little rest, a little special treatment? How might it elevate my attitude, my outlook on service, my sense of honor for work, if I gazed at the manger, and the cross? (Philippians 2:3-11)

“Come to Bethlehem and see
him whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.” ~English paraphrase by James Chadwick

My Lord, keep me ever in my place as Your privileged servant, faithful and grateful for all You entrust to me. May my living show forth the glories and praise of your bountiful grace. (Luke 19:12-13,16-17,26)