Day 335 – On the 1st Day of Christmas – God didn’t call the qualified, He qualified the Called!

Luke 1:26-31 “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at the words of the angel and wondered what all this might mean. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”

Mary had nothing going for her. She was young, poor, and a virgin from a small town in the middle of nowhere. She was looked down upon because she was female, and had no reason to be anything special. But God saw something different, He saw a sweet, humble, young lady, who trusted in Him and would be perfect to give birth to His Son.

Like Mary, I’m so imperfect in my own eyes. I went through a period of time of feeling worthless, but God chose me to be His child and His follower, a light for others to see Him. Even though my parents named me, I believe He put that name on their hearts for me. Kristen, a form of Christian, meaning, “a follower of Christ”. When I’m feeling completely unqualified for something He has called me to do, and when I think there are others who seem more qualified, I remind myself I haven’t qualified me, God has.

As God looks at each of us, He doesn’t see what we see, He sees what He created, He sees the purpose He put on our life, and He sees the little wrapped package that when ignited by just a bit of fire, will turn into a beautiful bright masterpiece in the darkness of Night!

So remember, on this first day of Christmas, God qualified Mary to give birth to His Son, and likewise, qualified you for something special too! Unwrap the gifts He’s given YOU this season.

Day 334 – He is Coming Soon!

Today’s Reading: Revelation 21 – 22

Revelation 22:7, 20, “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

We all wait expectantly, something is coming soon. So many signs all pointing to the same thing…He’s coming soon. But when will it be?

Today we find ourselves at the end of the story. At the end, where most books would have a conclusion, but in this ending we find the beginning, the beginning of a period of waiting. Yet this wait isn’t to be like the wait you have in a doctors office or at that long checkout on Black Friday, in this wait we should be active, alert, and fully alive, ready for when He arrives.

Over 2,000 years ago there was another period of waiting just like this one. The prophecies had been declared and the signs were made visible. One night an angel of the Lord came to an ordinary shepherd out in the field and said that in the city of David, a baby was born, Emmanuel, God with us. Our Lord made His first appearance in a lowly feeding trough to save us all from our sins and give us eternal life. Now, as we wait again, it’s not a baby that we wait on, Our Messiah already came that way once, but don’t worry, He will be back, this time riding in on the clouds to slay the dragon and demolish Satan forever.

He will usher in the new Heaven and the new Earth, with the tree of life and the river of living water.

But we must wait. We must wait as a child waits for Christmas morning, unable to contain their excitement for what may be under their tree. We must wait, understanding that when we reach the end its only the beginning of something New, something Grand, for all Eternity. We must wait, ready for whatever God calls us to, filled with love, laughter, life and His light. We must wait, for Our Greatest Life ever, constantly growing closer to Our Greatest Gift Ever through the Greatest Book Ever, where the end is never the end and we can always start at the beginning to find something new.

Revelation 22:21, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen”

And to this I too say, Amen and Amen!

Day 333 – What have you done?!

Today’s Reading: Revelation 20

Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”

I don’t know who said it to me, but I know it’s been said, more than once and reverberates in my mind all the time. “What have you done?” And I’ve done a lot in my 42 years, some good, and some not so good.

On earth, all that’s done has consequences, earthly consequences. But when I RISE to the pearly gates and God takes out the book of life and runs his finger down to find my name then stops. God stops because of my list, the long list, and recounts everything I’ve done, He doesn’t have to ask, He knows. Then He stops again, He looks says, “Do you see this? This is what My Son has done.” And there is red. “Because of Him your sins have been erased.” Then Jesus will walk over to me and say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. You changed because of me and look at the good you have done.”

Yes, there is much I have done and God will read it all out loud, but He will also read the greatest thing I’ve done and that is when I accepted His Son as my Lord and Savior, and that is when I was changed. But Jesus, Jesus, He washed my list CLEAN.

What have you done?! I have accepted Christ. Have you? Why not do it today and let your list be cleaned and your life changed.

Day 332 – Our Worship is meant for God alone.

Today’s Reading: Revelation 16 – 19

Revelation 19:9-10 “And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Have you ever noticed a tendency to worship the messenger? Like when a testimony is given and you become entranced by the story, the outcome, and the life of the one who is changed. We sometimes even begin to follow them and desire to be like them. Their testimony is good, they have a changed like because of Jesus, but they aren’t the person we should worship.

It’s God who we should worship not the messenger of the testimony. Encouragement from the testimony of a believer should lead us to seek God or more of God. It is Jesus who makes a person’s testimony come to life, and it is God who deserves our praise and worship.

Easily, we can get wrapped up in the story and the vessel of the testimony. Just think of your favorite Bible study teacher? Who are they? I know I’ve been guilty of being in awe of the person and all they’ve come through to get where they are. All I want to do is meet them, just once, and touch their robe….oh wait, that’s reserved for Jesus too.

My worship has been misplaced before, and that’s when I sought the messenger instead of the life giver. The messengers amazing history is the working of Jesus transforming their life. We are made alive through Him! And it is Our Lord, Our Father in Heaven that deserves our Worship and Praise alone.

Day 331 – Striving to be found Blameless.

Today’s Reading: Revelations 12 – 15

Revelation 14:4-5, “It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are found blameless.”

The 144,000 in the final days will have the Father and the Son’s name written across their forehead. Redeemed from mankind as an offering to GOD, undefiled and Blameless.

Oh to be found Blameless, Holy and Righteous, undefiled before the LORD. It’s a great thought, but without Jesus, we’re all full of sin.

Yet I can strive. I can strive to be Blameless, I can strive to be like Jesus, we can strive to be an offering, a firstfruit unto the Lord our God.

As we hide His Word in our heart and it molds us and makes us new, we can transform into His likeness. As we talk to Him and He speaks to us and we listen, we can follow Him to the ends of the earth and fulfill His plan. As we humble ourselves, making us lower and lifting others higher, He will lift us high in due time to the height of Heaven.

Yes, to strive to be found Blameless, to be like the 144,000, to be like the LORD, this we should do, but Oh how thankful I am to know that we have been chosen, redeemed, cleansed of our sins and we will have Eternity in Heaven with Him, the Lord our God, being found Blameless because of Him and His work in our life.

Day 330 – The Word of God can be twofold, sweet like honey or bitter to your soul.

Today’s Reading: Revelation 8 – 11

Revelations 10:10, “And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.”

The Word of God is sweet to all that long for it, find comfort by it, seek it, and savor it. But the Word can also be bitter to those who deny it, ignore it, forgot it, or abuse it. The Word can bring healing and love, but it can also convict us of wrong doing.

Over the year and over our life, the more we dive into The Word the sweeter The Word will become, as sweet as honey. The more we digest The Word, the deeper it gets in our soul, and the more convicting it will become.

So, here’s the thing, all my life I’ve loved sugary sweet things like donuts, cotton candy, bubble gum (Hubba Bubba), Rice Krispies with a pound of sugar, nerds, etc. However, with the sugary sweet things I like, I don’t like sweet drinks, they make my stomach turn. I like my coffee black, my tea unsweet, my wine red, plain milk, and water. The sweets that I eat are great, but the drinks I have that follow help it all to go down.

Like His Word, the sweetness drives me to it, but the bitterness guides my life. This sweet Word will guide us closer to God and the bitterness to be more like His Son. That’s the thing, what to some may be bitter and not wanted, to others the bitter makes them crave the sweet even more.

Day 329 – He will wipe away every tear.

Today’s Reading: Revelation 5 – 7

Revelations 7:17, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to Springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Sometimes life can just hit so hard.

It may seem as though every memory of the past, every holiday, every sappy movie, and even the birth of a child can bring tears to your eyes. It’s as though the loss in our life, no matter what kind, made a hole in our heart that was filled with tears and any small and sometimes insignificant moment can make them overflow. In the midst of this loss, however, is a glimpse of Hope.

A hope “overflowing” with springs of living water and joy-filled days. A hope that is a place and a person, a hope that is both in Heaven and of Heaven, a Hope that will wipe away every one of our tears, and replace them with laughter and life.

To attain this Hope you must believe it to be True, Hold it close in your heart, and seek it always. It’s the hope of Jesus, the hope of Eternal life, and this hope, Our Lord, will wipe away every one of our tears.

Day 328 – Jesus is knocking, you’ve just got to let Him in.

Today’s Reading: Revelation 3 – 4

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

Oh, How my life would be different if I hadn’t opened that door. If I hadn’t trusted Him to come in and sit at my table. If I hadn’t welcomed Him into my heart and given Him control. But when I heard Him knock, I didn’t question who was there, I welcomed Him in unafraid of what the future would hold.

Jesus sits at the door of each one of our hearts because He came for the whole world and He has the whole world in His hands. Jesus died for the whole world, not just me, not just you, everyone. He thinks of everyone as family, everyone as his sister and brother, everyone as his friend.

Yet some of us hear the knocking and question who’s there. Some hear the knocking and don’t trust the one on the other side of the door. Some of us hear the knocking and aren’t sure if it’s our door their knocking on. And still some of us hear the knocking and let it fade into the noise around us.

Jesus is knocking and He wants to bring you peace. Jesus is knocking and He wants to bring you abundant life. Jesus is knocking and He wants to bring you Joy.

How did my life change by letting Jesus come in? Because when I was going through trials I felt all of these things: joy, peace, comfort, love, and the ability to keep living, keep going, keep giving. And when I’m not going through trials? I feel all of these and more. I can see the goodness in the bad, I can see Jesus in all of creation.

If Jesus is knocking, open the door, invite Him in, and give Him the best seat at your table.

Day 326 – There’s no greater joy than to see your child walking with the Lord.

Today’s Reading: 3 John – Jude

3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

My children could be rocking Principal’s Honor Roll, making the A Team, all-star athlete, lead in the school play, 1st in the race, Homecoming Queen, or even President of the United States, but if they aren’t walking with Jesus I’ve still got work to do.

Our children are bound to make mistakes, have plenty of bad days, and disappoint us from time to time, but that doesn’t define them or you; how is their heart? Do they love like Jesus, do they want to do right by Him, are they being convicted and repentant over their attitudes and decisions? It is our duty to hold them accountable, not to blame others around them. It is our duty to be an example to them, to lead them, to reveal to them our humility when we’re wrong, our repentance, our shortcomings, and most of all our LOVE and forgiveness. We need to walk with them, talk with them, be open and honest with them, and continually point them to the Truth.

One day, out of no where, we will see them walking with Him, talking with Him, being open and Honest with Him. All of our time, our work and our heartache will turn into an overflowing fountain of Joy. That’s what matters most. That’s what we’re here for, to lead others including our own children to Christ. It’s not to make them the best or the greatest, it’s to lead them to the best and the greatest. When they stop walking in our faith and start walking in their own faith with Jesus at their side, there is absolutely no Greater Joy!