Sunny&80The Wreath (#jammed daily devo, day 359)
Posted on December 25, 2018
December #jammed: Grace, gifted.
Day 359, Merry Christmas!
“ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.” Luke 2:6
Merry Christmas, readers! On this morning, how can we not reflect upon the beautiful 
baby Jesus? For, as today’s verse celebrates, “the time came for her baby to be born.”
The time came! In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon lists that there is time for every human emotion and activity under the sun. But what we cannot ever get a grip on is God’s timing. The Author of time will reveal everything in His time.
The Christmas wreath that hangs on my door each Christmas season welcomes everyone at my doorstep into Christmas wonderland. There are baby Jesus’ and Santa’s everywhere! The Halls are Decked! But the intriguing thing about that wreath is it’s circular shape.
It’s a circle.
Christmas kicks off the biggest celebration of the circle of life in all of history. Finally, after an entire Biblical testament of prophesy, Jesus splashes onto the page in the flesh. Right on schedule. Right where God said He’d be. Just how it was supposed to be. We could study the Bible our entire lives and God would never run out of new things to reveal to us through it.
That circular wreath symbolizes everlasting life. In a circle. Whether we are running around on earth or skipping happily through heaven, life since Jesus’ birth means death isn’t the end for Christians. It’s, in fact, only the beginning.
Maybe this is the first time you’ve looked at Christmas this way. Commercialism has had you in it’s grip and you’ve succumbed to the “why are we skipping Thanksgiving for a retail holiday” hum drum. Don’t. Don’t let anything steal away from Christmas. It only can if you allow it to. Because Christmas is Christmas. It’s Jesus. It’s Him coming to earth to live and die for our sins so that we can go to heaven. It’s all about gifts. His gifts. The gifts He gave us. Grace, Heaven, to be in the presence of God, and to live with the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us.
Yes …freak out a little. It’s cool!
The Gospels of Luke and Matthew record Jesus’ birth. You can read them here (LUKE MATTHEW) if you’re not familiar with the story. Welcome Him in to your Christmas story. Welcome Him into your life. The magic of Christmas never fades when Jesus takes up residence in our hearts.
I’d like to pray for you, specifically, today.
Father, Praise You for Christmas, and the miraculous circle of new life that began when Jesus came down to earth. His birth means everything to us, and we thank You for sending Your one and only Son to us. Father, there are people reading this today who have never heard or read the Christmas story before. Ignite their hearts as they discover who You are through the birth of Your Son. Help them to ease into conversation with You, asking Jesus to come in and take over their lives …vowing to follow Him all the days of their lives and onto heaven. We praise You, God. Thank you for loving us for who we are, right now, and always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Merry Christmas!!!
Megs
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The Christmas Bird (#jammed daily devo, day 358)
Posted on December 24, 2018
December #jammed: Grace, gifted.
Day 358: Keepsakes.
“We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2
There is a little statue that sits on my desk. It’s a blue bird with a Christmas hat. I think it 
was stuck in a Christmas planter sent to my Grandma one year, and she noticed I liked it and told me to take it. Now, it reminds me of her endless generosity and love for her family. For me. Christmas was her favorite, and she was mine.
The wisemen charted stars and knew that when they saw Christ’s star rising, He had been born. From a scientifically proven stand point, they showed up. No cell phones or computers …google maps or Facebook updates. They just saw the star, knew what it meant, and went to see Jesus.
Not having all of the pieces of the puzzle, but enough of them to get there.
Life is full of pieces, and through prayer and time in God’s Word, He will convict and change our hearts on at a time. We won’t be whole until we meet Him in heaven. This little bird on my desk is a piece of my Grams. Until I get to heaven to hug her again, a glance at it brings back how loving her feels. I don’t want to forget how much I love her. It’s like that little bird stores it for me.
God blesses our lives with memories so that we can hold on hope. Christmas is one of them. We have heard the story so many times, that we can almost picture ourselves in the scene. It’s a familiar truth and love that gives us hope. He came. He was here. Now, He’s in heaven …and for all those that believe in Him, we’ll be there someday, too.
Until then, we hold onto the pieces, and work on our own …keeping our eyes on the star in the sky.
Father, Praise You for Christmas. Thank You for guiding us through this life, and forgive us for focusing on it more than the one to come in heaven. Bless us to love those around us, and to be a reflection of Your love, to everyone that knows who we are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Piecing,
Megs
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The Presents (#jammed daily devo, day 355)
Posted on December 21, 2018
December #jammed: Grace, gifted.
Day 355: Christmas presents …and limits.
“He came! HE CAME!!!”
The piles of presents under the tree and the magical looks on my kids’ faces as they ran down the stairs will be etched into my heart forever. It was a gift to us to be able to give to them more than they needed, expected, or could imagine.
Jesus received gifts from the three kings. Today’s verse tells us that they opened their “treasure chests.” They gave the best they could to the King who would give them more than all of the treasure on the earth could ever compare to.
When I looked up the definition of “treasure,” I found three separate ways to define it. Appropriate, because gifts …treasure …can be defined in so many different ways and at different angles.
treasure- a (1) :wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded; (2)wealth of any kind or in any form: riches. b: a store of money in reserve.
In one part of this definition, wealth is defined as “in any form” and/or “money.” How do we measure our treasure? Is it something we can store up, earn, or use as currency? Can we trade it, simply flaunt it for what we (and others) know it’s worth statistically?
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Stepping,
Megs
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Lost Your Christmas Spirit? 10 Easy Ways to Get it Back
Posted on December 20, 2018
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15
It’s not hard to lose our zeal for Christ and Christmas alongside the commercialism that capitalizes off the holiday season. In the busyness of the season, it’s possible for the Creator of Time to stretch our minutes to spend a moment with Him. Often, we run through life, especially around the holidays, convinced we don’t have time to sit in silence with Him. Our neglect to carve space to be with Him frays our minutes.
Do we trust Christ with our lives? This Christmas, we can strengthen our relationship with Jesus to reveal things we didn’t know or perhaps forgot. Jesus has the power to soften our hearts to the point that just a glance at a manger scene brings a tear of love for our Savior at Christmas time.
The Fringe (#jammed daily devo, day 341)
Posted on December 7, 2018
December #jammed: Grace, gifted.
Day 341: Knowing Grace.
“These are just the beginning of all that he does,
merely a whisper of his power.” Job 26:14a
“Mom,” my younger daughter asked, “can you read these directions to me?”
No, don’t think it’s cute. Kid can read. It’s not cute anymore …now, it’s laziness.
“You know how to read them,” I point out, “you just don’t feel like it.”
I heard the compliant seat-settling from the other end of the house, and a mumbling sound of directions being read. She’s right on the fringe of being a super grown up kid …and she’s not quite sure how she feels about it. She still wants to need me, sometimes.
Today’s verse states how powerful and magnificent God is. Job is wrestled, knowing God could have ended His suffering in a heartbeat if it would have been s in His omnipotent will, too. Which he also wrestles with …why it was in God’s will for Him to suffer? Why was he allowed to suffer unjustly?
“Why won’t you just read me the directions, mom?!” came an entitled bark from a tiny desk chair.
“Because I believe you can, and it’s time you do.” I simply state.
There are times throughout Job’s massive wrestle with suffering that He was on the fringe of something …
“If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay hi hand upon us both, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would fritter me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.” Job 9: 33-35
On the fringe.
But we know this side of the Gospel what Job was not privy to in Old Testament life.
Jesus.
How many times has God answered my “can’t you just do this” prayer with “I believe you can get through it, and it’s time you do.”
Father, Praise You for being here, and planting the hope of Jesus throughout the entire Old Testament …and our lives. Thank You for the way Your word weaves in and out of our lives like the perfect song …with us every chord. Forgive us for turning a blind ear to your wisdom, and being lazily disobedient with tasks You charge us to. Bless us and heal us and equip us with godly confidence, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Doing,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
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