Author: Chuck & Deb

Matthew 3.1-12

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3.1)

In Your Face

I had been befriending a fellow student named Ed for several weeks. I was hoping to gently and gradually introduce him to Jesus and I was making a little headway. One day in class, a fellow student came up and slammed a New Testament on the desk in front of Ed and I and said, “You got one of these?” Ed responded “No.” The in your face evangelist stared him in the eyes and simply said, “Read it” and walked away. I asked Ed, “What did you think about that?” He responded, “I needed a good swift kick in the pants.” I was blown away! God uses all kinds of methods to help people find Jesus and enter His Kingdom.

Do you have more than one method to share the gospel of Jesus with others? How do you know which one to use?

Matthew 2.19-23

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee (Matthew 2.22)

A Divine GPS

One of the most irritating things about using a Global Positioning System is when it gets a little confused and begins to repeat “Recalculating, Recalculating, Recalculating”. But if I knew my GPS had my best interest at heart and wasn’t just taking me on some wild goose chase, I probably wouldn’t get ticked off. With God, there is no “Recalculating” and He does have your best interest at heart. So when you have a couple of direction changes from the Holy Spirit, it would be to your advantage to keep your cool and follow instructions.

What recent changes has God made in your life that are frustrating you? How should you respond to those changes?

Matthew 2.13-15

He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.” (Matthew 2.15)

The Circuitous Methods of God

Life is puzzling. Especially when you know nothing is random but it seems so, ah, random. When my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer we were shocked! She was young, healthy, ate the right things, exercised, not to mention a godly women living for Christ. But we learned so much from the experience and it drew us so much closer to Jesus. It would eventually train us for the future. When an Angel came and told Joseph and Mary to flee, there should be a thousand questions that pop into our minds. “God, why not just change Herod’s mind or even easier kill the wicked bugger?” But God has a bigger plan with results far more glorious than we can imagine. This is where our faith kicks in. We need to trust that His ways are better than our ways (Isaiah 55.8-9).

Where have you been blindsided by life? How can you take practical steps to trust God?

Matthew 1.18-25

…but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1.25)

Everyday is Christmas

Recently I’ve heard a lot of talk about the 25^th of December being a pagan holiday. And because I’ve discovered the godless emphasis on that day to worship false gods, I’m suppose to give that day back to them. I don’t think so! I personally think the pagans stole that day from God. Everyday belongs to Him. Somewhere along the line, Christians won that day back and began a unified effort to celebrate the One and only true God and the birth of His divine Son. So I’m going to continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 25^th of December. And I’m going to take back the 31^st of October too. In fact, I think I’m going to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ everyday!

What has the world taken from you that you need to take back?

The genealogy of Jesus is a testimony to God’s faithfulness. When He promises something, He delivers. The passage begins with two key figures in the Old Testament: David and Abraham. They were both promised generations that would ultimately lead to blessing the whole earth. They looked forward to the coming of Jesus the Messiah and King. Now the promise continues to march through the generations both physically and spiritually. I’m so proud of my two sons and look forward to having grandchildren who will inherit the promises of God through Christ. And I have already become a great, great, grandfather spiritually by intentionally investing the life of Jesus in a few men and women. The genealogy of Jesus gets pretty exciting when you become part of it!

What would it take to prepare yourself to be a grandparent of both physical and spiritual children?

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