Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Romans 12:14-18

My students love the opposite game. They seem to have no problem identifying the opposites: up and down, fast and slow, yes and no, high and low. Some days they even carry it into their conversation. “I’m going to say the opposite of what I mean,” a child declares. Silliness and lots of giggles follow. Some opposites aren’t so fun. When love is met with hate or forgiveness meets anger, life is difficult. Yet, Paul in today’s reading encourages us to do the opposite of what is normally expected.

Paul was writing to believers in Rome. He knew they could face hardship and persecution because of their faith so he gave instructions on how to deal with the unbelieving people around them. Here’s where Paul instructs believers to do the opposite of what society would expect. “Bless those who persecute you. . . Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” Our sinful human nature rebels at this idea. If someone hurts me, I will hurt them back, and then some. Paul, however, encourages us to turn the other cheek.

Why would we do such a thing? Wouldn’t that just encourage more persecution? At the very beginning of this chapter in Romans Paul wrote, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1). In view of God’s mercy – that’s reason enough. Even as he suffered on the cross for our sins, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). His great mercy for us compels us to show mercy to those around us, even through their persecution. This is an act of worship to our gracious Savior.

We pray for God’s blessings on our efforts to show love to all. We may never know how a loving response can cause someone to reflect on their actions. We may not see any change at all, and yet we trust God to do his work. God is the strength behind our words and actions, and he supports us through all types of trouble and persecution.

Each day we strive to reflect God’s love in the world around us. We rejoice in the good times and mourn with those who struggle. We find ways to live in harmony and peace. We pray for those around us, especially those who are unloving. It won’t be easy. Our sinful nature will rebel, and we won’t always succeed. But we have a Savior who showed perfect love to all. He took what we deserved and rid us of all our sins. He will help us do the opposite of what our sinful nature wants so that even more people can have eternal peace in heaven.

Prayer:

A Question to Consider:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

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What are your strengths? Maybe you are strong physically, smart intellectually, or gifted musically. Perhaps you have strong interpersonal skills. Our talents and abilities are gifts from God to use to serve him and those in his kingdom. But what about your weaknesses? We might be able to list even more of those. Oh, if only those weaknesses were gone so we could be even more effective in spreading the gospel message.

Paul, the inspired writer of 2 Corinthians, was frustrated by his weakness. In the verses preceding our reading Paul wrote that he pleaded with God to take away a thorn in his flesh. Certainly, God wouldn’t let Paul be hindered by this burden when he had such important work to do. That’s when God answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Until his heavenly victory, Paul would never be free of earthly troubles and burdens, but he would always have God’s grace. This grace was enough, enough to conquer Paul’s hardships and challenges.

God’s grace is sufficient for us. It is not only sufficient but overflows daily into our lives. He lets us feel his grace so that we can show his love to others. He forgives our sins and leads us to learn and grow. He carries us through difficulties and guides us as we learn to trust more fully in him. And our hardships can be a source of encouragement to others who might also struggle.

God told Paul and all believers, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” The world scoffs at this idea. Wealth, strength, intelligence, influence, and power are valued. Weakness must be overcome at all costs. Actually, weakness has been overcome, but not in the way the world expected. The almighty God set aside his strength to come to this earth as a tiny baby. He gave up his heavenly kingdom to live among the common, weak, unimportant people. He even gave up his life to save ours. His apparent weakness was really power. Power to save all.

And God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. When we look at ourselves and see our limitations, we realize that it is God who works through us in this world. He can and does use frail human beings like us to spread his word. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7). We can boast in our weaknesses because that boasting is really about God’s strength. He can even use me, and he does.

So we are thankful, certainly for our strength, but even more so for our weakness because Christ’s power rests on us. And that is enough.

Prayer:

A Question to Consider:

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:8-11

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Oh, to have the confidence of a four-year-old! I can do it! I already know that! Watch me (fill in the blank with whatever daring escapade they conceived that day)! You and I, on the other hand, may feel less secure. Am I doing enough? Am I reaching each child and helping them grow? How do I manage this latest discipline issue? Am I the right person to help these little children of God grow in faith and love?

Simon Peter experienced these same doubts. He even told Jesus to leave him because “I am a sinful man!” Peter had just seen Jesus do what he and his fishermen friends had been unable to do all night. And Jesus was successful to the extreme: there were so many fish that their nets began to break. Peter realized that he just didn’t measure up. And neither do we. We sin daily, making mistakes, saying the wrong things, failing to do what we need to do. We groan with Peter, “I am sinful.”

Jesus knew. He knew Peter was sinful. He knew Peter’s sins, past, present, and future. Yet he gave Peter the directive to fish for people, sharing God’s Word with them. Even after Peter denied even knowing Jesus, God had work for him to do.

Peter’s work started with a word of comfort. “Do not be afraid” Peter had much to fear from his sinfulness, but standing before him, calling him, was his Savior, Jesus. Peter did not have to be afraid because in Jesus all his unworthiness was washed clean.

Jesus knows you too. He knows your faults and weaknesses, and he calls you anyway. Feed his sheep. Feed his lambs.

Jesus didn’t leave his disciples on their own with the vital work of spreading the gospel message. Before he ascended to heaven he promised them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Just ten days later the Holy Spirit caused 3,000 people to come to faith after hearing the disciples on that first Pentecost. We may not be speaking to thousands, but our little ones and their families get to hear and see Jesus’ love through our words and actions. The Holy Spirit guides us sinful, imperfect people daily. He does not fail.

And so, Peter went. “They pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” These undeserving fishermen followed Jesus. They learned from him, witnessed his miracles, saw his sacrifice, and gloried in his resurrection. Jesus used them to go throughout the world speaking about what they had seen and heard. We have Jesus’ words too. We read and study God’s Word so that we can share the precious Gospel message in our classrooms, homes, and neighborhoods. Jesus chose you. You can be confident of that.

Prayer:

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.

2 Timothy 4:2

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Be prepared! This is the teacher’s mantra. We write our lesson plans, choose books to read aloud, create learning centers, give opportunities for creative play and movement, and the list goes on. We carefully plan and prepare because we want the best for our students, giving them ways to learn and grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

In today’s verse, an older pastor, Paul, is giving this same advice to the younger pastor, Timothy. Paul is speaking to us as well. He says:

Be prepared! It seems like a tall order and has eternal consequences. But we are not left to do this on our own. God equips us with his Word and gives us the Holy Spirit to guide our words and actions. He chose you and placed you where you are. He is with you always. You are prepared.

Prayer:

A Question to Consider:

Listen to Devotion

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.

Psalm 146: 1-2, 7-8.

When shopping for a car, my mom always said, “I want to buy one that will last”! This car, of course, does not exist. There is no car that will never need repairs. There is no make and model that will withstand all weather. There is no car that can stand the test of time. In fact, nothing in this world will last forever. Except Jesus!

When Jesus was on earth, he helped many people. Jesus had power over the earth when he calmed the sea and loaded the disciples’ boats down with fish. He healed the blind, cured diseases, and fed thousands and thousands of people with a small lunch. Jesus had power over sickness when he healed the ill and the lame, and he had power over death when he raised people from the dead.

But these miraculous, all-powerful acts of kindness were not the most important part of Jesus’ ministry. Providing for physical needs was generous and kind, and it showed that he is the all-powerful God, but it was not why Jesus came to earth.

The devil wants us to believe that our treasures here on earth are most important. And sometimes we fall into the trap of believing that money and all that it can buy will give us lasting pleasure. And even worse—these treasures can become more important to us than our faith. These treasures can ultimately separate us from our God.

People might not want to hear what God’s Word tells us. During our personal ministry, we might meet people that simply do not want to hear what we have to say. We might feel laughed at or rejected for our beliefs. We might feel as though we have failed at the most important job God gave us to do—to proclaim his message. But God’s forgiveness is lasting, even when people reject God’s Word. We must continue to pray that God will soften the hearts of those rejecting his promises so that they may join us in our joy and peace.

Let us boldly continue to spread the message. How thankful we are that God provided for our greatest need when he sent Jesus to save the world. God’s Word will last forever! God’s love endures forever!

Prayer:

Listen to Devotion

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Which glass holds more: a tall skinny glass or a short, wide glass? If you present this to a group of young children, they might assume that the skinny glass holds more water in it because it is much taller. How surprised they are to see the results in a measuring cup!

Do you think God is giving you a short cup? Do you feel as though you are just getting by financially? Are you frustrated that you haven’t been given certain talents and abilities? Or perhaps you notice what others are able to do with their time and money, and you wonder why you have to make do with less. All of these thoughts are sins against God. When we complain about what we do not have, we are complaining to God. We are telling him that he isn’t blessing us enough.

How dare we tell God how to be God! The Bible does not promise that we will always be comfortable. He doesn’t promise to bless everyone equally. We know that God provides us with gifts and treasures, and he wants us to use them to serve him and to bless others. He also wants us to enjoy the life that he as given us. But comparing our life to our neighbor’s will never bring us satisfaction and can lead to a spiral of discontentment and bitterness.

When we take a look at all that God has provided for us, and all that he has done for us, we see that God has given us even more than we need. God always gives us “immeasurably more” than we need.

We can never ask too much of God. He hears our prayers, and he wants us to talk to him every day. Although he may not give us exactly what we want, he gives us what we need. And he wants us to come to him as a child comes to his parents. So, when we think that God is not providing enough, let us remember that God always gives us more than we need, and will continue to provide until we see him in heaven.

But even better than our physical blessings, God provided for our biggest need of all—our need for a Savior from all sins, including the sins of our complaints and dissatisfaction. God sees the desires of our heart and the bitterness that we have towards him, but instead of condemning us, he sent his Son to remove those sins from our record. When these thoughts of discontentment creep in, we can come to God and humbly ask him to forgive us and to thank him for reminding us that we have forgiveness through Jesus.

Prayer:

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:4-7

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How do you identify yourself? What is your worldview? These are questions that are being asked around the country and in our changing world. We can identify ourselves by our family background, interests and talents, character and values. Because God made each person with different personalities, gifts, and backgrounds, each person has a different view of themselves and different perspective of the world.

This can be unsettling for some people. Many just want to fit in or are confused about where their place is in society. Some become anxious or dissatisfied and have trouble solving everyday problems. But there is a cure for an identity crisis! Our true identity is not of this world. Our true identity is in Jesus, through baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism is sometimes called our “second birthday”. Through baptism, we are “washed” or “covered with” the righteousness (being “right with God) of Jesus. Jesus gave us this righteousness when he lived his perfect life on earth and then took our sins upon himself when he died on the cross. He beat the devil and all sin in the world when he died on the cross and came back to life that first Easter. Because of these “righteous things” that Jesus did, we now have a loving relationship with him. Our identity is now in the family of Christ!

We can take heart that our identity in Jesus is “not because of righteous things that we have done”. We know that we are sinners that cannot save ourselves. There is nothing “good” in us that can move God to save us. And if God waited for us to be able to do anything pure and righteous, he would be waiting forever! However, God was moved to save us because of his kindness, mercy, and undeserved love.

How thankful we are that we do not need to rely on our own merits or our own sinful identity to get to heaven! On our baptism day, we became a child of God. The Holy Spirit worked into our hearts and continues to help us grow in our faith. We know who we are! We are declared righteous (right with God) because of God’s kindness, mercy and love and now share the certainty of our place in heaven.

Prayer:

A Question to Consider:

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But when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

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Have you ever watched a child participating in “The Marshmallow Test”? During this test, a sweet treat is placed in front of the child, and the child is told that they can get an additional treat if they can wait a few minutes before eating the first treat. It is so hard to wait! Some children eat the treat as soon as the adult leaves the room, others dip their head down to smell it while they wait, and others cover their eyes to try to help resist the temptation. Participants say that the test is an exercise in patience, obedience, and delayed gratification. But all children agree that it is very hard to wait!

God’s people had to wait a long time for Jesus to be born. When Adam and Eve committed the first sin, they were promised that one day, a Savior would come and rescue them from this big problem of sin. But they had to wait! In fact, they had to wait thousands of years for this promise to be fulfilled. It must have been so hard to wait!

On the first Christmas, the time had come. The wait was over! The words are very clear. God sent his Son, who, born of a woman, is both God and human. As a man, Jesus needed to do the one thing that no other person has ever been able to do—he needed to keep all of God’s commands perfectly. Jesus could never sin, never give in to the temptations of this world. And Jesus won that battle against sin for us!

Jesus passed the “marshmallow test”, and so much more. Not only did Jesus live a perfect life, but he also allowed himself to be punished in our place. The punishment that WE deserve was served to Jesus. The sins that WE have committed were placed on Jesus, and yet HIS righteousness (being “right with God”), his purity, have been credited to us. And now God has adopted us as his children, blameless in his sight because of the work of Jesus. Our inheritance, freely given by God through Jesus, is eternal life in heaven.

And now we wait! God’s promise to Adam and Eve has been fulfilled, and now we wait for the fulfillment of his promise to bring us to him in heaven. We don’t know how long we will be on this earth, and we don’t know when Jesus will come again. But we DO know that God will keep his promise to bring us to our new home in heaven. And while we wait, we have work to do! We can show our love for God by continuing to study his Word in the Bible and by sharing the joy of God’s promises with others.

Prayer:

A Question to Consider:

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In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.”

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“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” That saying has mostly proven itself to be true in life. Most things that seem just too easy, too free, or too good never seem to pan out. This world is, for the most part, transactional. That is why the message of our text today is so unbelievable. It says:

“It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.”

So, you are telling me that God made us, saved us and now calls us his family? I am and God did and does. If this was a movie, God would be the writer, producer, director, and lead role! Oh, and none of this came easy or free for him. We are told in detail the suffering it caused Jesus. Truly unimaginable.

What are we to do in exchange for all of this? There must be a transaction, right? That’s how this world works after all. Thankfully for us, that’s not how God works. Yes, indeed, a transaction was made. Jesus bought us back from sin, death, and the devil with his innocent suffering and death. He paid the price once and for all in full. Instead of being indebted to God, we are called brothers and sisters. We are a part of the family!

Such grace and mercy can only be found in Christ. We are on the receiving end of the only thing this life has for free. As we enter this new year, you don’t have to spend your time paying back your Father for his gift. We get to respond with thanksgiving and a life of growing closer to him through his Word. Thank God, it’s not too good to be true. Heaven is yours. Rest in your brother, Jesus, and all he has done for you. It’s so good! And the best part is, it’s true!

Prayer:

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The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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What are you waiting for? A new job, a baby, a spouse, a house? Doesn’t it seem like within every season we are always waiting for something? Have you ever forgotten that you aren’t waiting for Jesus? Seems like a silly question, but seriously. Sometimes all we need to do is remember that Jesus did indeed come as promised and is still with us. This Christmas, the wait is over and no matter what losses, sadness, joy, or anticipation we have going into these next couple days, there is one thing that unites us all: Our long-awaited Savior is no longer words on a page. He is flesh and blood, baby Jesus born in a manger.

“Jesus” wasn’t a name that would have been that important to God’s Old Testament people, the Jews. They were the chosen family, hand selected by God to carry the line of the Savior and yet they didn’t even know his name! They had to trust through every trial that the Savior was coming. Slavery, war, rebellion- you name it, the Jews had been through it. And yet, there was always one common thread that brought hope- a Messiah was coming. For thousands of years, the promise of a Savior kept the light burning. Sometimes it seemed as though it could barely keep shining, but God always made a way.

Maybe you feel more like an Old Testament Jew than a New Testament Christian this Christmas. Are you facing what feels like an impossible command from God like Abraham? Are your requests to God feeling like they are landing on deaf ears like Rachel? Are you feeling betrayed by the ones who should love you the most, like Joseph? Maybe you are in a leading position like Moses and feel like you don’t have what it takes. Do you relate to Esther and know that you should be more courageous in a scary situation, but can’t find the strength? The Old Testament gives us countless examples of people of faith who came up short. But then after what felt like an eternity of silence, one name changed everything: Jesus.

No longer was the Messiah a shadow of things to come. The Word made flesh was here, son of Mary and Joseph, conceived by the Holy Spirit, to save the nations. How blessed are we to know his name—to know without a shadow of a doubt that the prophecies are no longer just words on a page, but flesh and blood making his dwelling among us. He walks alongside us through the hills and valleys.

The waiting is over. The struggles remain. But the waiting is over. We can rejoice this Christmas that God keeps his promises. While we live as New Testament Christians we get to call on the beautiful name of our Savior. In this world, we will have trouble. We’ve seen it all over Scripture. But let one thing unite us. Jesus is here! And he’s overcome the world!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, Thank you for keeping your promises. This Christmas, help us reflect on all the times you have done what you said you would do. Strengthen our faith to trust in you through the hills and valleys of this life. We praise you for the most important and precious gift of a Savior! Amen

For further meditation on the thoughts of today’s devotion, read through Christian Worship 21 330 V.1 Peace Came to Earth. This beautiful hymn captures the expression of Immanuel-God with us.

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