DEVOTIONS

Monday, December 19 – “You save the humble but bring down those who eyes are haughty.” (Psalm 18:27) “Haughty” means arrogantly superior and disdainful.  Haughty is a word that many of us don’t use every day.  But all of us know what arrogantly superior and disdainful mean.  We all have encountered haughty people.  Some of us have even been haughty people.  Today’s lesson: God brings down people who walk around feeling arrogantly superior and disdainful to others and to God.  Conversely, God saves the humble.  Which is the opposite of being arrogantly superior and disdainful.

Tuesday, December 20 – “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” (Psalm 25:9) Humility is to joy as a virus is to a cold.  The one causes the other.  The difference is that sometimes a virus won’t cause a cold.  But being humble will always cause joy.  Why?  Because humility opens you up to God’s guidance into what is right and teaches you God’s way.  And joy is always found in what is right and what is God’s way.

Wednesday, December 21 – “’Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the Lord.  ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.’” (Isaiah 66:2) God is the beginning of everything.  Understanding this will bring about a proper amount of humility in your life.  This humility, in response to your proper understanding of God, will cause God to look upon you with favor.  This looking upon you with favor will cause you to experience joy.  This joy will help you to live a humble life.  This humble life will then cause God to look upon you with favor.  And on and on and on.

Thursday, December 22 – “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5) This is the transformation that God desires to bring about in your life.  Moving you from someone who knows about God, to someone who knows God.  Someone who actually sees God in their everyday lives.  The former will bring you knowledge.  The latter will bring you joy.  God desires for you to be joyful, not just knowledgeable.                 

Friday, December 23 – “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) There are three ingredients in God’s recipe for joy – “act justly”, “love mercy” and “walk humbly”.  None of these three ingredients are things that you can do.  Every ingredient for joy reflects who you are.  You don’t know how to be just, be merciful and be humble?  Well, God “has shown you” all of these ingredients in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

Christmas Eve – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6) Why is Christmas such a big deal?  It’s the celebration of the birth of Jesus, 2022 years ago.  If Jesus wasn’t born than he couldn’t have been resurrected from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, 1989 years ago.  If Jesus hadn’t been resurrected from the dead, we are all dead in our sins, right here, right now.  If we are all dead in our sins, then there is no hope, peace, love or joy.  Yet, there is hope, peace, love and joy.  Which means that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead.  Which gives significance to his birth.  Which, in turn, bolsters your hope, peace, love and joy.  For God will do the same for you.