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A Christmas Devotion #12

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Luke 2:11; “For today in the city David there has been for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”.
In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked the commissionaire to pen a poem for Christmas mass. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church. Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Placide imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Thoughts of being present on the blessed night inspired him to write was then called “Cantique de Noel”. So happy was he with his poem that he felt a need to find a musician to do what he could not. So he contacted his friend Adolphe Charles Adams for help.  Adolphe was able to add the music to the poem just in time for the song that we now call “O Holy Night” to be performed on Christmas Eve. Fast forward now to Christmas Eve 1906, and to a man called Reginald Fessenden. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man’s voice was broadcast over the airwaves: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed”.  After reading from Luke 2 he picked up his violin and place a full rendition of ‘O Holy Night’. So, the first words ever transmitted over the air, were words from the Bible. And the first song, a song about the birth of Christ the Lord. How wonderful it is know that God’s Word went forward first on that Christmas season.
It makes me think of the ‘Bible App for Kids’ that went forth on Thanksgiving Day. To see that God’s Word was the number 1 kids and educational app download on a day such as Thanksgiving, has echoes of the night that Fessenden read from Luke 2 and picked up that violin. To see the App reach well over 1 million kids in just six days is simply astonishing. From the printing press, to the airwaves, to the digital age, may God’s truth that Christ is the Lord receive pre-eminence in everything.

“Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.


Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

O night divine, O night, O night divine”

A Christmas Devotion #11

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Matthew 1:20; “But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraidto take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit”.
As we come to the close of the year, do you find yourself at a crossroad? A moment when the tantalizing prospect of something new is just around the corner, yet you know it largely relies of you choosing the right path. If you are not experiencing this I am sure you remember a time when you were in the very position? When a single decision could very well shape the rest of your life or at the very least the next chapter in your life. The thing that I find interesting about a crossroad is that it has numerous options for us to take. Do we go to the left, do we go to the right or do we keep going straight forward. This is very different to a Cul-de-sac, that looks like an road that leads somewhere to find out that it is a dead end street. Sometimes when we arrive at these pivotal moments in our life we have a tendency to treat them like a Cul-de-sac and think that all hope is gone and that we have reached a dead end. What if Joseph had looked at this chapter in his life as a dead end? What would the outcome have been??? But, he did not view it so, he saw it as it was….a crossroads. Here we see Joseph wondering what type of action to take as Mary is now supernaturally pregnant. (No man in history has been in his situation). Which road was he going to take? Was he going to disgrace her or hide her? Well, we all know what his decision was. He planned to put her away secretly. The Word of God tells us that whilst at this crossroad in his life, he ‘considered what he would do’, and when he did this the Lord sent an angel to him in a dream and reassured him everything was going to be alright. And told him which road to take.
Take this example of Joseph to heart, understand that what ever the crossroad is that you may find yourself at, it does have options, there is hope, it is not a dead end. It is up to you to consider your options and seek the Lord. He will give guidance to you just as he did to Joseph. You can turn a crossroad from being something that is daunting into something that is exciting and wonderfully blessed.
And most importantly, look at what the angel said to Joseph, “do not be afraid“.

A Christmas Devotion #10

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Matthew 2:1-2;“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him”.


When is something that looks same, not the same? if you have ever been to New York City you probably have come across ‘street vendors’ selling their ‘Louis Vuitton’ bags. Bags that look the same but are a cheap imitation at best. Here, in our text today i think we have a good example that falls into this very category. Look at the difference in the text we have read from the gospel of Matthew: ‘Herod the king’ and ‘He who has been born King of the Jews’. Now, even though the Greek word of king (βασιλεύς – basileus) is the same word that is used in both instances, i like what most English translations have done by capitalizing the word ‘King’ for Jesus. For there is a galaxy-sized chasm between their kingship. You see, Herod may have been ‘king’ of Judea put he doesn’t come close to Jesus, King of the Jews. When we read through the Gospels we see many facets of Jesus and His character. We see a Friend, a Healer, a Teacher, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the list could go on. This started me on a train of thought about how many times we look at Christ and only see an aspect of Him that we want to see? The side that embodies Love, the side that Delights in us, the side that sees Him as our Best Friend. Don’t get me wrong these are all great things that we see in Christ, but it is just a part of who He is. HE IS KING! We must never forget that He is the King of Kings and the Lord or Lords, the One in Revelation Chapter 1 with the snow white hair, eyes of like fire, feet like bronze, a voice like the sound of many waters, and a face like the sun shining in it’s strength. Couple that with Revelation 19 where we see a Christ coming on a white horse, clothed in a robe dipped in blood. This is a part of Christ also. The word awesome is often misused in our conversations today, but it is definitely the appropriate word to use when describing our King, He truly is Awesome in every sense of the word. To understand Christ, is to know Him and everything that He is, from Friend to Coming King. Let us not forget that this is the Man that will Judge all of mankind. The Only One who is qualified to do so.


He is King! Whether Pilate did it from a place of truthful sincerity or if he was adding insult to injury, what he had written on Christ’s Cross; “This is Jesus, The King of the Jews”, was incredibly accurate.


As the world looks to ‘their kings’ today, let’s remember our King. The Christ-Child.


Glory to the King.

A Christmas Devotion #9

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Micah 5:2; “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity”.
I have found that there is a common perception that ‘small’ often equals ‘worthless’. I disagree. I have learned both through text and experience that God is at work in the small things. Many of us can tell stories of when God has worked mightily in our lives. Not only in what we perceived to be the ‘big things’, but also in those ‘little things’ that we did not put much stock in at the time. Then, when we looked back, we realized that it was God’s Hand that started the whole thing.
The bible is full of scripture that points out that God is in the details, and that something big usually has small humble beginnings. We are told not to despise the day of small things, we hear the parable of the mustard seed, that although regarded as meaningless amongst the seeds, when it is planted and grown it becomes greater than all the other herbs and grows branches to lodge the fowl of the air. Again we read, that if you are faithful in little, you will be faithful in much. This list could be endless. As you know Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophesies in His first coming and this one found in Micah 5:2 is one of my favourites. I come from a small town in England that if I were to mention the name, the majority of people (In England) would have no idea where it was or that it even existed, a town that housed no more than 30,000 people is a small place indeed. (Perhaps you come from a town not too dissimilar to mine) So, I relate to the mention of Bethlehem Ephrathah being too little to be even classed among the clans of Judah. Many people may have seen this as a ‘nothing’ city. Only when Christ was born in Bethlehem do we really see this small town come to the forefront of history. I doubt very much that we would be able to find a person in our circles that has never heard of a small town in Israel called Bethlehem. Such was the magnitude of the event that took place there, that the name Bethlehem will be forever remember at this time of year. I even find the name Bethlehem Ephrathah interesting. Bethlehem means “House of Bread” and Ephrathah means “Place of Fruitfulness”. Wow! To come from a city that means that, now that is a place worthy of birthing the King of Kings.
So when you look at the workings of God in your own life, know that He is in the small things, know that you are in the Hands of One who comes from a ‘Place of Fruitfulness’. Ask the Lord for the spiritual discernment to see when God is working in the details of your life so that you may know Hos ways better.
I will finish on something that my dad taught us as children, he said, “Big Doors open on Little Hinges”. How true. If we simply scoff at what looks to be a ‘little hinge’ we might be overlooking the magnitude of the ‘door’ that God wants to open for us.

Never overlook those Small Hinges.