Author: admin

That’s Freckles. Isn’t she cute? She’s such a cool cat – a weird cat – aren’t they all, but cool. Freckles showed up at our house about seven years ago with a too tight collar around her neck. It took weeks to coax her to come close enough so we could grab her and cut that thing off. It then took more weeks and free food to get her to let us get close to her again.

She’s a very loving cat, as far as cats go, but she is the most skittish cat I’ve ever met. One minute she’s on the porch eating and the next thing you know she’s running like a madcat because we opened the door, because a car drove by, because we spoke in too loud a voice, because we looked at her. She’s a jittery little thing, you know, scared of her own shadow, a scaredy cat. I feel bad for her. When she’s not sleeping, she’s apprehensive, anxious and, yep you guessed it, nervous as a cat. You wouldn’t know from that peaceful position what’s really going on inside that tiny cat brain. I’ve said before people are a lot like chickens, we’re a lot like horses, we’re a lot like the worst-best, and I’ve decided we’re a lot like Freckles. We’re skittish, fearful, anxious, apprehensive, nervous-nellies, all the while our façade, our outward appearance, is confident, calm, peaceful.

Peace is not the outward opposite of the inward anxiety.

Next on our journey through the fruits of the Spirit is Peace. Do we drop Peace feathers on our paths or do we drop frenetic feathers? Peace. This one is a toughy. Let’s explore. What does peace mean, what is peace, what does peace look like, where do we get us some of that? We know the answer to that, right? The only right answer when you don’t know the answer and even when you do – Jesus! Let’s check out the red letters.

I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27

Well, there’s the answer to all those questions, right? Isn’t it funny sometimes when we get answers to our questions but we still don’t understand the answer? We don’t quite grasp the idea? We have trouble envisioning it much less obtaining it, right? We all want to be peace-filled and feel peaceful, right? So much so that we try a zillion different things to get it. We’re anxious, we buy. We’re anxious, we eat. We’re anxious, we over book. We’re anxious, we talk too much. We’re anxious, we spend too much. We’re anxious we over habit. We’re anxious, we over indulge. Here’s our problem – us! We think peace is something we can obtain and we just can’t. There’s only one place to get peace – Jesus – again, always the right answer. Look at John 14:26.

…the Holy Spirit –
he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.

Jesus said this gift I’m leaving you is the Holy Spirit.  He will teach you everything you need to know and remind you of what you once knew and forgot.  That’s what Paul was talking about in Galatians 5:22 – when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, the fruit of peace is produced. Peace can only be produced by the Holy Spirit living within us. Any attempt by us to try to satisfy our overwhelming desire for peace is futile, temporary and sinful. When we try to satisfy our own aching desires for peace, we’re relying on self and not on God. Peace can only come from Jesus.

Wednesday
Read Matthew 28:9 from the Good News. Spend time today in peaceful prayer at the feet of Jesus. Confess to Him the ways you’ve been trying to obtain peace on your own. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you and fill you with the full measure of God’s peace.

Thursday
Read Philippians 4:6-7. What is Paul’s solution for worrying less? Write down ways to stop the worry before it starts. Write down a description of the kind of peace that God gives. What does transcend mean?

Friday
Read Isaiah 55. What is the theme of this Chapter? What does the Word of the Lord produce? Look at the figurative reaction of creation. What do the mountains and the fields do?

Saturday
Read Isaiah 48:17-18. Peace and righteousness are linked together in these verses. Do we have peace like a river? Living in a right relationship with Jesus produces peace. How so? Look for scriptures that describe the results of a right relationship with Jesus.

Sunday
Read 1 Peter 5:7. We carry so many things around in our backpacks that weigh us down and prevent us from the peace that can only come from the Spirit. What are we carrying around that prevent us from having the complete peace that God intends for us? What do we need to get rid of – confess, forgive, move on, let go, let God?

Monday
Read 2 Corinthians 4. List some of the ways we are pressed, we are knocked down, and we suffer, Check out verse 18, specifically. What are we to fix our eyes on? What are we to focus on? How is our desire for peace satisfied? A beautiful reminder on how to never lose focus.

Tuesday
Read Psalm 29:11. Where does our strength come from? Where do we get Peace?

That’s our doormat. It’s a reminder to those of us who live there, and a message for those who visit of what the expectation is for all who gather inside. I love it. I need reminders. Reminders of the marks I’m making, those fruits that are produced inside me by Him.

So, next on our path of the fruits of the Spirit, feathers of the Spirit, markers in our lives, you’ve guessed it, is Joy. When our lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit, He will produce Joy. Do you have the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in your heart-where? You know, Spirit producing-life changing-situation defying-down in your heart to stay kind of Joy. We’re talking Joy, pure Joy. The kind of Joy that can only come when our lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit. So, who’s controlling me(you)? I know, ouch, sorry!

You might be athinkin’, what, I’m happy, so very happy. Well, most of the time. Well, when things go the way I think they should. Well, I will be when I get that promotion. Well, when my kids visit I’m happy. Well, when people aren’t arguing I’m happy. Well, I will be happy when I go on vacation. Well…  You might be happy, for a while. But do you have Joy?

Ooooh-oh-ooooh
I’m so happy, mmm-hmmm
I’m just as happy as I can be-ee-ee
Hay, hay, I stay so happy, mmm-hmmm
Since you gave your sweet
Sweet love to me-ee-ee

Hank Ballard (The Twist guy) sang about being happy. Sounds a little like a praise song, and it is. A praise song to his gal. The ecstatic happiness in this song is all because his woman loved him. He might be singing a different song if she took her sweet love from him, right? This happiness is circumstantial. It depends on circumstances, what’s happening in our lives. You know – good day, I’m happy. Bad day, I’m unhappy. Happiness depends on the external, the world. Joy depends on the internal, Who lives within us. Our Joy can be expressed in happiness, but our Joy is not dependent on happiness. You can have Joy without happiness, but you can’t have true, real, lasting happiness without Joy.

You love justice and hate evil.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.
Psalm 45:7

I stumbled across this verse a while back and have been chewing on it. The imagery is beautiful, isn’t it? The anointing by the pouring out of the oil of joy. What is the oil of joy? If we have accepted Christ, if the Holy Spirit lives within us, we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit of joy. I love the thought of that. Anointing with oil was common on joyous occasions in the Bible. In the Old Testament twice, Jacob poured oil over a stone as an honor to God. My mind compares the hardness of a stone to the hardness of my heart. Without the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of joy poured over my heart of stone, I am completely joyless, not just unhappy, joyless. 

So, how’s your Joy?  Do you need a Joy check?  Does your life reflect the indwelling Spirit of Joy?  You know, Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee kind of Joy?

Wednesday
Read Exodus 30:22-33. Whatever the anointing oil touched would be most holy. Read 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – Believers have been anointed with the blood of Christ. This cleansing blood has been poured over us, consecrated us, and replaced the hardness in our hearts with the Holy Spirit. Close your eyes and visualize those two scenes. The preparation of the holy anointing oils, the smell of the oils, the touching of the oils. Now close your eyes and visualize the Cross and Christ’s blood being poured over our hearts, the holy anointing oil. The seal of ownership. The deposit of the Spirit in our hearts. The result of the Spirit in our lives.

Thursday
Read Isaiah 61:10. Do we delight in the Lord? Why should we be overwhelmed with Joy? Spend time in prayer thanking Him.

Friday
Read John 15:1-17. Make a list of all the words that describe the kind of relationship we are to have with Jesus. What will this relationship produce? Are we producing much or little? Why? What must we do to be filled with the Joy of the Lord? Do we drop feathers of Joy on the path of our lives?

Saturday
Read John 17:6-19. This beautiful prayer of Jesus for His disciples (then and now). What is the key to the immeasurable Joy Jesus talks about in verse 13?

Sunday
Read Nehemiah 8:1-12. Where does our strength come from? What does that mean? Write it out. In verse 12 how did they celebrate and why did they celebrate? Are we joyful because we hear God’s word and we understand it? Do God’s words give us life? Do God’s words give us Joy?

Monday
Read Romans 15:13. Look inside today. Spend time in prayer and reflection regarding the fruit of Joy. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what kind of mark your life is making with regard to the fruit of Joy. Ask the Lord to open your mind to the true understanding of the fruit of the Spirit. Pray the power of the Holy Spirit will produce in you the fruit of Joy.

Tuesday
Read Galatians 5:22-23. Work on memorizing this verse today. Not just the fruits, but both verses. You cannot produce these fruits without the Holy Spirit controlling your life.

We’ve been talking about the marks we make. As children of God, it only seems right to follow the example of our Father. When Jesus set out to make His mark, He went to the producer of the mark. Are we being controlled by the Holy Spirit and producing fruit that is mark-worthy?

When Jesus sought to enrich others,

He mined in the quarry of Holy Spirit.

Charles Spurgeon

Isn’t that cool? Mining is something we know just a little about in West Virginia, even if we’re not miners. The quarry of the Holy Spirit holds deep veins of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. Close your eyes and picture that. Priceless fruits. When I read those, I wondered why they were listed in that particular order or was it even a particular order? Are they listed in order of importance? Are they listed in sequential order? Definitely not alphabetical order. But, the order is intriguing to me. Can we have any of them without the other? You know, joy without love? Gentleness without self-control? Faithfulness without peace or peace without faithfulness? Do you see what I’m saying? Each fruit is independent of the other fruits, its own vein. Each fruit is interdependent on the other fruits, all in the quarry of Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at Love, it is a pretty loose word these days, isn’t it? It flows so easily from our lips. We exclaim love about everything from ice cream flavors, to lipstick shades, to clothing styles, to jobs, to vehicles, to sports teams, etc. Do we even know what it really means? We throw the word around to the point that it has lost its meaning. In fact, we have to say I love, love, love… in order to make sure others believe us! You know what they say, loose love lips sink ships?

We need to get back to the basics of love. We need to reclaim the true meaning of God’s love. Love is not up to man’s interpretation, love is exactly what God says it is. God did not say I love you, God did I love you. God did not place conditions on His love for us. God’s love is not a feeling, it’s an action. God’s love makes its mark on our lives. In that same way, as His children, we too are to make our mark on others with God’s love.  How are we doing at doing love?

Wednesday
There are four types of love in the Bible. The first mention of the word love in the Bible is found in Genesis 22:2. This type of love is called storge. The love of a father for a son, or a father for a daughter. Dig in your Bible and find two other examples of storge love.

Thursday
The second type of love noted in the Bible is philios. Read Romans 12:10. Read John 13:35. Read John 15:13. Based on these scriptures, what is the definition of philios love?

Friday
Next we explore eros. Read Song of Solomon. The greatest example of romantic love in the Bible (in my humble opinion). We’ve allowed our world today to completely denigrate and redefine the meaning of this love. Do we eros our spouses in a Biblical way?

Saturday
Meditate on the three types of love we’ve just explored, storge, philos, eros. Pray the Holy Spirit’s guidance and direction in enacting those loves to others. Pray that the Spirit opens your heart to be able to express family love, brotherly love and romantic love so that the recipients of those expressions will understand how much you love them.

Sunday
Read Ephesians 5:1-2. Read John 13:34. Read Matthew 5:46-47. Who are we to imitate? How are we to imitate? How did Jesus love the world?

Monday
And finally, agape. Study Ephesians 2:4-10. God loved us so much that He… In these verses is love expressed in a feeling or an action? God said I Love You in these verses by giving the greatest gift of all, grace, through His Only Begotten Son. God’s grace is an act of love. We are to imitate this kind of unconditional love. How do we put this kind of love into action? What does that look like?

Tuesday
Read John 3:16-17. We probably know these verses by heart, God’s ultimate act of love, to die for sinners, to die for us, so that we would have eternal life. Chew on that a little. The ultimate self-sacrifice. Do we love others like that? Do we love others enough? Enough to risk positions, friends, reputations, condemnation, to lay down our lives for others – to do love?  Are we being controlled by the Holy Spirit and producing love that is mark-worthy?

I’m a chicken woman. Oh I know, they’re stinky, loud, and trouble to keep, but my pea-sized brain is comparable to theirs, in size and otherwise. I can really relate to a chicken. Weird, I know. I’ve figured out I have a lot in common with chickens. You do too. Sorry. Of course, we don’t look like chickens and we don’t speak chickenese, but just like chickens we loose our feathers, we make our mark. Since last week, I’ve been thinking so much about the marks of my life. You know, the feathers I drop on the path. I’m not sure if it’s because I need to gather some of those feathers that I’ve dropped, if it’s because I’ve got feathers in my hand right now ready to let fly, or if it’s because I need to be mindful of the future feathers that I’ll drop on the path. All three, I’m sure. Have you been thinking about it too? I mean the kinds of marks you’ve made, are making, will make on your path?

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

The Word tells us so plainly the marks we are to make, what we are to leave behind. Those fruits we should be dropping, the marks we should be making. So, based on Paul’s instructions in Galatians, how’s it going? Are you going UGH! too? I’ve made my mark in a lot of ways, unfortunately, not always fruitful. Our Lord has given us direction and reminders for the path and the marks we are to make. One of those guidelines was the fruits of the Spirit. Or, the feathers of the Spirit, if you will. Notice that the fruits are called fruits of the Spirit. Why? The Holy Spirit must control our lives in order to produce the kind of fruit we’re directed to by Paul and commanded to by Christ. We cannot produce this fruit on our own. We can only produce this fruit when the Spirit lives within us and has control of our lives. We must be obedient to that controlling Spirit. Does the Spirit live in you? Is He controlling your life? If so, what’s your path look like? What kind of feathers are you dropping?

Wednesday
Study Ephesians 1:3-14. Are we united with Christ? What happened when we believed in Christ?

Thursday
Study John 15:26-27. What two names does Jesus use in these verses for the Holy Spirit? Poke around in your Bible and find three more names by which the Holy Spirit is referenced. Using these names, write a sentence that describes who the Holy Spirit is.

Friday
Study Romans 8:1-17. Make a list of everything Paul tells us about the Holy Spirit in this passage.

Saturday
Study Romans 8:18-30. Reread verses 26-27. What does it mean that the Holy Spirit prays with us? Does it mean we don’t have to pray?

Sunday
Spend time in prayer praising God for sending His Spirit to guide, teach, counsel, help us.

Monday
Study Galatians 5:1-15. We are called to Freedom in Christ. Christ came to set us free. Free from what? Free to do what? Free to live lawlessly? Free to remain unchanged? What does freedom look like to you?

Tuesday
Study Galatians 5:16-26. How are we to live our new life in Christ? Do we have the desire to obey the Holy Spirit? Do we want to hear what He has to say? Are we willing to give up control of our lives to the Holy Spirit? What will the Holy Spirit produce in us?

You know I have these chickens. I started with eight and I’m down to five. They’re very structured little creatures. I open the coop in the morning and they follow me to the barn to get something to eat. They hop out of the coop white girl, white girl, red girl, black girl, black girl. We’re down to calling them by color because their molting makes it hard to otherwise tell them apart. After getting a bite to eat, a drink and dessert, the girls head out for their free range day to do what chickens do. Walk, eat, chatter. Red girl, black girl, black girl, white girl, white girl. Despite their light weight, over time, they have forged that path you see. These five little chickens weighing 2-3 pounds each – light as a feather, travel that path daily. That’s only one path they’ve created and on every path, they leave their mark behind. See the feather?

When I first noticed that path, it made me think, if those tiny little chickens forged that path, what does my path look like, being a little more weighty, I speak for myself. The point is, we’re all on a path, a journey, and just like my little white girl, we all leave our marks behind. We drop our feathers along the way. The relationship path. The family path. The Church path. The work path. The sports path. The grocery path. Good or bad on all those paths we’ve left a mark. We think we don’t, but we do.

So I ask myself, what path have I created? What mark have I made? Good or bad? What have I dropped along the way? I close my eyes when I think about these questions. Right off the top of my head there are so many paths I know I shouldn’t have traveled, and so many marks I wish I hadn’t made. Let me give you a little example. At work the other day, I had a particularly frustrating call. Of course, I was all smiles on the line, but then I hung up. Ahhhh!!! I walked down the hall fusing,fuming, and neck swiveling like no other. Folks saw me fussing, fuming and some where even concerned for my poor neck. Then it hit me. I just marked the path I walked. Thank you Lord for revealing, I’m sorry about that mark. You see the mark I made was not a Godly mark, it was a full out Bethly mark. Not the mark I want to make on my path. How about you? Can you think of a similar mark you made today?  We don’t always get to determine our path although most times we do through our own life choices. But, we always get to choose how we mark our path. People will remember the feathers we leave behind.

Wednesday
Check out Ephesians 5:1-5 and 1 John 2:6 – What path are you on? Whose example are you following? What marks are you leaving behind? Are they marks of sweet perfume?

Thursday
Read Matthew 27:31-54 – Jesus followed the path before Him. The path set forth before time began. What mark did Jesus make on the world? What did He leave behind?

Friday
Study Mark 16:15 – Jesus set forth the path for all Believers. Have we applied this path to our life? Are we following the path set out by Him? If so, what are the marks on the path?

Saturday
Read Matthew 5:13-16 – How does Jesus tell us to mark our path? Look up more examples that Jesus gave us for marking our path.

Sunday
Spend time in prayer. Seeking the Lord’s path and how He wants you to mark that path.

Monday
Study 1 Timothy 4:12 – Paul’s charge to Timothy. On our paths, we are to leave behind marks of speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Think about your life and whether or not those specific marks left behind are good or bad? Positive or negative? Do we need to changes paths? Do we need to ask forgiveness for the marks?

Tuesday
Read 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 – Think about your life. As we follow the path set out by God, in what ways can we be examples, can we make a Godly mark?

…in yonder stall…
…at whose feet the shepherds fall?
…in deep distress, Fasting in the wilderness?
…the people bless For His words of gentleness?
…to whom they bring All the sick and sorrowing?
…that stands and weeps At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
…the gath’ring throng Greet with loud triumphant song?
…Prays in dark Gethsemane?
…on yonder tree Dies in grief and agony?
…that from the grave Come to heal and help and save?
…that from His throne Rules through all the world alone?

‘Tis the Lord! Of wondrous story! ‘Tis the Lord! The King of glory! At his feet we humbly fall, Crown Him! Crown Him, Lord of all!

Birth is ordinary. The King of Glory exchanged Heaven for earth! A manger for a crib. Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

Baby clothes are ordinary. The King of glory exchanged Heaven for earth! He was swaddled in strips of cloth. Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

Death is ordinary. The King of glory exchanged Heaven for earth! He was lifted on a pole for the forgiveness of sins. Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

Burial clothes are ordinary. The King of glory exchanged Heaven for earth! He was swaddled in a linen cloth. Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

Entombment is ordinary. The King of glory exchanged Heaven for earth! Sealed in a borrowed tomb. Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

Everlasting life is ordinary. The King of glory exchanged Heaven for earth! He arose! Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

Sin is ordinary. The King of glory exchanged Heaven for earth! Salvation from sin has come! Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

He gave all so that we could have all. He traded a throne for a cross. He became nothing so that we could become something. From a manger in a cave to a thief’s death on a cross. He became poor to make us rich! Everything ordinary is extraordinary because of the King!

You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9

Wednesday
Read 2 Corinthians 8:9. List the ways in which Jesus became poor so that we could become rich.

Thursday
Read Romans 8:1-2. Look up and write down the definition of condemn. Now that you know the definition, how does it make you feel to know that you are no longer condemned? What has freed you from condemnation?

Friday
Read Philippians 2:5-10. God gave Jesus the name above all names. Make a list of all the names of Jesus that you can find.

Saturday
Read Matthew 2:2. Who sought Jesus? Research a little about these wise men. How far did they travel to see Jesus? Would we travel that far to see our Savior? Because of the resurrection, we don’t have to physically travel to see Jesus, although seeing Him may cause our physical travels to change. We need only travel in our hearts and minds. Are we willing to do that? How far would we travel in our hearts and minds to see Jesus?

Sunday
If you were a wise man traveling to see the Baby Jesus, what gift would you take?

Monday
Read Isaiah 45:14-25. What are the promises of the King of glory? Do these promises sound extraordinary to you? Could it be because the King of glory is an extraordinary King? Do we think of Him in that way or only in human ways?

Tuesday
Spend time today in prayer praising the King of glory for the promises He has made, has kept, and will keep. In your prayers consider how rich we are through Christ Jesus. Praise the King of glory today for revealing His extraordinary grace to an extraordinarily sinful world.

And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
Luke 2:6

Ordinary event, extraordinary description. The King James puts it so beautifully, “the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” We’ve been looking at the birth we’re celebrating today through a different lens this Advent Season. The lens of the extraordinary in the ordinary. Remember, birth is an ordinary event. The birth of our Savior, the Messiah is an extraordinary ordinary event. But, there’s something else that’s extraordinary that wouldn’t be extraordinary except for the ordinary act of birth:

They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan–
this rebirth comes from God.
John 1:13

Reborn! What? Birth is an ordinary natural event, you can’t re-do birth. What is this thing called rebirth? It sounds extraordinary! Rebirth is not really possible, is it? What are you talking about John?

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,
you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
John 3:3-4

Nicodemus asked the question everyone else wanted to but was afraid to. You see, Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the high council, a religious leader among the people. He came to Jesus one night under cover of darkness. It was extraordinary for a Pharisee to seek out Jesus for answers. The people thought maybe Jesus was the Messiah, the Pharisees were sure he wasn’t. Nicodemus was wavering. So he asked — How? Jesus tells him.

Jesus replied, “I assure you,
no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”
John 3:5-6

Nicodemus got an extraordinary answer. You don’t enter into the Kingdom of God by being a good person, by following the laws, by regularly making offerings of your tithes. The only way to enter into the Kingdom of God is to be born again. This time born of the water and the Spirit. Not an ordinary physical rebirth, but an extraordinary rebirth. A rebirth consummated by the Living Water and the Spirit of Life. Why do we need to be reborn? Because we are sinful people, every one of us, no exceptions. extraordinarily so. Extraordinary sinfulness requires extraordinary, amazing grace. Grace that can only come from the Living Water and the Spirit of Life. Extraordinary, abounding grace that can only come from our rebirth.

So, have you been born again, have you experienced rebirth? Sounds like an old-fashioned, holy roller kind of question, doesn’t it? It does sound extraordinary. Jesus makes it very clear to us, no hidden meanings or messages – no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born again.

Wednesday
Read Luke Chapter 2.  Do you see this wonderful thing that has happened?  Spend time today praising God for the extraordinary Light He brought into the world through an ordinary birth. Hark! The herald angels sing Glory to the Newborn King!

Thursday
Are the days accomplished for your rebirth? Will you enter into the Kingdom of God? Are you born again? Jesus is always true to His Word, and He said no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born again. We will explore these questions through our study this week because these are life or death questions that must be answered.

Friday
Read John Chapter 3. Circle every reference to rebirth in these verses.  Think about Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and the Pharisees believed that salvation came from extraordinary obedience to the law, not extraordinary grace from God. Jesus said that’s not truth. The only way Nicodemus could be a part of the Kingdom of God was to be born again. That’s truth. That message is the same for us.

Saturday
Read John 14:1-7.  The Word tells us clearly there’s only one path to the Kingdom of God. What is that path?
Read Acts 13:38-39.  What did Jesus do that the Jewish law taught by the Pharisees could never do?

Sunday
Spend time on this Sabbath praising God for the extraordinary in the ordinary, for the birth of our Savior, the Messiah, by whose extraordinary mercy and grace forgives us of our sins.

Monday
Read Ephesians 1:9-14.  The manger is the center of the nativity. Christ is the center of God’s plan. What is God’s plan? What is the Good News? What happens to us when we believe the truth? How do we know that God will give us everything he has promised? What is our guarantee?

Tuesday
Read 2 Corinthians 1:22.  Read Ephesians 4:30.  God promised extraordinary grace for our extraordinary sinfulness, salvation through His Son, Jesus. What is the guarantee of that promise? Knowing we carry that promise in our hearts, does that change the way we live? Should that change the way we live? Do we live like we’re born again?

So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us.
John 1:14

Today in the world about 14,708 babies will be born each hour. Now in the early days birth was not quite happening at that rate, but it was happening. Afterall, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. He told Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiple. He told Jacob aka Israel to be fruitful and multiple. So this is what was supposed to happen, right? Babies were to be born. Procreation was on.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:18

The Word became human by being born of a woman. Mary. At first glance it looks so ordinary, doesn’t it? A woman has a baby. Happens every day. But if we really think about it, it is quite fantastic. We all pretty much know this story. It’s the Reason for the Season, right? But do we really understand how extraordinary it is? His mother found out she was pregnant by an angel not a doctor. This pregnancy was not unplanned but a planned pregnancy from the beginning of time. His parents were not married but betrothed. His mother was not a woman but a teenaged girl. His father was not Joseph but the Holy Spirit. He was born in a manger not a hospital. There obviously were some extraordinary happenings surrounding the birth of this baby.

Here’s how Sinclair Ferguson describes it:

Christ came into the womb of a virgin and emerged from it as a new-born infant. He came to share our humanity from its beginning—an embryo cradled in the body of a teenaged virgin.

What a beautiful vision. Cradled from womb to manger. Although important, the most extraordinary part isn’t how He came or the events surrounding the birth, but why He came, that’s the most beautiful vision.

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

The ordinary course of life starts with birth. If we do not see the extraordinary in this ordinary, we will have missed Jesus.

Wednesday
Read John 1:1-18. What does The Word mean? Write out your understanding of it.

Thursday
Read John 1:1-18. What do these scriptures say about Jesus being fully human and fully God?

Friday
Read Genesis 1:1. Who was there in the beginning?
Read Genesis 1:26. Who created people? In whose image were they created? Hint – look for the pronouns.

Saturday
Review your answers to the questions posed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Sunday
Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal to you how extraordinary He is.

Monday
Read Luke 4:14-22. What was Jesus sent to do?

Tuesday
Spend time in prayer today praising God for sending the hope of the earth to release us from our sins and fears. Praise God for sending The Word.

Check that out! If you saw this in my yard you’d think nothing of it. I live in the country, that’s an ordinary sight. But, if I told you where this was, you’d freak out. Ok, I’ll tell you – downtown Washington, DC. Yep, I know, it’s crazy. My nephew sent me this picture a few weeks back. It was in his neighbor’s yard. Right downtown! Isn’t that wild? That’s bigger than any buck in our neck of the woods, though my men would protest. But, how extraordinary to see that in the hustle and bustle of a busy urban area.

Well my nephew went on to tell me that there’s actually a herd of deer that live in his neighborhood. They see them from time to time. Of course, with the dense people population and traffic in that area I expect the terrain is probably a little precarious for them. It’s just out of place, right?

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
Luke 2:6-7

Talk about out of the ordinary… Can you count on one hand the number of folks you know that have given birth in a stable, who had no crib for a bed? Think about it. I know none. It’s just out of place, right? But, when in Bethlehem? I mean sure, we’ve all had trouble finding a hotel when traveling – No Vacancy! Travel trouble usually comes when we’ve had an overly long day on those desert highways and we just want to stop, eat, and rest. But, how many of us have had to hole up in a stable with the cows and the donkey we rode in on? How many of us have used a feeding trough as a place to cradle our baby’s head? I know none. Joseph and Mary were following God’s will and the birth of the Messiah in a stable was certainly out of place. Following God took them on an extraordinary journey. But, isn’t that just how God works?

Wednesday
Read Luke 2:1-7.

Thursday
Read Luke 2:1-7 from a different version.

Friday
List all the extraordinary happenings in Luke 2:1-7.

Saturday
Following God took Joseph and Mary on an extraordinary journey. Think about your extraordinary journey of following God. Where has God taken you? Do you feel out of place?

Sunday
Spend time in praise today for the extraordinary, the Son of God born in a stable.

Monday
Read Romans 12:1-2.

Tuesday
During this Christmas season how can we not copy the ordinary behavior of the world? How can we show extraordinary this Christmas season? How can we be out of place?

Look at that poor little thing. She’s darn near down to her birthday suit, which is not good for a chicken in winter. What’s wrong with her, you ask? She’s molting. Molting is when a chicken loses it’s feathers, ordinarily in early fall, in order to grow new feathers for winter. During molting they usually stop laying eggs (they’re currently not earning their keep) in order to store up nutrients for the winter. So it is December 4, and some of my gals are almost naked as a jaybird. They really are pathetic looking. It’s hard to watch them shivering and bracing against the December winds. We can usually see reason behind nature’s happenings. Some things we understand. A chicken loosing it’s feathers when they need them the most is not something I can comprehend. But of course, there are many things I cannot comprehend, believe it or not. Wink. Wink.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

Well there you have it. His ways are not our ways. Plain and simple. Completely understandable. Afterall, He is God. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Afterall, He is God. The God whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours invited the exiles to “come” and partake in the Lord’s salvation.

“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:34-35

The God whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours invites us exiles to “come” and partake in the Lord’s salvation in extraordinary ways we cannot comprehend, through the virgin birth of His Son. How can this be? After all, He is God.

Wednesday
Read Isaiah 55.

Thursday
What is the “everlasting covenant” found in Isaiah 55:3?

Friday
List the promises that God makes in Isaiah 55:10-13?

Saturday
Read Luke 1:26-38.

Sunday
List the promises that God makes in Luke 1:26-38.

Monday
Spend time in prayer praising and thanking God for His promises made in Isaiah 55 and Luke 1. Those promises resulted in our salvation.

Tuesday
Ponder – Knowing His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, would we trust God if He called us to be Mary, if He called us to something we did not quite understand?