Category Archives: Advent Adventures

Christmas Devos

Christmas Program

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One of my duties as Christian Ed. Director at our church is to put on a Christmas program with all the children, preschool through 8th grade.  Today was the day.  Which means tonight I am reveling in the fact that I will not have bad dreams about angels refusing to go on stage or wise men horsing around in front of the manger.  After the dress rehearsal I always cry because I’m sure the play will be a disaster.  After the performance I always cry because the play, miraculously, was perfect.  Here’s what I mean:

In the preschool presentation, Mary smiled the sweetest smile you ever saw and waved to her parents.  The lamb knew every song by heart, but came in one beat before everyone else.  She had the prettiest little voice.  The wisemen had penciled in moustaches, giving them an oriental flair.  The angels couldn’t get their wings to stay on straight.  The shepherd’s head scarf fell off and he struggled to tie it back on while kneeling at the manger.  Perfect.

In the the big kids’ play, the soloists hit every note, and sang right into the mic.  Nobody missed their lines and everybody remembered everything I ever told them to do.  The 7th and 8th graders with the most lines delivered them all with expression.  The 6th grader who agreed to sing a solo at the last minute pulled it off without a hitch.  The quiet kids turned it up a notch and the loud kids kept it under control.  Also perfect.

I love doing this.  I’m also really glad it’s over for another year.

Pick Me

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After the last post, and pondering how Mary responded to God’s message, I’ve been wondering how other people in the Bible reacted to a word from the Lord. For instance, Joseph. There is not one recorded word in the scriptures from the mouth of Joseph. In fact, almost every time he’s mentioned, he’s sleeping. God speaks to Joseph four times, each time in a dream. God is always telling Joseph to “get up”. To Joseph’s credit, what follows is, “so he got up” — but not a word. He must have been the strong silent type.

Now, take Moses. God speaks to him from a burning bush about delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After giving God four reasons why he is not the man for the job, Moses finally just spits out, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” It reminds me of trying to find someone to teach the Junior High Sunday school class.

Then there’s Isaiah. God said, “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah is like the kid in the back row of the 3rd grade classroom who desperately wants to be the first one to give the answer to the teacher. Isaiah shoots his hand up in the air and almost falls out of his seat, saying “Ooo, oo, oo, me! Send me!!! Pick me!!!” God must have loved that. Especially after dealing with Moses.

Demure Mary, quiet Joseph, reticent Moses, enthusiastic Isaiah – God used them all, regardless of the adjective before their name.

Where There’s a Will…

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I don’t know how preachers do it. Every year during Advent, they must sermonize about Luke 1-2 for several weeks. The story is so familiar and the list of characters is quite small. It must be challenging to shed new light on the old account. Ah! but the wonder of God’s Word is such that there is a gift hidden for the one who seeks. I ask the Lord each Christmas season to show me something new and I’ve never been disappointed.

In church on Sunday, we read about Mary’s response to the angel’s announcement that she was going to have a baby. I’ve always been puzzled that such earth-shattering news delivered by a heavenly being got such an undramatic response. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said,” doesn’t come close to what my reaction would have been.  (Something more like, “WHAT?!?!?!?!?”) 

Then I noticed something brand new right there in Luke 1. One little word, spoken 9 times by the angel:

“You WILL be with child…”

“He WILL be great and WILL be called the Son of the Most High…..”

“The Lord God WILL give him the throne…”

“He WILL reign….”

“His kingdom WILL never end….”

“The Holy Spirit WILL come upon you….”

“The power of the Most High WILL overshadow you….”

“He WILL be called the Son of God….”

It was a done deal. The plan was already in motion and Mary’s answer was perfect. She didn’t say, “Yes, I’ll do it” or “No, find someone else” because she wasn’t asked; she was told. And there was no way she was about to debate with a heavenly messenger talking about thrones and kingdoms and power.

Sometimes God asks us, “Will you?”. Sometimes He says, “You will.”

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” is the best answer still.