God is first

12/11- - 10 Commandments- 1,2,3

Read: “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me.  You shall not worship idols.  You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Ex. 20); “Glory to God in the highest.” (Lk. 2:14)

Thoughts: The first three commandments teach us to respect God.  We have a tendency to make God in our image instead of listening to God’s description of Himself.  We should be careful to not make other things more important than God in our lives- or those things become our false gods.  This means no toy, no game, nothing should be above God in our hearts.  When we talk about God we need to be careful to talk about Him reverently and kindly.  When the angels sang at Christmas, "Glory to God in the highest" they meant that He is always first and receives highest praise and glory.  

Activity:  At Christmas we can get so busy.  Make time each day to do these devotionals together, and make time to go to church – even if we stayed up late doing other things the night before.  

Prayer: Help me to remember Lord, that you are God.  May you have first place in my heart and life.  

Lake Murray Presbyterian pulpit at advent

12/16/14- God and the Search

Dec. 16, 2014

Scripture: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:13-14).

Thoughts: What does “Glory to God in the highest” mean?  It means God stands above our highest thoughts and most sincere quests for meaning or purpose in the universe.   It means God stands above our highest hopes, dreams, longings, and aspirations.  It means He stands above our deepest feelings and intuitions about how the world should be.  It means God stands above all realms of human thought, wisdom, conjecture, and speculation, including all religious or philosophical speculation.  It means God stands above the entire world of human possibility and above our highest expectations as to who God is or should be.  “Glory to God in the highest” means God is not the fulfillment, even the last, supreme fulfillment, of what you and I were looking for all along.  Luther wrote: “Man would have never found God, even had he looked for him in the heights.”  “Glory to God in the Highest” means Christmas is not about man’s search for God.  It’s about God’s search for man and God finding us in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.  Christmas is about God condescending from the greatest heights to the lowest depths, even the depths of Hell, for our sake.  This is not only the true meaning but also the great joy of Christmas!

(Shepherd's Field- Bethlehem)

Prayer: O Lord, humble us who have been so high-minded that we have failed to see who it is who came to us in such humble ways so long ago in Bethlehem.  Teach us that your thoughts are higher than our thoughts and that your ways are higher than our ways so that we may know you, love you, and follow you.  In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray.  Amen.

Application: Think about ways in which you have tried to fit God into your hopes, dreams, and aspirations instead of fitting into his purposes and ask him to forgive you and renew a right spirit within you!