Corona Devotionals

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ( 9) An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ( 10) But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ( 11) Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord… (13) Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, (14) “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (14) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (15) When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (16) So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the mang...

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and  he who abides in love abides in God, and God  in him. ~ I John 4:16 We've heard the adage (and verse) that " God is love ", bu t I have found that it can be fairly difficult to transfer this idea/feeling/truth from the pages of the Bible to the pages of our lives. And lately, I have been struggling in teaching this " love " to my kids. With Christmas rapidly approaching, they are so caught up in their own wants that they have not had any interest in the needs of others. And simply put, love is having an interest in others and their needs. And when God's love abides in us, then we get it-- the depth, the care, the affection He has for us. And the moment we realize that--we too can begin to abide in love , instead of ourselves. But the two teens and pre-teen in our home were not there yet. They were very much abiding in themselves and their ever-growing and ever-changing ...

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world… (3) And everyone went to their own town to register. (4) So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. (5) He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. (6) While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, (7) and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.   ~Luke 2:1, 3-7 Such a simple and familiar story. We have heard it all before...every year in fact, right around this time. But these matter-of-fact verses are laid out in Luke in much the same way that the latest wet-layer of paper mache is laid onto a child's volcano or face-mask project. Simple and straightforward, but with precision and layer-upo...

How are we at obedience? There is something (sinful) about our nature that fights it. The world preaches a "make it on your own" and "call your own shots" mantra, and there is an advertised prestige to being "self-made". But the reality is, we are not self-made. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ( 16) … all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be .  ~Psalm 139:13, 16 We are "made" by the Lord our God and He has a good and beneficial plan for our lives...but will we follow it? Will we seek His plan and the days He has written in His book for us? Will we choose to obey Him? Joseph (Mary's husband and the earthly "dad" of Jesus) gives us some excellent life-examples of obeying God, and we might not have a "Christmas story" if Joseph hadn't obeyed the Lord whole-heartedly and immediately. First, he was engaged to Mary and she "...

I had a Grinch-moment today. Not like you might (kindly) think...that I had a single moment of being like the Grinch, and slipped into a tiny bit of grumpiness/or I lost focus on what really matters for a minute/or I was momentarily missing the real meaning of Christmas. Embarrassingly, those Grinchy characteristics would describe too many of my December days lately. It's like I stepped into a big green Grinch costume and zipped it up over my skin and heart just as December got rolling. The holidays approaching should be shouting of Christ's birth and the salvation that He brings to anyone willing to believe on Him. But instead I've been "shouting" lately (in attitude and body language), and not about Jesus being born. About lists/gifts/things-to-get-done/events to attend/people-to-see/food-to-prepare and planning "merry" things...but the stress of the pace and my mis-focus has made me (and those near to me) anything but "merry", which n...

Have you ever had the "perfect comeback" to zing someone...but held your tongue? Have you ever been in position to "nail someone" (physically, verbally, or emotionally)...and yet refrained from doing so? Have you ever been betrayed by someone close to you or hurt by someone who should have loved you, and had the opportunity to settle the score...but instead sealed your lips? David, a man seeking to live-for and serve the Lord had the perfect opportunity to "get even" with King Saul (who was trying to kill him), but in Godly restraint (and example), he did not retaliate. After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. ( 2) So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. (3) At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding ...