Shortly after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph took him to the temple in Jerusalem. There was a man named Simeon to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would see the Messiah before Simeon died. Simeon was at the temple the day Mary and Joseph arrived, and when he saw the baby Jesus he held the baby and proclaimed, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Luke 2:29-32.

I like the section describing Jesus as “a light to reveal God to the nations” This is the fundamental message we as Christians are to send to the world, that God loves each of us so much that he sent Jesus into the world to save us from what we deserve.

Dear Lord, How great your love for us is, that you would send Jesus as a way for all to be saved. Help us share this simple but powerful message with all, “Jesus is the light that reveals God to the World.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

There is a fable, you may have heard, about an American banker taking a vacation and encounters a fisherman in a small Caribbean village. The banker was impressed with fisherman’s catch, and asked how long it took to catch the fish. When the fisherman said, “not too long,” the banker asked what the fisherman did with his extra time. The fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends”

As the story goes, the banker suggests that the fisherman work a little harder, save some money to get a larger boat, grow his business, move to a larger market, and eventually after 15-20 years of working hard building his business, he could sell it for lots of money. The fisherman asked what would he do then, and the banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends.”

I am not advocating being lazy, or providing less than our best to the marketplace, but the story makes us stop and think about our priorities.

1 Timothy 6:9-13, says, “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

Dear Lord, you have provided us so many opportunities to contribute and things to experience in our lives, help us find the balance You desire for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Many of us have memorized the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…..” and we probably know it in the language of the King James (KJV), or Revised Standard (RSV) versions of the Bible.

In the RSV, verse 3 says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake.” Which is not completely clear in our modern language, however, reading this verse in the New Living Translation (NLT) says, “He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” This helps me understand a little more clearly.

If we follow Jesus, our shepherd, he will show us the right paths. We do not need to stress and worry about what to do. We trust Him and move forward, and He will lead us.

Dear Lord, many of us have concerns about decisions and questions in life. Help us remember that if we look to you for guidance, you will put us on the right path, and bring honor to You. In Jesus’ name we pray.

There is a concept in Mathematics called a Proof. A Proof is a step by step demonstration that a formula is actually true. A teacher or professor would ask a student something like, “Prove that the area of a rectangle is its length multiplied by its height,” and the student would explain the steps that show this formula is true.

In Matthew 3:8 John the Baptist tells the Pharasees, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”

If he asked us, could we “prove,” by our behavior, that we have repented, turned from our sinfulness and worked at doing God’s will?

Dear Lord, You know our every thought and action, and know whether we are truly repentant. Give us the strength and will to turn from, and resist, our sinful desires and actions, so that our lives “prove” our repentance. in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do you ever wonder how people who have been victims of terrible crimes can forgive those who committed those crimes? We know that the Bible tells us we should forgive, but in some cases it seems almost impossible.

Proverbs 10:12 says, “..love covers all wrongs.” and in 1 John 4:8, John writes, “…God is love.” It is God’s love working through us that allows us to forgive those who seem un-forgivable, and to overcome those seemingly impossible conflicts we encounter.

Dear Lord, It was ultimately your love for us that covered our wrongs through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Help us draw on your love to overcome conflicts in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.