LET’S READ IT!

READ: 2 Timothy 3:10-17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. – 2 Timothy 3:16

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 19-22

After 30 years as a pastor, a New Jersey minister concluded, “The Bible is the best-selling, least-read, and least-understood book.” In his view, “Biblical illiteracy is rampant.”

George Gallup, the foremost religion pollster in the US, agrees: “We revere the Bible,” he says, “but we don’t read it.” In a recent survey, 64 percentage of those questioned said they were too busy to read the Bible. The average household has three Bibles but less than half the people in the US can name the first book in the Old Testament. One survey found that 12 percentage of its Christian respondents identified Noah’s wife as Joan of Arc!

The solution? Read the Bible! Join me in a commitment to read the entire Bible through in the coming year. It will take about 15 minutes a day to follow the reading guide in this booklet. Are we too busy for that?

The goal is not information, but transformation. Someone summarized 2 Timothy 3:16 by saying: “God’s Word shows us which road to take (doctrine). It tells us when we get off track (reproof); how to get back on (correction); and how to stay on (instruction in righteousness).”

God’s Word is a precious gift. So let’s read it through this coming year. – David McCasland

If you’ve never read the Bible through,

There’s a special joy awaiting you:

You could start the New Year out just right

Walking with the Lord and in His light. – Hess

The Bible: The more you read it, the more you love it; the more you love it, the more you read it.

POETIC JUSTICE

READ: Revelation 16:1-7

Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments. – Revelation 16:7

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 16-18

A group of rowdy teenagers spray-painted obscenities on the brick walls of a local high school. The police charged them with malicious destruction of property. The judge sentenced them to probation with no jail time – but only if they could get every bit of paint off the walls, including the cracks between the bricks. It took those days!

Another judge gave some vandals the opportunity to learn all about dry-walling – by repairing a home they were found guilty of ransacking.

I admire judges like these who hand down punishments that fit the crimes!

Our Lord also has a sense of poetic justice – a way of making sure the guilty get paid back in a way that suits what they’ve done, sometimes in a way they least expect. Think of Haman, who was hanged from the same gallows he built for Mordecai (Est. 7:7-10). In the future, as Revelation 16:6 tells us, those who “have shed the blood of saints and prophets” will be given “blood to drink. For it is their just due.” In these examples, the guilty are punished in a way that fits their crimes.

In Revelation 16:7, we read, “Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” We can be glad they are not only poetic, but right! – Dave Egner

The best of judges on this earth

Aren’t always right or fair;

But God, the Righteous Judge of all,

Wrongs no one in His care. – Egner

God’s judgment may not be immediate, but it is inevitable.

A WORTHY EFFORT

READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 13-15

Have you heard about the “lawn-chair astronaut”? A 31-year-old truck-driver attached 40 large, helium-filled balloons to a lawn chair. Then, with a CB radio, an altimeter, a parachute, and a life jacket, he began his ascent into the “wild blue yonder.” He also took a pellet gun so that he could shoot as many of the balloons as necessary when he was ready to come back to earth.

When he reached an altitude of 3 miles, he decided it was time to come down, so he started popping balloons with his gun. As he tried to land, he got caught in a power line. He later said, “My family used to think I was crazy. Now they want me to write a book, and my sister wants me to get an agent.”

Well, I certainly would never encourage anyone to attempt a dangerous stunt like that. I can think of a number of other activities that will do more than simply get your name in the news. As a Christian, you must set out to do things that are worthy of the effort and risks. Your goal should be to fight the good fight, to finish the race, and to keep the faith (2 Tim. 4:7).

Striving to attain spiritual goals brings personal satisfaction, imparts blessing to others, and offers an eternal reward (v. 8). That’s a worthy effort! – Richard De Haan

O Thou who died on Calvary

To save my soul and make me free,

I’ll consecrate my life to Thee,

My Saviour and my God! – Hudson

Is what you’re living for worth dying for?

THE UNTOUCHABLES

READ: Mark 1:40-45

Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him. – Mark 1:41

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 9-12

Of all diseases, leprosy is the only one singled out by the Law of Moses and linked with sin. It’s not that having leprosy was sinful, nor was it the result of sin. Rather, the disease was seen as a graphic symbol of sin. If we could see sin, it would look something like leprosy.

In Mark 1 we read about a leper who fell on his knees before Jesus and made his request: “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (v. 40). It’s the first instance in the Gospels of a plain request for healing – touching and profound in its simplicity.

Jesus was “moved with compassion” (v. 41). People normally felt sympathy for the sick and troubled, but not for lepers. Because they were considered in those days as “unclean” both ceremonially and physically (Lev. 13:45; 22:4), they were repulsive in every way to most people, who stayed as far away from them as possible. Nevertheless, Jesus was “willing” to reach out to this desperate, disease-ridden man and actually touch him! At that very moment the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

Why did Jesus touch this man? He could have healed him just by saying, “Be cleansed.” But His touch illustrated His great compassion. Jesus loves sinners. Do we? – David Roper

Jesus taught when He lived on this earth

How to show love to the lost;

So don’t be afraid to give a kind touch,

No matter how much it may cost. – Carbaugh

To love sinners is to be like Jesus.

FILLING UP EMPTY

READ: Psalm 62

Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. – Psalm 62:10

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 1-3

“This house ain’t worth robbing,” said a thief who seemed to feel he was wasting his time. According to a news report, the burglar broke into a home and held the owner at knifepoint while looking for money. He ransacked the place but turned up only $3 in change, $5 in a wallet, and a few pieces of cheap jewellery.

The thief apparently concluded that the homeowner was worse off than he was, so he gave back to him the $8 he was going to steal. “I think he was disgusted,” said the 32-year-old victim. “He couldn’t believe that was all the money I had.”

We might smile at the bad fortune of this thief. But we can often have a similar kind of experience. It happens whenever we try to take something that God has not given us. Following the path of envy, jealousy, adultery, theft (Ps. 62:10), or just plain stubborn wilfulness, always results in more trouble than profit.

David, the psalmist, learned this the hard way. When he stole Uriah’s wife, he ended up with far more trouble and far less happiness than he had bargained for (2 Sam. 11 – 12).

Father, help us to believe that it never pays to take what You have not given. Help us not to waste our lives chasing things that leave You out and leave us empty. – Mart De Haan

The little choices we must make

Will chart the course of life we take;

We either choose the path of light

Or wander off in darkest night. – D. De Haan

Sin is never worth the trouble.

A PROMISED GIFT

READ: Isaiah 9:1-7

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. – Isaiah 9:6

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 John, 3 John, Jude

I read several years ago about a woman who hurriedly purchased 50 Christmas cards without looking at the message inside. She quickly signed and addressed all but one, and then dropped them in a mailbox. Just imagine her dismay when later she glanced inside the one unmailed card and read these words:

This card is just to say

A little gift is on the way.

No doubt there were 49 people wondering what happened to their presents.

How different was God’s promise to us! Many years before the Saviour was born, the Lord spoke through Isaiah, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). And in verse 6 of chapter 9 we read, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” Did God keep His word? Indeed He did! Galatians 4:4 states, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son.”

On this special day, as we commemorate the birth of Christ, let’s thank God that He meant what He said. He not only promised, but He also gave. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15). – Richard De Haan

On Christmas morning long ago

Into this world of sin and woe

The blessed Saviour came;

God’s wondrous gift of love was He,

God’s gift to lost humanity –

O glory to His name! – Staples

No gift is more needed by a dying world than a living Saviour.

SWEET LITTLE JESUS BOY

READ: John 1:1-14

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. – John 1:11

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 John 3-5

On Christmas Eve 1932, Robert McGimsey attended a midnight church service in New York City and then headed back to his one-room apartment. As he walked the final blocks, he passed the open doors of private clubs where people were shouting and swearing and singing. Others were so drunk they had passed out on the sidewalk.

What a strange way to celebrate the birth of the most perfect Person who ever lived on this earth, McGimsey thought. We seem to have missed the whole significance of His life. That night McGimsey wrote his thoughts on the back of an envelope. These words, written like the spirituals he had loved growing up in the southern United States, flowed out of his heart:

Sweet little Jesus Boy,

They made You be born in a manger.

Sweet little Holy Child, didn’t know who You was.

Didn’t know You’d come to save us, Lord,

To take our sins away.

Our eyes was blind, we couldn’t see,

We didn’t know who You was.

The song offers an apology to the Christ-child for not recognizing Him when He came to this earth. But every year gives us an opportunity to look again at Jesus’ birth with new eyes of understanding and acceptance.

Will we recognize and honour Him as our Lord and King this Christmas? – David McCasland

The hinge of history is found on the door of a Bethlehem stable.

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

READ: 1 John 2:7-11

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. – John 8:12

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 John 1-2

One dark and ominous night during World War II, a US aircraft carrier was plowing through heavy seas in the South Pacific. All lights were out because of enemy submarines. One plane was missing. Somewhere in that pitch-black sky it was circling in a seemingly futile search for the carrier – its only landing place, its only hope of not being swallowed up by the giant ocean. The ship’s captain, knowing the terrible risk involved, gave the order, “Light up the ship.” Soon the plane zoomed onto the deck like a homing pigeon.

At Bethlehem, knowing the risk, God gave the command, “Light up the world.” Then Jesus was born. A new and radiant light began to shine, pushing back the darkness of spiritual ignorance, and of sin and despair. Like a ship lit up in an otherwise darkened sea of sinful humanity, Christ came as “the light of the world” (John 8:12). John wrote, “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8). When Jesus entered this world, it was like the sunrise breaking radiantly over the horizon of human history (Luke 1:78-79).

In fathomless grace, God allowed His Son to die on the cross to save us from eternal darkness. What a blessed message for Christmas – and every day of the year! – Vernon Grounds

Long ago in Bethlehem

One cold and starry night,

Jesus came from heaven above

To bring us love and light. – Fitzhugh

Without the Light of Jesus, we would be in the dark about God.

WHAT IF?

READ: Micah 5:1-5

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. – Galatians 4:4

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Peter 1-3

Several years ago a group of historians authored a book called If – Or History Rewritten. Some of the ifs those scholars considered were these: What if Robert E. Lee had not lost the Battle of Gettysburg? What if the Moors in Spain had won? What if the Dutch had kept New Amsterdam? What if Booth had missed when he shot at Abraham Lincoln? What if Napoleon had escaped to America?

The attempt to reconstruct the past on the basis of these ifs was only a historian’s game. But apply it for a moment to the central event in history – the birth of Jesus Christ. It was foretold with pinpoint accuracy hundreds of years before by the prophet Micah. The greatest if, therefore – the most startling question to the imagination – is “What if Jesus had not been born as predicted?”

Such an if staggers the mind. It is like imagining the earth without a sunrise or the heavens without stars. Yet this if must be taken seriously, especially at Christmas, because our world is oblivious to the true meaning of Christ’s coming.

Can you imagine what the world would be like without Christ? What would history have been without Him? And at a personal level, what would your life be without Him? Thank God that there are no ifs in history. – Haddon Robinson

If Christ had never left His throne

To enter time and space,

We’d have no hope beyond the grave,

No knowledge of His grace. – Sper

A world without Christ would be a world without hope.

DECEMBER DESIRE

O HOLY NIGHT

READ: Luke 2:1-14

On earth peace, goodwill toward men! – Luke 2:14

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Peter 3-5

According to tradition, a Christmas song once brought peace to a battlefield. It happened on Christmas Eve during the Franco-German War (1870-1871) as the two sides faced each other in their trenches.

A French soldier jumped up and began singing “O Holy Night.” The surprised German soldiers did not fire. Instead, one of them stepped forward to sing “From Heaven Above To Earth I Come.”

For a brief time at least, peace on earth prevailed and goodwill was shared among men whose job it was to kill each other.

Think about the words of “O Holy Night” and see how they can bring hostilities to a halt. “Long lay the world in sin and error pining.” Who knows about the world’s ills better than soldiers who are facing the consequences of war, killing, and death?

“A thrill of hope” is what those men needed in the darkness of that winter night. Hope is what “the dear Saviour’s birth” provides. Because of Him the “weary world rejoices.”

Even though we may not be engaged in physical combat, we all face the battles of everyday life. We can let the peace of that holy night – the night of our dear Saviour’s birth – reign in our hearts the whole year through. – Dave Branon

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. – Dwight

God gave us His Son to give us His peace.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS?

THE BLESSING TREE

READ: Luke 1:46-55

He who is mighty has done great things for me. – Luke 1:49

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Peter 1-2

I read about a young couple whose business had failed, and they had little money to spend at Christmas. They were going to have to move out of their house after the New Year. But they didn’t want their holiday season to be spoiled because of it. So they decided to throw a party. When the guests arrived, they saw a cedar tree decorated with one string of lights and small rolled-up pieces of paper tied to the limbs with ribbon.

“Welcome to our ‘blessing tree’!” they said. “In spite of hard times, God has blessed us in so many ways that we decided to dedicate our tree to Him. Each piece of paper describes a blessing He has given us this year.”

This couple has faced more trials since then, but they have chosen to stay focused on the Lord. They often remark that the Christmas with the “blessing tree” was one of their most beautiful, because they could testify as Mary did: “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour…. He who is mighty has done great things for me” (Luke 1:47-49).

Whatever your difficulties, they needn’t spoil Christmas, for nothing can spoil Christ! Like this couple, stay focused on Jesus and seek ways to share His blessings with others – perhaps through your own “blessing tree.” – Joanie Yoder

Jesus came – and came for me!

Simple words, and yet expressing

Depths of holy mystery,

Depths of wondrous love and blessing. – Havergal

To give meaning to Christmas, give Christ first place.

HALLELUJAH!

WHEN JESUS COMES IN

READ: Mark 5:1-20

Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction. – Mark 5:34

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: James 3-5

In 1932, as the US was undergoing a financial breakdown, missionary Robert Cummings was suffering an emotional breakdown. As he carried on his evangelistic ministry with his wife in India, he became obsessed by blasphemous and sinful thoughts so overwhelming that he felt cast aside by God and eternally lost. Hospital care and therapy were of no help. His wife brought him back to the US where he was placed in a private mental facility.

For 2 more years Robert underwent indescribable emotional agony. Then one morning he knelt beside his bed begging for relief. God answered dramatically with the words of a poem by James Procter: My soul is night, my heart is steel – I cannot see, I cannot feel; for light, for life I must appeal in simple faith to Jesus. As Robert repeated those lines, peace surged through his soul. Dread vanished from his heart and he was filled with joy and gratitude. Then a hymn by William Sleeper welled up from the depths of his memory, which he sang with one significant change. For him it wasn’t, “Jesus, I come to Thee,” but “Jesus has come to me.”

Into my bondage, sorrow, and night,

Jesus has come, Jesus has come;

Bringing His freedom, gladness, and light –

Jesus has come to me.

By God’s grace we may have been spared from extreme emotional distress. But all of us can sing praise to the One who has come to bring peace to our souls. – Vernon Grounds

God’s dawn of deliverance often comes when the hour of trial is darkest.

NO BATTERIES?

A MATTER OF CREDENTIALS

READ: Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43

Gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. – Matthew 13:30

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: James 1-2

For 11 years, an official at a Michigan community college impressed fellow workers as a highly qualified and faithful administrator. He did his work so well that the Board of Trustees named him as a finalist in their search for a new president of the school. Then a routine background check was made on him. What it turned up surprised everyone. No documentation could be found for the man’s masters and doctoral degrees.

When told about the problem in a special meeting, the man excused himself from the room to get his transcripts – and never came back. What seemed so bizarre to his fellow workers was that he had been such an excellent administrator for so long.

Just as that administrator was able to deceive his colleagues, so spiritual counterfeits are able to deceive their friends in church. They have cleverly faked credentials of belief and may remain undetected until God’s judgment.

We know there are counterfeit Christians. So we need to be alert to problems they can cause, like false teaching and spreading strife. But we also need to be careful about making false judgments. Many of “the tares” won’t be revealed until the final judgment (Matt. 13:36-43). – Mart De Haan

One day before God’s judgment bar

All sham and pretence will take flight;

We’ll all be known for who we are –

There’ll be no hiding from His sight. – D. De Haan

People will not be judged by the way we see them, but by the way God sees them.

DESERT PETE

A CHRISTMAS STORY

READ: Philippians 2:5-8

[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. – Philippians 2:7

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrews 11-13

“Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden,” begins a parable by Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). How could he declare his love for her? She might respond out of fear or coercion, but he wanted her to love him for himself.

So the king, convinced that he could not appear as a king without crushing his loved one’s freedom, resolved to descend. He stepped off his throne, took off his royal robes, and wrapped himself in a shabby cloak. It was no mere disguise, but a new identity. He took on the life of a servant to win the young woman’s hand.

What a gamble! She might love him or she might spurn him and send him away, and he would lose her love forever! But that’s a picture of the choice God gave to mankind, and that is what the parable is all about.

Our Lord humbled Himself in an effort to win our love. “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation” (Phil. 2:5-7). That is the story of Christmas: God in a manger; God found in a form that no one could possibly fear.

Now the question is this: Will we love Him, or will we spurn Him and send Him away? – David Roper

Invite Him in this Christmas,

This Saviour from above;

The gift He seeks you need not wrap –

He only wants your love. – Berg

God made His home with us that we might make our home with God.

DISCOVERY

STRETCHING OUR SOULS

READ: Proverbs 11:17-25

The merciful man does well for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh. – Proverbs 11:17

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrews 8-10

A man and his young son went to a repair shop to get a rake fixed. When the job was finished, the man asked what the charge would be.

The shop owner replied, “Oh, there is no charge. I’m happy to do it for you!” The man did not feel right about accepting charity, however, so he persisted in trying to give at least a token payment.

Again and again, the owner refused to accept any money. Finally, his patience was about to run out, so he exclaimed, “Can’t you let a man do something now and then just to stretch his soul?”

That humble store owner’s reply was a short but powerful sermon on the joy and happiness that can come from a little “stretching of the soul.” His attitude is an example of the truth of Proverbs 11:17, which says, “The merciful man does well for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.” We can learn from W. F. Adeney, who wrote, “The exercise of mercy begins in the pain of self-sacrifice, but it soon bears fruit in inward peace and gladness.”

I challenge you to be loving and generous toward others. You will find that doing well carries its own reward. It’s a wonderful way of stretching your soul. – Richard De Haan

How full and fruitful is the life

That finds in Christ its goal!

His love and mercy have a way

Of making large the soul. – D. De Haan

To stretch your soul, reach out with Christ’s love.

THE TASK REMAINS

Prophecy of End Times by Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, August 2012

GOD’S ANSWER TO LONELINESS

READ: Matthew 1:18-25

The virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel. – Matthew 1:23

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrews 5-7

Most of us have experienced loneliness in some form or another. I remember the deep sense of aloneness that swept over me during my first day in the military when I was exposed to almost constant cursing and foul language.

People with physical disabilities have said that their greatest pain is loneliness. It is also felt by parents who have been neglected by their children, by husbands or wives who have lost their mate, and by people from a minority group who have been excluded from social activities.

If we want to be followers of our Saviour, we should be reaching out to the lonely around us. But we can’t be with them all the time, nor can we fully know their pain. Our presence may help, but we are never enough. Only God can meet the needs of the lonely. And here is the good news. In Jesus He has revealed Himself as “Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.”

One day G. Campbell Morgan visited an elderly woman who lived alone. Before leaving, he read, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). “A great promise,” he said. With a twinkle in her eye she retorted, “Dr Morgan, that’s not a promise. It’s reality!” For her, Immanuel was the ultimate cure for loneliness. – Herb Vander Lugt

Though all around me is darkness

And earthly joys have flown,

My Saviour whispers His promise –

Never to leave me alone. – Anon.

God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5

NEVER DISAPPOINTED

GRANDPA’S TREE

READ: Philippians 1:1-11

He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrews 1-4

When I first saw the twisted Christmas tree, I wished Grandpa were alive to fix it. He could make any tree beautiful. No matter how bad it looked when we gave it to him, it was beautiful when he gave it back.

He would get out his saws and clippers and begin cutting and shaping. When he was done, the tree looked as if it had been grown in a greenhouse where a caring gardener had watered, pruned, and protected it from storms, drought, and nasty bugs.

Then Grandpa would turn the tree over to the rest of the family to finish the job. We added lights, ornaments, and garland, and the imperfect tree was ready for a perfect celebration. What a transformation!

Life is like that crooked conifer. Each of us comes to God bent and misshapen from the effects of sin. But when we put our faith in Christ as Saviour, God lovingly begins His work, transforming us from the inside out (Phil. 1:6). Then He puts us into the care of His family, the church, and they continue His work by adding the lights of truth (Eph. 4:15), the ornaments of patient rebuke (2 Tim. 4:2), and the garlands of love (1 Peter 4:8). What teamwork!

The message of Grandpa’s tree: Under God’s loving care, a life marred by sin can become beautiful! – Julie Ackerman Link

God sees in us a masterpiece

That one day will be done;

His Spirit works in all our lives

To make us like His Son. – Sper

What sin has twisted, God’s grace can straighten.

THE GLORY OF HUMILITY

OLD-TIMERS

READ: Psalm 92

They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing. – Psalm 92:14

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Philemon

How striking are the last lines that David Livingstone (1813-1873) penned on the night he died! His sons found that the famous missionary had died on his knees beside his bed, in the posture of prayer. He had written these words: “My Jesus, my King, my life, my all; to Thee again I dedicate myself.” For Livingstone, every day was another day to serve and to grow.

We tend to lose heart as we age. Our physical strength abates; our health deteriorates; our memory gets cloudy. But we need not despair. Every day can be a new beginning toward “good old age.” Growing older can mean maturing, growing in grace and fruitfulness, getting sweeter as the days go by – more mellow, less critical of others, less impatient with the attitudes of the younger generation.

The drain of the years can be amply met by the spring of God’s grace that flows within. We can continue to grow and be spiritually productive as we age. Pastor F. B. Meyer (1847-1929) said, “The last sheaves that fall beneath thy sickle can be the heaviest; the width of thy swath can be the greatest as you turn toward home.”

Getting older can mean growing, maturing, ministering, venturing – enjoying life to the end of our days. – David Roper

As the sun is setting on your life,

May its golden rays reveal

Godly qualities of faith and love

The years have made so real. – D. De Haan

Old age is not a time to coast but to climb!

WHODUNIT?

THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

READ: Luke 1:26-38

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. – John 1:14

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Titus 1-3

Each year it seems that Christ’s birth is acknowledged less and less during the Christmas season. An editorial in a British newspaper stated, “Christ has been detached from Christmas, and the season is now apparently just a time for being kind and ensuring that no one is lonely.”

We have a magnificent opportunity to spread the good news that Jesus is the reason for the season. Here are three perspectives on the true meaning of Christmas to share with others:

· Christmas is a birthday celebration, honouring Jesus. God’s Son took on human flesh and “dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

· Jesus came for our sake. He was born to die on a cross for our sins, and He was resurrected to give us forgiveness and eternal life (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

· We can urge people to respond to Jesus with faith, accepting His offer of salvation (John 1:12; 3:16).

This time of year is more than just a season to be kind. Christmas is about Jesus – the real reason for the season. So let’s take the opportunity to tell others the miraculous story of Jesus, God’s Son. And let’s pray that many, like the wise men who came to worship the promised Saviour (Matt. 2:1-2), will seek Him and find Him this year. – Joanie Yoder

When we look beyond the manger

To the cross of Calvary,

We will know the reason Christmas

Brings such joy to you and me. – D. De Haan

Bethlehem’s stable was the first step in God’s journey of love to the cross.

EBENEZER

HOMEMADE RELIGION

READ: 2 Timothy 3:10-17

The Holy Scriptures … are able to make you wise for salvation through faith. – 2 Timothy 3:15

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Timothy 1-4

The idea is becoming increasingly popular – people thinking they can believe in Jesus while accepting unbiblical teaching. Although professing to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, some feel it’s okay to also follow the teachings of Buddha or Krishna. They feel that having an additional belief is simply another step toward spiritual fulfilment.

Chuck Colson, who has examined this trend, says that “instead of adhering to a specific set of doctrines, they feel free to pick and choose from all the various belief systems, or to create their own tailor-made religion.” He cites studies to show that people claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ have embraced reincarnation, astrology, and communication with the dead.

This is dangerous ground. The true believer knows that Jesus is the only way to God (Acts 4:12), and that God’s inspired Word is the only true source of instruction (2 Tim. 3:15-16). All beliefs and practices relating to spirituality must be based on biblical truth – not on how appealing they sound.

Don’t trust a homemade religion that contains a little of this and a little of that. Make your faith all about Jesus, and test everything by God’s Word. Then you can’t go wrong. – Dave Branon

The Bible is a lamp from God,

A sword of truth and light;

It searches heart and soul and mind,

And helps us know what’s right. – Bosch

Examine all teaching in the light of God’s Word.

ABSOLUTELY NOBODY

Heaven Awaits The Bride Soon

REPRESENTING GOD

READ: 2 Cor. 5:11-20

We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. – 2 Corinthians 5:20

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Timothy 4-6

When I stepped up to the checkpoint so I could enter the prison, I was told that my identification card had been misplaced. The guard had to fill out a temporary permission slip so I could get in and teach Bible classes to some of the inmates. After I showed her my driver’s license, she filled out the slip and I was allowed in. When I glanced at the piece of paper, I laughed. In the space provided to indicate who I was representing, the guard had written “God.”

Later, as I drove home, I thought about that permission slip more seriously. The guard may have had a sense of humour, but she was right! Though I was representing a prison ministry, I was really representing God. I am glad the guard made that connection.

Paul said to the Corinthians, “We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20). As such, we have a responsibility to “walk properly toward those who are outside” the faith (1 Thess. 4:12). As followers of Jesus Christ, we represent God wherever we are, and in whatever we do. On the job, in the neighbourhood, on the softball team, or on the highway, we are His representatives.

Lord, help us to represent You faithfully in every area of our lives. Amen. – Dave Egner

Wherever I am, whatever I do,

O God, please help me to live

In a way that makes me credible

As Your representative. – Egner

Christ sends us out to bring others in.