Remember, God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.
He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.
He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.
In today’s devotional (free registration required), Greg Laurie talks about King Herod, and how disturbed he was by what he heard from the wise men of the East.
The word “troubled” used in Matthew 2:3 means, “agitated, stirred up, shaken up.” Herod was shaken. Whenever Herod was stressed out, everyone was stressed out, because when Herod sensed there was a rival to his throne, he would start having people killed. By bitter experience, people knew that if Herod suspected a threat to his power, heads would roll. Literally. Herod viewed the dignitaries’ announcement as a threat to his kingdom. So he sent word to have this so-called King of the Jews killed.
There are a lot of people like Herod today. They will not allow anyone or anything to interfere with their career, their lifestyle, or their plans. They see Jesus as a threat to all of that. They don’t mind celebrating the birth of Jesus, as long as He stays in the manger as a baby. There are OK with God, as long as He stays out their lives. But like Herod, they miss what they have been searching for all along.
During the Christmas season, one sees Angel Trees nearly everywhere: at work, in the malls, at church; you can hardly go anywhere without running in to an Angel Tree. Between church and work, we’ve already picked a few angels ourselves, and I’m sure many of you have, too.
There is a group of children that are often overlooked this time of year, and those are the children of prison inmates. Prison Fellowship started its Angel Tree ministry in 1982, and has been going strong ever since. It’s not these kids’ fault their parents are behind bars, and they deserve to get something for Christmas as much as any other child.
This year, a generous donor is matching all Angel Tree contributions up to $100,000, which means a normal donation that would give one child a gift will now serve two kids.
So please consider making a donation that can turn what is often a lonely time for these kids into one of joy.
Christianity Today has a great article on my favorite author. One thing I found heartening is that the more things change, the more they stay the same: Lewis dealt with the same theological issues fifty-odd years ago as Christians grapple with today. Outside of the Bible itself, you can’t go wrong with a C.S. Lewis book.