Advent Christmas devotions: Make a Difference - Matthew 9:35-38

Today’s Bible readings are: Isaiah 24:7-13 and Matthew 9:35-38

Matthew 9:38 (Jesus said) “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Some people in your life are waiting to be invited to church this Christmas. They want to come and sing Christmas carols; they want to hear the timeless story of Christ’s birth; they want to be forgiven for their past mistakes. They want to reconnect with God and belong to a community of faith. They are afraid to do this on their own; they feel unworthy and unholy; they feel lost and isolated, vulnerable and broken.

They want to be loved by God again.

They just don’t know where to start, where to go, or what to do. They are waiting for a sign. They are seeking guidance. They need help. They don’t want Christmas to go by again and carry an empty heart and unfulfilled life from this year to the next. They want to come to church, but they are worried that they won’t be welcomed.

This is where you come in. God is calling you to invite them. He needs you to ask them to come to church this Christmas. He wants as many people as possible to be reconnected to His love and to experience the joy of Jesus in their hearts. God needs you to be the one to welcome those seekers to come to church. He wants you to give them a positive and clear invitation to come back to church. You are the worker that He needs to go into the harvest field to restore His blessing to someone who feels helpless, hapless, and hopeless.

Let God do what He does best. Let Him use you to bring others to church this Christmas – your family, your friends, your colleagues, and your neighbors. Everyone needs to be loved by God and given a new beginning. This year, this Advent, and this Christmas, be the one to bring someone closer to Christ and back to church.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” said Jesus. This Christmas, become one of the few!

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, open our hearts and minds to the people in our circles who are seeking You in their lives. Grant us opportunities and possibilities to invite them to church this Christmas. Take away our fears, and enable us to give a positive and welcoming invite to all whom You would have us ask. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment about today’s message, or ask a question, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s Christmas drawings called “Nativity Nap Time.” It’s being used by churches throughout the world to promote their Christmas Eve services, as well as part of a national non-profit organization’s annual donor campaign who are sending out 370,000 Christmas cards with the drawing across the United States this year. If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4003/4159555940_eb5f7bb5c2_b.jpg

Stushie Art: A Winter's Tale

Trying to think cool thoughts during the summer heat wave...:)

Stushie art: Frosty the Vol

...anything to keep my mind off today's World Cup loss...

Christian Screensaver: Midsummer Madonna

Mary & Jesus - this might become my Christmas card this year...

Christmas Devotions: Beast of a Feast

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.

Sometimes, in the midst of all the pressure that we put ourselves under, we set aside the reason for the season and get caught up with the beast of the Feast. It’s nice to buy things for the people that we love (and it helps the economy), but if we become obsessed about how we are dressed, or over-wrought with what we’ve bought, we’ve missed the heart from the very start, and made a mess of Christmas.

You see Christmas is not about what we’ve given, but of what we are forgiven. We look for happiness and joy in all the wrong places; we seek contentment and satisfaction in things that we will eventually throw away. We go on a Yuletide mission to stay happy and be glad, even when our hearts are breaking, and the demands that we place upon ourselves, and those around us, have the potential to demonize our spirits.

Christmas is meant to be kept simply in our hearts. I guess if God wanted it to be a time of partying, there would have been room at the inn. Reveling is different from rejoicing. Feasting is not the same as worshiping. The tinsel and the glitter, the toys and the garlands are all decorations of our own making. We will take them down and put them past in a few days; this Christmas will be over, but will we have missed the Christ?

Jesus will still be working and interceding for us in heaven. We depend upon Him each day to restore us to God. We could celebrate a million Christmases, shop in a billion stores, and give away a zillion gifts, but none of it would matter in eternal terms. If we do not come to God through Jesus, we cannot be completely saved. If we fail to give our hearts and lives to Him, Christ cannot intercede on our behalf.

So let’s all make and take time to set Christmas aside and bring Christ to the front. Remember, it’s not about what we’re giving or getting, it’s about not forgetting what Christ is constantly forgiving.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we seek to meet You tomorrow as a Star Child, who is rocked gently to sleep in a young mother’s arms, in the midst of a stable. We paint a Christmas card picture of the First Christmas in our hearts and minds, falsely believing that this is all You require of us. Turn us away from the quaint customs of Christmas and lead us toward You as our Christ. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

Christmas Screensaver: Star Mother