January 2, 2023

Monday

One Resolution

Proverbs 2: 1-6

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

Most people make New Year’s resolutions, but research shows that most people don’t achieve them. Today is a good day to think about simplifying the whole process of New Year’s resolutions. How? By making only one.

There is one resolution guaranteed to be achievable and impact all your other goals for 2023: Seek wisdom from God every day. One of the Old Testament meanings of wisdom was skill; a wise person was skilled in living (see the book of Proverbs). If we ask God for wisdom, He will provide it (James 1:5). And if God provides wisdom, then every day we will become more skilled at living life in a way that is fruitful and honoring to God. If we ask for wisdom, and are serious about applying it, then all of life will become better: finances, personal goals, relationships, direction for the future, marriage and family—everything.

We see life dimly now, like looking through a dark glass. Therefore, we need wisdom to see more clearly. Ask God for wisdom today and every day of this year.

A point to ponder…

He who has a constant longing for wisdom will persistently pray for it.

D. Edmond Hiebert

Read the Bible through in a year

Genesis 4-7

I love you!!!

© 2000-2023 B. Michael Goerlich

December 13, 2022

Tuesday

Joy to the World

Psalm 98

² The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.”

Psalm 98:2

Hymn lyrics and tunes stay with us when almost everything else fades. How many of us know of elderly friends, parents, or spouses with memory loss? Some of these senior saints no longer recognize anything except for the words or music of some great hymn, one they absorbed over the course of a lifetime, one that settled into the deepest spheres of their souls. Historian Ernest Edwin Ryden said, “The memory of a single hymn learned in childhood has often proved decisive in the spiritual crises of later years.”

That’s especially true for our Christmas carols, because they’re deeply intertwined with our annual celebration of the greatest gift humanity has ever received. Music brings the celebration in our hearts into fruition in our very being. It brings the joy of the angels into our lives.

A point to ponder…

Perhaps this season you’ll be in a public spot when you hear a Christmas carol playing in the background. Who knows? It might be a good opportunity to look at someone nearby and, with a smile, say, “They’re singing about my Savior.”

Read the Bible through in a year

1 Thessalonians 1-5

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

December 12, 2022

Monday

Early Traditions

John 3: 10-17

¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:”

Matthew 2:14

Many of our Christmas traditions are very old. We typically date nativity scenes from the time of Francis of Assisi; Christmas trees from the time of Martin Luther; and greeting cards from Victorian England. But a few traditions are as old as the Nativity itself. For example, the singing of Christmas carols was started by the angels, and the custom of gift-giving was begun by the Wise Men.

Their gifts had spiritual significance—the gold pointed to Christ’s role as King; the frankincense to His role as Priest; and the myrrh pointed to His role as Savior and to His redeeming death. But these gifts were also practical, for they conveyed financial value. Some scholars believe it was God’s way of providing Joseph and Mary the funds needed to flee to Egypt and raise their baby in a foreign but safe environment.

How wonderful when our gifts can be both meaningful and practical!

A point to ponder…

But wait! There’s a mistake in today’s devotion—did you spot it? Christmas gift-giving didn’t start with the Wise Men, did it? No, its origin is even older.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….

Read the Bible through in a year

Colossians 1-4

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

Weekend Wisdom

December 10 – December 11, 2022

Enriching The Heart Of The Giver

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness 

2 Corinthians 9:10

God promises in His Word to bless the giver—He just comes right out and says it. Not once or twice but numerous times. Yet as nice as it sounds, maybe there’s something in you that feels uneasy about such a brash declaration. You detect a tinge of false theology imbedded in there somewhere—this idea that if you give a certain amount of money to God, you’re pegging Him in to respond to you in like fashion. You’re giving, yes (that’s good), but you’re expecting a payback in return. Something just doesn’t sound right about that.

Except that if God has decided He wants to motivate your giving by telling you up front what He’ll give you if you do, who are you to say His inducement is beneath you?

And what if financial blessing is only the beginning (even the least) of the benefit package?

Based on what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, it’s outright impossible to out-give God. If you are generous in your giving, you can be absolutely confident that “he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing.” Your needs will be abundantly met. And more.

And that’s not even the best part. You can also expect . . .

• Abundant righteousness. “The harvest of your righteousness.”Within the dynamics of your genuine, non-compulsory giving, God may take the opportunity to set you free from a stubborn, sinful habit. He may relieve you from a debilitating bondage to anxiety. He may release you from a certain addiction or lifestyle pattern that has plagued your family for generations. In some measure, He will take action that impacts your personal righteousness for the better.
• Abundant ministry. “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way” (2 Corinthians 9:11). In being part of meeting others’ needs by giving to the Lord, your generosity will overflow “in many thanksgivings to God”(2 Corinthians 9:12). Lives will be touched. Hearts will be changed. You’ll be able to look down at the fruit of your investment and say, “I can’t believe how God is using me—me!—to bless and serve people like this.” Do you know how many never feel that? Largely because they’re not being generous in their giving.
• Abundant relationships. Those to whom you minister “will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others”(2 Corinthians 9:13). As you give, God begins to surround you with those who are blessed by what you’re doing. He keeps filling your life with people who soon become new friends, as well as new brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Abundant worship. “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift”(2 Corinthians 9:15)! As if all these other things aren’t enough, God works through your giving to grow in you a deeper capacity for worship . . . because nothing else owns you now. Nothing else controls you. You are no longer enslaved by selfish wants and wishes. Therefore you’re unshackled, unburdened to worship Him with your whole heart.

And this is the kind of abundance that always flows from our generous Father as His children follow in His steps.

Points to ponder…

• What keeps you from sowing as generously as you could?
• How have you experienced some of these returns on your giving investment?

Saturday’s Reading

Ephesians 4-6

Sunday’s Reading

 Philippians 1-4

 I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

December 9, 2022

Friday

Flock Faith

Luke 2: 15-18

¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”

Luke 2:15

The French government is restoring brown bears to the Pyrenees because the animals have become nearly extinct. That’s good news for the bears, but not for the fluffy sheep dotting the brown hills. The bears are nearly invisible against the landscape, and shepherds are upset. In one case, a charging bear sent dozens of sheep plunging off a high cliff. “They didn’t ask us if we wanted the bears here” said one distraught shepherd after losing 35 sheep last year.

According to Jesus, a good shepherd will risk his life for his sheep, and the shepherds watching their flocks near Bethlehem were very good shepherds. Yet when honored with the angelic announcement regarding the birth of Christ, they exercised “flock faith” and entrusted their sheep into God’s care for a few hours. They were given a greater mission—to go into Bethlehem and bear witness to the arrival of Heaven’s King—the Good Shepherd.

A point to ponder…

Faith and obedience work hand in hand. When God gives us a command, we must entrust our other concerns into His keeping while we hasten to obey.

Read the Bible through in a year

Ephesians 1-3

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

December 8, 2022

Thursday

Fit for a King! Frankincense

Philippians 4:18

³⁴ And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

³⁵ And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:”

Exodus 34:35

For thousands of years, the tree arbor thurifera, growing in the Arabian Peninsula and Lebanon, has been tapped for its resin. The bark was cut and exuding resin was allowed to dry as nodules, or “tears.” When hardened, the resin, called frankincense, was ground into a fine powder. When subjected to a flame, it gave off a sweet and powerful aroma—an incense used in the worship of God in the tabernacle and temple. (“Frankincense” derives from the old French franc encens, meaning “highest-quality incense.”)

When the Magi journeyed to Bethlehem and saw the baby Jesus, they “fell down and worshiped Him,” presenting frankincense—the most noble incense of worship—as one of their gifts (Matthew 2:11). Paul refers to the life of the Christian as a living sacrifice, a reasonable service of worship (Romans 12:1). That service becomes a wonderful aroma—the incense of worshipful service—in our life (Philippians 4:18).

A point to ponder…

What gift of frankincense can we give to Christ this Christmas? The highest quality incense of service to Him and to others—the aroma of Christ in us.

Read the Bible through in a year

Galatians 4-6

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

December 7, 2022

Wednesday

Shepherds and the Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34: 11-16

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Psalm 23:1

The story is told of a graduate of a top-tier, Ivy League college who took a vocational placement test. He was sure he would find himself suited for being a banker, doctor, lawyer, or executive of a huge corporation. When he read the results, to his embarrassed surprise, the test indicated he was best suited to be a shepherd.

A few thousand years earlier that could have been a badge of honor—it was normal for kings, priests, and other leaders to be referred to as shepherds. God certainly referred to the leaders of Israel that way (Ezekiel 34). But due to their failure to shepherd God’s people, He told them He Himself would become their Shepherd. How fitting, therefore, that the angels of heaven chose humble, Bethlehem shepherds as the recipients of the announcement of God’s incarnation on earth—the incarnation of the One who would become the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21).

A point to ponder…

Psalm 23 is a wonderful Christmas meditation—the image of the Lord as Shepherd of His sheep. If you belong to His flock, then He is leading and caring for you.

Read the Bible through in a year

Galatians 1-3

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

December 6, 2022

Tuesday

Eternal Life Before Earthly Life

John 1:14

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.”

John 1:1-2

The modern debate about abortion rights in the West has centered on the questions of personhood and the beginning of life. Does life begin at conception? At birth? With the first breath? With the cutting of the umbilical cord? Christians are almost unanimous in their belief that life begins at conception and should be honored as such throughout pregnancy. But there is one life in human history that began even before conception.

The Bible is quite clear that the Man who came to be known as Jesus from Nazareth was the eternal Second Person of the Trinity. He existed in fellowship with the Father and the Spirit before He was conceived and incarnated as a human being on earth. The eternal Word of God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), though He had existed from eternity before His birth. Though eternal and God, He did not lord His status over humanity, but came as one of us, humble and a servant (Philippians 2:6-8).

A point to ponder…

Divesting, humbling, serving, submitting—these traits of Christ that we remember at Christmas become the template for the life He gives to us.

Read the Bible through in a year

2 Corinthians 10-13

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

December 5, 2022

Monday

A Humble Birth

Philippians 2: 5-8

⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Luke 2:7

Where do the rich and famous have their babies? Perhaps at the Matilda International Hospital in Hong Kong where arrangements require a $20,000 deposit. Or at the Grangettes Clinic in Geneva where the birthing suite comes with a Michelin-starred chef. Perhaps Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where a three-room, two-bath suite provides fresh fruit, muffins, juices, and bedside salon services.

None of these amenities were available in the first century, of course. But where the wealthy gave birth was probably a cut above where Jesus was born. One would have thought that the Son of God would have been born in Judea’s finest facility, but no. He was born in a stable, a manger (feed-trough) being His first bassinet. From the very beginning of His life on earth, Jesus Christ identified with “everyman”—those who live a life of lowliness, humility, and dependence. And that surely caught the attention of all, rich and poor alike.

A point to ponder…

Jesus came into the world “in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). This month, remember that Jesus’ birth was His invitation to welcome Him as a humble Lord and Savior.

Read the Bible through in a year

2 Corinthians 5-9

I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich

Weekend Wisdom

December 3 – December 4, 2022

A Preview of God’s Plan

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart”

Jeremiah 29:11–13

God has a plan for your life. He has some objectives for you. Even knowing those truths, it’s still easy to get stuck in the bottomless vortex of questions: Who am I supposed to marry? Where am I going to live? What am I going to do for work? It’s time to set aside the questions and get back to what God has said.

His plans for you are not so much about those specifics as they are about developing your character. Everything else will sort itself out.

God always has plans for the welfare and future of those who are His. He always has plans to give His children hope. Even in the midst of sobering seasons of discipline, God pours out His heart for His people, pointing them (and us) toward relationship. The circumstances He allows are designed to cause us to call upon Him. We’re always able to call, seek, and find Him because He wants us to call, seek, and find Him!

When God says, “I know the plans I have for you,” His words are a great comfort. But wouldn’t you love to get a look at those plans? The tension isn’t, “Does God know?” The tension is, “I want to know!” Although God understands our questions, He doesn’t owe us any answers. It’s as if He says, “I know, but I’m not going to fill you in . . . yet.”

He does give us hints, however. God provides us with some general categories that describe His purposes. First, they are plans for your welfare. The Hebrew word is shalom, meaning “the complete state of well-being; fulfillment; prosperity; peace.” As God looks down the telescope of time, His plans are for your total well-being.

Second, His designs for you are not for evil. People who are determined to prove they can live contrary to God’s program will pay a price for their experiment. God’s plans take us away from evil; ours tend to take us smack into the middle of it.

Third, God’s plans are designed to give you a future and a hope, both immediately and eternally. The biblical definition of hope is a confident expectation of something better tomorrow. When your hope is in God, He’ll always deliver. It doesn’t matter what has happened, better things are coming. That's hope! You can be confident He has good plans for you.

Points to ponder…

• What have you learned about God’s good plans for you?
• Why doesn’t God reveal all His plans for us now? How does the not-knowing grow our faith?

Saturday’s Reading

1 Corinthians 15-16

Sunday’s Reading

 2 Corinthians 1-4

 I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich