Tag: Jesus

Posted in Advent devotions

Doing good things and God things

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Ryno Marais on Unsplash

In Matthew’s account of Jesus’s birth, Joseph believes he is doing the right thing. When Mary was found to be with child, he didn’t want to shame her, so he resolved to divorce her quietly (Matthew 1:19). While it was the right thing to do according to the law of Moses, it wasn’t God had in mind for Joseph.

Like another Joseph from long ago, this Joseph has a dream in which an angel of the Lord tells him to take Mary as his wife. Her son was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and he would save his people from their sins, just as the prophet Isaiah had said.

Joseph’s life turned out completely different than anything he could have imagined. The family would have to take a trip to Egypt to save Jesus’s life when Herod slaughtered the children in Bethlehem. He would raise God’s son in Nazareth as his own.

Joseph taught carpentry to the one who laid the foundations of the earth. Joseph worshiped alongside the one who would be worshiped by every nation, tribe, peoples, and language.

What a privilege to work and worship alongside the Lord. Since he is Immanuel – God with us – we get to do that too. This truth adds perspective to every task and prayer we offer up!

Of course Joseph gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree. He’s “of the house and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4) and served as a faithful father to Jesus.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A servant of the Lord

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

How did you feel when you found out your first child was on the way? It’s a totally new experience, uncharted waters, virgin territory. It is hard to describe how much your life changes the moment you find out you’re expecting your first child. It’s a combo meal of excitement, fear, apprehension, and joy. A new life is entering the world!

With three children of our own and a tenth (!) grandchild on the way, I can report that the excitement never wanes. I can also attest that they grow up so quickly. And I can recommend that you enjoy every moment along the way.

Jesus’ birth announcement comes through an angel who visits Mary. Her pregnancy is impossible. It’s a fulfillment of prophecy. It’s awkward. It’s God’s plan. And it is what everyone has been waiting for.

God’s plans often seem messy, inconvenient, awkward, and embarrassing. But Mary just goes with it. When Gabriel makes the big announcement, she replies, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Her faithful answer makes my faith look like chopped liver. How willing am I to abandon my plans and just go with whatever God has in mind? If I am honest, not very.

But God already knew how Mary would respond. He already knew what kind of a woman she was. He created her. He created her for this moment and for this task. He knew she would be willing to be the one who brought a Savior into the world.

God knows all about me, too. And my family. Sometimes we fit into his plan by having children and raising them in the faith. That’s one of the most important jobs of all, isn’t it?

Mary gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree, the mother of our Lord and a great example of being a servant of God.

Posted in Advent devotions

Is it hot in here, or is it me?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by yasin hemmati on Unsplash

Didn’t you hate it when your parents flipped your argument and used it against you? When you got in trouble for doing something, you justified your actions by explaining, “Everyone else was doing it.”

Your parents may have replied, “If everyone else was jumping off the top of a building, would you join them?”

Of course we want to say, “No,” but you and I know that it’s hard to swim upstream and not do what everyone else is doing. It’s hard to be Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when the music starts playing and everyone falls down to worship the giant golden statue King Nebuchadnezzar set up. It’s especially hard when the consequence for noncompliance is the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:4-6).

I’ve often wondered if the Chaldeans had a dedicated furnace they kept on simmer for moments like this. I suppose it might have been a kiln that no one was using to fire pottery.

It couldn’t have been easy, but these three wouldn’t do it. They had no doubt that God was able to save them the furnace. But even if he didn’t, they were not about to worship anyone but him.

Nebuchadnezzar was so furious at their response that he turned up the heat seven times more than normal and tossed them in. When he and his advisors looked in, they were walking around the furnace with a fourth, most likely Christ himself in an Old Testament cameo. The one true God is not just someone you bow down before. He is someone who come alongside you in good and horrible situations.

Hundreds of years later, the devil would pressure Jesus to bow down and worship him. If Jesus would do that, for just a moment, the devil promised to relinquish all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Jesus refuses. First of all, those were already his. Second, God’s word is clear: “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:10).

Since most of my readers live in the United States, where we have freedom of religion, we most likely will never be threatened with fire for our beliefs. But we will be influenced by what everyone else is doing.

So it’s a good idea to make every effort to be influenced by the best influencer of all, Jesus.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego get an ornament on the Jesse Tree, reminding us of the one who comes to save, Jesus Christ,.

Posted in Advent devotions

You can run, but you can’t hide

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Christopher Campbell on Unsplash

When God gives Jonah the task of calling the city of Nineveh to repentance, he does his best to run away.

It turns out that it’s not that easy to run away from God. God sends a storm that threatens to capsize his ship. God sends a fish to swallow Jonah to keep him from drowning when he’s tossed into the sea. And when Jonah prays from the belly of the fish, God is there to answer him. Like David said in the psalm, no matter where you go, God’s already there (Psalm 139:7-10).

(My friend Gene from Denver believed Jonah said, “I never knew a fish had tonsils!”)

So Jonah taps out. He goes to Nineveh to warn them of God’s judgment. Believe it or not, the entire city repents. What a great reminder of the power of God’s word!

And what a great image of who Jesus will be. When religious leaders demanded that Jesus do a sign to validate his claim to be the Savior, he responds, “The only sign you’ll get is the sign of Jonah.” Just as Jonah returned from the depths after three days and nights in the belly of the fish, so Jesus would come back to life on the third day.

Jesus, God’s word in the flesh, also turned many from their sins back to God. His mercy and kindness moved many to repentance. His words brought those dead in sin back to life.

Jonah gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree because he’s a lot like the one who will save us from our sins: Jesus.

Posted in Advent devotions

Pick the next leader

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Since I grew up in the United States of America, a representative democracy, I struggle to grasp the selection of a monarch. Candidates for elected office campaign for months before I and others vote for one of them.

A king or a queen is not elected. He or she inherits the throne from their father or mother. A person may have an opinion about the reigning monarch, but their voice has no weight.

When it’s time for Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel, neither his opinion nor anyone else’s matters. God chooses. God chose Saul. That didn’t work out. God chooses the next king, someone after his own heart. God chooses David.

God sends Samuel to Jesse the Bethlehemite to anoint one of his sons as the next king. It must be Jesse’s firstborn, Eliab. Nope. God is looking deeper than appearances. How about the next son, Abinadab? Nope. It’s going to be the youngest son, a good-looking, brave, eloquent, sheep-herding, song-writing musician named David (16:18). I know, that’s an impressive resume!

A thousand years later, the angel Gabriel would announce to Mary that God would give her Spirit-conceived child “the throne of his father David.” No one would choose this child to be king. He would be despised, rejected, and killed. But he would rise and ascend to rule and reign. From the very start he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Thank you, Lord, for David. Thanks for his songs, his victories, his descendants, and for Jesus. I would much rather be king or queen, but I am glad that he is my Lord. Only he can give me life!

David gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree; he is the ancestor of Jesus!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Making a somebody out of a nobody

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Mohamed B. on Unsplash

Did you ever stop and consider how many first-generation immigrants are a part of your life? My two neighbors across the street are from Portugal and Brazil. The family up the street who love my dogs are from Ukraine. The crew that put a new roof on my house came from Mexico. Our favorite take-out food is prepared by a family from China. One of my pastors just became a U.S. citizen. He immigrated from England.

The biblical world was a mess when there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).

But then we read about Ruth. She is the Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi, whose life is in shambles after the death of her husband and two sons. When Naomi decides to return to her hometown of Bethlehem, she assumes she’ll be going alone. Ruth won’t stand for that. She is going to be there for Naomi no matter what.

After meeting Ruth in his fields, gleaning barley, Boaz redeems Naomi from homelessness and marries Ruth. Their son is the grandfather of King David. And just like that, God grafts an unlikely immigrant into the family tree of the Messiah, Jesus.

God is skilled at making somebody out of a nobody. When you are feeling insignificant or unnoticed, you can be certain he’s paying attention to your life. When you pray, he listens to you. When you need help, he’s already arranged for assistance. When you spend a moment in his word, he has something to say to you. He created you, he redeemed you, and he takes up residence in your heart. You’re important to God. You are somebody.

Ruth gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree, a walk-on who gets a role in the advent of the Christ.

Posted in Advent devotions

Love, hate, and a really nice coat

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nafis Al Sadnan on Unsplash

“Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him” (Genesis 37:3,4).

Joseph’s special robe reminded him of his father’s love and his brothers’ hate. I’ll bet he had mixed feelings every time he put it on.

Many years later soldiers would mock Jesus by putting a purple robe on him. Jesus came into this world as the ultimate expression of God’s love, and yet he was the object of intense hate.

Isaiah rejoiced that the Lord had clothed him in garments of salvation and robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). Paul writes, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). That outfit is a reminder of God’s steadfast love, but also a magnet for hate in this world. Jesus told his disciples, “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (Mark 13:13).

Joseph is a type, or a shadow, of who Christ will be. Joseph will not only be hated, but beaten, betrayed, and sold into slavery. Through that, though, he was able to save his family. Second only to the Pharaoh in Egypt, he fed his family and kept the Messianic line alive. Jesus was hated, beaten, betrayed, and crucified. But through it all he saved his people.

The cross declares that we are dearly loved. But that truth will also bring hate. Through it all, we will proclaim Christ in our words and lives. And by the grace of God, more will be saved.

By the grace of God, Joseph’s coat gets an ornament on our Jesse tree.

Posted in Advent devotions

Instead of

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Sixth, seventh, or eighth on the bench? You’re not a starter. You can wait to sub in to show what you can do on the court.

A substitute teacher? That’s got to be one of the toughest jobs ever. It takes a special person to take on students you don’t know for little pay.

“Playing the part of…” The audience is disappointed that an understudy will be performing. The understudy is thrilled.

When the menu states, “No substitutions,” will you still ask for fruit instead of fries?

“Alexa, what can I substitute for buttermilk?” Answer: milk with vinegar; or sour cream.) Since we’re in the kitchen, you can also substitute granulated sugar and some molasses if you don’t have brown sugar for a recipe.

When God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Abraham is confident that “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). When “Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:13). Just as promised, God provided a substitute for his son.

That is faith. Abraham has confidence. His obedience demonstrates absolute trust. In this story, God paints a picture of who his son Jesus will be. He’ll be a substitute for us, suffering and dying in our place on the cross, suffering the punishment for sin.

Advent is about the coming of a substitute. You could shoot spitballs at him in an unruly classroom. You can cheer him on when he step onto the court. You can applaud when he finally has a chance to take the stage. You can thank God that there are substitutions in his kingdom. You can worship him as the one who stood in for you and took the wrath of God for your sin.

Two words to sum up the gospel? “Instead of.” Forgiveness instead of punishment. Life instead of death. Joy instead of sadness. Hope instead of despair. Light instead of darkness.

And a ram instead of Isaac. Another image of Jesus. Here’s one for the Jesse Tree:

Posted in Advent devotions, Through the Bible Devotions

We’re going to need more chairs

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Juliette F on Unsplash

Pretty soon you don’t enough space for everyone at the table. You don’t have enough chairs. You blinked, and the family got a lot bigger. It began with the two of us. We had three children. Now we have ten grandchildren. We don’t have everyone together very often, but when we do, it’s a houseful. That huge dining room table must have shrunk. There’s always more than one conversation going on at a time, filling the room with voices.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “I will make of you a great nation…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

It’s a powerful promise for a childless couple who have just moved into a new home. But you have to start somewhere, right? Plus, nothing is too hard for the Lord.

A little later, when Abram is wondering how God is going to do this, “[The Lord] brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5).

Not only would Abram father a son named Isaac, but one of his descendants would be Jesus, who came to save his people from their sins. Jesus would be a blessing to all, for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

More importantly, Jesus is a blessing to me. I am one of those innumerable stars Abram saw in the sky. So are you.

So we hang a tent on the Jesse Tree to remind us of Abram (aka Abraham), to whom God made a wonderful Advent promise.