January 20 (John 1:14)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  (NIV) 

There are all kinds of people with whom, at the moment, I cannot easily relate.  For starters, since I am fluent in only English and Latin, with a smattering of ancient Greek, there is a language barrier between half the planet and me.  On top of that, I am not conversant in high finance, gangsta rap, or ice road trucking, to name just three out of the countless areas that would cause me difficulty in relating to people.

God knows that relating to people is the key to any relationship.  Relating…relationship…get it?  While He could have announced more about His plans for a relationship with us as He did with Moses on Mt. Sinai, when it came time for the most intimate relationship, He became one of us, and in doing so set the model for us to follow. 

When it comes to evangelism, which is simply sharing with others the incredible fact that they can enjoy a personal relationship with God through Jesus, just as we do, we really only have two choices.  We can, as some do, learn the language and go into the mission field.  We can also look around at those among whom we are already dwelling.  Who are the people with whom you share interests, passions, or similar life stories?  Are there any among them who do not know God the way you do?  Jesus left the glories of Heaven to draw people into relationship with Him.  What will you do? 

Father, You have placed me in a particular place at a particular time and with particular people.  Lead me in sharing the joy of the relationship I have with You through Your Son, my Lord, Jesus Christ.  In His name I pray, amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

January 13 (Revelation 1:17)

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  (NIV)

The cost of everything continues to rise.  Along with prices, there is a steady and rapid increase in violence, injustice, and stress, and the natural response to all this is fear.  What would it be like to wake up and greet the day with bold confidence rather than grim anxiety?

Our fearfulness may be triggered by the conditions of our lives, but it stems from our self-sufficiency.  We are afraid that we cannot handle all that is coming our way, and we are right.  On our own, we can do nothing.  This is why we must, as John did on the island of Patmos, fall down at the feet of our Lord as though dead.  Our faith teaches us that through death comes life.  It is only when we have died to our own strength and resources that we can feel the comforting touch of Jesus and hear those words we long to hear.  “Do not be afraid.”

God has given you many abilities, but He never intended for you to use them apart from Him.  When the fear of life creeps in, do not try to be a hero and fight it back by yourself.  Lie down before Him, and He will raise you up with more hope and strength than you could ever have managed by yourself.

O Father, You know the things I am facing.  I would rather not look at them, but their images haunt me.  I surrender them along with myself to You.  Whom am I kidding?  I can handle none of this.  Lead me through these restless waters.  Walk with me along the way.  In You alone I place my trust.  Amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

January 6 (Exodus 3:11)

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”  (NIV)

Hopefully you enjoy what you do for a living, but most of us do not have a deep and daily sense that we are involved in some grand adventure with eternal consequence.  Caught up in the humdrum details day in and day out, we may end up plodding through rather than intentionally and passionately living our lives.

Yet in the middle of the daily monotony, God has called you to something magnificent.  He has gifted you with particular abilities.  You have experiences that no one else has.  Taken together, these produce a unique person, one whom God not only loves, but was willing to die for.

Many of us will spend vast sums on objects that we sit on a shelf, but not God.  He did, in the midst of creating the fires of the universe, create you as a knickknack.  Jesus did not come to bring life just so you could do nothing in His collection.  Right now in your family, in your neighborhood, in and through all your both deep and casual relationships, God has a work for you to do.  Now there is a thought to start a new year!

Father, what do you have in store for me to do?  I begin by asking just for today.  What word would You have me speak?  What deed would you have me perform?  I can hardly wait to see the adventure You have called me to go on with You.  In the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

December 30 (John 21:3)

“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them.  (NIV)

Christmas can be so much fun that when it is over, the letdown can be rather dramatic.  We have enjoyed some time off from work to be with family and friends.  Perhaps we have had a chance to reflect on what really matters in life.  The thought of going back to work and resuming daily routines may seem deflating.

The wonderful thing about the Christian life is that it is rooted in the daily and the ordinary.  If we think a bit of Christmas vacation is an emotional high, try living with Jesus for three years.  The disciples had experienced greater things than we ever will this side of heaven, and then it all came to a halt.  Jesus was dead.  What now?  Peter’s return to his job of fishing reminds us that life goes on and that this is a good thing.  The highs, the lows, they are all part of the great pageant of life, and of course, as we see a few verses later, Jesus is present in even the most mundane moments.

God has redeemed every moment of every day for His purposes.  As you return to the workplace and the patterns of everyday life, remember that the joy of Christmas is not contained in tinsel and lights.  It is grounded in the realities of life on earth, and the babe in the manger became the risen Savior who walks with us still.

Thank You, Father, for the days of rest and celebration surrounding the birth of Your Son, Jesus.  As I go back to the work to which You have called me, may I work to Your glory, doing all and only what You would have me to do.  In the name of Jesus, my Savior, I pray.  Amen.

Copyright © 2012 by Steven R. Perkins

December 23 (Matthew 1:24)

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (NIV)

December 23 will always having a special meaning for me. It is my parents’ wedding anniversary. When I was a boy, I always bought them specialty coffee and found Christmas-themed anniversary cards. For me, Christmas will always be associated with the wedding of my parents.

While our attention is properly on Jesus, it is also important to remember that He did not grow up in isolation, nor did He appear fully grown and ready to work miracles. God saw to it that the One Who was to take on our sins first took on our complete humanity.

The marriage of Joseph and Mary is, therefore, vitally important to the Christmas story. This marriage provided for the divine Jesus all that was necessary for His growth and development as a human. He experienced the primal form of community, the human family, and He experienced the many facets of love, from the romantic to the sacrificial. In his parents He saw the extent of humanity, the very humanity He had come to save.

Father, thank You not only for Jesus Himself, but for the stories of His life. Thank You for the models we have in Joseph, Mary, and the disciples of how to live a life centered around Him. May our own lives likewise have Him as the focus. Amen.

Copyright © 2012 by Steven R. Perkins

December 16 (John 11:35)

Jesus wept.  (NIV)

Where does one begin?  With thoughts of gun control laws?  With questions angrily hurled toward God?  With calls for security?  With outrage?  With confusion?  With fear?

It is hard to imagine anything more heinous, more evil than the slaughtering of innocent children in their classrooms just before Christmas.  It is a wrenching reminder that evil exists, not as an abstract concept for philosophical debate, but as a real force that manifests itself in murder, rape, theft, abuse, and destruction.  This is something easy to forget in a land of shopping malls and smart phones that offer up to us every whim of our hearts, treasures just for the asking.

In the unspeakable tragedy of the Sandy Hook slayings, we see the heart of Christmas.  God has never been under any illusions regarding the evil His children can willfully embrace.  For this reason, He sent His Son to enter into our pain and suffering, to take upon His innocent shoulders the just penalty for our atrocious acts.  We may blithely ignore evil, but God never has.  Yet He will not use violence to wrest from us our free will in an effort to rid the world of violence.  Instead, He sends His Holy Spirit into hearts, leading them gently toward love.  And when people reject Him to commit the most vile acts, His heart breaks along with ours.

O Lord, comfort those whose hearts are bleeding with unspeakable pain.  Breathe your grace into their lives.  Send them the peace and comfort of Christ, Who died in innocence and rose again that all of us might have life.  Amen.

Copyright © 2012 by Steven R. Perkins

December 2 (Luke 2:1)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (NIV)

Our family recently took in a Bethlehem Walk at a local church.  For years this church has set up a re-enactment scene in which visitors travel toward Bethlehem as part of a larger family.  We encountered angels singing praise to God, Roman soldiers who demanded taxes and identification papers, and all the sights and sounds of daily life in the ancient city.  What struck me the most was the encounter with the Romans.  They were harsh, and we had been warned to keep our heads down and not to make eye contact with them.

Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ could well relate to what Mary and Joseph had to experience.  They know the daily experience of living in a land of violence, where arrests, beatings, and death openly occur as a result of a person’s faith.  We had the opportunity to experience this in the most meager of fashions, as a historical re-enactment.  What if the very real threat of oppression hung over our Christmas preparations?

As you put out lights and decorate your home in proud declaration of the birth of Jesus, take a thought for our brothers and sisters in the faith who could be tortured or killed for whispering His name.  If you feel the Holy Spirit speaking to you about how you could be a blessing to persecuted Christians in our own age, visit www.persecution.com, the website of Voice of the Martyrs.  For thousands of Christians around the world, persecution does not come in the form of a costumed re-enactor.  It hovers over them as a daily presence.

Father, bless Your children who suffer physically, emotionally, financially, relationally, and in any other way for their faith in Your Son.  Protect them from harm and bless their witness, that even their persecutors may come to know the One Who was born to die for them.  In the name of our precious Savior, Christ the Lord, amen.

Copyright © 2012 by Steven R. Perkins