God's Word for Me Today
Saturday, December 1, 2001
Unwrapping a Christ-Centered Christmas!
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
Unwrapping a Christ-Centered Christmas!
Starting today our focus changes to the Christmas season. Our goal is to “unwrap” a Christ-centered Christmas this year. In the midst of all the hurry or worry of what has become the typical “holiday season” or “sparkle season” we are going to firmly insert our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christmas is, after all, a celebration of Jesus’ birth. While Jesus never mentioned His birth, nor commanded us to celebrate it, the Christmas season offers us one of the greatest opportunities of the year for sharing the new life of Jesus with others—one person at a time. As we come to this particular Christmas season, my prayer is that we will remember what Christmas is, why we celebrate it, and that the enthusiasm and energy of the season may be directed to the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May He be honored by our celebration of His birth!
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as we move to the Christmas season, please ensure that Jesus is in the center of my celebration. Please guide and direct me to focus on His light, and to receive it in my life that I may be a light to the world as He calls me to be. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that all around me may experience Your grace, love, joy and forgiveness. I dedicate the Christmas seasons to glorifying and praising You, and to letting all in my sphere of influence know that Jesus is truly the reason we celebrate Christmas. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: John 8:12-20
12 Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." 13 The Pharisees replied, "You are making false claims about yourself!" 14 Jesus told them, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me. 15 You judge me with all your human limitations, but I am not judging anyone. 16 And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone – I have with me the Father who sent me. 17 Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. 18 I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other." 19 "Where is your father?" they asked. Jesus answered, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know my Father, too." 20 Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.
Questions for Reflection
What was the best Christmas you ever remember? What made it so special?
When you think of “light” what comes to mind first?
Have you ever falsely accused someone and later found out that you were wrong? What did you do to correct the situation?
Questions for Exploration
(See tomorrow’s study!)
Questions for Understanding
(See tomorrow’s study!)
Questions for Application
In what situation can you be the “light” of Jesus to another today? Pray for God to give you the opportunity to be that light.
Pray for God to eliminate the human limitations in you that keep you from fully trusting in Jesus and living in His light.
Lights or THE Light?
One of my favorite aspects of the Christmas season is all the lights that decorate homes, trees, and landscapes at this time of year. I’m partial to multi-colored displays of Christmas lights, while others like white or some other monochromatic display. But this week we are going to be focusing not just on lights of whatever color, but on Jesus as THE light of the world. In the Scripture we’re focusing on today and tomorrow, as well as in worship tomorrow, Jesus makes a simple, yet profound point when He says, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Jesus is the only source of light that never dims, never fades, never dies. Jesus is the only one who can light our spiritual, moral and physical pathways simultaneously. Jesus’ ministry was not filled with a lot of “tinsel and glitter.” Nevertheless, He made a powerful impact on many. Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world is such a powerful claim that the Pharisees rightly understood that Jesus was saying in effect, “I am God.” The Pharisees responded by saying, “You are making false claims about yourself.” There Pharisees didn’t, couldn’t or wouldn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. His claim to be the light of the world was another claim they couldn’t buy. Jesus told the Pharisees that the claim was true, and that their human limitations didn’t permit them to see this important truth.
Sometimes our human limitations get in the way of seeing THE light, because there are so many other lights surrounding us. The Christmas season is a wonderful time for remembering the birth of Jesus, the purpose of His coming, and the ultimate salvation His life on earth promises to all who receive it as a gift. It can also be a tremendous time of distraction. We can find ourselves indulging in the “commercial” side of Christmas with all the lights and glitter, instead of following the true light—Jesus. May we take the time each day throughout this season to remind ourselves of God’s great love for us and to bask in THE Light, Jesus Christ, even as we enjoy all the other lights of this season. As we do that Christmas will become more meaningful than ever, and we will, indeed, unwrap a Christ-centered Christmas.
To view the studies for other days, visit the God's Word for Me Today calendar.