Season of Preparation Day Ten: God's Creation - Lori Altebaumer
Faith
Dec. 11, 2024
Season of Preparation Day Ten: God's Creation
Jesus is everything that matters and the only thing that matters. If it is not of Jesus, it doesn’t matter. As I look around me, I’m forced to confess. There’s a lot of stuff in my life that doesn’t matter. “For by him all things were created that are in...
Season of Preparation Day Ten: God’s Creation
Jesus is everything that matters and the only thing that matters. If it is not of Jesus, it doesn’t matter.
As I look around me, I’m forced to confess. There’s a lot of stuff in my life that doesn’t matter.
“For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible . . . All things were created through him and for him.” (see Colossians 1:16)
Jesus created beauty, but man turned it into a commodity.
Jesus created love, but man turned it into weapon.
Jesus created, but man corrupted.
What things do I possess that belong to the corrupted nature of man instead of the heavenly glory of Christ’s creation?
I read the story of a pastor in China who had been imprisoned for his faith. He was horribly mistreated while in prison, but perhaps the thing that convicted me the most was what they had him do. Everyday he worked making Christmas lights. Now every time I look at the lights on my tree, I wonder about the hands that made them.
We decorate with Christmas lights to remind us of the light on that holy night when Christ was born, and to pay homage to Jesus, the Light of the World.
What Jesus created, man has found a way to commercialize and corrupt. Even Christmas lights.
Now I redeem those lights with prayers for the persecuted and donations to the organizations that fight for them because God’s word tells me that what Satan means for evil, God can use for good.
I want to be filled with Jesus, not the flotsam of an over commercialized existence.
But where do I start when I’m drowning is an ocean of things–both material and religiousl–that don’t matter? I go back to the manger.
Newborn babies take up very little space physically when they first arrive. But as they grow so does the space they fill.
When I’m struggling to find room for Jesus in my life, I can return to the manager scene on that holy night and once again be captivated by a baby, bringing him home to my heart to nurture and care. As his presence in my heart increases, he’ll claim more and more space in my life. With joy, I’ll clear out the corrupted things of man to make room for the glorious things of Christ. I’ll give away all that I have in order to have more of him.
This Christmas I want nothing to remain in me or in my life—my home, my relationships, my priorities—that isn’t of Christ. I want to make room for the newborn baby to grow.
Faith
Dec. 11, 2024
Season of Preparation Day Ten: God's Creation
Jesus is everything that matters and the only thing that matters. If it is not of Jesus, it doesn’t matter. As I look around me, I’m forced to confess. There’s a lot of stuff in my life that doesn’t matter. “For by him all things were created that are in...
Season of Preparation Day Ten: God’s Creation
Jesus is everything that matters and the only thing that matters. If it is not of Jesus, it doesn’t matter.
As I look around me, I’m forced to confess. There’s a lot of stuff in my life that doesn’t matter.
“For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible . . . All things were created through him and for him.” (see Colossians 1:16)
Jesus created beauty, but man turned it into a commodity.
Jesus created love, but man turned it into weapon.
Jesus created, but man corrupted.
What things do I possess that belong to the corrupted nature of man instead of the heavenly glory of Christ’s creation?
I read the story of a pastor in China who had been imprisoned for his faith. He was horribly mistreated while in prison, but perhaps the thing that convicted me the most was what they had him do. Everyday he worked making Christmas lights. Now every time I look at the lights on my tree, I wonder about the hands that made them.
We decorate with Christmas lights to remind us of the light on that holy night when Christ was born, and to pay homage to Jesus, the Light of the World.
What Jesus created, man has found a way to commercialize and corrupt. Even Christmas lights.
Now I redeem those lights with prayers for the persecuted and donations to the organizations that fight for them because God’s word tells me that what Satan means for evil, God can use for good.
I want to be filled with Jesus, not the flotsam of an over commercialized existence.
But where do I start when I’m drowning is an ocean of things–both material and religiousl–that don’t matter? I go back to the manger.
Newborn babies take up very little space physically when they first arrive. But as they grow so does the space they fill.
When I’m struggling to find room for Jesus in my life, I can return to the manager scene on that holy night and once again be captivated by a baby, bringing him home to my heart to nurture and care. As his presence in my heart increases, he’ll claim more and more space in my life. With joy, I’ll clear out the corrupted things of man to make room for the glorious things of Christ. I’ll give away all that I have in order to have more of him.
This Christmas I want nothing to remain in me or in my life—my home, my relationships, my priorities—that isn’t of Christ. I want to make room for the newborn baby to grow.
