Christmas Countdown - Dec 8

Jesus Loves Children, and Children Love Him  (Matt 14:13-15)

Jesus loved to be surrounded by people when He was here on earth.  Many people wanted to see Jesus, and hear what He had to say.  Jesus was happy to meet them and to talk with them.  Moms and Dads wanted to bring their little children to see and hear Jesus too, and they hoped that Jesus would touch their children and pray for them.  But Jesus' special friends, the disciples, thought that children were not very important, and that the Moms and Dads shouldn't be bothering Jesus with their kids.  They told the parents that Jesus was too special to be spending His time with kids.

When Jesus heard the disciples saying this, He told them to stop.  He told them that they were wrong.  He said "Let the little children come to Me!", and the children came running!  Jesus hugged them and talked with them and they smiled and laughed together.  Jesus loves little children, and children love Him.  Jesus loves YOU too, and He is happy when you want to talk to Him, sing songs to Him and hear stories about Him.  He loves to spend time with you!

(The link for the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-8.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 7

 

Jesus Stills the Storm

Jesus had been teaching a big crowd of people all day.  He had healed many people and He had fed them too.  He was tired, and ready to take some quiet time away from the crowds.  He told his disciples - the group of men who followed Him - that they would all get into their boat and sail across the lake that night.  Then He lay down in the front of the boat and fell fast asleep.

Suddenly a HUGE storm came up on the water!  The winds were loud and strong and fast!  They pushed and pulled the water into enormous waves that crashed down on the boat, filling it with water.  Even though many of these men were fisherman who had been out in storms before, they were VERY afraid!  They thought their boat would be tipped over, they would be dumped into the water and drown!  They hurried to wake Jesus up!

Jesus had been asleep - He wasn't scared.  He knew that they would be alright.  But He could see that His friends were VERY scared.  So He did something amazing:  He stood up and said to the wind, "Be Quiet!", and to the waves, "Be Still!".  All of a sudden, they were!  The wind stopped immediately, and the water became as still as a sheet of glass.  The disciples couldn't believe what just happened!  "Who is this," they said to each other, "that even the winds and the waves obey Him?"  (Mark 4:34-41)

Jesus is not like anyone else - He is God!  He made the wind and the waves, so of course they listen to Him and do what He says!  He loves us, and He doesn't want us to be afraid, even when scary things are happening around us.  Jesus will never leave you - even if something bad or scary is happening, He will be with you and He will take care of you.  Sometimes He will calm the storm, and sometimes He will let the storms blow but He will calm you.  You can always trust God.  

(Here is the link to the full devotional:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-7.html) 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 6

Jesus Sees Me and He Knows Me

Jesus sees you, and He knows you!  He can see you right now, and He can see you even if you hide under the table!  As a matter of fact, Jesus is the one guy that I'd NEVER want to play hide-n-seek with - He'd always win!!!  

Look at the picture of Jesus that a girl named Akiane painted.  She shows His eyes looking right at you.  That is how I picture Jesus too.  The Bible tells us many stories about Jesus and people that He talked to while He was here on earth.  Jesus always paid attention to people when He was talking to them.  He looked at their face, and right into their eyes.  People could see in Jesus' eyes that He cared about them.

Jesus cares about you too!  The Bible tells us that He can see you all the time - when you are sitting down, and when you are standing up.  When you are lying down, and when you are walking around.  He knows what you are thinking, and what you are about to say, even before you say it!  And He loves you SOOOOOOOO much!  (Psalm 139:1-3)

When you are praying to Jesus, go ahead and tell Him everything you are thinking and feeling, because He knows and understands you.  He loves you and wants to help you with everything in your life.  

(The link for the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-6.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 5

The Greatest Command is LOVE

One day a man asked Jesus "What is the MOST important thing God wants me to do?"  That's a good question!  I want to do what God wants me to do, and I'll bet that you do to!

Jesus answered "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  Then, love your neighbor as yourself.  If you do this, you will be doing everything God wants you to do."  (Matt 22:35-40) 

Love is not some gushy feeling - though when we love people, we usually do feel good when we think about them and are with them.  Love is about what we DO.  Loving God means that I think about Him, and I ask Him to help me do the things that He wants me to do, like obey my Mom and Dad, speak kindly, share my toys and always tell the truth.  When we do what God tells us to do, we are showing Him that we love Him.  When we love God, He helps us want to love other people too.

Sometimes it is hard to know how to love other people.  Jesus said "Treat other people the way you would like them to treat you."  That makes it pretty simple.  Before I say or do something, I can ask myself "Would I like them to say or do that to me?"  I'm glad Jesus told us that!  (Luke 6:31)

He said another thing about love.  Jesus said that He wants us to love other people the way He loves us.  If we do that, they will know that we are following Him.  (John 13:34,35)  I love Jesus, and I want other people to know Him and love Him too.  When I think about how much Jesus loves me, I want to love other people like that.  Jesus is kind and gentle, patient and forgiving.   

"Dear Jesus - thank You for loving me so much!  Help me to love other people the way You love me, and to treat them like I want to be treated.  Amen." 

(Here is the link to the full devotional:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-5.html) 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 4

God is All-Powerful

Today we are going to think about how powerful God is.  In the Bible, God says: "Behold, I am the Lord . . . is there anything too hard for Me?"  (Jer 32:26)  Nothing is too hard for God.  He can do anything!  He is stronger than anybody, and He always does what is right.  We can be very brave and sure because our God is so strong!  Even though we are small, and not very strong, and sometimes we are afraid, we can count on God to take care of us because He is so powerful.
  
God says:  "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  (Jer 33:3)  When I am afraid, or need help, or don't know what to do, I call out to God and ask Him to help me.  You can call out to God too.  Sometimes He will answer you right away.  He might give you a new idea about how to do something.  He might have your Mom or Dad help you.  He might give you the courage to try again at something that is hard for you to do.

Sometimes God doesn't seem to answer right away;  then we can keep praying, and watch for how He will answer us.  He promises that He hears us and will answer . . . sometimes it is right away, and sometime it takes some time, but God always keeps His promises.  

(Link for the full devotional:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-4.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 3

Jesus is Baptized

John the Baptist was a special man with a special job.  God told him to tell the people that Jesus, the Messiah was coming.  God wanted John to tell the people that they should be sorry for their sins, and to turn to God and follow Him.  As a sign of this decision, John would baptize the people;  this meant that he would support their backs while they leaned back into the water of the lake and came back up again, showing that they wanted to follow God and obey Him.When Jesus was a grown up man, He came to John the Baptist one day to be baptized Himself.  Jesus had never sinned, but He wanted to be baptized to show us how God wants His followers to obey Him.

The Bible tells us:  "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' "   Matt 3:16,17

I wish I could have been there that day to see the dove and hear God's voice!  How exciting that must have been!  It is still exciting today to think about it!

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to earth and living among us, and showing us by Your example how You want us to live.  Help me to listen to You more and more, through Your word and Your Spirit.  I love you!

(Here is the link to the longer post:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-3.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 2

"Mary - you shall have a Son"

God had wonderful news - He was getting ready to send Jesus to our world!  He sent a special angel, named Gabriel, to tell Mary that she would have a baby.  Gabriel said, "God has a special plan for you, Mary.  You will have a baby boy, and you will call Him Jesus.  He will be great, the Son of God.  He will be a King forever."  (Luke 1:30-33)

Jesus was not just a regular baby.  Mary would be His mother, but His Father is God.  Jesus is God, and He would grow up and teach people about what God is like.  He would tell people that God is with them all the time, and that He was going to make a way for people to become God's children.

Mary was excited to hear this, even though she hadn't expected to have a baby.  She trusted God to know what was best.  She believed that God would make all of this happen just as the angel said.  

So Mary answered, "Here I am.  Let this baby come, just as God says."

Mary had to wait for Jesus, just as all mommies wait for their babies to be ready to be born.  We celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas day.  We are waiting right now for Christmas - it is exciting to celebrate the day that Jesus was born!  

(Here is the link to the full devotional for Day 2:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-2.html)