What is the grace of God? (Family Christmas devotion 2025)

 

Luke 2:4-12 (NIV) 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 

John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

 

What is the grace of God?

  

When the news of Jesus rising from the dead started spreading around the world, the disciples, like Peter and John, and also Paul, started teaching new believers about Jesus our Lord, and about God our Father and about the Holy Spirit. They came up with a very important word about God. They taught about God being kind and loving and patient, but they also found a very important word that helps to explain how good God is, and that is the word; “grace”.

We sing that word in a famous hymn called “amazing grace”, and we use it for a name, and also we use it for the prayer we say before a meal, but even though that is the same word it has a different meaning.

We read it in the reading this morning from Paul’s letter to Titus which says that the grace of God appeared and brings salvation. Which means that this word grace, which belongs to God, has the power to bring us to a safe place, which is where Jesus is.

 

So, I want to try and explain this word; “grace”.

 

If you fell into a raging river and were running out of strength and you were about to drown, grace is like a rescue boat that comes out of nowhere and pulls you out of the water and brings you back safely to dry land.

If you got lost in the jungle, and had no money or food, and you were starving hungry, grace is like a food helicopter that comes out of nowhere and dishes out a beautiful meal full of chicken and gravy and tasty vegetables and then flies you to where your parents are looking for you.

If you get really sick and are almost dying, and your parents take you to hospital, grace is like a wonderful nurse that comes out of nowhere and gives you the most special medicine and then you wake up and are well again.

Grace is strong enough to help us even when we don’t want to be helped.

Grace fixes things, but it doesn’t fix everything, only the really important things in our lives.

What’s the most important thing in our whole life?

To be part of God’s family.

We all need to be part of a family, God gives us parents and grandparents and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and children and grandchildren, as well as special friends. These are so important to our lives, but the most important family is God’s family.

God started a family a long time ago with Adam and Eve, but they were tricked into breaking God’s rules which left them in really big trouble. It was like they were lost, but the worst thing was that they had broken God’s rules on purpose, and they felt really ashamed and had to hide from him.

We also break Gods rules, like when we think about ourselves and don’t love each other, and don’t love Jesus.

Being like that means that we also can hide from God and end up sad and lonely, which is like being lost in a jungle with no food, no family and no way home.

 

But God always knew that we would need something really special and strong, that would take away our shame, and bring us back home to him.

It was grace.

Grace means that God still cares for us, even when we are angry or upset with him.

Grace means that God still wants us in his family even when we slam the door in his face. Grace means that God loves us and will do everything that he can possibly do, to make sure we are safe, and will be part of his forever family.

 

In John’s gospel in the Bible, it says that Jesus was given to us so that we could be forever with him. (John 3:16) It also says that Jesus was full of grace and truth.

When the very first Christmas happened, Jesus was born as a tiny helpless baby.

God gave us his precious baby boy to live with and grow up with Mary and Joseph as his parents, but his true father was God.

That baby grew to be our Lord Jesus who died on the cross for us, and all of that happened because of God’s grace, God’s saving grace. Which comes out of nowhere and wipes away all of our fighting and arguments and disagreements with God and with each other, as well as our being greedy and nasty. Anything we do that we are ashamed of, God fixes with his grace, and gives us love and joy and a forever place with Jesus in heaven.

We call that really good news.

When we believe in God’s grace, which is his special power to change our lives through his son Jesus, then we do change on the inside in a beautiful way, and we learn how to live the way God wants us to live.

Christmas is when God’s grace arrived in the world through the baby Jesus. Jesus is full of grace. Jesus is, in a way, God’s superhero with the special power called grace.

And his grace will never fail.

Jesus Loves Me This I Know.

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.” Matthew 2:6, Micah 5:2

Bethlehem currently is a city of just under 30,000 people on the west bank, south of Jerusalem. It is an ancient city going back more than 3000 years, and was at one point destroyed by the Romans, and then rebuilt by Constantine.

King David was from Bethlehem, he reigned somewhere between 900 and 800 BC

The quote above is from the Old Testament prophet named “Micah” which was written about 700 BC.

It is also found in Matthew’s gospel which was written by Matthew (one of Jesus’ twelve disciples) possibly as early as 40-50 AD.

The reason Matthew mentions this quote from the prophet Micah, is because he is telling the story of the “Magi”, the “wise men” who brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three valuable gifts from possibly three wise men? Matthew does not mention how many wise men came from the east following the star, but all the songs say three (including mine!).

These wise men, where exactly they were from we don’t know, maybe China, or somewhere else, but they were definitely not Jewish people. They were foreigners. But despite not being Jewish or from anywhere that was known for faith in the one true God, here they were, with expensive gifts, looking for God’s son, and they wanted to worship him!

So first, they went to Herod, the Jewish King at the time of Jesus’ birth. It made sense to them to ask him where they would find the newborn king that was clearly announced by this special star in heaven.

But Herod was caught by surprise (I don’t think he liked surprises). For some reason, he had not even the slightest inclination that a new king, a godly King, had been born in his country, God’s country. He was clearly not too interested in religious affairs, and suddenly needed the help of other wise men, the religious leaders of his land, to answer the question these strange but important travellers had asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

How did Herod find the answer?

He had to get his old (but expensive- well he was the current King!) bible off the shelf and dust it off, and with the help of these religious leaders and bible teachers, looked up what had been written 700 years before (and kept preserved by those who knew it was important.)

There it was, towards the end of his Old Testament, in Micah’s prophetic writings, chapter 5, “Out of you (Bethlehem) will come a ruler of my people Israel”.

With that information, those travellers, the wise men, or “magi” went from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus and worshipped him.

God gave those wise men a beautiful star in heaven to follow, but without the Bible, they may never have found Jesus.

Have we made communion too religious?

 

Have we made communion too religious?

The command Jesus gave was to do this in remembrance of him.

What was he wanting his disciples to do? What was he wanting us to do?

Was he asking some of us to take on his authority and lead a ceremony?

Was what he did at that last supper a ceremony?

 

There was ceremony involved in the Passover feast.

God had told Moses what was to be eaten, and how it was to be prepared and how those participating were to dress.

 

But did Jesus imply a similar ceremony in the sharing of communion amongst Christians for the coming ages?

 

Was the table of the last supper an altar?

 

Was a sacrifice made at that original meal?

 

Were those present reverent?

 

Were they dressed in a particular way?

 

Did they each bow as they received the portion of bread and a share in the cup?

 

Did Jesus have to quieten those present to concentrate on what he was sharing?

 

Would a live video of the actual last supper surprise us in how different it may have been to what we practice today? Or would it surprise us in its similarity?

 

Was Jesus wearing priestly garments? Was he praying for the elements to be transformed by the Holy Spirit?

 

Were those who shared in the bread and cup deeply reassured of their salvation at that time?

 

Was Jesus’ physical presence with them valued in the way it ought to have been? Or, unlike the transfiguration event, was his appearance ordinary and humble, with those present having an unclear or, at best, incomplete understanding of the significance of that meal?

 

What do we do today that gets in the way of what we are meant to experience and proclaim in the sharing of communion?

 

What do we do today that supports the sharing and proclamation of the true message of the communion meal?

 

How do we recognise the body of the Lord at communion? Is it the bread, or is it the gathered believers?

 

How do we enter an appropriate posture of reverence, and attitude of gratitude, inspite of distractions when we share communion?

 

Does the act of sharing in communion help us internalise the grace of God in a way that the inspired word of God alone, cannot?

 

Does the office of priesthood truly confer authenticity to the transformation of the elements, and thus guarantee God’s physical presence to us in receiving communion?

 

Or does God preside, despite our mode of sharing this meal (for better or for worse)?

 

Who is truly free to partake of this meal? Who forfeits this invitation?

 

Is there a minimum age to share in communion?

 

Was Judas stopped from sharing in the cup?

 

Did sharing in the cup affect his decision to betray Jesus?

 

I may be implying some of the answers to these questions, but I would rather ask you to consider the questions honestly.

 

Unfortunately, the way we share communion tends to divide us in the Christian world.

 

I disclose my bias, that I do believe in leadership and eldership in the church, but I do not believe in a clergy/laity divide. 

Long Problems

If you have life experience, and once we have lived as adults for some time, we all do, we experience what I will call “long problems”. They are situations which are not able to be resolved quickly, no matter what action is taken. They are unpalatable, painful circumstances that will not go away.   They may seem to occur without invitation. We wonder how we could have avoided them. And they cost us time, money, joy, freedom, peace, comfort, and all the things we equate with success. 
Others may or may not think our situation is our own fault, and judge us as stupid for allowing something like this to happen, but from my perspective, I am my own worst judge. Kicking myself mentally for making an error of judgement and not avoiding the issue.
As we mature we can see these things approaching and avoid some of them, but others still happen.
The media portrays successful people, those who do not have "long problems", or have overcome them. But I suspect most ordinary people have them. 
They are our crosses to carry, our thorns in the side.
We may or may not have caused them, but once they are present they are there for a long time, sometimes for life.
Occasionally we see a way out and gain hope of freedom, only for the door to cruelly close. And sometimes we exchange one long problem for a worse one, hence the saying “better the devil you know”.
But what I have not said is that God is with us in our long problems, even when we have caused them, even when we deserve them. He gives us some of them, for our sake.
He wants us to continue behaving as Christian’s in those circumstances, which includes gratitude, and prayer.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” Said by the man with a thorn in his side who prayed for relief but was granted only grace.
I say “only” because I must admit that grace at times, seems little, though really it is the full tsunami of God’s holy love. 
And there will be a day when all creation (including us) stops groaning under the strain of long problems. Until then,
Rejoice. Even in our sufferings, which produce, amongst other things, true hope.

Service or Proclamation?

Question: Service or proclamation?

Answer: Yes

Some strongly believe that speaking the gospel is the only way people will hear and have opportunity to repent. Others believe service is the best way to witness and would struggle to find the courage and correct words to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
But Jesus both spoke and served. 
And his Spirit enabled people like Peter to speak and people like Dorcas (Tabitha) to serve.
But both of them spoke and both served.
We are all gifted in many ways, and we have particular gifts and skills in which we are very good. With the gift of faith, other abilities are often released or given. I say “released”, because maybe some of those abilities were already germinating within. 
So, someone who previously would not speak publicly, now has the courage and understanding to do so.
Someone who previously was uninterested in working with children, now finds a new willingness and joy to be involved.
And that word; "willingness", is an important one. As many abilities are more to do with a willingness to try, and keep trying.
Once you try to do something ten, twenty, fifty or a thousand times, you notice an ability that was possibly hardly there before.
Practice is what brings out what appear to be to be natural gifts. Things we feel able and ready to do.
That includes sharing our faith with others. That includes folding clothes. 
God gives us willingness. 
Another way to describe willingness is putting a purpose or goal ahead of a natural desire. Putting someone else’s need above other priorities. Fitting in something that wasn’t initially planned, or more simply; love. 

I just want to to take this opportunity to honour Mrs Hill, who many years ago came and helped clean up my flat where I was living, and made a meal for me, fully out of love.  

Loving one another as Jesus loved us.

He was willing to heal, and willing to forgive, and willing to die for our sake. 
If we are willing, God will use us.
Jesus asked Peter “Are you willing?"...

"Feed my Lambs”.

Angry About Being Angry

This is probably something that happens later in life, at least for me.

Knowing that I identify as a Christian, and knowing that gentleness, kindness and anger are hard to reconcile, being angry, and behaving/ speaking with anger is a strong way of not looking like a Christian. It hurts others. It hurts and humiliates others.

The effect of that may be that the person I am interacting with, and others in the vicinity will see how un-christian I really am. Not a great witness, not a great example etc. Maybe that person will be repelled from ever considering faith in Jesus.

And all because I allowed myself to express my correctness and authority in a particular situation, maybe tinged with frustration of many other things. “Martha you are concerned about many things”.

I can picture a confident child who has somewhat mastered the ability to juggle 3 balls, showing their father their newly acquired skill. But a father like me, rather than encouraging, adds difficulty to the situation by adding a fourth ball, and then a fifth, so that everything falls apart and the child is now humbled.

Who would do something like that?

Satan does it with Job, and presumably enjoys doing it with us.

But that does not excuse mature Christians like me, from their failure.

And that is hard, hard enough to make a person like me angry. Angry about getting angry.

Reminds me a little of Jonah getting angry about the worm.

 

The truth and reality is that we,… I,... am a sinner.

Despite my desire to live without sin in my life and be a good witness to the Christian faith, it is impossible for me. But not because I don’t have the capacity to resist. I do (and don’t) have that capacity.

I can juggle 3 balls for a while, but not 5, but if I practiced, I might get to 5, but not 7.etc

I do have the capacity to juggle, for a certain time, with a certain number of balls.

But God wants truth from the inward parts.

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

 

It’s not about how well I can juggle, or how I look as a Christian to others. It is about the deep parts of me, my deep motivations and hidden desires. My chronic deep anger at people and at God.

Who can actually see this clearly?

Not even me, only God.

Who can change that part of me?

Only God.

How can God change that part of me?

By becoming me on the cross. By killing me on the cross. By resurrecting me in himself.

I am nothing. I am nothing good. I am nothing good, but Jesus is risen, and I believe and trust that I am in him, and he in me. He has washed me, sanctified me, justified me.

Why?

For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Christian Faith

 

The Christian faith is a gentle, humble, patient faith.

It is not a boastful, proud, forceful, or dominating movement that fearfully and demandingly converts those who are weaker.

Nor is it a deceitful, scheming, wealthy or clever faith.

It is a serving faith, willing to do what others would not. The menial tasks, the jobs that most would avoid.

It is a giving faith. Giving and forgiving.

It is a joyful faith, secure in the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

It is a singing faith, joyful in the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It is an expectant faith, knowing that God blesses us and keeps us in all circumstances.

It is a patient faith, knowing that the seasons God provides will be effective in bringing about the harvest that God is preparing.

It is a suffering faith, understanding and accepting that we are supported in our struggles, and gain wisdom and maturity as well as humility through these.

We accept all that God provides for us, and also what he removes.

We do falter in our Christian walk, and are prone to wandering, but the true Shepherd is faithful to guide, restore and lead us to the goal he has planned.

We are not ashamed to call on his name. Jesus, our Lord.