The Third Day of Christmas
His gift: The Word
“And the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” John 1:14
When Jesus was born in the manger, the Word came to live with us. The Word came into the world to sleep in a cold, dirty manger, entering a dark world to mend broken lives. The Word came as a gift to fulfill every promise of a Holy Father, revealing His full message to a lost world.
Up until this point the Jewish people had only known the Word as written laws upon tablets, on scrolls. They could not comprehend that The Word was now living, breathing, and dwelling among them.
The Word comes to you this Christmas season ALIVE! He comes to us in our busyness, our pain, our hurt, our sorrow, and our imperfections.
The Word wants to be a part of our lives.
For years I lived as though God’s word was not living and active. I viewed my time in God’s word as a duty to be fulfilled, an item to simply check off my to-do list, a practice to be maintained as a good Christian, and especially a good pastor’s wife.
An older pastor’s wife, Esther Walker, now in her 80’s, challenged me to go to The Word daily and cry out to God to speak to me. She taught me that when God’s word spoke to me that I was encountering God Himself. She encouraged me to put my name in Bible verses to make it more personable.
As I begin to read God’s word in this manner, my life was truly transformed and soon I found myself longing for these encounters with Jesus.
When I was younger I struggled with an addiction to anger in my life, The Word revealed to me “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1:20) God showed me that all the yelling and screaming in the world would not make my kids or my husband do the right thing. Through His Word, God healed me of my anger addiction.
Two weeks ago as I lay on a hospital bed in fear, I begin to recite The Word, “Donna, rejoice! Again, I say rejoice. Let your gentleness be made known to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, Donna, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:4-7) My anxious heart became peaceful as I fell asleep under the anesthesia.
The Word is a gift that must be opened. It’s under the tree this Christmas for all of us. We can leave it under there and admire the beautiful wrapping, or we can open this special gift and allow The Word to transform our lives.
My prayer for you this Christmas is you will open this gift. When you do, Jesus –The Word made flesh, will come alive to you!
