Dear
Fellow Children of God,
Officially, Christmas Day was last
Sunday, December 25. I assume most of
you gave gifts this Christmas, or received them. So, now that the gifts are opened, what will you do with the
gifts you received? Maybe you received
presents that were just what you were hoping for, presents that you will use
time and time again. But, possibly you received
some gifts that you’re not sure what to do with. Maybe you say thank you for those gifts, but
they will be put away and never used.
Maybe they even end up being donated to Bishops’ Attic or to another
resale store.
We all also received another gift again this Christmas. When God spoke to
the shepherds, he also spoke to us, to you. “Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
Jesus, the Savior, has been born for YOU! God
Himself has come to this earth to save us. God’s gift of Jesus is the greatest
gift we have ever received. By the way, our
Lord’s Christmas gift to us is why Christians give gifts at Christmas.
Let me tell you what God does NOT
want done with His gift to us of Jesus. Our Heavenly Father does not want a
polite thank you in worship, and then for the gift of His Son to be forgotten
the rest of the year. God does not want
us to ignore His gift. He does not want
us to doubt, or to live like He does not exist, to live like there is no
Savior, like we have to make our own way in a tough world by ourselves.
What God DOES want us to do with His
gift of the Savior, the gift of Christ the Lord, is what we see the shepherds
doing. “17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had
been told them about this child, . . . 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as
they had been told.” (Luke 2, 17, 20) The shepherds heard the surprising
good news of the angels. They found the
infant Savior in the stable. Then they glorified and praised God for the gift
of Jesus.
In many ways praising God is done
with the lips. Praise is thanks and honor
spoken about God. However, God is glorified with more than just words of
praise. God is glorified with actions, with
lives of faith and obedience. How do you
think these shepherds, these common laborers, ended up in this Gospel? After they saw Jesus, the lives of these
shepherds were never again the same. They
lived differently, and told the story. They shared with their words and their
lives what they had heard and seen.
So, God has given you the gift of
love again this Christmas in Jesus. Have
you heard the good news about this child? Have you believed it? Have you received this gift of God in faith? Will
you receive and use God’s gift of the Savior? Will you glorify and praise God
with your life? Or, will you put God’s gift away in the corner?
Let me
share with you someone who knows the lesson of the shepherds. On
December 17 I visited with a 96 year old child of God at a nursing home in
Soldotna. Katie McLeod once lived in
Palmer and was an active member of St. John Lutheran Church. Katie’s nephew, Mike Sweeney, his sister,
Karen, and their families are still active members at St. John. Years ago Katie and her family moved to the
Kenai Peninsula. They have been active
in the Lutheran Churches there. Katie’s
family and our family have been friends for over 25 years. But, at 96 Katie is ‘fading,’ and she was
recently put on comfort care. As I
visited with Katie and her family on December 17, knowing her situation, I
asked her what she wanted me to pray about for her, as we wait for Jesus to
come. We were not just expecting
Christmas. Jesus is coming for Katie in
more ways than one. Do you know how
Katie answered? She replied to my
question, “Please pray that all the people in this home turn their eyes to
Jesus and know His love.” Katie could
have asked prayers for herself, but she asked me to pray for others. Katie has heard the words of the angels and
she believes that God gave her the gift of a Savior. Katie is not is not ignoring that gift, not
putting that gift away. Katie is sharing
the gift of Jesus with her words and with her actions. She
is sharing the Savior with others so that they may also receive that gift, that
they may receive the “Savior . . . born to you; he is Christ the
Lord.”
Christmas Day is over.
What are you doing this year with God’s gift to you of Jesus, your
Savior? Will you put this gift
away? Or will you glorify and praise God
with words and actions which share Jesus with others?
A Child of God, Learning from One of God’s
Saints How We LIVE Christmas,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. The large
amounts of snow just before Christmas, followed by 5 days of strong winds,
caused complications for many in Palmer on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Because of snow drifts many congregations in
Palmer could not worship in their sanctuaries. THANK YOU to all who worked at
St. John to clear our parking lot and make a way to Church on Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day! Here are some pictures of
snow around St. John around noon on Christmas Eve Day. https://photos.app.goo.gl/gcazYWoxaVdH9nzQA
P.P.S. Now that we
have observed Advent and celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we are
almost about to resume our regular schedule.
Sunday School begins again on Sunday, January 8. However, here is our coming schedule.
·
Wednesday
Worship is held this week, December
28, at our regular time of 6:30 p.m.
·
New
Year’s Eve worship is held to prepare for the coming New Year on Saturday, December 31, at 6:30 p.m.
·
St. John will hold two services at our regular time on Sunday, January 1, at
8:15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. (Adult Bible Class, taught by Jim Summers, is held
between services.)
P.P.P.S. New St.
John Pastor, Rev. Jeremy Davis and family, arrive on Tuesday, January 3 to
begin his service to St. John as the new settled pastor.
I have personally been praying
for 3 ½ years for St. John, that Our Lord would send the right pastor at the
right time. I trust the Lord has
answered those prayers. After 3 ½ years
I am truly thankful that Pastor Davis is arriving.
Kathy
and I will leave for Florida on Sunday night, January 15. This follows our schedule from the last 3
winters since retirement. But, this also
gives the Davis’ a chance to settle in as your called pastor and family. I have made myself available to Pastor
Davis. But, it is important, since he is
now be your called leader, that you first go to Pastor Davis in pastoral
matters. Kathy and I are still, and will
continue, as good friends to so many St. John members. We also want to give Pastor Davis and family
a chance to start fresh, with all the support of St. John members. Please welcome Pastor Davis with the faith
and love St. John has shown us.
Kathy
and I expect to be home for Confirmation Day in May, since 2 of our
grandchildren will be confirmed this year.
P.P.P.P.S. Here
are some Rockey family pictures from Christmas Eve worship. https://photos.app.goo.gl/19b3M8soEGBfbLBB9
*****
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019
from serving as senior pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly devotion previously
entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor."
When I retired many asked me to continue writing these devotions. So I have continued writing. However, with life's changes I now call this
weekly devotion "Journeys Through Life as a Child of God." Since I am no longer senior pastor at St.
John, I felt it right to only send this message to those who asked to receive
it. (Though I am now serving again
part-time at St. John as assistant to the pastor.)
So, if you
stopped receiving these devotions and wondered why, now you understand. And, if you are now receiving these devotions
and do not wish to receive them, please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove
your name from my distribution list. My
e-mail address is jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer
is that these devotions help each of you in your daily walk with our Lord,
Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father, Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
“1 John 3:1 How great is the love the
Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that
is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 a)
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