Dear Fellow Children of God,
I was scrolling through movie options recently and one of
the movies which was available was entitled, “Finding Mr. Christmas.” Other similar movies I also found included “Finding
John Christmas,” “Finding Father Christmas,” and also, “Finding Christmas.” We might ask, “Is Christmas lost?” I guess the answer to that question depends
on what someone means by ‘Christmas.’
I will speak plainly.
The holiday, the season, is called “CHRISTmas.” Christmas centers around Christ, around the
promised Messiah, the Son of God, the son of Mary. However, sometimes people have had trouble
finding Jesus. Sometimes people have had
trouble finding the Christ.
Consider the Gospel lesson for last Sunday, Luke 7:18-36. John the Baptist was in prison. Luke tells us John sent two of his disciples
to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for
another?" (Luke 7:19) Perhaps
John himself wondered if Jesus was the promised One. After all, if Jesus was the Christ, so why
was John in prison? Or, perhaps John
simply wanted his disciples to learn of Jesus.
Perhaps John wanted the disciples to turn from him to the one who really
was and is the promised Savior. Scripture
does not say why John sent these 2 men.
But John’s disciples did go to Jesus and ask the question.
Jesus had an answer for John and his disciples. "Go and tell John what
you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers
are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good
news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended
by me." (Luke 7:22-23) Jesus
was healing, and preaching, and bringing good news. Jesus was fulfilling the Old Testament
prophecies concerning the Messiah. The
answer to John’s question should have been obvious.
Yet, please think of the irony, the contradiction in John’s
question. John and his disciples were
looking for the Messiah. Luke 3:5 tells
us all the people were in expectation for the coming of the Messiah. However, Jesus was already right there in
front of them, doing God’s work, proclaiming God’s word, and they were missing Him. Was that spiritual blindness, or simply
distraction?
But we shouldn’t be surprised. Remember those movies. “Finding Mr. Christmas,” “Finding Christmas,”
and the others. People are looking for
the love and peace and joy of Christmas, and not finding it. That is sort of like John looking for “the
One who was to come” when Jesus was already there. People forget, at times we forget,
that Jesus has come. Christmas is about
His birth. Remember what the angel told
Joseph. “22 All this took
place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 ‘Behold,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’
(which means, God with us).” (Matt.
1:22-23) People may be looking for Christmas. But Christ has been born and God is with us.
In His birth Jesus brings the love of our Heavenly Father
for a lost world. In His suffering and
death, Jesus brings peace which only comes through His forgiveness. In Jesus’ resurrection, He brings joy which
the trials of life cannot steal. If
people are looking for the love, the peace, and the joy of Christmas, well
Jesus is already right here. He was
born. He is God with us.
Are you missing the Christmas Spirit? Are you like people in those movies, looking
for Christmas this year? The wonderful
message of Christmas is that “Christ is Here.”
When we find Jesus, we have Christmas.
We don’t need to look any further.
A Child of God, Finding Christmas by Finding Christ,
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I continue to
serve as vacancy pastor at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Florida, until
First Lutheran receives a permanent full-time pastor.
NEWS AND MINISTRY
OPPORTUNITIES AT First Lutheran Church – Gainesville!
·
OUR THIRD MID-WEEK ADVENT SERVICE OF 2024 IS
HELD THIS, Wednesday, December 18, AT 6:30 P.M. A Fellowship Meal is offered at 5:30
p.m. We will be considering the messages
of Gabriel in Luke 1. Angie Burr and Kina
Ruttman will help bring the Message, Based on the appearance of the angel
Gabriel to Mary in Luke 1. THANK YOU to
the Spillanes and their helpers for preparing the fellowship meal!
·
In a Voters’ Meeting on December 1 First
Lutheran voted to extend the call as full-time pastor to Rev. Chris Kollman. PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THE
FIRST LUTHERAN CALL PROCESS IN YOUR PRAYERS.
·
GOD WINK, AMONG OTHER PROJECTS FOR
OTHERS, provided Christmas trees for the homebound and shut in members of First
Lutheran. Here are a few pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/2fiis15LBMMfdgAR6
·
SUNDAY SCHOOL IS IN FULL SWING until
May. Children begin in worship at 10:00 a.m.. Early in the service, after
the Children’s Message, children leave for a lesson, for a craft, and a
snack.
During this
Advent and Christmas Season Children’s messages in worship are learning and
singing some favorite Christmas carols.
This week we will sing “Silent Night”
Parents,
Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, Neighbors, PLEASE bring your children to
Sunday School. THANK YOU Sunday
School Teachers and staff!
·
In Sunday Bible Class we are now studying the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah at
8:45 a.m. in the Besalski Fellowship Hall. On December 15 we studied Isaiah 53. We will continue this study on December 22. Come and Join Us!!!!!
·
COLLEGE STUDENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS meet on
Tuesday nights in the student house at 7:00 p.m. Come and join us! They
are studying “The Case for Christianity.”
On Tuesday, December 3, they finished chapter 4 of this book. (THERE IS
A BREAK DURING CHRISTMAS VACATION.)
·
WE CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE IN
2024 and 2025 using the Today’s Light Devotional Bible. On Wednesday,
December 11, we read Proverbs 21 and 22.
Feel free
to contact Pastor Rockey at 907-841-4066 if you have any questions about
these readings. Or send an e-mail question to jonrock53@mtaonline.net I have
recently received questions and comments. It is always good to consider
our Lord’s love and guidance. I will TRY to answer, but some things only God
knows!
·
EXTRA HOLIDAY SERVICES In addition to Sunday Worship, we
now have mid-week worship for the Advent and Christmas season.
o
December 18, 6:30 p.m. – Advent 3
o
December 24, 5 and 7 p.m., Christmas Eve
Candlelight
o
December 25, 10 a.m. – Christmas Day
o
December 31, 6:30 p.m. – New Year’s Eve.
P.P.S. Family Fun:
·
Thursday evening, December 12 through Saturday
morning, December 14, Kathy and I spent time with long-time friends, Rick and
Kris Armstrong. We went out to eat at
the Columbia Restaurant, saw the St. Augustine Christmas light show, and reminisced. Afterwards Kathy and I went home by way of Crescent
Beach, and stopped for lunch at Corky Bells in Palatka. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/66TtXgbDzm2WsK64A
·
I only went fishing once since my last devotion.
On Sunday, December 14, I fished by
myself in a local lake. It was windy and
the fish weren’t biting much. I did
catch one bass. But, for now, I lost my picture.
*******
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I
retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as full-time 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. (However, I am currently as Vacancy Pastor for
First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL.)
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
Vacancy Pastor, First Lutheran
Church, Gainesville, FL
Pastor Emeritus, St. John
Lutheran Church, Palmer, AK
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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