SEARCHING THE NIGHT

On the night when Jesus was born, I wonder if Joseph prayed, “Father, this all seems so…bizarre. The angel you sent? Any chance you could send another?”

You’ve stood where Joseph stood. Each of us knows what it’s like to search the night for a light. Not outside a stable, but perhaps outside an emergency room or the manicured grass of a cemetery. We’ve asked our questions. We’ve wondered why God does what he does. If you’re asking what Joseph asked, let me urge you to do what Joseph did: obey. He didn’t let his confusion disrupt his obedience.

What about you? You have a choice: to obey or disobey. Because Joseph obeyed, God used him to change the world. Can he do the same with you? Will you be that kind of person? Will you serve…even when you don’t understand?

Devotion by Max Lucado | The Almighty Jehovah | https://thealmightyJehovah.com

Nothing in Between

Make no mistake, Jesus saw himself as God. And he leaves us with two options: accept him as God, or reject him as a megalomaniac. There’s no third alternative. Oh, but we try to create one! Suppose you came across me standing on the side of the road. I can go north or south. You ask me which way I’m going. “I’m going sorth. I can’t choose between north and south, so I’m going both. I’m going sorth!” “You can’t do that,” you reply. “You have to choose.”

When it comes to Christ, you’ve got to do the same. Call him crazy, or crown him as king. Dismiss him as a fraud, or declare him to be God. Walk away from him, or bow before him, but don’t play games with him. He is either hope or all hype. But nothing in between.

Hear Jesus

The Torah sends you to Moses. The Quran sends you to Muhammad. Buddhists invite you to meditate; spiritists, to levitate. “Step right up—try my witchcraft.” “Psst, over here. Interested in some new age channels?” Oh, the voices. And we pray, “Father, help me out! Please modulate one and relegate the others.”

If that’s your prayer, then Luke 9 is your chapter. The day God isolated the authoritative voice of history and declared, “Listen to him.” On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus was praying with Peter and James and John. And his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming. “And a voice came out of a cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son. Hear him!’ (Luke 9:35). Hear Jesus amidst all the other voices. Listen to him.

SEARCHING THE NIGHT