Posted by
Mark Littleton on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:28:56 PM
December 18, 2007
This blog is written by Mark Littleton, a Christian
author with many books in print. You can find most of his books at Amazon.com
under his name.
Mark Littleton is represented by Glass Road Public
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Picture Caption: Help, I’ve fallen into a wormhole and I
don’t know where I’ll end up! And Christmas is coming, and I don’t want to miss
it! I know I’m getting some good
stuff!
The following is a series of poetic devotionals for your
interest. They’re all about Christ and the Christmas story.
1.
THE ANNUNCIATION
Verse: In the sixth
month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin
pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The
virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you
who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Luke 1:26-28.
Reading: Luke 1:26-38
I am astonished.
An angel barges into
Mary's bed chamber
as she combs her hair?
A message - to bear a
son,
the Prince of God, the
Messiah -
without marriage or
father
or even a solid
alibi?
How to explain?
Where to find the
words,
to make someone
somewhere understand -
it's not sin, it's not
a lie,
it's not madness, it’s
not even
a young woman’s dream
gone totally nutso?
How to live with the
ladies'
gossip, the young
men's
snickers, the parents’
continual shakes of the head?
And what to say
to Joseph, the
apparent cuckold,
in all this incredible
God-weirdness?
Would he walk
out?
Would he accuse?
Would he have her
stoned?
Would he just shake
his head, plow ahead
and hope the baby
disappeared
from memory?
Emotions swell. Fear blooms.
But something within
stirs.
Isn’t this what every
Jewish girl ever
dreamed about –
bearing the Messiah?
Isn’t this the hope of
every young woman,
at least after
marriage?
Mary must have
pondered, wondered, worried.
But after a natural
question – how can this happen,
since I’m not yet
married –
she simply bows, says,
“I’m here. Do with me
as you please!”
Not a word of
complaint.
Not an excuse.
Not a single heated
argument
into the
twilight. Not even a long
lie
on her bed weeping
about lost dreams.
How can this be?
I'm still
astonished.
O God, O God,
give me such faith,
and I’ll rattle the
world, too,
just as Mary did
oh so long ago.
Questions for thought:
1. How do you think you might have responded had you
been in Mary’s situation?
2. What do you think might have been the hardest
problem for Mary as she proceeded into pregnancy and birth? How would you have gone about
explaining it to Joseph, to your parents and friends, to the local rabbi?
3. Do you think God chose Mary in the first place
because of the faith she exhibited? Or was it something even greater?
Application: Can you
begin praying for faith as great as Mary’s as you enter this period of your
life? What is God right now asking you to do that you have resisted?
Prayer: Make me, oh
Lord, after the questions are answered, after the plan is considered and prayed
about, a person of such faith that I will do all you ask even if it costs me
everything.
2
BIRTH AT BETHLEHEM
Verse: While they were
there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her
firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6-7.
Reading: Luke 2:1-7
Strange:
from a dappled blue
egg,
a fragile crack, a
yellow beak,
and then the chirping
hungry jaw
of a robin.
Even stranger:
upon the crisp straw,
the wet,
struggling form of a
filly
nuzzling the mare's
warm nipple.
Stranger still: The
jagged screech of a child,
tiny fingers grasping
a breast,
large dark eyes
meeting
a mother's misty
browns
and locking on.
Strangest of all:
from the untried womb
of a virgin:
the iron thunder and
bright lightning
of heaven: the brown
body of God
trembling gently in a
feed-trough,
naked, and at the
mercy
of everything.
Strange? No!
Wonderful!
Marvelous!
Astonishing!
Holy.
Questions for thought:
1. What miracles, besides Mary’s conception of Jesus,
do you see active in this story?
2. Why do you think God allowed Jesus to be born in a
stable? How was a stable a unique and provident place for him to be born?
3. Why do you think the virgin birth was so crucial
to Jesus’ success in his later ministry?
Application: What can
you do today that will show God your gratitude for a Savior who gave it all as
Jesus did?
Prayer: May I never
forget the greatness of your sacrifice, Jesus, my Lord, Friend, and God!
Check Out:
Marklittleton.com
Winsunliterary.com(my
literary agency)
HeartofAmericaChristianWriters.com(our
writers' network)
Another blog:
Politiciansunclothed.townhall.com
Latest books:
101 Amazing Truths
About Jesus You Probably Didn't Know(Howard Books, 2007)
The Ten-Second
Prayer Principle: Powerful Prayer As You Go(Howard Books, 2007)
What's In the Bible
for Teens? (Bethany House, October 2007)
Books to come:
BIble Bathroom
Book(Howard Books, April 2008)
The Big Bad God of
the Bible(AMG, August, 2008)
The Real Life Kid's
Devotional Bible For Boys(Zonderkidz, September, 2008)
The Real Life Kid's
Devotional Bible For Girls(Zonderkidz, September, 2008)
The NIRV Kid's
Devotional(Zonderkidz, October, 2008)
God bless.
Mark Littleton
mlittleton@earthlink.net