The annual church Christmas play was rapidly approaching and Mrs. Adams was assigning roles to the children in her Sunday school class. “Albert,” she said, “I’d like you to be the inn keeper this year.”

“No way, not me, absolutely not!” said Albert. “I’m not going to be the one who turned Mary and Joseph away from a good nights rest.”

“Oh, please,” she begged. “I really need you to do this. We won’t be able to have the play without you,” she pleaded. Finally he agreed.

On the night of the performance, Joseph went to the door and knocked. “Who’s there?” he asked.

“My name’s Joseph and Mary and I need a place to sleep,” was the reply.

“I’m sorry,” he said politely. “We have no rooms available.” And then added kindly, “But if you’d like you can rest awhile and I’ll get you some cookies and milk.”

There are many, like Albert, who would gladly give our Lord some “cookies and milk” but would never allow Him to come into their hearts and change their lives. It’s enjoyable to visit the manger, sing a few carols, read the story of His birth and then exchange gifts. But to make Him a permanent resident?

See Him now: Patiently standing. Gently knocking. Carefully listening. Waiting hopefully. Wanting desperately to save us and give us eternal life.

Prayer: We thank You, Father, for wanting to be our Savior and to fellowship with us. Come, dwell within us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

The annual church Christmas play was rapidly approaching and Mrs. Adams was assigning roles to the children in her Sunday school class. “Albert,” she said, “I’d like you to be the inn keeper this year.”

“No way, not me, absolutely not!” said Albert. “I’m not going to be the one who turned Mary and Joseph away from a good nights rest.”

“Oh, please,” she begged. “I really need you to do this. We won’t be able to have the play without you,” she pleaded. Finally he agreed.

On the night of the performance, Joseph went to the door and knocked. “Who’s there?” he asked.

“My name’s Joseph and Mary and I need a place to sleep,” was the reply.

“I’m sorry,” he said politely. “We have no rooms available.” And then added kindly, “But if you’d like you can rest awhile and I’ll get you some cookies and milk.”

There are many, like Albert, who would gladly give our Lord some “cookies and milk” but would never allow Him to come into their hearts and change their lives. It’s enjoyable to visit the manger, sing a few carols, read the story of His birth and then exchange gifts. But to make Him a permanent resident?

See Him now: Patiently standing. Gently knocking. Carefully listening. Waiting hopefully. Wanting desperately to save us and give us eternal life.

Prayer: We thank You, Father, for wanting to be our Savior and to fellowship with us. Come, dwell within us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

It was his first pastorate after completing seminary. He loved his members and served them faithfully. Upon learning that one of the members of his church was in the hospital he hurried to visit her.

As he walked to her room, he asked a nurse if she resting comfortably. “No,” she responded, “we believe that she only has a few hours to live.”

The news disturbed him and he was visibly shaken. When he entered her room, the saintly lady recognized his fear. She looked at him compassionately and said, “Son, there’s nothing to be scared about. I’m just going to cross over Jordan, and my Father owns both sides of the river. Either side is O.K. with me!”

John wrote, “He will remove all of their sorrows and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its sorrows are gone! And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making all things new!’”

Presently, we live on the side of the river that is dominated by pain, suffering and sorrow. It is all we have experienced. God does indeed own it and we are fortunate that He is with us to comfort and sustain us on “this side of the river.”

But we can rejoice in the hope of a new creation: a new heaven and a new earth. Once again He will make all things perfect and complete - including us, His children. With joy we can look forward to that day!

Prayer: Lord, with our limited minds we cannot imagine what heaven will be like. So, we ask You to increase our faith and trust in You and our hope for tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 21:3-5 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Have you ever eaten a Twinkie? Those moist cakes filled with creamy vanilla? Do you know how they got to the grocer’s shelf?

Jimmy Dewar is the creator of the delicious little treats. He never planned on baking Twinkies. The idea for them came to him out of frustration.

He began by making strawberry shortcakes but ran into a problem. At the end of the season, he had pans but no strawberries. He then decided to create a banana filling which was well received in the stores. But he ran into another problem.

One year there was a shortage of bananas and he was forced to try something else. He thought and worked and experimented and came up with the idea of a vanilla filling. It was and still is a delicious treat and enjoyed by many every day. Besides, the creamy vanilla filling has no season.

That’s the way God works in our lives. When he closes one door He willingly opens another if we are faithful, work diligently and look to Him for guidance. Unfortunately, many Christians look upon difficult days as a reason to become despondent - not dependent upon God.

God’s Word declares, “I have opened a door for you that no one can shut.” Trust Him. He wants you to succeed.

Prayer: Open our eyes, Lord, to see the opportunities that You set before us. May we look to You each day with excitement for the challenges You will bring us! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 3:8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Thomas Jefferson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was also the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. One of his other roles was as a minister of the United States to France.

When he went to France to serve America, he presented his credentials to the French premier. As he looked at them, the premier said, “I see you’ve come to replace Benjamin Franklin.”

“No sir,” came his response. “I’ve come to succeed him. No one can replace him!”

And that is true of each of us: No one can replace us or is equipped to do the work that God has planned for us to do. What a sobering thought.

Even as our fingerprints are unique and will never be given to another person, so are the tasks and responsibilities that God has set before us. We are an “original” with our own set of credentials.

Our worth is not dependent on what we do but on who we are in Christ. Our worth does not come from what we have been able to achieve or accomplish but from God’s mercy and grace. Our worth is revealed in the price God paid for our redemption through the death of Christ on the cross.

God has something unique for each of us to do as “His minister” to His World. No one can replace us!

Prayer: May we accept our responsibility, Lord, to do what You would have us to do, knowing that You have chosen us and prepared us for something special. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 2:19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

There was a nurse on the children’s ward who enjoyed letting the children listen to their hearts through a stethoscope.

On one occasion she put the ends of a stethoscope into the ears of a small boy and placed the disc over his heart and asked, “What do you hear?”

“It’s Jesus knocking!” he said.

One cannot help but wonder if a faithful Sunday school teacher taught him about Jesus standing at the door of our hearts and asking to be admitted into our lives. And what a staggering thought that is: the creator of the universe and all that man has or ever will discover is knocking gently, hoping earnestly that we will willingly enter into a loving relationship with Him that will last through eternity.

Often we do not hear Him “knocking” on our heart’s door. We become insensitive and indifferent to the many ways He tries to enter our lives. It is easy to go days without reading His Word. Without realizing what is happening we can fill the hours of the day without stopping to worship or praise Him. We might even forget to pray unless there is an emergency.

But it does not matter to Him. He stands there as though ours was the only heart in the world and He will stand there as long as He can, waiting for us to invite Him in.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for Your patience and persistence, Your longing to come into our hearts and control our lives. Help us to recognize Your presence and open the door to Your salvation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture: Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Two men went to pay their last respects to a friend. As they approached the casket, one said to the other, “Would you look at him now!”

“Wow,” came the response. “What a shame. Pat didn’t believe in heaven or hell. And now he’s all dressed up and has no place to go.”

But he did have a place to go.

All of us have a place to go when we die. But before that day, all of us have a choice to make. We must all choose to accept Christ as our Savior and spend eternity with Him, or reject His salvation and spend eternity in hell. Simple choice. Major decision.

Heaven and hell are as certain as life and death. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” We may want to do it “our way” by working, giving or doing good deeds, but Jesus Christ is the only way in.

The consequence of sin is death – eternal separation from God – and that means eternity in hell. “I assure you,” Jesus said, “those who listen to My message and believe in God Who sent Me have eternal life.” He also said, “He who has the Son has life.”

Clear message. Clear choice. Do you have the life that comes from Him?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize my need for salvation and understand that it only comes through Jesus Christ. I confess that He alone can save me and I accept Him now. In His Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 21:1-5

Read Revelation 21:4

A real estate salesman said to his boss, “A customer is mad. He claims that his lot is under water.”

“Then,” he said, “sell him a boat!”

What about the accommodations? The Master-Builder said, “I go to prepare a place for you.”

And the air fare? It’s prepaid, for “we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.”

Any need for shots? No, for there shall be no more death, or sorrow, or pain.

Is it attractive? Indeed. Gold paves its streets, jasper adorns its walls and they’re garnished with precious stones.

Care to make a reservation? The Bible says, “Now is the accepted time.”

Prayer: Accept our thanks, Lord Jesus, for Thy gracious invitation to heaven. We now come in for salvation to go out for service, come in for transformation to go out to be transformers: for Thy name’s sake. Amen.