Christmas Devotional for you (& your team)
As we prepare to serve guests at church this Christmas, you may feel the drift already:
from relationships toward execution
from people to tasks
from loving others to spinning plates
from Jesus to church services
It’s vital to have our hearts fully present and engaged in what we do for guests, but also what we do for our families and for ourselves as followers of Jesus.
Serving others in the spirit of love and compassion requires that our hearts be tuned in to the needs and joys of those we encounter.
When our hearts are present, we’re better able to empathize, understand, and uplift others.
That’s how we fully allow the light of Christmas to shine through our actions.
Having our hearts with us on this journey illuminates what we do as Sherpas at Christmas. It infuses us with authenticity and genuine care.
So here is some spiritual food and a little exercise to connect our hearts to our ministry plans. I hope it unleashes that authenticity in you.
Do it with a cup of coffee in a moment a lone each day till Christmas.
You can even steal it to use with your teams in a pre-service huddle so they are “heart-connected” to the one they will be celebrating and demonstrating to every guest.
There was so much potential stress surrounding the coming of Jesus for those who loved him and anticipated his arrival the first Christmas.
See if you can picture all the disruption and stressful activity that was taking place
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world…And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 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 guest room available for them.” [Luke 2:1, 3-7]
What elements of the first Christmas could have been stressful, even crazy?
Now take a deep breath and enter into this exercise:
➊ Hold your hands out in front of you palms up. Close your eyes.
What circumstances are you distracted by right now? What concerns do you have could cause stress or make you unsure about something?
Visualize the weight of these issues in your hands right now.
[pause and be still awhile]
➋ Jesus is inviting you to surrender these concerns to him.
Because Jesus was one of us for a time, he knows they are a burden to you. You can trust him to help you address it at the right time and in the right way, but first, you have to entrust it completely to him.
When you are ready to do that, turn your hands over palms down to sense that concern falling out of your hands and to the ground before Jesus.
[pause and be still awhile]
➌ Now turn your palms back upward. Tell God that you are ready to receive what he has for you right now.
[pause]
Feel the weight of the infant Jesus as he gives you himself along with everything you need that comes with him…
His unconditional love for you
His grace for someone else
His energy to do what he has called you to do
His spirit to be what he has called you to be
His goodness to be his hands and feet for anyone in your path today
His provision for all you need
His joy in the fact that the best he has for us is yet to come
You have everything you need for anything he requires of you. Thank God for this.
You can use this prayer from Lectio365 if you like:
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say, ‘Come Lord Jesus!’
Amen.
