Articles for tag: Meditating On Hope

December 12, 2015

By Becky Ahlberg Saturday, December 12 An interesting juxtaposition today: Read Philippians 2:3-11 through the lens of Christmas. The phrase he “emptied Himself” (v. 7, New American Standard Bible) describes Jesus” perfect Christmas gift to us. Then read (or better yet, sing!) the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and imagine yourself in the midst of that unheralded event. His ways are not our ways. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by. Yet in the dark street Shinto The everlasting Light; The hopes and

December 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Devotionals

Meditating on Hope: December 10

By Becky Ahlberg Thursday, December 10 Today brings another atypical Christmas passage, 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18. This “jars of clay” passage is one of my favorites for lots of reasons, but maybe never more so than today as I ponder a new thought: Jesus chose to become a jar of clay himself! Fully man, fully God. Now that is a treasure in a jar of clay! What could illustrate the fragility of the life Jesus embarked upon more poignantly than a newborn baby? What life on earth ever embodied the images in this passage more than Jesus? “Pressed . .

December 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Devotionals

Meditating on Hope: December 9

By Becky Ahlberg Wednesday, December 9 Start your thoughts this morning reading Romans 5:1-5. Perseverance and character“”these are two strong words, but we usually don”t think of them as the stuff of Christmas. And yet, they are at the heart of it. When you come right down to it, Christmas is a pretty rough story. Think of the cast in this play, and how those two words made Christmas possible: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Anna, Simeon, and Christ. For all of them, there could easily be a focus on shame and suffering, and yet each of them experienced and understood