Monday, December 15, 2025

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  (John 1:1-2, 14)

 

 

The eternal Word, the Son of God, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us."

 

There is no more dramatic declaration in all of the Bible.

 

This is why Jesus is described as “Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23), which means, “God with us."

 

Jesus is no mere representative of the Living God.  Jesus IS the Living God living within and among us.

 

This is the message of Christmas.

 

This is the message we proclaim.

 

This is the message that gives us hope in the darkest time of year, and in the darkest moments of our lives.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl

Friday, December 12, 2025

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Give us today our daily bread.  (Matthew 6:11)

 

 

Do you feel odd praying this prayer?  I sure do!

 

I struggle with ingesting too much daily bread!  Every day is a challenge for me to avoid over eating.  Especially at this time of year.

 

The verse above is taken from “The Lord’s Prayer,” the prayer Jesus taught His disciples.  Undoubtedly, Jesus was speaking of praying for enough food to get you through the day.

 

However, Jesus has also told us of another kind of bread.

 

When the people were looking for bread (food), Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).

 

Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:5).

 

In this season when we have more bread (food) than our bodies should really be taking in, let us not fail to allow Jesus, the bread of life, to provide the sustenance that nourishes our souls.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Thursday, December 11, 2025

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Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.  (1 Chronicles 16:12)

 

 

Praise and proclamation go hand-in-hand in the Bible.

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled Jesus’ disciples, they both praised God, and also proclaimed the Good News.

 

When Paul and Silas were in prison, they praised God and proclaimed Him in song.

 

When Paul stood trial before the authorities he praised the One who had saved him, and he proclaimed Jesus Christ to his interrogators.

 

Unlike many of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, we can praise God and proclaim Jesus Christ without persecution.

 

May we take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, especially during this season of the year.

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.  (Isaiah 9:2)

 

 

The Gospel of Matthew quotes these words from Isaiah as Jesus begins His ministry (Matthew 4:16).

 

In Isaiah’s time, the people walked in darkness because they had been dragged away from the Promised Land and into exile.  The People of God were living through “dark times”.

 

With the coming of Jesus the darkness has been pierced by His great light.  The light of Christ has overcome the darkness.

 

Well, things are terribly murky in our world.  Evil abounds even as the light has shone.  The light has come, however, it's difficult to see.

 

I wonder of we moderns have created a fog that hides and mutes the light of Christ.

 

We struggle to see through the fog of secularism, relativism, and all kinds of other “isms” that dissipate the light of Christ into a fuzzy cloud.

 

Last year, Christmas Eve night brought with it a terribly thick fog in Hamilton County.  I needed to travel a few miles that evening and could see only twenty or thirty feet in front of my car.  The problem was not the darkness.

 

The problem was the fog.

 

I could do nothing about that Christmas Eve fog.  However, when it comes to the fog of our culture, I have a great deal of power to punch through it, to dissipate it, and allow the light of Christ to shine.

 

Our Christmas preparations (decorations, gifts, and food) are wonderful opportunities to get ready to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the light of the world.

 

However, our preparations can easily distract us, they can easily become a sort of fog that shrouds, that softly walls off, the true reason for our celebrating.

 

Let us be diligent, as we prepare for Christmas, to do everything within our power to allow the light of Christ to shine through the fog and into our hearts and lives.

Blessings, 

Pastor Karl

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

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And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:17)

 

 

The Apostle Paul told the Colossians to do everything “in the name of the Lord Jesus."

 

There are two distinct ways of understanding Paul’s words.

 

First, we can understand this verse as saying, “Make sure everything you do is done to the best of your ability, for you are speaking and acting in the name of Jesus.”  We must remember our lives are intended to bring honor to the “family” name.

 

Second, we can understand this verse as saying, “Make sure you understand how everything you do, in word or deed, carries an importance beyond what you can see or comprehend."  There is a great, hidden, power in living “in the name of the Lord."

 

A wall-hanging carries the words, “No act of love is ever wasted."

 

No word or action done in the name of our Lord Jesus is ever wasted…no matter how things look.

 

These are good words to remember:

(1) Always do our best, for we represent our Lord on this earth, and

 

(2) Always remember there is great power in everything we do in Jesus’ name.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl