Problems and Promises (Romans 4:20)

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At a New Year’s Eve service, a Baltimore pastor encouraged the people to give their problems to the Savior and leaven them with Him. to impress this upon them, he asked them to write their problems on slips of paper. He then collected them, put them in a metal pot, and burned them.

After the service, he washed the ashes down the drain and set the container aside to be cleaned later. The next day a woman called who had come late to the service and mad missed the pastor’s explanation. She thought he had said promises, and she wondered why he had burned them. The pastor assured her that God’s promises were secure and neither water nor fire could destroy them.

Later, as the minister was cleaning the container, he found a single slip stuck to the bottom. It was partially burned, but he could clearly read the promises written on it by that late worshiper. But more remarkable, the slip, being the last one added to the pot, should have been the first to be destroyed.

At times Abraham must have wondered if God’s promises to him were secure. Their fulfillment must have seemed impossible to him. But God makes no promises He does not keep. That’s why we can enter 2022 with confidence.

Do you have problems? Claim God’s promises. – Dennis J. De Haan

Three Secure Promises for 2022

God’s pardon: 1 John 1:9

God’s provision: Matthew 6:33

God’s Presence: Hebrews 13:5

God’s promises are greater than life’s problems.

• December 31, 1992, Our Daily Bread

What’s the Point? (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

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What’s the point? This question came to mind as I watched my grandson’s dog fetch a ball for me again and again.

What’s the point? That‘s what the writer if Ecclesiastes asked as he thought about the monotonous cycle he observed in nature and in life – that same things happening year after year, generation after generation.

What’s the point? That is what a retired businessman was asking, in effect, when he told me he would just as soon die as live. He had seen and done just about everything. Now he had reached the place where life held for him more pain than pleasure.

What’s the point? My friend Leonard Sikkema answered this question a few years before he died. He said, “Life is a wonderful experience. It’s marvelous to see that God keeps nature going in its pattern. It’s wonderful to know that we’re here to love God above everything and to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is comforting to believe that all our sins are forgiven because of what Christ did. And it’s exciting to think about the eternity God has for us. It sure is great to be alive.”

Life can be depressing when God is left out. But how exciting it is when He is at the center! – Herbert Vander Lugt

The life that counts is linked with God

And hopes in His unfailing love;

It walks with joy where Jesus trod;

The life that counts is from above. – Anon.

When we focus on Christ, everything else becomes clear.

• December 30, 1991, Our Daily Bread

Is it Tomorrow Yet? (Matthew 6:34)

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My 5-year-old Steven is having trouble understanding the concept of tomorrow. Whenever I tell him about some new and exciting adventure that we’ll do tomorrow (like going to a ballgame or building a new Lego set), he gets a little frustrated. The next day, he wants to know, “Is it tomorrow yet?” So I tell him, “No, it is never tomorrow. Now it’s okay, which is yesterday’s tomorrow.” I don’t think he gets it, but he does know that this is the day for our special time.

The idea of tomorrow is a rather slippery item. Tomorrow is always the hope of the future, but never the reality of the present. It promises something that it cannot guarantee. We live with our eye on the future, so we all, in a sense, keep asking, “Is it tomorrow yet?”

As we think about tomorrow, we must remember the words of both Jesus and James. Our Lord told us not to worry about tomorrow, and James said that as we plan ahead we should always recognize God’s ultimate control.

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow? Tough decisions? A celebration? Sure trouble? Give your hopes and worries to the Lord and trust His will to be done. He will never do wrong. Not today and not tomorrow. – J. David Branon

When every worry, every care

To God in faith is brought,

We have no ground on which to base

One single anxious thought. – Anon

Learn to live for today; most worries are about yesterday and tomorrow.

• December 29, 1992, Our Daily Bread

Good Riddance Day (Psalm 103:12)

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Since 2006 a group of people have celebrated an unusual event around the New Year. It’s called Good Riddance Day. Based on a Latin American tradition, individuals write down unpleasant, embarrassing memories and bad issues from the past year and thrown them into an industrial-strength shredder. Or some take a sledgehammer to their good riddance item.

The writer of Psalm 103 goes beyond suggesting that people say good riddance to unpleasant memories. He reminded us that God bids good riddance to our sin. In his attempt to express God’s vast love for His people, the psalmist used word pictures. He compared the vastness of God’s love to the distance between the heaven and the earth (v. 11). Then the psalmist talked about His forgiveness in spatial terms. As far as the place where the sun rises is from the place where the sun sets, so the Lord has removed His people’s sins them (v. 12). The psalmist wanted God’s people to know that His love and forgiveness were infinite and complete. God freed His people from the power of their transgressions by fully pardoning them.

Good news! We don’t have to wait until the New Year to experience Good Riddance Day. Through our faith in Jesus, when we confess and turn from our sins, He bids good riddance to them and casts them into the depths of the sea. Today can be a Good Riddance Day! – Marvin Williams

Thank You, Father, for freedom from sin.

What sins do you need to say goodbye to? How does it make you feel knowing that God infinitely and completely forget your sins?

• December 28, Vol. 26, Our Daily Bread

A Christmas Rose (Isaiah 7:14)

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In contrast to many of the resounding carols proclaiming the Savior’s birth, “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” is a gentle song. Its words and music capture the hushed, almost preposterous assertion that a rose of hope has bloomed in the world’s winter of despair. Written in the 15^th century by an unknown German poet, it stands quietly in the midst of our modern Christmas rush, bearing a message of joy for all who will pause to listen.

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming

From tender stem hath sprung!

Of Jesse’s lineage coming,

As men of old have sung,

It came, a floweret bright,

Amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night.

The song speaks of a season when roses don’t bloom, of a night half gone, a time when people may yield to despair.

Christmas can be an emotional winter, a dark night when the holiday lights are dimmed and cheery greetings are muted by loneliness or fear. Yet there is this word of hope:

This Flower, whose fragrance tender

With sweetness fills the air,

Dispels with glorious splendor

The darkness everywhere;

True man, yet very God,

From sin and death He saves us,

And lightens every load.

 A rose has bloomed at midnight in winter. Christ the Savior is born! – David C. McCasland

You’re only cooking up trouble when you stew about tomorrow.

• December 27, Vol. 13

The Example of Bethlehem (Luke 2:7)

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The whole world was eagerly awaiting the new of a royal birth. When the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was born, the announcement was flashed around the world. By the miracle of modern communication, his picture appeared in newspapers and magazines everywhere. Word of the arrival led to a national celebration and received worldwide attention. In addition, Prince William was given all the comforts befitting royalty.

What a contrast to the royal child born long ago in a Bethlehem stable! Jesus’ parents had no plush accommodations reserved at the “Jerusalem Hilton.” No crowds of reporters competed to be the first to break the news that the Son of God had become incarnate. No television cameras focus on His first public appearance, and Israel had prepared no national festivities in His honor. When God’s Son came, He was born in a lowly peasant family in a tiny village in a remote corner of the Roman Empire. Even so, He was indeed a royal child.

In this age of extravagance. Christ’s humble birth holds a needed lesson for all believers. An event doesn’t have to attract the media to be worthwhile. International acclaim does not guarantee value or meaning. We’ve grown accustomed to giving credibility to the glamorous and to the spectacular. The church itself, it seems, is competing for the attention of an entertainment-oriented world. Maybe it is time to go back to the example of Bethlehem and let God’s Incarnate Word, not marketability, give lie its deepest meaning. – David C. Egner

Christ’s humble birth should help us see

What life in Him can bring;

It’s not acclaim that we should seek

But service for our King. –  Branon

THOT: At Bethlehem, God demonstrated that to love is to give.

• December 26, 1982, Our Daily Bread

One of Us (John 1:14)

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Robert Stevenson, grandfather of the famous Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, was respected in his own right as a gifted engineer. In 1872, 100 years after he was born, a celebration was arranged to honor his memory.

As part of the festivities, a parade was held displaying many banners. One of them stood out as best expressing the spirit of that occasion. It was held by a farmer, and it bore this simple message: ONE OF US. The common people found great joy in the fact that Stevenson was identified with them.

That story brings to mind our Scripture reading for today. When the eternal Son of God was born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem, He came as one of us. He came “in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7) so that He might live and die in our place.

As our substitute, He lived the perfect life we could not live. And He died the death we, as sinners, should have died. The “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). And now salvation, forgiveness of sin, and life eternal can be received and enjoyed by all who put their trust in Him, the crucified, risen Savior. And it’s all because He came as one of us. – Richard W. De Haan

Long ago a Child came down

To a little sleepy town,

And upon that Christmas morn,

Christ the heavenly King was born. – Freeman

Christ’s birth brought God to man, but it took Christ’s death to bring man to God.

December 25, 1992

Can This Be Christmas?

 What’s all this hectic rush and worry?

Where go these crowds who run and scurry?

Why all the lights – the Christmas trees?

The jolly “fat man,” tell me please!

Why, don’t you know? This is the day

For parties and for fun and play;

Why this is Christmas!

So this is Christmas, do you say?

But where is Christ this Christmas day?

Has He been lost among the throng?

His voice drowned out by empty song?

No, He’s not here – you’ll find Him where

Some humble soul now kneel in prayer,

Who knows the Christ of Christmas.

But see the many aimless thousands

Who gather on this Christmas Day,

Whose hearts have never yet been opened,

Or said to Him, “Come in to stay.”

In countless homes the candles burning,

In countless hearts expectant yearning

For gifts and presents, food, and fun,

And laughter till the day is done.

But not a tear of grief or sorrow

For Him so poor He had to borrow

A crib, a colt, a boat, a bed

Where He could lay His weary head.

I’m tired of all this empty celebration,

Of feasting, drinking, recreation;

I’ll go instead to Calvary.

And there I’ll kneel with those who know

The meaning of that manger low,

And find the Christ – this Christmas.

I leap by faith across the years

To that great day when He appears

The second time, to rule and reign,

To end all sorrow, death, and pain.

In endless bliss we then shall dwell

With Him who saved our souls from hell,

And worship Christ – not Christmas!

– Martin R. De Haan, M. D., Founder, Radio Bible Class

• December 1993, Our Daily Bread

The Great Savior (Luke 2:10-11)

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The baby in the manger was born to be the Savior of sinners! The angel proclaimed “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” And it was good news indeed! The infant Jesus grew to manhood, and He never committed one sin. Then He presented Himself to the Jews as their promised Messiah, endured the hatred of His enemies, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose again to break death’s power. Today He saved all who trust in Him.

I grew up in a Christian home and never walked the paths of deep sin; even so, I came to realize that everyone is guilty in God’s sight. Therefore, I placed my trust in Jesus Christ and received salvation. I’m grateful beyond words for this, and for the joy of seeing others accept the Lord. I have known desperate men enslaved by drink and immorality, who found deliverance from sin through faith in Christ. I’ve visited mission fields where the radiant faces and changed lives of former voodoo worshipers testified to the reality of their saving faith. I’ve sat at the bedside of terminally ill people – some still young – and rejoiced with them in the assurance that Jesus provides salvation.

Christian carols once again fill the air. Visual reminders of Jesus’ birth can be seen everywhere. Even secular newscasters recognize that we are celebrating the birth of Christ. But all of the references to Jesus in song and spoke word are of no value to you personally until you believe on Him as the One who died for you. Trust in Him today. He is the great Savior! – Herbert Vander Lugt

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,

Born to set Thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us:

Let us find our rest in Thee. – Wesley

THOT: The most important part about “Christmas” is the first six letters.

• December 24, 1982, Our Daily Bread

Where’s the Peace? (Luke 2:14)

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For many people, Christmas is the best day of the year. It’s a time to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

But for some, there is no peace at Christmas. Tom Rademacher of the Grand Rapids Press kept track of police reports for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year. Here’s what he found: A man threatened to kill his 18-year-old girlfriend. A thief snatched a woman’s purse after she pulled into her garage. Thugs robbed a man of his Christmas presents in a store parking lot. A 15-year-old was arrested at 3 o‘clock Christmas morning for toting a gun. That’s just the top of the iceberg. Think of all the police reports in the large cities of the U.S.

What does all this say about the coming of the Prince of Peace? It reminds us that Jesus’ advent was not a magical spell that made all the bad go away. The peace that was promised at His coming is an individual quietness of soul, which is experienced only by those who accept His gift of salvation. Universal peace awaits Christ’s return as King.

This Christmas season let’s thank God for sending Jesus to bring the peace of sins forgiven. And let’s share that message with someone who has not found the peace proclaimed by the angels long ago. – J. David Branon

Hark! The herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn King;

Peace on earth, and mercy mild –

God and sinners reconciled!” – Wesley

When Christ rules the heart, peace reigns supreme.

• December 23, 1992, Our Daily Bread