Rick Warren's Blog, page 676

Don't Miss Jesus at Work

"If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." (John 4:10 NLT)

Right now there are TV and radio waves all around you. If you had a tuner, you could see what's on those waves. But just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't real. You're just not tuned in.

That's what it was like in Bethlehem on the night of the first Christmas. Despite the fact that Bethlehem had an inn with the sole purpose of taking care of travelers, there was no room in that inn for undoubtedly the most significant family of travelers in Bethlehem that night.

This Christmas, don't miss an important parallel of this story to our own hearts. Your heart was made to hold God. You were made by God and for God. Until you understand that, life will never make sense. Unfortunately, we fill our lives with other things. We invite other guests into our homes. Our heart is filled with other ideas, interests, values, loves, and commitments.

Our lives are so full that we're not even aware when Jesus shows up around us. God shows up in our lives all the time, providing opportunities we never thought we'd get, in the midst of problems we didn't know we were going to have. But often, we just don't see him.

This happened in the Bible all the time. Jesus would show up and talk to people who never realized who he was. In the book of John, Jesus was sitting by a well when a woman came up to him, looking for water. She didn't recognize Jesus. In fact she got in a religious debate with the Son of God! Then Jesus said, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water" (John 4:10 NLT).

But the woman didn't recognize Jesus. As you read these words, there are many people in the nearest mall trying to find just the right gift. Christmas carols are likely playing in the background, yet no one notices.

God is at work all around you - not just during Christmas but throughout the whole year. Is it possible that you or the people you love are missing him?

Talk It Over

Why do you think we miss God even during the Christmas season, when people seem more open to him than any other time?

What are some ways you've seen God at work this week?

What change can you make in your Christmas routine that'll help you see Jesus throughout the season?

Make Room for Jesus

"She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them." (Luke 2:7 NLT)

One year when our children were young, my wife decided that I would get to choose where the family went on vacation. I decided I wanted to do a totally spontaneous vacation with no planning whatsoever. As a pastor and leader, every day of my life is planned out. Planning a vacation doesn't sound like fun!

A totally spontaneous vacation when you're married with kids is not a good idea. Without making any plans on the first five nights of that vacation in five different cities, we slept in our car during four of those nights because we couldn't find a motel with vacancy. My kids were not happy campers. On the fifth night, we decided to plan ahead.

That vacation helped me understand what the Bible means when we're told during the story of the first Christmas that there was "no lodging available" for Mary and Joseph.

The coming of the eternal God and promised Messiah had been anticipated for thousands of years. Prophecies had foretold the truth that the Savior of the world would be coming. His birth would be so important that it would split history into B.C. and A.D. Your birthday is dated in relationship to the birthday of Jesus.

Yet when the Son of God came into the world, there was no room for him. The innkeeper missed a prime opportunity. If Jesus had been born in one of his rooms, the innkeeper could have built one of those big Las Vegas signs that points down and reads, "Son of God Born Here!" He could have charged a fortune for rooms! Instead he missed the biggest blessing of his life because he didn't have room for Jesus.

We can't be too harsh on the innkeeper for not having room for Jesus. We do it all the time.

We all resist giving him the significance in our lives that he deserves. We fill up our schedule with events that pale in significance compared to Jesus. We spend our money on the newest gadget and have nothing to give to God's work around the world. We spend all our time advancing our careers and yet say we have no time to help others in our church and community.

As you prepare to celebrate Christmas this year, ask yourself this question: Have you left room in your inn for Jesus?

Talk It Over

What are some ways we fill our "inns" and leave little room for Jesus during Christmas - and throughout the year?

How can you create margin in your Christmas schedule to focus on the importance of Jesus?

What are some things in your life you need to say "no" to so you can say "yes" to a growing, vibrant relationship with Jesus?

Come Home to God's Rest

"If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 CEV)

Where do you go for peace if you don't have God in your life, if you're not connected on a moment-by-moment basis? Jesus Christ has an incredible offer for you. He says, "If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28 CEV).

I like that verse because it says the exact opposite of what most people think God will say to them. They think that if God wants them to come home this Christmas, he's going to say, "Come home to me, and I will give you rules. Come home to me, and I will give you regulations. Come home to me, and I will give you restrictions. Come home to me, and I will give you religion. Come home to me, and I will give you rituals." But God doesn't say any of those things. He says, "Come home to me, and I will give you rest."

The reason why you're so tired all the time and why you get stressed out is because you're trying to live your life on your own power. God never meant for you to do that.

The Bible says, "He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless" (Isaiah 40:29 NLT).

If you've been feeling a little down, a little anxious, a little fatigued, a little worried this Christmas season, come home to God. He's the one who made you, who created you, who's watched every moment of your life, who knows everything about you and still loves you, who forgives you and says, "Come home to my peace and strength." When you do that, you'll have real peace of mind.

Talk It Over

What have you been worrying about that you need to surrender to God?

What do you think it means to receive rest from God?

How can you minimize the stress in your life this Christmas? What will you have to let go of to do that?

A Reason to Celebrate

"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV)

A few years back I was in Manhattan during the Christmas season. I remember standing in the middle of Fifth Avenue, watching thousands of people bustling around. Nobody looked happy. Everyone looked pressured, stressed, and cranky. That's not what Christmas is about. Christmas is about the greatest news ever! Our preparation and celebration should be joyful, not sad.

What did the angel say to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus? "I bring you good news of great joy, and it's for everybody." But what is that great news? What are we supposed to celebrate?

First, God loves you. The most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, says, "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (NIV). That's why he sent Jesus. He was on a mission of love.

The Bible says God is love. It is his nature. God created the entire universe just so he could create the human race, just so he could create you, just so he could love you. God made you to love you. And his love isn't based on what you do. His love is based on who he is. God is love.

Second, God is with you. You may not feel his presence, but that doesn't make it any less true. The Bible says Jesus' name was to be called Emmanuel, which means "God with us." Many of you have been abandoned in life, but you need to know that God will never abandon you. Jesus truly was "God with us." And he is still with us today.

When God is near, it removes your fear. You don't have to worry or be anxious about what's coming next.

Third, God is for you. He's on your side. He wants you to succeed. In fact, Jesus said this: "God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17 NLT). Many people are afraid of God because of their guilt. But the Bible says Jesus didn't come to condemn the world. He came to save it. That's good news!

We need to celebrate this Christmas. Jesus' birth was - and�is�- good news of great joy. And it's for everybody, whether someone is Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Hindu, Buddist, Baptist, or nothing in particular. It's good news of great joy for�all�people because God says, "I love you, I'm with you, and I'm for you."

Talk It Over

Is your Christmas more about activities or celebration?

What do you spend the most time preparing for during Christmas?

How do you think God wants you to prepare yourself for Christmas so that you can truly celebrate?

Give Jesus Your Best This Christmas

"They bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11 NCV)

For the past 56 years my family has kept a tradition of holding a "birthday party for Jesus." It started when I was 3 years old and asked my mom, "What is Christmas?" My mom told me it was Jesus' birthday. With terrific 3-year-old logic, I said, "We should have a birthday party!" And we did, complete with a birthday cake, Kool-Aid, songs, cake, and candles.

We've kept that tradition going for four generations now. The birthday party for Jesus has become a sacred time where we read the Christmas story and share what we're grateful for and what we're giving Jesus, which is one of the most memorable parts of the celebration.

Often, Jesus gets shut out during Christmas. Imagine I planned a party for you and invited many people. Everyone brings lots of gifts, and the invitees trade presents with one another - and you get nothing.

That's Christmas. We give gifts to everyone but Jesus. But let's be honest, what do you give the God who has everything?

Actually, Jesus doesn't have everything. There are four things he doesn't have unless you give them to him this Christmas:

Give him your trust. Faith is a voluntary matter. Jesus doesn't have your trust unless you give it to him. He will never force it.

Make Jesus first place in your life. If anything or anyone other than Jesus holds first place in your life, it's an idol. This Christmas, choose to make Jesus first in your finances, interests, relationships, and schedule- and even in your troubles.

Give Jesus your heart. Your heart is what you love, what you value, and what you care about most. Jesus says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:34 NIV). One important way you give Jesus your heart this Christmas is by giving your resources to his work. Jesus doesn't need your money, but he wants what it represents - your heart.

Bring other people to Jesus. God wants a family more than anything else this Christmas. He wants children who choose to love and trust him. It is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Invite someone to Jesus this Christmas. Tell someone about what Jesus has done in your life.

The Bible tells us that the Wise Men didn't give Jesus their leftovers when they visited him on the first Christmas but instead gave three very significant and valuable gifts: "They bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11 NCV).

As you give Jesus your trust, make him first in your life, give what you value to his work, and bring other people to him, you're giving him gifts far more valuable than the ones the Wise Men brought.

So tell Jesus "happy birthday" this Christmas. Give him your best.

Talk It Over

Why do you think giving a gift to Jesus is thought of so little during the Christmas season?

What do you think it means to put Jesus first in your troubles?

Which of the gifts mentioned in the devotional today do you want to commit to giving to Jesus this Christmas?

Jesus Is Worth the Journey

"When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem." (Matthew 2:1 NCV)

Searching for truth isn't a part-time job. It takes everything you have. The Wise Men teach us this in the Christmas story.

The Wise Men were willing to go to any length to find truth. Matthew 2:1 says, "When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem" (NCV). We can assume that the Wise Men traveled many miles from the Far East to the Middle East at great expense to find Jesus.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which is just six miles from Jerusalem. At the time of Jesus' birth, Jerusalem was the spiritual center of the world. All kinds of spiritual activity was taking place in Jerusalem. All of the major religious leaders of the world were in Jerusalem, but none of them were seeking Jesus. Only people on the outside - the Wise Men from a completely different culture - were looking for Jesus.

King Herod missed baby Jesus. So did the business leaders of Bethlehem. You can have Jesus right in your midst and still miss him if you're not looking for him.

But the Wise Men looked for Jesus. They were willing to make a four to five-month trip across a scorching hot desert to find Jesus. They were serious about seeking God. They were willing to do whatever it took to find him.

That's wise. It's what we need to do as well. We can't let anything get in the way of our search for God. It's the most important achievement in the world.

Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl that is so valuable we will sell everything we have to get it. It seems the Wise Men from the East understood this long before Jesus ever spoke the parable.

The Wise Men were willing to give up everything they had to worship Jesus. They were willing to give up the comforts of their homes for a long, tough journey because they had the right motive in searching for Jesus. They wanted to worship him.

What would you give up in order to worship Jesus?

Talk It Over

What is the most difficult thing in your life to give up in order seek Jesus whole-heartedly?

What holds you back from seeking Jesus with complete abandon?

What makes a relationship with Jesus so valuable that it's worth giving up everything for?

Wise People Seek Jesus Today

"Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2a NCV)

Look at any nativity scene, and you'll likely see one set of characters that doesn't seem to fit in the barn: the Wise Men. We've become used to them, but if you look at the scene closely, they appear out of place with their fancy clothes and special gifts.

But to me, they're the most fascinating people in the Christmas story. We don't know much about them. We don't know who they are or where they are from. The Bible calls them "magi." Magi were a combination of philosophers, scientists, and astronomers. They were quite wealthy and well educated. But that's really all we know about them.

But we know they were wise. In fact, we can learn a lot from the wisdom they display in the Christmas story.

Among other lessons from the Wise Men, we learn to be seekers of the truth. Wise people aren't happy with guesses or speculation. They want to know the truth about God, their past, and their future. The Wise Men asked, "Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2a NCV)

The Wise Men were seeking Jesus. Wise men and women still seek him today. There are two kinds of people in life when it comes to truth: speculators and seekers. Speculators make guesses about the truth. Speculators think they know what God is like.

Speculators love to argue and discuss God, but they're just guessing - because they don't really want to know the truth. They only want to talk about him.

On the other hand, God loves those who take the time to find the truth. Seekers do four things:

They ask questions.

They study.

They watch what is happening around them.

They do whatever it takes to find answers.

They seek after Jesus with all they have. God loves seekers. We should, too. The Bible tells us, "But if from there you seek the�LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV).

If you are genuinely serious about discovering the truth, you can't miss it.

God won't let you.

Talk It Over

Why is it wise to seek after Jesus?

Looking back at your life, have you been more of a speculator or a seeker of truth? Why?

Name a spiritual seeker in your life whom you can tell more about Jesus and invite to church. Pray for that person.

Write It Down

"The LORD gave me this answer: 'Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance.'" (Habakkuk 2:2 TEV)

If you want to hear God speak, you need to withdraw to a quiet place, wait patiently and expectantly, ask God to give you a picture of what he wants to say to you, and then write down God's responses to your questions.

In the book of Habakkuk, the Lord commands the author to "write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance." Habakkuk 2:2 (TEV).

That's how we got the book of Habakkuk. In chapter one, Habakkuk wrote down what he said to God. And in chapter two, he wrote down what God said back to him.

That's also how we got the book of Psalms; it is David's quiet time. David meditated on the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, and then he wrote down his thoughts, and they're called psalms. In many of the psalms, he starts out with what he's feeling and then ends up with what God says.

If your prayer life is stuck in a rut, and you tend to pray the same things over and over -"God, be with this person" or "Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies" - then here's what you need to do: Start writing out your prayers.

"What? You mean I don't have to say them?" That's right! Writing them down is a prayer. God can hear it in your thoughts. Just write it down.

Is it OK to write out a prayer and then read it? Of course it is. When you're writing it, you're praying. When you're reading it, you're praying.

This is called the spiritual habit of journaling, and it's one that all Christians should understand and practice.

A journal is not a diary. A diary is about the things you did. A journal is about the lessons you learned - the mistakes you made and how you learned from those things.

Talk It Over

What are different ways of writing things down besides paper and pen that you're more comfortable with?

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What has God been teaching you that you can journal about today?

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Start a prayer by writing down your answers to these questions: What attributes of God do you love? Who in your life needs God's intervention? How do you need God to provide for you? What can you thank God for today?

Open Your Eyes to God's Vision

"Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law." (Psalm 119:18 TEV)

The Bible is filled with hundreds of examples of people getting God's vision, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah, and Micah. Seeing God's vision for your life is not a crazy thing. God often uses a mental picture to clarify the next step he wants you to take.

I don't have to explain this to many of you because you're visual thinkers. When you read a story in the Bible, you can see that story in vivid Technicolor. When you read a book, you're picturing the story in your mind the whole time.

But for the rest of us, it's a little harder. I am not a visual thinker. I tend to think in words, not pictures.

So how do you get God's vision if you're not a visual thinker?

First, ask God a specific question.

In your quiet time, after you've read the Bible and prayed, maybe you're just being quiet and waiting before God. You could ask, "God, is there anything you want to say to me?" And then you wait. "God, is there anything I need to know that I'm not thinking about?" And then you wait.

James 1:5 says, "If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking" (CEV). God wants you to ask him for advice, and he wants you to be specific. He's waiting for you to ask!

Second, look into God's Word to see what God might want to say to you.

Psalm 119:18 is a verse you should memorize: "Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law" (TEV). It's a good verse to pray as you open up God's Word. Every answer to every problem you have is in that book. But you've got to read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it as you seek God's vision for your life or even just for today.

Talk It Over

Why do you think it's so hard for us to be still and wait on God and his answers?

What is keeping you from being still before God so that you can ask him questions and dig into his Word?

What vision has God given you? What do you think you're supposed to do about it?

Who Do You Choose: Jesus or Conan?

"Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act." (Psalm 37:7 NLT)

The reason why most people never hear God speak to them is that they never slow down enough to let God talk to them. Hurry is the death of prayer! You've got to slow down. You've got to be quiet. And, you've got to wait expectantly.

Psalm 37:7 says, "Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act" (NLT).

The only way you're going to be able to do this is if you get up earlier, which means you're going to have to go to bed 30 minutes earlier. So the decision comes down to this: Who do you want to spend time with, Jesus or Conan? That's your choice! Because you're going to have to get up earlier so you're not rushed and able to spend some time and start your day with God.

There is nothing on nighttime TV that will change your life. Nothing! Spending those 30 minutes in the morning with God, however, will change your life.

If I told you that tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. the queen of England, the president of the U.S., and the pope all wanted to meet with you privately, you probably wouldn't even go to bed tonight. You'd take a bath - you'd probably take two baths! You'd go find an all-night barber or beauty salon, get a new suit, and get spiffed up. You'd be at the meeting 30 minutes early.

The Creator of the universe wants to meet with you tomorrow morning! You don't even have to get dressed. You can be in your PJs. You don't even have to leave your home. But you do have to plan an appointment. That means you have to stop doing something so you can start doing what God wants. If you're burning the candle at both ends, you're not as bright as you think you are. You've got to decide what's more important to you: another 30 minutes of late night TV or time with God every morning.

One day God's going to ask you, "Which one did you choose?"

Talk It Over

What difference have you noticed in your life when you have a consistent, meaningful quiet time?

Who or what have you chosen over your time with God?

What changes do you need to make in your schedule and priorities so that you choose time with God over everything else?