This is post #16 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Want to read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz? And he will be called…Mighty God. – Isaiah 9:6 In the Old Testament, some of the prophecies about Christ are mysterious statements. They were so bold and so large that they were treasured through the generations, until […]
And I asked “why, why, why, oh God? Why did it have to be only my sister who was killed on the patrol that day?” -20-year-old female American soldier speaking at her twin sister’s funeral. It is the mystery that always seems to move further from our reach the more we reach out for an
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Helping people at a time of crisis is founded on the ministry of presence—of being there, in full awareness, responsiveness, and empathy. For any leader who is an activist at heart, the ministry of presence can seem like too little. Almost an insult. How can just “being there” be meaningful and effective? What does it accomplish? An emergency room physician can revive someone whose heart has stopped beating, a fireman can extinguish deathly flames, a policeman can put a criminal behind bars. These kinds of assistance in the face of crisis seem valuable to us. Leaders like to fix things.
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See “A Call for Wisdom in Washington.” For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders…and of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it
As I sit in an airport watching on television the unfolding horrific story of the shooting at the school in Connecticut, I overheard an airport worker say to someone else: all those children, all those families–and now, at Christmas time. Immediately what came to my mind was one of the most troubling Scripture verses associated
So Wrong: Words on Today’s Tragedy Read More »
This is post #14 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Past days HERE. Mel Lawrenz is Minister at Large for Elmbrook Church and directs The Brook Network. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
This is post #13 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” After Christmas, new articles in The Brook Letter by Mel Lawrenz: sign up. My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. -Luke 2:46-47 One of the worst things that can happen to a person is to live with a shrunken
Learn how “spiritual influence” works. See the survey. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” –Matt. 1:22-23 My wife and I have only seriously lost
This is post #11 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Past days HERE. “Christmas Joy” as eBook HERE. 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. –Luke 2:4 Bethlehem was like any other
Mel Lawrenz is Minister at Large at Elmbrook Church and directs The Brook Network. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. –Luke 2:11 Some people think that “Christ” is Jesus’ last name. Jesus Christ, like Joe Johnson or Audrey Smith. If you have thought
This is post #9 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.”Read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. – Luke 2:7 Sometimes a name is just a name, and sometimes a name captures
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. – Luke 2:7 (More on Facebook.) Where is the first place a baby is placed after it emerges from the mother’s womb? Today we use hyper-sterilized blankets and sanitized cribs. A Plexiglas dome, if
This is post #7 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Previous days HERE. Christmas Joy as Kindle book HERE. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever;
This is post #6 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her
This is post #5 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Want to read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz? And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks at night. – Luke 2:8 It may seem like a stretch of the imagination, but try it anyway: If you were God,