Making Room for Jesus

These days are my favorite part of the Christmas season. I love all the parties and projects and programs, but the few days just before Christmas are the best.  The days too close to the big day for any parties or deadlines but just far enough away to anticipate and enjoy family are my favorite. Celebrating Baby Jesus and His arrival is something I just love; truly love. It's what to do when December 26 rolls around or say January 3 {when kids go back to school, husband back to work} that plagues me. I'm staring down another year with excitement or dread or a confusing combination of both...anyone feel it? I know, it's just me.

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." 

Luke 2:7 ESV

Toward the end of our Christmas Musical at church this year our Associate Pastor read the Christmas story and emphasized Luke 2:7, where there was no room for Jesus. 

Perhaps this year the few quiet days of pre or post Christmas can remind you to make room for Jesus as He is now; Alive Redeemer praying for us and preparing to return for us.  And next time He won't be helpless or a baby.  As you head into the new year I would encourage you to make room for Him in the everyday messy normal mundane parts of your life. How do we transition from cherishing the Baby to submitting to the Savior? I believe it comes from the healthy habit of devotion. Think about what you are most devoted to. See it? Do you make time for that person or habit or passion? Yes. 

Women often ask me about how they can have a stronger devotional life. We want to be passionate and hungry for God's Word, able to understand and believe it easily.  The truth is that God's Word is spiritual food and the best way to become passionate about it is to feed yourself whether you are hungry or not. A few months ago I taught a series of lessons called Faith in Real Life. One of the lessons was about how to have a healthy devotional life even when you don't feel like it. Here are the notes from that lesson....

Take a look.

Be encouraged.

Become Hungry.

Keys to a Healthy Devotional Life

“Your joy will be fervent but not feverish.  You will be energetic but not excitable. You will be speedy in doing things, but not hasty. Prudent, but not selfish. Resolute and fearless, but not rash.  You will have joy without a lot of parade and noise.  Your soul will be serene yet people all around you will feel the influence of God.  It’s what devotion looks like on you.” 

-Joni Eareckson Tada, from the Introduction to A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, p. 10. 

Recognize the Necessity of Devotional Life.  In Mark 1:21-35 we see a day in the life of Jesus.  It's full of teaching, healing, crowd management. While I can't get on Jesus' level of power and authority I can identify with the demands as I spend so many days full of meeting needs. Mark 1:35 says that the next morning, "while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place and there he prayed." This shows Jesus’ “resolve to have fellowship with His father.” ESV Study Bible Notes, p. 1895.  The question is this, if Jesus needed a devotional life, how much more do we?

Trade Obligation for Devotion. In Luke 10:38-42 we learn that Martha is distracted by her service to Jesus. Distracted means to be cumbered or pulled apart in many directions. Her sister Mary by contrast is listening, which means to hearken or obey - it's effective listening. The lesson here is that when you try to serve apart from foot-sitting devotion you will be burdened and distracted, pulled apart by good things. Martha wasn't rejecting Jesus, she was prioritizing obligation. Mary wasn’t rejecting service, she was prioritizing devotion!

Some Practical Suggestions:

• Separate your Study Time from your devotional time. This may not be for everyone, but it's big for me. For those in ministry or leadership of any sort this is a big temptation. The purpose of Bible Study often is to learn, sometimes so that you can teach or share or write.  The purpose of devotion is to connect and listen and share so that you can give your heart away to the One, only One worthy of holding it.
• Choose a BIBLICAL devotional guide. If your guide is not based on The Word of God it's a waste of time. Remember that your goal is to connect to God. Using something other than His Words would be the same as reading a love letter from a former boyfriend and expecting it to make you feel more devoted to your husband. Absurd.
• Use a journal to stay on track. Ask yourself two questions: What does this passage say? What does it say to me? Write your answers in a journal and then write a personal prayer of response.  This will help build the discipline of prayer, since prayer time often can become full of distractions. Many prayers that go unwritten end up in a mental To Do List. Again, that's probably just me. 
• Prepare the night before. Nothing weird, just get your devotional guide, pen, journal and your Bible stacked and ready. Maybe set the timer on the coffee.
• Devote a bit of your best energy in the morning to attaching yourself to HIM. No big expectations and no checklists.  Just start your day with Him, whether it's giving a few minutes to submissive acknowledgement and gratitude as you swing your legs over the edge of your bed to rise saving Bible Study for later in the day, or 15 minutes doing what I've described above. 
• Give Grace Room…..you will not get this discipline right all the time, and that's ok because it's not about you being good. It's about you in your weakness attaching yourself to the Source of all strength and light and goodness. Devotion, not perfection. If you allow yourself to be caught up into a trap of legalism in this you are missing the point.

Some Resources for Your Devotional Life:
How To - 
A Place of Quiet Rest, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
One on One With God, Jerry and Marilyn Fine - great to use with a mentor.
A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study, Jen Hatmaker - more about Bible Study, but great!
Women of the Word, Jen Wilkin

Some of my Favorites:
My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers
Jesus Calling, Sarah Young
31 Days of Praise, Ruth Myers - my very very favorite.
Praying God’s Word, Beth Moore
66 Love Letters, Larry Crabb
Unglued Devotional, Lysa TerKeurst
Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren

Devotional Websites:
shereadstruth.com
desiringgod.org
proverbs31

"I’m asking God for one thing,

    only one thing:

To live with him in his house my whole life long.

I’ll contemplate his beauty;

I’ll study at his feet."

Psalm 27:4 Message

This a healthy devotional life; living with Him my whole life long, contemplating His beauty and studying at His feet.  Yes, that's my Christmas wish and my New Year's Resolution all in one.  Be devoted.