Let Jesus In
The Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving a neighbor called saying she needed to stop by and share something that needed prayer. I explained I had family arriving right after lunch and was cooking, but to come on. After she left I sliced apples for two pies needing to get into the oven, stirred a sauce to top one of those. My island and counters were covered in flour, sugar and a multitude of dirty dishes when I saw a car coming down the driveway. I called my husband at work and said told him what was going on. He said, “Just don’t open the door.” I said, “But what if they need to know Jesus?”
As I watched out the window I saw precious friends. who had moved away several years ago. ascending the stairs to our front door to bring us a Christmas gift. An hour later I had almost burnt both pies and my counters were not clean when our family began to arrive, but my heart was full from our time together. Calling my husband I said, “You aren’t going to believe it. The people in the car didn’t need to know Jesus, they were coming here to share His love with us!” We tried to get them to spend the night, but they were on their way to see family. So, thankful I let them in.
Check out this devotional from Billy Graham’s archives.
| Peril of Preoccupation By Billy Graham “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him.” —Job 36:26, NKJV One evening in Jerusalem, I looked out my hotel window and saw the lights of Bethlehem in the distance. I thought about the response of the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the child could be born. The innkeeper was not hostile; he was not opposed to them. But his inn was crowded, his hands were full, and his mind was preoccupied. Perhaps he told them, “I wish I could help you, but I must keep my priorities. After all, this is a business, and this coming child is no real concern of mine. But I’m not a hard-hearted man. Over there is the stable. You are welcome to use it if you care to. That is the best I can do. Now I must get back to my work. My guests need me.” And this is the answer that millions give today. It is the answer of preoccupation—not fierce opposition, not furious hatred, but unconcern about spiritual things. We are simply too preoccupied with other things to welcome Christ into our lives. Don’t let that happen to you! Hope for Today Many people that first Christmas evening in Bethlehem had Christ in their midst and were too distracted (Luke 10:40) or too consumed with themselves (Luke 7:46) to realize it or fully appreciate it. How many of us take for granted the presence of God in our lives? The Song “These Christmas Lights” Matt Redman |
