Story Time

I must apologize for not posting in quite a while. I have been hard at work in acquiring my bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders. Currently, I am on break and so I have had more time to write. I must also admit that I started writing this devotion on Christmas eve, but

seemed stuck. Now, that it is New Year’s Day, I understand why. I do not wish this devotion to be just another Christmas message as the Christmas story can seem in different occasions and I don’t want this to be another New Year’s resolution message either. I want to remind us of an important theme that is embedded deep into our lives and points us back to God if we make ourselves aware of it. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember what is truly important when certain things seem to run our lives such as money. This theme that we will be studying is the theme of story.

Christmas is so important because it is the pivotal moment where hope of redemption is materialized. Before Jesus was born, people had to sacrifice lambs that had no blemish. It was symbolic to what was to come. These lambs were raised at Bethlehem. It is only appropriate that the final lamb would be born in Bethlehem. Easter, therefore is the celebration of what finally needed to happen for God to offer us that

redemption. That is the crucifixion of Christ Jesus. He died as a sacrifice for our sins. However, there still lies one barrier. That barrier is our will. From the moment God formed Adam, he had the option to sin. I would like to note here that Adam and Eve were sinless until the serpent lured them to sin. The serpent did not force Eve to sin, she chose to sin because the serpent talked to her and planted just enough doubt in Eve’s heart about God. Again, I will say it, Adam and Eve had the choice to sin the whole time. All it took was some talking and soon all of creation became cursed for just the consumption of a forbidden fruit. Just like Adam and Eve, Jesus was sinless. The difference is that Jesus chose not to sin while Adam and Eve chose to sin. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he bore the sins of the world in order to offer us freedom from the curse and give us a chance to live with Him in a world that has been restored and is free of sin. God isn’t attempting to force us to choose this life. He created us with the will to choose between living a life of sin or eternal life with Him. This is our final barrier and the serpent is trying to coerce us out of eternal life with God, but God continues to show us who He is and how much he longs for us to be with Him forever. Therefore, all our hope of redemption was placed on a baby in a manger. This story is filled with dangers. The serpent wanted to prevent Jesus from coming into the world and providing us with hope, but his attempts were wasted on that fateful day in Bethlehem. Hope is scattered through the whole Bible from the first book to the last. From the Beginning and to the end we find that God has placed hope in every time.

1. Genesis:

We find hope in the very beginning. I have gone over this in many of my previous devotions and will likely go over it in future devotions, but I find it very encouraging that God had a plan to save us even as he was cursing us. In Genesis 3 we read

about Adam and Eve falling to temptations of the serpent and eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before God curses them, he curses the serpent in Genesis 3:14-15, “So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”” Right from the beginning, we see that the serpent will be defeated. This gives us hope.

2. Jeremiah:

This next example is not quite as obvious as the last one. God uses Jeremiah to warn the people of Israel to turn from their wicked ways. Jeremiah 4:1 states ““If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the Lord, “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘as surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”” God is urging his people to return to Him. As we continue through this chapter of Jeremiah, we find that God wants Israel to put aside their sinful ways and return to Him. He does not want to punish them for their sin, but a good father does not let his children continue to misbehave. If he tells them not to do something, it is for their own good. It is to protect them from danger. This is what God is doing with Israel. He does not want to discipline them, but he knows that if they are ever to learn and be safe, they must be disciplined. The hope here is that God does not impulsively beat Israel into submission, but he gives them opportunity after opportunity to return to Him and turn from their reckless ways. He wants us to turn from sin and choose him, but he isn’t going to force us into it. He will encourage us, but never force.

3. Isaiah

It was not until College that I learned of “The Suffering Servant”. It was my freshman year in Bible class that we discussed Isaiah 53. It has changed the way I see the Bible because it talks about Jesus Christ. The passage describes a man that is afflicted. Verse 3 says, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” The man being described has clearly faced a great amount of persecution. Yet, he is victorious even in his pain for verse 5 says, “But he was pierced for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us

peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Jesus was pierced and his blood poured out so that our sins may be forgiven. This passage offers us hope of healing and rescue from rightful punishment.

4. New Testament:

While the Old Testament tells us of prophesies and gives us hope for the future, it is the New Testament where these prophesies are fulfilled. In Luke 24, Jesus is resurrected and walking with two of His followers, but His true identity was hidden from them. They had been discussing how some of the women had found the tomb empty and the events leading up to it. Jesus talks to them in verses 25 and 26, “He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken? Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” In verse 27 we read, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” What had been foretold had come to pass. The hope that was once a prophesy was now fact and brings us new hope. That hope is that we do not have to wait for the suffering servant as described in Isaiah anymore. Instead, He has come and He has redeemed us. He will not force us to follow Him, but He will show us Himself if we allow our hearts to be open to Him. Furthermore, we have hope that soon He will come and all creation will be restored. The curse will be no more. This is found in the prophesies of the end times. Revelation 22:3-5 says, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not

need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” We look forward in hope of this while looking back and leaning on the hope that we have in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for it is through Him, that we may live in this place that is free of the curse.

These examples of hope that we have just looked at also give us a brief summary of the Bible. The more I read and understand the Bible, the more I admire God as a writer. We see the importance of Christmas and the theme of story, but how do these things relate to the New Year? First, with the end of each year, we transition to a new year. This gives us the perfect opportunity to look back on the past. We can look back at what has happened in our own story. However, it also gives us a chance to leave those events in that year. It is an opportunity to start anew. Each day is a new day and each year is a new year. There is so much potential for something amazing to happen. There is also potential for something horrific to happen. We do not continue forward without some form of motivation. Let us use this time to remember the hope of our past and look forward to the hope that we have for the future.

As to the other connection to the New year, it has more to do with a certain tradition. People will likely hit the gym this week and start their diets, but what about a healthy dose of story? Resolutions fade, but stories are so ingrained in us that it seems as impossible to separate them from us as it is to separate our vital organs from each other and still live. Think about it. What is the number one driving agent in a story? Time. Time is experienced through the occurrence of a

sequence of events which is funny because that is also the definition of a story in its most simplistic form. Your life is a story. Your story is a part of a bigger story which has been occurring since the beginning. Did you ever wonder if you could be a part of something bigger? One thing that all writers should do in their story is never put in a character that is unimportant in. You might put a character in to throw off your readers, but that character still has a purpose. There is no one in this world who has no purpose. While I hate New Year’s resolutions, I would like to offer this one up to you. Start paying closer attention to the stories around you and how they fit into the bigger story. This may help you to find how your story fits and remind you of the hope that you have. Most importantly, as you look at these stories, take the time to look for God in them. He hides in the most obscure details in addition to the big parts. Stories are from Him and stories remind us of Him. Every story reflects its author in some way. Without stories, what exists? It is very hard to imagine such a life.

Remember the big story by looking at the little stories. After all, stories all go somewhere. Thanks to the Bible, we know we have hope for a happily ever after, but we must make the choice to follow God. Now, where is your story going? Has the ending changed? I challenge you to start to really look and to spend time thinking about your story. What has happened and what will happen. I pray that you are encouraged and are reminded of the hope that we have. It may not be December anymore, but the wise men did not reach Jesus on the night he was born. Therefore, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As always, God bless.

Bible Verses Referenced (NIV)

Genesis 3

Genesis 3:14-15 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:1 “If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the Lord, “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘as surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”

Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Luke 24

Luke 24:25-27, He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken? Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Revelation 22:3-5 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

#new #year #Christmas #holiday #2018 #story #writing