He Knows Us

  “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV) 

    The high school girl my friend Brenda was working with opened the Christmas gift she had been given but “thank you”  were not her first words. “It was as if, for a second, she had quit breathing,” Brenda smiled. And then she shouted “You know me!” and leaped into Brenda’s  arms with a big hug that seemed to go on forever! Why exactly did she say that?

     Because every single item in the gift box was something she loved: a specific kind of candy, blue socks, favorite card games and other things as well. Brenda had listened closely to what her students had talked about as they met each week for therapy. She made notes beside each student’s name so she would not forget and then was able to put together a gift specifically for each one at Christmas.

    Brenda shared “my students have various learning disabilities and there are times when they have trouble understanding what I am sharing with them.” But this time, her student could not mistake the gifts as something left over on a store shelf placed in a box but rather specific gifts just for her. 

    I’m sure as you read this you already know where I am headed. We smile to think that a student would realize that  her teacher knows her favorite things. But how much more God knows everything about us, His children! 

• He knows our every need and gives us good things before we even ask. (Matthew 6:8) 

• He watches over us day and night. (Psalm 121:4-8)  

• He formed us; He knew us in our mother’s womb before we were even born. (Psalm      139:13-16)  

• He calls us His children (I John 3:1) 

• He gives us good gifts (Matthew 7:9-11)

   These are only a few of the reasons why we can trust that our Father knows us, just as Brenda’s student saw that her teacher knew her very well. There are hundreds more. But we aren’t talking about a teacher in a classroom. We are talking about the Creator of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, our God, our Father and sometimes our Daddy. 

    As we begin a new year, take time to stop and consider all that God has done for you - all the gifts He has given you before you even asked. And you will find that you, too, will throw yourself into the arms of your Teacher and shout “You know me!”

   Father, thank you for taking care of my every need, even before I think or ask. You are a good good Father to your children. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you ever felt that the Lord did not know you personally and care about your every need?

• Why do you think you felt that way?

Apply

• Before each day begins, thank the Lord for all that He has done and all that He is going to do in your life.

• Journal throughout your day everything - big or little - that shows you the Lord knows everything about you specifically.

Power

• Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV) “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

• I John 3:1 (NIV) “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

• Matthew 6:8 (NIV) “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” 

  

Jerry's Christmas

  “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you; You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12 (NIV)

    I’ll never forget that precious little boy: freckles scattered like tiny raindrops across his entire face, including his ears. Big brown eyes partially obscured by wispy blonde hair that brushed against an ever-present smile minus two front teeth.

   Jerry was a first-grade student at the elementary school where I worked. He came from a home that was short on money but long on love. His clothes were always someone else’s property first, but he never seemed to care.  And this Christmas season was no different.

   As a mother of three, I was frantically trying to balance home, husband, kids, and job while I shopped endlessly for the perfect “only thing I want” gifts for my family. Somewhere in the rush of the season, my focus shifted from the birth of a baby in a manger to the number of presents under our Christmas tree.

   There was some success but at a price . . . a high price. My Christmas budget was shrinking rapidly. “Why couldn’t my children want something a little cheaper?” I kept thinking. “Why do they think they have to have everything they see on television?”

   Those questions were occupying my thoughts as I walked down the first-grade hall and saw Jerry coming toward me in worn tennis shoes minus the laces and a winter coat that was about three sizes too large.  

   “Hey, Jerry! How are you?” “I’m good, Miss Nancy. It’s almost Christmas . . . Jesus’ birthday . . . did you know?” I couldn’t help but smile at that comment. “Yes, I have heard that. So what do you want for Christmas, Jerry?”

   He quickly replied “Oh, I already know what I’m getting. It’s the same every year.” At this point, I would have expected a child making that statement to duck his head in disappointment and go on, but not Jerry.

   As I bent down to hug and encourage him, Jerry put his hands on my shoulders and, with a huge smile, continued. “When I wake up on Christmas morning, there will be a BIG candy cane under my pillow!” he exclaimed as he licked his lips and rubbed his tummy in anticipation of that moment. “And then, under the tree, I will get a little Matchbox car to add to my others. I can hardly wait, Miss Nancy!”

   As I hugged Jerry and sent him on to class, I could not hold back the tears of sadness – not for Jerry but for my attitude. Instead of focusing on Christ and His birth, I had gotten caught up in the world’s view that the number of gifts you have under the Christmas tree determines your happiness.

   Christmas at our home would never be the same again. All because of a candy cane under a pillow, a Matchbox car under a tree . . . and a very thankful little boy named Jerry.

   Father, thank you for the most priceless gift of love you could ever send – the gift of your Son - from a manger to the cross for us.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Do you find yourself focused more on gifts than the Giver of Life at Christmas?

• Have you talked with your children about the Ultimate Gift that Jesus gave each of us?

Apply

• Help your children write on slips of paper the gifts that they can give Jesus this Christmas, like trusting Him, being obedient, and sharing Him with friends.

• Have them wrap each of their gifts for Jesus in a box and offer each one to Him on Christmas morning in prayer.

Power 

• Luke 2:11-12 (NIV) “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you; You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.” 

• 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV) “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

• John 1:14 a (NIV) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”