Dec 1 - Expectations

Expectations

Thursday, December 1, 2022

by Hattie Patillo

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38

Key Verse: Luke 1:31-33
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel[c] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Expectations are found everywhere. They can be big or small and can cause both good and bad emotions to sprout from the people they affect. The key to making them come with good emotions is to make them achievable. That doesn’t mean you have to set easy goals and lower expectations for yourself,  but you should consider if it is something that is going to better you as both a person and as a Christian. I have found in most cases the expectations I have for myself are often the hardest to meet and for some of you, I am sure this is similar. The truth is that in the long run, it will not matter if you did the best on your test or placed the highest on your contest or said and did everything just right, because we are all human. We are going to mess up and fail; it is unrealistic to think otherwise. That is okay, though, because as long as we are serving God in what we are doing and trying to become, and hold Him as the priority in our lives, He will guide us and set our paths straight. What you think is a requirement to meet your goal might not even be in the plan that He has for you. Fear and expectations that are cast on us by the world have caused society to create an inaccurate picture of what success really looks like. The truth is that success can look so many different ways and is unique for each individual. Your path and your success is never going to look like anyone else’s. It is not about having the most money or the highest job or the best social status. We can all be successful in our own ways, on our own paths. Is it not better to listen to what Jesus is telling us now about what success looks like than listen to what the world is telling us to be and do, only to figure out later that we went the wrong direction? Without listening to what your purpose should be, you may climb all the way up your ladder only to realize you are on someone else’s wall. When expectations cause us to want to stray from our God-given path, then it is time to seek God and realign ourselves with His plan.

And that leads me into the Scripture I’d like to share with you today, which comes from Luke 1:31-33. Just prior to those verses, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was greeted by an angel and told she had found favor with God. And then in verses 31-33, the angel says: 

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And He will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 

If you want to talk about some pretty high expectations, these verses lay them out. I obviously want to talk about the expectations placed on Jesus, but can we start with Mary? Can you imagine being the mother of the Son of the Most High? God had entrusted her with this amazing responsibility and she had to have known that He had His own expectations in how she would perform, but also, she had to know that those around her would be watching her, as well. What is a bigger responsibility than birthing and raising the Messiah? Every parent makes mistakes under the pressure of raising their own child, but to be told that you are to raise the Son of the Most High is a whole new level of expectation and pressure. She had to keep him safe, keep him healthy, and help prepare him for the great things that he would accomplish in his time on Earth. And did she always get it right? Absolutely not; she was human, and she made mistakes. She even lost Jesus, once, when he was 12; she lost him for days and had no knowledge of his whereabouts. In Luke 2: 41-46 we can read that Jesus’s parents even became separated from him. They lost him for days and had to travel back in order to find him.

Even though she faced challenges and made mistakes like this one, she was successful in the mission that was given to her by God because she listened to his instruction and prayed about her worries. When the angel brought the message found in Luke 1: 31-33 she listened to the instruction given and was willing to accept the task. She responded to the angel in Luke 1: 38 with these words, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” She continued to work to fulfill her duties all the way until Jesus’s crucifixion, where Jesus said to her “Woman, here is your son” (meaning John) and to the disciple “here is your mother.” Jesus used the disciple whom he loved (John) to protect, care, and love Mary even when he knew he would no longer be with her in person. This was because of the great loyalty that she showed to him and the Father. So although she did not always get it right in raising her son, we can say that completed her task with great, unique success.

But while Mary had a pretty big job, no one on earth had greater expectations placed on them than Jesus himself. Sometimes, I think we take for granted the fact that Jesus was fully God AND fully man; he faced every single trial and temptation we could ever imagine, but he never failed.The time that Jesus spent on Earth was filled with expectation and he met every single one that held importance. Notice I did not say every expectation; I only said those that hold importance. This is because some of the expectations that were placed on him by humans, be that the Roman government or false prophets or even community members, would have caused him to stray from his purpose. 

In Luke 1: 32 & 33 it says 

“He will be called great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 

These were expectations listed by God. Before Jesus was even born all of these expectations were being placed upon him by the father. Even the name Mary and Joseph were instructed to give him brought expectations with it. In Luke 1: 31 it states “you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” Jesus, coming from the Hebrew name Yeshua, meaning to deliver or to rescue. Not only did he have so many expectations placed upon him before birth even but he came onto earth already fulfilling the prophecies and expectations that the people had been told would happen with the coming of their messiah. He continued through his time on earth to meet the expectation of being “great” and “Son of the Most High.” He performed miracles and taught to not only those who could come to him but to those that he could go to. He worked to advocate and share the word of the Lord like he was expected, even through persecution. He even willingly allowed himself to be crucified in order to fulfill the purpose that God had given him during his time on Earth. He was able to fulfill these expectations because they were achievable, and they were achievable because they were on his God-given path.

As Christians, we have to understand that the only expectations that hold true importance are those placed on us by Christ. Our biggest priority in life should be to maintain a healthy relationship in our faith. We have to fulfill the expectations given to Christians as a whole and the ones that God uniquely speaks to us. We are all going to have at least one time in our lives where we are called on by God to speak up or act, but we have to be willing to prioritize him over everything else and push past judgments, fears, and socially accepted “norms.” When we finally surrender ourselves to him, our expectations become more achievable because we are finally able to see the ones assigned by Him.

This does not mean that we will not face fear or obstacles because nothing that comes easy is ever truly beneficial and fulfilling, but God is there to listen and guide us when we ask for it;we can find peace knowing we are on our God-given path to success and fulfillment. 

God of hope

God of hope,

we cling to you,

for your renew the face of the earth. 

Through the gift of your Son,

our Lord Jesus,

we follow you on the path of dawn.

Enlightened by your love and wisdom,

help us to lead each other

and all creatures

back to your open arms.

Amen.

Nov 30 - Favor with God

Favor with God

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

by Ava Hunt

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38

Key Verse: Luke 1:29-30
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!  

Annunciation by Caravaggio

When leading up to the announcement that Mary would be having a child of God’s, Mary was worried about the “message” she would be receiving, and why she was chosen to hear from Him. 

When the Angel told her to not be afraid of what God was going to tell her because she has favor with Him, is something we can all relate to. Most of us have worry in our daily life, but especially when we think about what God wants from us and how we need to live for Him. However, we should often remind ourselves, the way the angel reminded Mary, to trust Him and know that he is not here to bring us “bad” news, and that His word is “good”. What he wants from us is to trust his word and that he will lead us to the path we need to be on.  Just like Mary trusted and was given the greatest blessing of all time, being the mother to Jesus.  Later in the same chapter in will read “for no word from God will ever fail”. 

The angel was telling Mary that just because she is hearing from God does not mean worry, or fear. It can mean calmness and joy, because that is what God is: Joy.  

Heavenly Father, Give me the strength to have the same trust in You that Mary had, as she awaited the birth of Jesus.

Nov 29 - Peace and Trust

Peace and Trust

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

by Larry Ball

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38

Key Verse:  Luke 1:26-28
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!  

How often are we surprised by events in our lives and ask God, “Why me, and why now?” A young man once had this question to deal with while stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He had contacted the Department of the Army and asked if he could stay another year there to finish his master’s degree.  The initial answer was yes, so he registered, paid his fees and started class.  Then, six weeks later, he received a call from that same office saying that the needs of the army must come before a master’s degree. That was an incredible shock, and certainly not the news he wanted. However, after much prayer, faith, and obedience, that man found peace in knowing that God’s plan is perfect; that plan may not always be what we want, but He knows what we need.

The Annunciation by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo 

I’m sure Mary must have had similar thoughts and questions when the angel Gabriel told her she was going to have a baby and she was a virgin. She even asked the question, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34) She must have been terrified thinking, “what will the man I’m betrothed to think? Can or will he believe me?” But the angel had already told Mary, “do not be afraid for you have found favor with GOD.” (Luke 1:30) It is no secret what God can do; He knew her heart and her thoughts and her fears, and He sent an angel to tell Joseph that all was well and he had nothing to fear. And Joseph too trusted God and his plan. And just as it was with Mary and Joseph, as they found peace and joy in knowing and trusting in God’s perfect plan, we too need to let go and let God work His perfect plan in our lives. And the peace that passes all understanding can work in our lives.

Father God, open our hearts and minds and help us find PEACE 

and understanding in your perfect plan for our lives, 

as we give you all the praise and glory. AMEN

Nov 28 - God Is With Us

God is With Us

Monday, November 28, 2022

by Joy Ross

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7

Key Verse:

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).  Isaiah 7:14

The original context of this scripture is God offering Ahaz the confidence, or peace, that he could rescue Ahaz from his enemies, in order to strengthen his faith. We understand this scripture to be a prophecy about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

Matthew seems to understand it similarly because he quotes it in reference to the angel appearing to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife after finding out about her pregnancy (Matthew 1:23). The angel is offering God’s peace to Joseph in this decision.

In Luke chapter one, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary to inform her of God’s favor and that she had been chosen to bear God’s own son. Gabriel told Mary “Do not be afraid” offering her God’s peace regarding this life-changing news. The Bible tells God’s people numerous times to

“not be afraid (for I am with you)”. Here are just a few examples: Genesis 26:24, Deuteronomy 1:21, Isaiah 44:8, Matthew 10:31, Mark 5:36, John 14:27. There are many more!

Mary will endure a lot of shame and judgement from her friends and neighbors most likely for an extended time, as will Joseph. Yet her response is one of peace and acceptance: “I am the LORD’s servant; may it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).

Are we so connected to God that we could respond in a similar way as Mary did to such life-changing news, with acceptance and peace? Ultimately Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled around 700 years later in the birth of Jesus. He rescues us from our enemies, our own sins, and reunites us spiritually with God for all times- “God with us;  Immanuel”.

I pray for focus today, dear God, because during Advent, my mind and attention tend to wander. There are so many distractions, many of them well-meaning. But nothing gives my heart rest like resting in You. I pray that I keep You as the focus of my day today, because I know the peace that only You offer. Amen.

Nov 27 - The Lord is the Everlasting God

The Lord is the Everlasting God

Sunday, November 27, 2022

by Lori Wheeler

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40

The scripture passage I was given to read and study and pray over comes from Isaiah 40:28-31, and I cannot think of better verses to kick off this Advent Season, as they are all about the wait.   

Have you never heard?

    Have you never understood?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of all the earth.

He never grows weak or weary.

    No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

He gives power to the weak

    and strength to the powerless.

Even youths will become weak and tired,

    and young men will fall in exhaustion.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

    They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

    They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Such words of comfort and a wonderful reminder that, in a world where things are far too hectic, where I don’t always understand why things happen as they do, where physical or mental illnesses happen, where family troubles sometimes seem overwhelming, where physical disasters, spiritual warfare, sorrow, loss, grief and any other life altering event occurs, we can rest assured that God is still on the throne. He is our Creator, He will not tire, and He understands more than we ever can; He can give us strength in any situation. We can depend on Him. When we give every single burden to him and choose not to pick them back up and carry them. We will be strengthened beyond even our expectations or desires to not only survive those things, but to also flourish through the experiences. We can soar to heights that give us a bird’s eye view, we will run and not stop to overthink our condition because we will have our eyes on what is beyond our current situation, and we will be able to walk with the strength of God. So yes, the Advent Season is upon us, and I can go with the expectation that God is with me and I will anxiously await not only the celebration of Christmas, but also His second coming. Praise be to God!  

Blessings-Lori  

Advent Family Prayer

God of Love,

Your son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us.

He is a sign of your love.

Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent,

As we wait and prepare for his coming.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior.

- Author Unknown

Nov 26 - What is Advent?

What is Advent?

Saturday, November 26, 2022

by Lori Wheeler

O Lord, come back to us! 

How long will you delay? 

Take pity on your servants!

Psalm 90:13

As we kick off our Advent Season this year, we are going to be publishing a series of Advent Devotions written by several people from within the church. Getting perspectives and allowing God to speak through the readings of His Word is one of my favorite things to do. Quite honestly, it makes me want to do a deeper dive into His Word, and I pray that it is the same for you.   

  

However, one of the biggest barriers to diving into His Word is often not just trying to glean understanding from the Biblical passages but trying to understand all the “churchy” words that seem to pop up either while in church or when listening to Christians speak. Prime example – Advent Devotion. What if I hear the words, but have never been churched? What if it is what I hear about for weeks, but I am too shy or embarrassed to ask what it means? Maybe I wasn’t raised in a church, or what if my church uses different language than the one I now attend? Good news, you are not alone, and knowing the meaning of “Advent” or “devotion” will not determine whether or not you get into heaven. However, I feel compelled to precede my Advent Devotion with a few definitions, and I want to start with Advent:   

 

Advent Season: “A season of the liturgical year observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. A little more clearly for just Advent, as it pertains to Christian conversation, the first season of the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.”    

  

That definition made it perfectly clear, or…. maybe not. That gives me a whole NEW list of words to look up, so here we go:  

Advent: (just the word and not the season): the coming or second coming of Christ. 

Liturgical: Relating to liturgy or public worship.  Okay, we’re just going to go with the “public worship” situation because when I look up liturgy, it takes me down yet another trail.  

Nativity: The birth of Jesus Christ.   

  

Basically, The Advent Season is the four weeks before Christmas that we celebrate the day of His birth and wait in anxious expectation for His return. It’s a time in which we center ourselves and focus on Christ rather than just gift giving or family gatherings; we keep Him as our central focus.   

  

So now that we have a slightly clearer definition of Advent, let’s move to “devotion.” A devotion is often an inspired writing about a scriptural passage that inspires us to meditate or pray. And what better time to quiet our minds so that we can meditate and pray than during the Advent Season? And that is why we want to share these Advent Devotions with each of you.   

Now…I can move on to my actual devotion. Advent begins tomorrow (Sunday, November 24, 2022), and continues through Christmas Eve (Saturday, December 24, 2022).  We hope you enjoy these thoughts from our members as we celebrate Advent together.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart 

be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Nov 25 - I Love Christmas!

As I was setting up the blog getting ready for Advent, I asked for a sample devotion that I could post as a test.  Bambi provided the following post, and it is so good that I wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to read it.  

I Love Christmas!

Friday, November 25, 2022

by Bambi Wheeler

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20 

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,

    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:9-14

It’s no secret that I love Christmas. I’m the person that begins decorating in early November (sorry, Thanksgiving), and I don’t really consider Christmas music “seasonal.” I love plotting the perfect gifts, supporting our local electric co-op by having all the lights glowing 24 hours a day, and my mom and I usually try to schedule a short getaway to a city that does Christmas well just to get the full-on ambiance that the cities have to offer. Seeing homes glowing on my evening drive home helps make the shorter days more palatable, and seeing others filled with the hope and joy the Christmas Season brings is so incredibly encouraging. I honestly just love all the things.

But as much as I enjoy the “spirit” of Christmas, that’s not why I actually love Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of an event that impacted eternity; it’s a celebration of the birth of our Savior. And how do we know this? How do we KNOW that Jesus is truly the Messiah? Well, his birth alone fulfilled countless prophecies. Gotta be born of a virgin? Done. Descendant of David? Check. A Nazarene born in Bethlehem, but called from Egypt? Somehow, yes. The chances of one person being able to fulfill the number of prophecies Jesus’ birth alone fulfilled, not to mention those fulfilled by His life, death, and resurrection, are almost zero. Yet…it happened, just as we were promised by the Old Testament prophets. And that bit of knowledge brings me an incredible peace.

And while the circumstances of Jesus’ birth weren’t nearly as peaceful as they sound in the beautiful Christmas Carols we sing (born in a cave in a foreign land, headhunters out to kill you, etc.), His birth DID bring us the promise of peace. In Luke 2:14, the angels themselves praised God and declared, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Now, the peace Jesus’ birth brought us might not look like we imagine peace, at least not while we are still on this earth; it doesn’t mean that everyone on earth is suddenly in perfect harmony, that there is no sickness, war, or pain, and that nothing bad will ever happen to us again. But it DOES mean that we have the hope of an eternity that will look exactly like that, and living with that hope gives us a lot more peace while we are here.

So yes, I truly enjoy the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the shiny lights, the beautiful music, and all the Christmas cheer. But what I LOVE about Christmas is the peace I have in knowing that Jesus, the Messiah, loved us enough to come to this earth and offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that I have the hope of an eternity with Him. 

And THAT is worth celebrating.

Nov 24 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We at FUMC West Plains are so thankful for the love, care, generosity and faithfulness of all of our members.  We hope and pray that God will continue to richly bless each of you in the coming year.

As we prepare for the Advent season, we wait in quiet anticipation for a new revelation and insight of who God is, and how He is working in our lives every day.  We are so thankful for the many ways that God has demonstrated His love for us over the last year!

Our prayer is that each of you will have a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, and the music of God's presence in each of your lives.

*   *   *   *   *

Now for a couple of housekeeping notes about our Advent devotional blog.

First: If you would like to receive email updates when a new devotion is posted, please put your email address in the box at the right.  You will receive a confirmation email from follow.it.  Just follow the instructions to confirm that you want to receive this feed.  You will then receive an email from follow.it every time a new devotion is posted.  

For each devotion there will be a scripture reference to read, and a key verse.  Whenever you see a scripture highlighted in blue (for example Psalm 145) this indicates a link.  Hover your mouse pointer over the reference, and click on it to read the scripture.  I will highlight the key verse as below:

The eyes of all wait upon thee; 

    and thou givest them their meat in due season.

Thou openest thine hand, 

    and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16

With almost every post there will be artwork included like the picture above.  I will also try to always include a song from YouTube like the one below. Just click on the image to hear the song.  I hope you enjoy both the artwork/pictures and the songs.  I would appreciate any feedback in the comments.



I hope that you enjoy our Advent devotional.  May God richly bless each of you as we anticipate the glorious coming of our Lord and Savior.

Welcome to Our Advent Devotional for 2022

Welcome!

Welcome to our Advent Devotional for First United Methodist Church of West Plains!  

Bambi Wheeler (our NRG Youth Director) had the brilliant idea to do a daily devotion during Advent.  Rather than burden our staff, Bambi has organized members of our congregation to put down their thoughts about Advent and the coming of Christmas.

Brian suggested that this should be put in Blog format so that we could retain a history of the devotions, and people could sign up to get a daily email containing the devotions.  (Of course that meant that he also volunteered to build and administer the blog.)

This is our first attempt at a project like this, but our hope is that this will become an Advent tradition for years to come.

We are glad that you are here!   Whether you are a member of First United Methodist Church of West Plains, and heard about this during the announcements on Sunday, or whether you are a guest joining us for the first time!  We hope you enjoy the prayerful thoughts and memories of Advent and Christmas as shared by our church members.  

If you would like to receive a daily email of our devotions, please sign-up at the right.  You will receive an email from follow.it asking you to verify that you want to get this feed.  Once you confirm that, you will receive an email whenever a new devotion is posted. 

Feel free to comment on any of the devotionals!  The comment box is at the end of the devotional page.  Feel free to share your own thoughts about the scriptures or memories of Advent that you cherish.   

Advent begins on Sunday, November 27, and runs through Saturday, December 24.  You are all invited to join us for our Christmas Eve Services at 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on December 24th.  Make sure you scroll to the bottom of the blog to see our countdown to our Christmas Day service.  You are all welcome to join us for a Carol Sing during our Christmas Day service either in our sanctuary, oe online!   For more information about upcoming events at First United Methodist Church in West Plains, visit our website at FUMCWestPlains.com. 

Finally, thank you to Bambi for organizing this, and reminding people to get their devotions submitted.  Thanks also to Pastor Andy, for it is through his leadership that we have so many involved and active people in our church.  

Our prayer is that during this season of Advent, each of you will find new hope, new insights or new joy as we anticipate the coming (or coming again) of our wonderful Savior.  

May the love, joy and light of this Advent and Christmas Season be with you all!

-Brian