The Light Shines
Sunday, December 28
John 1:1-9
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (v. 5, NRSV). At the first church I served, I have vivid memories of one pastor uttering those words at the end of the Good Friday service as she walked slowly down the center aisle of the sanctuary and out the back door. It was such a powerful way to end worship that it stays with me to this day. In some ways the truth of the gospel can be summed up in these words. It is the promise of Christmas, the hope of Easter, and the witness of Scripture: the darkness did not, will not, shall not overcome the light. As the Christmas and holiday lights in your neighborhood start to go off, to be packed away for another year, remember this: the Christ-light will never go out. Thanks be to God.
God, thank you for sending Jesus, the great Christ-light, into our world. Help us to draw near to his light especially in dark times and to receive strength and hope and courage from it. Amen.
The Word Lived Among Us
Monday, December 29
John 1:10-18
“If you want to understand God’s heart for the world, just look at Jesus.” “Jesus is the living, breathing, embodiment of God’s love.” Those are just a couple of the ways I’ve heard the theology of John 1:18 described. Jesus is the one who makes God known to us. He takes all the abstract, enormous, incomprehensible ideas we have about God and brings them to the human level. Jesus shows us what it looks like to live out the love of God. From his humble beginnings to his glorious ascension into heaven, this is one of the most important things Jesus has to offer us. What might Jesus be able to show you about God today? How does his example speak into your life right now? What hope does his life give you?
God, thank you for sending Jesus to show us what your love looks like. Help us to follow in his path, to live in ways that are pleasing to you and that represent good news to our world. Amen.
The Grace Of God Has Appeared
Tuesday, December 30
Titus 2:11-14
About this time of year, in that hazy week between Christmas and New Year’s, people are probably starting to talk about their resolutions. They’re speaking ruefully about all the treats of the past several weeks and resolving to do better when the calendar page flips over. But the author of Titus has a different idea in this letter. He says that God has appeared and given salvation to all of us, training us to live lives that are upright, godly, and self-controlled—not in our diets, but in our ways of being with each other. Which of those three words resonates the most with you? Instead of treating the new year solely as a self-improvement project, what are some ways that you might pursue this kind of living?
God, help us to be zealous for good deeds. May we be reminded this year that our salvation promised in Jesus gives us the hope we need to live in ways that glorify you. Amen.
The Saying Is Sure
Wednesday, December 31
Titus 3:4-7
The author of the letter to Titus has a curious way of describing our salvation from God. “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,” he writes, “he saved us” (vv. 4–5). These are the attributes of God he chooses to highlight, the characteristics of God whence our salvation comes.
Note what is missing here. The author doesn’t focus on God’s punishment, God’s righteousness, God’s power, or God’s wrath. No, it is God’s goodness and loving-kindness that save us and that teach us how to be and whom to follow. The author contrasts this with the times before God’s appearance—when we were “foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another” (v. 3). Now we are to live as those saved by God’s goodness and loving-kindness and as heirs of a great hope.
God, thank you for saving us through your goodness and loving-kindness. Help us to follow where you lead us each and every day. Amen.
Looking Back To Look Forward
Thursday, January 1
Isaiah 63:7-9
If your social media feeds are anything like mine, then for weeks you have been seeing people post their “top nine of 2025”—the nine posts they made that garnered the most likes, attention, comments, interactions, and shares. But your feed might also be cluttered today with everyone’s resolutions for the new year and all the ways they will improve themselves.
I wonder, though, about taking time today to look back instead of forward, and to “recount the gracious deeds of the LORD” (v. 7) from the past year. In many ways, this is what Scripture models for us: telling and retelling stories of God’s activity in our lives. Scripture reminds us that we can encounter the future, not with anxiety but with hope, because as God has been with us before, so will God be with us now and every day to come.
God, thank you for all the ways you have guided and sustained us in the past. Help us to remember this as we begin a new year. Amen.
Earth And All Stars!
Friday, January 2
Psalm 148
In the congregation where I serve, we make frequent use of the Covenant Hymnal for our worship. Recently, in planning a Sunday service, I stumbled again on a hymn by Herbert Brokering. “Earth and all stars!” goes the first verse, “Come, rushing planets! Sing to the Lord a new song!” It goes on: “Come, blowing snowstorms!” and “Engines and steel! Loud, pounding hammers!” It is so comprehensive that a colleague of mine joked that it names about everything except dryer lint. But the point is well taken: so much more than people can praise God’s name. Even in the dead of winter (where many of us find ourselves in the northern hemisphere in January), God’s creation and our own creations can sing to the Lord a song of praise. Where might you see that around you today?
God, thank you for all of creation, which gives continual witness to your glory. Help us to add our voices in praising you today. Amen.
Let The Heavens Be Glad And The Earth Rejoice
Saturday, January 3
Psalm 96:10-13
So often when we talk about God’s judgment, it is as a negative, fearsome thing. But this psalm reminds us that God’s coming in judgment is actually profoundly good news. So good, in fact, that the whole world is called to rejoice! Judgment can mean misfortune or punishment, but it can also mean good sense or discretion. God’s judgment might well describe a way of looking at the world and its people, and discerning where they are and aren’t in alignment with his will—and helping to change that. God’s judgment, which the psalm tells us is characterized by equity, righteousness, and truth, has the capacity to bring us more and more into alignment with God’s purposes and desires for us. Sometimes this might be uncomfortable, but it is profoundly life-giving. We can trust it. We can rejoice. Where might you welcome this kind of judgment today?
Thank you, God, that we can trust your judgment. Help us to accept your teaching and your guidance so we can live as you desire. Amen.
