Weekly Devotion

I’ve had many conversations about religion and spirituality with people in my life. I don’t always think fast enough to articulate my views effectively. Needless to say, I’m not the best Apologist for the Christian faith. A close friend of mine said it’s usually better to find a point of understanding and ask questions rather than blasting someone with biblical quotes or mandates. That would turn me off, and I’m a believer.

A few Aprils ago, my Mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer in April and she succumbed to the disease only three months later. She was a wonderful, loving Mom and an even better Grandmother known as “Goggy.” I gained my appreciation for the arts and a good bit of artistic talent from her side of the gene pool.

This week witnessed a sizable snowfall in parts of the Mid-Atlantic region. The storm especially hit Virginia at a bad time when traffic peaks around busy holiday weekends. Six tractor-trailer crashes and inadequate road crews couldn’t prevent what would happen next. I-95 was closed. Cars and trucks were stranded, some for over 24 hours, with no food, water, or fuel.

Merry Christmas! Did you know that for a large part of the Christian world, Christmas will be observed on January 7. This includes the Greek, Russian, Eastern Orthodox Churches, as well as the Coptic Orthodox church. A wonderful friend of mine, and coincidentally my next door neighbor, was kind enough to share his faith story for this beautiful holiday.

This sounds ironic, maybe hypocritical for me to write, but Christmas is about gifts. Actually, one gift. In society, Christmas is a time of celebration, good will, festivities, and gatherings. For believers, it’s when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Most scholars don’t believe He was born on December 25th

I met my friend (A) and her husband about 3 years ago. After some time and through many conversations, my wife and I became friends with them. She is one of those intriguing people you are eager to get to know immediately because you can see such godliness about her.

I knew that she and her husband are followers of Christ. In our limited conversations over the past few years, we learned they were big time church goers. During the first lull between Covid waves, they were telling me how excited they were to go back to church — in person. In the past twelve months, we have become much closer and are good friends. I recently discovered that (S) wanted to share her story with me about Jesus Christ in her life.

With the weeks leading up to Christmas, we’re going to devote time to look forward towards the birth of Christ and more importantly, what that means in this world. Some look at our Lord as an angry, wrathful God where we must earn His acceptance…

“It was probably my freshman year in college when I started noticing Jesus in my life,” she told me. “One day, I saw some students handing out rubber bracelets. The statement read, ‘If you believe in God, you’re already saved.'”

“I have always been strong in my faith, but you can be angry with God,” a friend told me. My friend is far from being a prideful woman. She is a huge-hearted mom, wife, friend, and authentic disciple for Jesus. Sitting across from her in our Life Group, I sometimes just observe the pure passion from her sharing deep and meaningful feelings that pour out of her. She knows and articulates what God has revealed inside of her.