Another Year of God-Light (Year B)

By Mary Heyn

This yearlong devotional features one or two verses of scripture for each day of the year, a brief meditation, and a very brief prayer.

It focuses on how the light of God suffuses our daily lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543466126

Mary Heyn

Mary Heyn is a retired Christian elementary school teacher with a love for words, a love for God and people, and an active imagination. She desires to share her faith with others and prays that lives are transformed and new hope is born.

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Another Year of God-light

(Year B)

Mary Heyn

Copyright © 2017 by Mary Heyn.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5434-6500-6

      eBook         978-1-5434-6612-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

JB

Scripture quotations marked JB are from The Jerusalem Bible, copyright © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

TLB

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

KJV

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 11/09/2017

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Sun. Dec.3 Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time may come. (Mark13:33) Did you ever try to stay awake to catch Santa Claus on Christmas Eve? I did- and I never caught him. Jesus is a better ‘catch’ than Santa, and he’s telling us not to be distracted or caught off-guard. That doesn’t mean resisting sleep but having alert spirits while we are awake. Dear Jesus, I don’t want to miss the ways you come to me. Please rouse my sluggish spirit with yearning for you so I’m ready to greet you at any time or place.

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Mon. Dec.4 Come, let us go to the mountain of Yahweh, to the temple of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways so we may walk in his paths. (Is.2:3) What an invitation! But do I really want God to teach me his ways? It may change some of my own. Dear God, your ways aren’t my ways, but only your ways lead to life. Please teach me your ways, even if I’m sometimes a slow and reluctant learner.

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Tues. Dec.5 It was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to mere children. (Luke10:21) When my older brother was a toddler he talked about playing with the angels but forgot about it later. Have I ‘forgotten’ things God showed me as a child? Have I ‘forgotten’ how to be trusting, spontaneous, and childlike? Dear Jesus, please reawaken in me the simplicity and trust of a child. Please give me back the free and simple joy I once knew.

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Wed. Dec. 6 On this mountain Yahweh Sabaoth will prepare for all the peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, a banquet of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines. (Is.25"6) Most of the people of this world know physical hunger, but there are other hungers as well- social, emotional, and spiritual hungers that are even stronger. Can we trust God to feed all our hungers? Yes! Dear generous God, only you can satisfy our hungry hearts. In your great compassion, please provide all that we need, all that is so far beyond our power to attain.

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Thurs. Dec.7 It is not those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my father in heaven. (Matt.7:21) Am I a spiritual couch potato, thinking that pious words and thoughts will get me anywhere? Jesus is calling me to action. When I had a stroke I willed my left side to move as it once did, but it took lots of work and practice. Jesus wants me to use the spiritual muscles I have- or lose them! Dear Jesus, here ¹I am. I’m reporting for duty. It’s you who put both the will and the action in me.

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Fri. Dec.8 God chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted children, through Jesus Christ… (Eph. 1:3b,4a) I was seldom chosen to be on a grade school kickball team, but I’m specially chosen to be on God’s own team. Am I willing to be a good team member? Will I play fair and give it my all? Dear God, thank you for choosing me! I know I’m not worthy, but you can make me worthy.

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Sat. Dec.9 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest. (Matt.9:37-38) Why are there so few laborers in God’s harvest of souls? Do we not see it? Do we fear rejection or consider ourselves unqualified? Do we expect ‘professionals’ to do our job? Dear Jesus, I’m available and I’m not passing the buck. Please give me the courage to represent you boldly and effectively. I need the joy of your Gospel, whatever the cost, to rescue those you gave your life to save.

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Sun. Dec.10 Go up on a high mountain, joyful messenger to Zion. Shout with a loud voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem. Shout without fear, say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God! (Is.40:9) Our God is clearly calling for show-and-tell at its best. Who am I to deny my teacher’s command? Let the whole world know that God is here, even at the ost of my life. I’m a joyful herald of the great King, the Lord of heaven and earth who loves all flesh. Dear God, I love you! Please give me the boldness to announce your presence in all places at all times, wherever you take me.

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Mon. Dec.11 As the crowd made it impossible to find a way to get (the paralyzed man) in, they went up to the flat roof and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering in front of Jesus.(Luke 5:19) Sometimes we need to find very creative ways of getting people to Jesus. He knows that the need for forgiveness is primary. God will always make a way for our zeal to be effective for ourselves and others. Dear Jesus, we are all paralyzed in some way. Please open a way for us to come to you as we are for forgiveness and healing.

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Tues. Dec.12 The angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. (Luke1;31-32) If anyone had reason to fear Mary did. But fear really is useless. How precious is the retelling of this very moment when our God took on our human flesh, and how precious the woman who consented to be God’s mother and our mother too. Dear Jesus, I love you! And I love your mother who brought you to me.

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Wed. Dec.13 Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest; shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt.11:28-30) My theme song used to be. ‘I Did it My Way.’ I wore myself out with ‘good ‘activities I had no need to do. My new theme song is ‘Learning to Lean’. If I’m listening, Jesus lets me know when to just rest in him. Dear Jesus, I am learning to lean on you. Your yoke really is easy (It fits me.) and your burden really is light. (You’re carrying the weight that’s too much for me.)

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Thurs. Dec.14 I, your God, am holding you by the right hand; I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid, I will help you. (Is. 41;13) When I was a little child crossing busy streets was dangerous and scary, but when my mom took my hand I didn’t need to worry. Now I don’t worry when I’ve asked Jesus to take my hand. He always leads me in safety and in his awesome peace. Dear Jesus, thank you for taking me by the hand, Please let me walk hand-in-hand with you all the days of my life.

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Fri. Dec.15 "We played the pipes for you, and you would not dance; we sang dirges and you wouldn’t be mourners." (Matt.11:12) Jesus didn’t worry about being politically correct so why should I? Must I let this culture shape me or is it my job to shape the culture? Dear Jesus, thank you for this world I live in. Please give me the grace to hold fast to you even when the world disagrees.

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Sat. Dec.16 …I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognize him but treated him as they pleased. (Matt.17:12) Who is God sending to announce his coming in my life? John the Baptist didn’t fit the image of a prophet and the people of his day missed the coming of the Messiah. Who am I missing today? Dear Jesus, I’m waiting for your coming and I don’t want to miss you. Please give me the grace to recognize you in all the wonderful and subtle ways you show up in my life.

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Sun. Dec.17 The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for God has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison, to proclaim a year of favor from Yahweh. (Is.61:1) Through Jesus, God’s Spirit is given to me too, so what good news do I bring to what poor? What broken hearts do I bind and what captives do I set free? Dear God, thank you for pouring your Spirit out on me. So what good news shall I bring? What broken hearts shall I bind, and what captive shall I set free?

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Mon. Dec.18 The angel of the Lord said…’Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit (Matt.1:20) Are we ever afraid to take Mary into our lives and homes, to honor her as God wishes her to br honored? Let us set aside foolish reservations and enjoy the care of our mother. Dear Jesus, thank you for the great gift of your mother. Please help me to love and honor her as you do.

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Tues. Dec.19 The angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John… With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before the Lord to turn the hearts of fathers toward their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him (Luke1:13b,17) God is preparing us to be fit for him. He hears our prayers and will not stop until his work is accomplished. Dear God. Please turn my heart to you and make me fit for you.

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Wed. Dec.20 He went in and said to her, ’Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you.(Luke1:27) The Lord is with me!? Yes, I too am highly favored, for God’s grace has worked faith in me. I too must bring Jesus into my world. The Holy Spirit I’ve been sealed with will continue to work in me and God’s power will continue to overshadow me. My immediate and only response must be that of my mother Mary. Dear God, I am your handmaid too; let everything you say be done in me. Bring me day-by-day into the perfection of your great love until only Jesus is seen in me.

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Thurs. Dec. 21 Mary set out at that time and went in haste to a town in the hill country of Judah. (Luke 1:39) My first plane trip was one I’ll never forget- and I had no time to be frightened. A nun-friend of mine had a close friend in South Dakota who was suicidal. My heart went out to her, and I found myself saying, ‘I’ll fly us both out from Madison, WI to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was an icy sub-zero Christmas break and the