Relevant Daily

Sunday - 7th Day of Christmas

¯On the 7th Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...Seven Swans A-swimming. ¯

REVOLUTIONIZED:

"Happy New Years Day"

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:

1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion

Read Paul’s listing of them from Rom. 12 …
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (NIV)

RECONCILED:

How are you using the Spiritual Gifts that God has given you?  Who do you need to reach out and touch today with the gifts He has given you to do that?

REFUGE:

Today I would like to challenge all of you who are reading this devotional to make a resolution this year to either discover, develop or deploy the gifts God has given you.  Please contact me if you have never done a spiritual gifts test.  Perhaps you may not do anything more strategic for the Kingdom of God than this in 2006!  Start the year right!
Tim Buhler

Saturday - 6th Day of Christmas

¯On the 6th Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...six geese a-laying. ¯

REVOLUTIONIZED:

The six days of creation confess God as Creator and Sustainer of our world.  Something that we need to hold onto more than ever in the wake of last Sunday’s Tsunami in Thailand, with over 100,000 estimated dead. 

How do we begin a new year, as we leave this year with such devastation?  We must go back to the Beginning, Read Genesis 1:1-2:3 below… 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,  and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
2     Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (NIV)
In 6 days the world was created, it is all held together by its creator.  So what has happened that such things like the Thailand Tsunami, Katrina Hurricane, and Pakistan Earthquake?  There is no doubt that God is still in control, though sin and its effects have taken hold of much of the world – we can still rest that God is ultimately still in control, or can we?

RENOWN:

Lord we come before you with questions and doubt upon our minds and hearts.  Meet us where we are at, as we start a new year with You!

REFUGE:

Write down your thoughts and feelings about these disasters that have killed well over 200,000 people combined and how God fits within this…He does!
Tim Buhler

Friday - 5th Day of Christmas

¯On the 5th Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...five gold rings. ¯

REVOLUTIONIZED:

Many people live by grace today.  Hallelujah!  However, have we forgotten why we need it?  Why we needed it?  Why we will always need it?

The Law!

Why do we have laws today?  We have them for several reasons:  to establish order, to maintain a balance of freedom and responsibility, to guide us toward healthy and right choices, to show us when we are not doing right, to guide us morally…

Laws help us.  They aren’t always fun in our way of thinking, but they keep us safe, and make all equal.

Laws – truly are priceless.

RECONCILED:

Read through the following passages about how we should view the Law.

Read the following thoughts:
Ps. 19:8-11, 
   Legal Note:  Ordinances and precepts are types of
    established laws.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
(NIV)
Psalm 119:127,
127 Because I love your commands
more than gold, more than pure gold, (NIV)

Do you love God’s law this way?

Job 23:10-12,
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily
bread.(NIV)

Can we say this about ourselves?

Often we read the fun stuff in the Bible.  We read the stories of Jesus, Paul’s letters or the Psalms.  How often do we turn to the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible written by Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).
Do we relish pouring over passages of sacrifices rules and regulations and not to mention the 10 commandments.

If God’s grace and Jesus death fulfilled the need for these rules, then why were they included in the Bible?

Because they are Gold!

They are 5 golden rings of truth that help us understand our need for Christ and point us towards Him.

Consider Paul’s words in Gal. 3:24 –
24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. (NIV)

REFUGE:

Take time to read part of these books this next year.  Pick one or pick them all.  Ask God to show you Himself in them and the fact that they are gold.  Treasure these Words of the Lord that were so carefully written and handed down thru time just for you to read!

Nicolle Buhler

Thursday - 4th Day of Christmas

¯On the 4th Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...four calling birds. ¯

REVOLUTIONIZED:

Matt. 3:1-3,
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah (Is. 40:3):
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’” (NIV)

John was a voice calling in the desert.  He came to tell others of Christ’s coming.  He was quoted of in Isaiah who foretold Christ’s coming.  Who are others that told the story of Christ – not before, but after He came?  Wh have just finished our study of the Gospels.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are great examples of 4 calling birds!  I can picture them spiritually perched in a tree screaming and singing their little hearts out.  Jesus, Jesus is here.  He is God.  He is Man.  He is king.  He is our ultimate Priest.  Their message is still being read 2000 years later.

Are you calling out the name of Jesus?
Are you telling of His 2nd Coming?
Are you sharing of His 1st Coming?
You too can be a calling bird for the Lord!

RENOWN:

Read the following song.  Sing it if you can as loud as you can.  Let it go.  Pretend you are a precocious child with no inhabitations.  Our little Holly runs around (she was too little for the Christmas program) copying her sister as Jordyn sings …
“Go!  Tell it on the Mountain”

She sings that same line over and over and over – Tim and I smile and I’m sure God does too. 

REFUGE:

“Go!” this week and call out for Jesus! 
He will be smiling!

Nicolle Buhler

Wednesday - 3rd Day of Christmas

¯On the 3rd Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...three French hens. ¯

The number 3 is used in the Bible frequently.  There were 3 gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh given by the wise men to Jesus at His birth.  There were 3 nights and days Jonah was in the whale.  There were 3 days Jesus was in the tomb. (which is the anti-type to Jonah) 

There were also 3 men that Jesus held close to His heart out of His 12 disciples.  They were Peter, James and John.  Read Matt. 26:36-38…

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” (NIV)

In His time of trouble Jesus called on these 3 men to step up and be there for Him and with Him.  Who do you surround yourself with in times of joy and sorrow.  More important, would you be the type of person others would choose to be with them?

These 3 men had the 3 qualities of Faith, Hope and Love (I Cor. 13:13).  These are the qualities that made them stand out among the other 12 disciples.  These are the attributes of a mother has for her family (thus the possible allusion to the French hen – a French mother has these qualities).
As we spend time with family and friends this holiday season and New Year, ask yourself about your relationships with them.  Are they in need or work or repair.  This is a busy season – yet full of opportunity for rest as well.  Take some moments to rest with those that mean the most to you.

Friends and family are the greatest gifts God can give to us this season or at any time.  The only 2 things that last forever are God’s word and His people.  How much of and how many of these will you take with you? 

REFUGE:

Find a candy-cane sometime today and note that there are 3 stripes next to the thick stripe.  The 3 stripes represent the wounds of Christ that He endured during his time of trial that preceded the cross.  Think of 3 people you would most want to be with you during a time of your trial or celebration.  Pray, asking God to lead you to which person you should give a candy-cane to one of your 3 people, sharing with them why they mean so much to you!

Your friends forever in Christ,
Tim & Nicolle Buhler

Tuesday - 2nd Day of Christmas

¯On the 2nd Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...two turtle doves. ¯

The two turtle doves are the two testaments (old and new) in the Bible.  What is the relationship between these two books?  Read the following from:
http://www.gotquestions.org/difference-old-new-testaments.html

      First of all the Old Testament (OT) lays the foundation for the teachings and events found in the New Testament.  The Bible is a progressive revelation.  If you skip the first half of any good book and try to finish it; you will have a hard time understanding the characters, the plot, and the ending.  Even so, the New Testament is only completely understood when it is seen as being built upon the foundation of the events, characters, laws, sacrificial system, covenants, and promises of the Old Testament (OT).
If we only had the New Testament (NT), we would come to the gospels and not know why the Jews were looking for a Messiah (a Savior King).  Without the OT, we would not understand why this Messiah was coming (see Isaiah 53); we would not have been able to identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah through the many detailed prophecies that were given concerning Him (e.g.., His birth place (Micah 5:2); His manner of death (Psalm 22, especially vv. 1,7-8, 14-18; Psalm 69:21, etc.), His resurrection (Psalm 16:10), and many more details of His ministry (Isaiah 52:19f.; 9:2, etc.)).
Without the OT, we would not understand the Jewish customs that are mentioned in passing in the NT.  We would not understand the perversions that the Pharisees had made to God's law as they added their tradition to it.  We would not understand why He was so upset as He cleansed the temple courtyard.  We would not understand that we can make use of the same wisdom that Christ used in His many replies to His adversaries (both human and demonic); (when I first read through the OT, having already read the gospels a couple of times, I was repeatedly surprised that saying that I thought were new with Jesus, were actually Him quoting God's previous revelation in OT verses).
In a similar fashion, the New Testament Gospels and Acts of the Apostles record many of the fulfillments of prophecies that were recorded hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament.  Many of these relate to first coming of the Messiah.  In the circumstances of Jesus' birth, life, miracles, death, and resurrection as found in the Gospels we find the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies that relate to the Messiah's first coming.  It is these details that validate Jesus' claim to be the promised Christ.  And even the prophecies in the New Testament (many of which are in the Book of Revelation) are built upon earlier prophecies found in Old Testament books.  These NT prophecies relate to events surrounding the second coming of Christ.  Roughly two out of three verses in Revelation are based on OT verses.
Also, because the revelation in Scripture is progressive, the NT brings into focus teachings that were merely alluded to in the Old Testament.  The Book of Hebrews describes how Jesus is the true High Priest and His one sacrifice replaces all of the sacrifices that were mere portrayals of that sacrifice.   The Old Testament gives the Law which has two parts: the commandments and the blessing/curse that comes from obedience/disobedience to those commands.  The New Testament clarifies that God gave those commandments to show men their need of salvation and were never intended to be a means of salvation (Romans 3:19).
While the New Testament is the "clear" picture, the OT is nonetheless important.  Likewise, without the OT we would not understand the promises He will yet fulfill to the Jewish nation.

Meditate upon Paul’s words to Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:15-17

15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

The Holy Scriptures that Paul refers to here is the Old Testament writings (Law, Prophets and the Writings).  I like to think of the two testaments as the New Testament providing characters upon an elaborate painting that the Old Testament paints. 

This is really what a “typology” is.  In the Old Testament there was a representation (type) of Jesus which was fulfilled within the New Testament.  Look closely at the stained glass picture below, what do you observe?

(click on the thumbnail on the left to see a more detailed picture)

The Stained Glass in Jesus College, Oxford (1852)
In each pane of glass there is an Old Testament picture on the bottom half and a New Testament picture on the top half.  The bottom picture represents a type of Christ and the top picture represents the fulfillment of this typology (the anti-type).  The picture above is taken from outside (thus inverted) but the one on the right is from the inside of Jesus college.

(click on the thumbnail on the left to see a more detailed picture)

Here are the types and anti-types for each panes of the glass in the picture above:
1) God creating Adam …
    the Nativity, in which God created the New Adam;
2) Moses striking the rock/sweetening the waters of Marah …
        John baptizing Christ,
3) The Passover in the plagues of Egypt…
The Last Supper of Christ,
4) The brazen serpent in the Desert…
The Crucifixion of Christ,
5) Jonah being disgorged by Leviathan…
The Resurrection of Christ,
6) God giving the law to Moses/Moses and Aaron passing on the priesthood…
Christ preaching in the Temple,
7) Elijah's chariot…
Christ's ascension in the presence of the Apostles.

Go to the following to see some other extraordinary stained glass images from the Jesus College Chapel:
http://chapel.jesus.cam.ac.uk/tour/

Tim Buhler

Monday - 1st Day of Christmas

¯On the 1st Day of Christmas my true love sent to me...a Partridge in a Pear Tree. ¯

Slowly read through Luke 13:34:
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!(NIV)

A partridge is a bird closely related to a Quill.  In the song above, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother Partridge willing to die to protect her nestlings. 

Imagine a hen sitting on her eggs, keeping them warm until the day they hatch.  As the chicks grow, they begin to explore the world.  Each time they leave the shelter of the hen’s wings, the chicks wonder a little further until the day they are unable to find their way home.  Cut off from their nurturing mother hen, the small and frail chick is most certain to meet death.

The pear tree is the symbol for the fallen world that we live in.  Just as it began in Genesis 3:6-7,
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NIV)

Adam and Eve left the shelter of the hen’s wing and found death…but that’s not where the story ends.  The mother hen came into the fallen world and died on a cross made from the wood of a pear tree (not a real pear tree but a metaphorical one). 

In this first day of Christmas, following Christmas Day, think about the great connection between Jesus coming to this world and His leaving this world.  For it is in this connection that we understand the reason for the season.
Joe Tessmer

Sunday - Incarnation of Christ (Christmas Day)

REVOLUTIONIZED:
Merry Christmas!  What are you doing reading this devotional today?  Put down this devo and rip those presents open!  Just one thought as you get to your ripping, is to remember that Christ not only came to walk upon this earth 2000 years ago, but also came that He might be in your heart today.

So as you get to tearing up all that pretty wrapping paper, remember the ultimate gift we have been given!

Here are just a few of the 83 passages in the NIV that speak about gifts – please note that they are taken terribly out of context … but might be relevant to your Christmas gifts under your tree…

Gen. 33:10 …accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, …

Phil. 4:17 Not that I am looking for a gift,…

I Tim. 4:14 Do not neglect your gift,…

2 Tim. 1:6 …I remind you to fan into flame the gift…

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above,…

I Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others

Tim Buhler

Saturday - Emmanuel (Christmas Eve)

REVOLUTIONIZED:
“…and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, ‘God with us.’” (NIV) … Matt. 1:23b  (See Is. 7:14)

“…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(NIV) … Matt. 28:20b

I think it funny in a “God thing” sort of way that Tim should ask me to write a devotional on Emmanuel.  He doesn’t know it, or maybe he does, but that has been my theme for devotion, meditation and prayer this season.

Shortly after Thanksgiving I woke Tim in the middle of the night and asked him to pray for me.  Childhood fears were creeping literally up on me once again.  He is often full of wisdom late at night as well as prayers as he comforts me in my fear.  What a gift he is to me from God!

Tim in his prayer for me mentioned to Jesus that His name is Emmanuel which means God with us.  Although I have known of this for years, this particular night it brought a comfort I could never express in words.  ALL the fears were gone.  Since then I have sung and spoken that name for Jesus and received comfort these last 3 weeks.  He truly has proven He is God with us.

We are all familiar with the Christmas song below – but meditate on the other verses that are not so familiar to us today…

RENOWN:

12th Century Carol
Old French Melody

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

REFUGE:
Search the web, your CD’s or your Hymnal for another song or writing on Emmanuel.  Meditate on that as God reveals how He is specifically with you today!

Nicolle Buhler

Friday - Images of Christ

REVOLUTIONIZED:
Images of Christ Exercise
Mark 8:29 – “Who do you say that I am?”

RECONCILED:

This is a great question to seek through the Christmas Season.  Discovering my image of Christ…
     Jesus asks His disciples, “who do people say that I am?”, and then redirects the question to them personally, “who do you say that I am?”  I read this question today, sitting on the other side of the cross, resurrection and ascension of Jesus than His disciples.  It is here that I am able to reflect through a wealth of images, incidents, sayings and parables of Jesus that the disciples didn’t have.  Further I have nearly 2000 years of reflections of both sacred and secular music, songs, art, movies, etc. that have influenced this question upon my life. 
     We can begin answering this question by quoting a creed as the disciples did in the first century, “Jesus is Lord”  or perhaps a more descriptive, as the Apostles Creed, to define more clearly just who Jesus is.  Today, we have as many responses to this question of Jesus as we do people, for surly as distinct personalities each of us carry will also be the answers to this question.  So, let’s begin with an inventory from both the Bible data as well as the Cultural data.

Order of importance:

Images of Christ (OT/NT); Incidents of Christ (NT); Sayings of Christ (NT); Parables of Christ (NT); Cultural: art/music/movies/etc.
1

   
2

   
3

   
4

   
5

REFUGE:
   
Now that you have takes the time and effort to fill this chart out - set up a time with Tim Buhler to go over it in the new year!  TBuhler@aol.com