Upside Down CHRISTmas!

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 11:1-9 (NRSV)

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.


ADVENT DEVOTION

Today's scripture reminds me that Jesus turns everything upside down.

This reminds me of the Advent Conspiracy that many churches are engaging in around the world. Advent Conspiracy reminds us to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all! (www.adventconspiracy.org)

When we turn Christmas upside down we can say things like...

Because the Lord has come...

• I worship with a heart of gladness, rather than worry about how I'm going to pay the bills
• I spend less at the mall, rather than repay maxed out credit cards bills all next year
• I give more of what I do have so that all of God's children can have food, water, clothes, shelter,   health care, education, peace, and security.
• I love all, because God first loved us giving The Son to live, die, and live again that I might inherit eternal life.

Won't this kind of CHRISTmas Spirit be counter cultural and contagious? Won't this offer an alternative to the commercialized CHRISTmas that many of our friends and neighbors are suffering through? Won't our offer of CHRISTmas love, joy, hope, and peace be a great blessing to the whole world!

Today, I want to challenge us to do one thing to turn CHRISTmas upside down. You'll be glad you did!


PRAYER

Oh God! Please give me the wisdom to turn CHRISTmas upside down for myself and my family. I want to celebrate your birthday in a way that brings you joy. In Your Name, Amen.