World Missions Committee Member, Craig Wentzel shares the following devotional.As we get closer to the holidays, I especially miss my Mom and Grandma these last few years. They used to make certain kinds of food that no one else makes anymore. My Grandma used to make “Mock Cherry Pie” for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When they were first married, she told my Grandpa that she was going to make it for their first Thanksgiving. He wasn’t sure that was such a good idea, but she did anyway and this cranberry-raisin pie became his favorite and she made it for our family gatherings every year from then on.
Sometimes, when the older generation passed away, we lose their knowledge of how to make the good, favorite , foods we have loved!
Also, we, as the 21st century
As I read the wedding of
Jesus was available because He had already been invited! (Jn. 2:1-2) He was present as a welcome guest. Sometimes, people call upon Him for a miracle when they have never had any contact with Him before! Jesus is already present in OUR lives if we have invited Him in, at some point, and made Him “welcome”. Perhaps, He has been welcome since our baptism!
2nd, BRING YOUR NEED TO JESUS!
Mary, His mother, said to Him, “’They have no wine.’” Mary brought the need of the wedding party (and maybe her own need, as having certain responsibilities at the wedding) to her Son because she KNEW He could do something about it! “’Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts; “I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.”’” All we have to do is bring our needs to Jesus, as He invites us to: “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)
The 3rd ingredient is LEAVE IT IN HIS HANDS!
His mother said: “’Whatever He says to you, do it.’” She knew He not only COULD do something about it, but that He WOULD! So she left it in HIS hands! She told the servants to do whatever He wanted them to do. We have to let Jesus handle our need in HIS way! And He will do a miracle with it! He took an ordinary need, like we might experience any day (running out of something) and did a miracle with it! He changed ordinary water into wine…something we wouldn’t ever think of! And it was an abundant answer = 120-180 gallons of wine! And it was the best quality answer = the wine was better than anything the wedding couple could come up with!
How does this “recipe” work when WE try it today?
One Sunday night in April, 1912, an American woman was very tired, but she couldn’t sleep because of a great feeling of fear that came over her. Finally, she felt burdened to pray for her husband who was somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic., bound for home. She kept on praying in agany until about 5 o’clock in the morning. Then a great peace came over her and she slept.
Meanwhile, her husband, Colonel Gracie, was among the hundreds trying frantically to launch lifeboats from the doomed Titanic which had struck an iceberg. He had given up all hope of saving himself and was doing his best to help the women and children. He wised he could get a last message to his wife and cried from his heart, “’Good-bye, my darling.” As the ship plunged to her watery grave, he was sucked down in the giant whirlpool and he instinctively began to swim underwater. Suddenly, he came to the surface and found himself near an over-turned life boat. Along with several others, he climbed aboard and was picked up by another lifeboat about five in the morning, just the time that peace came to his praying wife!
May the Lord do miraculous things with OUR needs this holiday season!
