Our Daily Bread Christmas Edition Devotional Day 4 Anytime, Anywhere When Mike Marolt is out of town, he remotely accesses the computer and files in his Aspen, Colorado, office. On a recent overseas trip, Marolt answered emails and kept in touch with his clients by using his laptop through a satellite phone hookup. This time, however, he was sitting in a base camp tent at 21,000 feet on the side of Mt. Everest. These days even that doesn’t surprise us because we have become used to the technology that provides access to the rest of the world anytime, anywhere. We can easily develop a similar lack of amazement toward prayer. Talk to God? “Of course.” We don’t have to wait in line, enter a building, or wear nice clothing. We can pour out our hearts to the Lord anytime, anywhere. The apostle Paul always seemed to marvel at the door opened wide into the presence of God. “But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ,” he wrote. “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us” (Ephesians 2:13,18). The door is open for everyone. God welcomes all who come by faith. Through Christ we can enter His presence— anytime, anywhere. Amazing! —DAVID MCCASLAND There is no place or time we cannot pray. Ephesians 2:11-19 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. This devotional © used by permission.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 14:17:50 +0000
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