And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7 ESV
Mary gave birth… she labored to bring Him into the world… her world… where she made room…
She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths… secured Him… held Him tight… then she set Him before her in the place she prepared…
I think about others who made room for Him in their lives…
Some left all they knew… to follow Him…
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:11 ESV
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
Luke 5:27-28 ESV
They left their worldly work and chose to work for Him…
Fishermen… now fishers of men…
A tax collector… now gathering others for Him…
Each serving a new Master… a new purpose…
Making room for Him includes changing the way we labor… rethinking the way we work…
But I don’t mean changing vocation… we don’t all become full-time ministers… preachers… church-planters… missionaries…
Or do we…?
In the work we do… we make room for Him… by changing our focus… from the things of the world… to working for Him…
Wherever we work… there are people to minister to… opportunities to preach the Word in love…
Gathering others to fellowship in the middle of the work day at lunch… or to pray before or after work hours… can be church-planting right where you do business… Where two or more are gathered in His name… there He is with them…
Choosing to do our current work… with His mission in mind… voila… we become missionaries… our work place the mission field…
Making room for Him in your world… includes working the same job… in a new Kingdom…
Wrapping ourselves up in His ways… as we go about the work in the place where He set us…
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Colossians 3:10-12 NLT
Loving Him… loving others… serving Him in all we do…
Waiting… preparing… for the coming King… laboring for Him… in our present Advent…
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…
Colossians 3:23 ESV
Jeremiah's Menu 