Forced Devotion

Well, not FORCED, persay. Maybe it would be better to classify it as "had to be written by a certain time" devotion.

For the upcoming smash-hit NATIVITY: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION from Group Publishing, I'm having to write out leader books for separate rooms, and part of the copy for the books is a devotional. Here is an excerpt from one, let me know what you think!

ROOM LEADER GUIDE for “THE NATIVITY: And Baby Makes Three”

Devotional
Main Idea: With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility
Scripture: Genesis 17:1-9

It’s no secret that one of the most blessed people in the Bible was Abraham. The Father of Nations. God made a covenant with him that he and all of the generations to follow would be blessed; kings would be among Abraham’s descendants!

However, as with many of the prophesies and promises, it comes with a proviso. God tells us that He will do something - if we do something. Everyone gets a measure of faith, but faith without works is coffin-faith, believe in Jesus Christ and you shall have everlasting life, I’ll open the door when you knock, and so on and so forth.

You will be blessed, Oh, Artist Formerly Known As Abram! You shall birth kings (well, Sarah, anyway) and your kid’s kid’s kids will rule and reign! You will hold up your son from Pride Rock and tell him that everything the light touches will be his!

BUT.

You have to keep up your end of the bargain, Abraham. Oh, and all of your kids, too. That’s YOUR end of the covenant. Keep it, and be blessed forever.

Yikes. Doesn’t SOUND hard, doesn’t LOOK hard on paper, but we all know that keeping promises every day sometimes gets a little difficult. Especially when it’s been a long day at work, things didn’t go according to plan, and now your son is sitting on the porch, waiting for you with his ball glove.

Because you promised you’d play catch with him last week.

With great blessing comes great responsibility. Think about Abraham, being a Father to nations; or Mary and Joseph, given charge to be (basically) step-parents to God’s Son. What an incredible blessing…but what great responsibility!

Questions:
1.In what ways have you, in your life, been blessed? Has the blessing added to your sense of responsibility, as in having a child?

2.We try, but even the Bible reminds us that we all sin, we all fall short of the glory. Do you believe that God has grace for our mess-ups? In what way?

3.Think about the birth of Jesus. Not ideal circumstances, young parents, no family around to help. Talk about how you felt as a young parent…the worries, the excitement, the blessing and the responsibility.