Something to think about as you start a new week

Monday Meditations are quick posts designed to get you thinking about God. They provide a fresh perspective as you jump into your routine.

The Promise Continues

By Paula Wiseman

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'” – Matthew 2:1-2 (ESV)

Wise men from distant lands—scholars, astronomers, seekers—
Following a star, pursuing a promise,
Embarking on a journey of hundreds of miles,
Demonstrating that the Christmas story reaches far beyond Bethlehem.

They were not Jews, not part of the covenant,
Not raised on prophecies or promises,
Yet something in the heavens spoke to them,
Inviting them into a story not originally their own.

Their presence reveals the expansive heart of God,
Whose promise extends beyond a single people,
Whose light draws seekers from every nation,
Whose birth is good news for the entire world.

They brought treasures from afar—
Gold acknowledging a king,
Frankincense recognizing deity,
Myrrh foreshadowing sacrifice.

Their worship cost them something:
Time measured in months, not moments,
Resources of significant value,
Comfort sacrificed for pilgrimage.

Their story reminds us that Christmas doesn’t end on December 25th,
That the journey toward Jesus continues long after the nativity,
That the promise of his birth unfolds throughout our lives,
Inviting ongoing seeking, finding, and worshiping.

For the promise of Christmas continues to unfold,
The light still shines in the darkness,
The journey still beckons those with eyes to see,
And the King still receives all who come to worship.

Will you, like the wise men, follow the light that leads to Christ,
Bring your treasures to honor him,
And allow your encounter with him to redirect your path
As you journey into the new year?

The Promise Fulfilled

By Paula Wiseman

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'” – Luke 2:10-11 (ESV)

No royal announcement, no palace proclamation,
Just shepherds in fields, keeping watch by night,
When heaven’s glory broke through darkness
And God’s promise took its first breath in a stable.

The long-awaited moment came quietly,
The divine entered the world almost unnoticed,
The eternal stepped into time without fanfare,
The Creator became creature in perfect humility.

“Fear not”—words that bridge the gap
Between human terror and divine encounter,
Between our smallness and God’s glory,
Between what we expect and what God delivers.

“Good news of great joy”—not just information,
But transformation; not just facts, but freedom;
Not a message to be analyzed, but a miracle to be celebrated,
A joy that would ripple outward to “all the people.”

“Unto you is born”—the most personal of promises,
Not just for the world, not just for Israel,
But for you—shepherds, outcasts, overlooked,
For you—whoever you are, wherever you are.

“A Savior”—not just a teacher or example,
But a rescuer for those who cannot save themselves,
A deliverer for the captive, a healer for the broken,
The answer to humanity’s deepest need.

“Who is Christ”—the Messiah, the Anointed One,
The fulfillment of centuries of longing and prophecy,
The one who would restore David’s throne,
The promised King whose kingdom would never end.

“The Lord”—not just a human savior or earthly king,
But God Himself wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Divinity in diapers, majesty in a manger,
The Creator become vulnerable for His creation.

They went “with haste” to see this thing,
Not delaying, not debating, not deferring,
But responding immediately to heaven’s announcement,
Eager to witness promise transformed into presence.

Then they became the first evangelists,
Spreading the word about what they had seen and heard,
Turning from witnesses into messengers,
From receivers of the promise to proclaimers of its fulfillment.

For the promise of Christmas is not just a historical event,
But a present reality—God with us, among us, for us.
The same Jesus who fulfilled ancient prophecies
Still fulfills His promises in our lives today.

Will you, like the shepherds, leave behind your routine
To witness the miracle, to worship the Savior,
And to spread the word about what you have seen and heard?
For unto you—yes, you—is born this day… a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The Promise to Joseph

By Paula Wiseman

“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'” – Matthew 1:20-21 (ESV)

Joseph’s story begins with silence.
No recorded words, just quiet contemplation,
A righteous man facing an impossible situation,
A carpenter whose carefully built plans had splintered.

The woman he loved was with child,
A child that was not his own,
A pregnancy that spoke of betrayal,
That threatened his honor and her life.

He could have exposed her publicly,
Could have demanded the law’s full penalty,
Could have protected his reputation at her expense,
But chose instead the path of quiet mercy.

“As he considered these things”—
In that space between decision and action,
In the quiet wrestling of a troubled heart,
God intervened with heavenly perspective.

“Joseph, son of David”—
Addressed not just by name but by lineage,
Reminded of his royal heritage,
His place in the unfolding story of redemption.

“Do not fear to take Mary as your wife”—
Permission to love when logic said otherwise,
Freedom to embrace what appeared scandalous,
Courage to walk a path others would question.

“For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”—
The impossible explanation,
The divine origin of her condition,
The miraculous truth behind apparent betrayal.

“She will bear a son”—
A child who would legally be his through adoption,
A son he would name, protect, and raise,
A boy who would learn carpentry from his calloused hands.

“You shall call his name Jesus”—
A command that made him part of the story,
A role in the divine drama,
A voice announcing the Savior’s identity.

“For he will save his people from their sins”—
Not from Roman occupation,
Not from political oppression,
But from the deeper bondage of sin itself.

“When Joseph woke from sleep,
He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.”
No recorded questions, no expressed doubts,
Just immediate, complete obedience.

Joseph teaches us about promises received in darkness.
When life makes least sense,
When plans collapse and dreams shatter,
God’s greatest promises often arrive.

He shows us faith that acts without speaking,
Obedience that doesn’t demand explanation,
Righteousness that makes room for mystery,
Strength found in surrender to God’s larger story.

Joseph reminds us that sometimes God’s promises
Require us to embrace what others will misunderstand,
To follow divine direction when it defies human logic,
To trust heaven’s perspective when earth’s view is limited.

For the God who spoke to Joseph still speaks today,
Still invites us into stories larger than ourselves,
Still asks us to trust beyond what we can see or understand.

The question is whether we, like Joseph,
Will wake from our limited perspective
And do as the Lord commands,
Becoming part of the unfolding promise of Christmas.

The Promise to Mary

By Paula Wiseman

“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.'” – Luke 1:30-33 (ESV)

In Nazareth, a town too small to matter,
To a young woman too ordinary to notice,
Came the most extraordinary announcement in history.
God’s ways confound human expectations.

Mary—not a princess, not a noblewoman,
Not wealthy, not powerful, not influential—
A simple girl from a simple town,
Chosen for the most sacred task imaginable.

“Do not be afraid”—the first words of promise,
Words that acknowledge the trembling heart,
The natural human response to divine encounter,
The fear that precedes every great calling.

“You have found favor with God”—
Not because of achievement or status,
Not through merit or qualification,
But through the mysterious grace of divine selection.

“You will conceive and bear a son”—
A biological impossibility for a virgin,
A social catastrophe for the betrothed,
A divine miracle that would change history.

“You shall call his name Jesus”—
Yeshua, “The Lord saves,”
A name that is also a mission statement,
An identity that is also a promise.

“He will be great”—
Not just good, not just righteous,
Not just a prophet or a teacher,
But great in a way no human has ever been.

“Son of the Most High”—
Not just a servant of God,
Not just a messenger or representative,
But God’s very Son, divine in nature.

“The throne of his father David”—
The fulfillment of ancient covenant,
The realization of national hope,
The establishment of an eternal kingdom.

When the angel explained God’s miraculous plan,
Her response became the model of discipleship:
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
Let it be to me according to your word.”

No negotiation, no hesitation,
No list of conditions or concerns,
Just simple, profound surrender
To the disruptive, inconvenient, glorious will of God.

The promise to Mary reveals the pattern of God’s work:
He chooses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible.
He invites ordinary people into His extraordinary story.
He asks for surrender before revealing all details.

Mary could not have imagined all that would follow—
The suspicious glances, the difficult explanations,
The journey to Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt,
The years of mothering the Messiah,
The ultimate agony of watching Him die.

Yet in her simple “yes,” she changed history,
Becoming the vessel through which God entered humanity,
The first to physically carry the promise
That prophets had spoken of for centuries.

The God who spoke through Gabriel still speaks today,
Still chooses unlikely people for unlikely missions,
Still accomplishes the impossible through the willing.

The question is not whether you are qualified or prepared,
But whether, like Mary, you are willing to say,
“Let it be to me according to your word.”

The Promise Foretold

By Paula Wiseman

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

In the darkest of times, God speaks of light.
When hope seems most distant, promises draw near.
When circumstances appear bleakest, prophecy shines brightest.
This is the pattern of God’s revelation throughout history.

Isaiah’s words came to a people walking in darkness,
A nation under threat, a kingdom facing enemies,
A people who had turned from their God,
Who had forgotten their calling, who had lost their way.

Yet in this moment of impending darkness, a promise was given.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given”—
Not a mighty warrior arriving on a warhorse,
Not a political revolutionary with weapons drawn,
But a child, a son, a vulnerable infant.

God’s answer to humanity’s greatest problems
Would come not through overwhelming force,
Not through political maneuvering or military might,
But through the miracle of birth, the gift of a child.

Yet this would be no ordinary child,
As his four extraordinary names reveal:

“Wonderful Counselor”—
Not just wise, but wonderfully wise,
Not just insightful, but supernaturally discerning,
The embodiment of perfect wisdom and guidance.

“Mighty God”—
Not just godly, but God Himself,
Not just powerful, but omnipotent,
The Creator stepping into His creation.

“Everlasting Father”—
Not just paternal, but eternally caring,
Not just protective, but infinitely loving,
The timeless one entering time for His children.

“Prince of Peace”—
Not just peaceful, but the source of all peace,
Not just a negotiator of treaties, but the reconciler of heaven and earth,
The one who would make peace through the blood of His cross.

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end”—
Not a temporary solution to temporary problems,
Not a fleeting moment of respite from trouble,
But an ever-expanding, never-ending reign of peace.

“On the throne of David and over his kingdom”—
Fulfilling the covenant promise made to David,
Establishing the kingdom that would never end,
Bringing to fruition the hopes of generations.

“To establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness”—
Not through corruption or compromise,
Not through oppression or favoritism,
But through perfect justice and complete righteousness.

“From this time forth and forevermore”—
Not for a season or a generation,
Not for a dynasty or an era,
But for all time and beyond time itself.

For seven hundred years, this promise echoed,
Passed down through generations,
Whispered in times of oppression,
Proclaimed in moments of national crisis.

Through Babylonian exile and Persian rule,
Through Greek influence and Roman occupation,
The people of God clung to this promise,
Waiting for the child who would be called Wonderful Counselor.

Some misunderstood the promise,
Expecting a political deliverer only,
Anticipating freedom from Rome but not from sin,
Looking for an earthly kingdom rather than an eternal one.

Others forgot the promise entirely,
Lost in the daily struggle for survival,
Focused on religious observance without expectation,
No longer watching for the fulfillment of ancient words.

As we enter the Advent season,
We join this ancient tradition of waiting,
Of holding onto promises not yet fully realized,
Of believing that God’s word will not return void.

We, too, live in dark times,
Facing personal struggles and global challenges,
Witnessing injustice and experiencing pain,
Sometimes wondering if God has forgotten His promises.

Yet the prophecy reminds us that God works in unexpected ways,
That His timeline is not our timeline,
That His methods are not our methods,
That His promises find fulfillment in His perfect timing.

The promise foretold is the promise fulfilled—
Not just in history, but in our hearts,
Not just at Christmas, but in every moment we invite
The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
To reign in our lives and in our world.

Encounters with Jesus: The Thief

By Paula Wiseman

“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'” – Luke 23:43 (ESV)

I deserved to be there.
Let that be clear from the beginning—
I was no innocent man wrongly condemned,
No victim of circumstance or injustice.

But on that hill called Golgotha,
I found myself crucified alongside a different kind of man.
Jesus of Nazareth—I had heard of him,
Though I had never sought him out.

At first, I joined the chorus of mockery:
“Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
Words thrown like stones at the man beside me,
Bitter challenges born of pain and despair.

But as the hours passed on that dark day,
I watched him, this Jesus, this supposed criminal,
And saw something I had never witnessed before.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

When my companion continued his mockery,
Something rose within me—not anger, but indignation,
Not bitterness, but a strange, new clarity,
As if scales had fallen from my dying eyes.

“Do you not fear God,” I rebuked him,
“Since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
But this man has done nothing wrong.”

With my last breaths and my newfound faith,
I turned to him with the most audacious request:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

His response exceeded all possible expectations:
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Today—not some distant future,
Not after centuries of punishment or purification,
But this very day, within hours,
My suffering would end and Paradise would begin.

With me—not separated from him,
Not relegated to some lesser place,
But in his very presence,
Companion not just in death but in what follows.

In Paradise—not oblivion, not merely rest,
But a garden of delight, a place of beauty,
The dwelling place of God himself,
The kingdom I had only just begun to glimpse.

Mine was the briefest discipleship in history—
No time to learn his teachings,
No opportunity to follow his example,
No chance to serve his mission.

I brought him nothing but my dying faith,
Offered nothing but my last-minute recognition,
Contributed nothing to his kingdom or his cause,
Had nothing to give but my broken, sinful self.

Yet he accepted me, promised me Paradise,
Assured me of his presence beyond death,
Granted me not just forgiveness but fellowship,
Not just mercy but membership in his kingdom.

The Challenge

Perhaps you, like me, have wasted much of your life,
Have taken wrong turns and made destructive choices,
Have lived in rebellion rather than submission,
Have come to the end of yourself with nothing to show.

Perhaps you, like me, are facing your own kind of cross—
Not necessarily death, but the painful consequences
Of your choices, your sins, your rebellion,
The just reward of your deeds.

Hear the good news from a dying thief:
It is never too late to turn to Jesus.
Your final chapter has not yet been written.
Your story can still end in Paradise.

The same Jesus who heard my desperate request
Hears your prayers today.
The same Jesus who promised me his presence
Offers you his companionship now and forever.
The same Jesus who saw faith in my dying moments
Sees your heart in this very moment.

Will you, like me, recognize who he truly is?
Will you acknowledge your guilt and his innocence?
Will you make the same audacious request:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”?

For his promise still stands across the centuries:
Today—not after you’ve improved yourself,
Not when you’ve earned it or deserved it,
But today, this very moment—
You can be with him in Paradise.