Revelation 1:5-6 (NIV) 5
…To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has
made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be
glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
How did you do through December and the Christmas
season—with all that shopping, cleaning, and getting those Christmas
decorations up? Did it go smoothly? In case you stressed, at least one company
is trying to help. You just have to move to England to get their help. Tesco, a
British supermarket company, posted the following ad for a new job—a Christmas
Light Untangler:
“Tesco is advertising a vacancy for what is thought
to be Britain’s first professional Christmas tree lights untangler. The ideal
candidate should be persistent and patient and able to untangle three metres of
Christmas lights in less than three minutes. The successful applicant will be
based at a store in Wrexham, north Wales, where they can expect to untangle up
to 60 sets of lights a day for frustrated customers. To help locals enjoy the
festive season and relieve some of the stresses often associated with the
yuletide season – specifically tangled tree lights – Tesco has launched a
search for someone who can conquer one of the most frustrating jobs of
Christmas. The position will require a friendly, helpful demeanor, oodles of
patience and of course, the innate knack to be able to untangle even the most
scrambled of wires. The ideal candidate should be passionate about Christmas. The
service will be free to customers and offered on a first come, first served
basis.”
Wouldn’t it be great to be known as
“the Untangler” where you live? Everybody in town calls you that. It’s your nickname.
You get a reputation over time for caring for and helping people solve problems
in a non-intrusive way, no matter how big or small they are. People learn that
they can come to you any time and find help when they’re down, or when they
face difficult situations of life. You always seem to have time. You’re a good
listener. You give really good advice. You have great ideas that make a
practical difference. You don’t judge. You are kind and considerate.
People all around have tons of
problems and they do and say many things that tie their lives up in knots. Some
of their circumstances are like nasty knots – hardened and tight and so
difficult to deal with. If you ever had to bring a shoe helplessly to your mom
because you just couldn’t get the know out, then you have an idea of the frustration
people can have with their problems. This doesn’t mean we have a right to
become meddlers, but we can be “untanglers” when invited. We can help them find
solutions and get the help they need. We typically cannot fix their problems
for them, be we can help them “de-clutter”, set priorities, and commit to do
“the next thing”.
We can bring
the Word of God to people and pray with them. Christ is the great untangler. He
has extricated us from the mess that sin produces in our lives. There is no
knot of sin that grace cannot untie. The Gospel frees us from those bonds in
which we had been kept like slaves. May the Lord pour out His grace upon us,
and may we minister grace to one another. AMEN.
Psalm 18:1-6 (NIV) 1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my
deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the
horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am
saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death entangled
me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The
cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 6
In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came
before him, into his ears.
Psalm 116:16 (NIV) O LORD,
truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you
have freed me from my chains.
Psalm 129:4 (NIV) But the LORD
is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.
Mark 5:31-34 (NIV) 31 "You see the people crowding against
you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched
me?'" 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who
had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had
happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him
the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter,
your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
PRAYER: Father, thank you for delivering me from the
cords of sin. Let me minister to others as Jesus has ministered grace to us. In
His name, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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