Step 12:   Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the steps,
we tried to carry this message to others and to practice
these principles in all our affairs.

December 21

Recommended reading: Isaiah 55, 61, 66

Again, let me encourage you to ditch whatever I have to say, and read Isaiah. Pay close attention to what the prophet has to say about the future. Does anything in this message surprise you?

Thought for today: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:7-8 (NIV)

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:1-3

Thought for tomorrow: With all the feasting that this holy season brings, the mangers, the Christmas Eve Services, the caroling, the special candles—much of it centered on the birth of Christ—let’s not forget that he was also a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. I trust that part of your spiritual awakening involves a growing awareness that all that glitters is not gold. No one has the “perfect” Norman Rockwell family. My prayer is that you will use your tools to approach this holiday season without expectations and dreams of fantasy families. I’m asking God to remind each of us that the baby in the manger looks cute with a couple thousand years to edit the experience, throw some tinsel on it, and turn it into a Hollywood production. Brush past the trappings in your life, and look for the real deal. You will find it as you carry your message and practice the principles you’ve been learning!

December 21
Teresa McBean

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