Christmas Carp: God Uses Rejects

DEC 12 / Sunday – Overview  | 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Christmas foods can do more than add to our waistline – they can help us see what God was doing back then, and what God is doing today.

13 / Mon – You eat what?!  |  Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Carp is one of the most despised fish in Minnesota but in some European countries, it is a prized centerpiece of the Christmas meal. They value what we reject. This is exactly what our amazing God does. Read these scriptures again and let it sink in. Why would God choose to do something like this? (See v. 29) If you have ever felt rejected, left out, overlooked, this good news is for you!

14 / Tue – Unexpected world-changers  |  Read Luke 1:46-55 / John 1:45-46

The Christmas story is filled with people that society had rejected: shepherds (one of the least respected jobs of the day), Mary-an unwed pregnant teen, Joseph-a poor working stiff. Their town was a joke to surrounding communities. Their baby was born in a place that housed animals in a tiny town far from home. And they were Jewish, one of the most rejected people groups in history. However, you know the rest of the story. God used them all to change the world!

15 / Wed – Four famous women  |  Read Matthew 1:3, 5, 16

Women were often seen as less than men in the ancient world, so it is striking that four women are mentioned in Jesus’ geneaology: Tamar, a widow who tricked Judah and slept with him in order to have a child; Rahab, a Caananite prostitute who protected the Jewish spies sent to her city; Ruth, a foreigner who married a Jew; and Bathsheba, who committed adultery with King David. God had included those whom others would have rejected. Are there any ‘rejects’ God has used in your life?

16 / Thu – An unlikely evangelist  |  Read John 4:3-26 and 42

She was so immoral the women of her Samaritan community rejected her. Seeing a Jewish man at the well that afternoon was startling, but when he spoke to her of eternal life, she became cynical and even argumentative. Her people were despised by the Jews. Yet she was the first one outside his disciples to whom Jesus clearly revealed himself as the Messiah (v. 26). Do you know someone like her? Do not underestimate how God could use such a person to bring others to Christ.

17 / Fri – A rejected Savior  |  Read Luke 9:22

You would think that the Jews would have welcomed Jesus with open arms. They had centuries of prophecies describing his coming. Their traditions reflected their hope of the Messiah’s arrival. But they rejected Jesus because he was from a poor family, he had no military ambition, and he taught about a spiritual kingdom instead of a geo-political one. Do you miss seeing God at work, like they did, because they were blinded by their preconceptions? Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes.

18 / Sat – No mere mortals  |  Read Matthew 25:37-40

C. S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal and their life is to ours like the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit…next to Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object to your senses.” Will you ask God to help you see those around you differently? Then seize every opportunity to show their value and worth.