Devotionals by Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.
A GLIMMER IN THE DARK
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse of utter destruction. »
MARY BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ -Luke 1:38 She was a major part of the incarnation. After the baby who was called Immanuel, meaning “God with us, truly God in flesh, Mary was THE central part. »
MARY GIVES BIRTH
“And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. -Luke 2:7 It was the most important birth ever! Mary had traveled a lot of miles in this journey even »
MARY AS MOTHER
“And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. -Luke 2:51 Mary had much more to ponder than most mothers. After all, she was the only virgin out of all mothers to conceive »
ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.’ -Luke 2:13-14 Can you picture the fictionalized “angels of Director Aronofsky’s movie Noah appearing to the shepherds »
CHRISTMAS POVERTY
“For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. -Matthew 26:11 Perhaps Christmas is a day your mind is focused on family rather than the poor; then again, maybe you really are thinking of the poor and serving them on a day like today. »
THE MYSTERIOUS MAGI
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, 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. »
ETERNITY IN THE NEW YEAR?
“But these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. -Matthew 25:46 Eternity, for all the sure promises of our future home, is a great unknown for us mortals; the Bible says it is “beyond imagination. Nevertheless, for all our yearnings for the return of the »
WHISPERS IN DARKNESS
“Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness, not light – pitch dark, without a ray of brightness? -Amos 5:20 You and I have a tendency to look at a new year with expectations. Those expectations are affected by what is going on in our lives today, as well »
WHO PIERCED HIM?
“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, 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. ‘Look, He is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every »
MOST EXCELLENT THEOPHIL
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some »
THE OLDER BROTHER
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Him. And the Pharisees and the Scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So He told them this parable… -Luke 15 The Parable of the Prodigal Son, recorded in Luke 15, is remembered by most »
