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Jesus is Here Forever – Lucy Adams
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I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, …so that Christ may dwell in my heart by faith. Ephesians 3:14, 17

The small department store was not the best shopping place in town but there was a special reason we visited it each Christmas. There was a life-size make-believe Santa rocking in a chair who spouted a jolly “Ho Ho Ho” as folks walked past.

But the sad look on the face of my young son, Ben, at the end of December made my own heart ache. His first question as we walked the sidewalk past the spot Santa had adorned was, “Where is he?” The store manager heard Ben’s question.

His words of assurance didn’t help much, but it was kind of him to pat Ben on the shoulder and say, “Oh, he’ll be back next Christmas.”                                                  
That afternoon when we returned home, I began to put away the manger scene and other decorations.

“Penny for your thoughts,” I said to Ben. As I carefully wrapped the baby Jesus, I wondered what he was thinking.

“Will baby Jesus be back next year?”

When we pack away the decorations after Christmas, it’s the perfect time to teach our children Jesus is not going away. What better time to express how He continues to live in our home and in our hearts forever.

Whether he has been born anew within or whether we have rededicated our lives to a deeper Christian walk, we are assured of having a living Jesus who never leaves our side. Take hold of His promise.

PRAYER: Oh Father, we thank You for Jesus’ birth. May His presence be our guiding light. May our faith be radiant and proclaim our acceptance of Your greatest Gift to us.

Lucy Neeley Adams is an author who lives in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. She has written articles in numerous publications. Her book with Abingdon Press, 52 Hymn Story Devotions is ideal for anyone who enjoys hymns and leads devotions at church meetings, choir rehearsals, and Sunday school. www.52hymns.com

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Weeping Can Lead to Joy – Lucy Adams
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Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

I dreaded to wake my children for Sunday school because I had to tell them such sad news. One of our teenage friends had been killed in a tragic automobile accident during our night time sleep.

In those early morning hours when I could not return to sleep but was bathed in tears, I turned to my Bible. In the shock and sadness I looked up the familiar scene we often read when Jesus wept. Those two words are truly beautiful as we see the human side of our Lord who loved Lazarus who had died. “Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how much He loved Him.’”

Soon He rejoiced because God raised His friend, but earlier He had expressed emotions of grief common to us all. So with that faith my broken heart began to heal and I thanked God for my freedom to shed tears of compassion and love.

When early morning dawned and it was time to wake my sons, I had a renewed strength. Yes, they cried at the news. Yes, I cried with them. Yes, it was a moment of deep love and compassion for the one we would miss but also for my two sons who were safe and secure in my arms.

So I also cried for Marie, the lovely mother who would not get to hold her son anymore. But she was a member of our church so I could reach out to her many times with a listening heart and prayers for her strength through grief.

Through the years as my sons have grown to be fine men, we remember the times of tears. They were not always about the natural grief when a friend was very ill or had died in an accident. There were times of misdeeds, wrong choices, sins of the flesh, and fear of consequences.

My tears flowed freely at those times of course, but as they grew in their Christian faith, they too often let those sorrows fall down their cheeks in tears of repentance. Our family ties are strengthened when we can feel together, cry together, and grow in dynamic love.

Lord, Jesus, you have set us a glorious example to live the life of the overcomer. Thank you also for the real life of feeling and your expressions of caring tears that you shed. Thank you that we can expereience that same intensity of caring within our birth families.

Lucy Neeley Adams is an author who lives in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. She has written articles in numerous publications. Her book with Abingdon Press, 52 Hymn Story Devotions is ideal for anyone who enjoys hymns and leads devotions at church meetings, choir rehearsals, and Sunday school. www.52hymns.com

Read Lucy’s devotions.
Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Sparrows are Important – Lucy Adams
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Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Luke 12:6

Ever wonder why our Lord chose such a common little bird to illustrate such a profound truth? All that God created has a purpose and is precious in His sight. When Jesus spoke one day to many people, he questioned the listeners: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.

Similar thoughts were expressed in a conversation that Mrs. Civilla Martin had in 1904 while visiting a sick friend. Because her friend was bedridden, she lamented to Mrs. Martin that sometimes she got discouraged. But when she remembered that her Heavenly Father watched over each little sparrow, He would certainly watch over her.

Mrs. Martin was a poet and knew that this was a perfect subject for her writing. She began to jot down ideas. With great inspiration, the text of “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” was completed by the end of the day. The chorus begins this way:

“I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

The entire poem was sent to a well-known composer of that day, Charles Gabriel. His lovely music has carried it all around the world in small churches and great crusades. Ethel Waters is remembered for her great rendition of this song, when she sang and gave her testimony at many Billy Graham Crusades.

Civilla Martin was born in Nova Scotia in 1866. Her husband was an evangelist who traveled all over the world. She accompanied him and they worked together on most of the musical arrangements that were sung. The purposes of God were heard through the sermons and in the music.

Therefore, when we sing this heartfelt hymn, we can rejoice in the affirmation:

“His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.”

We stand in awe of the work of God’s fingers and the breath of His Spirit. From the tiniest to the largest, He has created all things. Human beings and the little sparrow are part of His miraculous handiwork. He speaks to us all…from the man on the street to  an invalid in a bed, and to all of us who yearn for more of Him in our lives.

God is watching over us, loving us and guiding each step we take. May we be completely surrendered to His  guidance, as are the birds of the air.

Lucy Neeley Adams is an author who lives in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. She has written articles in numerous publications. Her book with Abingdon Press, 52 Hymn Story Devotions is ideal for anyone who enjoys hymns and leads devotions at church meetings, choir rehearsals, and Sunday school. www.52hymns.com Read Lucy’s devotions

Cold Heart – Lucy Adams
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I am the vine , you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (RSV)

Campfires seem crazy during summer months, unless I have hiked into the high mountains. Our family was overcome with the cold during the night of a camping trip and quickly sent the children to gather sticks for a warming fire. They brought a variety of twigs and sticks and it didn’t take long to discover the types of wood that made the best fire.

Sticks that are on the ground or limbs that are dead but still loosely cling to the tree are best for starting fires. Dead and dry ones burn quickly. The branches that are a living part of the tree are too difficult to gather. They cling to the bush or tree because they are moist with life.

John tells us that Jesus spoke of my life as a branch, therefore, I see a vital truth for me in the campfire. I also become spiritually dry and dead—my heart cold and calloused, if I lose a living relationship with my Lord and Savior. However, I can choose to live close to Him and not be pulled away by negative forces. Praise God, I can stay alive with His spirit flowing through my heart.

When your heart feels cold, light the fire of life. Call on Him.

Dear God, forgive me when I yield to the temptations of the world that pull me away from the Source of life. I yearn for Your life to flow through me. In Jesus name. Amen.


Lucy Neeley Adams is an author who lives in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. She has written articles in numerous publications. Her book with Abingdon Press, 52 Hymn Story Devotions is ideal for anyone who enjoys hymns and leads devotions at church meetings, choir rehearsals, and Sunday school. www.52hymns.com Read Lucy’s devotions