A Daily Devotion for Wednesday, Dec. 17
- ontrakk
- Dec 17, 2025
- 2 min read
John 14:1-6
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Back when my children were small, I remember being afraid of death. I think that at some level I sensed how difficult it would be on our young family if I were to be taken out of the picture. I don’t think this was my ego speaking, but just that pure love of a mother for her brood and her husband. But I was also afraid of what death would be like. Was there really a heaven waiting for me, with Jesus at the door? This verse was my “proof” that there is a heaven, and it is with Jesus. Now I don’t really fear death. I am thankful that we can gather as a family and enjoy this beautiful holiday. There are several people I work with who are facing their first Christmas without their loved one. My heart is with them this season.
Holy Lord, please comfort those who are grieving this Christmas season. May I shine your light and help to ease some of that sadness, if at all possible. I will keep my eyes open for opportunities. Amen
Becky, transforming
Pic by Kay
DAILY DEVOTIONS
(Upper roommate)
December17th,2025
Untimely Grief
(Focus: those grieving at Christmas
John 14:2
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
In a world of uncertainty and broken trust, the promise of a permanent dwelling place in God's presence serves as a goal to strive for. . The "many rooms" (or dwelling places) signify ample, secure, and permanent space for all who believe, not a place of material wealth, but a place of eternal rest and joy with God. Jesus wants us to know that we will dwell and remain with God—whatever the specific living arrangements of heaven will be like.…
John 14:1-6. Untimely grief
Death is alway difficult, but more so during the Christmas season when we are full of anticipation and joy. I had only been married a little more than a year when my Dad died during the first week of December. He suffered a massive stroke at only 50 years old. I remember little about Christmas that year, except the gift my Dad had already bought and wrapped for me. A powder blue portable radio. To add to our grief, my college roommate lost her father the net week during heart surgery. And then three days before Christmas my best friend's brother was killed in an auto accident. I will admit I RAGED at God and quest…
John 14:1-6
This passage (John’s gospel in its entirety, really) refutes any and all modern theological nonsense that Jesus was a great teacher and moral example, but was not divine. If this were so, Jesus would not be a moral example at all, but a lying con man or raving lunatic. He told His disciples of eternal life in a specific place prepared specifically for us and to which He will come back and take us. He adds an exclamation point - “if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” If John Wesley, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, the Pope or some other theological giant uttered these words…
John 14:1-6
The Upper Room reading today brings back a Christmas memory, 1992 to be exact. My father-in-law passed away suddenly on December 16th. My husband and I along with our two very young children left immediately to be with my husband’s mom and brother, Florida to Ohio by car. We returned home on Christmas Eve in time to meet my brother and sister-in-law who were coming to Florida from New York to celebrate Christmas with us. Being a procrastinator of sorts, nearly all planned gifts had not been purchased but we made due and ended having a wonderful Christmas focusing on the gift of Jesus instead of gifts from the store. As my dear father-in-law was welcomed into his…