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Author page: Coty Pinckney

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Coty Pinckney

506 articles published

Who is This Baby?

Blog, DevotionsDecember 11, 2008

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

Child of the stable's secret birth The Lord by right of the lords of earth Let angels sing of a king newborn The world is weaving a crown of thorn A crown of thorn for that infant head Cradled soft in a manger bed.

Eyes that shine in the lantern's ray; A face so small in its nest of hay - Face of a child who is born to scan The world of men through the eyes of man: And from that face in the final day Heaven and earth shall flee away.

By Timothy Dudley Smith, © Hope Publishing Company, 1983

At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Since we all love babies, it is easy for us to love the Baby Jesus. He is cute. He is fat. He is cuddly.

But babies don‘t start out cute and cuddly. And Jesus, indeed, was a real human baby, born in the normal human way: Mary began to have contractions; her water broke; she felt overwhelmed by the process going on inside her body; her back hurt; there was pain and effort and sweat and pushing and stretching and burning – and then, finally, amazingly, this new little creature came forth from her body: a new creature covered with mucous and amniotic fluid and blood and vernix – hair (if any) plastered to his head; that head possibly misshapen from hours of pushing, his skin bluish in color until the first breath, and first cry. Mary gave birth – and the baby, Jesus, came into this world just as you and I, through His mother’s strong efforts: bloody, slippery – and yet beautiful.

As you see pictures this season of a clean and comfortable Baby Jesus, remember His humanity. Jesus was a baby who soiled himself, spit up, cried when He was hungry; He was completely dependent upon his parents for meeting His every need. He could do nothing for himself. With His little hands, he grasped fingers held out to Him. He couldn’t communicate at first except by crying. He took months to learn to crawl, and more months to learn to walk, and to speak. Jesus was a normal, lovable human baby.

But Jesus did not remain lovable to many.

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Open Your Mouth Wide

Blog, DevotionsDecember 4, 2008

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

For the last month we’ve had the blessing of having three children five and under living with us. Isabelle (5), Ezra (2), and Levi (6 months) have reminded us of the joys and challenges that were such a big part of our lives when our six children were young.

In particular, we’ve had the opportunity of feeding little ones. Levi, of course, needs the most help. But not because of lack of appetite! He is a tremendous eater. When the spoon stops coming because his plate is temporarily empty, Levi registers his disapproval in no uncertain terms. He feels hungry. He wants to satisfy that hunger. So he opens his mouth wide, again and again and again. He loves to eat.

Some little ones aren’t like Levi. They’re hungry, and accordingly fussy. They sit in their chair, crying because of hunger, but they keep their lips and teeth pressed tight together. They won’t open their mouths.

In Psalm 81:10, God instructs His people to be like Levi. He says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Just like Levi, we are to long for that spoon full of digestible goodies to enter our mouths; just like Levi, we are to close our lips around that spoon and savor its sustenance; just like Levi, we are then to open our mouths wide once again, and long for the next spoonful.

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Why Give Thanks?

Blog, DevotionsNovember 22, 2008
(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

What does the Bible tell us about thanksgiving?

Not about the American holiday. Not about pumpkins and Indian corn and turkeys. But about the giving of thanks to God. How does the Bible emphasize the importance of giving thanks? When are we to give thanks? To what end? For what reasons? In what manner should we give thanks?

In preparation for the holiday, I read all the verses of Scripture that contain the words “thank,” “thanks,” or “thanksgiving.” I encourage you to read a subset of these verses, available online at this link. Here are a few key verses to answer these questions:

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The Desire for Selfish Gain

Blog, DevotionsNovember 15, 2008

What does your heart go after? What does your heart desire?

Our hearts naturally desire abundance, ease, and security. Indeed, the candidates for various offices in this fall’s election all tried to attract our votes by claiming that they – and not their opponents – would be best for our pocketbooks. And such appeals work.

The psalmist warns us against these natural desires:

Psalm 119:36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!

There is an inherent trade-off between having a heart inclined toward God and His Word, and a heart inclined toward the things of this world. The two are like oil and water. They may be mixed for a brief period of time, as the Holy Spirit works within us. But in the end, one will come out on top.

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Forget Not All His Benefits

Blog, DevotionsNovember 7, 2008
(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

David writes in Psalm 103:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits

Pray with me as I recount some of those benefits:

  • I praise You, Lord, for though I deserve your wrath and judgment, instead in Christ I have forgiveness for all my iniquities.
  • I praise You that Your love and mercy follow me all the days of my life.
  • I praise You for giving me health and energy – all the health and energy I need to fulfill Your plans for me. In particular, I thank You for the physical ability to go out for a run on this brilliant autumn day.
  • I praise You that You work justice for all the oppressed – that You will eventually right all wrongs, that You will eventually see that perfect justice is done. In the present, Lord, I thank You that it is possible today for a man to be elected President of this country who only a few decades ago would not have been allowed to sit next to me at a lunch counter in this city.

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