Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.
He is Here!: 25 Days Of Christmas Devotions
By: Browning Montgomery Wood
Publication: August 1, 2022 by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc
80 pages
Genre: Holiday, Christmas, Seasonal, Christian, Devotion
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)
( Goodreads | Amazon )
*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.
Description--This story would change the world like no other. An unknown woman, in an unknown village would give birth to a seemingly unknown and insignificant son, but this event would interrupt time like nothing has before it and nothing has since. After 21 centuries His name is still known around the world. His influence is unmatched, and the writings surrounding his birth, his life and his message fill libraries around the world! His birth and the message that came with it is a point of dispute to this day. This is certain though, prophets, priests, and kings for thousands of years and hundreds of generations have longed to see this day arrive. It is Christmas, and He is Here!
I've been reading devotions to my children at bedtime for a few years. But I've never done a Christmas-focused one and the timing looked like it was going to work out for me to be able to do He's Here! with my children during the Christmas season. Right off the bad, I knew we wouldn't finish the book within the 25 days because my husband puts them to bed every other night. At first, I thought I would double up and read two devotions a night to finish by Christmas, but I soon realized that would not work for my middle child who struggles with his attention span.
The cover of He's Here! pulled me in, but I also immediately thought "children's devotion." Granted, I could have been projecting because that was what I was looking for. But I can't find anywhere that specifically states the target audience age for this devotion. That being said, I did think a few of the devotions were above my children's level. So maybe this is for older children or adults. I'm unsure since I haven't seen anything on Goodreads, Amazon, or Edelweiss that specifically states an age range.
I did enjoy He's Here! as a devotion. The introduction says the author, Browning Montgomery Wood, wants the reader to look at Christmas in a new way. I can't say that I did that. I can't say that there were any new revelations for me within this devotion. My children didn't have any questions, and no questions were included for me to prompt them. (I'm not great about asking questions to provoke thinking.) Although, I did highlight a few quotes that I particularly liked.
Favorite quote:
-She will nurse God at her breast--He who has always brought forth the bounty of earth's supply (Psalm 145). She will clothe God--He who is robed in the stars and the sun (Psalm 104). She will change God's linens--He who has cleaned up after the sin and filth of mankind and His people for ages past (2 Chronicles 7:14). She will sing to God--the Lord who sings over us, the song of salvation (Zephaniah 3:17). Yes, indeed, grace has come to Mary...she is about to be the mother of God.
My favorite devotions were: "He's Popping Up Everywhere!" and "Wonderful Counselor."
Now, I did have one big issue with this devotion, and that's the last one "Be Born in Me!" Browning Montgomery Wood spends the entire day's devotion leading up to telling the reader how to be saved, how to be "born again". And she falls short. She does a great job laying things out. She explains Jesus's purpose: to save, not condemn (John 3:17). She lays out the problem: "We are all spiritually dead because of our sin and trespasses" (Ephesians 2:1). She includes passages. John 10:10 highlights that Jesus came to give abundant life. She rightly shows that Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again (John 3:3). She directs the reader to Romans to walk through the understanding of how to be born again. Romans 3:23 rightly shows us that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 rightly shows us that the price of sin is death--which is separation from God. Romans 5:8 shows that Christ paid the debt for us which we couldn't do for ourselves because we're sinners. And here's the problem. She skips over the rest of Romans chapter 6 which talks about being buried with Christ through baptism into His death and being raised from dead by the glory of the Father, so that we should also walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4). She skipped all of that and jumped over to Romans 10:9-10 which talks about confessing Jesus. Scripture must harmonize. You can't pick and choose verses to apply and ones that do not. You can't skip verses like Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21 and say that all you have to do is believe and confess. The "accept Jesus into your heart as your personal savior"...the "just pray this prayer and you're saved" gospel falls short. It doesn't harmonize the entirety of Scripture to give someone a full understanding. Thus, I had to edit while reading this one to my kids--which wasn't too hard to do. But it breaks my heart that some readers out there don't know Scripture enough to know that. It's misleading. I'm not trying to judge her heart. At the same time, it's imperative to read Scripture for yourself and not trust the word of an individual. It's up to each person to work out their own salvation (Philippians 2:12) meaning each person is responsible for their own salvation and can't blame someone else for teaching them false doctrine.
In the end He's Here wasn't exactly what I was looking for. I'd hoped to have a Christmas-focused devotion for my children ages 7-9. Some of the devotions were a little over their understanding. And I felt discouraged that the last day's devotion short-changed the truth of Scripture and excluded baptism from the steps necessary for salvation. Because of that, I'm giving He's Here!: 25 Days of Christmas Devotions 4 Stars. Have you read He's Here!? What did you think? Let me know!
