We're so excited that you're joining us on our Christmas Reading Plan!
Be sure to come back to this post to see our devotionals and to get the most out of the reading each day.
Reading Plan:
The devotionals for each day of the Christmas Reading Plan will be down below. You can scroll down until you find the correct day, or you can simply click the date of the desired devotional above!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Welcome to day 1 of our Christmas Reading Plan!
As we dive into this Christmas season, it's important that we keep the right things in focus. It's so easy to get caught up in this or that, wrapping paper, gifts, decorations, spending time with family, cooking, eating, the list goes on and on.
And I'm sure at this point you're tired of hearing that Jesus is the reason for the season, and you're tired of hearing that we need to remember what's important, right?
Wrong!
We can't get tired of being reminded of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It's incredibly easy for us to brush Him aside, or to forget about the amazing grace we've been given, or to take the fact that we have an opportunity to be adopted by the creator of the universe for granted. That's why I'm so glad I was given these first few verses from John to talk about, because they are vitally important.
Take a minute and read that first paragraph of the verse again.
And again.
Through Him all things were made, in Him is life, I mean come on! That's good, weighty stuff right there, and it's easy for us to brush over it, but just for the next 10 minutes as you read and pray, let's try not to rush. Really read over each word, really let what the Bible is saying seep into your mind.
Now let's read the second paragraph.
Again.
The Word became flesh, God became flesh! God, the ruler of all creation, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, chooses to appear to us, His creation, and live among us! The Greek word there literally means the Word "pitched his tent" among us. For Greek-speaking Jews, this word would call to mind the tabernacle in the Old Testament. In this short verse John is saying that God himself is choosing now to dwell among us, not in a specific place (like the OT tabernacle) or far off in heaven, but in our very midst, accessible to everyone.
Now the third paragraph. Slowly!
D.A. Carson said it best - this "prologue" to the book of John "summarizes how the ‘Word’ which was with God in the very beginning came into the sphere of time, history, tangibility—in other words, how the Son of God was sent into the world to become the Jesus of history, so that the glory and grace of God might be uniquely and perfectly disclosed. The rest of the book is nothing other than an expansion of this theme."
In 1:1–5, John traces his account of Jesus farther back than the beginning of His ministry, farther back than the virgin birth, farther back even than the creation. The account reaches all the way back to the eternal, divine Word, God’s agent in creation and the fount of life and light.
As we celebrate Christmas, as we begin our new year, and as we continue on for the rest of our lives, I pray that we will always have a sense of awe and wonder at the truly miraculous event that was Jesus. God coming to earth, entering human history, taking on the form of a servant, being beaten and despised and mocked, and still giving us grace, out of His fullness.
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
Luke’s account begins in a time of silence. In fact, it had been 400 years since the last prophet had spoken in the name of the Lord. The Jews believed that the Holy Spirit had not been active in this time and that God was silent.
We all at some point have felt like God is silent or not present in our lives. There are times when we so desperately want God to move and speak but hear nothing. It is hard to imagine 400 years of silence. Imagine how the people felt, a once relational and vocal God was seemingly quiet. There must have been deep cries of pain and hopelessness.
Yet God was moving; God was working.
The Christmas story opens in this silence through a priest and his barren wife. In it, we see a glimpse of God’s plan. God’s plan for Jesus, the Savior, was never an afterthought. From Genesis to the present day, Jesus' birth, life, and death was always the plan. There are so many great details, divinely planned that paved the way. God’s apparent silence was quiet workings to the plan of the Savior. With great honor, He uses us ordinary people, sinners in need of grace, to accomplish his plan.
In this passage, we see God do just that. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, he set the tone and foundation. These verses introduce us to his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth. “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” (Luke 1:6).
This is a picture of faithful followers of God, they followed His commands and were obedient. Now, they did not do this because things were going well, remember, God was believed to be silent. Further, they were childless, which brought along shame and deep heartbreak. Despite their circumstances, they still trusted God and followed Him. They easily could have said, “God, you are silent, you have not blessed us, why?” They could have given up in the hard season. Yet, they were faithful and obedient. God blessed them with a child, a child that set the stage for Jesus. A child that they devoted to God. For God’s plans were far better than what they could have imagined.
This is a beautiful picture of what we should strive for: that when we feel God is silent, in deep pain, in hopelessness, in the unknown, we can trust God. That God is moving and working beyond what we can comprehend. That God is a God of promises...promises that He will keep. Jesus did not come in the way the Jews expected, and often God’s plan for us is not at all what we expect. But it is better because we have a Father we can trust, a Father we can hope for.
In this season, hope in the God of promises, hope in the faithful Father, whose character is trustworthy.
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
God sees Zechariah and Elizabeth’s faithfulness.
Zechariah may not have had the greatest faith (even in the face of angelic visitation), but he was faithful. God meets us on the road to faithfulness. This vision came to Zechariah as he was doing what he was asked to do. It would have been easy for this couple to give up along the way through all the disappointments. But they kept being faithful.
As for you, keep praying. Keep serving. Keep witnessing. Keep giving. I am not telling you that the Angel Gabriel is going to appear to you, but I am saying the road of faithfulness is where your answers are going to come.
There is so much in this story today of God’s perfect timing. It reminds me of what Paul says to us in Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
If we do the ordinary stuff with an eye to God’s Kingdom and glory, God will do the extraordinary. Sometimes we feel like we need to produce the “wow factor.” That is God’s department. Our part is faithfulness.
As I focus on growing in my faith more intentionally, especially the last 8-9 years, the Christmas holiday has become an even more focused time on the true reason for joy (that would be Jesus). We can grow closer to God in our faith walk and relationship with Christ all year long, but if we are honest, the holiday seasons like Christmas and Easter are a special time for so many people. They often open a different mindset or an introspective time for our lives, and what we are living for.
The next few verses always help me this time of year to remember the reason for the season and my part in it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
I love the book of John. We truly get a sense of who Jesus is, what He meant for humanity, and the deity He represents.
The Gospel of John is the account from a man He called ‘friend,’ John, one of Jesus' disciples, apostle of the faith. The Apostle John opens introducing us to Jesus first and then John the Baptist. John the Baptist was chosen to prepare others for the coming of Jesus Christ, but he was not the Messiah himself.
The Christmas season reminds me of this and should remind us all! Jesus is the ultimate gift, not a shiny present we may unwrap on Christmas day and then lose interest in, placing it away on a shelf or in a box. Plain and simply put, Jesus is our ultimate gift who gives us the path we need to be with the Father in heaven. John the Baptist knew this, believed it and, just as Scripture says, he shared it.
Let’s continue in the Gospel of Luke.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Praise Jesus that he has paved the way for us to be reconciled, justified, and adopted as a child of God!
John the Baptist, a key brother in our path to redemption, answered the call prophesied on his life from the moment he was conceived. In Luke 1:76-80, we hear the words of Zachariah being spoken over his son. These were not empty words, but are the example of what a true follower of Christ would be. A man who carries the message to combat darkness and lead men to repentance from sin to the true light of the world, Jesus Christ, the ultimate gift.
Like John, we share a message of hope and access to the perfect gift that our broken world needs – the grace, mercy and love of Jesus the Christ for humanity.
Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
So how did John the Baptist know Jesus? His life started out miraculous. He was born to elderly parents who couldn’t give birth in their earlier years. When the angel told Mary she was pregnant with Jesus she was also told about his cousin John. John was related to Jesus and around the same age. He lived a simple life of a prophet and spent his days sharing the good news of the coming messiah. He spent his life preparing everyone for Jesus. Probably so much so some thought that he was the messiah. He is quick to point people to the light of the world.
Later in ministry Jesus gave us our great commission:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Just like us, John the Baptist was chosen by God to share the good news about Jesus, but we first have to know Christ. John spent time getting to know Jesus so he would be able to tell others about Jesus. His whole life was about sharing to others who Jesus was. John knew Jesus so well, God trusted John with the honor to baptize Jesus. This guy baptized the Son of God.
How can we know Jesus? Well, it’s simple to know Jesus is to spend time in his Word (The Bible) and prayer. Once we accept Christ as our savior, our next step is to be baptized. If you have made that decision, please let us know so we can celebrate with you at our next baptism on January 2, 2021.
The world wants to distract us from knowing who God is and his plan for salvation. I challenge you this season to read these devotions every day. That is your first step. Learn about Jesus’ short time here on this earth. The next step is to study the Word. Not just read it for a “Christian checklist” that says you went to church today, check, prayed today, check, read the verse of the day, check…you get the point. Study God’s word. If you don’t know how to study, get in a small group, grab an accountability partner, whatever it takes to know God’s word, so you can share God’s word. To lead people to Jesus and teach them how to follow Him.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Have you ever listened to the song “Mary, Did You Know?” If I had to be honest, it is one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. The song was written by Mark Lowry and has played for over three decades during the Christmas season. While it is not theologically sound in its wording, it’s still beautifully written and contains phrases like “Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters” and “Mary, did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?” It’s a stirring of questions that causes listeners to stand in awe at the power of our God.
We don’t know much about Mary except that she was a virgin and probably in her early teens.
According to Luke 1:28, we see that she was “highly favored” and that “the Lord was with her.” In choosing the one family through whom His Son should come into the world, God bypassed the ruling families around Jerusalem and instead went to a humble woman, from a lowly home, in an obscure village in the distant hills of Galilee. Even without a stunning resume, God used her.
Sweet little Mary was invited by the Creator of the universe to change the world. Many think the reason He chose her is because of her willingness. Upon hearing how this would play out in her life, Mary’s response was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:38). Mary simply said yes to her Lord with no conditions whatsoever.
Where are you in your life right now? Would you be so willing to say yes to the Lord with no conditions? Are you living the truth that “your life is not your own” and that you’ve been “brought with a price”? Is there something that you are missing out on because you won’t let Him lead? We have a Messiah. His name is Jesus. He is the Savior of the world. He walked on water without a single bit of effort. He came and died to make us new. He gave sight to a blind man with some dirt and saliva. He woke up from a deep sleep and calmed a raging storm with his human hand. He fed over 5,000 people with a tiny bit of bread and fish. He specializes in the miraculous. And He has a plan for your life.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Immanuel – It means “God with us.” That bears repeating! God is WITH us!
Seriously?
What would move the God of the universe to lower Himself to such a place as becoming human to live among us. When God created the earth and everything in it, His greatest creation was His strongest desire. Man, in God’s image, was created to have a relationship with God.
We read in Genesis that God would spend time with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But when the couple sinned, that fellowship ended in Eden. When sin separated us from God and His original plan of relationship, He already had a plan in place, the bridge that would bring us back! The first step was when an angel told Mary she would bear a child who would be God Himself coming down to live among men. When John speaks of God dwelling among men it literally means “He pitched His tent” among us. That is, He came to live right where we do. (John 1:14)
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” God is with us, up close, in person. How amazing that God pitches his tent among the likes of us! The wonder of the birth of Christ is this...that God is still pitching a tent right beside us.
Of all the names that were given to Him, none brings more comfort than Immanuel—God with us. No wonder the angels shouted, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Immanuel - God with us - is something to shout about!
What does that mean for us? Simply put, that God wanted to relate to us in the most intimate way possible. Sometimes people think that we worship a God who is abstract, not a personal God. Nothing could be farther from the truth, based on His own words! We have a God who decided to become human, a person just like us.
We don’t have a God who cannot understand our pains or our struggles or our difficulties. So when you pray and imagine yourself with God you can imagine yourself speaking with someone who understands you completely. God loves us so much that he became one of us, not only to reassure us that he understands our problems, but to allow us to relate to God more easily.
Sometimes we’re so used to the Christmas story that we overlook this wonderful miracle. God could have chosen any way to reveal Himself to us. God could have come as some great vision in the sky. God could have chosen any physical form at all. But God wanted us to be able to relate to him easily, and so God came to us in the most relatable way possible: as one of us. Pitching his tent among us. Living among us. Being with us. Being us.
When God assumed our human flesh, He also decided, out of love for us, that he would put up with all sorts of human problems, too: disappointment, sadness, the death of his friends and members of his family, betrayals. But it didn’t matter, because that’s how much God loves us. Even death on a Cross was not enough to prevent him from coming among us.
So this Christmas, as you think about the ways that God comes to us, you might imagine this. Imagine that one day you hear that God will be moving into your neighborhood. Imagine your neighbor tells you that God has decided to move in right next door to you.
It may sound silly, but this is what Christmas means: God moves in with us, makes His home with us, accompanies us, lives with us, and shares our joys and our struggles. God “pitched his tent” among us in Bethlehem, and continues to live with us and dwell within us...if only we open the door to Him and welcome Him in.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Do you ever watch team sports of any kind in person or on TV? All the players involved, moving from one spot to another, changing direction, communicating with each other, are all working together to meet a common goal. There is a well thought out plan, a strategy! Whether it be football, basketball, hockey, or lacrosse, can you imagine what it would look like if there was no plan? Pucks and footballs flying willy nilly, people running into each other on fields or courts, using equipment improperly, and blaming teammates for not being where they are supposed to be?
What a mess it would be without the plan!
As we look at Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus, Matthew wanted us to know that God had a plan the whole time, and Jesus coming to earth as a baby and being fully human was part of that plan. Events that took place leading up to the birth of Jesus were intentional. It was planned thousands of years previously and created before the beginning of time!
God is the Master Planner, and His creation is about fulfilling His plan. Not only was Jesus’ birth part of the plan, but our lives are part of the plan as well! We should be asking “What is it that God has called me to do?” and “How does what God wants me to do fit into His master plan?
The BIG question…..How do we figure out what God’s “plan” is for our lives? Joseph probably wrestled with what God was up to in his and Mary’s lives, and he had his doubts. It took an angel to help him realize what his role in the plan was. Wouldn’t it be great if God sent an email or put it on a billboard or wrote with a plane in the sky what His plans are for us? God doesn’t always make it as obvious for us as He did for Joseph. It may not be a booming, heavenly voice.
However, God DOES want to guide us with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to search our hearts. We also have inspiration from our study of the Bible and devotions, and our fellow believers that God uses many times to help illuminate the paths that God would have us take. Rest in the fact that God DOES have a plan for each of us, and He DOES want us to seek His will for our lives. There is nothing more fulfilling than finding the purpose that God has for you, and serving Him in that, as part of a bigger plan.
Father, thank You for having a plan. Thank You for including me in Your plan. Help me to realize and understand what my role is, and do it to the best of my ability with what You have given me. Give me insight to help others along the way recognize Your plan for their lives as well. Amen.
Read the full passage by clicking here.
When you read this chapter, it’s not hard to figure out who Isaiah is talking about, is it? Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet who was believed to have lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. He prophesied the coming of the Messiah and boy...was it accurate. Just read the account of his arrest, trial, death, and burial in the New Testament Gospels and the correlation to Isaiah 53 is undeniable. Furthermore, while this sole passage alone contains a couple of dozen prophecies, Jesus actually fulfilled around 400 Old Testament prophecies.
This matters. Christmas is more than the celebration of a little baby who grew up to live a significant life in the span of history. It is the celebration of a prophesied birth of the Son of God, the Savior of the world, whose life testified to who He truly is so that all would come to know the truth. He loves us enough to pay the penalty that we were required to pay, but we must accept this gift, make Him Lord of our life, and run the race of obedience till the very end. If we actually believed that Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, worthy of our praise and adoration and obedience...and let’s be clear, people, the evidence is astounding. Science, history, archeology, it all supports this, why are we not devoting ourselves to following Him?
May this Christmas be a reminder that heaven and earth, centuries and seconds, time and eternity bow down to our Lord.. and so must we. Not simply out of obligation do we follow, but because we love Him above all else!
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
It’s called ‘the visitation.’ Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus, comes to visit Elizabeth, her 60-year-old relative. Elizabeth, who has been unable to conceive and is well above childbearing years, has finally conceived her first and only child. We are told that as soon as she heard Mary’s voice her unborn child (John the Baptist) was filled with the Holy Spirit and leaped in her womb.
Now any woman who has carried a child knows what this experience feels like. I remember how my wife could feel every little move and kick and elbow that our daughter subjected her to. There were even times when she felt like our daughter was excited too, almost like John.
I say ‘almost like John’ because Elizabeth perceives something different. This is more than just another excited baby in his mother’s womb. She understands that this is not only a natural moment, but it is also supernatural. She knows this is an extraordinary sign that God is with her in a very extraordinary way.
Even though she cannot see the Christ child in Mary’s womb, she knows God is there. And frankly, it leaves her a bit confused.
“How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?,” she asks. Elizabeth’s question could be our question. Think about the times where you have felt God’s presence in your life. Do you remember what it felt like to know that He was with you? Remember what it felt like to know that the God who promised to be with us was actually fulfilling that promise?
As you bring yourself to the Lord’s presence this Christmas season, just remember that he came for you. And he still gives that promise today. “Emmanuel,” God is with us. Sometimes in the ordinary, sometimes in the extraordinary.
Elizabeth’s question is a question for us, too. Think about the times where, like Elizabeth, you have felt the Lord’s presence in your life. Remember what it felt like to know that God was with you. That’s the promise we’re given today. “Emmanuel,” from the Hebrew word meaning God-is-with-us. And as you bring yourself to feel God’s presence in your life, in both ordinary and extraordinary ways, ask that same question that Elizabeth asked…“How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Do you know when the Lord is coming into your life? Can you recognize God’s presence in your life now?
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
In Mary’s song of praise, we see how well she knew and loved God. Her words mimic those that we find in the Psalms. They give us a picture of true worship and thanksgiving. In these verses she rejoices that God chose her, she speaks of His mercy and character, and she recaps all that God has done for Israel and all that He will do.
Mary watched her child grow up knowing what was to come. She watched him die a painful death that he did not deserve. She pondered these things as she witnessed right before her the mighty work of God. She saw first hand the fulfillment of promises to her individually and to her people.
How did she respond? She responded with obedience and praise. Mary had all the reasons to give in to fear, because there was a lot of be fearful of. Yet, she found refuge and security with the Father. She praised and loved God even in the midst of her questions and the unknown.
What does your song of praise look like? If you were to transcribe your prayers and worship recently, what would they reveal? Would someone look at your praise and life and say, “They knew and loved God”?
Mary is a great example of what it looks like to know and trust God. The great beauty here is that we can know God in the same way that she did. We can also say “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46) Our spirit, our souls, can rejoice in God and find joy and hope. When we look at Mary’s praise to God we see the relationship, she knew God and God knew her. The same relational God that Mary speaks of, is the same God we have today.
Our prayers and praises reveal how well we know the Savior. How well we are seeking out and being obedient to God. We can know God. We can trust Him no matter our circumstances, we can bring our pain and questions to Him. As we seek to know God through His word, through prayer, through obedience, it changes our lives. We can praise Him for all He has done for us and seek Him out. The relational and Holy God is calling us to know Him better. In turn, as we seek to really know who God is, we develop love and praise for Him. We develop a new perspective, a new hope, and new joy. Our praises can mimic the Psalms and the words of Mary because we know just how great our God is.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
The point in this passage that Luke is making is twofold. First, the life and mission of the Messiah will not be as commonly expected. Rather than coming in power, riches, honor, and glory, after His parents have been displaced by a foreign ruler, Jesus arrives in obscurity, poverty, and humility. The second point Luke is making is related to the first. The Kingdom of this Messiah will be the exact opposite of the kingdoms of this world. “The birth of this little boy is the beginning of a confrontation between the kingdom of God – in all its apparent weakness, insignificance and vulnerability – and the kingdoms of the world.”
If there ever was a time for God to show His majesty and glory around an event, it was the birth of His only Son Jesus. Jesus' birth was out-of-the-way and quiet at least from an earthly perspective. This should strengthen the truth to us that appearances are very deceiving. What seems to everyone around Joseph and Mary is that this is just another ordinary couple expecting an ordinary baby who live in an ordinary little town in Judah. But what seems ordinary from a human perspective is actually very extraordinary. Appearances are deceiving. What seemed mundane from an earthly perspective caused all of heaven to turn out and sing.
When we compare this humble event against the backdrop of Christmas that the two, it seems cannot go together. In other words, God intentionally had Jesus to be born into a humble family with humble surroundings in a nowhere place. Why He did this, we can only speculate. Some say, Well, it’s to show us that Jesus is not only for the upper class but also for the lower class. Others believe that it was Joseph and Mary’s piety that was behind God’s selection. Regardless what your opinion is, you have to say that this humble birth and the gaudiness of 21st century Christmas don’t go together.
Most folks today don’t even think about Jesus at Christmas. Most are more concerned with Black Friday and getting just the right gift. Most are concerned with wrapping paper and price tags. My challenge for us this year is not just “Doing Christmas,” but to remember what we’re doing when we celebrate Christmas. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the One who would give us the greatest gift – the gift of salvation.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
I remember when I first paid attention to this story I thought, why shepherds?
Take a minute to reflect on how the Shepherds are introduced to us. The words “living out in the fields” have caught my attention this season. These shepherds were Jewish men who had been taught their whole lives that a Messiah would be coming. Let’s be real, this has been shared with them for years and for the generations that came before them. A Messiah is coming who will make right the world, claim all his chosen people.
People tend to begin to take something like this for granted, forgetting what they’ve been taught. Account after account with God’s people, they forget who God is and what He has done for them and fall back into their wicked ways. Were they living life on purpose in the fields, or wandering aimlessly in the fields?
When angels appear to the Shepherds we hear the very common phrase from encounters with Angels, “Do not be afraid!” I wonder what angels really look like? Accounts show we must be prompted not to be afraid. For the Shepherds, all they had been told for generations became personally true in this moment. A step in their personal walk of faith with a messenger from God and proof the Kingdom of heaven is accessible for “me.” The good news that the savior of the world is here on earth, He left heaven to come and be with me!
Wow, what a blessing and gift from a Great God!
God gives instructions on where the newborn messiah can be found, then the celebration ensues. They did not encounter one angel but a company of heavenly hosts, they were saying “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
I envision singing this, angels leading the Shepherds in praise and worship to honor the God of the universe and all creation. Jesus Christ, greatest gift of all and Son of God, has come. This glorious encounter urges the shepherds after this experience to follow instruction given and race to meet their salvation. This experience eclipses that feeling you got as a child Christmas Day waking up finding that toy you obsessed over! This experience dwarfs that feeling of accomplishment you may have gotten as an adult when you meet or exceed a goal or a dream that you have been striving for.
Jesus is The Author of Creation and The Way, The Truth and The Life! He is Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God and exists in the perfect Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit – He is with us.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
In those days, shepherds were seen as ordinary, even seen as low people. Even still, God chose them to share the good news that the Savior of the world had been born. The shepherds set out to “see this thing that has happened.” The Lord told them to go and see and they simply followed their Lord.
How many times has God told us to do that and we drug our feet? How much better would our lives be if we just ask God what He would want us to do, and do it?
Mary and Joseph were young ordinary people God used to share his extraordinary story. They simply obeyed God and did what He asked them to do.
All these people were ordinary people who God chose to share an extraordinary story. The Lord told them to go and see and they simply followed their Lord. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you are from, God simply wants to use your story to share His Story. God wants to change our lives to go out and change other lives, all we have to do is just go!
You can read the full passage by clicking here.
Everyone has a past. Sometimes our past isn’t all that messy but is a testament of God’s grace time and time again. Sometimes, it’s an absolute horror show, but God’s grace is just as evident.
Jesus’ genealogy was included in the New Testament twice - one through Mary’s line and the other through Joseph’s. Both lines are filled with murderers and thieves and wickedness, but also of men and women who were redeemed and obedient and whom the Lord allowed grace to pour down. Matthew likely shares this particular genealogy for one reason: to provide prophecy fulfilled. If you read through the entire book of Matthew, he does this over and over: “this was so that the prophecy ABC could be fulfilled.” The evidence was very important to him because he knew how important it was to the Hebrew people, and what that might mean for us!
There’s so much to glean from this passage. There is always a reason something is included in Scripture, as boring as you might find it. But Matthew sets out to show that Jesus is Messiah and King, establishes his true humanity, and shows that his birth was rooted in God’s promises. No matter how broken past generations or even your own past has been, there’s a Redeemer for that in Christ the Lord.
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
The wise men had just come and left from their visit with Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus. They had completed their quest, following the star which led to the holy family. They had left expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Joseph and Mary were probably in awe of all that had taken place during the visit and may have been feeling secure in the financial gain provided by the wise men. They were probably beginning to feel comfortable with their new life, married and now parents.
Then suddenly, while they slept one night, Joseph was suddenly awakened from a dream in which an angel told him to get up and immediately take his wife and child and flee from the place where they were living. Wait a minute! Leave immediately? Really? The couple was just settling into everyday life. Pack up and quickly leave? What could possibly be the reason for such drastic measures? These were all legitimate concerns and questions. Right? Not for Joseph, God’s chosen earthly father. When the angel told him to leave, he didn’t question! He left!
Joseph had already shown his trust and faith in God when he was told that Mary was pregnant with a miraculous child! When he was told by an angel to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife. He had stepped out in great faith and obeyed without hesitation. Oh, that we could have the courage to believe and obey without question when we hear the voice of our Heavenly Father asking us to step out without reservation! Mary was the chosen one to bear the child, but we should not forget that Joseph was chosen too! He was the man God knew would trust and obey.
There is an old hymn written many years ago called Trust and Obey. A couple of the lines from the song describe the kind of faith Joseph showed.
“What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey!”
Trust and obey! Let’s live like Joseph did!
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
In studying for the writing of this devotional, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like this story. It made me scratch my head and ask what this has to do with the birth story of Jesus. But then I stop and think how corrupt man's heart is, and how wicked our actions are. It just shows me why Jesus had to come.
How easy is it to fall into the trap of playing the victim and pointing the blame at other people? How easy is it to tear down people with our words and actions? How easy is it to think that our wants and desires are the priority over the needs of others? How quickly are we to point fingers and condemn others without knowing all the facts? We simply lose sight that each person was created in the image of God and should be treated accordingly.
The slaying of the innocents reminds us of how easily we can slip into a mentality that puts personal protection, reputation, and position above the rights of the vulnerable and powerless. Just because Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, that doesn't mean he came to a safe and hateless world or was somehow insulated from the realities of evil unleashed among us. On the contrary, this brutal world awaited him.
That's the core of the story. Even the innocents are not protected, even if that innocent is God among us — as later events in Jesus' life revealed. Think about a time that you "slew the innocent." Have you asked God to forgive you for that? Today is a good day to do so.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Magi were a group of highly educated men, so they thought everything through. They left their homes, their families, and at great expense traveled hundreds of miles to follow a star to search for the Christ Child. Not only were the the Magi astronomers and “book smart”, they were gifted physicians as well.
These men had studied prophecies and the coming of a Messiah. The simple fact that they traveled meant that they knew there was something different about this birth. There were no Toyotas, Holiday Inns, or Bojangles that could make the trip more tolerable. They knew this was a journey worth taking. They understood that this was a search for the Messiah, and He was worth their effort. The Magi were aware and watching for signs and fulfillment of Scripture, and when they saw the star, they responded.
There are people today who have responded to Jesus like the Magi. These type of people not only study the Scriptures, but they look for God in the middle of them. They see God at work in the world and they want to be a part of it. They listen for God’s leading and they are obedient when He speaks. They believe in God’s creation and are more than willing to submit to His plan for their lives. These people are aware of their sin and their need of a Savior. They search for a Savior and worship Him with their lives. They give up their lives as their own, and serve God faithfully.
We can respond like the Magi in a few ways. We can search for Jesus in our own way, and make Him real and a part of our everyday lives. We can worship Him by sacrificing our comfort and convenience in order to find Jesus. We can come prepared and give the best we have to offer and put Him first in our lives. We must be willing to sacrifice our time, talents, and our treasure. We can submit to His will even though it may take us on an unfamiliar route, or be uncomfortable or costly. If we want to experience Christ, we must be willing to submit to Jesus being Lord in our lives.
At Christmastime, many people miss the reason for the season. Christ came for me and for you. He came as that first gift to save us from our sins. Many respond with indifference rather than thankfulness for God’s gift. This Son of God came for all people; people from every race, tribe, and nation that ever was and ever will be! For God, there are no foreigners, no outsiders, no Magi, no shepherds. We are all equally loved children. There is one single family, the Family of God. Let us respond with the knowledge of the gift of salvation, and make every effort to serve God with all that we are.
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
As we read this passage today, it's easy to wonder why it was chosen.
Sure, it is technically a part of the story of the birth of Jesus, but it doesn't really have anything to do with "Christmas" itself.
But the truth is that this verse is a vitally important part of the Christmas story. If we remember that the reason that we celebrate Christmas at all is because it marks the coming of Jesus to the earth (the first time), then we need to remember some of the lesser known things that made it truly incredible.
You see, when you stop and take in the little details here and there in the Christmas story, the things that you might gloss over actually reveal to you a grand master plan, the kind of plan that only an all-knowing God would be able to lay out. A plan that not only covers the big grandiose elements, but the little details as well.
See, Joseph wasn't from Nazareth. Mary wasn't from Nazareth. But, the prophets had foretold that Jesus would be a Nazarene. Now to you and I, missing one detail like this wouldn't be a big deal. "Sure, he wasn't a Nazarene but he still healed the sick and brought people back from the dead," we might say. But we are not an all-knowing God with a perfect plan. And the true all-knowing God has a perfect plan, and that perfect plan will come to pass.
This is where the verse from Proverbs 19 comes in. Joseph had a plan to simply return home, but because of circumstances that seemed to be evil and were completely out of his control, he ended up exactly where God had planned for him to be.
In our own lives, we like to question God. This is something that is not unique to you, or me, or anyone else. If we are followers of God, it is natural for us in our humanity to question God when we don't think things are going according to plan. But it is vitally important for us to remember that it is not our plan that will ultimately prevail.
Whatever your circumstances, remember that you are not there by accident. It's easy to find yourself asking God "Why am I here?" or "Why are you doing this to me?"
Maybe instead we should humble ourselves, submit to God, and ask, "What am I here to learn? How am I going to follow You and be an example to others in these circumstances? How can I put others above myself even though I am hurting? In what ways can I stop making this about me, and instead make it about You?"
We are in the hands of the Master Planner. We should take comfort in knowing that the God who holds our futures is a good and loving God. Spend today thinking about how you can use your circumstances for God's glory.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Christmas.
What’s it really all about? Well, the Hallmark Channel tells us it’s about cookie bake-offs, endless parties filled with beautiful people, and romantic love. But the apostle John helps us understand the real meaning of Christmas.
John says that we, as God’s born again children, are Exhibit A showing how much He loves us.
He loves us so much that he sent his “one and only son.” In other words, Jesus is unique. He alone is the Son of God. He existed with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit before the beginning of time and He will exist forever as the Eternal Son of God. And why did he come? That we might live through him
Christianity is not a matter of a person deciding to stop doing a list of sinful things and starting a list of morally acceptable practices.
It’s not a matter of changing from a non-religious person who sleeps in every Sunday to a regular church-goer.
At its heart, Christianity is a matter of God filling us with new life. Those of us who are Christ followers have gone from death to life - all for the glory of God!
We who were rebels, dead in our sins, didn’t deserve to have Him come to this world to redeem us. Why did He come? To display or His great love in us, to His glory. His love didn’t just brush aside our sin, because His holiness and justice would have been compromised. Instead, God was moved by his love to send His only Son to pay the penalty that we should have paid.
He didn’t wait until we got our ducks in a row…cleaned up our act…or got more “spiritual.” The initiative was totally on God.
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
He came! And he wants to come into your life this Christmas. Has he done that yet? Have you invited him in?