Devotionals Archives

December 14, 2023December 14, 2023

Let Christmas Come

¹ And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ² She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. ³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. ⁴ His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. ~ Revelation 12:1-4

In CS Lewis’ novel The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the antagonist (The White Witch) keeps Narnia in a perpetual winter, as winter is always symbolic of trials and tribulations. The other thing she does is keep Christmas from coming because Christmas brings hope. See, if she can keep Narnia in the darkness of winter and never let hope rise within their hearts, she wins.

When Jesus came as a baby 2000 years ago, Satan tried to keep Christmas from coming as well. He used the fear of King Herod in order to try to kill baby Jesus, but his plans didn’t work. Satan can only be successful if he can remove all hope and faith from within us.

This Christmas season, don’t let Satan take away your hope and suppress your faith. Don’t let him manipulate you either, as he did King Herod. This Christmas season, let hope reign through you so much so that you might be a beacon of light for others, pointing them to Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Christmas Come.

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Accept Your Christmas Gift

¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ~ Matthew 7:11

The Father will give good things to those who ask Him. In John 5:19, Jesus said that He does whatever He sees the Father doing, and whatever the Father does, He too does likewise. Therefore, if the Father gives good things to those who ask, the Son, too, will give good things to those who ask. For Jesus said in John 14:13-14 that whatever we ask Him in His name, He will do it for us because in so doing, the Father will be glorified.

Many of us are seeking the gifts of the world and never seeking the gifts of heaven. And on that last day, when we stand before the throne of God, we will be without His seal to allow us into His eternal love and peace. And all of the things that we were chasing the most, such as a good life and personal needs like clothing/apparel, accessories, food, housing, wealth, etc., would have been given to us while on this earth if we would have just accepted Jesus’ free gift.

Why? Because Jesus has paid for all of that. We get even more than a good life; we get eternal life with all the benefits. All of our needs will be supplied by Jesus, who will give us all things. This is why Jesus is the Spirit of Giving. Jesus was our first-ever Christmas gift, but this gift, unlike all other Christmas gifts, can be accessed throughout the year.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept Your Christmas Gift.

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Be Christ-Centered

¹⁷And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. ~ Luke 2:17-20

An angel came to the shepherds while they were watching their sheep to give them the news of the birth of Jesus the Christ. Then there was with that one angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. When the angel and the heavenly host vanished, what did the shepherds do? They went to see what they had just been told.

Many of us hear of great things happening around us, revivals breaking out, healings and miracles taking place, but very few of us get up and go see if what we’ve heard is true or not. We don’t go for ourselves. We don’t have the same desires and drives as the shepherds did 2,000 years ago, and I believe it’s because we no longer have the same focus.

The shepherds were watching their flock by night. They were performing their God-given call. Many, if not the majority, of us don’t even know what our call is. And many of us don’t have a desire to find out what that call or will God has for our life is. Why? Because we’re not Christ-centered. Those shepherds weren’t just chosen at random; they were doing their jobs waiting for the long-awaited Messiah. They were Christ-centered. If we want God to move in our lives, we have to be Christ-centered and willing to go wherever He leads us. We have to be willing to do anything just to get a glimpse of the King of kings and LORD of lords, a glimpse of Jesus, the Messiah.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Christ-Centered.

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Enjoy His Good Gift

⁶For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; ~ Isaiah 9:6a

Christmas is all about giving, but it’s also about receiving. There was a father who gave his son the thing he most desired, but the son, being shortsighted, did not receive the gift and thus took away the father’s privilege to give the one thing to his son that he most desired.

Thus, the Christmas message can be summed up in these words:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

That is the Christmas message. Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. It always comes back to that word and its various forms:

Give
Given
Has given
Will give
Gave

Our God is a loving and giving God, who gave the most valuable possession He had, His Son Jesus. He is a kind and compassionate God. He delights in blessing His children with good things because He is a good, good Father, but it’s up to us to accept His good, good gift.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enjoy His Good Gift.

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Recognize The Ultimate Christmas Present

²But 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. ~ Micah 5:2^NIV

Without Christ, there is no Christ-mas. Without the Son, willingly coming to the earth to die for our sins, there would be no salvation, no Christmas, and no presents because we would have nothing to celebrate, and the old devil would have no need to tempt us into sin because we would all be headed straight for the Lake of Fire.

But one glorious day, in the fullness of time, the King of Glory stepped out of eternity and into time, splitting time in two, dividing time by His miraculous birth into B.C. and A.D.

A.D. stands for Anno Domini, which is Latin for “In the Year of Our LORD.”

B.C. means Before Christ or a better understanding is Before the Birth of Jesus Christ. Because, really, there was not a time before Jesus. Jesus did not come into being at His birth. Christmas time is not the celebration of Jesus coming into being. Jesus was from eternity.

We don’t just serve a good prophet who did good things and was a good man. No. We serve the God who was, is, and is to come—the one who was from before the beginning of time. Jesus’ origins did not begin in a manger in Bethlehem Ephrathah; He was from eternity and will be to eternity. He has no beginning and will have no end. This is who we serve, and this is who came to us as the first and ultimate Christmas present.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Recognize The Ultimate Christmas Present.

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Away In A Manager

⁸ And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem. ~ Micah 4:8

One of the biggest questions that I’ve never seen anyone answer is, “How did the shepherds know where to look for the baby Jesus?” Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that there were many, many stables in Bethlehem at the time. But what if Jesus was not born in a nasty, stinky stable full of animals, as the Christmas tradition indicates? What I mean is this, Micah prophecies that the Messiah would be in the Tower of the Flock, which in Hebrew is miḡ·dǎl-·ʿē·ḏěr.

Now, apparently, Migal Eder, the Tower of the Flock, was in Bethlehem or just outside the city limits. It was the place where these same shepherds, the Levitical Shepherds, would take their ewes (female sheep) who were about to give birth, and there they would deliver the sacrificial lambs. They would wrap the little lambs in swaddling clothes so that they would not hurt themselves and lay them in a manager until they had stopped thrashing around.

The swaddling clothes were to ensure that the newborn lambs would not hurt themselves in any way, or that they would not break any bones, or cause anything to happen that would make them an unacceptable temple offering. That is why they knew where to go.

Migdal Eder, apparently, was a 2-story building where the shepherd could look out over the lambs that would be used in the Temple sacrifice, and downstairs was where the ewes gave birth to their young. The manager was sterile and clean. Not some stinky stable with animals all around, but, nevertheless, I still love that Christmas Carole Away In A Manager a verse says, the cattle are lowing the poor baby awakes. Still love it. After all, it’s tradition.

So, the manger there was very familiar to these shepherds. They didn’t have to wonder where to look. They didn’t have to knock on doors; they remembered the Scriptures. So many of us are searching for the Truth and knocking on every door, but never searching the Scriptures that show us the exact location of the Truth and what that Truth is.

Dear LORD, please help me to know Your Truth. Help me to have a desire to learn only Your Truth and to seek only Your Truth. Fill me with the spirit of discernment that I might recognize the sign of Truth and the sign of Error. Please direct my path and help me not to stray from all of the good plans that You have for my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Watch, Pray, And Wait

⁸And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:8-12

I’ve often heard shepherds were liars, looked down on, poor, and of low estate; they were just poor, humble men, and that is who Jesus came to save; besides, the people could identify with them. But have you ever read where an angel of God appeared to a man or a woman who was wicked and unreliable, especially to bring them good news of great joy? No. Not once.

What I have read, though, was that angels appeared to devout men, men who were looking for and waiting on the redemption of Israel. Godly men who were serving the LORD. Abraham, Lot, Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Mary, Zachariah, Joseph, the apostles, Cornelius, the women who went to the tomb after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter, John, Paul, and countless others. There is not one unworthy man or woman that an angel appeared to. Matter of fact, Jesus wouldn’t even talk to King Herod just before His crucifixion.

So, I would venture to say that the reason the angels appeared to the shepherds is because they were watching, and praying, and hoping, and not because they were unworthy, or poor and humble, or any of the list of things they said. There has to be another reason, and that reason has to do with their job.

These men were not just ordinary shepherds. They were highly trained Levitical shepherds who specialized in recognizing and caring for sacrificial lambs. They were the shepherds who kept watch over the sacrificial lambs that would be used in Temple sacrifices, such as the two daily lambs: one for the morning sacrifice and one for the evening sacrifice.

Then there was the special feast and ceremonies like the New Moon sacrifice and the Feast of Passover. So, these knew the prophecies. They knew the Scriptures. They knew that the Feast of Passover was a shadow of things to come. They knew that one day, the Promised Messiah would come and redeem Israel. They were watching and waiting. If you want to hear from God, you have to watch and pray. You have to be waiting for God if you want to hear from God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch, Pray, And Wait.

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Accept The Difficult Road

¹ In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³And all went to be registered, each to his own town.⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ~ Luke 2:1-5

Caesar Augustus made a decree that would put Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, the City of David. If it was not for the governmental census, Mary and Joseph would have had no reason to travel to Bethlehem. I’m sure it was a stressful time. Mary’s almost ready to give birth. They don’t know where they’re going to stay. The trip wasn’t going to be easy, especially with Mary’s pregnancy.

Nevertheless, this stress not only brought forth the fulfillment of Scripture but also gave hope to all of Bethlehem. See, if they weren’t in Bethlehem, the shepherds wouldn’t have been able to come and see the Christ child born. If they couldn’t come and see, then they couldn’t go throughout the town and tell everyone of what they saw.

Sometimes, the road is difficult, but it always leads to hope. It always leads to good news of great joy. It was because of the decree of Caesar that a town that had no hope was given the ultimate hope in one moment.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept The Difficult Road.

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He’s Here

²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ~ Matthew 1:23

One of my favorite Christmas songs is You’re Here by Francesca Battistelli. The song is from the point of view of Mary holding baby Jesus in her arms and singing to Him. In it, she sings,

You’re here, I’m holding You so near
I’m starring into the face of my saviour, king and creator
You could’ve left us on our own, but You’re here

Jesus could’ve left us on our own. He didn’t have to save us. He didn’t have to take this hard road, especially knowing that the majority of the world would reject Him, yet He still came. Even if only one person would be saved, and that one person was you, He still would’ve come because He loves us. He doesn’t desire that any perish, but all come to acceptance.

God loves us. When we messed up and corrupted ourselves, God left His throne, took on our form, and came to us. He desires that all of His creation be with Him, for His dwelling place is with us, and us with Him. That’s why He still feels with us to this day.

Dear LORD, thank You for not leaving me alone in the world. Thank you for not leaving me in darkness but shining your everlasting light upon me. Please soften my heart to the things of You. Help me not to be filled with anger, malice, envy, rejection, pride, sexual immorality, or any other stumbling block the devil throws in front of me to keep me from You. Please fill me with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Be Filled With Great Joy

⁸Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:8-12

Fear not! But how could they keep their hearts from racing, their hands from trembling, and their knees from quaking? This was a terrifying sight, but the words were comforting words. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you Good News of great joy…”

Good news of great joy is always good news, but this is even better because it was not just Good News for the Israelites or the Jews, the rich or the poor, white, black, Asian, Spanish, or any particular culture.

It was “Good News” for ALL “the people,” every single soul that will ever live and who has ever lived. It is Good News of great joy. But sadly, many people don’t find it to be very joyous. They are the Christ-haters. They hate the Name that is meant to bring great joy to everyone who hears that Name.

Why does it bring great joy? Because it’s the only Name that gives life and life more abundantly. It’s the only Name by which we can be saved. The birth of Jesus is good news of great joy for ALL people because ALL people can call on the Name of Jesus and be saved. That is the good news of great joy for all of us.

So, this Christmas season, remember that the Word of God became flesh to save you. Jesus didn’t just come for those whom the world deems good enough; He came for all people. He came for all of the world. You’re never too far gone for God to save and redeem you from your sins. All you have to do is ask and He will forgive you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Filled With Great Joy.

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Tag: Devotionals

Let Christmas Come

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