ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Sunday, December 2
Daily Meditations for ChristmasBy David E. Crosby, PastorFirst Baptist Church of GatesvilleDecember 2019The production of this booklet was a pleasant writing experience for me. I enjoyed thinking through so many events in the story of Bethlehem. I was personally inspired again by the humility of Christ and his family, and by the great condescension of God in sending his Son as a peasant to live among us. The Christmas story never grows old!The Advent season is a great time to read the Scriptures together with you family. You can be close to one another—and close to God—this season if you will take the time to do it.I have written this book to help you worship in your home this season. These are meditations about the birth of Christ. I hope they will bless you personally and that your family will be blessed as you worship the Christ of Christmas.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Monday, December 2Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26IN THE SIXTH MONTH "In the sixth month" of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary’s home in Nazareth. Elizabeth and Mary were relatives. Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist six months before Mary would give birth to Jesus.Notice how precise God's timing is. The event we celebrate in this season of the year was not an afterthought. It was not a happenstance, an accident, or even good fortune. No. This event we celebrate was planned from the foundation of the earth. When God first made people, he knew they would need a Savior. And he had already determined that he would come to live among us and give his life for us."When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…," as the Scripture says in Galatians 4:4. It is the appropriate time, the perfect timing. We have set calendars according to this event. We have mapped out the days and weeks, months and years. We have systematized the coming of Christ, as we do with nearly all things. And our calendars and annual celebrations sometimes obscure the fact that Christ came in the fullness of time. This is the deliberate timing of the Heavenly Father.Imagine for a moment that you are in the throne room of heaven. You stand upon a sea of glass. The throne is surrounded by a brilliant rainbow. A thundering voice speaks from the throne: "Gabriel." Immediately appears the most beautiful creature you have ever seen--an archangel waiting for the instructions from the Father."I have a message for you to deliver." Gabriel eagerly receives the message and immediately leaves to make a home visit on Planet Earth. This is the beginning of Mary’s remarkable pilgrimage. We enter this advent season knowing that God’s timing is perfect in our lives as it was in the life of Mary.PRAYER: Father in Heaven, I thank you for your wisdom and love. Thank you for watching over me with such wonderful care. Forgive me for my fretting, anxious heart, and give me faith to trust in your perfect timing.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Tuesday, December 3Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-28; Matthew 2:22-24THE ANGEL WENT TO HERNazareth is an out-of-the-way place on Planet Earth. Few from the big cities had ever heard of it. It was located in Galilee where there was precious little education, culture, or sophistication. The house to which Gabriel goes is a humble home made of wood and dirt. Mary is kneading dough on a wooden table, or she is cooking stew on a fire in the clay oven. She is wearing long garments bound tightly at the waist and a scarf over her head. It is early spring and there is still chill in the air. Her robe is soiled from the morning's chores. Soot from the fire has blackened the bottom edge of her robe. Clay clings to her dress where she knelt for a moment on the floor. Water stains are also evident. She carried water this morning from the village well, and it sloshed out when children at play surprised her as she walked back.We cannot say that she is in the kitchen, for the entire house in one big room. Some sleeping quarters are in a loft, up a ladder of branches tied with rope. She is not in the kitchen, exactly, but she is near the cooking utensils, working the dough with her hands. Her hands, by the way, are strong. If you have ever kneaded a mound of dough, you know what work that is. My mother used to do it all the time, and sometimes I was drafted to help. But my hands would not hold out very long before they were tired and cramping.Gabriel appears, perhaps walking, pushing back the heavy wooden door that keeps the heat from the stove inside. He looks like a man, but something about him is different. He is God’s ambassador with exciting (and disturbing) news for this young lady.PRAYER: Father, thank you for taking notice of ordinary people and visiting small villages and tiny homes. Thank you for caring for children, for the poor, and even for me. Help me to hear your voice today as I go about my chores.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Wednesday, December 4Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-28; Judges 6:11-12GREETINGS, YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVORED!Mary is startled by the nature of this greeting just as you and I would be startled by such a greeting. Something about it is not usual. It is out of the ordinary, you might say. The Greek word for "you who are highly favored" is one word. It is a verb form converted into a noun, meaning "one who has been greatly favored." Perhaps she had never thought of herself as especially favored by the Lord. She knew that God loved her, no doubt. But she had no sense of his special favor upon her. Really, what kind of greeting is this? "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." The stranger said, Ho kurios meta sou which means "The Lord with you." She had known the divine presence all of her life. She loved the Lord. But the stranger's words seemed more than a general statement of God's presence. Again, he seemed to be saying that she was special before God.Have you ever received a greeting and wondered what it meant? A greeting is normally routine. But then there are the greetings that are not routine. This is one of those. God is telling Mary that she is special to him, that she is a person of special favor. God is speaking his heart to her.God has been surprising people with gracious greetings for a long time. Abraham was startled when he found out that God wanted to be his friend. Moses was amazed that God would pull him aside in the desert and give to him such a mighty call. Gideon was a boy winnowing grain when an Angel gave the divine greeting to him. God continually surprises us with his greeting.Think of God saying to you today, "Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you."PRAYER: Oh, God, thank you for your special favor, for your grace. Thank you for creating me and loving me in spite of myself. Help me to know and receive this day the special standing you have for me in your presence.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Thursday, December 5Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-30MARY WAS GREATLY TROUBLEDThe Bible says that Mary was "greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”The greeting is strange enough that it stopped Mary in her tracks. She stopped her household chores. She took another look at the person in front of her. As she looked, she realized that he was different from any human she had ever seen. The remarks he made, the way he looked--suddenly she was afraid. Her hands trembled on the table. Her lip trembled as she tried to speak, and then remained silent. Her eyes shifted to the right and left, looking for a way of escape.The angel notices her fear and says, "Do not be afraid." It is a good word, a comforting word to this young woman. She relaxes a bit and turns to look at the stranger, aware now, perhaps for the first time, that she is experiencing an encounter with a heavenly messenger.The fear we sense when we are in the divine presence is appropriate. God is greater than we will ever be. He is qualitatively different from us. We cannot be God. He has the power to create and the power to destroy.Yet God does not desire that we cower in fear when he invades our space. Rather, he wants that fear to be converted into awe and wonder and respect. The closest human parallel would be the way a small child feels about the earthly father who loves him, plays with him, and disciplines him. He runs to his father whenever he appears. But he knows that his father is powerful and “in charge.” He is in awe of this great and important person. The Bible says that such “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I am in awe of you. I acknowledge you today as the Lord of the universe. I confess my respect and love for you. I thank you for permitting me the privilege of entering your presence, and I thank you for the work of Christ upon the cross that makes our relationship possible. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Friday, December 6Scripture Reading: Luke 1:29-34; Psalm 139:13-16YOU WILL BE WITH CHILDIt is a birth announcement. How many of you have received birth announcements? Usually those go out after the birth, right? Usually. I got a birth announcement once that had a reproduction of a picture from a sonogram. The father got so excited about the baby, that he sent out the sonogram for the whole world to see, announcing the upcoming birth of the child.This announcement comes before birth, before the third month, before the conception. In fact, Mary is still a virgin. Luke mentions this twice so we will not miss it. God is acting. It will be a miraculous conception. Note the information the angel gives to Mary. He tells her six specific things (read the last three in devotionals to come).First, you will be with child. Mary is a young woman, probably between the ages of 14 and 18 years. She is engaged to Joseph, but they have not consummated their marriage as of yet. They have not slept together. She has dreamed of having children, but this announcement leaves her stunned.Second, you will have a son. She is going to have a son, the angel says, even before the baby is conceived. How could he possibly know all of this, including the sex of the child?Third, you are to give him the name Jesus. Jesus means “Jehovah saves.” It is a beautiful name. Mary may have known other persons named Jesus. She understands, however, that the name has special significance in the case of her child.We believe that Jesus was miraculously conceived and that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. We believe this because the Scripture teaches it. The Virgin Birth establishes the special relationship that the Father in Heaven had with his “one and only Son” (John 3:16).PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know that I am spiritually lost and hopeless without you. Thank you for sending your one and only Son to be my Savior. I need you today and every day. Doing your will is my greatest delight. Fill me with your Spirit for the work that is mine to do. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Saturday, December 7Scripture Reading: Luke 1:29; Matthew 1:18-21 GIVE HIM THE NAME JESUS"Jesus" is basically the Old Testament name "Joshua.” It was a very common name among Jews right up to the second century B. C. Several persons in the Bible had the name "Jesus" including the sorcerer "Barjesus." The name was not used in later centuries among the Jews because of its association with Jesus of Nazareth.The name itself points to the humanity of Jesus. He had a rather common name that many others shared with him. The Father in Heaven insisted upon a common name for his Son who was born in a common way in a lowly place to a peasant family. In Nazareth, there was a family. Joe was the Dad and Mary the mom. They had some boys who played together in the street--Jimmy, Jude, and Jesus. Often Jesus’ hometown is included in his name to distinguish him from others with the same name. So he was called Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee. We sometimes do the same thing. "Do you remember Jim Smith?" we say,“the fellow from Vermont with the funny accent?"Jesus is one of us. He lived in a particular locale at a particular time. He had brothers and sisters. He had friends and enemies. He ate with people and talked with them on the roadway. He helped with the fishing nets. He attended weddings and funerals. He groomed his beard and cleaned his clothes, washed his hands and traded in the marketplace. He went to church. He laid down at night bone tired. He died like other men die in the emergency rooms of our cities every day and night--with lacerations and loss of blood and shock and trauma. He was buried like others were buried in his day. They carried his dead body, wrapped in a burial cloth, to the grave that had been donated. They performed the last human kindness which friends can bestow. Your friends and family will do the same for you one day.PRAYER: Thank you, Son of God, that you loved us enough to take our humanity upon yourself. Thank you for becoming the perfect Savior so that you could save us from our sin. Thank you for obeying the Father even in giving your life for us upon the cross. I commit my life to you again today as an act of worship and obedience. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Sunday, December 8Scripture Reading: Luke 1:29-33; Psalm 89:3-4SON OF THE MOST HIGH The angel named the baby Jesus. Already the angel has given her many specifics about her son. But there is more.This baby will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Mary's head must have begun to spin when she heard these words. "Wait a minute," she might have wished to ask, steadying herself at the table, and beginning again to tremble. "What does that mean, exactly, 'Son of the Most High'?" Surely her heart missed a beat just then. Her child was to be a very unique person. He would be "great," but not like Caesar is great or Moses was great. He is to be called the Son of the Most High. This was a divine title, and Mary knew it tremendous significance.Further, the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. Once again, Mary is hearing the drama of history announced in her home. For centuries the people of Israel have waited for the Promised One to come. He was heralded by the prophets. His coming was indicated as far back as Moses, and even before. All of their history they have looked for this one. And he was going to be a descendant of David, the prophets said, and he would reign in righteousness. All of these words are coming to her traveling down the long corridor of history, and they are ringing through the corridor of her mind as well. Mary knows, of course, that she is descended from King David. She learned that fact as a small child, I am sure.Finally, declares Gabriel, this child will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. Her child was going to be the Eternal King, the one whose kingdom had no end. PRAYER: Creator God, I am astonished at all you did in sending your Son to this world. I cannot fully comprehend it all, but I believe it all. I know my personal need for salvation from my sins. I thank you for dealing with my sin through the death of Christ upon the cross.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Monday, December 9Scripture Reading: Luke 1:38-45I AM THE LORD’S SERVANTNo wonder that Luke records twice that Mary pondered things. She has much to think about. Mary pondered these things and gave God her reply: (Luke 1:38): "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her." And Mary was left alone to deal with her pregnancy.Mary's trip to Elizabeth's home was an event that I gave little thought to until this Christmas. I have seen that visit in a new light. She went to see the woman who would understand when no one else would or could. These two women are pregnant. They know better than any living human beings the circumstances of those pregnancies. They know that God is at work in a miraculous way. Mary stayed with her for three months. I think those months passed swiftly. Mary was young and strong. Elizabeth was old and past the prime of her strength. Mary stayed to help her, to give her companionship and assistance during this pregnancy in her old age.We bought a new artificial Christmas tree one year--7.5 feet tall, Manhattan Pine--and we inadvertently sold the top of it in our garage sale the next August. I tried to shape that bottom half with no success. I called the store and asked if they had any tops. No--they couldn't even order them--no parts number.I marched down to that store and went through their collection. I found the tree I had bought last year, and I began to measure it and compare it to some three foot trees. And I grafted a three-foot Douglas fir on top of my Manhattan Pine. Everything that has happened to these two women is tied together. They have heard from the same angel. The babies in their wombs are related as family, and they are related in that both of these women have their special divine mission. Mary and Elizabeth are grafted together, two parts of a larger puzzle that God is working out. Their sons, too, are grafted together. John will provide a base upon which Jesus will build his ministry.PRAYER: Dear God, I thank you for this Christmas season, and I thank you for family. Bless our family as we meet this Christmas. Help us to have peace and joy. Keep us from conflict or jealousy. Give us satisfaction in helping one another. Give me the strength to be the example.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Tuesday, December 10Scripture Reading: Luke 1:46-55GOD MY SAVIORElizabeth makes a declaration about Mary, though it applies also to Elizabeth (Luke 1:45). "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" I think we can safely apply this truth to every believing heart. The blessing of life, its happiness and fulfillment and peace, is bound up in our believing that what God says will come to pass.Has God said anything to you? Mary heard from God. What have you heard from God? Think about it. Perhaps a word from God comes to your mind now, a passage of Scripture. God gives His word, but do we believe? Are we too weak or skeptical to believe. We risk the robust joy of life when we refuse to take God at his word. C. S. Lewis said, "The whole thing narrows and narrows, until at last it comes down to a little point, small as the point of a spear--a Jewish girl at her prayers."Mary has faith, and she has poetry. Perhaps Mary waxed poetic as she made the four days' journey to Elizabeth's house, perhaps after she arrived. Her soul is singing to God. God my Savior has been mindful. Mary rejoices in the thoughtfulness of God. Just the notion that God is thinking about her--that has astonished her! The thoughtfulness of God should astonish you as well. If you were to meet God on the sidewalk today, he would ask all the right questions of you: "How is your mother? Has she gotten over that cold? And how about that situation at work? Is Mr. Smith settling down? I noticed you were crying last night. Is your heart still hurting over that rejection?" The Lord knows you intimately. He has mentioned your name to the angels recently. You are in his thoughts!Mary is astonished that God is thoughtful of one in such humble circumstances. The idea that God would choose her--it amazes her. We tend to elevate those who are powerful in business or government. When God chose to come into this world as a human being, he chose the humble setting of Mary and Joseph and little Nazareth.PRAYER: I confess, dear Lord, that sometimes I measure myself and other people by the false standards of wealth or influence. Forgive me for applying and believing such misjudgments. Help me be more like Mary with her humble heart, her grateful spirit, and her steady faith.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Wednesday, December 11Scripture Reading: Luke 1:56MARY AND ELIZABETHMary and Elizabeth have a tremendous faith in God. Martin Luther said of Mary that the greatest miracle was not that she conceived, but that she believed. Mary has a spiritual maturity that is remarkable for one so young. I think she must have grown up in a household of faith where the Word of God was read and lived. She must have felt and known the love of God throughout her life.Mary went back to Nazareth after three months—shortly after the baby, John, was born, perhaps. She left the warm hospitality, the gentle motherly spirit, and loving kindness of Elizabeth's house to return to the little town where people talk. Mary is a virgin. I am encouraged as I read that more and more young people are choosing to remain virgins, practicing sexual abstinence, until marriage, just as Mary did.I was the celebrity reader in a fourth grade class once, and I told the original Christmas story. It was great fun. And when I told about a virgin being pregnant, one fourth grade girl looked at me in amazement and said, "How could that happen?"I told her, "Mary asked the same question--'How will this be?'" The answer is—the Holy Spirit of God (see Luke 1:34-35).Mary is a virgin. But who in little Nazareth believes it? Pregnancy without marriage remains a hardship in our day even though it has become quite common. Babies need fathers as well as mothers. But can you imagine the pain that Mary will endure from her strict culture that saw this pregnancy as such a disgrace? The whole countryside is talking about the miracle of Elizabeth's healed womb. They are also talking about Mary, but not in regard to a miracle. The birth of John the Baptist took place with great fanfare, complete with loving family, skilled midwives, and the traditional village chorus celebrating the birth of a Jewish male. Six months later Mary will be giving birth in a stable far from home with no midwife, no doting relatives, no village celebrating.PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray for the children and youth of our church family, and others that I know and love. Help them to follow the example of Mary in their sexual lives. Give them strength to resist temptation. And if they are to marry, bring them godly spouses that will help them create joyful and loving Christian homes.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Thursday, December 12Scripture Reading: Luke 1:1-4; 2:1-7THE CERTAINTY OF THINGSThe birth of Jesus has a religious context. It has a prophetic context and a faith context. The writers of the gospels clearly point out that his birth fulfills ancient prophecies by the Hebrew prophets. They are boldly declaring that Jesus is the promised one of God.The birth of Jesus also has a secular context. The first seven verses of Luke 2 make no mention of angels or God or Scripture or prophecies. Rather, these verses, among others, describe the political and social context of the birth of Jesus.Why do we need to know who the reigning Caesar is? Why do we need the name of the governor? Luke the historian is very carefully fulfilling part of his task. He intends to be historically accurate with this book (Luke 1:1-4). He is putting the facts down in logical order. He has investigated everything. These are his findings.The gospel writers, however, are writing more than history. As Luke says in the first verses, he is writing these things "so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." He is writing to confirm the faith of Theophilus and all followers of Jesus. The events of Luke 2:1-7 are special because they reveal the character and activity and word of God. Governors have issued other decrees. But these particular events in this particular time are the unfolding of a divine purpose in the world. And so they are recorded in the Book of Faith, the record of God's activity in history. We read and believe that God is at work in these things.These facts can be verified from secular historical sources. Investigating the life and ministry of Jesus is an exciting scholarly pursuit that often brings skeptics to faith with the remarkable Jesus of Nazareth who is called the Christ!PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for addressing my need for historical information about Jesus. Help my faith in Christ to grow this Christmas as I rehearse the miracle of his conception and birth. Teach me how to persuasively present the case for Jesus as the Christ. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Friday, December 13Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-2A DECREE FROM CAESARBorn in 63 B.C. and named Gaius Octavius, this Caesar was the great nephew of Julius Caesar and was later adopted by him as his son and heir. He was in danger of assasination after Julius died, but he steadily won his way to power against Mark Antony and others rivals, and at last he was seated on the imperial throne and given by the Roman senate the title "Augustus." They said of Augustus that he found Rome brick and left it marble. His legions policed the provinces. He built the marvelous Roman roads and built cities to dominate the empire. Under his rule, the name of Rome meant power and wealth.Augustus probably never heard of Jesus’ birth in the stable. If he did, it meant nothing to him. At Augustus' funeral the mourners comforted themselves by saying that Augustus was a god, and gods do not die. What is this tiny stable birth beside such a man as Augustus? And now I have told you perhaps more than you ever knew about Augustus. None of us could quote a thing the man said. He was the most powerful man in the world when he issued this decree. Everyone on earth lived under his shadow. Now, though, his name is only an echo from history. But the babe for whom there was no room--he continues to shape history through his words and his Spirit and his followers. It will be so with all of us. The stable babe rules. He sits upon the universal throne. It was no ordinary night, that night at Bethlehem. It was a great invasion, when God became man and dwelt among us.Christmas is chock full of many competing interests and events. It has almost happened again--no room for Jesus. I think, though, that Jesus is content to be with those who want him, whether they are kings or shepherds or ordinary people like me and you. And if the fine inn is too full, it is no big deal. Once you have sat on the throne of heaven, the finest inn here seems not unlike a stable.PRAYER: Jesus Christ, you are King of kings and Lord of lords. You reign supreme in my heart and my life. You are above all other interests and authorities. My life is surrendered fully unto you this day.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Saturday, December 14Scripture Reading: Luke 2:4-5; Micah 5:1-5aBETHLEHEM EPHRATHAHThree very significant women in the Bible are associated with Bethlehem: Rachel, Ruth, and Mary.Rachel, the wife of Jacob, died at Bethlehem as she gave birth to Benjamin, and she was buried there. The beautiful love story of Ruth is set in the city of Bethlehem. Ruth, the woman from Moab, married Boaz and became the great-grandmother of King David. David was born in Bethlehem. That is why it is sometimes called the city of David. It was from Bethlehem’s well that David longed for a drink and, when his men risked their lives to bring that drink, he poured it on the ground, feeling unworthy himself to drink such a costly gift.Bethlehem means "house of bread." Ephrathah may mean "fruitfulness" or "double land." The term describes more than a geographical location. It is a picture word for provision, for abundance, that the prophet Micah uses in his message to God’s people. It pointed to the essential spiritual food that people needed in order to please God. Micah looked for the bread of salvation from Bethlehem. In the midst of their trouble, the House of Bread in Fruitfulness—Bethlehem Ephrathah--would supply a solution. God would send deliverance. The name itself became a promise.Jesus said that he was the “bread of life” after he fed five thousand with two loaves and some fish (John 6:35). How appropriate that the bread of life was born in the house of bread!The house of bread has not disappeared from the earth. Our world needs the church to be what it is--a house of bread today. The people of the world must be able to turn to the churches and find solutions for the spiritual problems of the day. As we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we are a house of bread, a Bethlehem. Let us love the people of New Orleans by being for them a house of bread!PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for giving Jesus to us—the true bread from heaven! Thank you for life so abundant and free. Help our church to love this city by being a house of bread every day. Fill us with your Spirit as we proclaim your word in our worship services and through our daily ministries.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Sunday, December 15Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-7JOSEPH AND MARY TRAVELMary is nearly full term when Caesar decides he wants to count and tax everyone. Everyone is required to go to the town of their family's origin. Both Mary and Joseph are from the family tree of David, so they must go to Bethlehem, the city of David. Some scholars think that Mary’s presence was optional since Joseph was the head of the household. Matthew (1:25) tells us that Mary was "betrothed" or "promised" to Joseph, indicating that the marriage had not yet been consummated. The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, Micah said, so it was in God’s plan for Mary to make this trip.Mary must have ridden either a donkey or a cart. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is at least three days. Three days on a donkey when you are nine-months pregnant--that sounds tough to me! Mary seems to have maintained her joy and faith. She knew what she had been told by the angel. This trip to Bethlehem would work out some way. After the grueling travel, Joseph and Mary arrive at their destination looking forward to a comfortable bed and a warm fire. Dr. Luke gives only this small word of explanation--"there was no room for them in the inn." Why does Luke record this fact at the end of the paragraph? If I were writing this myself, I would relate a little about the scene at the inn, the innkeeper's refusal, and the offer of the stable. But that phrase, “no room,” is all we know about these difficulties surrounding Jesus' birth.Jesus is not born in a people place. He is born where the animals find shelter. He is laid as a newborn where the sheep and cattle feed. Mary lays down in the straw, goes into labor, and has her child in the stable. Watch Mary lift him up as she shows her son to Joseph. He is held aloft in the chalice of her strong hands, a gift to the world for which the world had no room.PRAYER: Forgive me, dear Lord, when my life is so full that there seems to be no time for you, no room for you. I need your help, your guidance, and your discipline in setting my priorities. Even this Christmas, keep me from crowding you out with all the secondary things. I want to honor you in this and every season of my life.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Monday, December 16Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-7; 23:50-56SHE WRAPPED HIM IN CLOTHSYou have no robe for His Majesty? That is fine. He will not demand finery. Mary "wrapped him in swaddling clothes" (per KJV). These cloths were long strips that were wrapped around and around the baby. The word refers to strips that were torn. This implies that Jesus was dressed from the first in ragged clothes that would be typical of the poor, strips that might have been torn from a ruined garment. He certainly had no linen or fine infant suit to wear.Usually this wrapping was done by someone attending the birth. In this case, though, the Bible says that Mary did the wrapping of her infant son.The clothes of Jesus are mentioned at various places in Scripture. He does not have a large wardrobe, of course. In fact, throughout his life this One will have only a few clothes. He will not wear designer blue jeans. Instead, he will mock those who love to dress up in long robes, parade around, and look important. He will instruct his disciples to give away one of their robes if they happen to have two, which they probably thought was unimaginable prosperity. The only time this baby will ever wear a purple robe, indicating royalty, is when they are mocking him at his trial. He will have no clothes to bequeath to his friends. His seamless robe becomes the prize for the soldiers who gamble for it on the night that he dies. Mary wraps his body at his birth. More than 30 years later, she probably helps the other women as they wrap Jesus’ body again at his death. Mary’s strong hands are present to help Jesus literally from the cradle to the grave. Jesus is rejected from the manger to the cross, it is true. But God provided those with gentle, willing hands who cared for him during his sojourn among us. PRAYER: Holy God, forgive me for being so caught up in clothes and other things. I know in my heart such things are not the true substance of my life. Concerning clothes and other things, teach me how to practice the values of Jesus in my culture and my peer group. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Tuesday, December 17Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-7, 12, 16IN A MANGERThe manger is mentioned three times in Luke's narrative, but he does not give us any more information. We are left to speculate about animals and hay and a stable. The word for manger may refer to "feeding trough" or "stable." By the description we are given, we take it to mean that she laid the baby in the feeding trough. The stable is implied by the context. But mangers were also found in some very poor homes where the family and the animals shared the same roof. Mangers were also found in caves that served as shelters for the animals. And some mangers were out in the open with no protection whatsoever.Tradition says that this stable was located in a cave under or near the inn. Outside of modern-day Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity. A part of that church building is actually the oldest Christian church, built by Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, and dated about A.D. 327. There is a cave under the church, identified as the birthplace of Jesus as far back as A.D. 150. Caves were commonly used as stables in the hilly country around Bethlehem in that era of the world. Farm animals were much closer to human then than they are to most of us. Mary may have slept with animals before. Her family was poor, and shelter was sparse. She may have been happy to be out of the noisy inn and alone in a warm place with clean straw and quiet shuffling of animals' feet at night. We do not know. The story certainly affirms the obscurity and poverty of Jesus' birth. No fanfare occurs at all as the baby is born. Mary herself wraps him in strips of cloth. No midwife seems to be present. The birth stories will have to be told later by Mary and Joseph themselves. PRAYER: Your humility overwhelms me, my Lord. To think that you would be born in such circumstances! Help me in my dealings with those who are poor and in need. May I remember your own poverty as I minister to them in your name. Keep from being hard-hearted toward others. I humble myself before you today. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Wednesday, December 18Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25GOD TRUSTS THIS COUPLEWhen I was 17 years of age, I was managing the Crosby Brothers Quartet. I was the oldest in the quartet at that time. We sang in over 300 churches in 11 states. We would head out on a journey of a thousand miles with just enough money to buy gas one way. I look back at those days and wonder how we survived!There is no sign of any comfortable, material lifestyle for Joseph and Mary. They do not worry over retirement. They wonder about the next day's bread. They have no medical insurance, no home mortgage, no installment loans. They live close to the earth, the crops and the cattle. They make their bread and make their clothes and build their homes themselves.This couple is doing it on their own. They are young. This is their first child. They have a long trip and a pregnancy to think about. And they do it themselves. They expect to be able to cope with whatever they encounter. They are young, but they are competent. The Creator of the universe has committed to this couple the daily care his only Son. From obstetrics to pediatrics to nutrition and education--the Creator trusts them.We serve a very trusting God, don't we? God committed the nation of Israel to a shepherd boy named David. God trusted him to run the nation with godliness and justice. Joseph and Mary are descended from David, not only in blood line, but also in determination, courage, self-discipline, and devotion.God commits to our care occupations that affect the lives of people. He commits to us children who are very precious to him. He trusts us to teach them the truth. He commits to us the good news about his love and trusts us to tell our neighbors. He is a trusting God. PRAYER: Thank you, God, for choosing to involve me in your work. I know that is risky! Thank you for the vote of confidence you give in calling me to be your child and to join you in what you are doing in the world. I will seek to be faithful to my calling and to your trust in me today. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Thursday, December 19Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-14SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELDSThese shepherds near Bethlehem are working the graveyard shift. They drew straws, I suppose, and the fellows out in the cool night air were the losers. Not that such a vigil was uncommon or unfamiliar to them. They spent many nights like this, tending the sheep, protecting them from predators. While the sheep were generally driven into a sheepfold at night, the fold, usually of stone walls or branches, could keep the sheep inside but could not keep the predators out. They could easily jump right over the walls. And everyone knows that the wolves and wildcats and robbers usually do their work in the dark.So while friends in the sleepy hamlet of Bethlehem were curled up beside their fires or cuddled in bed with their wives, these men and boys were feeling the nip of the cold and the drowsiness of long hours after dark. They were probably watching, not only their own sheep, but the collected flocks of the region, cooperating together so that some could be freed from the night watch in a rotating fashion.They may have been battling sleep, feeling the effects of a still, dark, cool night, sitting or lying on the ground beside a crackling fire. Maybe they were telling tales, trying to stay alert. Maybe they were rubbing their hands, drinking some hot brew, stamping their feet, taking little walks in the dark to check on the herd. Perhaps they were exchanging funny stories or counting stars. I know for certain that they were keeping one eye on the sheep, ears open to the sounds of any disturbance. I suspect that having a worship service was not on their minds. Shepherds are no more prone to worship during the night shift than, say, security guards or waiters or housekeeping crews. We know, of course, that there are exceptions, but we could surely say that, as a rule, your run-of-the-mill shepherds did not plan worship in the night watch. No, God planned this worship, and it was a glorious moment!PRAYER: Please interrupt my life anytime that it suits you, God. I get so caught up in things going on that I forget to praise you. I need your reminders, your intrusions into my routine. I really want to worship you this Christmas season. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Friday, December 20Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-14; John 1:12-14GLORY TO GODGod receives glory from angels and people in the fields outside of Bethlehem. Without God there is no Christmas. Mary conceives the child supernaturally through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is virgin born. The angels break into a dark sky near Bethlehem and tell the shepherds. The fingerprints of man cannot be found upon this event. It is all of God--his choice, his work, his way.The praise goes to God and no one else. The shepherds burst forth in spontaneous praise. They will go to the manger and see the Christ child; then they will run into the streets telling everyone about the Messiah and the announcement by the angels.Let’s worship this holiday season. Let’s worship the Christ of Christmas. Let’s be like the shepherds--enthralled by the work of God in sending the Messiah. Some will be like the townspeople of Bethlehem even this Christmas. They "wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds" (Luke 2:18). Many of the townspeople experienced this event only second hand. We are not told that they ran to the manger. We are told only that they wondered at these things. Often we wonder at things, too, even at the things we hear about Christ. But we never go beyond the things to Christ himself, to fall in adoration before him.Worship belongs to God alone. This is the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mary may be history's most influential woman. She is worthy of our study and emulation, but she is not the heart of the Christmas story. Any time we shift our gaze away from Christ, we suffer vision damage, even if the focus of our attention is Mary. Christ is our Lord and Savior. We see clearly when we are looking at Him.PRAYER: You loved me when I didn’t know how to love you or love myself. You acted on my behalf to save me when I still loved my sin and wanted no part of your love. Today, I thank you for your love and patience. I cast myself upon your mercy. Thank you for freely giving to me what I could never earn—eternal life! ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Saturday, December 21Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-14; John 10:14-18KEEPING WATCH OVER THEIR FLOCKSThe tiny kid goat was stiff as a board when my father-in-law, Jack, carried it in from the field. Her mother had abandoned her, apparently, or died. The kid laid down on the cold ground and could not get up.I thought the little goat was already gone, but Jack wanted to try and revive her. He rubbed her vigorously and squeezed the breath in and out. She moved her legs ever so slightly. I got a pasteboard box and put it near the wood stove. The kid could not stand up, so I put her chin on the top edge of the box and held her upright.Jack found an old Coke bottle. We heated some milk and tried to get the goat to drink. She wouldn’t or couldn’t open her mouth. So I forced my fingers between her teeth and pried her jaw open. Most of the milk dribbled down her chin, but a trickle went down her throat. The warm milk and good rubbing brought the desired effect. Our little goat was soon standing on her own and holding up her head. We nursed her back to health, and she became the loyal family pet. The flocks represented the wealth and livelihood of the shepherds in Bethlehem. Every lamb was important. They carried injured animals on their shoulders and cared for them in their homes. When they came up short in the count, they made every effort to find the wayward lambs. This is the job of the shepherd.When the Lamb of God came into the world, his Father announced it first to the shepherds. Of all categories of men the shepherds were most likely to understand the value of the little Lamb born that night. His birth in a manger would be no hindrance to them. Stables were as familiar to the shepherds as grocery stores are to us.The Lamb of God is also the Good Shepherd, just as he told us. He is so committed to us, his flock, that he lays down his life for us. We need never question his devotion even to the least of us.PRAYER: Sometimes I feel so tired and afraid. Good Shepherd, please watch over me. Give my legs strength for the work I have today. Help me keep my chin up. Teach me about endurance, Lord, for you learned it perfectly in all your trials. Thank you for the absolute certainty of your loving presence this holiday season.ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Sunday, December 22Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-14; Matthew 4:11THE HEAVENLY HOSTSAngels have become very popular in our culture during my lifetime. Books, magazines, television, and movies frequently feature angelic messengers.My father used to tell us that angels rode on the hood of our car. They protected us as we traveled. If you ever rode with my father, you knew how important those angels were. He told us as we learned to drive that if we drove too fast or turned too sharp we could throw those angels off. So we had to be careful.I drove him back to Central Texas after he had heart trouble here in New Orleans. One of the questions I asked Dad was about those angels on the hood. He said, “I had to tell you something to slow you down. But the angels do watch over us.”The angels of God encamp around those who fear him, the Bible says. They are ministering spirits who watch over us on our journey through this life. And they are ultimately emblems and agents of the great love of God who numbers the hairs on our head, who numbers our days, who draws us to himself with awesome grace and gentle providence.Angels attended to the birth and the burial of Jesus. They ministered to him in various ways during his ministry. They also ministered to the apostles and the early church. God gives them specific assignments and varying levels of authority. There is a reminder in Scripture that seems fitting in this holiday season so full of angels. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2). PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for sending the angels to announce the birth of our Savior. Thank you that the angels that watch over us. And thank you for those “angelic” people who bless my life every day. I see your face when I see them. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Monday, December 23Scripture Reading: Luke 2:25-35WAITING FOR THE CONSOLATION OF ISRAELSo what do you really wish for Christmas?There was an old man in Israel who had prayed intently and consistently that he would see the Messiah before he died. His name was Simeon. God granted his request on the day that Jesus' parents brought him to the temple for circumcision. He was "moved by the Spirit," Dr. Luke tells us (2:27). He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”Now here is a Christmas wish--to truly see Jesus, the Messiah. Simeon recognized the Christ child because he was walking in faith. Simeon believed that there was a God in heaven who personally cared for him and all people. He truly believed that God was involved in the affairs of people and that God would do something to rescue people from their failures, their sin, and their emptiness.If you have seen the movie, "The Never-ending Story," you saw one man's conception of the "Nothing." The "Nothing" for him was the lack of imagination that killed creativity. For me, the Nothing is much more sobering. This Nothing turns all of our efforts into mist. It transforms our dreams into fog. It chokes our soul in the dark and mocks our tears and our joy. The Nothing is what you get if you don't have a Savior.This is why it was such great news that the angels brought. And the news was to be received universally--everywhere in the earth. For everywhere that people live and breathe and think, people long for meaning and purpose and forgiveness. "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord" (Lk. 2:11).PRAYER: Dear God, I am so aware of and ashamed of my sin. Please forgive me and cleanse my soul today. Thank you for your amazing grace and for sending the Savior to die on the cross for my sin so I can be brought into your family. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Tuesday, December 24Scripture Reading: John 1:1-5, 14THE WORD BECAME FLESHAll those who believe in Jesus live at a new address. God has transferred us from "the domain of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved Son." We must become oriented to this shift of address. We live in Bethlehem now.The shepherds went back to the fields, but Bethlehem was never far from their minds and hearts. The wise men returned to the East, but their lives were forever changed by the trip to Bethlehem.We live in Bethlehem in the sense that we cannot and will not depart from the truth that is learned here. Bethlehem is where God invaded human flesh. This is the most monumental truth that we learn in our lifetimes. We live in Bethlehem spiritually. We live here intellectually, philosophically, theologically. We live in Bethlehem as we establish our priorities in life, develop our ethics, relate to people and things. And Bethlehem lives in us. At Bethlehem God revealed Himself in flesh. In a related way, God has accomplished that miracle in you now. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you (I Corinthians 6:16). You are the good news incarnate. "As the Father has sent me, so send I you," Jesus said (John 20:21).The world looks for life, strains its eyes to catch a glimpse. They need a song to sing. Do not disappoint them. The angels are inviting shepherds and plumbers and doctors and lawyers to come see the Christ, and those angels are leading people right to you. You are experiencing divine appointments. Because the life of Christ is in you, God is bringing needy people by to experience in you the truth of Bethlehem. He is making manifest the truth of Christmas through His Church.PRAYER: Give me wisdom and strength to be faithful, God, to the good news about Jesus. Help me to be ready to today to give an answer to anyone who asks about my hope. Bless our family as we experience Christmas Eve together. May it be a time when we truly exalt the Lord Jesus. ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Wednesday, December 25Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-12YOUR APPOINTED TIME!The star led the wise men from afar to the Christ-child. The star, an emblem of the Messiah, directed them to Him. God has placed His star over you now. He brings men and women to you to hear of Christ, to see Jesus.Some people come from afar, from miles away spiritually. They are so distant from His love and the knowledge of Him. They do not know anything. So God brings them to you. They see in you the gospel in flesh. The glow attracts them. The glow calls them, directs them. "Let your light shine in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven" (Matthew 5:16).You may have heard about the Christmas party where everyone was invited to come dressed as one of the characters in the traditional Christmas story. Three Aggies came as firemen decked out in boots and hats. Someone objected, and they replied, "The wise men came from a fire!"Many people come to Christ from afar, and many come from a fire. They are drawn to Christ through crisis and trouble in their lives. The star abides over you now. God draws the hurting, the lonely, the desperate to you. They may make fun of your faith at work. But when divorce comes to them, or bereavement, they will ask you to pray for them, they will seek your counsel. They see the star over your life.God appointed a time for the angels to herald the birth of his Son. God appointed a time to reveal his Son in his glory--the Mount of Transfiguration. It was time for his Son to be glorified. God appointed a time for the people to celebrate His coming as Messiah. Palm Sunday was that time. Had the children of Israel failed to sing, the rocks would have cried out that day. It was the appointed time.The angels had their turn as did the shepherds and the wise men. The message is as glorious as it ever was. Now is your appointed time. PRAYER: To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen (Eph. 3:21). ................
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