Christmas Devotion - Names of Jesus - Beginning on December 1

Tuesday, December 1, marks the first day in Advent...a time when we prepare our hearts and minds for the upcoming celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Many families read a weekly devotion and sing Christmas carols. Others may use an advent wreath or an advent calendar to anticipate Christmas.

This year for our Christmas devotion my family will be learning about the different names of Jesus and what they tell us about God. Our youngest daughter will also color ornaments with the different names of Jesus to hang on the Christmas tree. The ornaments can be downloaded for free from this website: Names of Jesus ornaments

I will be using two different resources for this Advent Devotion: The Names of Jesus Unit Study by Karen Caroe and the book Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler. Each daily devotion will contain Scripture references, devotion material, two Christmas songs and Christmas craft ideas. These devotions can be used with children of all ages. Below is a brief introduction of the study:

"In every age and every culture names are important. Parents often struggle to select just the right name to give their child. It is more than just a label of identification.

In Biblical times, a name had a significant meaning--often denoting a characteristic or something related to the history of the person or his time. Sometimes a new name was given to indicate a change of character or a major event in one's history.

To begin this Christmas Devotion you may want to look up some of the Biblical people who had their names changed. Why did they change? Did they change names on their own or were they given a new name by someone else? Was their new name a good one? Did they live up to their name?

When it comes to Jesus, it is possible to find more than 100 names and titles for Him. No other person in history has had as many names or titles.

We can experience God more deeply by focusing on the names and titles of the man who was known by His contemporaries as Yeshua. His many titles, including such rich descriptions as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Alpha and Omega and Lamb of God reveal who Jesus is and why He came into this world. They also show us something about God's intentions and plans for our own lives."

My prayer is that this devotion will help you and your family experience more of Christ this Christmas!

Squanto - A Special Instrument of God

As Thanksgiving approaches I'd like to share the true story of Squanto...the Native American who helped the Pilgrims survive that first year. 

Historical accounts of Squanto's life vary, but historians believe that around 1608, more than a decade before the Pilgrims arrived, a group of English traders sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, the traders took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. It was an unimaginable horror.

But God had an amazing plan for one of the captured Indians, a boy named Squanto.

Squanto was bought by a well-meaning Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stables of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto's desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first vessel bound for America.

It wasn't until 1619, ten years after Squanto was first kidnapped, that a ship was found. Finally, after a decade of exile and heartbreak, Squanto was on his way home.

But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto's entire village.

We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto's mind. Why had God allowed him to return home, against all odds, only to find his loved ones dead?

A year later, the answer came. A shipload of English families arrived and settled on the very land once occupied by Squanto's people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.

According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto "became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."

When Squanto lay dying of fever, Bradford wrote that their Indian friend "desir[ed] the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." Squanto bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims "as remembrances of his love."

Who but God could so miraculously convert a lonely Indian and then use him to save a struggling band of Englishmen? It is reminiscent of the biblical story of Joseph, who was also sold into slavery, and whom God likewise used as a special instrument for good.