Christmas Devotion Day 4 - God Chooses a Family

  

Read 2 Samuel 7

2 Samuel 7:16 - And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

Even though David was far from being a perfect man, God called him a “man after My own heart” – because David always returned to God for forgiveness with a heart determined to follow God. David wanted very much to be a godly king to his people. He wanted to lead the people back into true worship of God, something they had left many times over the years.

One of David’s plans was to build a permanent temple in place of the Tabernacle tent God had designed for the nation while they were in the wilderness. David asked permission from God to build this temple. How many of us would simply have gone ahead and built it, rather than asking God for permission? God told him no, he could not build it because he was a warrior-king and had killed a lot of people. 

Then God encouraged David, promising David He would build an eternal “house” for him; David’s family would never lack a man to sit on the throne. David understood what this promise meant, because no human family could ever guarantee a son would always be there. David knew this promise meant the Messiah would be born of his family.

Dear Jesus, thank you for choosing me to be part of Your family! Thank you for placing me in an earthly family who loves me and who I can love. You are my Savior and I love you! In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 3 - God Chooses a Tribe

 

Read Genesis 49

Genesis 49:9-10 - Judah is a lion’s cub...The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 

Jacob had twelve sons, and God moved them to Egypt for a while so they would become a unique nation, separated from the other people with whom they shared a language. God wanted them to be His people, not because of who they were, but simply because He had chosen them to be the nation from which the Messiah would be born. 

Of the twelve sons, Judah was selected by God to begin the tribe which would become the kingly tribe. God’s promise in our verse today was unequalled in history – never before, and to only one man since, was the promise made: a king of this tribe would always carry the title of ruler. Even though Israel had no physical king after their slavery in Babylon, the royal lineage was kept in the records to know exactly who would be the next in line. 

However, it would be about 400 years before the first king from the Tribe of Judah would be crowned – David.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you that the Old Testament points continually to our Savior. May we see Jesus in its words and in its promises. Focus us this day on the Lion of Judah. In His name we pray, Amen. 

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Christmas Devotion Day 2 - God Chooses a Man

 

Read Genesis 12 and 15

Genesis 22:17-18 - I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.

Mankind continued in their sin until God destroyed everyone except for Noah and his family – eight people. Then the day came that God chose one man to make a nation from whom this “seed of the woman” – the Messiah – would be born. This man was Abraham.

God could simply have given Abraham many children and said the Messiah would come through one of these many children, but instead God gave Abraham a very specific promise. Even though Abraham had several children after he was an old man, God gave him one special son, miraculously born of his wife who was also too old to have children, and promised the Messiah would come from this man – Abraham’s son, Isaac.

Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob, and God again promised the nation that the Messiah would come from just one of them - Jacob. 

*What promises of God do you have trouble believing will be fulfilled completely?

Prayer: Lord God, may we keep our eyes focused on You during this Advent season. Help us to see through Your Word, the incredible plan, begun long ago, to come to this earth as a baby and to die for the sins of all people so that all people might have a chance to live with You through eternity. We love you Lord! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 1

 

Read Genesis 3

Genesis 3:15 - I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her seed (offspring); he shall crush your head, and you shall strike his heel.

The story of Christmas begins at the beginning of the Bible. God had created a universe, earth, an animal kingdom, and finally mankind, and had said it was good. There was no sickness, or war (even between the animals), or hatred. Then Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, and sin entered the world and all creation.

But God was not caught by surprise. He already had a plan for how He would redeem mankind. He had given them the choice to obey or disobey, and now He would make a way so mankind could choose to return to Him without being destroyed.

However, one of the greatest angels God created had also chosen to sin. Satan hated God so much he wanted to destroy everything God had created. Satan could not force Adam and Eve to disobey, so he tempted them to do so. He still tempts us today – not because he wants us to be with him, but simply because he hates God so much.

God’s first prophecy came in reply to this first sin: His promise that Jesus would one day come – the only man ever to be born just of a woman without the seed of a man. Satan would "strike" Jesus but ultimately, Jesus will "crush" his head and destroy him and his power. 

Prayer: Thank you God for creating us and the beautiful world we live in. We are sorry for the sin that so easily entangles us. Thank You Jesus for coming to this earth, taking on human flesh and being willing to be struck by Satan so that we can be saved. May our focus be on You this Christmas season and every day. We love you! In Your name we pray, Amen. 

Squanto - A Special Instrument of God

  

As we celebrate Thanksgiving day 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. 

The Seventieth Week - Daniel 9:26-27

And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”  Daniel 9:26-27

 

In our last lesson we read about the timing of the Seventieth Week of Daniel. For details on this special seven years of earth’s history we need to go to the book of Revelation. To understand all of this as God wrote it, we need to state some things that have been misunderstood or misinterpreted from the Bible.

First, this seventieth week is about Israel, not about the Church. Remember, the decree from God was made to Daniel about “your people” – Israel. The Church (true believers in Jesus from all over the world) began on Pentecost Sunday in Acts 2. The Church did not replace Israel in God’s plan – He has specific plans for both! The purpose for Israel was for bringing Jesus into the world – He would be born from that nation. The purpose for the Church is to be Jesus’ body on this earth until His plan is completed; then the Church goes to Jesus’ side to become His Bride and to always be with Him. Israel is pictured as God’s “wife” in many Old Testament scriptures (read Hosea as an example). The “covenant” God made with Israel is pictured in the Tabernacle/Temple. The “covenant” He made with the Church is the Holy Spirit as a special helper to the Church, and a “contract of marriage” which is pictured in all Jesus told His disciples in John chapters 13-17. Ephesians 1:13 pictures the Holy Spirit as a kind of “engagement ring” for the Church.

Second, this seventieth week is God’s way of bringing Israel back to Himself. When Jesus came the first time, the religious leaders understood exactly who He claimed to be – but they did not want to lose their positions of power over the people, so they conspired to kill him. God’s prophecies in Deuteronomy promised Israel exactly what would happen to them if/when they walked away from Him. Another difference in how God promised to work in each group is that Israel was promised God’s anger and wrath (Deuteronomy 11:17 for example) when they walked away from Him. His promise to the Church is that we will be delivered or protected from His wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Lastly, God’s promise to Israel is that when His “wrath” has been completed, “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26-27). When they finally acknowledge who Jesus truly is – their Messiah and God – they will never again walk away from Him.

*When was the last time you prayed for the people of Israel to recognize Jesus as their Messiah?

Seventy Weeks of History Foretold - Daniel 9:20-27

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. 

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”  Daniel 9:20-27

Notice that Daniel prayed at the time of day that God had commanded His people to pray – at the time of the evening sacrifice. Even though the temple was destroyed, Daniel still honored the “time for prayer” as God had commanded. When does God ask us to pray? The answer is found in such verses as 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “pray without ceasing.”

God now gives Daniel a prophetic map of the history of Israel from his day until the end of history as we know it. Where Daniel had been reading about “70 years”, God now maps history in “70 weeks.” Each “week” is seven years. Notice that the purpose of the seventy weeks is to “finish the transgression” – complete the time of Israel’s rebellion against God.

The first period of seven weeks began with the king’s command to Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2). The city and the place of the Temple again belonged to Israel. The prophecy of sixty-two weeks gives us the exact day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, offering them the Kingdom (Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12). Within days “after that” Jesus was crucified – “cut off” from His people. (For further explanation of this fulfillment go to https://www.gotquestions.org/seventy-weeks.html)

Jesus spoke of the “times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24, a period of time between the “cutting off” of the Messiah until the time of the last “week” for Daniel’s people, Israel. This is the time in which we live now. Daniel’s seventieth week will begin when a “prince” makes a covenant with Israel (Daniel’s people) for one week – seven years. This is known as the Great Tribulation.

*What makes you certain that you will not have to face the Great Tribulation?