Christmas Devotion Day 13 - Zechariah and Elizabeth

Read Luke 1:1-24

"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...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." Luke 1:13,17

It had been nearly four hundred years since God had given a prophecy to the people of Israel (last lesson). He had been silent so long the people wondered if He had forsaken them. But then He sent His angel to a priest serving in the temple. This priest was an old man, and his wife was also too old enough to have children. Yet God told Zechariah he was about to have a son born.

Zechariah doubted God, which was surprising because he had been trained in God’s ways from a young child, trained to be a priest. He knew how God had given a child to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Because of Zechariah’s doubt, God made it impossible for him to speak, and said he would regain the ability to talk when his son was born.

How often do we doubt what God says to us, even though we read it in the Bible? Maybe, like for Zechariah, God’s words just do not make sense because we cannot see how what He says can happen. Maybe we are listening to someone else trying to explain what God REALLY said, but it is not the same as the words in the Bible. For Zechariah, the moment he was unable to speak he knew he had done the wrong thing by not trusting God. But now he would have to wait for the birth of his son before he would be able to speak again.

*When did you doubt what God said to you? What happened?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to not only believe in You but to believe You...to believe what You say to us in Your Word and what You speak to our hearts through Your Holy Spirit. May we believe and not doubt. We love you! In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 12 - God Sends a Forerunner

Read Malachi 3-4

Malachi 3:1 - Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the Messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 

The last prophecy for this study, of the Messiah coming, is part of the last prophecy in the Bible before Jesus was born. Much of what you have read in the Scripture for today is about judgment, the judgment on evil the Messiah would bring. 

But just as we read over and over in the Bible, God gives people mercy and grace: another chance to repent and turn from wickedness. This is the purpose of this messenger God will send to prepare the way for the Messiah.

All through their history the people of Israel had been given prophets and leaders to tell them God’s ways and plans. Most of the time, the people had either ignored God’s warnings, or in some cases had even openly told God they did not care or they did not believe His warnings. This was one of the important reasons why God gave them prophecy warnings – telling them ahead of time exactly what would happen so they knew He was telling the truth. God has warned us the same way.

*What prophecy warning are you listening to from God?

Prayer; Thank you, O Lord, for Your mercy and grace to us! Thank you for the messengers you bring to us  who tell us the truth and lead us to You. We love you Jesus! In Your name, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 11 - God Names the Town

Read Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2 - But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 

One of the most incredible things about God’s prophecies is how He sometimes gives great details of what He will do. There are actually two very specific prophecies about Bethlehem regarding the Messiah. Besides our verse above, see also Jeremiah 31:15 which is a prophecy about the children of Bethlehem being killed – we will study this a bit more in a later lesson.

It did not matter where Mary and Joseph were living when Jesus was conceived (a later study). God had promised Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and God would make that happen without picking Mary and Joseph up and spiriting them to Bethlehem just in time for Jesus to be born. 

Do you believe God knows or controls the smallest details of your life? And if He does, are you still able to make choices for yourself? You cannot choose everything in your life. For example, you could not choose who your parents were or who your siblings are. Yet, these relationships have the largest influence of your life in what choices you can make about who you want to be. God’s plan will work out – your choices determine whether you want Him to work out everything for good for you.

*What bad thing in your life have you seen God turn into good?

Prayer: Thank you for the choices You have made for me. Continue to guide my life O Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 10: Salvation Through His Death

Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Isaiah 53:4-5 - Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 

As we read a few lessons ago, the prophecies for the Messiah were not all about strength and power and victory. Our Scripture reading today could seem like a complete defeat – but it is actually victory God’s way. 

Messiah was coming, but He must first do a very difficult job. He must come to take care of our sin problem. Sin is such a problem because the only penalty for it is death. There is no sentence of prison time or payment or good work anyone can ever do to pay for even one sin. And once we are physically dead, the death sentence cannot be reversed unless our spirits have been made alive before our bodies died.

Jesus came to earth for one purpose – to die. He told Pilate at His trial that His purpose was Truth – and the most basic Truth is that sin causes death and there is only one way to escape death – Jesus.

Our Scripture reading says, in Verse 4, some may see God the Father as the cause of Jesus’ suffering – but the truth is, WE are the cause of Jesus’ suffering. He came to pay the price for us because of His great love for us.

*What makes you certain Jesus has given you eternal life and forgiveness?

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for giving Your life for my sins. I can never repay you. All I can give you is my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength. Use me to further Your Kingdom. I love you Jesus! In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 9 - Fully Human, Fully God

Read Isaiah 49:1-6

Isaiah 49:1 - Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. 

One of the most difficult things for some people to believe is that if we say Jesus is God, how could He also be human? Many insist being human would be too humiliating for God. 

But we read in John 1:1-14 how the Word, the Messiah, was truly God and yet “the Word became flesh.” This does not mean God had sex with Mary to have a baby with her – even this thought is offensive. Instead, God simply did a miracle in Mary, giving her a child as no other woman in history has ever had a child. The miracle is the same as when God had shaped a man’s body from dirt, He breathed into the body’s nose and the body became a living man – Adam. God can, and did in Mary’s case, make a woman pregnant without sex. No other woman has had this happen before or after Mary. 

Jesus the Messiah was, and still is, unique. He has always been God and always will be; and at this time in history He took on human flesh so we could see and understand God better.

*What is the greatest miracle God has done in your life?

Prayer: Thank you, O Lord, for faith to believe that Jesus is fully God and yet, fully man. Thank you Jesus that You would willingly put on humanity to show us God and to save us. I love you Jesus! In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 8 - Messiah as a Servant

Day 8: Messiah is coming as a servant

Read Isaiah 42:1-7

Isaiah 42:6-7 - I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 

There are many prophecies about the Messiah being a ruler and a victor. We often look only for the things that help us be successful and happy. But God prophesied the Messiah was coming as a Servant, someone who would do a very special job which could be done by no one else but God Himself.

In other verses of our reading passage, there are descriptions of things Messiah would do or be which would be painful and discouraging. God’s promise, however, was that He would not allow anything to happen to the Messiah that was not completely according to His perfect plan. All He had designed for this time of Messiah being a Servant would turn out for people’s good. When He was tired, He would not complain. When He was hurting, He would not cry out. When He was exhausted, He would not become faint or discouraged.

*How has Jesus helped you complete a task you found difficult or humiliating?

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being a servant and for helping me to serve others. Each day, show me who I can serve and ways that I can serve. Thank you for helping me do this Holy Spirit. In Your name, Jesus, I pray, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 7 - The Child is God

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

Isaiah 9:6-7 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

In the next few lessons we look at some of the prophecies given by God, and what they tell us about this Child who would be born – the Messiah. Our Scripture reading today tells of a time when people who walk in darkness will see a great light. In 1 John 1:5 we read God is Light, and Jesus said He is the Light of the World – John 8:12.

In the two verses above we find many descriptions of who the Messiah will actually be. Read the comparisons between the description and how they apply to Jesus:

Wonderful Counselor – people marveled at Jesus’ wisdom (Matthew 22:15-22)

Mighty God – Jesus called Himself one with God (John 10:30)

Everlasting Father – God had called Himself Israel’s Father from the beginning (Exodus 4:22)

Prince of Peace – the angels told the shepherds Jesus was bringing peace to men (Luke 2:14)

Messiah would be God Himself.

*How have you experienced Jesus’ peace in your life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that You are my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and my Prince of Peace. May I live each day believing You and trusting You. I love you Lord Jesus. In Your name, Amen.