The history of man, people, as recorded in the Bible is one story after another where God provides people everything they need. People recognize what God has done for them for a short time, then turn away, falling for temptation, pride, and selfishness. God sends prophets to teach people and attempt to bring them back, but that ultimately fails and God is forced to take dramatic steps to remind people of his presence and power. This story is repeated in various forms in the Garden of Eden, the time of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and many other times.

However, God used a different strategy once.

John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” and in verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The Word is Jesus who came not just to tell people about God’s presence and power, he is God and became a man. By sacrificing himself for us we may avoid the punishment we deserve for disobeying God.

This plan is so much different and as John writes in, John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.”

The different plan is that God came to us out of love, as Jesus, to save us, rather than destroy and demonstrate his power and our failings. John 3:17 says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

Dear Lord, Jesus coming to earth to save us is an amazing act of love for us. Help us remember that this is what we are celebrating on Christmas, Your love for us and Your desire to have us love you in return. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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In Matthew 1:22-23, the angel came to Joseph before Jesus was born and told him that Mary would be having a baby. The angel says,

“All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

The name Immanuel brings together all of what Jesus was and what he is, “God with us.” He was with them as man on earth, and is with us now. As Jesus says in Matthew 28:20, “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Dear Lord, What a joy it is to know that your are with us. In our successes, sorrows, and struggles; To comfort, protect, heal, and save us eternally. Joy to the World. In His name we pray. Amen.

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One of the great things about the Bible is how it ties together. The books were all written separately over the course of a couple thousand years, and archaeological evidence continues being found supporting the details. The books are also written with reference to secular kings and rulers that can be cross referenced with other archaeological evidence.

This makes the bible prophecies all the more amazing.

At this Christmas time of year, one prophecy in particular is relevant.

One of the many prophecies about Jesus and which Jesus fulfilled is in Micah 5:2 where the prophet wrote, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.”

Micah wrote this several hundred years prior to Jesus’ birth, but specified the town the Messiah would be born. It would be like someone from a time before the founding of the United States, writing the name of the town from which the next US President would be born; obviously hard to explain outside of the supernatural.

Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us the rich complexity an detail of your story and allowing for the discoveries as time goes on to continually improve support for Bible stories. Help us use this as support for our own faith and in witnessing. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Luke 1 tells the story of the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had no other children, and were much too old to have children without a miracle, but the angel, Gabriel, came to Zechariah and told him they would have a child, who would prepare people for the arrival of the Messiah.

Zechariah was skeptical as a result, Gabriel caused him to be unable to speak until John was born.

When Zechariah was finally allowed to speak, he spoke the prophecy of Jesus’ coming in Luke 1:68-79. The final verses are a beautiful and simple summary of the Good news, Luke 1:78-79 “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Dear Lord, We praise and thank you for sending the “morning light from heaven,” which is Jesus who brings us out of the darkness of our sin and into your light, allowing us to live in Your peace. In His name we pray. Amen.

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Do you ever wonder what God wants from us?

Christian behavior is one thing, which is summed up in Luke 10:27, where Jesus said, “Love the Lord with all your heart soul and strength, and love your neighbor as your self.”

But that is how he wants us to act, but what he wants us to give him is described in Psalm 50:14,15 which says, “What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled. I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.”

What God wants from us, is thanks, obedience, and reliance on him, all of which will give him glory.

We do this by keeping him in our thoughts all the time as if he were our constant companion, which he is.

Dear Lord, Thank you for all the amazing blessings you have given us. Each of us have so much for which to be thankful. Help us keep you in our thoughts all the time and trust in you protection. When things go well for us, let us be quick to give you the glory. Without you, we would be lost. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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