Luke 2:10-11 tells us through the angels who appeared to the Shepherds, “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today.”
Doesn’t this cover the entire message of Jesus Christ and Christianity. We don’t need to fear, because of the “good news of great joy for all people.”
Dear Lord, help us have the joy in our hearts and lives that comes from knowing our Savior has come. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
One of the fundamentals of Christianity is that God saves us. There is nothing we can do to be saved, it is a gift given to us by God through Jesus.
One way this is described, in the Bible, is in the revelation about Jesus by the angel to Joseph.
Matthew 1:20-21 says, “ an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins.”
Jesus’ name actually means, “He saves,” or some translations say, “the Lord saves”
From the announcement that Jesus was coming, it was made known that God was saving those who believe, and Jesus is that salvation.
Dear Lord, what a comfort and joy it is to know that you save us, we never could meet the standard of perfection to earn our salvation, and by your grace we don’t have to. You save us. Joy to the World! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The gospels write about the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary to tell her she would bear Jesus. What a shocking and frightening experience this must have been. However, her response recorded in Luke is an example for all of us.
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Luke 1:38
If only we could have this conviction and faith in response to the promises that are made to us in the Bible, like this in Hebrews 13:5-6, “For God has said, “I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.” That is why we can say without doubt or fear, “The Lord is my helper, and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me.”
Dear Lord, you have given us a tremendous example of faith and confidence in Mary’s reply to Gabriel. Help us learn from this example to trust your promises and say as well, “we are your servants.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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 in which 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 a US President 100 years from now would be born; Obviously hard to explain outside of the supernatural.
Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us the rich complexity and detail in our Bible, providing us continually amazing evidence for Bible accounts. Help us use this detail to strengthen our own faiths and our witness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
I am sure Christians of the first century who heard the teachings of the original apostles expected to see Jesus’ return in their lifetimes. I imagine they would be surprised if they knew at the time that we would be reading the teachings of Paul, Peter, and the other apostles 2000 years later, and still be waiting anxiously for Jesus’ return.
I sometimes wonder why we don’t have prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ellijah and John, today. But in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Paul writes, “Do not smother the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at those who prophesy, but test everything that is said to be sure it is true, and if it is, then accept it.” Maybe we do have prophets today; we just call them teachers, pastors, and authors.
John describes a test for prophets in 1 John 4:1,2. He writes “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God, for there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.”
Dear Lord, thank you for those who teach us your word and help us in our walk with you. Help us to be wise to know your truth when it is taught. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
