Bible League: Living His Word "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."— Matthew 1:23 NKJV Immanuel, God with us. God the Son stepped out of heaven to come in the flesh. But why in the form of a baby, a child? God is the creator of heaven and earth, of you and me, and God desires and wants a relationship with each of us on a personal level. He desires we see and engage in His creation as it is a gift and blessing for us. He desires a personal relationship with His people on an intimate and loving level that goes both ways. "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23). I believe in order to illustrate the kind of reciprocal, intimate, loving, and caring relationship God desires, He sent His Son first as a child. It is Christ as a baby and child that evokes compassion in all of us—the compassion of a parent for a child. The Bible tells us that when Pharoah's daughter found the baby Moses in a basket by the river, "she saw the child: and behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him." Compassion evokes joy and the natural desire to be in a closer relationship. Elizabeth, upon hearing news of Mary's pregnancy rejoiced, and the babe in her womb even leaped with joy (Luke 1:44). What are some of the blessings of an intimate, loving relationship with the almighty God? For starters He promises to always be with us (Genesis 28:15, Hebrews 13:5). The Bible tells us the Lord God is our rest (Exodus 33:14, Matthew 11:28-30). God promises to be our strength in the battles (Deuteronomy 20:1, Romans 8:37-39). He promises to be our comfort (Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). God is our friend (James 2:23, John 15:15), and He promises to be with us to the end (Matthew 28:19-20). And these are just some of the wonderful promises we have with an intimate relationship with God. Christmas is the celebration of God's perfect gift to us. A gift of love and salvation and an invitation to a relationship with the real and living God. Jesus Christ, the gift, is the only baby with such promises and qualities. He was and is the only baby to be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting, the Prince of Peace. So revere and celebrate the baby Jesus, the divine child who came to invite you into a personal relationship with a personal God. Merry Christmas! By Pastor David Massie, Bible League International staff, California U.S. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingHaggai Haggai 1 -- The Word of the Lord by Haggai; Haggai Inspires Temple Building NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Haggai 2 -- The Builders Encouraged to the Work by Promise of Greater Glory; God's promise to Zerubbabel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 16 Revelation 16 -- The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath; Armageddon NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.Insight Peter wanted to rouse the complacent believers who had listened to the false teachers and believed that because salvation is not based on good deeds, they could live any way they wanted. Challenge If you truly belong to the Lord, Peter wrote, your hard work will prove it. If you're not working to develop the qualities listed in 2 Peter 1:5-7, maybe you don't belong to him. If you are the Lord's—and your hard work backs up your claim to be chosen by God (“called and chosen'')—you will never be led astray by the lure of false teaching or glamorous sin. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Job 1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.What the patriarch did early in the morning, after the family festivities, it will be well for the believer to do for himself ere he rests tonight. Amid the cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful levities, and to forget our avowed character as Christians. It ought not to be so, but so it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified enjoyment, but too frequently degenerate into unhallowed mirth. There is a way of joy as pure and sanctifying as though one bathed in the rivers of Eden: holy gratitude should be quite as purifying an element as grief. Alas! for our poor hearts, that facts prove that the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting. Come, believer, in what have you sinned today? Have you been forgetful of your high calling? Have you been even as others in idle words and loose speeches? Then confess the sin, and fly to the sacrifice. The sacrifice sanctifies. The precious blood of the Lamb slain removes the guilt, and purges away the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness. This is the best ending of a Christmas-day--to wash anew in the cleansing fountain. Believer, come to this sacrifice continually; if it be so good tonight, it is good every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood; to them sin, great as it is, is nevertheless no cause for despair, since they draw near yet again to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience is purged from dead works. Gladly I close this festive day, Grasping the altar's hallow'd horn; My slips and faults are washed away, The Lamb has all my trespass borne. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!Psalm 100:1,2,4 A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. • Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. • Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Isaiah 9:6,7 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. • There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Mark 12:6 "He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' Psalm 107:21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Psalm 103:1 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Luke 1:46,47 And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, • And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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