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.

*What kind of blessing have you missed because you ran ahead of God?

Christmas Devotion Day 3 - God Chooses a Tribe

 Read Genesis 49

Genesis 49:9-10 - Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 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. 

*How often are you impatient for God to keep His promises to you?

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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. 

The Fear of the Lord - Jeremiah 36:1-32

Read Jeremiah 36:1-32

So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah 36:32

Judgment came against Jehoiakim not simply because he acted foolishly in burning the Scriptures but because of the condition of heart which that action revealed. This is given to us in one flaming sentence in Verse 24: "Yet neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words, was afraid, nor did they rend their garments." These men had lost the fear of God. And when a nation or a people or an individual loses the fear of God, they are on their way to destruction. For the fear of God is based upon the sovereign power which he exercises in life. These men were shown to be stupid and senseless men who had lost their sense of reality entirely, because they had lost the fear of God.

There is one great fact everywhere revealed — in Scripture, in history, and even in nature — which has been called "the law of retribution." That is, there is an inevitable consequence for doing wrong, and there is no way to escape it. Even an atheist, who does not believe in God at all, must admit that when he examines the laws of nature he is faced with the conclusion that you either obey the laws of nature and live, or disobey them and die. And man is helpless to change that. We are in the grip of forces greater than we are, and everything on every side testifies to this. That is why we learn respect for the laws of electricity. You do not fool around with 10,000 volts of electrical potential, thinking you are going to make up the laws as you go along. You had better find out what they are first, for you disobey them to your peril and death.

This is what God has implanted in every part of life. How foolish and utterly stupid is the person who seeks to ignore that fact. God requires of every nation that there be the recognition of his sovereign government of men, and the law of retribution for evil. History has testified repeatedly that God always accomplishes what he says he is going to do. God rules in the affairs of men. Napoleon, at the height of his career, once very boldly said, "God is on the side that has the heaviest artillery" — his cynical answer to someone who asked if God was on the side of France. Then came the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost both the battle and his empire. Years later, in exile on the island of St. Helena, chastened and humbled, Napoleon said, "Man proposes; God disposes." This is the lesson with which life seeks to confront us. God is able to work his sovereign will — despite man. Therefore the basic, elementary knowledge of life with which everyone ought to start is the fear of God.

Prayer: Our Father, these words sober me. I pray that I will not point the finger of self-righteousness at others, but rather will acknowledge the times I have not shown you the fear worthy of your name. May I exhibit the fear of You, O Lord, in every aspect of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Life Application: Is the arrogant defiance of God in our cultural environment eroding our reverent fear of our holy God? Do we need to inventory our hearts for signs of self righteous pride?

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Christmas Devotion Day 1 - God's Answer to Man's Sin

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.