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.

Dear Jesus, thank you for choosing me to be part of Your family! Thank you for placing me in an earthly family who loves me and who I can love. You are my Savior and I love you! In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Christmas Devotion Day 3 - God Chooses a Tribe

  

Read Genesis 49

Genesis 49:9-10 - Judah is a lion’s cub...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. 

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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. 

Christmas Devotion Day 1

 

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. 

Squanto - A Special Instrument of God

 

As we celebrate Thanksgiving day I'd like to share the true story of Squanto...the Native American who helped the Pilgrims survive that first year. 

Historical accounts of Squanto's life vary, but historians believe that around 1608, more than a decade before the Pilgrims arrived, a group of English traders sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, the traders took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. It was an unimaginable horror.

But God had an amazing plan for one of the captured Indians, a boy named Squanto.

Squanto was bought by a well-meaning Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stables of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto's desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first vessel bound for America.

It wasn't until 1619, ten years after Squanto was first kidnapped, that a ship was found. Finally, after a decade of exile and heartbreak, Squanto was on his way home.

But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto's entire village.

We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto's mind. Why had God allowed him to return home, against all odds, only to find his loved ones dead?

A year later, the answer came. A shipload of English families arrived and settled on the very land once occupied by Squanto's people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.

According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto "became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."

When Squanto lay dying of fever, Bradford wrote that their Indian friend "desir[ed] the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." Squanto bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims "as remembrances of his love."

Who but God could so miraculously convert a lonely Indian and then use him to save a struggling band of Englishmen? It is reminiscent of the biblical story of Joseph, who was also sold into slavery, and whom God likewise used as a special instrument for good.