Day 18

Read:  Luke 2:8

In the hills surrounding Bethlehem, shepherds still herd sheep just as they did 2,000 years ago on the night Jesus was born.  Shepherds have been a fixture in this area going all the way back to King David who lived 3,000 years ago!

Bethlehem is less than ten miles from Jerusalem, so it was a convenient place for the Temple herds to be raised.  The Jewish Old Covenant system included the sacrifice of sheep at the Passover, and those animals had to be raised somewhere.  While it cannot be determined with certainty if these shepherds in Luke 2:8 were tending the Temple herds, it is likely for more than just geographical reasons.

No detail is insignificant in the birth of Jesus.  After all, God had planned for this day for a very long time!  Jesus being born in Bethlehem fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2 as we saw a couple of days ago in this reading plan.  But why Bethlehem?  Why the shepherds?

Two things stand out:

First, Jesus would be known as the “Lamb of God.”  This title is declared by John the Baptist in John 1:29 and is repeated often in the book of Revelation.  Jesus, as the Lamb of God, had come to take away the sins of all who trust in Him.  Given this identity, how appropriate that the shepherds tending the sacrificial lambs would be invited to the party!

Second, as we saw in Luke 1, Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would sit on “David’s throne.”  David was a shepherd from Bethlehem before he ever became a military hero or King.  The symbolism of David’s promised descendent being visited by those working the same job David had as a kid is rich!

So, in Luke 2:8, we see that the shepherds of Bethlehem were watching their flock at night when they received a startling visit … something we will look at more over the next few days.  But today, let us soak in this symbolism.  Jesus, the Lamb of God, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.  The Old Testament sacrifices were shadows and symbols, but Jesus’ death made the final and very real payment for the sins of all who trust in Him.  Do you know and trust in the Lamb of God?  

Jesus is both our Good Shepherd and our sacrifice.  

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org

Day 17

Read:  Luke 2:7

Christmas at our house includes a few nativity scenes.  These sets include the “normal” pieces:  Mary, Joseph, Jesus, angels, shepherds, animals, and magi, but also a few “extras”:  a little drummer boy and the innkeeper, among others.

While the biblical accounts of Luke 2 and Matthew 2 include the normal pieces, the extras are no where to be found.  

You may want to protest, “The little drummer boy may be made up, but the innkeeper is real!  Read Luke 2:8, there is no room for them in the inn!”

Fair point.

That said, the passage does not depict a profit-hungry, villainous innkeeper saving the Presidential suite for dignitaries while sending Jesus to the barn.  In order to understand this more, we need to know something of the original language and customs of the day.

The word translated “inn” in our English Bibles could also be translated “guest room.”  There were hotels in the ancient world, but in a small town like Bethlehem, it is unlikely that the Holiday Inn or Hilton was in view.  More likely, it was the guest room of a family member that was full.

It is important to think of the customs of the day.  Houses in Israel in that era had indoor and outdoor areas.  The indoor portion was where the people slept, and the outdoor portion (like a large patio-like area), would be where the animals were kept overnight.  This is also where the animals were sometimes fed.  Therefore, the picture Luke 2 presents of Joseph and Mary placing Jesus in the feeding trough of the animals (the manger) seems to place them in the outside portion of a family member’s home.  

So what can we learn from these details?  We can learn that Jesus was born in a humble situation – not in a palace, or even in a guest room, but in the lean-to where the animals were kept.  Indeed “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Jesus humbled Himself when He came for us.  Though He was not exalted in the location of His birth, He now sits exalted over all at the right hand of the Father.  May we also have His mind, that we would be humble in our lives and wait for God to lift us up.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org

Day 16

Read:  Luke 2:6

When I started college, my degree program required me to take one foreign language course in the “2000” level.  Since I did not speak Spanish, I needed to learn the basics before I could read the poetry and short stories the 2000 level course required, so I enrolled in a couple of basic Spanish classes to prepare me for what was to come.

In many ways, the Law God gave to the Jewish people through Moses (recorded in the Old Testament) was preparing humanity for the New Covenant that God would establish through Jesus.  Humanity needed to learn the basics of the character of God, His call on their lives, and the wages of sin in order to be ready for what would happen through Christ. 

All of these “prerequisites” of the Law helped prepare people for the truth of Christ.  Jesus came into the world to seek and save the lost – the people who understood that they could not save themselves.  The Law prepared people for their need for a Savior.  Further, the Law prepared people to understand that death was the result of sin, so when Jesus died on the cross to take the payment for humanity’s sins, people would know why that needed to happen.  Finally, the supernatural demonstrations of God in the Old Testament helped humanity recognize the presence of God in the miracles of Jesus in the New Testament.  The Law was given to teach humanity so that they would understand Christ!

Luke 2:6 says, “The time came for her to give birth.”  Of course, this statement refers to Mary being at full term, but it also hints at something Paul wrote about in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law.” The fullness of time had come.  The Old Testament era prerequisites had been accomplished, and it was time for the Jesus-era to begin.  

Right on schedule Jesus was born.  The common language (Greek) and common passport (Roman) facilitated the rapid geographical spread of the Gospel around the world.  The people were prepared through the Old Testament era.  In God’s perfect plan “the time came for her to give birth.” 

It was time.  And now is the time for us to believe in Him.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org

Day 15

Read:  Luke 2:5

What if you could time travel to some point in the future to check-in on “future you”?  If you are currently experiencing trouble at home, difficulties at work, or financial insecurities, what if you could fast forward the clock and see a vision of the future?

Imagine you are on the verge of a divorce, or have a child who is estranged, and you zoom into the future and see your happy family united and enjoying an evening meal.   

How would seeing those future realities change your perspective on today?

In Luke 2:5, we bounce to a time when Joseph is still betrothed to Mary and they are traveling TOGETHER, soon to celebrate the arrival of Mary’s child.  This picture would have been very special for Mary to see after Gabriel visited her back in Nazareth.  She learns she is carrying the Son of God, but soon after realizes that Joseph is considering divorce – “What Child is this, anyway?”  If only Mary could have seen this unexpected trip to Bethlehem on the verge of the delivery of her child WITH JOSEPH, her heart might have been at ease.

Here, though, lies the challenge.  You don’t have future vision to see your family a few years from now, and neither did Mary!  We face the moments in our life without the clarity of what tomorrow will hold.  Or do we?

Though Mary did not know how things would work out with Joseph, she knew that she had “found favor with God,” that “God was with her,” and that her child would be the “Son of the Most High” who would have a kingdom “with no end” (Luke 1:28-33).  Therefore she need not be afraid.  She knew enough and was asked to trust God with the uncertainty.

The same is true for you and me.  Though an angel has not visited us, the Son of God did come to our planet, and the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible.  In the Scripture we see a beautiful picture of a coming kingdom we are invited to be a part of where every tear is dried and every soul in Him is comforted.  We also know that God is with all believers as His Spirit resides in our lives.

Therefore, like Mary, we know enough and are asked to trust God with the uncertainty.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org

Day 14

Read:  Luke 2:3-4

Football is a team sport.  In order for any one play to work everyone must do their part, not just the player that is scheduled to carry the ball.  If everyone doesn’t move by design, the play is doomed to fail.  Hardly any other sport requires this kind of coordinated precision.  Everyone is playing a part even if they are not getting the ball.

In Luke 2, Caesar Augustus called a census requiring all the residents of the Empire to travel to their ancestral homes to register.  In a world without automobiles or airlines, this is quite the inconvenience!  People had to  travel to their family’s home base to be counted.  Why did Caesar do this?  Perhaps his motivation may have been to stroke his ego (look at how many people are in MY kingdom), or to line his pocketbook (taxes were tied to population).  Whatever his motivation, the census was called sending the world into motion.

But behind it all, God was at work.  In Micah 5:2, it was prophesied that the Messiah would be born in the little town of Bethlehem.  Trouble was, Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, some 80 miles away!  Nine months pregnant, this certainly would have been a difficult weeklong journey on foot.  God used the required registration to move the pieces into place so that the prophecy could be fulfilled.

Think of it: thousands of people moving around wondering why they were doing what they were doing.  It turns out they were playing a team game.  Though the “ball” was not coming to them, they still had a part to play in order to get the Messiah to the manger.

In our lives we are tempted to interpret all world events in light of how they effect us.  Sometimes, though, we are not getting the “ball.”  Sometimes God is doing something else, and the key to understanding it is outside of ourselves, not inside.  Of course God can be at work in the world and in us simultaneously, but it is helpful to remember that we are not at the center of it all, He is.  

Think about that the next time you are moving about wondering why things are happening the way that they are.  Know this, though:  the Gift Mary delivered in Bethlehem was absolutely for you and me.  Let’s trust Him together through all the events of our lives.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org

Day 13

Read:  Luke 2:1-2

Fairy tales begin, “Once upon a time.” Star Wars begins, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”  But Luke’s Gospel begins, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” (Luke 2:1-2) The public phase of Jesus’ ministry is time stamped with this statement, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” (Luke 3:1-2)

The difference between fairy tales/Star Wars and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is evident.  The fictional accounts share nondescript times and places as the canvas on which to paint pictures of characters they invent from their imaginations.  Since Jesus really exists and really came into the world, the events of His life are verifiable, and we should expect corroborating historical markers.  

The details of Luke 2:1-2 help us understand when Jesus was born.  By triangulating the era when Caesar Augustus was reigning over the Roman Empire, when a registration was called for, and when Quirinius was governor of Syria, we are able to place the birth of Jesus in the correct historical context.  And by using the details of Luke 3:1-2, we are able to ascertain that Jesus began His public ministry when He was roughly 30 years old.

And why does this matter?  Because we are real people,  living in a real world, with real “wages” that our sins deserve, we need more than a fairy tale Messiah to inspire us.  We need a flesh and blood Savior to really enter into our world, really die on the cross, and really rise from the dead.  Jesus really did all these things, so if we trust in Him, we will be saved from the consequences of our sins and promised everlasting life.  Really.

So let’s really trust Him with our real lives.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org

Day 12

Read:  Luke 1:67-80

Christmas is truly a musical holiday. I love the “soundtrack” that plays in the background of December every year. Whether you are in church, driving in the car, or even shopping at the local mall, songs of our Savior fill the air from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

Sometimes we think that our love for music at Christmas time is a part of the commercialization of the holiday, but a closer look at the biblical account of Christmas reveals that the first Advent was also a musical. From Mary’s “Magnificat” to angels singing, music and poetry were key ways heaven and earth welcomed the newborn King.

As you look at the albums first recorded around the birth of Christ, however, you will notice that both famous AND more obscure songs were recorded around the time of the manger. Right after Mary’s hit song, Zechariah records what some may see as the “B side” to her 45. You may have skipped this track in the past, but today, I want you to “press play” and read its beautiful lyrics found in Luke 1:67-79.

Zechariah sings a song at the circumcision ceremony on the eighth day of his son John’s life.  After waiting a lifetime for the joy of fatherhood, it is striking that Zechariah spends most of the time at his son’s circumcision singing about Jesus, not John. Zechariah “got it” . . . he understood that the real joy in his AND John’s life would be their connection to Jesus. Zechariah waited a lifetime to be a father, but God’s people had waited a few millennia for the Messiah’s birth. Therefore, the song centers around Jesus and His work.

At the end of the song, is one of the most poetic and beautiful statements about the work of Jesus in all of Scripture. “Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

I am so thankful that in Christ we have a hope that one day all death will be replaced with life eternal, and all darkness will be illuminated with His light. This is the reason Zechariah sings . . . and the reason we sing as well.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org