Day 3

Read:  Luke 1:8-17

Have you ever been at a shopping mall or theme park and needed assistance finding your way from one point to the next?  You just left one store or stepped off one ride, and now you need to navigate to your next location … but you don’t know where it is.  You might wander over to a large map showing all the points of interest.  Surely this map will help you find your way!  The problem is, you need a point of reference.  If you don’t know where you are, you can’t possibly navigate to where you are going next.

Thankfully, these maps help you find a point of reference.  They often have a large sticker declaring “you are here!”  By knowing where you are on the board, you can find your way to your next destination.

The Old Testament is full of prophecies about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  In the Old Testament (written between 1,500 – 400 years before Jesus was born) there are 400 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled!  That is a lot of data points on the map!  So how would the people of Israel find where they were on God’s calendar to know when the Messiah would arrive?  Malachi 4:5 says that God would send Elijah before the day of the Lord arrived.  Isaiah 40:3-5 tells us that Elijah came to “prepare the way of the Lord.” Elijah’s arrival would serve as a giant “you are here!” sticker inside the map of biblical prophecy to let everyone know that the Messiah would soon arrive.

In today’s verses, an angel appears to Zechariah letting him know that he and his aging wife, Elizabeth, would conceive and have a child named John who would come in the “spirit and power of Elijah.”  This meant that the arrival of the Messiah would soon follow!  What tremendous news Zechariah heard that day.  The sorrowful days were about to be invaded by the Glory of the Lord … the people needed to get ready.  After all those years of waiting, they. were. here.

What ride did you just get off?  What are you looking for in life?  Do you even know where you are or where you are going?  2,000 years ago the earthly arrival of John was like an opening act, letting everyone know that the Headliner, Jesus, would soon be taking the stage.  Let these prophetic clues orient you to finding your way to true life 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 2

Read:  Luke 1:5-7

Back in 1984, Bruce Springsteen recorded the song “Glory Days.”  This song told the tale of a few aging people looking back on their childhood exploits with great fondness.  Their “grown up” lives were not as exciting as their high school heroics, so they preferred to sit around talking about the “good ole days.”  

We all have a temptation to look at some former era of life with nostalgic fondness, and long to return to some bygone era when life was easier and times were good.

Luke 1:5-7 informs us that the Jewish people, in the era when Jesus was born, were NOT living in the glory days.  Their glory days had passed them by long ago.  When Jesus was born, Herod the Great was the King of Judea.  Herod may have been “great” in power, but he was certainly not in righteousness.  He was a ruthless leader, commanding all the babies in Bethlehem to be killed out of jealousy and fear (Matthew 2:16).  Herod was so unpopular that he feared no one would mourn when he died.  As he aged he had likable people arrested with an order that they be killed on the day he died so that someone might mourn on the day of his death!  He was one terrible guy.

Herod was the local ruler in Judea because he proved his loyalty to the political sovereign, the hated Romans.  When Luke says that Jesus was born in the days of Herod, king of Judea, he was saying that Jesus was born in sorry days, not glory days!

Not only were these days tough politically, they were also tough personally for Zechariah the priest and his wife Elizabeth.  They had no children, and their empty arms had become a heavy burden.  No glory days indeed.

This year, as you head into Christmas, you may look around and see hard times.  Job insecurity, a new illness, world events, or other challenges may tempt you to flee in your mind to the “glory days” of Christmas past.  

If you are experiencing some sorry days this Christmas season, take heart!  Jesus IS THE GLORY that came into our sorrow to bring us peace.  Let’s look to Him together this season.

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 1

Read:  Luke 1:1-4

George Washington was the first President of the United States.  He was a war hero, having been the General of the United States Army during the Revolutionary War.  He owned a large plantation known as Mount Vernon, was married to his wife Martha, and they never had any children of their own.  

Now, how do we know that any of those things are true?  Because George Washington lived in the real world.  Eyewitnesses saw his life and recorded it in books that we still reference today.  Like a stone hitting the middle of a pond sending ripples out to water’s edge, the impact of Washington’s life and leadership have rippled to the ends of the earth and reverberate still today.

Myths are made up … history happened.  George Washington is a person of history, not a myth.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, really came into the world 2,000 years ago when He was born to the virgin Mary.  His life made such an impact on the “pond” of the Middle East that people told others about the things He did and said, and the ripples bounced to the end of the earth.  In fact, Jesus made such an impact that people are still talking about Him today!  Some of the eyewitnesses even wrote down what they saw and we still read their accounts that have been translated into thousands of languages.

One of the Apostle Paul’s colleagues, a Gentile physician by the name of Luke, had many friends who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry.  Luke talked to many, most likely including Mary and some of the apostles.  Being an educated man, Luke wrote down these events in his Gospel account of Jesus’ life.  He presented this work to a man named Theophilus so that Theophilus’ faith would not rest on emotion or hope, but that his faith might rest on the firm foundation of who Jesus really was and what He actually did.

Jesus is no myth … He really lived.

To what is your faith anchored?  To the real person and work of Jesus, or to something or someone else?  Over the next several days in this reading plan, Luke will try to convince us to anchor our faith with certainty on Jesus, our solid rock, who really came to this world and offered us salvation.

You can find the full devotional in pdf here!

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

Christmas Morning Preview

Christmas morning is a magical time.  As a Pastor, Christmas season is busy with lots of extra activities.  Christmas Eve night is especially full with multiple worship services and special events.  

When our son was young, I would hurry home after leading Christmas Eve services.  We would pack the car and drive 2.5 hours to join our extended family for Christmas Day.  I have fond memories of sliding into the driveway after midnight on Christmas Eve, carrying my sleeping son upstairs to bed with his cousins, having a cup of hot cocoa, and staying up with my wife and in-laws putting toys together and arranging them under the tree.  Then we would go to bed and take a short winter’s nap.

I say short because the aforementioned activities would usually wrap up around 2AM.  Then about 6:30, we would hear the kids assembling at the foot of the stairs.  Like the Sooner Schooner preparing for the Oklahoma land run of 1889, the kids would be lined up waiting to stake their claim.  Finally, all parents and grandparents would be up and positioned, the gate would be moved, and the kids would hurry in to see what surprise was waiting for them to enjoy.

Christmas morning always felt like the sun was rising on a new and joyous day. 

The original Christmas was certainly a magical time as well.  Since the foundation of the earth, God was preparing to one day send His Son to be our rescuer from sin and judgement.  Jesus, the Son of God, was carried to the manger on that first Christmas Eve by Mary and Joseph.  With all things arranged as the Father intended, and after the world had endured a long winter’s “nap” awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus was born!  This Gift of gifts was a poorly kept secret. God had spoken of this day for over 1,500 years through the prophets, but His birth still caught a sleeping world by surprise.  That Christmas morning, the Son rose on a new day.

In His Gospel, Luke recorded with a physician’s precision the eyewitness testimony of those who experienced that first Christmas morning. This 25 day Bible reading plan will take you through the preparations and presentation of that first Christmas morning to understand more fully the gift that Jesus is to us. 

If you are looking for a church home in Norman, Oklahoma, this Christmas, we would love to have you worship with us at Wildwood Community Church.  You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org.  Merry Christmas!

In Christ,

Pastor Mark Robinson

A few ways to access the devotional:

• You can find the full devotional in pdf format here!
• You can subscribe to the YouVersion reading plan arrangement of this devotional by clicking here.
• ALSO, if you would like to participate in the “Reading with Friends” Reading plan for this devotional on the YouVersion app starting December 1, you can click here.
• From December 1-25 we will post each day’s devotional entry to this blog.