Week 3
Who would have looked in a stable to find the birth of the Messiah of Israel and all the world?
No one saw that coming. Not even the lowly shepherds that his birth was announced to. But this
is how it happened.
Luke 2:1-7 (NIV)
[1] In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. [2] (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) [3] And everyone went to his own town to register. [4] So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. [5] He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. [6] While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, [7] and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
[1] In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. [2] (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) [3] And everyone went to his own town to register. [4] So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. [5] He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. [6] While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, [7] and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Yet this was God’s plan, so that no one would be excluded from the saving grace of God. God
does not come just for the rich, powerful and famous. He does not come just for the religious and
people who are good enough. God came for everyone. If God is willing to come as a human baby
in the lowliest of circumstances, then everyone is invited – even you.
We celebrate Christmas as a time of giving gifts, love, and joy. We cannot give what we do not have. God’s greatest gift of love and joy is given to us not in the form of cars, houses, jobs, football games, or trips to the Grand Canyon – all of which are really nice gifts. God’s greatest gift is the gift of himself. Jesus humbled himself to come here on earth to live among us and die for us – for you. Jesus invites us to live in a relationship with him. It is a relationship that brings strength for each day and hope for the future simply because he is with us.
Once again, in the coming of Jesus Christ, God has come to us and invited us to come into his house. The door is open. Will we walk in?
Time of Prayer:
1) 1 min – What is God saying to me through this devotional?
2) 1 min – What am I going to do about it?
3) 1 min – What do I want to say to God?
4) 2 min – Listen for what God wants to say to you now.
We celebrate Christmas as a time of giving gifts, love, and joy. We cannot give what we do not have. God’s greatest gift of love and joy is given to us not in the form of cars, houses, jobs, football games, or trips to the Grand Canyon – all of which are really nice gifts. God’s greatest gift is the gift of himself. Jesus humbled himself to come here on earth to live among us and die for us – for you. Jesus invites us to live in a relationship with him. It is a relationship that brings strength for each day and hope for the future simply because he is with us.
Once again, in the coming of Jesus Christ, God has come to us and invited us to come into his house. The door is open. Will we walk in?
Time of Prayer:
1) 1 min – What is God saying to me through this devotional?
2) 1 min – What am I going to do about it?
3) 1 min – What do I want to say to God?
4) 2 min – Listen for what God wants to say to you now.