God's Word for Me Today
Sunday, December 23, 2001
Unwrapping a Christ-Centered Christmas!
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, on this Sunday before Christmas, I praise You for who You are, and thank You for Your great love for me! I pray that as I worship You now, and also as I worship You with brothers and sisters in Christ in corporate worship that Your name will be lifted up and praised. You are, indeed, the great God above all other gods, as the Psalmist wrote so long ago. As we worship You this day, give us a fresh anointing of Your Holy Spirit that all that we are and all that we do may be a testimony to those around us of the greatness of Your love and salvation. These things I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: Matthew 1:18- 2:12
18 Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiance, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly. 20 As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All of this happened to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: 23 "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us)." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, 25 but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
2:1 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him." 3 Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. "Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?" he asked them. 5 "In Bethlehem," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 'O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.' " 7 Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8 Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!" 9 After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
Questions for Reflection
If you were God and had decided to come to the earth on behalf of humanity, how would you have done it?
What is the most unusual natural phenomenon you have ever seen?
Questions for Exploration
What was Joseph’s response to Mary’s pregnancy, according to Matthew? (1:18-25)
What was King Herod’s response to the birth of Jesus? (2:1-12)
How did the wise men deal with Herod’s request that they return to him after they had found the child (Jesus)? (2:7-12)
Questions for Understanding
Why was Herod afraid of Jesus?
What is the significance of the wise men’s coming to see Jesus?
Questions for Application
What do you need to do today that may be inconvenient, but will ensure that you draw closer to Jesus?
As you go to worship today, what will you do to be sure that your heart is ready to receive Jesus?
I Want to Worship Him Too!
King Herod lied to the wise men about wanting to worship Jesus. Herod was afraid of all that Jesus represented: God’s favor, redemption, love, and restoration of the Kingdom of God. Herod was a “puppet” king. He received his power from the worldly authority of the Roman Empire, not from God. Herod was one of the most despicable characters of the New Testament. He had his own children executed so there would be no one to claim his throne if he died. Herod pretended to want to worship Jesus, but nothing could have been farther from the truth. Herod simply wanted to keep things “safe” (for him) and to maintain the status quo, (because that meant that he was in charge of all that mattered to him.)
Herod didn’t only lie to the wise men, his whole life was a lie. Because he wasn’t willing for God to claim the rightful place in his life, nothing else could be in its proper place. Since he wanted to eliminate Jesus, his life was constantly lived in striving and fear. The same may be said of us. So long as we don’t allow God in the proper place in our lives, so long as we don’t seek for Jesus to worship Him in spirit and in truth, our lives shall always be deception, striving and fear. The greatest gift of all time is Jesus of Nazareth. He fills the emptiness of our souls, the longings of our hearts, the need for our spirits to be joined with the Spirit of the living God. Once we receive the gift of Jesus—truly receive him--everything else falls into place. Until we receive that gift nothing ever falls into it’s proper place.
To view the studies for other days, visit the God's Word for Me Today calendar.