God's Word for Me Today
Tuesday, December 25, 2001
Unwrapping a Christ-Centered Christmas!
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
My Christmas Prayer
Heavenly Father, as I come to You on this Christmas day, I thank You most of all for Jesus. I thank You that He was willing to come and live among us for a time, to show us Your great love, holiness, and salvation. I thank You that You were willing to give us this gift at the greatest of all costs to You. I praise You for putting my needs before Your glory and majesty. May this Christmas Day be a day of true celebration and rejoicing in my life, because I put You in first place in it. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and keep me ever in Your watchful care. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: Luke 3:1-20
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiance, who was obviously pregnant by this time. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
8 That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10 but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11 The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God: 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors." 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, 19 but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.
Questions for Reflection
What is the best Christmas you ever remember? What will you do to make today the best Christmas ever?
How will you “unwrap” Jesus in your life and the life of your loved ones today?
Questions for Exploration
Why did Joseph have to be in Bethlehem instead of Nazareth with Mary so obviously about to deliver Jesus? (2:1-7)
What messages did the angels bring to the shepherds on that first Christmas night? (2:8-20)
What impact did the message have on the shepherds, and whom did they tell about it? (2:8-20)
Questions for Understanding
What is the most important truth contained in this Scripture?
Why did God’s angels appear to the shepherds instead of to more prominent citizens of the day?
Questions for Application
What one thing will you do today to show the love of Jesus to a family member or loved one who needs to receive the “gift” of Jesus?
Pause and thank God for the greatest Christmas gift of all—Jesus.
Just As the Angel Had Said!
One of my favorite details of the Christmas story as Luke presents it to us is in the last sentence of the account, “The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.” The shepherds had experienced an amazing visit---angels had appeared to them. They had been told the most amazing news—the Savior had been born that night in the city of David. They were told that they would find Him in a manger (most unusual!) and wrapped in strips of cloth (very typical of children born in that day.) After the angels had disappeared and the shepherds had collected themselves for a moment, they ran off to Bethlehem to see for themselves—to see whether what the angels had said was true. It was! It was true, every word of it. They had found a stable, and a manger, and a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, all JUST as the angel had said.
So many times in my life, I have looked forward to a major event. I have waited, prepared, but at the “big moment” I was disappointed. I’ll never forget the letdown the first (and only) time I saw Plymouth Rock. In my imagination it was some gigantic boulder. In reality it’s a fairly mediocre-sized rock in a hole in the ground. I remember ordering “x-ray” glasses as an 8 or 9 year old boy, eagerly awaiting their arrival and then finding out I had been tricked, when they finally did. Few things in life turn out to be JUST as we have been told, but when the Shepherds arrived in Bethlehem that night it WAS just as they had been told. The Savior HAD come. The world would never be the same. The shepherds did the only thing they could do in such a situation—they told EVERYONE, and then they went back to their lives GLORIFYING and PRAISING God, because they knew that nothing would ever be the same again. Thanks be to God for His most precious gift—Jesus! Alleluia!
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