Description

Bring some Spirit-filled peace into your hectic schedule every weekday morning with this new Daily Devotional.
Épisodes
  • December 25th - Luke 2:6-7

    December 25th - Luke 2:6-7
    Dec 25 2025
    Luke 2:6-7 And while they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. The birth of Jesus was such an incredibly important moment in the history of the world that the circumstances of it are deeply shocking. This was no way to welcome the Son of God, but all of this serves to remind us of the love of God in sending his Son to be part of our broken and disordered world. Many people have questioned why Joseph took Mary on the journey to Bethlehem. He himself was obliged to go because his family line came from that town, but it is unlikely that Mary needed to be there. So why did he take his heavily pregnant wife along with him on the arduous and dangerous 80-mile journey? It is quite likely that he did so because Joseph knew the people of Nazareth might cause problems for Mary due to the unusual circumstances of her pregnancy. Joseph didn’t want to leave her side, so she needed to go with him. In Bethlehem, far from home, there would have been no family members to support Mary. She herself had to wrap her baby in strips of cloth, a task which someone else would normally have performed, and the only place to lay the baby was in the unhygienic setting of an animal’s feeding trough. Hardly an appropriate resting place for a newborn baby, even for the poorest people. Lodging places in little Bethlehem would have been few in number and incredibly basic. Please put out of your mind the sort of ensuite hotel rooms that you may have visited! Accommodation would probably have been in the form of bare rooms off a central courtyard, and travellers would have been expected to take their own food. The innkeeper would only offer food for the animals and a fire on which travellers could cook. Even this incredibly basic accommodation was not available for Mary and Joseph. They were probably left out in a courtyard, where you would expect to find an animal’s manger. All of these details emphasise the wonder of Jesus’ birth and the amazing love of God in sending him to be part of our world. Question What do the circumstances of Jesus’ birth tell you about God? Prayer Lord God, thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus. I praise you for the wonder of your love. Amen
    Voir plus Voir moins
    4 min
  • December 24th - Luke 2:4

    December 24th - Luke 2:4
    Dec 24 2025
    Luke 2:4 Because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem. Even today, it’s not a particularly large town with only about 30,000 people – the size of a small market town. However, Bethlehem was full of significance – it was here that Samuel anointed David. The prophet visited the town on God’s instruction to find a king to replace Saul. God told him to visit the family of Jesse, and the proud father happily presented his sons to the prophet. One by one, they met with Samuel, but, impressive as they were, God didn’t consider them suitable. The prophet had to learn that: “People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). David was the youngest of the sons, and such an unlikely choice. They hadn’t even bothered to invite him in from the fields where he was watching over the sheep and goats, but as soon as he came in, the Lord identified him as the new king. David may not have seemed a likely candidate for the role of king, but he went on to become a formidable military commander and a wise leader of his people. In the centuries that followed, the nation continued to look back on David’s reign as the high-water mark in their history. What the people of Israel learned was that God often works in surprising ways, and Jesus coming from David’s family line is a further illustration of that. Who would have thought that the Messiah would enter the world in such a humble way and at such an awkward moment in the nation’s history? Surely the Messiah would be welcomed by kings and rulers, or at least by the chief priest and his entourage, but it was not to be. Jesus came to a young couple who had no profile or seniority, and well away from the important people in the land. This God of surprises whom we meet in the Christmas story is the one we worship today. Time and again, he comes not to the leaders and the powerful, but to the humble people who simply agree to do his will. In a society in which style, profile and image mean so much, we need to remind ourselves that although we tend to look at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Question How have you seen God working in surprising ways in your own life? Prayer Lord God, help me not to be fooled by people’s appearance, but to see them as you do. Amen
    Voir plus Voir moins
    4 min
  • December 23rd - Luke 2:1-3

    December 23rd - Luke 2:1-3
    Dec 23 2025
    Luke 2:1-3 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. A friend of mine once commented to me that he wasn’t bothered whether the story of Jesus’ birth was historically accurate or not. He was happy to accept it as simply a beautiful story. Dr Luke, who wrote this gospel, would have profoundly disagreed. For Luke, the historical context of Jesus’ birth was of crucial importance, so he supplied us with more information than any of the other gospel writers. It was typical of the Romans to conduct censuses. They liked to have a clear account of what was going on throughout their vast empire. Joseph and Mary made the long and arduous journey from Nazareth, in the north of the country, to the ancestral home of Joseph in Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem in the south. The meticulous historical details are of vital importance because they make it clear that Jesus fully entered into human life. God became part of our world, with all its challenges and difficulties. Jesus arrived at a time of humiliation for the Jewish people as they lived under the oppression of Roman occupation. It was a time of struggle and threat, indeed so much so that not long after Jesus’ birth, his parents were obliged to take him to Egypt to avoid the threat of King Herod, who was insanely jealous at the thought of a rival king turning up in his kingdom. As we celebrate Christmas this year, we do so in a world that is struggling in a vast number of ways. There have never been more displaced people in the world than there are today. There is much violence, fear, brokenness and pain. The wonder of Christmas is that we celebrate that God comes to our world, broken and sad as it is, and offers his gift of new life through Jesus. Just as God didn’t wait for the world to become peaceful and harmonious before he sent his precious son, so too he comes to us amid the present turmoil and offers his gift of peace. Question In what way do the circumstances of Jesus’ birth give you encouragement this Christmas? Prayer Loving Father, thank you for sending Jesus to our troubled world, and for the peace that he offers us today. Amen
    Voir plus Voir moins
    4 min
Pas encore de commentaire