“And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.” (Revelation 13:8 NLT)

We celebrate Christmas to rejoice over God’s most precious gift to us. The birth of Jesus Christ is a gift from God that came in simple wrapping, as well as a gift that we don’t deserve. But the gift of Christ also explains God’s purpose for humankind. The gift of Christ was no afterthought. Long before there was a stable in Bethlehem, before Adam and Eve ever set eyes on each other, and even before there existed a garden called Eden, God decided to send His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.

From the beginning, God knew humankind would fall short of His glory. That’s why the apostle John wrote, “They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made” (Revelation 13:8 NLT). God decided from the very beginning that Christ would come to this earth to live and die and rise again from the dead. God’s gift to us proves His purpose to redeem us.

To fully appreciate that, we must understand what God did for us. He created humankind. He placed us in a literal paradise. He walked with us in the garden. We enjoyed face-to-face fellowship with Him. He gave us responsibilities that fulfilled us and brought us joy.

He set one restriction—just one. But that proved to be too much for us. So, we rejected Him and His perfect plan. We destroyed paradise. We drifted far from Him.

God sent prophets and judgments to warn us of the penalties for rejecting Him, of the eternal suffering that was to come. He urged us to repent and turn back to Him. Still, we refused.

So, He sent His Son to do what we could not. To live a sinless life and destroy the power of sin. To die in our place as the perfect sacrifice. To take the punishment we deserve. To rise from the grave and destroy the power of death. To make eternal life possible.

The gift of Jesus Christ is what Christmas is all about. Jesus came near to us so that we could come near to Him. Christmas is not about tinsel or shopping or gifts under a tree. Christmas is about the gift God gave on the tree where Christ died for our sins. Christmas is about the gift of eternal life. That’s what Jesus accomplished. That’s the gift He extends. And if you receive it, you’ll experience the merriest Christmas of all.

That’s the message God wants us to carry to the world this Christmas season.

Reflection question: How can you show your gratitude to God for the gift of His Son? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT)

When you’re a child, Christmas is all about receiving gifts. In December, your head is swimming with nothing but images of your favorite toys. But the true message of Christmas is not the presents we give to one another. The true meaning is the gift that God gave to us, His Son Jesus Christ.

One of the most remarkable aspects of God’s perfect gift to us is that it came in simple wrapping. Some people will go to great lengths to wrap presents beautifully. But God’s gift came to us not in beautiful, ornate wrapping, but in a dirty manger found in a cold cave in a little-known town called Bethlehem. That’s the beauty of the Christmas event. Jesus took His place in a manger so that we might have a home in Heaven. The Savior was not wrapped in satin sheets, but in common rags. There in a manger rested the greatest gift in the plainest of wrapping.

Isaiah 53:2–3 says, “My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care” (NLT).

The New Testament reveals much about Jesus. But the one thing it doesn’t tell us is what He looked like. Luke 2:52 says, “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people” (nlt). But that’s about all we know. All indications suggest that Jesus’ appearance was plain and unremarkable. His words and actions, on the other hand, changed the world.

An even more remarkable aspect of God’s gift to us is that we don’t deserve it. Consider this: God gave us the ultimate gift of His Son Jesus Christ while we were still sinning against Him. The apostle Paul put it this way: “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT).

We did nothing whatsoever to merit or deserve His gift. That’s the amazing truth of Christmas. Despite who we are and what we’ve done, God sent His Son so “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).

Christmas is one day away. Prepare your heart for the celebration of the birth of our Savior. He came in an unremarkable form. And He came even though we don’t deserve Him. So, today let’s meditate on the fact that Jesus was born to die so that we might live.

Reflection question: How can you show God your gratitude for a gift you don’t deserve? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

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Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:23 NLT)

As Christmas approaches, we have the opportunity to carefully consider the wonder of the Incarnation—that mysterious moment when God became a man. Of course, there’s no way for us to fully appreciate the sacrifice involved. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying.

Jesus Christ—God the Son—set aside His glory, power, and majesty. He stepped out of eternity and into our temporal world. He submitted Himself to the restrictions, pain, and suffering of physical existence. He took His place on the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder.

He was born in a manger. He left the throne of Heaven for a feeding trough. He left the presence of angels to enter a cave filled with animals. He who is larger than the universe became an embryo. He who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young virgin. And that’s a key aspect of the Incarnation.

Some people have a hard time believing in the Virgin Birth. If you believe the Bible, you need to believe in the Virgin Birth. The Bible teaches that God Almighty was supernaturally conceived in the womb of a virgin. Matthew 1:23 says, “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (NLT).

This makes sense if you think about it. If God had chosen to, He could have sent Jesus to earth as a fully grown, yet sinless human being. Jesus could have descended from Heaven in a shaft of light. But if He had come to us in that way, He would have been more like an alien visitor than like one of us. How would it be possible for us to relate to Him as a person, as a part of humanity?

God also could have had Jesus come into the world through the natural reproductive process of two ordinary human beings—but still given Jesus a divine nature. But then most of us would have doubted His divinity. That’s why the Incarnation makes sense.

The Incarnation is the reason for the Christmas season. Christmas is the opportunity to worship God, to bow down and pay homage to Him for humbling Himself and appearing in human form. The apostle Paul wrote of Jesus, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8 NLT).

That stands as the true mystery of the Incarnation—and the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Reflection question: How does Jesus’ Virgin Birth underscore God’s perfect plan of salvation? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.