Daily Devotion, December 25, 2019

Devotion:

Read Luke 2:1-11.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. “ Luke 2:11 (KJV)

Around my Grandmother’s Christmas tree, as each gift was presented, the gift tags were read with great enthusiasm! Maybe that’s why I like to keep the gift tags which have people’s names after the simple words, “From” and “To”! And usually additionally written in were the words, “with love.” 

These words, “from” and “to” are also vital for our GPS. Of course, they have a different meaning than on the Christmas gift tags…or do they? The similarity is that they both are about journeys, geographical journeys and heart journeys.

Heart journeys don’t always have a clear roadmap. I’m sure Mary and Joseph weren’t planning on taking such a difficult journey “from” Nazareth “to” Bethlehem at the time of Mary’s due date of Jesus’ birth. If the journey had been in their original plans, they surely would have made reservations! Yet God used that census to fulfill the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the City of David.

 

And the shepherds in the fields weren’t prepared for a trip into Bethlehem with the only roadmap being that they would find the baby lying in a manger! Imagine the shepherds walking around asking, ”Have you seen a newborn baby in a manger anywhere?!” Yet the shepherds became God’s witnesses and messengers of Jesus’ birth. 

 

Have you ever had an experience where things didn’t go as planned? In the midst of well-made plans, sometimes, the “GPS” recalculates? Is your heart open to the possibility for God to recalculate your life and lead you in a different direction?

 

“WITH LOVE FROM GOD TO YOU!” It’s the journey from God’s own heart to our hearts by giving to us, Jesus to be our Savior! The Angels read the gift-tag with great enthusiasm! “For unto YOU is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” 

Personal Worship Option:

Repeat that last sentence and replace the word “YOU” with your own name. It’s possible that God wants to reach to your heart in a new way on this Christmas Day. Maybe nothing has gone the way you have planned. Keep your heart open for Jesus to be born anew in your life. Let us all live our lives out of a profound thanksgiving for Jesus, the gift of love from God to all!