What difference did the birth of the Christ Child make?  All the difference in the world!  His birth inaugurated a season—33 years as the doorstep to eternity–culminating in the Cross and victory over death, and the empty tomb to prove the Risen Christ was accepted by God as sufficient sacrifice for the sin of all mankind…eternally.

He is the “consolation of Israel” referred to in Luke 2:25.
He is Divine Intervention because only a miracle would do.
Eternally existing as God! The Word made flesh!

Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents (Joseph and Mary) brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

The birth of Christ, the access given by Him for everyone from the lowest shepherds to the greatest among men, was not just for the Jews but for the redemption of an entire world involving many nations.  He is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.”

Luke 2:33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

It was Scripture being fulfilled in their baby (See Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6).  But even then, Mary and Joseph would have viewed things through the lens of Scripture fulfillment and earthly power, not Divine will which was still a mystery.

Luke 2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

On eternity’s Time Magazine, Jesus would be on the cover every single year
as the Man of the Year. 
He upends human power structures,
clarifies what it meant to be an observant Jew,
experiences adoration and worship,
but He’s also a target for world’s hatred of everything God stands for. 

In His last days on earth, after His command to Love each other (John 15:17), Jesus said,

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

There’s a reason Jesus is still famous more than 2000 years after His birth.  It’s because of what comes next in that passage.

John 15: 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.  24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.  25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’  26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father– the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father– he will testify about me.  27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Jesus’ birth launched a revolutionary movement called Christianity, the sign spoken against, just as Simeon predicted.  His birth began the testimony about forgiveness of sin—paid in full—not just mercy upon unforgiven sinners.  It inaugurated 33 pivotal years of Divine Intervention, God with us, Emmanuel!  It began the long march to the Cross that makes guilt for sin a reality…because forgiveness has been made available in Christ by Divine Intervention here too!  He is available to anyone.  Anyone.

What about you?  He came for you, too.  For this reason, I hope and pray your Merry Christmas will be rooted and grounded eternally in Christ whether COVID has kept you home, or you have experienced the freedom to worship by congregating with your church family. 

Even COVID can’t stop the Christ from coming.  Even death couldn’t kill Him forever.  Jesus came for You, lived to show You the Father and His love, and died so that You can be forgiven!  He rose from the dead and lives right now… so that in Him, you can live too.  Eternally. Indeed, the best Christmas gift ever!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!  In His love, Barbara

Shepherds and Angels, Heaven and Earth Rejoice!!

In the moment, Mary is giving birth, deep in the throes of labor.  If we had a split screen or Zoom array like Hollywood Squares, we’d also see Joseph helping, the animals watching, perhaps oddly silent, or as the song says, “lowing”.  We’d see shepherds busy at work out in the fields and sheep doing their thing by wandering around, thinking of nothing other than getting lost in search of greener pastures.  Everything on earth would be completely normal. 

If anyone had told them ahead time what was really happening
in heaven and on earth
and that the pivot point of all history that was now happening in their midst,
it’d be cause for calling them crazy.

Luke 2:6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

That’s the earth, but there’s a spiritual realm in which we’d see angels hanging on with great anticipation because they didn’t know the plan either but had been waiting for it.  They’re watching Mary intently to see what happens.  She gives birth to … a baby.  Wait… (the angels are puzzled and pause for God’s explanation and then hearing the Good News, they rejoice!)…

In the spiritual realm, though, we’d also see dark angels, those demons out to destroy the work of God, and they’d be looking on in confusion as to why the hullabaloo in the spiritual realm.  After all, it’s just a baby.  The demons reason to each other, we can derail him with sin or kill him off even into adulthood like Moses or David or Noah, or Adam. But this isn’t an adult.  It’s just a baby.  Easy enough to kill.  No worries, the demons think, millions of babies are ours to kill every year.  It’s just a baby.

The demons would think there’s nothing to worry about. Just a poor baby born to a poor family.  But wait…that’s not how the heavenly angels are reacting!

The angels in heaven are messengers who had been watching and suddenly they see the beauty, even if yet they do not know the full, sheer genius!  They have been given a message from God Himself to proclaim about this birth and Good News of this baby, the Christ Child!! 

Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

No wonder that Heaven and Earth rejoice!!!  No wonder they give glory to God!!!  No wonder they praise Him.  How it all works, they do not question.  God’s plan won’t unfold in earthly time for 33 years.  But for now, the message is enough for Shepherds and Angels, Heaven and Earth to rejoice!

Questions for thought:

• “Conventional wisdom” would have seen just a baby, birthed by a poor woman who had gotten pregnant out of wedlock.  In what way does our culture disregard the divinity of Jesus, make fun of Him or His followers, or treat Him like a joke?
• What does God think of that attitude?
• In what ways was “conventional wisdom” wrong then?  Herod would be among the first of the worldly ones to consider this Child to be a genuine threat.  So much that he’d kill all the innocent males under age 2 (Matthew 2:1-16).  Whose side was Herod on: God’s or those from the dark forces of evil? 
• Do worldly forces of evil consider Christmas and Christians to be a threat?
• What does God think about mere mortals shutting down Christmas like a governmental Grinch?
• Why did it take no time at all for the heavenly host to praise God for the Christ Child, but it took around 2 years for the forces of evil to marshal ways to try to kill Jesus off? 
• What about God’s plan threw evil for a loop?  Read Matthew 1:20-23 for insight.

As we conclude this year’s devotional series on Divine Intervention with this climax, this pivot point of all history, when the Christ Child was born, let’s pray,

Father God our hearts are filled with wonder at the genius of Your plan of salvation, that You Yourself– the Eternal Word–would come to mankind!  God in the flesh, God with us, Emmanuel!  We praise You and thank You for the faithfulness of Mary and Joseph. We thank You that Jesus was born exactly how Scripture outlined. We praise You for the sinless life that He led during His 33 years on this earth.  Thank You that He was faithful all the way to the end on Good Friday’s Cross, in the tomb on Saturday, only to be Risen on Easter Sunday.  We thank You that because He lives, we also can live in Him.  We thank You that He came to save us.  We thank You that Your plan was not to leave us to die in our sins but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  We ask that during this holy season of Advent even as COVID attempts to steal our joy, to steal our peace, to steal our hope, steal our Christmas, yet we would be called to rejoice in the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Oh, that we would join with the angels and give Glory to God in the Highest because You are good, You are loving, You are merciful, and Your grace abounds where our hope is dimmest. We thank You Lord Jesus for coming to show us the way to the Father and to show us who the Father is. May we never have cause to doubt and always be the kind of faithful people who will bring glory to You at Your return. We praise You on this Christmas Eve.  We thank You for this most amazing Gift.  We pray this to Your eternal glory. Amen.

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born … there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke. 2:6-7)

Couldn’t God have provided a better lodging
for the mother of the Son of God and His only Son, the Christ Child? 
Sure He could have, but it would have ruined the point.

Out of my way, Caesar Augustus, there’s a new ruler in town! 
Off your throne.  It’s Mine!  Comin’ through!
Move over Herod, make room for the King of kings and Lord of lords! 
Messiah on His way!  Once He’s born, you’re history!
Imagine the Christmas images of Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child in the lap of luxury
at the King David Hotel and the shepherds inquiring at the registration desk
about the penthouse suite reserved for dignitaries.

Nah, God is better than all that. 
He chooses poverty in order to display His great riches in Christ. 
A dark manger and an animal’s feeding trough
to display the Light of the World and the Bread of Life. 
He does Divine Intervention to make it possible
for lowly shepherds to enter to worship a Messiah
who comes for anyone who accepts Him and acknowledges Him as Savior.

It’s Good News for all people when Jesus is born. 
Not just for the wealthy or middle-class.  He’s for everyone.
It’s Good News that the power structures of this world
will be displayed to pale in comparison
to the power concentrated and veiled in miniature in baby Jesus,
the eternal Word made flesh.
It’s Good News that the King of kings is also the Good Shepherd
and not just a social climber
who can limit who has access to His throne of power.

Questions for thought:

• Might it have seemed to Mary and Joseph that everything was against them?  Bad timing of the census and now, not even a guest room to give birth in a relatively sanitary environment where midwives could have been called? 
• Instead of the hands of a midwife, whose human hands would have received the Son of God as his own son?
• Would Mary and Joseph have experienced a crucible moment of wondering if God had abandoned them, or was it all a charade?
• Might they have been confused about what it means to submit to God?  The pregnancy was undeniable, but Joseph’s knowledge was only that this child was not from his seed, and then there’s the dream.
• Mary and Joseph each had their angels.  Might it have been just a figment of their imaginations?  But wait. The pregnancy…hard to reconcile any other way for a virgin.
• How might the manger have been a Divine Intervention to steel the faith of two people, Mary and Joseph, for the times that were ahead? Read 1 Peter 1:7 for insight. Times of testing are for whose benefit?

Thank You, Father, for Your divine wisdom, for giving us moments in which Your work makes no sense, that in the moment it seems as though You have no power… in the moment it seems as though Your plan has failed… in the moment we have reasons to abandon hope… in the moment our faith is tested! So we praise You, Lord, that You are faithful to bring us all the way home, to keep our faith strong, and that no one can snatch us out of Your hands. We thank You for the faith of Mary, the faith of Joseph, and the faith proved as genuine that is a gift to Christians worldwide. We ask Lord that You would powerfully intervene in our current world to show us the good news that is available for all people! May the world be watching and know that You alone are God and that You alone deserve to be worshipped!! We ask Lord that all the dark forces of evil will be vanquished, that every opportunity that there has been to steal the joy and peace of Christians, that those evil attempts would –each and all–be vanquished! We ask Lord that You would rise up in vengeance against the evil times that seek to destroy Your Son and His work, to destroy His Church, and to diminish His Cross and Your grace. We ask Lord that You would bring us faithfully to the finish line so that when Jesus Christ returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, riding on the clouds, that we would be found faithful. Oh Lord, that in our crucible moments of life we would be found genuine with the kind of faith that brings glory to You forever! Amen

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

Could anything be less convenient than a journey of several days when you’re about to give birth?  Oh, but the good old government mandated it.

Chances are good that Caesar Augustus had absolutely no idea that the Christ Child needed to be born in Bethlehem to fulfill Scripture or that the time was ripe…when he issued that decree.  The Christ Child was probably the farthest thing from his mind and certainly a poor young woman who was pregnant would cause him no concern.  No threat.  No problem.

Oh, Caesar Augustus issued the decree alright, but it was Divine Intervention by the Almighty! In a mysterious way that only God knows, the events of this earth are like a watercourse God directs even as humans exercise their normal behaviors and use their own free will.  Even so, it was Divine Intervention because Scripture needed to be fulfilled and the inconveniences upon Mary and Joseph were necessary in order for Mary to give birth while they were there in the precise place at the exact time.

Questions for further thought:

• Read Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” and Proverbs 21:1 “In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.”  In what way do people’s actions work in concert with God’s will?
• When something is inconvenient, is it automatic evidence that it’s not God’s will? 
• In what ways do Divine Interventions and events requiring patience act to test and to reward our faith?
• Read Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see 2 This is what the ancients were commended for… 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth….the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.  39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.  Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Are you struck by their not receiving the things promised (vs. 13, 39)?  What does this passage tell us about who the promise was ultimately for?

Father God, You are a rewarder of faith. During these times when we feel like we are not receiving what was promised, that we are not receiving the fruit of our faith, that we are not seeing righteousness triumph, and all we see in front of our noses is evil running amok, Lord, help us to understand the promise that You have made for rescue still stands. Salvation, yes for the world, but also for witness so that the world will avail itself of this gift of salvation, a gift of grace, a gift of faith! Help Christians to react wisely in these times so that we may be commended for living by our faith even if we do not personally receive what was promised in our lifetimes. Help us to submit to Your will, to understand that Your plan is perfect, Your timing is perfect, Your return will be absolutely perfect and so we ask, Lord, that we will have confidence in You to hold tightly to Your promises. May every person who is elected to the Kingdom be touched by grace and gifted with faith to hasten Your return. We pray, Lord, that every one of those people will come to faith in You and will experience promptness in doing so. Father God, we can’t bear to see evil triumph. It breaks our hearts and we know that You hate it, too. Give us open eyes, spiritual eyes, to be able to see what it is You’re doing! Help us to have that clear vision of a larger picture, a wider perspective that is not just a nation or a world in 2020 or even 2021, but rather Lord, You have eternity in mind. You have an entire cosmos at Your disposal and in Your frame. You are divinely patient to bring every person You have called to the point of repentance and to the point of salvation. We ask that You would keep us faithful until that final moment at the end. When Jesus asks “Will He find faith on the earth?”, Oh Lord, let Him find it with me! Each of us should commit to this ourselves. Furthermore may each of us pray fervently, to be found faithful when Jesus returns…even if not receiving what we feel You have promised, and moreover what we know Your Word has promised. Help us to take off our human blinders so we can see with Your eyes, have Your heart, and display the patience and faith of a true Christian. We submit our will to Yours, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Everyone was happy about a new baby!  All of Elizabeth’s friends, family, and neighbors gathered and shared her joy.  Never mind if they’d perhaps gossiped about her or derided her infertility during less charitable moments…

Luke 1:57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.  58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.  59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

Human tradition said to name John the Baptist after his father, but “Zechariah the Baptist” just doesn’t have the same ring.  Spiritual recognition says to name him John because that’s the name God gave him through the angel.  Spiritual recognition was a hard lesson for Zechariah.  He’d failed that one once and wouldn’t do it again.

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.

(Wow, way to support your friend and family, you neighbors and relatives of Elizabeth!).  As if she and Zechariah hadn’t worked that out to obey the angel this time because the last effort when Zechariah was flying solo was such a display of ingratitude and doubt.

63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. 67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us– 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel. (Luke 1:57-80)

Questions for further thought:

• Imagine Zechariah mulling over the words of the angel, again and again, reliving every moment of his unbelief.  Do you think it made an impression on him, especially as he began to see the fulfillment?  How might his heart have reacted? 
• Even after the heart change, the consequences remained as the angel had outlined.  Then, Divine Intervention! After being silent so long, is it any wonder his voice would be open to praise?
• In what ways might some of this been rehearsed (in a good way to perfectly express what he wished he’d said before) and in other ways completely spontaneous (a pouring of his soul in the moment of total joy)?  Reread Zechariah’s words (above).

Oh Lord, when the circumstances of life rob us of words to speak, when we feel at a loss for anything that we could do, when the world seeks to steal our joy, to steal our peace, and to steal the life from us, remind us, Lord, that You are the way, the truth, and the life.  Remind us that You are sovereign, You are in control, and every opportunity is an opportunity to praise You.  We can praise You in health; we can praise You when we’re sick; we can praise You when we are rich; and we can praise You when You have provided for us in our poverty.  We can thank You for blessings that we have received. We can thank You for patience to wait for blessings that are still headed our way as the ancients are commended for (Hebrews 11).  Thank You for the beautiful fruit of patience and for this Advent season which is one of hopeful expectation as even pregnancy took nine months.  It’s a season to reminds us that both waiting and suffering produce fruit.  When You show up in Your full glory, we can and will continue to offer our voices in praise to You as if we’d been silent our whole lives and had our lips suddenly opened and voices inaugurated to praise anew!  Thank You Lord, that in Your mercy, You continually draw us to Yourself.  Thank You for salvation in Jesus Christ, in whose Name we pray. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

What’s the right thing to do?  It’s often hard to know.  The Bible admonishes us, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

Joseph was a righteous man and wanted to do what was theologically correct to maintain that righteousness.  According to the law, he had two options: “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19)

That’s it: public disgrace (humiliation and even stoning) or divorce.  Two options that make a righteous man’s conscience uneasy.  Two choices he didn’t want to make.  Two alternatives and either one would break his heart.  He loved Mary.

Divine Intervention: A Third Way

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-25)

Questions for further thought:

• Sometimes the choices all seem to be bad and the road appears as a dead end.  How did Joseph’s righteousness make him sensitive to hearing wisdom and give him courage for acting upon what the angel instructed?
• What do you do when confronted with only bad choices or when all seems hopeless?
• People sometimes claim there are 3 answers to prayer: Yes, No, and Wait.  Joseph couldn’t wait because eventually pregnancy shows if it progresses.  What other types of things remove the options of Wait or Delay from those available? 
• Is it ever a sin to delay?  When?

Lord Jesus, when we don’t know what to do and all the choices before us seemed to be bad ones, please come to our rescue! When the troubles of this world encroach upon our hearts and our consciences are chronically uneasy, we ask that You would show us the way; that Your Holy Spirit would guide us toward what will bring glory to You; and we will see another way through the troubled waters. We ask, Lord, that righteousness would prevail and that we would be wise and have courage and we would bear fruit for the Kingdom. You are Lord and we celebrate the miracles leading up to Your birth and a way that opens through the fog. We praise You! In Jesus Name and for His glory we pray. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:41-45)

Two babies by Divine Intervention.  One the old-fashioned way, albeit miraculous for two old people.  The other in an altogether uniquely miraculous way…from the Holy Spirit.  God could do the first old-fashioned way all day long until the cows come home, a world of geriatrics with children, if He wanted to.  The other, Mary’s baby—the Christ Child—this will never happen again.  Once in an eternal lifetime.  One Savior and He is enough!

Questions for further thought:

• Why was Mary’s pregnancy a once-for-all-time event?  Think about her virginity and the fulfillment of Scripture.
• Think about Good Friday’s Cross, the tomb, and the Resurrection of Jesus.  Why is it important that God will never do it again?
• What was helpful about Elizabeth’s proclamation that would have confirmed what the angel said? Luke 1:36-37 “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

Lord Jesus, we thank You that You only had to come once and the work that You did was so perfect that it never needs to be repeated. We ask, Lord, for You to open the eyes of family, friends, and those in our circles of influence to see the miraculous nature of Your birth and how it’s once in forever, not just once in a lifetime. We thank You for Your work in the manger, Your work in Your 30 years of life and 3 years of ministry, Your work on the Cross, and the work that You still do interceding for us in heaven. You are at the right hand of the Majesty on high, making intercession for us, and we praise You for that. Remind us that You are interceding for us when things seem like they are out of control, like evil is running amok. Help us to know that You are sovereign, that You are in control, and that we don’t have to worry even if things go in a very negative way. Remind us Lord that Your plan is for eternity. Your plan is spiritual. Your plans for the hearts and minds of people around this world are not only now but for future generations. Thank You Lord for rescuing us. Thank You for Your birth. Thank You for being the eternal Word made flesh. We pray this in Your Name. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Of all the unlikely people to receive Divine Intervention, it would probably have been Mary.  She was a genuine nobody in a nowhere world called Nazareth.  She was a simple Jewish girl with a simple Jewish faith and betrothed to a simple Jewish man with a simple righteousness that stands out in its pristine beauty and simplicity.

Divine Intervention complicates everything. 
And it never, ever, returns to normal.

Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.  37 For no Word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your Word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:38)

Questions for further thought:

• Can a woman ever go back to virginity after pregnancy? 
• How was Mary’s life changed in one pivotal moment of her assent to being the mother of the Messiah, to the Divine Intervention?
• Would her life ever go back to normal?
• Think about what COVID has done to nations around the globe.  We look at photos of how things used to be.  What about COVID has changed things permanently and in what ways can we someday go back to normal?
• Read Luke 2:25-35, especially, “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35 ) How did Jesus change everything for Israel and a sign spoken against. Would the future ever look like normal motherhood for Mary?
• Now think about the distinctions between a person’s body and mind.  The human mind can be held captive or freed. A captive mind can exist in a free person. A mind can change. What kind of Divine Intervention is required to free a mind that has become accustomed to bondage?

Lord Jesus, how we praise You and thank You that those You set free are free indeed!  May we become increasingly aware of what is happening to our minds in our current culture, may we reject our minds being made slaves to evil, or silenced, and instead, submit to You and embrace the true freedom we have in You.  We praise You that this earth is temporary, and as it continues to spiral down, down, down that You have called us to be citizens of two kingdoms as followers of Christ.  We are citizens of this earth, yes, but we are citizens of the Kingdom that can never be destroyed.  We are citizens of Your Kingdom, Lord, and we praise You! 

Thank You that someday glorious freedom will surround us and be part of our lives once again in far greater measure!  We thank You that our hearts can belong to You even if our bodies are constrained by laws, by world events, by disease, by terror….and spiritually, we still have freedom in You! 

We ask, Lord, that You would give Divine Intervention in the lives of people whose minds are still captive, whose minds are still under the yoke of fear, under the yoke of terror, under the yoke of COVID, and under the yoke of Satan.  We ask Lord that You would intervene powerfully in the lives of our friends, our families, our neighbors–indeed people around this world who need to know You–and we pray, Lord, that their turning to You will hasten Your return. 

Oh, Lord, in this Christmas season, may people come to see in You the Light of the World, to see the freedom in Christ that You came to bring.  You, Lord Jesus, are victorious over sin and death!  The chains upon humanity have been broken!!!  You are the King of kings and Lord of lords!  We bow before You in worship at the manger, at the Cross, and before Your throne in heaven!  We offer this prayer in Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Have you ever been rendered speechless?  Being at a loss for words is fairly common.  Being suddenly deprived of your ability to speak is odd, if not otherworldly.  Divine Intervention.

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (Luke 1:19-20)

Here’s Zechariah, in the Temple with a once-in-a-lifetime privilege!  The angel gives him unprecedented, good news for this old man and his old wife.  Here he is, a man of the cloth, a religious man, a priest!  And what’s his response?  Doubt.

Questions for further thought:

• How easy is it to doubt when circumstances seem to say, “Nothing’s Happening?”
• Many people assert that they’d believe if God would ___(fill in the blank)____.  If an angel, if God would write it across the sky, if He’s burn a bush right in your own front yard and tell you it’s holy ground, if He’d give you what you want…  Zechariah had an angel tell him the best news he could ever hope for, a holy messenger came to announce God was giving Zechariah the very joy he’d wanted since marrying Elizabeth.  How do our current circumstances in the natural world interfere with our ability to believe?
• Think about what you tell yourself. How does a rehearsing of what we fear in life or the natural course of earthly events keep us from hope?
• In the natural world, people don’t rise from the dead. In the natural world, old people don’t have reproductive capabilities to have babies together. In the natural world, whose actions rule our thought life?
• Now think about the supernatural world. Jesus reminds us, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Whose actions rule the supernatural?
• Why, particularly at Christmas, is it important to look beyond the natural world to believe the supernatural exists?
• Must one suspend his view of the natural world completely in order to believe that the supernatural happened at Christmas?

Father God, I do believe! Help me to overcome my unbelief.  The natural world, being in our faces all day long, tempts us to ignore what we cannot see as if it doesn’t exist. May I silently wait for it, to see it, to know it. Please, Lord, grant me the ability to look beyond my circumstances, to ignore what distractions there are that would keep me from faith in You, and to see with spiritual eyes things You wish me to see about Your will and Your activity in my midst. I acknowledge Your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Savior! Help me to believe the story the Bible tells of His birth, when the supernatural descended to earth and divinity was clothed with humanity. Might we celebrate at Advent this beautiful interjection of what is spiritual upon the natural world. Thank You for giving us ample evidence to believe and in times of my doubting, help me, Lord, to overcome my stubborn unbelief. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Yeah, standing up for your faith in politically hostile environments can get you in trouble.  Big trouble.  King David knew it—Saul hunted him like an animal for 15 years before he finally became king.  Daniel knew it—he was put in the lions’ den and saved by God’s hand.  Jesus knew it—He was crucified but rose from the grave.

Do you know what it’s like to stand up for your faith in Christ?  In a world that regards politics as its god, are you willing to be persecuted for Just Saying No to the lesser god killjoy COVID, and instead celebrating Christmas, gathering at church, or sharing the Gospel with those who need to know Christ to keep Him in Christmas?

Daniel was an interesting guy.  His life was impeccable.  The administrators and satraps—call them the Babylonian Deep State—hated him. 

Daniel 6:4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.  5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Jealousy and Hatred have no level to which they will not sink. 
They’re from the pit of hell.

Daniel 6:6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever!   7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.   8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered– in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”   9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.

Those snakes set a trap for Daniel and the king too preoccupied with kinging that he couldn’t even see.

Daniel heard about the decree and went on worshipping God.  He had his priorities straight even if he’d face persecution for it.  To the lions’ den he’d go.

Daniel 6:14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel

But the sentence was by his own signature, irrevocable.

Daniel 6: 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

And God did.  Divine Intervention!

Daniel tells the king the following morning, Daniel 6:22 “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”  23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.   

Questions for further thought:

• No one ever said that being a Christian would be an easy path.  What makes us think that it would be a cakewalk?
• What determines whether you will take a stand? 
• What stands in your way? What effect should you let obstacles have?

Let’s pray, For all of us, Lord, who feel like we’re living day-to-day in the lions’ den with threats and persecutions and difficulties all around us, we ask Lord that You would be strong for us and that You would encourage us and strengthen us for the journey. We thank You that You are a God who wastes nothing in our lives even the sufferings that we endure. Let justice prevail! You shut the mouths of the lions in Daniel’s day to remind those of us who have attempted to live upright lives, that You will be faithful. We who believe in the High Road will remain steadfast, walking the only road that we are willing to take. It’s the road that leads to You! Oh Lord, we ask that those who come against us with words and deeds that insult the Word of God, that insult Your character, and insult Your followers, let vengeance be Yours! In Your timing, make evildoers who are trying to destroy every holy day for Your Church, may them pay! We cannot bear to see that evil just rules the day. Our hearts are grieved. Our hearts are sad. Our hearts are heavy, Lord. Indeed, we feel helpless. It seems like every day it’s just one more piece of bad news but in the end Lord, we know that You are good. You are faithful. You are strong! You are powerful!! And so we ask, Lord, that by the power of Your Holy Spirit, by the mighty hand of God, by the power and mercy You have…shield us, guard us, protect us, and bring us safely home to You. Thank You Lord Jesus that You gave us a pattern to follow–for the joy set before You, You endured everything, and You died on a Cross that You never deserved. There’s not much that we can do, but with what we do have, Lord, we bring it to You… small as it is… in prayer and with thanksgiving. Yes, Lord, we bring it though it seems like so little and ask that You would multiply it for Your glory. It’s for Your Name sake and Your glory we pray. Amen.

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• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.