Today’s Devotional Verse

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:8‭-‬12 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.2.8-12.KJV

Imperfect Christmas Perfect Gift

A Different Kind of Christmas

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“There were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields . . .”—Luke 2:8 (NKJV)

If you’ve been reading along with us through the story of Christmas, you’ve probably noticed how differently God does things. He chooses some of the most sinful people imaginable to be the ancestors of the Holy One. He brings the King of kings and Lord of lords into the world as a helpless baby. He entrusts the Savior of the world to an under-privileged couple as first-time parents. 

Do you see a pattern developing? God opts for the unconventional. He does things that don’t seem to make sense to the natural order of things. We would do it “this” way, and He does it “that” way! There’s a profound purpose behind Him doing this, and we get a glimpse of it as we come to the next group of unlikely characters to play a role in Christ’s birth: the shepherds.

The story unfolds in Luke 2:8–12 (NKJV): “There were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’”

Think back to a time when you had an incredibly important piece of news to share. A pregnancy, a promotion, a proposal . . . you get the idea, something so momentous it would change the course of your life. Now, think about what your first reaction to that was. I’m sure you probably wanted to tell someone, and that someone wasn’t going to be a stranger, but someone uniquely significant to you. The point is this: We share special news with special people. 

Now, there has never been, nor ever will be, news more spectacular than the Son of God becoming the Son of Man in order to deliver humanity from its fallen state. Nothing compares or comes close! Special news, indeed; and look who God shared it with first! Of all the people He could have chosen to be the first to receive the news of Christ’s birth, He chose shepherds! 

You may be asking, “What’s wrong with shepherds? They seem like a tender bunch of well-bearded, animal-loving guys.” To put it mildly, shepherds weren’t at the top of anyone’s list in biblical times. They were constantly around filthy animals and spent more of their lives outdoors than indoors. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision how soiled, stained, and smelly these men were.  

Beyond these outward issues, shepherds had a reputation of being unsocial, unreliable, and untrustworthy. Many regarded them as closer to the animals they lived alongside then men made in the image and likeness of God. We even have ancient evidence that shepherds weren’t allowed to testify in court! To say they were outcasts would be putting it nicely. 

So, marvel at what God did by choosing these men to be the first to receive the greatest news of all time. These men probably never imagined that anyone would share anything important with them, much less God telling them the Savior of the world had arrived! 

What does this reveal to us? It shows us that God does things so differently than we do. When you think about it, this aspect of His character is why there even is a Christmas in the first place! If God did things the way we would, He wouldn’t have given His most precious Son to suffer and die on our behalf, and His mercy wouldn’t have triumphed over judgment. 

Praise God that He is so different from us, and may our remembrance of this reality make this Christmas very merry!

Today’s Devotional Verse

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. Luke 1:26‭-‬55 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.1.26-55.KJV

Today’s Devotional Verse

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:4‭-‬7 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.2.4-7.KJV

Imperfect Christmas Perfect Gift

The Imperfect Setting to a Perfect Story

By Danny Saavedra

“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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 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.”—Luke 2:4–7 (NIV)

Do you remember your first family vacation? I do! Ours was a trip to North Carolina for a wedding. It was also the first time we had taken my son, who was about 17 months old at the time, on an airplane. As you can expect, sitcom-style insanity ensued. To say it was an imperfect weekend would be an understatement. But it was also a lot of fun and a beautiful time with amazing memories we still look back on and remember fondly.

I imagine this is what it was like for Mary and Joseph . . . extremely crazy and hectic, long and arduous, and full of surprises, but ultimately one of the most amazing memories of their lives. Picture it . . . Mary was very pregnant at this point (not the ideal time to travel), but because of the census decreed by the Roman Emperor, they had to load up a donkey and head for Bethlehem, the place where their ancestors came from—a town they had never lived in, where they had a few distant relatives still living there, but likely not anyone they were in close contact with. Now, they had to hope one of their relatives had enough room for them to stay. 

But, by the time Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem (which assuredly took longer because she was pregnant), none of their relatives had room for them. All of their rooms were full, but probably because they were family and because Mary was pregnant, one relative let them stay in the lower room where the animals were kept at night. Imagine something like a basement or garage where you keep your dog or cat . . . or your cows and donkeys! 

Isn’t that insane? But it gets even crazier. Do you know where Jesus, the Savior and perfect gift of God to mankind, slept His first night on Earth? He wasn’t laid in a 415-pound pure gold crib (an economical 16.4-million-dollar crib) designed by Ximo Talamantes or a state-of-the-art Intellicot (valued at over $2,000). He didn’t even have a run-of-the-mill Fisher Price or Ikea crib. 

Instead, the Savior was placed in a humble manger, a feeding trough out of which livestock would eat. Now, often this manger is depicted in a traditional nativity scene as a wooden bassinet, but the reality is that it was more like a big rectangular stone farm sink sitting on a pair of cinder blocks! 

This is where the Creator of the universe and the Savior of the world slept . . . and not just for a night. Remember, Mary and Joseph stayed in Bethlehem until Jesus was around two years old, so who knows how long He slept in the place where the cows ate out of. So, from the humblest of women (Luke 1:26–55), to the humblest of towns, in the humblest of places (basically a barn), the Lord was born and was laid to rest each night in the humblest of “cribs.”

I think if you had asked Mary beforehand to describe the perfect first family trip, she likely wouldn’t have described it this way. But God did. To God, this was the perfect way for Jesus to make His arrival. Why? Because it so perfectly conveys the picture of what He was doing. In the lowliest of places from the lowliest of people, in the midst of the chaos, God stepped out of heaven and brought heaven to us. In that moment, all the imperfections ceased to matter because our perfect Jesus had arrived. All the noise and chaos was replaced by the magnificent song of angels who filled the night sky with the praise, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14 NASB). Darkness gave way as a miraculous star shone bright and brilliant above Jesus—the brightest and most brilliant Light of the World!

So, this Christmas season, let’s shift our focus from the bells and whistles and the holiday hustle. Chances are no matter how hard you try, it won’t be perfect. We may not get the right gifts, the ham may end up a little dry, the tree may be crooked, the family trip may be chaotic, but we can rest and rejoice in the fact that our King has come, our salvation has been secured, and our joy is in Jesus, the reason for the season!