Every Day with Jesus (37 page)

After the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, there’s no mention in Scripture of her telling Joseph anything. In fact, Mary went to see Elisabeth with haste. (Luke 1:39.) It’s possible that in her excitement, she forgot to tell Joseph she was even leaving. When she returned three months later, “She was found with child” (Matt. 1:18, italics mine). This implies that Mary didn’t tell Joseph what had happened, but when she returned, he observed she was pregnant.

How would a man today react if his fiancée turned up pregnant and told him it was a virgin birth? I’m sure Joseph had those same thoughts. His mercy toward her showed that he loved her, but he also planned to divorce her, which means he didn’t believe her. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained the situation to him. Even at that, it took a strong faith to believe what he was told!

This had never happened before and would never happen again. No one would believe him. To everyone else, it would appear that Joseph was marrying someone who had already been unfaithful. In the eyes of the world, this marriage would always be tainted. It is to his credit and a testimony to his great faith that Joseph obeyed the Lord by going ahead and marrying Mary.

If Joseph and Mary could believe God for the virgin birth of Jesus, surely you can believe what He has spoken to you today.

December 24: God Can Use Anyone or Anything

Luke 2:1-5

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).

Luke 2:4

The prophet Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Yet Joseph and Mary lived in the Galilean town of Nazareth. This was a problem. How would God work this out? He actually used Caesar Augustus to move Joseph and Mary into the proper place. This reveals some very important things to us.

First, we mistakenly think that the Lord only uses those who are totally devoted to Him. That certainly wasn’t the case here! Augustus was one of the most corrupt Caesars of them all. He proclaimed himself to be god, yet he was the one God used to move the parents of our Lord to the proper place. Totally unknown to him, Caesar was used of God.

Secondly, it doesn’t appear that Joseph and Mary were aware of Micah’s prophecy. If they were, you would think they would have headed to Bethlehem on their own, in obedience to the Word of God. Instead, God used circumstances to get them to the exact spot Micah had prophesied the Messiah would be born. This tells us that we don’t have to bring God’s will to pass on our own; He’s able to divinely structure our circumstances to direct our paths in His ways. All we must do is seek Him, and He will direct our paths. (Prov. 3:6.)

Have you been worrying about how the Lord is going to work things out? Be encouraged! God can use the most unlikely people and circumstances today to direct your path. Just trust in Him.

December 25: No-Frills Faith

Luke 2:6-7

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 2:7

It is astounding that the King of kings and Lord of lords was born in a barn because no one would give His parents a room in the inn. If we were God, we would have saved Herod the trouble of killing all the newborn baby boys in Bethlehem by retaliating and doing it ourselves. Jesus was the Creator, and His creation had no room for Him. That could really bother a selfish, self-centered God!

I believe the Father delighted in the setting in which Jesus was born. After all, a room in the greatest palace on earth would still have been a shambles compared to the splendors of heaven Jesus had left. Nothing could compare, so why try? Besides, love and humility motivated this awesome act of God becoming man. (Phil. 2:8.) Jesus said Himself that He was meek and lowly of heart. (Matt. 11:29.) We serve a humble God.

The Lord could have come in some spectacular way. He could have been born in the greatest palace. He could have mesmerized everyone into believing on Him, manifesting such awesome things that it took no faith to believe He was the Messiah, but that is not His way. He loves to see faith in people, just simple faith. That is why it is impossible to please Him without faith. (Heb. 11:6.)

Are you missing God’s subtle miracles all around you just because you are looking for something spectacular? If you had found Jesus lying in a manger of a barn, would you have had the faith to believe? The Lord delights in revealing Himself in subtle ways. Don’t miss Him today.

December 26: The War Is Over

Luke 2:8-20

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:14

A couple of Japanese soldiers were found on one of the South Pacific islands years after the end of WWII. Due to temporary deafness from bomb explosions, they had missed the announcement via airplane and were unaware of the war’s end. Many years later, they were still hiding in the jungle fighting the war. How sad. However, many Christians still think that the war is on between God and man. That’s even sadder!

These angels weren’t proclaiming that there would be peace among people. That certainly hasn’t happened since Jesus came, and it’s not what we see happening now. Jesus even declared that He didn’t come to bring peace between people. (Matt. 10:34-36.) These angels were praising God that the war between God and people was over.

Prior to Christ coming to the earth, God dealt with mankind through the Law. The Law was a system of rules and regulations with appropriate punishments for disobedience. The only thing wrong with that system was that we all broke the Law. Therefore, we all came under the curse instead of the blessing. There was no peace because of our sins.

Jesus ushered in a new way for God to deal with us. We can now be totally free of all sin, not because of our performance, but because of our faith in Jesus Christ. The war between God and us is over. The peace treaty has been signed in the blood of the Lamb. Are you enjoying that peace, or are you still suffering the hardships of war because you missed the announcement? There is peace and goodwill toward you from your loving, heavenly Father today.

December 27: In Him

Luke 2:8-20

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

Jesus did not grow into being Lord and Savior. He was born the Lord of Glory. Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. (1 Tim. 3:16.) What a great mystery! How could Almighty God limit Himself to the form of a man? Even if He did, how could he possibly start as a baby?

These questions defy our ability to fully understand. At the dedication of the first temple, Solomon said, “But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built” (2 Chron. 6:18). How much less the body of a little child!

Part of the answer is that God is a spirit (John 4:24), and spirits are not limited by time and space. In Jesus’ spirit, He was the eternal God who created the universe. The physical body of Jesus was just His earth suit that He used to walk among us. All of Jesus’ deity could not fit inside His physical body; it could reside in His spirit.

Even though this is still hard to grasp, it helps us understand how Christ can live in us as believers. (Col. 1:27.) If all the glory of God could fit inside the spirit of Jesus, then all the fullness of God can dwell in our born-again spirits too. (John 1:16.)

The revelation of who you are in Christ and who He is in you will change your whole perspective on your life as a Christian. Today, meditate on the truth that He really lives in you and you really live in Him.

December 28: Daniel’s Influence

Matthew 2:1-11

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 2:1-2

It is remarkable that these men from the East would interpret the appearance of any star, regardless of how unusual it might be, as a sign of the birth of the Jewish Messiah. What did they know about Jewish prophecy?

Matthew 2:1 calls these men “wise men.” The actual word used in the Greek text was magos, which was of foreign origin, denoting a Magian (hence Magi) or an Oriental scientist or magician. It is commonly believed they came from Persia. This is significant because Babylon was where Daniel was taken as a captive and elevated to the head of all the magicians. He came through the lions’ den victoriously and had gained the reputation as the greatest wise man of all. (Dan. 6.) Eventually he was promoted to be the head of all the wise men. (Dan. 2:48.)

Daniel was the prophet to whom God gave the interpretation of Jeremiah’s seventy-weeks prophecy, which pinpointed the coming of the Messiah. (Dan. 9:2,24-27; Jer. 25:11.) As head of the magicians (or scientists) in Persia, Daniel made this knowledge known to his colleagues. No doubt, through the centuries their successors continued to study his prophecy and anticipated the event. It is very understandable that the appearance of a new star moving in a different fashion would be taken as a special sign of the Jewish Messiah’s birth.

The religious Jewish scholars were taken by surprise, but the Persian magicians were not. They had been studying God’s Word through Daniel. The Word makes us wise unto salvation. (2 Tim. 3:15.)

Let the Word instruct you today, and you will be wise to make good decisions and to know the season you are in.

December 29: Revelation Knowledge

Luke 2:25-35

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Luke 2:26

A pastor friend of mine told me that before he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the thing that upset him the most about Charismatics was what we called “revelation knowledge.” He had two doctorate degrees and had been through seminary, yet he would hear ministers like me on the radio (whom he could tell had no formal training) expound the Scriptures in ways he had never heard before. He said he had studied those same Scriptures hundreds of times and had missed the simple, obvious truths that we brought out. It upset him and, at the same time, made him desire what we had.

This was how Simeon operated. “It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost.” This wasn’t something he was taught by man. It was revelation knowledge: knowledge that didn’t come from observation or instruction but was intuitive. This revelation knowledge is available to all born-again believers who will receive this ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Simeon had no natural way of knowing which of the thousands of babies he saw would be the Christ. He simply kept his heart in tune with the Holy Spirit, and that knowledge was supernaturally imparted to him at the right time. This shouldn’t be hard to believe. In nature we see birds, fish, and animals migrate to the exact spots their parents came from without ever being there before. They didn’t learn that in school.

If God can speak to His animal creation, doesn’t it make sense that He can also speak to you? Listen for the voice of God on the inside of you today, and ask Him to give you revelation knowledge of Him and His will for your life.

December 30: God’s Chosen

Luke 2:36-40

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Luke 2:37

Let’s suppose Anna was fourteen years old when she married. That would have made her ninety-eight years old at the writing of this passage. Yet she was still fasting and praying night and day. This was an amazing woman for any time.

Satan tries to convince us that God won’t use us. He may cite things like age, lack of ability, or failures in our past; but just like Anna, there are many scriptural examples of God using those who would be considered unusable by worldly standards.

Moses was eighty before he began to fulfill God’s plan for his life, and he worked until he was one hundred twenty years old. Abraham was in his nineties before he had the son God had promised him. Obviously, age is not a factor when God chooses to use someone.

Gideon was another person who looked unusable. He was hiding from the Midianites when the angel of the Lord appeared and told him he was a mighty man of valor. (Judg. 6:11,12.) He couldn’t believe it at first and had to have the Lord confirm it three times! Gideon is one of many examples that, truly, “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty”
(1 Cor. 1:27,28).

If you feel foolish or weak, then you qualify to be chosen by God for a great mission. Look into the Word of God and see yourself as He sees you. Let Him use you today.

December 31: To Resolve or Not to Resolve

Proverbs 4:20-27

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Proverbs 4:26

The end of the old year and the beginning of a new one is a great time to take inventory of what has happened in your life and plan for what’s ahead. Some people don’t think it’s good to look back, and they certainly don’t think it’s good to make New Year’s resolutions. But this passage of Scripture tells us to “ponder the path of thy feet.”

Ponder means “to weigh mentally.” You can’t weigh something unless you have something to weigh it against. If you don’t have any goals, there’s no way to evaluate whether or not you’re making progress. We all need something to shoot at. Otherwise, we’ll shoot at nothing and hit it every time!

There are dangers associated with setting goals and making resolutions. If we stretch ourselves too far, we are destined to fail. This just adds to our sense of guilt and frustration. The Bible advocates vision and goal setting, but we need to exercise wisdom. We shouldn’t set goals arbitrarily, independent of God. Establishing goals contrary to His will just absorbs all our time and keeps us from Him.