Tuesday, December 31, 2024
2 Corinthians 5:17
If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation.
How would you like to start life over? Well, you can. When you came to Christ, everything changed. Your old identity—shaped by sin, brokenness, shame, and fear—was replaced with a new identity rooted in the love and grace of God. The old has gone, the new has come and it can never be taken away from you!
Monday, December 30, 2024
Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
It may feel like there’s nothing new under the sun, but that’s not quite true. God’s mercies are new every single day. He has a vast storehouse of them just for you, ready to give out whenever you need them. Are you struggling with a secret sin? Then reach for mercy. Are you dealing with a loss? Stretch out your hands for His mercy. Do you want to know how to love your rude neighbor? As we get ready to start a new year, grab ahold of those new mercies that are literally waiting for you to simply grasp every single day.
Friday, December 27, 2024
Jeremiah 23:5-6
The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called the LORD our Righteous Savior.
Each king of Israel revealed their imperfections and their inability to reign wisely…even the one who was given the most wisdom. So, God gave a promise to Israel in a time of oppression when all hope seemed lost. He told them that soon a new King would come and rule with righteousness and wisdom. And He would be the Savior of the world.
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
When you’re in your darkest hour, you need a bright light. So, God gave Israel the brightest light, the promise of a Savior. It didn’t give them the answer they needed for the moment, but it did give them the answer for the not-too-distant future. Israel didn’t need another nation to be their solution, they needed a Savior who would be God with us–today, tomorrow and always.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Luke 2:1-4
Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire. And everyone went to be registered, each one to his own town. 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.
In order to be obedient to God, sometimes it requires sacrifice. And for Mary and Joseph, it was no different. It may have felt unjust and unnecessary, but in order to fulfill the prophecy of the prophet Micah, that young couple had to pack up the donkey and walk 70 miles to the place where the Messiah would be born. Thankfully, God made sure they made it to their destination just in time.
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ birth didn’t quite happen according to the typical human timeline because it wasn’t a plan made by man; it was a plan made by God. And even though the circumstances of Jesus’ conception were unconventional, Mary and Joseph chose to put their trust in an unconventional God who desired the Savior of the world to come as a fragile baby by the power of the Holy Spirit.