Daily Devotional from Pastor Mary 12-24-22

Intro: The Bible—the Word of God—reveals so many miracles within its pages, because nothing is impossible with God if people will believe [Mk 9:23]. Miracles display the love and power of God over even the natural order of things, because God compassionately responds to human need. God created the human race, so he is most certainly going to care for us.

Please consider three of God’s greatest miracles he performed for the purpose of meeting human need if we will believe: 1) The Word of God miraculously came down from heaven and became human—in the form of a humble baby—to show humanity the Way we were originally created to live in the world; 2) The Word of God humbly laid down his physical life of Truth in exchange for our human life filled with sin [lies of Satan] in order to be the powerful and redeeming Door of Hope for the believer’s eternal life and future miraculous resurrection from the dead; and 3) The Word of God is the new miraculous Life imparted to believers and empowered by the Holy Spirit so we can now live the Truth in the midst of a world filled with sin [lies/rebellion against God] [Jo 10:7, 14:6].

This is the miracle of Christmas: The Lord of Love has been born as a Gift to humanity. The Lord of Love came with the purpose of being the Savior for humanity. The Lord of Love now offers humanity new life—eternal life—that is filled with His perfect presence. Believers now live with the anticipation that at any moment the divine life and activity of God may be revealed through and around us. Let the Word open your spiritual eyes and ears! Merry Christmas!

John 1:1-5 Christ Lived Before the World Was Made
1 The Word (Christ) was in the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 He made all things. Nothing was made without Him making it. 4 Life began by Him. His Life was the Light for men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness. The darkness has never been able to put out the Light.

Prayer: Lord of Love, we thank you for every miraculous act you have performed on our behalf. Thank you for the overflowing blessings you have given believers. We rejoice and give you praise! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NOTE: Please join us for our Christmas Eve service tonight at 6:30PM. We will sing amazing carols of praise, ponder the Word, and celebrate at the Lord’s table. We will conclude with candle lighting to remind us we are the Light [revelation] of God’s shalom—his restoring wholeness—the world needs. This is our beautiful time to celebrate together, because we will not be offering a Christmas Day service. Blessings!