Day 18 | Kristi Laughinghouse
Hebrews 1: 6-9
Jesus Above All
Angels are heavenly beings that God has always used to
accomplish his work. They have been at important events, at
mighty battles and at the birth and death of Christ. He uses
them in heaven and on earth. But while God created them
with beauty and mission, he never created them with the
glory bestowed on our Lord and Savior. They are created.
Christ always was and is and is to come. Their true mission has
always been to worship the Lord. They rejoiced in the heavens
when the Savior was born, and they will continue to worship
him when he comes again and for eternity. We can allow
things like angels to distract us from the ultimate gift that is
Christ. They are merely instruments to accomplish his plan. But
in him, is the fullness of Christ, the anointed one, the Savior.
This Christmas season don’t get distracted by the things
around and Christmas, but be distracted by the center of it all
– that is Christ our King his throne is forever!
Day 17 | The Ferrelll Family
Hebrews 1:1-5
God Speaks to Us
In Advent, we remember a world for the satisfaction of the
wrath of God, holding to a hope beyond the fallen world.
Like us, the writer of Hebrews looks back on this waiting. We
have seen the expected, shattering arrival of God in the
flesh to Earth. The promise of a savior that was made at the
fall of man was fulfilled in the Son, the “radiance of the
glory of God “making the purification for sin.
The wait for a savior has ended, and so we celebrate. Yet,
still we wait.
As we wait, let us rest, knowing that we look to the same
God who created, promised a savior, and came to us.
Having seen the abundant provision of our merciful God,
we wait with the freedom to lay down our own strivings.
Instead of working to save ourselves, we work to bring
others to this hope.
Day 16 | Christian, Kimberlee, Elsa, Emmett, & Bowen
Brown
Matthew 2: 7-12
Celebrating and Rejoicing
When the wise men saw the star rest over the King for
whom they sought, they rejoiced exceedingly with great
joy.
“Rejoice exceedingly with great joy…” this phrase catches
our attention. What does it mean to rejoice exceedingly
with great joy? Celebration comes to mind as having a
similar definition. Celebration means to acknowledge (a
significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering
or enjoyable activity, while rejoice means to feel or show
great joy or delight.
During the holiday season, our family does take time to
celebrate. We acknowledge the significance of the
coming of God in the flesh as a baby and reread the story
in Scripture. We take a few days off work and school and
spend time doing sentimental activities with our loved
ones.
Do we take the time to rejoice as we see the wisemen
doing when they meet Jesus? What does it look like to feel
great joy as we spend time with Jesus?
As we contemplate what this might look like in our family
this year, we remember that the wisemen came from afar,
and they were not Israelites. When they met Jesus, they
worshipped him. Their worship may have looked different
than typical Jewish worship and customs. Jesus ushers in
the worship of the Gentiles.
Our prayer is that we all will not only celebrate Jesus but
rejoice in him with great joy. May we be free to show our
delight in him in true personal expression and find unity with
those who share our joy in Jesus and express it differently.
Day 15 | Ed & Christy Shepherd
Luke 2:40-47
Where Will You Be Found This Christmas Season?
The humility of Jesus blows me away. Coming to
earth as a baby, wrapped in human flesh. Allowing sinful
human beings to raise and teach him. Practicing the
customs of the Passover which, unbeknownst to those
around him, were customs that foretold the fate and
salvation to come through the blood shed by this young,
wise boy in their midst.
Luke tells us that Jesus, the child, grew and became
strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon
him. He also notes that Jesus chose to stay behind in
Jerusalem in order to sit among the teachers, listening to
them and asking them questions. Jesus was singularly
focused. He knew who he was and whose he was.
So where are we in our journey to conforming to the
image of Jesus? Are we walking on this earth with similar
humility? Being a child of the king, and all the while being a
servant to all? Sitting at Jesus’ feet in prayer and in His
Word, forsaking the many distractions? Let us be found
sitting with Jesus, listening to Him, and asking Him questions
this Christmas season, learning from Him and rejoicing in His
undeserved favor.
Day 14 | Brienne Raines
Luke 2:13-18
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom
he is pleased!” (Luke 2:13-14)
As he (Jesus) was drawing near—already on the way down
the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples
began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all
the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the
King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37-38)
Our church focus in the book of Matthew has been on the
Kingdom of God. What it means to live for the King and be
a citizen in his Kingdom. If we are truly citizens of this
Kingdom, our response must be PRAISE. At the birth of the
King a multitude of the heavenly host, an angel army,
praised God. By the time Jesus made his triumphal entry
into Jerusalem, the multitude of disciples began to rejoice
and praise God. Let us reflect how the good news of great
joy of a Savior, was meant for that bunch of shepherds and
for us. As a multitude of believers, let us with loud voices
praise God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” Where is
your own heart today? Is your response to the King and his
Kingdom praise?
Would you help us Jesus to become people of praise, marked
by obedience to this command? Would you lower our sense
of self and increase our understanding of your greatness?
Would you loosen our lips to sing your praise?
