Expecting Christmas Sample

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Daily for the theSeason Seasonof ofJoy Joy Daily Readings Readings for

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

New Hope® Publishers 100 Missionary Ridge Birmingham, AL 35242 NewHopePublishers.com An imprint of Iron Stream Media IronStreamMedia.com © 2015, 2016 by Iron Stream Media, compiled by the staff of Iron Stream Media All rights reserved. First printing 2019.

Printed in the United States of America.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Iron Stream Media and its imprints, including New Hope ­Publishers, serves its authors as they express their views, which may not express the views of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Title: Expecting Christmas : daily readings for the season of joy.

Description: First [edition]. | Birmingham : New Hope Publishers, an imprint of Iron Stream Media, 2019.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019000475 | ISBN 9781563092541 (permabind) Subjects: LCSH: Christmas—Meditations. | Advent—­Meditations.

Classification: LCC BV45 .E97 2019 | DDC 242/.33—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019000475 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001

by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978‑1-56309‑254‑1 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-56309-165-0 1 2 3 4 5—22 21 20 19 18

Contents

Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day

1: Isaiah 7:14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2: John 1:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3: Luke 2:14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4: 1 Timothy 3:16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 5: Luke 1:32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 6: Luke 2:15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 7: Matthew 1:23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 8: Isaiah 9:2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 9: Isaiah 9:6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 10: Luke 1:37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 11: Luke 2:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 12: Luke 1:80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 13: Luke 2:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 14: Matthew 1:20–21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 15: Zechariah 9:9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 16: Isaiah 53:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 17: Matthew 11:5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 18: Isaiah 50:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 19: Philippians 2:7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day Day

20: Matthew 2:11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 21: Matthew 4:13–14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 22: Isaiah 42:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 23: Luke 2:32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 24: Isaiah 49:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 25: Luke 2:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 26: Matthew 2:6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 27: Isaiah 60:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 28: Matthew 2:2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 29: Psalm 5:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 30: Psalm 2:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 31: Isaiah 43:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 32: Isaiah 14:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 33: Hebrews 2:9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 34: John 14:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 35: Psalm 72:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 36: Matthew 1:21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 37: Isaiah 55:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 38: John 6:51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 39: Galatians 4:4–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 40: 1 John 3:5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

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Day 1

I

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. —Isaiah 7:14

f you have spent any amount of time on the Internet, you’ve probably seen videos of soldiers returning home from overseas as they reunite with loved ones. Whether the videos are of a soldier surprising a spouse, a child, or even a dog, they have captured people’s hearts and garnered millions of views. Why is that? For one thing, people can relate to that powerful sense of relief and joy upon reuniting with a loved one. We can put ourselves in the place of these 1

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men, women, children, and, yes, even dogs. We vicariously enjoy their excitement as they are reunited with loved ones.

Read Isaiah 7:10–14. Of all the messianic prophecies, verse 14 contains perhaps one of the most well known among believers today.

This prophecy, like many messianic prophecies, had what Christian commentators call a “near” and “far” fulfillment. The near fulfillment specifically related to King Ahaz and Jerusalem. The far fulfillment, however, has one clear, inarguable meaning—the miraculous birth of Christ by a virgin. Truly, Jesus was and is Immanuel, “God with us,” because of all the people born to a woman, He alone was and is God. Can you imagine the sense of anticipation the people of God experienced as they meditated on the words of Isaiah 7:14? So many lived and died before the promise of this prophecy ever came to fruition. Advent is our time to pause and share in the experience of eagerly awaiting the Messiah. We remember Christ’s birth, His death, and His Resurrection. And we also anticipate. As we fondly remember the ministry and salvation of Christ, we eagerly anticipate and await Christ’s return.

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Day 1/Isaiah 7:14

Reflection How might your life change if you were to spend more time anticipating the return of Christ?

What area(s) of your life do you experience the most struggle? In what ways might remembering Christ’s ministry strengthen you in moments of difficulty or weakness?

God made a promise to send His Son, and He fulfilled that promise. Who in your life needs to be introduced to the trustworthiness of God, specifically as it relates to the promised Messiah?

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Day 2

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. —John 1:14

P

erhaps this has happened to you: you’re sitting in a movie theater watching a trailer for an unreleased film and, after the short preview ends, you’re suddenly so excited about the advertised movie that you’ve completely forgotten which movie you’re about to watch. If done right, movie trailers will have you lined up at the ticket window on opening day. Like other types of advertisement, movie trailers are intended to be a film’s representative 4

Day 2/John 1:14

to the world and are released to the public to show what the movie is about, what it stands for, and what kind of story it hopes to tell.

Read John 1:14–16. The Greek word for word in verse 14 is logos, which refers to the moral precepts and utterances of God. John stated that the Word, the utterances and teachings of God, became flesh. Jesus Christ was and is the physical representation of all God’s decrees—all of God’s grace and truth. More than that, the text also indicates that God Himself became human—He came as the God-man Jesus. John clarified that Jesus was more than an ambassador of the Word, more than a messenger of the Father, and more than a prophet of what was to come. Jesus is the Word made flesh—the only God the Son. Not unlike a movie trailer, the teachings God gave His people throughout the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Christ and His future work in the world. Jesus was sent to the world to reveal to us the kind of story God wants to tell: a story of grace upon grace. The longawaited Savior arrived, and people personally saw the glory of the Word made flesh with their own eyes. What an unspeakable blessing . . . to 5

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­ ersonally witness and study the glory of the p Lord . . . especially when so many Old Testament believers had long anticipated the arrival of the Messiah.

Reflection Jesus represented all the moral precepts of God. What teaching or verse in the Word is the most challenging to you? Why do you think that is?

Why do you think some people are more apt to eagerly anticipate the release of a movie than to eagerly await the return of Christ?

What are some ways you can prepare yourself to concisely present the story of Christ—think of it like a trailer—in order to stir anticipation in ­people’s hearts for His return?

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Day 3

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased! —Luke 2:14

I

n its simplest form, a story consists of a conflict, a climax, and a resolution. The conflict is the moment when all the rising tension in the story comes to a head and creates a problem that must be addressed. The climax is the moment when the rising tension following the conflict is finally confronted. And lastly, there’s resolution, when all the rising tensions have rolled to a stop and the characters have their rest. And somewhere between the conflict and 7

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climax is something called the inciting incident that compels the main character to take action.

Read Luke 2:13–15. The gospel has always been in the mind of God, and the opening scene of the gospel story on earth is the birth of Christ.

On this landmark night, the earth continued spinning and people continued going about their business. The night was quiet in the still town of Bethlehem. The locals slept. The world was oblivious to the history-changing event that had just taken place. Although earth was ignorant, heaven was aware. And heaven rejoiced!

Jesus left the right hand of the Father in heaven to be born to a virgin. Angels announced His birth not to the city leaders but to shepherds gathered in a field. It’s as though the ­curtain were pulled back for a moment, and these shepherds were given a glimpse of the joyous celebration taking place in heaven. And then, just as suddenly, the curtain was drawn, and the night once again fell silent as though nothing had happened. But something had happened, and the world would never be the same.

The appearance of the angel to the shepherds was their inciting incident, the event that drove them to action and inevitably changed the 8

Day 3/Luke 2:14

course of their lives. The shepherds determine to act and go straight to Bethlehem. There was no time for deliberation. When the Lord makes Himself and His will so unquestionably clear to you, you obey.

Reflection What have been a few inciting incidents in your life, moments that made you take action?

In what ways have you seen God at work in these moments?

Thank God for the moments that have shaped your life for the better. Pray that He will give you the boldness to act as obediently and decisively as the shepherds.

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Day 4

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. —1 Timothy 3:16

H

ave you ever heard of the term “elevator pitch”? This concept has become especially popular in business circles and is based on a simple idea: know your product or service well enough and concisely enough so you could give a detailed summary to someone during the length of time it would take to ride an elevator. Think about a hobby 10

Day 4/1 Timothy 3:16

you are familiar with, such as sports, comics, or painting. Now, imagine that while you are on an elevator with someone, you have only until that person reaches his or her floor to summarize that hobby. Could you do it?

Read 1 Timothy 3:16. God was revealed in the flesh as the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh. The Messiah arrived. God the Son became a man. He was vindicated in the Spirit when the Spirit descended on Him as a sign to those present that He was who He claimed to be—the Messiah, God incarnate, who was completely righteous in the Father’s eyes. Jesus’ ministry captured the attention of those on earth and in heaven, both humans and angels alike. After His work was finished, Jesus ascended in glory and returned to the right hand of the Father. Not even Jesus’ death could stop the forward motion of the gospel. His message and His name have continued to spread far and wide, bringing people of every nation to faith.

We were not called to be salespeople for the gospel, but we are called to make disciples.

Therefore, it is necessary to know how to concisely present the story of Christ. Notice that 1 Timothy 3:16 is the perfect “elevator pitch” 11

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because it touches on the key points of the life of Christ. It is the message of the gospel in a nutshell. If you have difficulty knowing where to start when sharing your faith with others, start with this verse. Memorize it, share it, and use it as an outline for witnessing to others, because it’s a powerful summary of the life and ministry of Christ.

Reflection If you had one minute to convey the purpose of Advent, could you do it? Take a moment and write down one paragraph summarizing what Advent means to you.

What kinds of fears keep you from sharing what Christ has done and will do?

Pray God will use this Advent season, this time of remembrance and expectancy, to better familiarize you with the gospel so you can enjoy it in all its fullness, as well as share it with others in all its glory and grace.

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Day 5

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. —Luke 1:32

H

ave you ever known a child prodigy?

One famous example is Pablo Picasso, who reportedly was painting before he learned to speak and had surpassed his father’s artistic skills when he was still a child. By the end of his life, Picasso had produced more than 22,000 works of art that sell for millions of dollars today.

Read Luke 1:32–33. These verses record the words the angel Gabriel delivered to Mary.

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Imagine the anticipation that fills an expecting mother. Now, multiply that sense of anticipation by a thousand, and you might have a glimpse of what Mary must have experienced. Gabriel didn’t simply tell Mary she would give birth as a virgin, which was amazing in and of itself, he revealed she would give birth to the Son of the Most High, indicating Jesus would be the Son of God and not simply Mary’s child.

Gabriel revealed Jesus would possess the throne of David and reign forever, pointing to the fact the child Mary carried would be the long-awaited Messiah. Have there ever been greater expectations put on a child? Consider child prodigies again for a moment. Prodigies garner so much attention because they achieve in their early years what many adults never achieve in a lifetime. Some graduate college as young teens. Others, as children, paint masterpieces and compose symphonies. They all seem destined for greatness. Unfortunately, not every prodigy is a Picasso. Sometimes child prodigies never quite achieve the level of greatness their younger years seemed to promise. Jesus, though, achieved the greatness He was destined for, perfectly accomplishing the task for 14

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which He was sent. Advent season is a time for us to put ourselves in Mary’s shoes to reflect on Christ’s birth and anticipate His unending reign—just as she surely did upon hearing news from Gabriel of what was to come.

Reflection Have you ever felt overwhelmed because of ­people’s expectations? What effects did this have on you?

How can remembering Christ’s great power and His eternal reign free you from the pressures of the world’s expectations?

Why is it important to understand and remember the kinds of expectations that were put on the Messiah?

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