! D I A R F A E B ’T N DO ay Verse of the D God The kingdom of . ar has come ne —Mark 1:15
Read
Luke 2:42–52
Pra yer Lord Jesus talking with Jewish teachers , th Jesus ank You of the law in the temple gives one fo , who hum took r clue. “Everyone who heard him was an fo on rm a near nd d amazed at his understanding and to us rew . his answers,” Luke tells us (2:47). For the first time, ordinary people could hold a conversation with God in visible form. Jesus can talk to anyone—His parents, a Jewish teacher, a poor widow—without first having to announce, “Don’t be afraid!” In Jesus, God draws near.
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early every time an angel appears in the Bible, the first words he says are “Don’t be afraid!” Little wonder. When the supernatural makes contact with planet Earth, it usually FOOD leaves human observers flat on their faces in fear. But Luke tells of God making an appearance in a form that doesn’t frighten. In Jesus, born with the animals and laid in a feeding trough, God takes an approach that we need not fear. What could be less scary than a newborn baby? On Earth, Jesus is both God and man. As God, He can work miracles, forgive sins, conquer death, and predict the future. But for Jews accustomed to images of God as a bright cloud or pillar of fire, Jesus also causes much confusion. How could a baby in Bethlehem, a carpenter’s son, a man from Nazareth, be the Messiah from God? Why does God take on human form? The scene of 12-year-old
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“Don’t Be Afraid” is excerpted and adapted from Our Daily Bread 21 December 2018 article, by Philip Yancey.
tion Reflec ree things aracter to us. Name th Jesus reveals God’s ch ese things s on earth. What do th wa He en wh did us Jes cter? reveal about God’s chara 47