Scripture to Read: Matthew 1:18-25
This week is Christmas week, and it is a great time to celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ's birth with family and friends. God never wants us to forget how much He loves us. God proved that unfailing love for us when He came in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ and gave His life to pay the full price for our sin. The fact that God chose to come as a Child in Mary’s womb is astounding. God could have manifested Himself as a full-grown man, but He did not do it that way. Jesus experienced all of life as being 100% man and experienced every temptation, just like us, but He NEVER sinned (Hebrews 2:14-18 and Hebrews 4:14-16). The fact that the Holy Spirit planted the seed in Mary’s womb reminds us that Jesus was, is, and always will be 100% God and 100% man. Let’s also consider what Mary and Joseph went through in order to trust God with what the angel of the Lord had spoken to each of them. As we read in Matthew 1:19-23, Joseph had planned to divorce Mary secretly because he did not want to disgrace her and her family. God sent an angel to speak to Joseph in a dream to assure Joseph that his wife was pregnant due to the Holy Spirit planting the seed in her. God’s plan will always be fulfilled and just as Mary and Joseph trusted God and His Word, we must do the same every day of our lives.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you about trusting Him in this crazy world even when it may not make sense to us?
2. How are you feeding on God’s Word daily so that your heart and mind are filled with His truth?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!