Christmas Day: December 23, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2016.

CHRISTMAS DAY

DEFINITION:

The celebration of the birth of Jesus.

SCRIPTURE:

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As we told you yesterday, we do not send devotionals out on Saturdays or Sundays so we are sending this devotional to you two days early. We suggest you save it and read it again on Christmas day with your family as you celebrate the birth of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

There were some unusual events that happened in the world when Jesus was born. These events had a dramatic effect on history.

Way back in the book of Genesis Jacob gave us a prophecy of the birth of Jesus. In Genesis 49:10 Jacob said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (the Messiah) come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.”

When Jesus was born this prophecy was being fulfilled. The scepter of rule had departed from Judea and they were now under the rule of Rome with Caesar Augustus reigning as emperor. Cyrenius was governor of Syria and Judea was part of the province of Syria. Herod was now King of Judea, a title granted by Rome. Herod was not part of the Davidic family line. So you see that a foreign, alien power, now ruled over Judea, however God’s scepter of rule had not left Judah. God was still in control of His chosen people and will always be in control of what happens to Judah (Israel).

With the birth of Jesus, the prophecy of The Messiah coming was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the Messiah (Shiloh) and His coming into the world not only fulfilled prophecy but was surrounded by unusual events.

Angels announced His birth to shepherds watching their flocks. An unusually bright star led the wise men to Jesus.

Another unusual event was the unexpected taxation. It had been prophesied that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem and this scripture had to be fulfilled. Joseph and Mary lived in Galilee and as the scripture says, “Mary was now great with child.” The taxation happened just at the right time and in the right way. Every one needed to return to the city of his family ancestry to register and pay his taxes. God was controlling these events so that all things worked so that He might fulfill His promise to send the Savior into the world and fulfill the prophecies in the Old Testament.

Joseph and Mary were both descendants of David so the taxation forced Joseph to take Mary and to go to Bethlehem. The city of Bethlehem was prophesied to be the city of the Messiah’s birth. The taxation led to the fulfillment of Scripture. Without the taxation decree Joseph and Mary would certainly have not had any reason to make such a long difficult journey of more than 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, especially with a baby on the verge of being born.

The Scribes understood where Jesus the Messiah was to be born (Matthew 2:5-6). The common people understood where Jesus was to be born (John 7:42).

Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem because it was prophesied that the Messiah was to be the Son of David. David had been born in Bethlehem therefore it was necessary for Jesus the Son of David to be born there. The “Son of David” was the most common Messianic title used to refer to Jesus in His day. And finally the scripture prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). “But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be a ruler over Israel whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

How can we not only be amazed but also have our hearts blessed when we consider how God miraculously worked out His plan of Salvation for us? Caesar Augustus could never have imagined that he played a role in fulfilling prophecy concerning Christ our Messiah.

No power on earth can prevent God from doing what He has promised. Jesus promised He would come as our Messiah and He came. He promised He is coming again and no power on earth will stop that from happening at His chosen time. When He comes again, He will come as King and all authority will be His.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward man.

PRAYER:

Help me today to realize the significance of how God prepared the world for the birth of Jesus. Thank You that I serve a miracle working God. May this Christmas season be a time of rejoicing and celebration of God’s great gift of salvation that I have in Jesus Christ in my life as well as in the lives of my family. Thank You for the miraculous way You work.

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Christmas Eve: December 22, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 22, 2016.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Since Christmas eve and Christmas day are on the weekend this year and we do not send devotionals on Saturday or Sunday we are two days early. You may want to save these next two (tomorrows) and read them on Christmas eve and Christmas day.

We encourage you today to start preparing for Christmas. It is our prayer for you that CHRISTMAS 2016 will be one of the most Christ honoring and special days of your life.

We will be celebrating Christmas Eve with our family. We will take the time to read Luke 2:1-14 which is the Christmas story as recorded by Luke. We urge you to join us and take the time to read to your family the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-14. For your convenience we are sharing it with you here.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her first-born, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE TO MEN ON WHOM HIS FAVOR RESTS.”

The story goes on with the shepherds going to find Mary, Joseph and the baby. (Luke 2: 15-20) After you have read this account to your family this Christmas then take time to pray together, thanking God for sending His Son to pay the penalty for your sins.

For many years our family has had the tradition each Christmas eve for our grandchildren to put on a Christmas play depicting that day when Jesus was born in a manger. This always is one of the highlights for all of us who are there.

Make today and tomorrow a real celebration as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Have a blessed Christmas and remember that JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward man.

PRAYER:

Our Father in heaven, we thank You that Christmas is not about the giving and receiving of gifts, but about THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL: THE GIFT OF YOUR ONLY SON, who was born over 2,000 years ago, in a lowly manger, sent by You to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and to give us, if we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, eternal life.

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Christmas Card: December 21, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 21, 2016.

A CHRISTMAS CARD FOR YOU
FROM
KEN AND DOTTIE PHILLIPS

What a thrill it is for us to come to you each day with TODAY'S WORD. Today we want to remind you that this is Christmas week and in just four days we will be celebrating Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are told much about the birth of Jesus in Luke 2.

JESUS was born in a manger, because there was no room in the Inn.

JESUS was born in Bethlehem because He was of the house and lineage of David as prophesied in the Old Testament.

The angel spoke first to the shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields about the birth of JESUS.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying:

“GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND 

ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN.”

Our family (six children and spouses, 20 grandchildren and spouses and our great grand-daughter) want you to remember that:

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Many will celebrate the birthday of Jesus by singing carols about Him and giving gifts in remembrance of Him, but never reflect on His life and the sacrifice He made for each one of us.

We will be praying for every one of you this week. Please pray for us.

HAVE A CHRIST CENTERED AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

LEARNING:

 Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Please memorize it and read this passage daily this week:

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN.

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Sharing: December 20, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2016.

SHARING

DEFINITION:

To engage in together; to give a part to; a joint enterprise; to use or participate in or receive jointly.

SCRIPTURE:

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Hebrews 13:16.

Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share. I Timothy 6:18.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It goes without saying that we are not born with a natural inclination to share. It becomes very evident to every parent early on that children need to be taught to share.

Unfortunately, as children mature into adults they often do not abide by what they may have been taught about sharing. It is human nature that makes this a sad reality. The apostle Paul understood this when he was in prison waiting for his execution and was writing I and II Timothy.

He was giving Timothy some final instructions to help him carry on Paul’s ministry. Paul well knew that Timothy would have to deal with Christians who were self-centered and selfish. Like children they would have to be taught to share and to do good. In the New American Standard Bible translation, I Timothy 6:18 reads, “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” For Paul to put the emphasis on sharing to Timothy it must have been an issue and important for Timothy to be alert to it.

The inclination to share comes as a result of our relationship with our Lord Jesus. His Holy Spirit works in us to cause us to love and care for others and gives us the desire to share with others. Down through the ages it has been the church, the body of believers, that have been the ones who have fed the hungry and sheltered the poor and encouraged the downtrodden and that is still true today.

Jesus knew that one of our real tests in seeing what our real depth of being yielded to Him was our willingness to share with others. If we have no mercy toward others it is safe to say that we have never experienced God’s mercy.

Ralph Waldo Emerson must have been reading the gauge of human mercy when he said, “What you are speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Satan does not care how much you theorize about Christianity, or how much you profess to know about Christ. What Satan opposes is your dedication to live a Christ-like life by sharing your faith with others through your walk and your talk.

The best way to share your faith is to be an example. People are not as moved by what you say about your faith as they are in seeing how it is working in your life.

We are instructed in Hebrews 13:16 to “not forget to do good and to share with others.” Acts of kindness and sharing with others is not only pleasing to God but can open the door to an opportunity to share our faith.

Jesus wants us to reach out and share with others. No matter how little we may have in material wealth we can be rich in good deeds. Just an encouraging word or a helping hand can reap rich rewards. Jesus in turn will give you joy and happiness like you never have had before.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward man.

PRAYER:

Help me to understand that there is no greater joy that I can have than when I am sharing Your love with someone. Help me to continually offer up praise to God for all that has been given to me. Use my words and deeds to offer joy and happiness to others just as You have given me.

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Kindness: December 19, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY DECEMBER 19, 2016.

KINDNESS

DEFINITION:

The quality of being friendly, generous and considerate; showing understanding and compassion; gentleness and tenderheartedness.

SCRIPTURE:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

Do everything in love. I Corinthians 16:14

Hatred stirs up strife, but kindness [love] covers all sins Proverbs 10:12

Love is patient, love is kind. I Corinthians 13:4.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As you read the above scriptures, did you notice that love is the motivating force behind kindness? When you show love, you show it by acts of kindness? But you must not only love and show kindness to those that love you but you also must love and show kindness to your enemies just as God loves you and is merciful and kind to you. That makes it much harder, doesn't it?

Emily Dickinson once said: "Some say that a word is dead when it is said. I say it just begins to live that day." Nothing can hurt more than a harsh word spoken out of anger and hate. The words we say may have long lasting consequences. As Christians we need to constantly ask God to help us show kindness to all we meet.  Kindness can be expressed by our words. We also need to show kindness by our actions even to those who wish us harm.

It is in our heart that we store our feelings and it is what is in our heart that motivates our actions. Before we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and been set free from sin, the desires of our sinful nature hold sway in our heart. When we accept Jesus as our Savior the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us and produces the fruits of the Spirit within us. These fruits of the Spirit are the character traits of Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

Our actions and our words need to reflect the heart of the One who paid the ultimate price to come to our rescue when we needed Him the most. Our comments and our complaints may stick with the hearer for decades. Unkind words once spoken can never be taken back. My [Dottie] mother admonished me that if I could not say something nice and kind it would be better to say nothing at all.

Some time ago I (Ken) was having lunch with a Christian leader who was and still is President of a ministry. We were talking about the past when he reminded me that we had met close to 45 years before and we had had a lengthy conversation about the value of investing our lives in Christian ministries. He thanked me several times during our visit, for being so kind to listen to him and to respond to his needs. Kindness sometimes is just giving some time and listening. I took the time to be kind to him at a time when he was searching for God's will in his life. Words of kindness and encouragement that are given may not seem much when given, but so many times kind words are never forgotten and certainly harsh words are difficult to forget. As Christians we need to make sure our words are at all times words of kindness and encouragement.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward man.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, for the opportunity you give us to serve You. Help our family to show kindness to those whom we meet. Help us to restrain our lips when some word or thought hurts us. Lead us to respond by being kind and loving just as You have commanded us in Your Word. Thank You for the loving kindness and mercy You have for us.

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