Sunday Reading: Isaiah 7 13-14
 
Key Verse: Isaiah 7 13
13  And He said, Hear now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?

Devotion:
Isaiah had written these words down that were words reproving Ahaz at that time but words that seem to be more and more pertinent as time marches on. Hundreds of years before Christ was actually born the prophets were foretelling of His birth, and yet so many people chose to ignore the signs and the warnings. People were so caught up in their own ways of life and the ways of the world that they were ignoring the ways of God. How true that is of today as well. The world seems intent on excluding God from everyday life just so that they can go off and do what they think if right in their own eyes rather than having to conform to God’s ways.

There are so many more people that will outwardly say they are Christian, outwardly act as if they are Christians and yet hold contempt for God within their hearts. Whether they know about that contempt or not is up for questioning because many people are gliding along without digging into their lives too much. They assume that if they continue to do all the right things and continue to do what the priests say should be done that they will end up in the right place at the right time. Well, guess what. That is not going to happen. Too much of the crowd is drifting off into the distance rather than following God’s Word. Too much of the crowd is being side-tracked. The stampede is not moving towards God any more.

Each one of us has to search in our hearts to find out whether we are actually following God’s Will and His Way in our lives. Each one of us has to ask the question as to whether we are following God’s Word or man’s word. It is so easy to just believe someone and go with the flow because that way we don’t have to think too much about things. That is where the danger lies because that is the time when we start moving away from God without actually realising what we are doing! God needs each one of us to continue focusing on Him in our Hearts and not just in our deeds. God wants us to be in a genuine relationship with Him – not just one like we would have on facebook or some other social meeting place nowadays...

Points to Ponder:
Are you thinking about people or Christmas?

Are you thinking about Christ?

Saturday Reading: Matthew 1 18-21
 
Key Verse: Matthew 1 19
19  But Joseph, her husband to be, being just, and not willing to make her a public example, he purposed to put her away secretly.

Devotion:
We can imagine all we would like to but I’m sure that we would not be able to think of all that was going through Josephs mind when he found out that Mary was pregnant. None of us seem to be strong enough to believe what someone else will tell us, no matter how much that they will try to persuade us – we always have to have something else that will convince us of the truth. People telling us about the things of God are along the same way – we don’t like to believe it because it makes us out to be the guilty ones, we then would have to change our lives and we would also have to submit to someone else and be under God’s authority. We don’t naturally like any of that... because we have grown up exercising our sin nature instead of exercising what God has given us!

When Joseph was told by the angel of the Lord that Mary was actually carrying the baby that was from God, he must have been totally flabbergasted! Not only was he being confronted by an angel but that angel was telling him that he would have to care for Christ, Emmanuel, our Saviour. All the sayings of the prophets were suddenly coming together right in front of him and he was in the centre of it all! If ever there was a time when two people would come together closer than any time before it was there and then when they both realised that they had been chosen to look after our Jesus.

We can look back and think about the miracle that took place, about the strain that it may have initially put on their relationship – we could imagine all sorts of things... but the fact remains that this is what was supposed to happen. God has this plan for us and nothing will change His plan. He knows what lies ahead for each of us and He continues to try and make us see His will in our lives. He continues to watch over us, to protect us, to bring us to the right place and the right time so that we can find His will at the perfect time. Far too often we ignore what He does in our lives and try to make our own way through it all. Trust God! He knows!

Points to Ponder:
Who do you trust?

Will you follow God?

Friday Reading: Luke 2 36-38

Key Verse: Luke 2 38
38  And she coming in at that instant gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those in Jerusalem eagerly expecting redemption.

Devotion:
As promised, the account of Anna the prophetess giving praise to Jesus in the temple... Think about this; every day Anna would see people come in and out of the temple to dedicate children, bring offerings and to lift up God according to the customs of the Jews. Every day she would probably pray for those who came in and minister to so many as well. She had been a widow for a very long time and would not give up serving God in the temple. Both day and night would she come to offer prayers and to fast. If ever there was a human example that we should be following it should be her.

God blesses the faithful and He makes sure that the faithful do get what they have been promised. He does not dish out those promises in half measures either! When we are faithful we can depend on everything that God has said to us through His word. When we are faithful we can know that He is there and that He continues to lift us up. Anna was given a very special gift, that of being able to see Jesus Christ Himself as a babe. God then made sure that she spoke of that meeting so that still more people would know that Christ was born!

But you know what the most amazing part of all of this is... Even if you are not faithful, God’s promises still stand firm. Even if you do not want to believe that He will keep His promises, it does not mean that He will skip over a few. Even if you say that there is no God, it does not mean that there is no God! God is real! God is here! God keeps His promises. God is God! You don’t have to be a dedicated prophet or prophetess for God to be able to deal in your life. He is already here and He will continue to be a part of your life even if you don’t think about Him. All He wants you to do is to acknowledge Him as the very God that He is! We may not have had the privilege of seeing Him in the person of Jesus, but we can know Him as Christ our Saviour and King!

Points to Ponder:
Are there any celebrities that you have met?

Do you know God?

Thursday Reading: Luke 2 25-32
 
Key Verse: Luke 2 30
30  For my eyes have seen Your Salvation

Devotion:
When you actually sit down and read through the bible to find out more about Christ’s birth you find all manner of treasures – this one being one that our Pastor brought to us this Wednesday during bible study, just one of the treasures I was planning on bringing to you. Since we do so often overlook the little things in our lives I thought that this and the following recount about Anna must both be mentioned. Simeon was a man who is described as being just and devout. In other words he had dedicated his life to doing what God wanted him to do. No longer was he hanging on to the world and all its trimmings but rather hanging on to God and His Word.

God, through The Holy Spirit, told him to go to the temple right then, the moment that Joseph and Mary had chosen to bring Jesus in to be circumcised and to offer up an offering for the first born male. But when they entered into the temple they were met by someone who lifted up Christ to His rightful position – Lord of all. I’m sure that Mary and Joseph knew that their child was special, but having someone bring it home in such a manner was probably an eye-opener none the less.

God’s timing is always perfect. Christ was not born too early or too late. Christ was not bought into the temple too early or too late. God continues to make sure that we see just how wonderful He is through the things He allows each one of us to experience – and He does this all with impeccable timing! Too often we miss things by hours, minutes or even seconds because we get distracted by other things. But with God, timing is always spot on. He brought each one of us into this world at the perfect time so that we could be here for someone else. God continues to make sure that we get chance after chance to set things right and to share our love for each other. We need to listen to Him right now and make sure that we do not miss another opportunity presented perfectly for us.

Points to Ponder:
What are you waiting for?

Do you really listen to God?