And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52 ESV) As the Biblical birth journey comes to a close, our Advent devotional ends years after the birth of Jesus. The final note of Luke’s Gospel concerning the boyhood of Jesus is found Read more
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:23 ESV) The Biblical Christmas story is one long, continuous fulfillment of the Word of God as uttered by Prophets throughout Read more
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:14-15 ESV) Has it ever occurred Read more
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:10-11 ESV) Let me state Read more
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:6 ESV) At the unexpected arrival of the wise men, King Herod and all of Jerusalem was Read more
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship Read more
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God Read more
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign Read more
“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” (Luke 1:25 ESV) If we aren’t careful, we can miss out on the incredible, rich emotion behind the Christmas story. Sometimes I fear when we read Scripture, we Read more
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2 ESV) The God of the Scripture is Read more