God Keeps His Promises!

*************************************************************
Devotional of the Week:
Luke 1:68-69 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David..."

As we continue our look at the verses of Christmas this month, we come a gross two verses that show what the ultimate message of Christmas is. Zecharias, his tongue finally loosed as he has dedicated his son John in the temple, speaks the truth of the good news of redemption. "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people...".

The true gift of Christmas is that Jesus was sent for the redemption of all those who would believe in Him. God is a mighty God! He is a God who keeps his word and fulfills his covenants. The gift of our Messiah is made manifest in this Christmas season.

How blessed we are to be able to see clearly God's plan of redemption in these verses. The events that follow are His perfect plan in action. That little baby is God in human flesh, He is our Savior, He is our Peace, He is Immanuel, God with us! Praise God from whom all good things come!

Prayer: Father God, thank you for the gift of your Son. Praise You for all You have done to see your plan of salvation through. Help us to be your hands and to be your feet to take your gospel of redemption to the ends of the earth. May we use this Christmas season to profess the good news of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King! We praise You and we love You! We pray all this in the might saving name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

*************************************************************
Mini-Study of the Week: Read Matthew 1:18-21

We know that God chose Mary to be the mother of His Son, Jesus, but how often do we consciously consider that in so doing, God also selected Joseph to serve as Jesus’ earthly father figure? We learn quickly that Joseph was also deemed a righteous man. His actions reveal him to have been a sensitive and kind man toward his fiance when he learned the news about her inexplicable pregnancy. Not only could Joseph had divorced Mary by Jewish law for her apparent unfaithfulness, but he also could have had her stoned!

Then, after the angel visited Joseph in a dream and explained things from God’s perspective, Joseph immediately believed and obeyed God’s instructions. He did this in spite of the public humiliation that he would face under these unfathomable circumstances. Perhaps this deep rooted nobility is part of what made him God’s choice for Jesus’ earthly father.
Joseph was a skilled carpenter, and we know that he passed that trade onto Jesus. Joseph was a man of strong conviction who very obviously lived out his belief and put it into action. Imagine how God felt looking for the earthly man whom He would choose to raise His son!

Joseph is last mentioned in Scripture when Jesus is 12 years old. Though we don’t have a lot of information on the specifics of their relationship, I think we can confidently believe that Joseph was not an absentee father figure to Jesus. I’m sure Joseph took his role seriously to be a spiritual leader in their home, despite the fact that Jesus was divine! He undoubtedly had innumerable spiritual conversations with Jesus.

Remember, Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. His human needs required parental attention every bit as much as our children’s do. Joseph was involved in helping Jesus learn to talk and he was surely there, close by, on the day Jesus took His first steps and got His first tooth. Joseph was the “man of the house” during that period of Jesus’ life, and though Joseph obviously wasn’t perfect he was a godly example! Joseph was a real man in God’s eyes, and that is why He picked him to be the earthly father to His son.

*************************************************************
Video of the Week:

We look to celebrate the birth of our Savior... He shall reign forever and ever!
Hallelujah!




Love each other, share His love and share His gospel...
See you next week!

In His Service,
Sergio