Daily Devotional Monday 20th December

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven” - Luke 1:76-78
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Charles Spurgeon Morning and Evening

December 19: Morning

"The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." - Proverbs 16:33

If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by him, how much more the events of our entire life--especially when we are told by our blessed Saviour: "The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father." It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are serving himself. If you would "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ's business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying "providing" work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he has laid up so great an abundance in his garner? Look at his heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at his inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If he remembers even sparrows, will he forget one of the least of his poor children? "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved."

My soul, rest happy in thy low estate,
Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great;
To take the impress of the Will Divine,
Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.

Evening

"And there was no more sea." - Revelation 21:1

Scarcely could we rejoice at the thought of losing the glorious old ocean: the new heavens and the new earth are none the fairer to our imagination, if, indeed, literally there is to be no great and wide sea, with its gleaming waves and shelly shores. Is not the text to be read as a metaphor, tinged with the prejudice with which the Oriental mind universally regarded the sea in the olden times? A real physical world without a sea it is mournful to imagine, it would be an iron ring without the sapphire which made it precious. There must be a spiritual meaning here. In the new dispensation there will be no division--the sea separates nations and sunders peoples from each other. To John in Patmos the deep waters were like prison walls, shutting him out from his brethren and his work: there shall be no such barriers in the world to come. Leagues of rolling billows lie between us and many a kinsman whom tonight we prayerfully remember, but in the bright world to which we go there shall be unbroken fellowship for all the redeemed family. In this sense there shall be no more sea. The sea is the emblem of change; with its ebbs and flows, its glassy smoothness and its mountainous billows, its gentle murmurs and its tumultuous roarings, it is never long the same. Slave of the fickle winds and the changeful moon, its instability is proverbial. In this mortal state we have too much of this; earth is constant only in her inconstancy, but in the heavenly state all mournful change shall be unknown, and with it all fear of storm to wreck our hopes and drown our joys. The sea of glass glows with a glory unbroken by a wave. No tempest howls along the peaceful shores of paradise. Soon shall we reach that happy land where partings, and changes, and storms shall be ended! Jesus will waft us there. Are we in him or not? This is the grand question.
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Reading 7: The Messiah Will Come From Bethlehem

God gave Micah a message for the people of Israel: in their lifetime their nation would be destroyed. But God also gave Micah a vision of bright hope--with details! Micah predicted an important event in a little town in Judah that would make the town famous.

Micah 5:1-5

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
1 Marshal your troops, O city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel's ruler
on the cheek with a rod.
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 ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times."

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor gives birth
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be their peace.

Deliverance and Destruction
When the Assyrian invades our land
and marches through our fortresses,
we will raise against him seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.

Further Study

JUST THE FACTS

1. What town was the prophet talking about? (v. 2)
2. What did the prophet say about this small town? (v. 2)
3. What would this ruler be like? (vv. 4 - 5)

LET'S TALK

1. What do you think it means that the ruler over Israel would be one "whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (v. 2)?
2. How has Jesus' greatness reached to the ends of the earth? Discuss.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Christ existed long before history began. He was present at the creation of the world. Jesus will rule forever as our shepherd, giving us peace and security as our "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). God chose the little town of Bethlehem to be Jesus' birthplace long before he was born.

POINTS OF INTEREST

5:2 Though Bethlehem was a small town, it had an important place in the history of God's people. Jacob buried his wife Rachel there (when it was called Ephrath, Genesis 35:19). Ibzan, a judge of Israel, was from this town. So were Boaz, the husband of Ruth, and David, who kept his father's sheep and was anointed king by Samuel. Modern Bethlehem is a small village of fewer than 10,000 people. The surrounding hillsides abound in figs, almonds, olives and grape vines. The shepherds' fields are located northeast of the town still today.
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Welcome to the fourth week of Advent!

We begin each week of Advent with a series of short readings from Scripture to help focus your thoughts on the meaning of Christmas. Some of the devotionals later in the week will reflect back on these readings, which include passages from the Old and New Testament, including Psalms and the Gospels.

This week's Scripture reading:
(click here to read these passages on Bible Gateway)
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25