CHRISTMAS

Read Luke 1:26-2:52 (Important and Relevant to understand the Devotion) The child was born... And, the Child Grew...

The Christmas Story... .How many of you are hearing less about the true story and meaning of Christmas in the past few years... .especially this year?

Luke 1:26-38: "In the sixth month... .

Nothing is impossible with God! The angel said it... But,

        Do we really believe that? Why don't we act like it?

Read Luke 39-45... .Women are special. They have something in their spirit that man has a difficult time cultivating and reaping in their spirit. When the Lord tells a woman something, they believe it (Genuine humility and trust).

Luke 2:1-7... Birth of Jesus

v. 19, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:40, "And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him."

Luke 2:41-52 (Note 51 and 52). "Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

What does it mean... but Mary treasured all these things in her heart?

Does God enjoy giving to you, his treasured children, memories to treasure in our heart? (Those times when He speaks to us or shares something with us in a really personal way).

What are they... or, what are some that you have treasured up in your heart?

Do you just store up the treasure of the major things God has done for us? Or, do you make it a point to place in your storehouse those little things that He does for us?

Major: Healing a disease or healing your body after an accident, supplying a vehicle, doing a miracle.

Don't forget the little things that God does for us... they help build our faith.

Remember: Big things God does for us quickly wears off and placed in the back of our minds.

The little treasures of which God does for us have a tendency to remind us quicker of how he is mindful of us and wants to be involved in everything we do!

GOD DOES NOT WANT TO JUST GET US OUT OF BIG TROUBLE... BUT DESIRES TO KEEP US OUT OF TROUBLE.

DO YOUR PARENTS WANT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE IN TROUBLE TO BAIL YOU OUT... OR, DO THEY WANT TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO KEEP YOU OUT OF TROUBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Make it a point to treasure up all those conversations with God...

Note in the story... that Jesus was obedient to His parents (showed respect, honored his mother and father, listened and appreciated the concern that his parents had for him).

What was it like to raise Jesus the Messiah? Was he a perfect child? Did he ever make mistakes? Did he ever have to learn anything? Questions like these and dozens more have occurred to Christians.

If Jesus was filled with wisdom in verse 40, how could he grow in wisdom in verse 52?

Wisdom... .not given with just more education or knowledge. Knowledge alone never caused a person to be wise.

Wisdom comes from:

• An Attitude of Gratitude.
• A Humble spirit
• An Appreciative Approach to Life
• A Respect for God and Man

What does being filled with wisdom mean to you?

When are you fully matured in wisdom?

Galatians 4:4, But, when the time had fully come. God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

          He was born of woman... raised a child... died a Savior... to be our brother!

Additional Nuggets from our passages of Scripture:

1. Growth takes time. Jesus went through the same period of childhood and adolescence that we must. Sometimes we're in so much of a hurry to get on with life that we are tempted to skip the growing up part. We're "twelve going on twenty." God is not in such a hurry. He is more interested in the process of spiritual growth than just its eventual achievement. He is with you, training you, parenting you, helping you as you grow in Him.
2. We experience a tension between our responsibilities to God and to our fellow men. Sometimes those responsibilities conflict so much that we must choose one or the other. Jesus experienced the same tension and there were times that he had to choose to serve God rather than man. Ultimately, Jesus makes very clear where our ultimate allegiance must lie: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes, even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple" (14:26).
3. We must often submit to those who are lower in position or rank. It is rather amazing that Jesus would return home to Nazareth and submit to parents who, though they loved him, had no real grasp of who he was and what he was called to do. Yet he did submit and obey them because that was God's plan for the present. Don't be surprised if you are called to submit to an employer, patriarch, spouse, or military commander who is your spiritual, mental, or moral lower in position or rank. That, too, is part of Christian discipleship.
4. We need God's grace upon us. Ultimately, we are not dependent upon our skills or our wits, but God's grace. We can go far in this world on our native, God-given abilities. But to succeed in the Kingdom we need -- we must have -- God's favor upon us. His anointing, his gifting. As Moses said to the Lord in the wilderness,

"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Exodus 33:15-16)

We must have God's favor and grace upon us or we are nothing and will amount to nothing.