When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
TO PONDER
The faith of Jospeh is pretty incredible! First, he is told a story by the woman he is betrothed to that would make anyone raise their eyebrows. At first, he doesn’t believe her and then he has his own angelic encounter and his whole perspective on the situation changes. He goes from someone who is going to quietly divorce the woman he was to be married to, to someone who sticks by her, and forgoes his husbandly rights. He also follows the command of God and gives the baby the name Jesus.
I sometimes wish that God would intervene in my life in a similar way. That he would make his ways known to me with an angel announcement or clear direction. But it hasn’t been that way for me. Despite this, I do know that God is always speaking to me, through his word, through the Holy Spirit and through those around me that he is using to guide and direct me. I just need to open my eyes and ears to hear the words he is saying to me!
PRAYER:Heavenly Father, thank you that I am not wandering alone in this world. Instead, you have given me your word, your spirit and your church to help guide me and make your ways known and clear to me. Help me to hear and see clearly and to understand where you want me to be and what you want me to do, Amen.
Today's devotion written by Elise von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
TO PONDER
I remember as a kid how much anticipation went ahead of Christmas, the advent of Christmas morning was almost too much to bear, the thought of the presents in separate piles (a separate pile for each of the four kids) would drive my imagination months before.
I realised pretty early that a wishful list of hoped for presents demanded time to make sure what I asked for in the letter to Santa was actually what I really wanted and not something I would regret within a few days.
Today’s verse is part of the prophecy given by Isaiah about the coming Messiah, given about 700 years before the actual virgin birth but God’s advent-ure plan was announced all the way back in Genesis 3:15 in regards to the crucifixion and victorious resurrection of God’s planned Immanuel.
Ephesians 1:3-6 takes God’s advent plan back to even before there was a before, “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations” God already had a plan to restore us to himself through Jesus.
Reread the above paragraph, its not a typing mistake, before God created time, from eternity God had his grand advent-ure already planned. Before there was a before God planned to send Jesus so that we would be an us, his family via the virgin birth.
PRAYER: God with us, I thank you that your advent was planned from eternity, from before the creation told of in Genesis, from before the fall of humanity, from before Isaiah’s prophecy, from before the angel’s visit to Mary, from before the birth of our saviour. Your grand advent-ure was a sure thing from before there was a beginning, thought out, planned, expected and accomplished as an act of grace. Thank you, Amen.
Today's devotion written by Dany Brock, LifeWay Westside
Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
TO PONDER
To appear to be more intelligent than I am, I want to talk about the Copenhagen Interpretation of Schrodinger’s cat. First, we should begin with Schrödinger’s zombie cat, the thought experiment of a cat locked in a box with deadly poison, which will eventually spill out into the box thus killing the cat.
Werner Heisenberg, a fellow German countryman of Erwin Schrödinger, came up with an explanation of Schrödinger’s zombie cat and quantum physics, his interpretation was until someone opened the box the cat was both alive and dead at the same time, the observation by an individual was the catalyst.
In other words the state of the cat in the Copenhagen Interpretation is undecided until it is observed or perhaps not.
In today’s verses we see the certain fulfillment of a few of God’s promised advents; the promised “voice of one crying in the wilderness” Isaiah 40:3-4, the confirmation of “God with us” Isaiah 7:14 via a voice from heaven, salvation would be through a person, and this just off the top of my head but the fulfillment of God’s promises, unlike the Copenhagen Interpretation of a zombie cat, were not dependant on observation by an individual.
The promised advent was a definite as soon as God planned it, the impossible was possible, the plan was sure as soon as the promised advent was made.
PRAYER: Saviour Jesus, I give thanks that your planned advent was decided before the world was created to restore relationship with you, the almighty God, and your creation, you did it all and none of it was dependant on me. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:.
TO PONDER
Have you ever seen your family tree, the list of your ancestors going back for generations?
I’m not sure if its still there but there was a coal mining memorial display in a park somewhere in Wisemans Ferry that we visited well over 30 years ago where the Brock family was listed as a coal mining family who immigrated from Wales many, many years before.
I remember being told with my grandfather and my father working in some of the last coal mines to close down in the Newcastle region, the Brock family had worked in Coal Mines for at least 6 generations. Being part of the Brock family meant the plan was once you left school you would get a job down the mines, in fact when I left school I applied but due to the production of coal being cut back the son of a more senior guy than my dad got hired instead of me. The coal mining Brock legacy ended with my generation.
Today’s verse is the start of one of those passages of the Bible known as “beget” list, most of us skip over the begets or give them a cursory scan through but they are there to remind us that the impossible plan of advent-ure was conceived from the beginning.
Paul tells us in Ephesian 1:3-6, “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ.” (MSG)
That means before God even created time he had an advent plan to include us in the begets, before Abraham he planned us to be included.
PRAYER: Faithful God, thanks for your advent plan for me, even before time existed, you had conceived the plan for me to be part of your family. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside.
Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary—which was the place of atonement. David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind for the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the Lord.
TO PONDER
Sometimes the impossible advent-ure God is conceiving within our hearts already belongs to someone else…
Cross-cultural psychologists categorize cultures into two main types; individualistic culture and collectivist culture. Individualistic cultures stress the needs of the individual over the common good, whereas collectivist cultures emphasize the needs of the whole ahead of the needs of the individual.
I am sure most of us can guess where Australia falls in these dual cultural paradigms and its not collectivists. The COVID-19 toilet paper panic was a clear, if not an amusing, symptom of our individualistic culture in action.
In yesterday’s daily verses we read how King David lamented the fact that he couldn’t accomplish a dream of building the temple that was conceived in his heart and we briefly touched on the thought that David didn’t dwell in the lament but rather realised the unfulfilled conceived advent-ure was not about him. In today’s verses we read how David handed over the conceived advent-ure he had carried and owned for many years to someone else, his son Solomon.
If you continue reading down to verse 21 we see how David reminded Solomon that he would need other people to take ownership of the collective advent-ure in order to see it fulfilled. God’s conceived advent-ures are loaned to us for the good of the whole whether they begin with us or others.
PRAYER: Mighty God, I thank you that we all have a role to play in your impossible advent-ure, as your word says some will sow and others will reap but we all get to participate in achieving your plan. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’
TO PONDER
Everybody has a role to play but sometimes it may not be the role we hoped for…
King David was anointed king while he was still a teenager looking after his families flocks and it would be many, many years before he actually sat on the throne but he did rule as king for 40 years.
The life of David is quite literally a thing of legend and God himself even called David “a man after my own heart”, yet he still wasn’t able to accomplish everything he had wanted to accomplish.
Today’s verses are from King David’s final speech as king as he hands over the throne to his son Solomon, as he laments not being able to finish the advent-ure that was conceived in his heart many years before, to build the temple.
While these verses contain some regret the rest of speech celebrates that God’s plan conceived in his heart would be completed by the new generation. David celebrates that he was able to have the plans drawn up ready for someone else to fulfil their role in the advent-ure that was conceived in his heart.
PRAYER: Mighty God, I thank you that we all have a role to play in your impossible advent-ure, as your word says some will sow and others will reap but we all get to participate in achieving your plan. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
TO PONDER
Has life ever surprised you, when your life plans have changed unexpectedly leaving you unsure of the future? Sure, we know from Romans 8:28 that “That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (MSG), that everything whether good times or bad times God works them for good.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy…
In today’s verses we read about one of these experiences, a life changing, invitation into an impossible advent-ure with God.
Abram (who becomes Abraham), we are told, is 72 years old when he joins an impossible advent-ure conceived by God, the promise to be made “into a great nation”, even though he was childless and, ummm, oldish, even though he didn’t understand it, Abram answered the call to “go” and he went...
This past Sunday at LifeWay churches we looked at the “Conceived Advent-ure” of Mary, when the angel invited her into another impossible advent-ure, to play a role in the fulfillment of the promise made to Abram in today’s verses, were fulfilled.
Because Abram trusted God and went on the advent-ure into the unknown, God’s promise of his descendants being a blessing to the world was fulfilled through Mary’s conceived adventure, Jesus.
When you say yes to God’s impossible advent-ure, and trust Him the impossible becomes possible.
PRAYER: Mighty God, I repent for the times I haven’t trusted you, when life hasn’t taken me to where I expected and I thank you that with you the impossible becomes possible when I join you in your advent-ure. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside.
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
TO PONDER
Probably the most significant event in your life growing up would be leaving the family home and making your way in the world outside of those familiar surroundings. What was the reason you moved out of home for the first time? Was it to go to University? Was it because you got a flash new job in the city? Did you simply want to ‘spread your wings’ and make your own way in the world and explore everything the world had to offer? Was it for not so ‘fun’ reasons that you’d rather not talk about? Were you able to have all the plans in place, or did it just seem to all happen at once? While I was trepidatious at first, and all this had happened for me quite quickly in the last weeks of the 2020 school year, I saw it as a good opportunity to ‘spread my wings’ and dive into my adult adventure on my own, away from the house, the town, and the people I knew. As it turned out, on the day I chose to tell everyone at my home congregation that I was moving away, the Bishop was there, and he said to me “We have a church plant out there at Penrith that’s just started, so you should go along when you settle in to your new home and school”. From there, the rest, as they say, was history.
‘She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind her… But the angel assured her “Mary, you have nothing to fear. You have found favour with God.”
It is estimated that Mary was 12-14 years old when the angel brought her the “good news” that she had “found favour with God” and was pregnant. Mary’s life was thoroughly shaken, her former hopes and dreams were hijacked by her God, she was shaken.
Mary’s response was “I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Verse 38), Mary committed to the shaking plans of her God joining Him in the adventure that would change the world.
PRAYER: Mighty God, So, I thank you that in those big life shaking events that you, my God are always behind everything to assure me that you have a plans for me, and that I should not be afraid. Amen.
Today's devotion written by John Robertson, LifeWay Westside
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
TO PONDER:
There's a great little book that our kids used to love growing up,"Guess how much I love you" It is the story of Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed who had something to say to Big Nutbrown Hare.
“Guess how much I love you,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t think I could guess that,” said Big Nutbrown Hare.
“This much,” said Little Nutbrown Hare, stretching out his arms as wide as they could go.
Big Nutbrown Hare had even longer arms. “But I love YOU this much,” he said.
The book finishes with Little Nutbrown Hare saying, "I love you right up to the moon" before falling asleep to which Big Nutbrown Hare responds, " I love you right up to the moon AND BACK!"
Paul in this passage from Romans is doing a similar thing to the story. It's found in the word 'much more'! This is the fifth time he has told us the Christ does "much more". Christ doesn't just counteract sin and death, he does "much more." He goes far beyond it. What is that much more? Well death once reigned, but now...you expect Paul to say life reigns...but the much more is that we reign in life. Those who receive grace are no longer separated from God. Those who receive the free gift of righteousness, who bask in that, reign in life.
So today, think about what does that mean...that you reign in life? In the midst of whatever is happening in your life, whatever you have to face today, that you reign because of Jesus!
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you that you have done so much more, that you give me so much more. Amen.