Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Psalm 38:4-9 My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. In this Psalm, David is incredibly honest. He tells us exactly how things are in his life, and it’s not going well! He feels guilty, he’s in pain and he is emotionally crushed. You can hardly imagine anything worse. But in the middle of it all, he knows that God hears him. I love the expression that David uses when he writes: “you hear my every sigh”. God doesn’t merely know when we are going through a hard time, but he picks up every detail of our distress. He is our creator, and he knows us better than we know ourselves. When we pray, he is well ahead of us in understanding what is wrong and why we are struggling. In prayer, we are informing God of nothing that he doesn’t already know. Despite this, it is still vital for us to open our hearts to God. When we approach him with complete honesty, we welcome him into our situation and invite his comfort, healing and restoration. Every single human being has times of difficulty and distress in their lives. There is nothing remarkable about that. But we must not hug our problems to ourselves. We need to come to God and be completely honest. It’s also important for us to be open with other Christians. That’s why we need to belong to a church and have those with whom we can be transparent. It wouldn’t be helpful to share our inner struggles everyone, but we do need at least one person with whom we can share the whole story – however awful and tangled it might be. Question – With whom are you able to be completely honest? Prayer – Thank you Lord that you love me so much that it is possible for me to be completely honest with you. Amen

Luke 2:29-32 Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel! Eight days after Jesus’ birth, his parents took him to the temple for his circumcision. There is no suggestion that the people of Jerusalem understood the significance of this moment. All the people at the temple saw was a young couple presenting their baby in the way that people did every day. But two elderly people did understand what was going on. Simeon and Anna had been longing for this day - and it had finally come! These verses form what is known as the Nunc Dimittis, Simeon’s famous prayer of thanks for this miraculous moment. He had been looking forward to this day for so long that he could now die in peace. As a Jew, he recognised that this was a glorious moment for the people of Israel. But it was much, much more. Simeon also recognised that the Messiah had come not merely for the Jews, but for the whole world. Simeon and Anna understood what was going on because they were people of prayer. They had devoted their lives to waiting on God. Anna was 84 and had been a widow for most of her life. We are told that she was a prophetess and never left the temple, instead worshipping God night and day, fasting and praying. The deep understanding and insight of these two people arose from lives that were shaped by prayer. They knew God so well that they were able to understand what he was doing in the world. Time and again in these daily devotionals we have been reminded of the importance of prayer as a way of life. Simeon and Anna are a supreme illustration of this and an inspiration to us as we live for God day by day. Question – What have you learnt from the example of Simeon and Anna? Prayer – Lord, thank you that you want me to live in continual partnership with you in prayer. By your Spirit inspire me with the example of Simeon and Anna and help me to share more of my life with you. Amen

Luke 2:19 Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. This sentence is what I would call a piece of considerable understatement! Mary had just given birth to the Messiah. She certainly had plenty to think about! Older versions of the Bible translate this verse as: “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (NIV). What had happened to Mary was a turning point in human history and stands at the centre of God’s loving plan for his world. No one, however old or mature, could possibly have taken it all in or claimed to have fully understood what had happened. Two thousand years later, theologians are still reflecting deeply on it. There is much that we do understand about our world, but still much that is beyond us. When we see the wonders of creation, we can attempt to describe what we see but we may never completely capture its beauty and intricacy. When we see the way in which God works in our lives, there is much that makes sense but always some things that puzzle us, and which leave us with questions. Like Mary, it is good for us to keep pondering. To do that, we need to allow ourselves space to reflect. It’s so easy to get sucked into a life of relentless activity. I believe God wants us to give ourselves the space to reflect deeply. In some Church traditions, the idea of retreat is very important. This is a time away from home where we can stand back from life and give unhurried time to listen to God. In a world that encourages us to race through our lives at a breathless pace, we need to learn from Mary’s example and ponder. Question – Where are you able to find space to listen to God? Prayer – Loving Lord, help me to listen more carefully to your voice. Amen

Luke 2:16-18 The shepherds “hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.” Just imagine if this was happening now. Bethlehem would be swamped with news reporters and film crews, and all the shepherds would have microphones thrust in front of them. The world would be hanging on their every word and the details of their amazing story would have been cross examined with forensic care. As it is, we have to rely on Dr Luke, who sums up the whole story in just a few dramatic words. In short, the shepherds confirm that the words of the angels about Jesus’ birth were absolutely true. Then, they went out to tell everyone the astonishing story. Good news cannot be hidden. You rarely need to tell new Christians that it is good to share their story with other people, because they just love to do so. What else would they do? When Jimmy became a Christian, his life was turned upside down by Christ, So, obviously, when he sat down at the lunch table at work the next day, he told everyone. It was such a gripping story that a crowd formed and, within a short time, one of his colleagues decided to follow Jimmy’s example and choose Jesus for himself. If you are a recent Christian, I’m sure you will be keen to share your story – and people will love to hear what you’ve experienced. But for many of us, it is a long time since we gave our lives to Christ. While it is good to share your conversion story, often, it is more powerful to share what God has done in your life recently. Speak of the peace that God gave you when you faced a bereavement or disappointment, or talk about an answer to prayer. Like the shepherds, we need to share what we have recently seen and heard. Question – What good news could you share? Prayer – Lord, thank you that the shepherds were so keen to share what they had experienced. Please give me a similar enthusiasm to share your good news. Amen

Luke 2:8-9 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. Of all the many surprises in the Christmas story, this is one of the greatest. We have long since got used to the fact that the birth of Jesus was announced to shepherds, but they were surely the last people you would have expected to hear about it. Their work forced them to live away from their communities and so they were always last to hear the news. But more than that, shepherds were smelly and ritually unclean because of their work. Yet God gave them the front seats in the Christmas story! If we had been given the responsibility of compiling an appropriate guest list to welcome the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I would guess that shepherds might not have made an appearance. We might have thought about the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. If Jesus was their Messiah, surely it would be crucial for them to be there. We might have even considered the faithful worshippers who had been praying for this moment for years. But the idea of including some smelly shepherds probably wouldn’t have occurred to us. But it did occur to God. During Jesus’ ministry, he consistently reached out to people who lived on the margins of society. The tax collectors, prostitutes, people suffering from leprosy, children – they were all welcome, because the kingdom that Jesus came to bring was open to everyone. Tragically, every society pushes some people to the margins. In our own day it is often determined by ethnicity, colour, age, wealth or physical fitness. But as we follow Jesus, we need to keep a special eye on those who might get overlooked – because God will never overlook them, and he calls on us to embrace them with his love. Question – Who are the equivalents of the shepherds in our own society? Prayer – Thank you Lord that your love reaches out to all. Help me to pass on your love to those who are overlooked by society. Amen

Luke 2:5-7 Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. In a few brief verses, Luke summarises the birth of Jesus. Brief as they are, Luke offers us more details than any other Gospel writer. After placing the birth of Jesus within Roman and Jewish history, we are given some very specific details. With the town crammed full for the census there was, not surprisingly, nowhere for the family to stay. After his birth, Jesus was placed in a manger, or cattle feeding trough. On many Christmas cards, this manger looks like an idyllic place to put a baby straight after it is born. But it wasn’t. It was just the only place available. It would have been smelly, unhygienic and the last place that anyone would want to use for a newborn. The idea of God coming to earth in human form is amazing enough. But for him to have made his entrance in the least suitable place, at a time of profound political upheaval, tells us much about the nature of our God. He could have come to a palace and had attendants wait on him. He could have ensured that doctors were on hand and servants to meticulously clean every surface. As God, he could have done all that and more. But he chose to come to this broken and distracted world just as it was. He comes in the same way to you and me today. He doesn’t wait for everything to be perfect. He meets with us where we are and gladly enters into our lives. Question – Are you willing to welcome Jesus just as you are? Prayer – Thank you Lord that you showed the full extent of your love when you sent Jesus into the world. I praise your name. Amen

Luke 2:1-3 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. I am delighted that, in our highly secular society, Christmas still has a very special place. No one could possibly miss the fact that it is Christmas! All attempts to replace it with a festival such as Winterval have failed miserably. But even so, we have a problem. The birth of Jesus has become inextricably linked with Father Christmas and Rudolf the red nosed reindeer, and a whole host of other imaginary characters. It’s really important that we recognise Jesus’ birth was a historic event, and here Dr Luke gives us the facts. Jesus was born during the long reign of Augustus Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire from 27BC to 14AD. During his reign, he established the Pax Romana which led to a period of relative peace for more than two centuries. He ruled the Empire tightly and one of his initiatives was to hold a census. Quirinius, as governor of Syria, was given responsibility for covering the area of Judaea. Luke gives us these very specific details because he wants the world to know that God broke into human history in a decisive way by sending his son to be the Saviour of the World. If Jesus was not a historical figure, the whole of Christianity crashes to the floor. This is what is known as the miracle of the incarnation – of God taking on flesh and becoming part of our world through his son, Jesus. As we enjoy our Christmas celebrations, we are marking the fact that Jesus entered into the rough and tumble of normal human life. You might have thought that Jesus, as the Son of God, would have been given special treatment as he entered the world – but no. Jesus entered the turbulent Roman world and faced all the indignities, regulations and limitations of a country living under occupation. This is no fairy story. Truly God had come to live on earth. Question – What do you find most amazing about the Christmas story? Prayer – Loving Father, thank you that you loved us so much that you were willing to send Jesus to our confused, cynical and sinful world. Amen

Luke 1:76-77 And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Have you ever lost your voice? I’ve had many sore throats and, at times, have had difficulty speaking. But only once have I lost my voice completely. It lasted for around two weeks and it was the most bizarre experience. I felt horribly disconnected from everything that was happening around me. So, I have great sympathy for Zechariah, who was rendered unable to speak for nine months. Only after the birth of his son, John the Baptist, was his speech suddenly restored - and here are some of his words. John and Jesus were relatives, but they were brought up in very different parts of Israel and so probably didn’t know one another very well. But Zechariah recognised that John would play a crucial role in God’s plans. John’s message of repentance was crucial in paving the way for Jesus’ ministry - and his baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan marked the beginning of it. Preparing the way for someone else might not sound like a very attractive role. But Zechariah had the eyes to see that his son’s ministry would be vital in the unfolding of God’s salvation plan. His song is full of praise as he recognised that the coming of the Messiah would be the fulfilment of the hopes of the people of Israel. Zechariah could see that through this new chapter in history, the sun would shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, and their feet would be guided into the path of peace (Luke 1:79). Most people have no understanding of why Jesus came to this earth. Christmas time is just seen as a jolly holiday. However, we will have the incredible privilege of doing just what John the Baptist did 2,000 years ago. We too can prepare the way for other people to meet Jesus for themselves. Question – In what way can you prepare the way for someone to learn about Jesus this Christmas? Prayer – Lord, help me to prepare the way for my friends and family members to meet Jesus this Christmas. Amen

Luke 1:51-53 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. As Mary praises God that she is going to give birth to his Son, she takes us right to the heart of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus didn’t come merely to rearrange things. He came to turn the world upside down. If we are to take Jesus seriously, we have to look at our society with new eyes. God is not merely disappointed with arrogance, abuse of power and injustice. God wants them to be toppled. Sadly, it is all too easy for us to fit in with our society and, in the interests of a quiet life, not to challenge injustice. The story of the German Church in the 1930s is a terrifying illustration of this. Hitler sought to bring the Church under his exclusive control, and the overwhelming majority accepted this. They were, understandably, fearful of resisting him and so allowed themselves to be pressed into the Nazi mould. Only the Confessing Church, led by people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were brave enough to stand up and be counted. For many of them, including Bonhoeffer, it cost them their lives. This is a dramatic example, but much of what happens in our society today is also contrary to God’s will. Our world is shaped by money, sex and power - and very often the cries of the poor, elderly and weak are overlooked. If we are to sing Mary’s song, we need to use it as well, as the lens through which we examine our society. I would encourage you to grab a newspaper and imagine how different our world might be if we turned Mary’s song into practice. Question – What injustice are you most aware of in our society, and what are you doing to oppose it? Prayer –Father, I praise you that you love people so much that you want to turn our world upside down. Fill me with your Spirit so that every day I will work hard to bring your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen

Luke 1:46-49 Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.” What an incredible moment this was for Mary! How could anyone put into words the overwhelming joy and privilege of being called to be the mother of the Saviour of the World? It is hardly surprising that she, as a young Jewish girl, turned to familiar words from the scriptures. She would have been brought up with the wonderful story of Hannah, Samuel’s mother, and would have been familiar with her prayer when she learnt that she was going to give birth. The words of Mary’s song, which is often known as the Magnificat, are extremely close to the words which Hannah had used centuries before. There are many moments in our lives as Christians when we simply don’t have the words to describe how grateful we are to God. Like Mary, we often turn to other people’s words to articulate how we are feeling. I thank God for the many songs and hymns that have become precious to me over the years. Many of them are firmly associated with a particular experience. Once, I had a long - and fiercely hot - journey across Romania during the Communist era. I was travelling with a disabled friend of mine and, as we passed through Transylvania, our van broke down. My companions and I were not great technicians but, to our amazement, we managed to fix it. As we travelled into Oradea, our destination, we instinctively broke out into song. We sang ‘Great is thy faithfulness’ - and we really meant it! We could have expressed everything we wanted to say in a prayer, but it felt so much more complete to join together in singing a hymn that was so familiar to us, and that bound us together with God’s people who had used it to express their worship over the years. God loves it when we worship him, whether we use our words or borrow them from others. Mary’s song may have been based on familiar words from the Old Testament but there is no doubting that they were words from her heart, too. Question – What song or hymn is particularly important to you? Prayer – Thank you Lord for Mary’s song and for the way in which it encourages me to praise you for your greatness. Amen

Luke 1:38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” We know the story of Jesus’ miraculous birth so well that we often have to work really hard to imagine how completely incredible this moment was for Mary. She was probably a teenager, and may well never have travelled outside of the rural Galilee region where she was born. The news that she was going to have a baby was shockingly at every level. She was a virgin, and having a baby was therefore a complete impossibility. But she listened attentively to the angel’s words and is assured that, crazy as this all sounded, nothing is impossible with God. Her response was extraordinarily impressive. She describes herself as the Lord’s servant and accepted the future that God had chosen for her. To be a servant would normally be seen as demeaning. We probably instinctively think of Downton Abbey, and the way that servants, living below stairs, were given all the heavy, dirty and difficult work to do so that a few people could live lives of incredible luxury. Being a servant doesn’t sound remotely attractive. But Mary recognized that it had all had to do with who you were serving - and to be a servant of the Lord was the highest privilege of all. Mary’s story might feel utterly remote from your life. But it isn’t. Today, God invites all of us to be his servants and he wants us to see that this is the highest privilege of life. It doesn’t get better than this – not for Mary and not for us. Question – What does it mean for you to be the servant of the Lord today? Prayer – Thank you Lord that because of your love for me you invite me to be your servant. Help me to be like Mary and to joyfully embrace the future that you have for me. Amen

Luke 1:14 An angel of the Lord prophesied to Zechariah concerning the birth of his son, John the Baptist. “You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.” This was the greatest day in Zechariah’s life. Being a male descendant of Aaron, he was a priest, which was a great privilege. However, it is suggested that there might have been up to 20,000 priests at this time, and so there were divided up into 24 groups which served in in rotation. The greatest privilege of all was for a priest to be chosen to go into the temple and burn incense at the time of the morning or evening sacrifice. Having burnt the incense, the priest would then emerge from the temple and pronounce a blessing on the people. This was such a great honour that a priest could only do this once in his lifetime - and many never got the opportunity at all. The priest was chosen for this responsibility by lot. Just imagine the sense of anticipation as the choice was made, and the overwhelming sense of privilege and responsibility when you knew it was you! That’s exactly what happened to Zechariah. Zechariah and his elderly wife, Elizabeth, had no children. At the time, this was seen as a matter of great shame and a burden that they had lived with for many years. So, when an angel met Zechariah in the temple while he was burning incense, and informed him that Elizabeth would not only have a baby but that their son would play a key role in God’s purposes for the world, it is hardly surprising that he was left speechless. This wonderful account reminds us that we should never put a limit on what God can do. The idea of Elizabeth having a baby seemed ridiculous – but not to God. We must always leave our minds open to the new things that God might want to do in our lives. Question – What surprising things has God done in your life? Prayer – Lord God, help me always to be open to whatever you want to do, however surprising. Amen

Matthew 1:22-23 All of this occurred to fulfil the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Loneliness is one of the greatest problems of our society today - and it is on the increase. This matters because loneliness is incredibly dangerous. It increases the risk of death by 26 per cent, is more damaging to health than obesity, and increases the risk of high blood pressure. Loneliness, living alone and poor social connections are as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to research. But the person who knows Jesus personally need never experience loneliness, because he is Immanuel, God with us, and when we live with him day by day, we are instantly connected to a worldwide family of his people. The difference between our relationship with God and with other people is that God never leaves us. He is always by our side. We may have warm relationships with our friends, colleagues and family but, because they are human, the experience is constantly changing. Sometimes, they are busy with other things. Added to that, they have good days and bad days. They go on holiday and get ill and can sometimes be distracted by other calls on their time. However firm our relationships with others, they are variable. But our relationship with the Lord is different. At any time, whatever our circumstances or mood, the Lord is by our side. He is always with us. As we celebrate Christmas this year, let’s not allow ourselves to become so distracted by the busyness of the celebrations that we fail to see Immanuel, the God who never leaves us. We have often been told that dogs are for life and not just for Christmas. But immeasurably more important is the fact the Jesus is for life and certainly not just for Christmas. Question – In what ways are you encouraged by the fact that God is always with you? Prayer – Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you will never leave me or forsake me. Amen

Matthew 1:21 “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Naming a child is a huge moment for parents. If you have ever had that privilege, I am sure you will remember the conversations about the various possibilities. You might have considered names that were particularly important in your family, or names that you simply liked. But, knowing that the child will carry that name for life, you will have given it careful consideration. We have three children, and I remember the long discussions about various names well! Our third child is called Bethany, the name of the place where my wife and I first met. I was leading a student group on a trip around Israel, where we stayed in a cheap hotel on the West Bank near Bethany. My future wife was one of the students! Many have since asked us what we’d have called her if we had met in Bognor Regis or Market Harborough…and I guess the answer is probably Bethany! Jesus was given his name because that’s what the angel commanded. It was a very common name and has the same root as Joshua, meaning ‘God saves’. From the very beginning of his life, it was clear that Jesus had a special mission to the world. There is no doubt that Mary was fully aware that she was bearing a very special son after her meeting with Gabriel. But I would so love to know what kind of conversations Joseph and Mary had about Jesus. It must have been a lot for this young couple to cope with - and they handled the situation with such grace and calmness. Jesus would become an inspiring teacher and a miraculous healer but, before anything else, he came to be the saviour of the world. His unique identity as fully man and fully God enabled him to do what no one else could ever do. He set humankind free from their sins. Question – How important is your own name to you? Prayer – Loving Father, thank you for sending your son into the world to save us from our sins. Amen

Matthew 1:20 As Joseph considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” This account is so familiar to us that we need to take a moment to try to imagine what the experience must have been like for Joseph. In all probability, he was a man in his 20s. Mary may well have been a teenager. He was clearly of good character and took his Jewish faith seriously. His decision to end the relationship quietly was understandable - but he must have been experiencing a riot of emotions, thinking about Mary, himself, his family’s reputation and his desire to do what God wanted. As he turned these things over in his mind, he had a dream in which he was addressed with his family title. He was Joseph, belonging to the line of the great King David. In the dream, an angel told him not to be fearful but to take Mary as his wife, because the baby was a gift of the Holy Spirit. What I love about this story is that those words were enough for Joseph. Having heard them, he married Mary. He must have known that people would assume he was the father. He would have to cope with the sniggers and gossip but he could do so because he knew he was being obedient to God. God will often ask us to do things which are not well understood by those around us. Jesus lived with this continually. He was forever being accused of acting with bad motives - and even being inspired by the devil. The prophets in the Old Testament were rarely thanked for their utterances and were often cold shouldered by their communities. Following God’s will is rarely easy. We may know little about Joseph, but his obedience to God in an incredibly awkward situation is deeply impressive. It should inspire us as we seek to serve God today. Question – How do you hear God speak to you? Prayer – Loving Father, thank you for the ways in which you make your will known to me. Give me courage to be obedient to you whatever the reaction from others. Amen

Matthew 1:19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. At the centre of the account of Jesus’ birth is a man about whom we know very little. Joseph was the legal father of Jesus, but after Jesus’ birth, we meet Joseph on only one occasion, when the family visit to Jerusalem for Passover when Jesus was 12 years old. Although it is not detailed anywhere, we get the distinct impression that Mary was a widow by the time Jesus’ public ministry began. One verse in the New Testament tells us that Joseph was an artisan (Matthew 13:55) and it is generally assumed that he was a carpenter - but we can’t even be sure of that. The Greek word used for artisan also refers to those who work with iron or stone. Although we know very little about this extremely important man, we do know about his character. In today’s verse, he is described as a “righteous man”, which means that he was concerned to be obedient to the law. That made life incredibly difficult for him, because he was engaged to a woman who was pregnant. Engagement, at the time, was a much deeper commitment than it is today, and it could only be brought to an end by death or divorce. When a woman who was engaged to be married became pregnant by another man, the original penalty was death by stoning, but by the time of Mary’s betrothal to Joseph, it had become divorce. So, according to the law, Joseph was obliged to divorce Mary. But he was a gracious and sensitive man and, although he was eager to obey the law, the last thing he wanted to do was humiliate Mary. Therefore, he resolved to divorce her quietly. Ultimately, an angel stepped in to change things but, still, I warm to the way in which Joseph set about handling this difficult situation. Life is full of awkward situations and challenges. I thank God for the Josephs of this world who are good and honourable people, always striving to do what is kindest and most honouring to God. Question – What do you learn from the way in which Joseph handled his predicament? Prayer – Loving Father, help me to live so close to you that I will always make wise and careful decisions. Amen

Matthew 1:16-17 Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah. Matthew shows here how the Old Testament has prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. He points out that there were 14 generations from the time of Abraham, the father of the nation, up to the reign of King David. This was undoubtedly the high-water mark in the Old Testament. David established Jerusalem as the city of God and prepared the way for the building of the magnificent temple. After that, everything went catastrophically downhill, with the next 14 generations ending with the Jewish people being taken into exile in Babylon. The following 14 generations were ones in which the prophetic voice was almost entirely silent. There is a 400-year gap between the final book of the Old Testament and the coming of Christ. However, throughout those dark years, there were some who held on to the conviction that God would send his Messiah, his anointed one, to usher in a new age of the Spirit. The coming of the Messiah was the fulfilment of many prophecies and saw the purposes of God move into a completely new era. History had been pointing in this direction but now, finally, it had become a reality. When the apostle Paul spoke of these things he wrote: “When the right time came, God sent his son, born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). People had waited centuries for this special moment, but God knew exactly what he was doing. We cannot be sure how many people were awaiting the coming of Jesus, but it probably wasn’t many. Jesus’ arrival certainly came as a complete surprise to most people. However, we thank God for Simeon and Anna, two old people whose lives were given over to prayer and who immediately spotted the Messiah when they saw him (Luke 2:25-38). As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, let’s give thanks to God that he sent Jesus as Messiah and that, through his death, he opened the way for us to find new life in him and to participate in the new age of the Spirit. Question – Looking at Galatians 4:4 what do you think made the time of Jesus coming exactly the right time? Prayer – Lord God, thank you for the new era that Jesus our Messiah opened up and in which we can share today. Amen

Matthew 1:1-16 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham…Joseph was the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. If you were writing a biography of a famous person, I strongly suspect you wouldn’t start like this. But Matthew was writing his Gospel for people from a Jewish background and so it was important that he started with an account of Jesus’ ancestors. They needed to understand where Jesus fitted in the history of the people of Israel. In his genealogy, Matthew details three groups of 14 generations. The first ran from Abraham to David; the second went up to the exile in Babylon, and the third concluded with the arrival of Jesus, whose legal father was Joseph. This placed Jesus firmly in the family line of David, and so he could be properly called the Son of David. The list names in this chapter doesn’t make great reading, but if you look at the individuals mentioned, it is absolutely gripping. The most startling feature was the inclusion of several women. That in itself was remarkable because of the low place women held in Jewish society. Women had no legal rights and were, tragically, simply seen as the possession of their father or husband. In the regular form of Jewish morning prayer, a man would thank God that he had not been born a Gentile, a slave or a woman. Matthew’s inclusion of women is even more incredible when you see who these women were. Tamar was a seductress and adulteress; Rahab was a prostitute and Ruth wasn’t even Jewish. As a Moabitess she belonged to a hated people whom the law stated should not “be admitted to the assembly of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:3). In addition, there is reference to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, whose affair with King David led him to arrange for the murder of her husband. It’s a murky story but all of it goes to show that Jesus was part of a human family, warts and all. Matthew was absolutely clear that Jesus was fully God, but he was equally clear that he was also fully human. This is the amazing truth which we celebrate at Christmas. Question – Why is it so important that Jesus was fully human? Prayer – Loving God, I praise you for the way in which you showed your love for humankind by sending your son Jesus into the world. Amen

Romans 11:33-36 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. Paul has spent the last three chapters agonising over the issue of his people, the Jews. He is desperately keen that they should follow Christ and receive the gift of salvation, but he also acknowledges that most of them have rejected the offer of new life in Jesus. I love the way that Paul ends this part of the letter. He does so in worship, celebrating the greatness of God’s riches, wisdom and knowledge. In the previous chapters he has given the best of his mind to setting out the dilemmas and his thinking about the situation. But, at the end of the day, he knows the limits of his understanding are very real, and he rests in the fact that God’s ways are infinitely beyond our ways. He uses verses from Isaiah 40 to acknowledge that there will never come a time when we are called upon to give God advice, and no one will ever be able to outgive God. We all live with many mysteries in this life. However hard we think things through, there will come a time when we have to face up to the fact that we haven’t got all of the answers. Whether you are wanting to explain the wonders of a sunset, the beauty of a flower or the miracle of life, you will never arrive at a complete explanation. At that point, you will need to come to God in worship because, in his greatness, he is worthy of all our praise. The same is true if you reflect on the suffering of innocent people in the world, the injustices that so many endure or the cruelty that blights so many lives. It is important for us to apply the best of our efforts to these situations, but our thinking must finally lead us to worship a God whose love, mercy and grace are infinitely beyond anything that we could ever achieve. As you reflect on the wonders, mysteries and challenges of life today be sure to come before God in worship and praise. Question – For what specific reason are you worshipping God today? Prayer – Almighty God, I worship you. Amen

Romans 9:2-3 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. The apostle Paul was proud of his Jewish heritage and was passionate that his Jewish brothers and sisters should share in the wonder of knowing Christ as their personal Lord and saviour. But look at the language he used! He was willing to be cursed forever if it meant that the Jews would find salvation. This is incredibly strong language and shows very clearly that it meant everything to him. Paul knew that the Jewish people were in a very privileged position. They had been chosen to be God’s adopted children. God had revealed his glory to them, made covenants with them and given them the law. They had Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their ancestors and Christ himself was a Jew. They had every advantage - and Paul couldn’t cope with the pain of seeing them reject Jesus. I want to turn Paul’s words into a question to you and me. How desperate are we that our friends and family should find new life in Christ? It looks to me, much of the time, as if we have come to accept things the way they are. Of course, we would be delighted if other people came to believe in Jesus. We would be happy to encourage them to do so. But I rarely meet Paul’s level of passion that other people should become Christians. I believe that we need to pray for our churches to become far more passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus. Christians are a small minority in our society - and that will not change unless we acquire some of Paul’s passionate longing for other people to follow Christ. Question – What do you learn from Paul’s burning desire to see his Jewish brothers and sisters follow Christ? Prayer – Loving Father, thank you that you have given me new life in Christ. May the wonder of knowing you give me a constantly deepening desire to see other people become Christians as well. Amen