The Burning Question:
If you could invite one person from the Bible (besides Jesus) to your Christmas dinner, who would it be and why?
Morning Devotional:
I was on vacation last week and during my time off, I had the pleasure of having my Mom and Dad visit me for several days. For them, it was their second annual “Do all of our Christmas shopping in one city at one time while Beth drives us everywhere and houses and feeds us” trip. We had a relaxing time and yes, they got all of their shopping done. I have barely started.
My parents were supposed to leave for home on Saturday but our icy weather delayed their departure by a day. On Sunday, we woke up to a layer of ice on everything, including my sidewalk and the driveway leading up to their car.
Mom and Dad have both been known to fall on the ice so I got to work clearing a way for them to get to their car. After a lot of chipping and scraping, I got a path cleaned off for them to walk from my front door all the way around their vehicle. They got everything loaded safely and were quickly on their way home.
The process made me think about the Christmas story and how the path for Jesus’ arrival was prepared long before His birth. Hundreds of years of history had to pass between Malachi’s writings and Jesus’ birth. The Roman empire had to come to power in order for Caesar Augustus to order the census that sent Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. Even the arrival of the forerunner, John the Baptist, took place to confirm Isaiah’s prophecy of “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord.’”
I am sure preparations are underway for your Christmas celebrations even now. Let’s be sure to prepare the way for Jesus Christ to be the main focus of it all.
– Beth
Bible Quiz:
Question: One of Gideon’s soldiers recalled a dream of a Midianite tent being overturned by an unlikely object. What was it?
Answer: A loaf of barley bread
Storytime: That’s Confidential Information.