12/22 Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiance, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly. 20 As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this happened to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us).” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, 25 but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
JESUS
Born in Bethlehem. Lived for us. Died for us. Raised from the dead by the power of God. Jesus is alive. Do not be afraid. The GOOD NEWS has come and God is here with us. Do not fear. Jesus came for you.
Author - Clay Corvin
12/21 Isaiah 11:10-16
10 In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, for the land where he lives will be a glorious place. 11 In that day the Lord will bring back a remnant of his people for the second time, returning them to the land of Israel from Assyria, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. 12 He will raise a flag among the nations for Israel to rally around. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth. 13 Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end. They will not fight against each other anymore. 14 They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west. Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east. They will occupy all the lands of Edom, Moab, and Ammon. 15 The LORD will make a dry path through the Red Sea. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River, sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams that can easily be crossed. 16 He will make a highway from Assyria for the remnant there, just as he did for Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt.
JESUS
Jesus was predicted, presented, prepared, powerful, and present and He provided exactly what we needed, a Savior. Jesus came and paid the price for our sin so that we could become a part of the family of God. His victory was won, and He lives today seated at the right hand of the Father providing for our best good. Live the life the Lord has given you by the power of the Lord and under His direction and guidance. Victory belongs to Jesus and He has poured His victory out on us.
12/20 Isaiah 11:1-9
1 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot — yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 He will delight in obeying the LORD. He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. 4 He will defend the poor and the exploited. He will rule against the wicked and destroy them with the breath of his mouth. 5 He will be clothed with fairness and truth. 6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. 7 The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. 8 Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. 9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD.
PRESENT
Absent from the body and present with the Lord. Jesus will never leave us. He will not forget us. He will rule over our life so that we will never be away from Him. Jesus is Lord of life my life and your life and His gift to us is to live in victory.
12/19 1 Corinthians 1:28-31
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, 29 so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 30 God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. 31 As the Scriptures say, “The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done.”
BOAST
Our boast is in the Lord Jesus and His accomplishments. He freely gives us wisdom, mercy and grace as we need it and more than we need. We can live with confidence knowing that Jesus takes care of us. He will never leave us. The world cannot defeat us. Jesus is Lord.
12/18 1 Corinthians 1:25-27
This “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength. 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
POWER
In the eyes of the world we look powerless but we depend on Jesus the ONE who has real power. Trust in the Lord and you will never be disappointed. Yes, trust in the Lord.
12/17 1 Corinthians 1:18
I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe. 22 God’s way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true. And it is foolish to the Greeks because they believe only what agrees with their own wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the mighty power of God and the wonderful wisdom of God.
CROSS
Jesus died for you and me. He knew us. He knew our sin. He knew our need. He willingly suffered death and His sacrifice paid the price for each one of us to have an opportunity to have forgiveness. I must ask and accept His free gift of life but without the cross I would have been lost. God’s way is the only way.
12/16 1 Corinthians 1:11-17
For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your arguments, dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter, ” or “I follow only Christ.” 13 Can Christ be divided into pieces? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News — and not with clever speeches and high-sounding ideas, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
GOOD NEWS
Jesus has come to save you. He offers salvation as a free gift. Claim His gift. Let Christ give you peace, hope and joy. Jesus loves you.
12/15 1 Corinthians 1:7-10
Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong right up to the end, and he will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will surely do this for you, for he always does just what he says, and he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
NEED
Jesus has what you need. If you need peace He will give it. Courage, strength, hope Christ offers to you for free. What ever you need Jesus is willing to give to you. The victory has been won therefore you can LIVE LARGE! JESUS is Lord and He loves you.
12/14 1 Corinthians 1:1-6
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes. 2 We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere — whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs. 3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you his grace and peace. 4 I can never stop thanking God for all the generous gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 He has enriched your church with the gifts of eloquence and every kind of knowledge. 6 This shows that what I told you about Christ is true.
TRUTH
Jesus makes our life different. The world destroys. Jesus builds. Let Christ rule your heart and you will be able to stand in the hour of trial and be equipped to succeed in the face of failure. Jesus loves you. Let Christ have control of your heart.
12/13 Psalm 25:15-22
15 My eyes are always looking to the LORD for help, for he alone can rescue me from the traps of my enemies. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and in deep distress. 17 My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! 18 Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. 19 See how many enemies I have, and how viciously they hate me! 20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for I trust in you. 21 May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you. 22 O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles.
UNDERSTAND
Please understand that the Lord isn’t looking for you to do stuff on your own. He wants you to depend on Him. He will rescue you in the hour of trouble. When things go from bad to worse it is time to seek the Lord. Constantly seek forgiveness for sin and let the Lord have your trust and confidence. Put your hope in Jesus.