Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
May he judge Your people with righteousness
And Your afflicted with justice.
Let the mountains bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.
For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless him all day long.
May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.
May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wonders.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. ~ Psalm 72:1-20

David’s prayer is a prophecy of Jesus’s rule. The whole earth will be filled with His glory. His Kingdom will extend from the earth to the other. He will judge the people righteously. Kings and nations will bring Him gifts and bow before Him. He will rescue the weak and afflicted and needy. Abundance and wonders will flourish, and He will be blessed forever. Of His mercy and compassion, there will be no end.

Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.

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“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
“For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
“Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
“Lift up your eyes round about and see;
They all gather together, they come to you.
Your sons will come from afar,
And your daughters will be carried in the arms.
“Then you will see and be radiant,
And your heart will thrill and rejoice;
Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,
The wealth of the nations will come to you.
“A multitude of camels will cover you,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba will come;
They will bring gold and frankincense,
And will bear good news of the praises of the Lord.
“All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you;
They will go up with acceptance on My altar,
And I shall glorify My glorious house.
“Who are these who fly like a cloud
And like the doves to their lattices?
“Surely the coastlands will wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
For the name of the Lord your God,
And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you. ~ Isaiah 60:1-9

The Jews thought the Messiah was coming to free them from their earthly oppressors. But the prophet Isaiah clearly says that when the Light of the World appears, nations and kings will come to worship. They will bring gifts to worship the Lord. That came to pass when the Magi (Wise Men), kings from the east, followed a bright star to worship the baby. It will come to pass when Jesus comes again.

Thank You, Lord, that Jesus came for all who would believe in Him. Thank You that I am one of those from the nations coming to worship the Lord. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity. ~ Psalm 98:1-9

We praise God for all He has done and for who He is. Yet we always have to remember that when Jesus comes, He will come in judgment. He will judge the world and the people with justice. How could we stand before the Lord in judgment without being condemned? All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). None is good, no, not one (Romans 3:10). Hallelujah! We are judged not on our own merits but on Jesus’s spotless record. All we have to do is proclaim Him our Lord, give Him our hearts, and obey His voice.

Thank You, Lord, that I will be able to stand before You with a clean slate, pure and white, because the blood of Jesus has washed away my sins. When Jesus shed His blood for me, He washed away every sin I have ever committed and every sin that I will ever commit in the future. My judge is my advocate and the one who paid the price for my sins. I thank You and praise Your name. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. ~ Luke 2:39-40

Mary and Joseph did everything the Law required. Even though they were raising the Son of God, they still ensured that He was circumcised and that all the other Jewish rules were kept. The grace of God was upon Him as He grew, but that didn’t exempt Him from being subject to the same Law and rules as everyone else. How often we think exceptions should be made for us—that we shouldn’t have to go through certain things in life. If Jesus had to do it all, then we can expect to also.

Lord, forgive me when I want special treatment, when I think I shouldn’t have to do things that are hard. Jesus was God Himself, yet He followed every requirement of His Jewish upbringing. May I joyously accept every requirement placed in my life as He did. In His name. Amen.

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And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. ~ Luke 2:21-38

Jesus went through the same rituals that all Jewish babies did: He was named, circumcised, and presented in the Temple. Even though He was fully God, He was also fully human and followed the dictates of His people. What a heavy responsibility Mary and Joseph had to raise the Christ Child as an ordinary Jewish boy and at the same time know He was their Lord and Savior! And I am intrigued by Anna. Widowed after only seven years of marriage, she must have been very young when she started praying full-time in the Temple. Her story really convicts me of my own attitude toward worship. I’m happy to go to church a few times a week for an hour or two at a time. I manage to spend an hour or two every day worshipping God, praying, and reading the Bible on my own. But I can’t imagine spending decades worshipping God nonstop. I have been known to get impatient if a service ran overlong or if my Bible reading takes longer than expected. I want to be more like Anna.

Lord God, I cannot comprehend how Jesus could be fully God and fully man, but I know that to be the case. It is a great mystery of the faith, but if I could understand You, You would not be powerful and almighty Lord that You are. Give me the faith to know the truth even when I can’t understand it. Forgive me for those times I hurry through my devotions or complain because my daily readings are too long. Mold me into a person more like Anna, one who will pray and fast day and night for decades for love of You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ ~ Zechariah 6:12-13

When He comes again, Jesus will build the temple of the Lord—the new Jerusalem. He will rule in honor and power, a mighty ruler, while remaining our High Priest. Only a member of the Godhead could do that.

Praise Jesus and thank You, Father God, for Your perfect plan. Although sometimes I can’t understand how the suffering we go through on earth fits into Your plan, I look forward to the day when Jesus will rule in glory in the New Jerusalem. Maranatha, Lord Jesus! Amen.

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God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. ~ Hebrews 1:1-4

Jesus is fully God, the heir and Creator, who holds everything in the world by the word of His power. That is beyond our human comprehension, but we can barely see a glimmer of His majesty and glory knowing He is seated at the right hand of the Father. We can look at His life and see what the entire Godhead is like—filled with love, compassion, mercy, truth, and surrounded in glory.

Father God, we can look at Jesus and see You. We can feel the nudging of the Holy Spirit and hear You. We can’t comprehend Your power, might, dominion, majesty, and glory, but You have shown it to us in Jesus. Open my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my heart to receive the truth of Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. ~ Titus 2:11-15

Jesus has come. He walked on the earth and lived among and like his fellow Jews in a world ruled by the Romans 2000 years ago. He will come again with glory, and His Word tells us to live sensibly, righteously, and godly now as we wait for His glorious return. May we live the way He wants and look toward His coming with blessed hope. 

Lord God, Your timetable is different from our timetable. You have given us 2000+ years to prepare for Jesus’s coming, but we don’t always live like we’re expecting Him any minute. Forgive me, Lord, when I fall, lift me up, and guide me to live in Your will. Fill me with hope and anticipation for that great day when Jesus will appear in the clouds. Maranatha, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! Amen

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Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.” ~ Matthew 2:13-18

We’re still celebrating the joy of Christmas, and today we encounter the Holy Innocents, all the two-year-old and younger male children in Bethlehem who were slaughtered by Herod. He was protecting his throne from the One he considered an interloper, and his power was so important to him that he wantonly murdered all the male infants in the small town. It’s hard to imagine being so selfish and cruel, yet something similar happens all the time in our society today. Mothers decide having a child would disrupt their lifestyle, so they kill the baby before the birth. Men put pressure on the women in their lives to “get rid of the problem” of an unwanted pregnancy. Sometimes even the grandparents get involved and advocate for the killing of the precious child, a creation of God. Herod’s murders were pure evil, and so are the murders of unborn babies today.

Father God, open the eyes and hearts of mothers, fathers, and grandparents who are thinking about killing precious babies. Convict them of the evil they want to do and change their hearts. Give life to every child You have formed in the womb, every child You have created, every child You have plans for. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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