Following the Star 
Pause
To the God who keeps promises:
Hear us.
Help us.
Restore us.
Listen
Therefore, when he comes into the world he says,
You didn’t want a sacrifice or an offering, but you prepared a body for me; you weren’t pleased with entirely burned offerings or a sin offering. So then I said, “Look, I’ve come to do your will, God. This has been written about me in the scroll.”
Hebrews 10:5-7
Think
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many of you are spending the day with loved ones opening presents and enjoying one another’s company. Some of you may light a Christ candle or read the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke to remember the reason for the season.
Hebrews is not typically a book we think to turn to on Christmas Day, but perhaps it should be. It summarizes the gospel story for us and reminds us that the newborn baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger is the Messiah who came to do God’s will. God didn’t demand more sacrifices from us but instead freely offered us Godself.
In our modern world, Christmas is often sanitized, sentimentalized, and commercialized. Advent has helped many Christians recapture the sacred element of this greatest story. All of Advent is preparation to celebrate God’s kept promise of a savior. Don’t skip ahead to an Easter mindset though. Jesus has come to do God’s will which includes living among us, not just dying for us.
Jennifer Hawks
Question to Ponder:
What is something God is calling you to do?
Pray
While I may never fully understand the Word becoming flesh, thank you, God, for sending your son to us. Thank you for creating me for a purpose. Help me to find and follow your will for my life. Amen.
Go
God sees your worth even if the world can’t. Each and every day, God chooses you. May God’s strength and mercy shine through you today so that you can share God’s love with those around you.
