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[expand title=”Devotion Text”]Luke 1:29-33
But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Gabriel’s surprise appearance startled Mary. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to have an angel suddenly appear. The angel comforted Mary: “Do not be afraid…you have found favor with God.” But his next statement caused Mary amazement and confusion.
“You will conceive….” You can almost picture Mary’s puzzled look. She had never known a man, so having a baby was humanly impossible. Gabriel didn’t stop to explain. He told Mary to name the baby, Jesus, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Joshua. In both languages, the name means “the Lord saves.”
“The Lord saves.” That’s exactly what Jesus was sent to do. He would do great and powerful things. He would be God in the flesh, “the Son of the Most High.” He would rule as king and his kingdom would be an eternal one. But first, he would die on the cross to save his people from their sins. One day Mary would stand at the foot of the cross and understand the awful price for our salvation.
Talking to God
Father, thank you for seeing my great need, having compassion for me, and for sending Jesus, my Savior. In his name I pray. Amen.
For parents: Take the time to explain the purpose of Christmas, Jesus’ birth, to your children. Explain why God sent his Son. Depending on the age of your children, you may want to use different colors of construction paper (black to represent sin, red to represent Jesus’ death on the cross, white to represent how he washes our sins away, green to represent that we must grow as Christians, and gold to represent eternity in heaven). Our Living Grounded study includes a chapter that explains how to share the Gospel. For more information, email us at prayer@ronmoore.org.
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