LUKE’S CHRISTMAS GOSPEL OF JESUS: A 30-Day Christmas-Time Devotional.

Christmas: God’s Big Redemption Story Continues.

Luke 1: 54-56 (MsgB)   

[54] “He embraced His chosen child, Israel; He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. [55] It’s exactly what He promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now.” [56] Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.

Sometimes, we forget that Luke’s Christmas story is only one small chapter in the massive volume God has been writing throughout the annals of time.

And yes, while this single chapter that details the Advent of Jesus is a major part of the story’s plot line, it would be unwise to focus so much on this one chapter that we lose track of the bigger story God is composing before our eyes.

Actually, when viewed through the lense of Kingdom theology, we see that Jesus’ birth is an event that was etched in the mind of our Creator King long before the creation events of Genesis ever occurred!  As Mary concludes her Christmas-time oratory here in verses 46-55, she is absolutely correct in reminding all of us that God’s promises of mercy are eternal in nature.

For those of us living on the other side of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we now have the wonderful advantage of viewing history from an even broader perspective than Mary was able as she was sitting with her cousin Elizabeth. While Mary is right when she states that God’s promises of mercy begin with Abraham, the father of Israel; we now know, because of all that has occurred through the expansion of God’s Kingdom across the world, that our sovereign King actually planned a bigger world-wide blessing than Mary could have ever imagined! Now, after 2,000 years of Christ’s words and works expanding across the globe, you and I can now look back and see that by the time we get to our introduction of Abraham in Genesis 12, God’s grand story of world-wide redemption had already begun!

In Genesis 26: 4 we find God speaking, for example, these amazing words of promise to father Abraham:

^“I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”

Think of it. Approximately 2,000 years after Abraham was given this wonderful promise, a humble, unknown virgin, named Mary of Nazareth, sat in the home of her cousin Elizabeth, and spoke out how that promise given by God to father Abraham was being extended to her in her day, in the midst of her unexpected pregnancy.

Now, here we are, 2,000 years later, and God’s wonderful novel is still being written! God is still fulfilling His ancient promises of mercy, given first to father Abraham, lived out through humble servants like Mary and others, and now, still being activated, through Christ, in our generation!

Isn’t it exciting to know that all of us around the world today can now be grafted into these Messianic promises through the blood of Jesus, and like Mary, fully participate with God as He acts out His will in and through our humble lives?

Welcome to God’s big, big redemption story.

My prayer: Thank You, God, for the reminder that we are all part of Your bigger Jesus-story that is being written throughout the annals of time. Like father Abraham of old, and Mary of ancient times, may I choose to embrace the eternal promises of Your never-ending mercy, receiving all You have for me in and through my life and times. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: So, how have I taken God’s bigger story and reduced it into smaller, less significant compartments, thus reducing its powerful life-changing abilities? During this Christmas season, how can I better open up my heart to God’s bigger story of redemption, one that includes all of human history and also includes all of my life and times?

So what is God speaking to you today? Are you practicing the Kingdom presence of God?

We hope you’ll enjoy these 30 blogs that walk you through 30 days of Advent (Nov 26 – Dec 25). Here’s the homepage for the entire series.

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