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Day 6: Wait Upon the Lord Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dr

Day 5: Be Sensitive to God's Voice & Take Heed And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring y

Day 4: See From God's Perspectives Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. Matthew 2:1‭-‬7 NKJV http://bible.com/114/mat.2.1-7.NKJV The best and most magnificent place for the birth of our dear Lord Jesus Christ wo

Day 3: Guard Our Thoughts Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus , for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to

Blessed Assurance Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Matthew 1:8‭-‬17 NKJV http://bible.com/114/mat.1.8-17.NKJV From this genealogy,

God Is An Expert In Making Everything New and Good The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who  had  been  the  wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Matthew 1:1‭-‬4‭, ‬6‭-‬7 NKJV http://bible.com/114/mat.1.1-7.NKJV We, Christians know the sins committed by king David yet in this genealogy of our beloved dear Lord Jesus Christ, God mentioned his son, Solomon whom we know was born out of the adultery act of king David. We also know how King David genuinely confessed his sins and repented as well as suffered consequences of his sins. Lesson to learn is that God will punish and bring about consequences

Day 72: Psalm 52, Proverbs 25:13-15, 1 Corinthians 8, Exodus 5-6 Love In Action But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him...but beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. I Corinthians 8:3, 9. Like the cold of snow in time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters. Proverbs 25:13 NKJV http://bible.com/114/pro.25.13.NKJV When we love someone, besides expressing the love in words, it is best to show it by action. In 1 Corinthians 8:3,  it is said that if we love God, we will be known by Him. The passage goes on to describe how if what we eat stumbles others, it is prudent then that we restrain our liberty. This is an act of love. Further, in today's Proverbs,  when we are FAITHFUL and deliver the messages of our Master, we bring delight to the Master. This is again an act of love to our Master and God. As we love our God, we will be known by Him. Who does not want to

Day 71: Psalm 51, Proverbs 25:10-12 1 Corinthians 7, Exodus 3-4 God Forgives When We Truly Repent For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Psalms 51:3‭-‬4 NKJV http://bible.com/114/psa.51.3-4.NKJV No one can say that he or she has not done anything wrong at all. In other words, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The beauty of Christianity is that one can always have 2nd chances! This is called grace. Today's Psalm was written by King David who had commited sins and hence he sought for forgiveness from God and asked that he would be thoroughly cleansed from his iniquities. BUT, first and foremost, he needed to acknowledge that he had sinned against His Creator (v3,4) and secondly, not to repeat the trangressions but instead to teach others His ways and to help others to repent as well (v13).

Day 70: Psalm 50, Proverbs 25:7-9, 1 Corinthians 6, Exodus 1-2 Fear God But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them. Exodus 1:17‭, ‬20‭-‬21 NKJV http://bible.com/114/exo.1.17-21.NKJV The Webster English Dictionary describes God fearing people as religious people who try to obey the rules of their religion and to live in a way that is considered morally right. In today's verses, we can see that the midwives feared God and hence did not kill the babies during childbirth if the Hebrew women gave birth to baby boys as instructed by the king of Egypt. Because these midwives feared God, their household were greatly blessed and provided by the Lord. The basic requirement is just to obey the rules of the religion and to live a life that is

Day 69: Psalm 49, Proverbs 25:4-6, 1 Corinthians 5, Genesis 49-50 Do Our Utmost For His Highest Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but  God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it  is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:19‭-‬21 (http://bible.com/114/gen.50.19-21.NKJV) When we hear stories of how the evil triumphs over the good, we are angry. If it happens in real life to us, we may question God. We may go around feeling very miserable, angry and unproductive. However, Joseph in the Old Testament did not have such feelings but instead he went about doing his best in whatever tasks given to him, knowing that God is in charge and in control. He knew God would deliver goodness out of the seemingly bad circumstances. How we too need to have this attitude in lif

Day 68: Psalm 48,  Proverbs 25:1-3, 1 Corinthians 4, Genesis 47-48 Surrender All Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here  is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my Lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” Genesis 47:23‭-‬25 NKJV (http://bible.com/114/gen.47.23-26.NKJV) When Joseph purchased pieces of land from the people, it looked as if the people had given up all their possessions away. However, Joseph gave them seed to sow onto the land they had surrendered and in return, they would get four-fifths of the proceeds. The people were so thankful and were willing to be Pharaoh's servants. Similarly, when we surrender a

Day 67: Psalm 47,  Proverbs 24:33-35, 1 Corinthians 3, Genesis 45-46 God Sent Me But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it  was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Genesis 45:5‭, ‬7‭-‬8 NKJV (http://bible.com/114/gen.45.5-8.NKJV) Many a time when a disaster occurs, we may blame God or we are confused as to why the incident had to happened! We are unable to comprehend the situation. But the question to ask is not why but what - "what is it in store for me for Your glory?" In today's passage, Joseph son of Jacob was very wise to say that it was God who sent him before the brothers to preserve life and a posterity. What is our attitutde when w