Today Daily Devotional

After the birth of each our children, my wife and I spent time on the phone calling grandparents, great-grandparents, other relatives, and friends to tell them the good news that our baby had been born.

As new parents, you want everyone to know as quickly as possible, and you want to share your good news as much as possible. And this is easy today with cell phones and social media available.

Whenever anyone has good news, they want to share it with as many people as possible. The prophet Isaiah spoke about the servant of the Lord who would come in faithfulness to bring justice and restoration. And at his coming, the people are called to sing a new song of praise, to go out and “raise their voices” and “shout from the mountaintops.”

On the day of Jesus’ birth, God’s people are given news of the greatest gift, the gift of salvation. As we hear the good news of Jesus, we respond with great joy, sharing it wherever we go.

“Go, Tell It on the Mountain” calls us to hear the good news of the birth of Jesus and to respond with shouts of joy! We can go out and share this news with everyone we can imagine.

Go to the mountaintops and shout—share it everywhere!

“Joy to the World” is not only a well-known Christmas song; it’s one of the first songs people want to sing on Christmas Day to celebrate Christ’s birth.

This song was written by Isaac Watts in 1719, and it is a Christological interpretation of Psalm 98. When we sing “Joy to the World,” we are proclaiming that Christ is the fulfillment of what the psalmist writes: “The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.” In the birth of Christ, we see God’s salvation plan being made known. In the life and death of Christ, we see the revelation of righteousness for all people.

The psalmist calls for the whole earth to respond with a “shout for joy.” And as “Joy to the World” puts it, both “heaven and nature sing,” and “fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy.” God’s salvation is made known with the coming of his Son to bring salvation.

We are called to make room in our hearts for the coming of our Lord. And we can join together with all creation in singing our praise to God for revealing his salvation everywhere.

“How Great Our Joy” is a traditional German carol that retells the story of Jesus’ birth from the perspective of the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem.

The shepherds had a unique encounter with angels, who appeared in a burst of light to announce the birth of the Savior. And when the angels left, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.”

In Bethlehem they found the baby Jesus, lying in a manger. And after spreading the word about the angels’ message and what had happened to them, the shepherds returned to their flocks, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. . . .” This was after one encounter with Jesus.

How do we respond when we encounter the living Lord? Are our hearts filled with so much joy that we cannot help glorifying and praising God?

We celebrate the birth of our Savior and King on Christmas. We know that Jesus came to rescue us from sin and death. Are our hearts filled with joy like that of the shepherds when they encountered Jesus?

By the power of God, our lives can be transformed by coming to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And as we grow in our faith in Christ, may we continue to be filled with joy like the shepherds on that amazing night.

The beginning of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” pictures a quaint village, peacefully asleep, unaware of what is taking place there on the night of Jesus’ birth.

“Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light. . . .” The prologue to John’s gospel describes Jesus’ coming in a similar way: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” In the quaint village of Bethlehem, the “light of the world” (John 8:12) was born.

Notice the contrast between the dark streets of Bethlehem and the everlasting light. The world that Jesus was born into was full of the darkness of sin and evil. Until Jesus came, there was no hope of anyone getting out of that darkness.

But in one significant moment the light of the world comes in the birth of a baby. In that little child, as the Christmas song puts it, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

In the birth of Christ we have the hope of coming out of the world’s darkness. Because of Jesus, we can leave the darkness of sin behind and begin a new life. As Jesus himself says in John 8:12, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Are you living in that hope today? Look to the light! Follow Christ and live!

Angels play an important role throughout the entire birth narra­tive of Jesus. An angel visits Zechariah to announce the coming of John, who would prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry (Luke 1:11-20). An angel appears to Mary to announce the coming of Jesus, the Son of God (Luke 1:28-38). An angel appears to Joseph in a dream, urging him to stay with Mary because she is carrying the baby Jesus, who will “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Then, when Jesus is actually born and an angel announces his birth, a crowd of angels appears, lighting up the night sky in the fields near Bethlehem. “A great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God. . . .” This was no simple birth announcement—the Savior of the world had come!

“Angels We Have Heard On High” tells the story in a beautifully lyrical way. And the refrain picks up the angels’ song, using the Latin phrase “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” which means “Glory to God in the highest.” The angels could not contain their praise.

As we celebrate Christmas this season, we are reminded of God’s great love for us in the birth of Jesus. Like the angels, we too have the opportunity to burst into praise. And let’s invite others to join us as we give glory to God, for the Savior has come!

“Once in Royal David’s City” tells the story of Jesus’ birth and childhood in a kid-friendly way. The first three stanzas touch on the early years of Jesus in a way that few other songs do.

“Jesus is our childhood’s pattern, day by day like us he grew;/ he was little, weak, and helpless, tears and smiles like us he knew. . . .” In other words, Jesus developed as we do. Like us, he was helpless as a baby and had to grow as all children grow. We can connect with Jesus and know that he experienced life as we do.

The book of Mark tells us a story about Jesus and some little children. His disciples were rebuking people who were bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed by him. But Jesus didn’t like that. He said, “Let the little children come to me. . . .”

He even used them as an example that everyone can follow. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Often, as adults, we have questions and doubts. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we need to have faith like a child—to hear the good news and accept it, trusting God to be true to his promises. As God’s children, we respond to his call to come to him and to follow him wherever he will lead.

“Away in a Manger” is a beloved song that seems like a lullaby. In fact, many children learn this song at a very young age. It tells the story of the birth of Christ in a clear and simple way, and it shares how the situation of Jesus’ birth was very humble.

In Philippians 2 we read how Jesus “humbled himself.” Not only does Jesus humble himself by taking on our human flesh, but his very birth takes place in humble circumstances.

Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem, his family’s hometown, to register for a census that was required by the Roman government. And when they arrived, there were no guest rooms available, so Joseph and Mary could not find a place to stay. They had to take shelter in a stable, and that’s where Mary gave birth to Jesus. So she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in the animals’ feed trough, a manger.

The humility of Jesus’ birth is deeply significant. We would not expect the King of all nations to be born in such meager circumstances. Yet Jesus was born in a stable. This shows us that no matter how poor, dirty, weak, or insignificant we might think we are, Jesus came to save us all.

Jesus, the King of kings, humbled himself and took on our flesh. And his humility and love for us were on full display from the moment he was born to the moment he gave up his life to save us from our sin.

We have heard the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds (Luke 2). And we have heard the shepherds’ response. In the song “Angels, from the Realms of Glory” those details are celebrated again. And in stanza 3 of this song we also hear about “sages,” wise men from the east, who come to worship Jesus, the newborn King.

In the church calendar the story of the wise men, or Magi, is associated with Epiphany (January 6), but it connects with the Christmas story as well.

The book of Matthew explains that “Magi from the east” came to Jerusalem to honor a new king. These wise men studied the stars, and they had seen a special star that signified the birth of a king.

The Magi referred to this newborn as the “king of the Jews.” It is interesting to note that they knew this child was already a king. And once they found him, they bowed down and worshiped him.

As we see in the Christmas story, everyone responds in wor­ship: the angels burst into song, glorifying God; the shepherds go to find the baby, and they praise God for all they have heard and seen; and the Magi find the child Jesus and worship him.

In “Angels, from the Realms of Glory,” we are all encouraged to respond in the same way: “Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King!”

We continue today with the angels’ announcement to the shepherds. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is yet another ­favorite song packed with meaning.

Four words in the middle of the first stanza could easily be overlooked: “. . . God and sinners reconciled.” This profound truth speaks volumes about Jesus’ mission and God’s great plan to save us from sin and death.

Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 5 that God has reconciled us to himself through Christ. Ever since the fall of humanity into sin (Genesis 3), our relationship with God was broken. Yet God wanted to restore that relationship. And the only way to do that was through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

When the angels announced the birth of Jesus, they spoke about the peace that Jesus brings. And with this peace comes reconciliation between God and all who believe. In Jesus, God comes to us, to reconcile us to himself so that we can live in relationship with him again.

Paul says that because we are reconciled with God, we also have the task of sharing the message of reconciliation. We are “God’s ambassadors.” Having been reconciled, we can share with others the good news that our relationship with God is restored. Jesus, who had no sin, became sin for us so that we may live for him.

Just after the angel’s birth announcement to shepherds in a Bethlehem field at night, “suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace. . . .’”

The song “Ere Zij God/Glory to God” celebrates this stunning announcement. For many churches with a Dutch-heritage background, this hymn has become a favorite to sing on Christmas Day.

The angels of heaven burst into spontaneous praise, giving “glory to God” and announcing peace on earth. During the time of Jesus’ birth, the Roman Empire offered the pax Romana (“Peace of Rome”). They offered peace to all the citizens within its borders. But that was not the kind of peace the angels sang about on that glorious night. They were sing­ing of the true and lasting peace that comes because of the birth of Jesus, the Savior. The peace that this baby came to offer was not dependent on any government but is the true peace of God for all who come to believe in him.

Later in Jesus’ life, as he prepared to lay down his life for us all, he said to his followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). With the peace of God in our minds and hearts, we know that Jesus restores our relationship with the Father.