DAY 271 Read Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:57 through 2:38; Matthew 2; Luke 2:39-52.
Today's reading: The familiar stories about the angelic choir, the shepherds, and the wise men impress on our minds anew the unique circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Memory gem: "Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Thought for today:
How simple was the cradle of the Babe of Bethlehem! It was just a crude manger, no doubt filled with hay or straw. And this baby was an unusual one. He had been mentioned by a holy prophet hundreds and hundreds of years before. "Unto us a child is born" (Isaiah 9:6).
This babe was named by an angel months before he was born, and His name was Jesus. The very town in which He was to be born had been pointed out more than six hundred years earlier (see Micah 5:2).
Isn't it strange that God chose the little town of Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem, for the great event of the Saviour's birth? He was not born in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea and the headquarters of God's people. He was not born in Rome, the capital of the world. He was not born in one of the great cities of India, China, or Persia, but in a small village of Judea. The name of the town was significant, too, for Bethlehem means "house of bread." Later on, Jesus called Himself "the bread of life" (John 6:35).
God sent His own Son into the world to be born as a babe, to grow up into manhood, to die on the cross for our sins, and then ascend to His Father in heaven. But that was not the last that this world would see of Him, for the promise is that He will come back again, not as a babe, but as a glorious king.
Jesus was the baby who changed history. He was the Saviour of the world who was crucified on Calvary, but who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. And He will be the King of kings and Lord of lords when He comes to this earth again--not in a lowly stable but in clouds of glory; not with a baby's cry to His attentive mother, but with a mighty shout that will awaken the dead.
Today's reading: The familiar stories about the angelic choir, the shepherds, and the wise men impress on our minds anew the unique circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Memory gem: "Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Thought for today:
How simple was the cradle of the Babe of Bethlehem! It was just a crude manger, no doubt filled with hay or straw. And this baby was an unusual one. He had been mentioned by a holy prophet hundreds and hundreds of years before. "Unto us a child is born" (Isaiah 9:6).
This babe was named by an angel months before he was born, and His name was Jesus. The very town in which He was to be born had been pointed out more than six hundred years earlier (see Micah 5:2).
Isn't it strange that God chose the little town of Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem, for the great event of the Saviour's birth? He was not born in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea and the headquarters of God's people. He was not born in Rome, the capital of the world. He was not born in one of the great cities of India, China, or Persia, but in a small village of Judea. The name of the town was significant, too, for Bethlehem means "house of bread." Later on, Jesus called Himself "the bread of life" (John 6:35).
God sent His own Son into the world to be born as a babe, to grow up into manhood, to die on the cross for our sins, and then ascend to His Father in heaven. But that was not the last that this world would see of Him, for the promise is that He will come back again, not as a babe, but as a glorious king.
Jesus was the baby who changed history. He was the Saviour of the world who was crucified on Calvary, but who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. And He will be the King of kings and Lord of lords when He comes to this earth again--not in a lowly stable but in clouds of glory; not with a baby's cry to His attentive mother, but with a mighty shout that will awaken the dead.
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