Page 90 - Grace150 Devotional

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a
manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told
them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds
told them. Luke 2:16–18
Have you ever looked at a well-known passage of Scripture like this and
doubted that you could learn anything new from it? I must confess that I have,
as recently as last Christmas. I’ve been a Christian for over 60 years, so what new
truth about Jesus’s birth could I possibly learn?
On a December morning during my quiet time, I was reading a book on the
advent. The author, Francis Schaeffer, asked a question I had never really
considered. He said that if we had been with the shepherds when they received
the announcement that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, and we had run
to see Him, how would our lives be different? Wow!
I’ve never seen Jesus, but He has made His home in my heart! So every aspect of
my life should reflect Him: my prayer life, my eagerness to tell others about Him,
my obedience to my Lord, my relationship to my wife and everyone else. And
most of all, my joyful worship of Him who is Lord of Lords and King of Kings,
and who loves me and showers me daily with His love, mercy, and grace!
Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for living in us, and we ask that Your presence
in us would permeate everything we do, say, and think. Amen.
– Jim Carmean

DAY 83 grace 150