DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 21
WORD OF WISDOM
If we expect the unexpected, does that make the unexpected expected?
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DAILY DEVOTION
Expecting the Unexpected
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this
shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:10-14
The birth of Jesus upended everything that we would expect for the birth of
a king. When the wise men reached Israel, they went to Jerusalem, assuming
that would be where they would find a royal baby. Yet rather than coming to
a palace, Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger. The humility of
His birth was an indication of how He would live His life. However despite
the lowly circumstances, Jesus was still the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and
the joy of the angelic host that announced His arrival and sang praises to
God spilled glory across the night skies near Bethlehem.
T. DeWitt Talmage said, "If there had been such brilliant and mighty
recognition at an advent in the house of Pharaoh, or at an advent in the
house of Caesar, or the house of Stuart, we would not so much have wondered;
but a barn seems too poor a center for such delicate and archangelic
circumference. The stage seems too small for so great an act, the music too
grand for such unappreciable auditors, the window of the stable too rude to
be serenaded by other worlds." As we reflect on the love of God displayed in
sending a Savior, our hearts should also overflow with praise and worship.
Gratitude for God's grace has no more fitting topic. And like the shepherds
after they visited the stable, we should tell everyone we meet that the
Savior was born.
Our glorious Savior did not come the way people expected, but instead came
the way God intended. He is in control of all the unexpected.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
REFLECTION: (There is no scheduled reading for today. This is a day to get
caught up on your "Daily Bible Reading", or just read whatever you feel led
to read).
