And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” Luke 2: 25-32, NKJV.
Dear God thank You for emptying heaven of the best that it had to offer in the person of Your Son Jesus Christ. Now, please speak to our hearts through Your Word, in His holy name we pray. Amen.
Today, I spent the day in the company of family and friends, and was truly blessed. As a consequence, I am sharing my devotional thoughts with you, really late. For this I offer my regrets. We enjoyed a nice meal together, and at the close of the day each person shared the reasons we had to be grateful. After having spent the past few days thinking about all the blessings that are ours because of Christ’s birth, I could not help but reach the conclusion, that in the birth of Christ, heaven came down to earth!
An angel came down and spoke to Joseph in a dream regarding the birth of the Child: “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” ‘ ” (Matthew 1: 18-20).
The angel Gabriel came down and announced to Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God: “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1: 26-32).
When Mary and Elizabeth met, the Holy Spirit came down and filled Elizabeth: “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 2: 42).
An Angel came down and announced the birth of the Savior to the angels: “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Luke 2: 9).
An choir of angels came down and sang praises to God in the presence of the shepherds: “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, goodwill toward men” (13, 14).
The Spirit came down and led Simeon into the temple the day that Jesus was dedicated: “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. . . So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law” (25, 27).
Dear friend, heaven considered you and me important enough to come down and inform us of the birth of the Savior. What are you going to do with that information? May God help us to rejoice in it, and receive Him as our Savior from sin. Then one day, soon, Jesus Himself will come down and receive us unto Himself, “that where [He is,] there [we] may be also” (John 14: 1-3)!
I hope you had a very Merry Christ-mas!