Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31, ESV) Few books of the Bible have […]

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, NIV) Christmas brings surprises. A favorite is big packages with tiny gifts, unwrapped to the laughter of family. But small

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:11, NIV) Matthew 2 shows the first responses to the arrival of Jesus on earth. The three responses in this chapter are instructive, because they’re the same ones we see today. The initial response was

For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:14, NIV) In a world in which most religions and philosophies elevate the ethereal over the physical, our Lord gave physicality its ultimate “dignifier”: He enrobed Himself in it. Indeed, the Incarnation and Jesus’s death followed by resurrection and ascension—these all

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11–12, NIV) It was my eighth or ninth birthday, a few days before Christmas. My best

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. (John 1:18, NIV) A new and strange sound took over our quiet evening. I was reading a technical book, and Yvonne, my bride of forty years, was correcting assignments turned in by her second

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. (Colossians 2:9, ESV) In the aftermath of a Christmas celebration with my family, there is no shortage of traditional, fun, or even painful “unions.” On the heels of a special Christmas dinner, Great-Grandpa makes his annual communion with the knights of nap. At other times,

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23, NASB) As you begin your reading for today, I encourage you to first read Matthew 1:1–17. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the genealogy of Joseph, which gives evidence of

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, NIV) The Creator of the universe became one of us. This is the wonder of Christmas: that the eternal Son

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14b, NIV) Jesus stood at the doorway of Joseph’s workshop. He was six years old, covered in dust and full of questions. As usual. “Abba?” “Yes?” “What does it mean?” “What does what mean?” Joseph had learned that the