12/31 Luke 11:29-32
As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, “These are evil times, and this evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 30 What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to me will be a sign that God has sent me, the Son of Man, to these people. 31 “The queen of Sheba will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now someone greater than Solomon is here — and you refuse to listen to him. 32 The people of Nineveh, too, will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now someone greater than Jonah is here — and you refuse to repent.
REPENT
We live arrogant lives. We wait until the very last thing to cry out to Jesus. We do our own thing. Let’s vow this year to stop it. Let us go to Jesus before bad things happen. Let’s spend time in prayer for those around us-everywhere we look people are hurting.

12/30 Luke 11:27-28
As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother — the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!” 28 He replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
LISTEN
Listen to the Lord. Listen to His 7,000 plus promises to you in His Word. Listen to the Lord as He expresses His love to you. Jesus loves you-He is seeking your best good. Listen to the Lord.

12/29 Luke 11:23-26
“Anyone who isn’t helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. 24 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ 25 So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and clean. 26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”
CAUTION
We need to live with caution. When we have cleaned up our lives we need to be sure that we have put into place the things of the Lord that will do battle against the realm of evil. Jesus is Lord. Christ will indwell us-He will stand against the forces of evil that are always seeking to destroy us.

12/28 Matthew 2:19
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him, 20 “Get up and take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” 21 So Joseph returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid. Then, in another dream, he was warned to go to Galilee. 23 So they went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets concerning the Messiah: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
WILL
God’s will be done. He will not give you bad advice. Every day that you live Jesus will walk with you and equip and enable you to do the will of the Father.

12/27 Matthew 2:16-18
Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them about two years earlier. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah: 18 “A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah — weeping and mourning unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted — for they are dead.”
REALITY
Reality overwhelms us because evil is real and there are real spiritual beings seeking to overthrow us day by day. Life hurts. Losing is the pits. Jesus fixes what is wrong in our lives. Jesus is the reason we can have hope day by day.

12/26 Matthew 2:13-15
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.” 14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
PROTECTED
Jesus was protected by the Father and you will be too as you surrender your life to Him. Talk with Jesus. Let Him give you the guidance you need. You will find His activity in your life will lead, guide and direct you in the way you should go.

12/25 Matthew 2:12
But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
FOLLOW
Follow Jesus. Ask Him for what you need. Do what he says. Be useable and useful and you will not be overlooked. Jesus is able to make your life what it should be-blessed of God and luxuriating in His love.

12/24 Isaiah 9:4-7
For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the army of Midian with Gideon’s little band. 5 In that day of peace, battle gear will no longer be issued. Never again will uniforms be bloodstained by war. All such equipment will be burned. 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!
JESUS
Jesus has come to let us know how much the Father loves us. He has come that we might have life. Jesus came to break our bondage to sin, to save us and to give us the guidance and direction we need to lead a victorious life.

12/23 Matthew 2:9-11
After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
YES
Yes Jesus loves me. Yes Jesus loves me. Yes Jesus loves me-the Bible tells me so. Study your Bible so that you are always pointed in the right way. At the appropriate time the Lord will speak to you, He will show you how you should go in life. Trust the Lord with all your heart and He will not forget you.

12/22 Matthew 2:7
Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
EVIL
Herod was evil. He made His wealth on the backs of the poor. Every thought by Jesus toward you is a thought for good. Christ isn’t seeking to abuse you and miss use you. He is seeking for your best good. The Lord protected Jesus throughout His life until it was time for Him to go to the Cross. Let Christ into you life and He will protect you until it is time for you to return to Him.