Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: MATTHEW 2:1-12 Three wise men, three kings, three magi—who were these people? The truth is, we don’t know a lot about them. But the Bible and history together do tell us a few things. To begin with, the Bible never says there were three. The only reason we say “three wise men” is because they gave three gifts, so historically, Christians have talked about three people. And what are they called, anyway? The technical term is magi, which is a Greek word referring to a certain group of people, possibly from Persia, who studied the stars and offered predictions and words of wisdom to rulers. When they traveled, they tended to do so in large numbers, so maybe a better title for the song “We Three Kings” would be “We Caravan of Magi.” God showed these magi a star that predicted the coming of a great King. As they traveled, probably for months or even years, He led them to Jesus, who would have been about two years old at the time. They recognized Jesus as the King whose birth had long been foretold. God opened their eyes to show them that this toddler was their Savior, and they bowed down and worshiped. These travelers from afar recognized Jesus as God before most of Israel, Jesus’s own people, did! This incredible part of the story of Christ’s birth shows that Jesus is fully God. The very stars proclaim who He is. Jesus is God, and because of His goodness and holiness, His handiwork cannot help but praise Him. His Name and His divinity are written all throughout creation, and if we earnestly seek Him, He will reveal Himself to us. Like the magi, we can join creation in praising our Savior (Psalm 19:1-3; Romans 1:20). • Taylor Eising • Why is it important that Jesus is fully God? Could His sacrifice on the cross have saved us if He wasn’t fully God? (Hint: read 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-11) • Has God revealed Himself to you in any unexpected ways? What are some ways we can catch glimpses of God’s goodness in creation? • It can be really hard to wrap our minds around the fact that Jesus is both completely God and completely human. It’s a divine mystery that can only be understood through faith. What questions do you have about this? God invites us to bring all our questions to Him! Additionally, who is a trusted Christian in your life you can talk to about this as well? All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. Psalm 145:10 (NIV)

READ: LUKE 2:1-7; HEBREWS 4:14-16 Did you know that Jesus probably wasn’t born in a stable? If you take a look at Luke 2:1-7, it doesn’t say “stable” anywhere. We usually hear about Jesus being born in a stable because it says He was laid in a manger, which is where animals eat, and in our current time and place, animals live in stables. Makes sense, right? The problem is, in the time and place that Jesus was born, animals were often brought into a special room in the house at night to protect them from thieves and predators. Archeologists are discovering that most homes in the area were built with one small room for the animals, one larger room for the family, and one room upstairs for guests. The room for the animals even had large bowl-shaped indents in the floor, called mangers, to hold their food. Also, the Bible says Joseph had family in Bethlehem, so he and Mary would have been welcomed into a relative’s house with open arms. In that culture, failing to show hospitality brought an incredible amount of shame. When the Bible says there was “no room” for them, it probably means the upstairs guest room was full, so they likely stayed downstairs with the family and animals. So, when Mary gave birth, she was probably surrounded by family to help with the delivery. But the house was packed so full that the only place they could put Jesus was in the manger. Why does this all matter? Well, the circumstances of His birth say something very powerful: Jesus is human. He had a relatively ordinary birth for His time and place in history. He was surrounded by the people He came to save, right from His first moments out of the womb. Jesus experienced everything it meant to be human. Although He is also fully God, He became every bit as fleshy as we are, so that He could save every bit of who we are. • Taylor Eising • Why is it important that Jesus is fully human? Could He have taken our place on the cross if He wasn’t fully human? (Hint: read John 1:14; 14:6; Romans 5:12-21) • How could the fact that Jesus is fully human affect our relationship with Him? • As we study God’s Word, why is it important to understand the culture and history of the Bible? This High Priest of ours [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 (NLT) 

READ: MATTHEW 1:18–2:6 What a fairytale! Angels, a virgin birth, a manger, shepherds, magi…it’s a great story to make us feel all fuzzy and warm at Christmas. But can we seriously believe the story of Jesus’s birth is true? God knew the Christmas story was going to be wildly unique. In fact, He made it that way on purpose. Why? So we could know that it really is true. How? He told us about it beforehand. The Old Testament prophecies aren’t just Christmas poetry—they’re compelling evidence that the baby in the manger was the Son of God and the Messiah, the promised Rescuer. Micah 5:2 says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.” The prophet Micah said the Messiah would be from the lowly town of Bethlehem…and these words were written about 700 years before Jesus was born in that exact town! Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.” Isaiah’s words were also written about 700 years before Christmas. The name Immanuel means “God with us.” So Isaiah is saying that God will come to be with us, born of a virgin. This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus’s mother Mary became miraculously pregnant while she was still a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38). Isaiah 11:1-3 says, “Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—a Spirit of wisdom and understanding…His delight will be in the fear of the LORD.” Jesse was the father of King David. When we look at Jesus’s genealogy, we see that He is a direct descendent of Jesse (Matthew 1:6; Luke 3:32). And the fact that Jesus is found discussing theology with the religious leaders at age twelve, and later the Holy Spirit comes and rests on Him at His baptism, shows us that He fits this prophecy entirely (Matthew 3:13-16; Luke 2:41-52). Those three verses only scratch the surface of all the prophecies that were fulfilled in the miracle called Christmas. Truth stranger than fiction? Sometimes it’s meant to be, so that we know it’s no coincidence. • Christiana Albrecht • Why is it important to know that Jesus fulfills the promises of Scripture? (If you want to dig deeper, read Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 10:43; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Timothy 3:15) He [Jesus] began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” Luke 4:21 (CSB) 

READ: MATTHEW 2:10-11; LUKE 1:46-49; REVELATION 21:3 All the trappings of Christmas fill me with joyful expectation leading up to the day we celebrate Christ’s birth. However, last year sadness stole my joy. In mid-December, our granddaughter was diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumor on her fibula, requiring surgery and extensive physical therapy. Sad and worried, I began just going through the motions of Christmas. A week before Christmas day, my daughter-in-law’s great-aunt died—followed by the death of my cousin, who was as close to me as a brother. At that point, I felt no joy. I wanted Christmas to be over. But then, something happened. Messages of joy surrounded me. Our Sunday sermon revolved around the joy of Jesus coming into the world, and the benediction from Romans 15:13 stayed with me all day: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” So, when I was overwhelmed with sadness and grief, I repeated, “I trust you.” My daily devotions focused on finding joy in difficult situations, like a change of plans, a bad accident, or hurt feelings during the holiday season—and they used non-Christmas verses like 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” and Psalm 55:22, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” All these prompted me to pray for joy. When I awoke on Christmas Eve thinking of Philippians 4:4, which says “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” my outlook changed. Our grand darling was under the best care at Mayo Clinic. I remembered happy times spent with my daughter-in-law’s aunt and many Christmases with my cousin. My joy returned. My trust in Jesus deepened. An angel didn’t appear to me like one did to the shepherds, but I do believe I was reminded about the “good news” of “great joy” so I could celebrate with joy the birth of my Savior. • Rose Ross Zediker • Have you been going through something difficult lately? Do the holidays stir up painful memories or grief for you? Many of us feel melancholy during the Christmas season, and that’s okay. God invites us to be honest with Him about all these things. He longs to comfort us in His love, and He doesn’t stop there. He also reminds us that He is the source of unchanging joy. We can carry His joy in our hearts because God’s promise was fulfilled. Our Savior was born! Consider taking some time to talk to Him about the hard things, and also to take hold of His joy today. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10 (NIV) 

READ: ISAIAH 9:6-7; 53:3-12; MATTHEW 1:21-23; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 Every Christmas, when I read about the coming of Christ, I linger over the beautiful, contrasting descriptions of how Jesus draws near to us, even though He is holy. It’s truly a profound mystery—for Jesus IS a paradox. These contrasts led me to write today’s poem (which is also a song for me personally) because at Christmas, we celebrate history’s most incredible contrast: God Himself being born, fully human, as a sacrificial Savior—while also ruling the universe as highest Lord and King. I hope meditating on these paradoxes in Scripture will help us see how God may sometimes draw us near in unexpected ways to help us experience true fullness of joy, perhaps in losing our life to save it (John 15:11; Luke 9:24). Holy Child, the Prince of Peace,O promised Savior King!Come to fill our hearts with joy—O Man of Suffering! Mighty God, a virgin’s child,Maker of stars who cried;Creation groaned to see it so—Yet Christ was glorified! Slain for the world He fashioned,God’s holy arm laid bare;Come to free us from the curse—To conquer dark despair! Jesus Christ, begotten Son,Risen that we might be…Freed from sorrow, sin, and grave—Made new eternally! Come now, come see,on bended knee—Rejoice, O earth and sing!Our guilt and shame He cast away—Hail Jesus, Savior King! • G. Kam Congleton • Jesus is fully God, and He is also fully human—what a paradox! Those two statements seem to contradict, but both are equally true. Which of the paradoxes about Jesus from today’s poem catches your attention? • What questions do you have about paradoxes in the Bible? Who are trusted Christians you could talk to about this? • If you want to dig deeper, read Matthew 2:1-2; Romans 8:22-23; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 13:8; 21:1-5; 22:1-5 The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:10 (NIV)