Day 1: Peace Beyond Christmas
Welcome to the first day of our 10 Day Christmas Devotional. Whether you are new at spending time in God’s word and prayer or you consider yourself seasoned, I pray this resource will be a daily bright spot leading up to Christmas Day.
What should you expect?
The first five days will be from Luke 2:1-21. Day 6 through Day 10 will be through a second Christmas passage. Each day will have specific verses to focus on, as well as recommended questions for both Focused Thinking and Personal Application. You can expect to receive an email similar to this one each day between December 14th and 24th.
Your time with the Lord is not about increasing your Bible IQ, but about the God of all creation wanting to connect with you as His son or daughter. If you missed the teaching associated with this 10 Day Christmas plan, check out this message for even more encouragement and instruction, but more than anything else be encouraged that you are putting God first and He will bless your humility in seeing your need to spend time with Him.
In my 28 years of spending time with the Lord, here would be my top 3 suggestions:
Slow down. Don’t rush. The goal is to hear from the Lord, not finish a portion of scripture. For every minute you read, take a minute to pray, write, and think. Writing slows you down and helps you remember and document what God says. Grab a journal.
Remember this is not an exercise, but a relationship. If you get a grasp of what is happening in the passage, then ask the Lord what timeless truth He wants you to apply to your life, and you engage with Him about those things, you are having a priority time. Don’t over complicate things.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It is better to set aside a shorter time frame each day and build consistency and then begin increasing the duration than to jump in with a time frame that is too long that you won’t sustain.
Start by reading this portion of scripture a few times.
Day 1
1“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:1-7
Below are some samples of the journalistic questions you might ask of this passage, followed by some personal application questions. There are no right and wrong questions as long as they are helping you understand what the passage says, so yours might be different. For Day 1, you can give it a try and then see my example below or you can read the example of Focused Thinking and then answer the Personal Application questions for yourself. The goal… get a feel for learning what is happening in the passage and then asking how it applies to you today. You’ll be amazed at what God shows you along the way! Get a journal and spend time with the only One who wants what is best, knows what is best, and can give you what is best!
FOCUSED THINKING
Who are the people mentioned in this passage?
What are we told about each person?
Why did Joseph go to the town of Bethlehem?
What happens during this time in Bethlehem?
Why does Mary put Jesus in a manger?
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Lord, what do you want me to see in this passage that applies to my life today?
Lord, what about Joseph or Mary’s actions do you want me to apply to my own set of circumstances?
Example of my Priority Time in Luke 2:1-7:
FOCUSED THINKING
Who are the people mentioned in this passage?
Caesar Augustus
Quirinius
All
Joseph
Mary
First born son
What are we told about each person?
Caesar Augustus - he sent out a decree for “all the world” to be registered
Quirinius - governor of Syria
All - went to their home towns to be registered
Joseph - left Nazareth, Galilee; went to Bethlehem
Mary - went with Joseph to Bethlehem, betrothed to Joseph, with child
First born son
Why did Joseph go to the town of Bethlehem?
He was from the house and lineage of David
What happens during this time in Bethlehem?
The time came for Mary to give birth
Why does Mary put Jesus in a manger?
There was no place for them in the inn
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Lord, what do you want me to see in this passage that applies to my life today?
I know enough about Mary to know that she was faithful. I can’t imagine being on the strange and scary path of being pregnant and not married in that culture and knowing I was trusting God and then getting to the point of having my baby and ending up outside with the animals. I would have been crushed and disappointed. I would have second guessed the whole journey and wondered where on earth You were… and yet You were in every detail. Mary couldn’t see every detail, but You could.
Father, there are places that I feel like I have walked in faith this year where I expected the circumstances at those critical moments to look different. To look blessed… If I am honest, where I wanted something that showed all those confused by my choices or who didn’t believe in God to be wow’d by You. It would validate me and affirm my faith. Forgive me. Forgive me for caring about how others perceive me or for thinking you owed me a 5 star hotel when at times you have a reason for a manger.
Lord, what about Joseph or Mary’s actions do you want me to apply to my own set of circumstances?
Father, Mary and Joseph walked this thing out against all the culture’s affirmation. Right now, I need to trust you with:
Breadie’s Cafe
Unite Memphis
One City
None of them are conventional, but I can look back and see 30 years of faithfulness. You have always made a way. As I look ahead at 2026 and all of the unknowns, I trust You. Whether the next step is bringing my gift to a feeding trough or a place where everyone can see Your blessing, I will trust You. In reality, as I think about it, You did send specific people who saw the God story unfolding. You did send wisemen and shepherds. Don’t let me miss the ones you send to affirm our steps or redirect. You do send your messengers. You do affirm. Don’t let me believe the lie that You aren’t affirming or don’t communicate.