The Promised Seed God said. “And I will put enmity between you (the Serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring [also translated seed] and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” Genesis 3:15 An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid …
Prophecies Fulfilled in the Easter Story
God Keeps His Promises Somewhere on the road of my faith journey, I heard the adage, “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” Most credit Augustine as the first to say it.[1] I, Denise, grew up in a home that valued both the Old and New Testaments. My dad taught home Bible studies …
Joanna
No Matter the Cost Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 2 Corinthians 9:13 As the wife of Chuza, King Herod’s financial manager, Joanna had status and influence. Yet …
Anna
Choose to Spread Hope and Joy She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 2:37 Life didn’t work out as Anna hoped. Like most other Jewish women, she probably dreamed of marriage to a devout Jewish man, followed by the birth of several sons. But after seven years of marriage, she became a widow, …
Simeon
Waiting on God It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:26 I don’t usually feel grateful or happy when I have to wait. And yet the Bible often tells us to wait on the Lord. For example, David wrote, “Wait patiently for the Lord. …
The Innkeeper
Don’t Miss the Miracle And she [Mary] 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 2:7 (ESV) There were no five-star hotels in first-century Palestine. Travelers who were unable to stay with relatives often found lodging in shelters that …
Caesar Augustus
Lord of All Leaders The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Proverbs 21:1 ESV Octavius was a member of the triumvirate that ruled Rome after the death of Julius Caesar. A victorious warrior and shrewd politician, he eventually became sole emperor of the Roman Empire, taking the …
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Praise the Eternal Three in One Gabriel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you [Mary], and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35 James Montgomery was a Scotsman who devoted most of his adult life to the publication of a newspaper …
How Great Our Joy
Tidings of Great Joy I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10 (KJV) “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,” the angel told the shepherds on the …