Not-So-Quiet-Time: Luke 2 and Matthew 2 (Christmas)
At-Home Bible Guide for the Week of 12/21
Day 1: Luke 2:21-24
One of the elements that we see in these verses is obedience to what God has said in the Bible. After traveling for the census, staying in an unexpected place, and being overwhelmed by visitors, Joseph and Mary still obeyed the Scripture by taking Jesus to be circumcised on the eighth day. They also took their new Son to be dedicated at the Temple in Jerusalem. We too can feel overwhelmingly busy at times. But obeying God and doing what He has commanded is not a burden, but a requirement that leads to our joy. Ask God to help you see his commands and joy-giving, and to give you strength to obey.
Day 2: Luke 2:25-35
When Simeon saw Jesus, he said that he saw the Lord’s salvation. He had seen the Messiah, and he had no doubt that God’s Anointed One would save his people. He didn’t know all the details, but he saw the Savior and, by the power of the Spirit, he trusted. Still today, we don’t know how God will work everything out. But we can be confident in his plan. Tell God today that you trust Him.
Day 3: Matthew 2:13-15
Sometime after an amazing time at the Temple, Jesus’ family was warned to flee the country. This almost certainly wasn’t in their plans. But it had always been God’s plan. Matthew points back to Hosea speaking about God bringing his people out of Egypt. God’s plan always was for Christ to walk that same path, but to succeed where Israel had failed. Jesus is faithful in the place of his unfaithful people. That was true back then, and we can praise the Lord that it is true today as well.
Day 4: Matthew 2:16-18
This passage is tragic, but it is important. As we see tragedies and injustices unfold in our world, we never have to wonder if God has lost control. We see in the text that Herod’s evil was predicted hundreds of years before. God always has his hands on the wheel of history and directs it perfectly. And we can trust that his justice will be served perfectly as well.
Day 5: Matthew 19-23
When the time was right, God brought Jesus’ family back and settled them in Nazareth. God was still speaking, but notice that Joseph was still experiencing fear as well. The righteous life is not one without fear. It is a life where we trust and obey God even in the midst of fear because we understand that all of God’s good plans will “be fulfilled.”
Catechism Connection: WSC 39, 8, 11
Obedience to God may be difficult, but it always leads to joy. God’s commands align with our good. “The duty which God requires of mankind is obedience to his revealed will” (WSC 39). And we can trust Him, just like Joseph, in the face of fear because He is able to work out all things in just the right way through “providence” (WSC 8). Providence is how God does his “holy, wise and powerful acts of preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions” (WSC 11). Obey Him because He works out all things for his glory and our best.
Day 1: Luke 2:21-24
One of the elements that we see in these verses is obedience to what God has said in the Bible. After traveling for the census, staying in an unexpected place, and being overwhelmed by visitors, Joseph and Mary still obeyed the Scripture by taking Jesus to be circumcised on the eighth day. They also took their new Son to be dedicated at the Temple in Jerusalem. We too can feel overwhelmingly busy at times. But obeying God and doing what He has commanded is not a burden, but a requirement that leads to our joy. Ask God to help you see his commands and joy-giving, and to give you strength to obey.
Day 2: Luke 2:25-35
When Simeon saw Jesus, he said that he saw the Lord’s salvation. He had seen the Messiah, and he had no doubt that God’s Anointed One would save his people. He didn’t know all the details, but he saw the Savior and, by the power of the Spirit, he trusted. Still today, we don’t know how God will work everything out. But we can be confident in his plan. Tell God today that you trust Him.
Day 3: Matthew 2:13-15
Sometime after an amazing time at the Temple, Jesus’ family was warned to flee the country. This almost certainly wasn’t in their plans. But it had always been God’s plan. Matthew points back to Hosea speaking about God bringing his people out of Egypt. God’s plan always was for Christ to walk that same path, but to succeed where Israel had failed. Jesus is faithful in the place of his unfaithful people. That was true back then, and we can praise the Lord that it is true today as well.
Day 4: Matthew 2:16-18
This passage is tragic, but it is important. As we see tragedies and injustices unfold in our world, we never have to wonder if God has lost control. We see in the text that Herod’s evil was predicted hundreds of years before. God always has his hands on the wheel of history and directs it perfectly. And we can trust that his justice will be served perfectly as well.
Day 5: Matthew 19-23
When the time was right, God brought Jesus’ family back and settled them in Nazareth. God was still speaking, but notice that Joseph was still experiencing fear as well. The righteous life is not one without fear. It is a life where we trust and obey God even in the midst of fear because we understand that all of God’s good plans will “be fulfilled.”
Catechism Connection: WSC 39, 8, 11
Obedience to God may be difficult, but it always leads to joy. God’s commands align with our good. “The duty which God requires of mankind is obedience to his revealed will” (WSC 39). And we can trust Him, just like Joseph, in the face of fear because He is able to work out all things in just the right way through “providence” (WSC 8). Providence is how God does his “holy, wise and powerful acts of preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions” (WSC 11). Obey Him because He works out all things for his glory and our best.
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