Contineo Monthly Newsletter

Devotional - Luke 2:8-12

Hello Contineo! This month, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! If you've grown up in church, it is easy to take this time of celebration and reflection for granted. We love the time out of school and work; we (hopefully) enjoy time with family; and we of course love the gifts on Christmas morning (or Christmas Eve, if your family is like Brittany's). But do we really have to go to another Christmas Eve Service? They're the same every year!

We take the birth of Jesus for granted because it seems normal for us. However, if we just place ourselves in the first century A.D., when Jesus was born in first-century Israel, we notice that to the ancient Jews, the news of the Messiah and Lord born in a manger is shocking! Not only is it a shock to the worldview of your average ancient Jew or, especially, Greek at this time, but it is also the fulfillment of everything anticipated in the first part of the Bible - the Old Testament. This month, we're going to spend two weeks talking about how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of everything anticipated in the Old Testament, the long-awaited solution to the problem of sin. This month, I want to encourage you to place yourself in this world - in this story - and to see your life in light of the biblical story.

Take a moment to read Luke 2:8-12 below. You might have heard this passage read many times, but have you ever taken a moment just to think about what's being said here? Here, Jesus, the infant just born, is called "Messiah" and "Lord." "Messiah" is the title reserved for the prophesied Savior of Israel, the One who would come to free Israel from her captives and establish God's Kingdom on earth. "Lord" is a title reserved for God in the Bible. To say that Jesus is Lord is to call him God. Yet this God is also, in this moment, a baby crying for his mother. Imagine how surprised the shepherds would have been to hear this! 

It is this baby - born 2,000 years ago in a feeding trough - who is at the same time the Savior of the world. The problem of sin - with all of the brokenness and evil associated with it - is finally and completely solved through him alone. Whatever difficult thing you're going through, it goes back to the problem of sin, either:

(1) Sin done by you.
(2) Sin done to you.
(3) Sin around you.
(4) Sin within you (your motivations or desires).

God is still telling his story, now through his church. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you have a place in God's story by being part of his people, the church. Devote yourself to him and live out his story in the world.

I am praying for each of you this Christmas season!