When All is Said and Done

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. … And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And 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, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with Child. (Luke 2:1, 3-5)

I love the way Joseph protects his family. Here we see him taking Mary and her unborn baby roughly 90 miles to Bethlehem on a tax registration trip. At first glance it looks like the opposite of protection; Mary is close to giving birth, and probably didn’t enjoy the trip at all!

But in those days, having her give birth far away from home was probably the kindest thing Joseph could have done for her. For her to give birth at home when everyone knew she’d only been married for six months or less—no. There was probably gossip already because she looked nine months pregnant!

So Joseph took her with him—knowing that the longer they stayed away, the harder it would be for gossipy neighbors to figure out exactly when the baby had been born. Thus he protected both Mary and Jesus. And if it fulfilled God’s prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem? Why, that was even better!

WE PRAY: My Savior, You protect me from sin, death, and the devil. Thank You for loving me so. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• How do you behave when you’re protecting someone?
• Do you think Mary appreciated what Joseph was trying to do?
• Jesus protected us by suffering, dying, and rising again so that we could be set free from sin, death, and evil. Why would He do this for you?

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His Name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25)

It interests me that God communicates with Joseph purely through dreams. It’s maybe not surprising, though, since Joseph is named after the man in Genesis 37-50 who had dreams from God—and God used him to rescue the whole family of Israel from famine.

God used the Old Testament Joseph to rescue a whole country—and foreigners, too!—since he was in charge of all the grain of Egypt. By contrast, Joseph in the New Testament is caring for a single mother and her baby, which might not seem like much. But this baby is Jesus, who is the Bread of Life—and through His life, death, and resurrection, He will save the entire world.

As He tells us, “I am the living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51a). No one who trusts in Jesus will ever be destroyed.

WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, Your Name means “God is salvation,” and that’s what You are to me. Thank You. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• What does your name mean? Are you named after anyone?
• Why is Jesus’ Name appropriate for Him?
• How do we “eat” the Bread of Life that Jesus gives us?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

But as he [Joseph] considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:20-23)

The angel says, “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife.” Joseph had good reason to be afraid before the angel came to him. At that point, he still thought Mary was pregnant by another man. And if Joseph had gone ahead and married her under those circumstances, what kind of a life would he have had with a woman whose heart was elsewhere?

But God sees the problem and deals with it openly in His message to Joseph. God always does see the problems that we face—even the ones that seem too sordid or too embarrassing to confess to anybody else. And in His kindness, He deals with them—even when it means coming down to earth as our Savior, to give His life and to rise from the dead for our sake. Nothing and no one is too low for Him to love and to rescue.

WE PRAY: Dear Savior, thank You for noticing me and my problems, too. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• Do you have embarrassing worries and problems?
• Do you ever hesitate to bring them up when you’re praying and asking God for help?
• How does it make you feel to know that Jesus has already noticed your problems and is finding ways to help you?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

And her [Mary’s] husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:19)

Poor Joseph. There he was, happy and planning for his wedding. Then, in a single hour, all his hopes were shattered.

But look at how he handles it! He isn’t shouting and screaming about the wrong he believes Mary has done to him. He doesn’t try to pay her back. No, he’s already looking for a way to let her out of the marriage arrangement as quietly as possible, because he doesn’t want to shame her.

Now that’s a good man, humanly speaking. That’s a man who reminds me of his future foster son, Jesus Himself. Because Joseph is willing to bear as much of Mary’s pain and shame as he can, given the circumstances. His main concern is how to protect her. And that is how Jesus feels about us.

Jesus, of course, takes it further—because He’s never going to find out that the bad news about us was all a mistake as Joseph did with Mary. No, we are truly the broken, sinful people we’ve been called. And so Jesus expresses His love for us by showing us mercy all the way to the cross. He suffers and dies for us. And when He rises to life again, He gives that same life to us—who are no longer condemned sinners, but are now His own bride, the forgiven people of God (see Romans 7:4, Revelation 19:7-8).

WE PRAY: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us and making us Your own, though You knew the truth about us. I love You. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• If you were in a parallel situation, would you have behaved as kindly as Joseph?
• God chose Mary to parent His Son. Would you say God chose Joseph also?
• What characteristics do you think God was looking for in them both? Why?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

[Zechariah said:] “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79)

I love that image of the sunrise giving us light so that we can find the way of peace and walk in it. But surely that’s going a bit far? I mean, there’s no need for the sunrise to actually leave heaven and come down to earth to help us find our way. It can sit up there in the sky far away and shed its light on us. That would be good enough, right?

Apparently God doesn’t think so. Because this sunrise is Jesus Himself. And He’s not happy to stay in heaven far away from us and give us salvation from a distance. No, He’s going to come down from heaven, down to the human race—down to a manger bed filled with straw. And He will come down even further than that—from life to death on a cross, and three days in the grave.

But He won’t stay there! Like all good sunrises, Jesus will indeed rise—and He will become our light and salvation forever.

WE PRAY: Lord, thank You for going above and beyond for my sake. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• Think of the last person who helped you. Did they go above and beyond, or did they do just enough?
• Why is Jesus going so far to help you?
• How does that affect the way you relate to Him?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

And he [Zechariah] asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:63-66)

I don’t think I ever noticed this verse before, that “all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea.” The little drama going on in Zechariah’s family was apparently pretty public. It looks like Zechariah wrote down his story for Elizabeth—and whoever she passed it on to. During those nine months, the neighbors would have found out everything—from the angel’s appearance to Zechariah’s mistake, and how God kept His promise anyway! And now, the final installment—when Zechariah gets a second chance to trust in God by naming the baby John—just as God told him to.

But the neighbors missed an even bigger story. No doubt they overlooked young Mary, the helpful cousin from Nazareth. It was too early in her pregnancy for them to realize she was carrying a Child, too. But she was, and her baby would turn out to be Jesus the Messiah. He is God Himself come into this world as a human being—why? To serve and to save and to give Himself up as a ransom for all of us, so that we might become children of God. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have life and joy forever.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, Your coming is the best news ever. Thank You. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• Are you interested in your neighbors’ lives?
• Do you think the neighbors ever found out about Jesus?
• Is there someone you could tell about Him? Ask the Lord for help.

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

What God Was Willing to Do

Hollywood would recast the Christmas story. Joseph’s collar is way too blue. Mary is green from inexperience. The couple’s star power doesn’t match the bill. Too obscure, too simple. The story warrants some headliners. And what about the shepherds? Do they sing? A good public relations firm would move the birth to a big city. The Son of God deserves a royal entry. Less peasant, more pizazz.

But we didn’t design the hour. God did. And God was content to enter the world in the presence of sleepy sheep and a wide-eyed carpenter. No spotlights, just candlelight. No crowns, just cows chewing cud. If God was willing to wrap himself in rags, then all questions about his love for you are off the table. When Christ was born, so was our hope. That’s why I love Christmas.


Read more Because of Bethlehem

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. …” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. (Luke 1:46-49, 56)

Mary is overjoyed, so much that she can’t help bursting into poetry, trying to describe what God has done for her. She has good reason!

For the next nine months, Mary will live more closely connected to God than anybody before or after her. While she carries Jesus, her body will provide everything He needs—oxygen, food, warmth, all physical needs. Her choices will influence His future—what she eats, the stresses she endures. Her voice will be the first that He hears; and He will feel her emotions through the effects they have on her body. He will be wholly dependent on her. What an honor, and what trust God shows in Mary!

And after Jesus is born, He will be almost as completely dependent on her and on Joseph for years to come. They will protect Him; they will feed, shelter, and teach Him. God set all of this up so that Jesus, in turn, would become the One we all depend on—our dear Savior, who rescued us at the cost of His own life, and who lives forever as our beloved Lord and the home of our hearts.

WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, I am glad to depend on You. You have never let me down, and You never will. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• What do you need in order to feel safe being close to someone?
• Are you comfortable depending on someone other than yourself? Why or why not?
• How about depending on the Lord—what has your experience been there?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)

Mary is in an interesting spot. God has not asked for her consent, at least not directly. The angel has simply told her, “This is how it will be.” Does that sound unfair?

And yet, isn’t there a sense in which all of us who belong to God have given our consent to be used by Him long ago? My husband doesn’t need to ask me before he commits me to helping a friend who is in an emergency. He knows my heart already. Of course I’ll say yes!

And the Lord knows Mary’s heart as well. He knows she loves Him. He knows she will consider the Gift He is giving her to be exactly that—the best gift ever!—and a great honor and responsibility as well. And we can see that He is right—because when she visits Elizabeth, she bursts out in a great song of praise for the wonderful thing God is doing through her, sending our Savior Jesus into the world.

It’s the same for us. We know that serving Jesus is an honor and blessing, because He’s the One who loved us so much He died and rose for us. It doesn’t really matter whether we enjoy doing the particular thing He’s asked of us or not. We have the chance to love Him by our actions—and we are glad to take it.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, I know how greatly You love me, and I love You back. Use me as You see best. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• Who loves and trusts you so much they wouldn’t even need to ask if they needed your help?
• Why would you come through for those people?
• What service has God trusted you with, knowing you’ll do it for love of Him?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:34-37)

I love the simplicity of how Mary answers the angel. She doesn’t argue, she doesn’t doubt, she just asks “How?” Because Mary knows where babies come from, and she knows that virgins don’t normally get pregnant. And so she wants to know what God’s plans are. Should she move up the wedding date, or what?

The angel recognizes that she’s being practical, not doubting, and he answers her in the same spirit. “No,” he says, “you don’t have to worry about the details. The Holy Spirit will handle this by miracle.” And he tells her about her relative Elizabeth, who is also pregnant when that shouldn’t be possible.

And so Mary is set free to be happy. She doesn’t have to do anything. She can simply accept this wonderful Gift from God—His own Son!—and rejoice in Him. And we can do the same—relax and be happy, because Jesus has come to be born and to live and to die and to rise, all to make us His own.

WE PRAY: Lord, I’m so glad You handle everything. You have given me all that I need. Thank You. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• If you were in Mary’s place and the angel gave you that kind of news, what would you have said? Why?
• If God is in control, do we need to worry?
• How can we learn to trust Him?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.