Daily Devotional for December 25, 2015
Acts 13
Scripture:
32 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ” ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father. ‘ 34 The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: ” ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ 35 So it is stated elsewhere: ” ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ 36 “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
Observation:
Merry Christmas! Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we have forgiveness of our sins and the eternal hope of heaven. This is the very message that Paul was proclaiming in this chapter.
Paul and his companions were invited by the synagogue rulers to speak a word of encouragement. Paul gave a brief review of Israel’s history up to the arrival of Jesus as Israel’s Savior. Then he spoke of Jesus ‘ death.
If the story had ended there, not much of what Paul shared would have been encouraging. But death wasn’t the end of Paul’s message. God raised Jesus from the dead. Paul then made an application of the truth he was sharing—the promises of God were fulfilled through the raising up of Jesus.
Like the people in the synagogue, we also have moments when we face joy and sadness, hope and despair, and times of gain and times of loss. All of it is vanity if this life leads only to death and decay. But in Jesus we have the promise of eternal life, and God always keeps His promises. God will also raise us up to be with Him.
Application:
- Personal Application: Whatever your circumstances, let the promise of eternal life give you hope and courage.
- Family Devotional: Read this chapter to your family. Ask them if anything spoke to them as you read. Talk about their answers and show them that one important aspect of this chapter is that through Christ, we can have eternal life in heaven. Pray for them.
Prayer:
- Personal Prayer Focus: Spend some time thanking Jesus for what He did for us on the cross.
- Family Prayer Focus: Pray that your family will always remember what the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus mean to us.
Three-Year Reading Plan for Sunday, December 20 – Sunday, December 27:
- Sunday, December 20: Acts 8
- Monday, December 21: Acts 9
- Tuesday, December 22: Acts 10
- Wednesday, December 23: Acts 11
- Thursday, December 24: Acts 12
- Friday, December 25: Acts 13
- Saturday, December 26: Acts 14
- Sunday, December 27: Acts 15
—TOM GROOT is National Director of Men’s Ministry and Christian Education. Connect with Tom on Facebook or Twitter @TomGrootJr.
Portions of this devotional are adapted from God’s Word for Today, November 20, 2013.
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