Merry Christmas from Gateway Publishing! We have put together a 7-day Christmas Devotional that centers around content from the Fresh Start Bible.

For the next 7 days, we will come back and add a daily devotion to this blog post, so visit (and share) daily!

The Life of Jesus | The Book of Luke

✨ DAY 1: THE SHEPHERDS AND ANGELS

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:8–12 NLT, emphasis added).

The word Christ, also translated Messiah, comes from the Greek word Christos and means ‘anointed.’ In the Old Testament only three groups of people were anointed: prophets, priests, and kings. In the New Testament, Jesus is the Anointed One. That means He’s our Prophet, Priest, and King.

In the Old Testament, God usually spoke through prophets. Jesus is our Prophet, and now we can hear God. The Holy Spirit lives within every believer and can speak to us at any time.

In the Old Testament, only the high priests could enter the presence of God. When Jesus came, He became our eternal High Priest, and now we can personally enter the presence of God.

Because Jesus is our King, He rules and reigns over everything in our lives­—every situation, family issue, job problem, financial difficulty, emotional struggles, etc. Everything. We can live victoriously in every area of our lives!

– Robert Morris

✨ DAY 2: PEACE ON EARTH

“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Luke 2:14 NLT).

The angels declared, “Peace on earth” as they announced Jesus’ birth to frightened shepherds in the fields. But how can we have peace on our earth today?

• 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲.
  Satan never takes a break, not even at Christmas. He’s constantly reminding us of bad memories and the people we’ve lost. We need to remember that the battle is real. It’s taking place in the spiritual realm, and it must also be fought in the spiritual realm. 
• 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
  You have to quiet your soul (your mind, will, and emotions) and allow your spirit to start talking and rebuking the enemy.
• 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗱.
  You can have peace on your earth because you know the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). No matter what battle or struggle you’re facing, spend time in His presence, and you will have peace in your heart.

 – Robert Morris

✨ DAY 3: GOD’S SALVATION FOR ALL PEOPLE

 
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!
The valleys will be filled,
and the mountains and hills made level.
The curves will be straightened,
and the rough places made smooth.
And then all people will see
the salvation sent from God’” (Luke 3:4-6 NLT).

The name Jesus means ‘salvation.’ Luke develops this important truth throughout his Gospel. Mary will give birth to a Son who will bring salvation to God’s people. Luke shows us that people experience salvation from Jesus in many ways:

• A woman is forgiven of her sins (7:47–50).
• A man is delivered from demons (8:26–36).
• Another woman is healed of sickness in her body (8:43–48).
• A rich man is restored to the people of his community (19:1–10)

In all these stories, Luke uses a word meaning ‘to save’ to describe what Jesus has done. 

– Jon Huntzinger

✨ DAY 4: HEALED

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
    and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come” (Luke 4:18–19).

If you’re saved, then God has healed your spirit. He has made your spirit whole. But what about your soul and body? Does God want to make them whole too? According to the Bible, yes! He does!

1. Physical Healing
   In Exodus 15:26, God not only says what He does (heals) but also who He is—Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. Over and over again in Scripture, God heals people who have physical sicknesses and diseases. Hebrews 13:8 says God never changes, so since He healed in the Old and New Testaments, then He still heals today. 
   
   
2. Emotional Healing
   We wouldn’t tell someone with a broken arm to “Get over it!” and we can’t say that to someone with a broken heart either. Many people have deep emotional wounds that have never healed. Their hearts have been broken through harsh words, disappointments, and tragedies. But here is the good news: Jesus came to set us free! He doesn’t want us just to cope with our problems—He wants to heal us from them!

 Will you let Jesus make you whole in your body, soul, and spirit?

 – Robert Morris 

✨ DAY 5: THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1).

As followers of Jesus Christ, we all experience spiritual warfare. However, if we focus only on the attacks against us, then we give the devil too much credit. When spiritual warfare increases in our lives, we need to go to a new level of prayer so we can release God’s power and will.

You must take prayer seriously. You are in a war, and your enemy wants to kill you (John 10:10, Ephesians 6:12). One type of demon that comes against us is called a principality, which is a spirit prince over a geographic region. Jesus’ healing of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5 also shows the reality of territorial principalities (Mark 5:9–10). We fight principalities every time souls are saved, every time we plant a new church in a new city, and every time we stand for righteousness in our nation.

– Robert Morris

✨ DAY 6: FULL RESTORATION

 “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin’” (Luke 15:8–9).

It’s always good to read God’s Word when you’ve lost something or someone precious to you. In Luke 15:8-9, Jesus tells the parable of the lost coin. A woman loses one of her ten silver coins, and because it is precious to her, she lights a lamp and keeps looking for it until she finds it.

You too can “light a lamp” by allowing God’s Word to be a lamp to your feet (Psalm 119:105). No matter what you’ve lost, God wants to bring restoration to your life. Start lighting a lamp every day so He can speak to you, heal you, and restore you through His Word.

– Robert Morris

✨ DAY 7: HIS THANKSGIVING


Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you” (Luke 17:17–19).

We can live continually in God’s presence by developing a life of thanksgiving. We are grateful to God as He blesses us with His miraculous provision, and we express our gratitude and love in worship.

1. Worship is giving thanks.
   Worship is about thanking someone after you’ve received something. It’s showing your gratitude and love. True, genuine love is always expressed. You have a good Father, and you can express your love to Him because you have received something good from Him.
2. Miracles precede gratitude.
   If you had a disease and Jesus healed you, would it be appropriate to express your thanks? Of course it would be! Well, if you’re a believer, God has healed you from the worst disease—sin! Salvation is a miracle, and it is definitely okay to express your gratitude to God through worship.
3. Obedience precedes miracles.
   Miracles are not earned, but the Bible shows us an unmistakable patter of obedience leading to miracles. Is it possible that we don’t feel as though we have anything to be grateful for because we’re not walking in daily obedience to God? If we obey, we’ll experience miracles, and when we experience miracles, we’ll be grateful and express our love to God through worship.

Lord, thank You for sending Your Son to earth as a baby, bringing life and hope to us all. Thank you that as an adult, He died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the dead three days later. We are so grateful for Your gift of eternal life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Fresh Start Bible includes the New Living Translation.
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