Joy To Your World - Children's Advent DevotionalSample

Have you ever wondered why you believe in the biblical Christmas story? The wise men saw the amazing star that led them all the way to Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph believed because they knew their baby was a miracle. Of course, the shepherds believed! They saw those amazing lights in the night sky and the angel that spoke to them. Then the angel gave them another reason to believe.

The angel said, “‘This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:12–14).

Next to Mary and Joseph, the shepherds had the most amazing Christmas experience. How could those men not believe? So, why doesn’t God send those angels every Christmas to our churches? Our schools? Our shopping malls? If he did, wouldn’t everyone believe?

The Christmas story has a lot of miraculous events. But why did God only perform those miracles for the first century and not the twenty-first century? Romans 15 has a good answer to that question. The Bible says, “Christ became a servant (to the Jewish people) to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:8–9).

The Jewish people had been given a lot of miracles. Just think about the parting of the Red Sea. David and Goliath. The manna and quail in the wilderness. The walls of Jericho that came tumbling down. The Ten Commandments. And that is just a few of them! God gave so many miracles to the Jewish people, but they still decided to disobey him and sin. So, God gave his Son, Jesus, to live as an example for all of us. Jesus is the greatest miracle that the world has ever known. Jesus proved that God keeps his promises to everyone.

The birth of Jesus was a miracle. Jesus performed a lot of miracles during His lifetime. Jesus even died, was buried, and rose to live again. People saw those miracles, but a lot of those people still didn’t believe.

So, God sent the greatest miracle to the world. He sent his Holy Spirit to live inside the heart of anyone who would believe. The Holy Spirit is Jesus, born again each time someone chooses Him as Lord. The reason you believe the Christmas story is because you can trust God’s word and know that Jesus lives in you. We have faith, hope, and joy because that is the blessing of God’s Holy Spirit. We believe in God’s Christmas story!