DECEMBER 16, 2025, TUESDAY
Entry: 7:12am, Fairview QC
VERSE OF THE DAY:
JOHN 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
MY TRUE IDENTITY
JOHN 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
Many of us define ourselves by what we do. You might be a teacher, or a firefighter, or an accountant-"that's who I am" But God's plans often leads us outside of the very things we believe define us.
Our ultimate defining identities are not in what we do, but in who we are: children of God. it sounds simple, but it's a deeply profound truth.
Receiving Jesus and identifying as a child of God isn't passive. It's not just slapping on a name tag and continuing life as usual. Taking on that identity is a daily, active, decision. It means fully accepting Jesus' love, authority, and call on our lives. He gives us the freedom to live beyond labels, past wounds, and even seemingly good things that can hold us physically or emotionally captive. He breaks the chains of people living in poverty addiction or grief.
You are no longer a child of brokenness. You are a child of God. You are imbued with dignity and worth of your Creator. That new identity is like superhero origin story: it changes everything!
When you receive Jesus, this is your story. You are God's child. You belong. You are loved. You are free.
When was the last time you stopped to reflect on the fact that you are a beloved child of God? Take a moment today to thank Him for welcoming you into His family!
BE ENCOURAGED
Jesus doesn't just save us-He transforms us. And He adopts us as His own!
SHARE YOUR FAITH
There are people all around you who haven't yet trusted in Jesus. Take a step of faith and tell them how He's changed your life.
Father, thank You for giving me the right to be called Your child. Help me to live in that freedom and let Your love flow through me to others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Jesus was born to save you! Use this time to reflect on God's goodness and the joy He brings.
LUKE 2:9
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
Because of Jesus, God's presence and glory still surrounds us today! Right now, worship Him for the birth of Jesus and rejoice in His presence.
LUKE 2:10
And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."
We have nothing to fear because of the good news of Jesus!
Talk to Him about your troubles, and rejoice in His goodness.
Lord, thank You for helping me carry the burdens, big and small, that threaten to weigh me down. You know all my troubles, yet You promise they will not overtake me. Please give me strength and hope when I feel overwhelmed. In Jesus' name, Amen. God, all my hope is in You. You are all I need. Thank You for being my protector and the source of my strength, in every situation I face, I ask for Your courage and endurance to face it and handle it well. Please guide me with Your wisdom as I make decisions, and fill me with peace as I do what You've called me to do. In Jesus' name, Amen.
LUKE 2:20
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Re-read this verse and reflect all you have seen and heard about Jesus. Ask God how you can share this joy with others.
God sees you, and He sent His Son to save you. allow this to bring you joy as you go about your day.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
AMOS 4-5; REVELATION 7
ISRAEL HAS NOT RETURNED TO THE LORD
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
12“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
3For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,
and declares to man what is his thought,
who makes the morning darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth—
the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
SEEK THE LORD AND LIVE
14 Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
LET JUSTICE ROLL DOWN
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
THE 144,000 OF ISRAEL SAVED
A GREAT MULTITUDE FROM EVERY NATION
clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
LUKE 10:25-34, 36-37
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
INSIGHT
The key to understanding the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) lies in knowing how first-century Israel answered the question, “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29). They’d distorted the command “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) into “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Matthew 5:43). The Jews defined a neighbor as a fellow Israelite, for gentiles were accursed. For the Pharisees (experts in the law), it referred to a fellow Pharisee, for those who knew nothing of the law were accursed (John 7:49). Jesus turned this thinking upside down by making a hated Samaritan (people of mixed race whom the Jews viewed as heretics) the hero of the story. The Spirit can help us today to show compassion to others instead of simply passing by.
By: Bill Crowder
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
From her hospital bed, Marie Coble lit up when she saw the delivery driver whose help had likely saved her life. She’d fallen in her driveway and hit her head, causing a brain bleed. Seeing her injury, Raheem Cooper helped her while calling paramedics. Invited by family to visit her in the hospital, Raheem often brings sweet treats she enjoys to assist her recovery.
Their story brings to mind the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable is Jesus’ reply to an expert’s question on what he must do to inherit eternal life. Do “what is written in the law,” Jesus said (Luke 10:26), including “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 27). But the expert persisted, asking, “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29).
Christ’s answer describes a man attacked by robbers, left half dead, and then ignored by two people—a priest and a Levite—who passed him by. “But a Samaritan . . . took pity on him,” “bandaged his wounds, . . . and took care of him” (vv. 33-34). Seeing the hurting man in need, the Samaritan’s help was active, urgent, and without bias—looking past race or creed to assist someone he could’ve ignored.
Thus, Jesus asked, "Which of these three was a neighbor to the man?" “The one who had mercy on him,” the expert said. Said Jesus, “Go and do likewise” (vv. 36-37). In Christ, we too can find the compassion to help a hurting person instead of passing by. It’s a lesson for all in sharing Jesus’ love.
By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
How do you need mercy? How can you show mercy?
Dear Father, may I look beyond differences to share Jesus’ mercy with others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
THE GIFT OF PRESENCE
Like we explored yesterday, when Adam and Eve didn’t feel worthy of being in the presence of God, they hid. This is a common response to shame. When we sense rejection lurking around the corner, our instinct is to run and hide. Then we don’t have to face the pain of seeing disappointment or disapproval on the face of someone we love.
One of the easiest ways for us to hide is to pretend.
Pretend we are better than we are.
Pretend we aren’t lonely.
Pretend we don’t long for things to be better or different.
Pretend we have it all together.
Sadly, we may even feel like we have to pretend in church or with our family. We may worry that if we show who we really are, we will be rejected.
The problem is, when we are pretending we can’t be present.
We might physically be in the room, but our hearts are far away.
Have you ever made a familiar drive and pulled into your destination, only to realize you have no real memory of how you got there? Or maybe you’ve been in conversation with someone, but soon found your mind wandering to your to-do list and realized you missed half the words they’ve said?
You’re there, but you’re not really there.
Distractions, busyness, family conflict, or exhaustion can all get in the way of us being fully present and entering into Christmas awake and alive to what God might be doing. We can find ourselves daydreaming through the whole season, working so hard on getting our to-do list done or creating perfect memories, we aren’t really there with people right in front of us.
But Jesus calls us into presence over pretending.
It’s the whole reason He came - to call us out of hiding and into the light of His presence, so we can experience being fully known and fully loved. Romans 5 tells us that God made the first move; we don’t have to clean up our act to be worthy of His love.
If you’re struggling with complicated emotions this Christmas, Jesus is ready to meet you there. It’s okay to not be okay. It’s wonderful when Christmas feels happy and joy-filled, but sometimes we carry grief, loss, overwhelm, or even anger with us into the season. Jesus climbs right into those places and sits with us there. You are not alone.
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”
-Tim Keller
Tomorrow, we will wrap up our journey with what it might look like to experience the presence of God this Christmas.
Reflection: Consider whether there are places in your life where you feel pressure to pretend. How might pretending keep you from being fully present to God, others, and yourself? Take a few moments to imagine what it could feel like for God to see all of you - even your complicated emotions - and to know that you are fully loved in that place.
Prayer: God, thank you that we never have to hide with You. Thank you for moving close to us in our hard places and loving us through them. It’s sometimes hard to trust that You really do love us, even when we come up short or don’t feel like we’re supposed to. But in all our striving to pretend we’re better than we are, we often end up running even further away from You. Help us to remember that you are always ready and willing to find us, wherever we are. Sink the truth deep into our hearts that You loved us first, even before we were lovable. May we feel Your fatherly embrace right here, right now. Amen
ROMANS 5:8
8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
