2022 Christmas Devotional
Merry Christmas from Gateway Publishing! We have put together a 7-day Christmas Devotional featuring Pastor Robert Morris 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! If you subscribe to GatewayPublishing.com you will have the devotional sent straight to your inbox each morning!
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).
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 struggle, etc. Everything. We can live victoriously in every area of our lives!
– Pastor Robert Morris
Day 2: The Joyous Kings
“When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:10–11 NLT).
When you think about the first Christmas, do you picture shepherds and wise men kneeling by a manger? Many people do. However, the wise men weren’t present at the birth of Jesus. They had to travel 1,000 miles from Persia to Bethlehem, a journey that probably took six to nine months. The wise men were men of science, the wealthy intelligentsia of the day. Yet they rejoiced unashamedly when the star finally stopped. When they entered the house and saw Jesus, the wise men “bowed down and worshipped him” (v. 11). They were completely undone in the presence of this Child! Overwhelmed, they “opened their treasure chests” (v. 11) and presented extravagant gifts. Why did the wise men behave this way? Because they knew they were in the presence of the King of all kings.
– Pastor Robert Morris
Day 3: True Riches
“Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew: 6:20–21).
How can we obey Jesus’ command in Matthew 6:20 to store our treasures in heaven? By being good stewards and using our money for righteous purposes. The human soul is eternal, and the only things that last are people. This is why I want to invest my money in churches and ministries that invest in people. I know God loves people more than anything, so I want my money to be used in helping people, loving people, feeding people, and caring for people.
You may be thinking, I don’t have a lot of money to give. That’s okay! Having only a little bit of money gives us a great opportunity for blessing. In Luke 16:10, Jesus tells us, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”
Jesus spent 30 percent of His time teaching on money for a reason. Tithing represents the ultimate heart test for every believer. The test is how we handle our money, and the outcome of this test determines if God can trust us with true riches.
– Pastor Robert Morris
Day 4: 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.
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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. -
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. -
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.
– Pastor Robert Morris
Day 5: Jesus is the Word
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worth of praise (Philippians 4:8 NLT).
Jesus is the Word, and all things were made through Him (John 1:1–4 NLT) All things in your life come from Him and without Him, nothing happens. When you accept Jesus, you determine how much of His life you’re going to let flow through you. The more time you spend in His word, the more you’ll get to know Him and release His life in yours. That’s when the supernatural happens. Why? Because we’re meditating with Jesus when we study the Word. Philippians 4:8 says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.” All these words can be used to describe God’s Word. How incredible is that? I encourage you to dive deeper in His Word. As you continue to read and meditate on it, the Lord will continue to prosper you in everything you do.
– Pastor Robert Morris
Day 6: The Son
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT).
God created us to exist in perfect relationship with Him, but when Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world. Sin separated us from God, and we can never do enough “good” things to undo sin. However, God loves us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus, to save us and restore our relationship with Him.
When Jesus died on the cross, He stood in our place and took the punishment for our sins. Because Jesus never sinned, He was the perfect sacrifice, and He removed the barrier between God and us.
After three days, God raised Jesus from the dead. More than 500 people saw Him during the next 40 days, and then He ascended to heaven. If you ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins and receive Him as your Lord and Savior, you can join Him one day for all eternity!
– Pastor Robert Morris
Day 7: Amazing Savior
“And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 NLT).
The name Jesus is the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament. Joshua means ‘God is salvation,’ and Jesus means ‘Savior.’ After Moses died, God used Joshua to lead His people into the Promised Land. Similarly, God used His Son, Jesus, to bring us out from under the law and place us under grace. Jesus Christ is the only One who can save us. There’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation. We just have to receive it by God’s mercy and grace. And once we receive salvation by submitting to Jesus, God mercifully removes our sins as far “as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12 NLT). Just as Joshua led his people out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land, Jesus leads us out of sin and into restoration. He truly is an amazing Savior!
– Pastor Robert Morris
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