I can’t even imagine being Mary, can you? Here you are, ready to get married, and probably deep in wedding preparation. And then an angel shows up, and what he tells you is about to change everything.

The angel tells her the news that she was going to give birth to a son and call him Jesus. There’s no way can she have a child. And she asks the angel just that, how can this happen? And the angel explains it to her.

Can you imagine? How crazy that would be? How impossible it would sound? And yet, we see in today’s Bible verse Mary’s response.

For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. – Luke 1:37-38 (NLT)

Mary believed in God, even when it was impossible.

What do you do when things seem impossible in your life? Do you tend to give up? Google solutions to the problem? What would happen if, like Mary, we just believed God? Would things change if we decided to believe the promises in God’s word over the problems that we face?

Today challenge yourself to look to God’s word for your answers. Yes, Google has some good solutions, but God’s word is truth. It will help you come to the right conclusion every time. Be like Mary and trust God’s word!

As we enter into the Christmas season, it’s easy to make it all about us. Your mom and grandma have probably both asked you for your Christmas lists. And you’ve been thinking it through and trying to decide what exactly it is that you want for Christmas.

Getting gifts is certainly a fun part of the Christmas season. However, it can be really easy to forget what Christmas is really all about. It’s not about the ugly sweater contests, the fun games at your youth group, or getting a few weeks off of school. Christmas is about Jesus.

It’s about how humanity needed a savior. That savior was Jesus. Through Jesus, we can now experience peace with God.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

So regardless of what you get this Christmas, make sure you take some time to think about the greatest gift you’ve gotten, which is Jesus. Realize that He truly is what Christmas is all about. Take time to think about Him

17 All my bones are on display;

    people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my clothes among them

    and cast lots for my garment. – Psalm 22:17-18 (NIV)

We see in this Psalm a description of what will happen to Jesus. Jesus will die. His clothes will be divided and lots cast for them.

This is indeed what happened at Jesus’ crucifixion. People did stare at Him. People did mock Him.

Many had hoped in Him but didn’t see the full picture. Jesus wasn’t coming to destroy Roman oppression. He was coming to destroy the works of sin and the devil.

As He gave up His life, He was not losing a battle but rather beginning one. He was going to destroy death and sin. And He did it because we couldn’t. He was the one that could. As God Himself He was able to help redeem us back to Him.

So as you go out today realize that Jesus died for you. He wanted to redeem you and loves you in a very deep and real way.

Abraham was called by God to leave his home and all that was familiar to him. He was called to be a father when he had no children. All of those things seem crazy, right? Can you imagine what he must have felt like? I’m sure he felt a little silly some days for trusting in God and for moving into a land he didn’t know.

In spite of all this, Abraham trusted God in a deep way. His life had been a testimony of God’s faithfulness to him. He knew that God loved Him and would provide what he needed when he needed them.

Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. – James 2:21-23 (NIV)

After God miraculously gave him a son, Abraham was willing to offer that son on the altar. Abraham’s sacrifice showed us a picture of what God would do through Jesus. In the same way, Abraham didn’t spare his son, God didn’t spare His son either.

God demonstrated His great love for us as He gave His Son to be the solution to our sin problem. This is the greatest love story of all time, woven throughout the Bible. God loved His people and was doing everything He could to bring them to Him.

Today’s Truth: God Didn’t Spare His Own Son!

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14:13-14

God has always been about setting people free. In today’s verse, He set the nation of Israel free from slavery to Egypt in a wonderous miracle at the Red Sea.

God hasn’t changed from then to now. He’s still setting people free from the things that enslave them. So whatever it is that has bound you, know that God desires to fight on your behalf. He wants to set you free.

So whatever has bound you, you can be free. You simply have to place your faith in Jesus and know that He wants to fight for you. He wants you to walk in the freedom He provided for you at the cross.

So whatever has bound you in the past, look to Him for your freedom today.

Today’s Truth: God is About Setting Us Free!

It’s not easy being courageous. Fear sometimes seems so real. So how do you stand up and be courageous when you feel like all odds are against you?

Often being courageous won’t make sense to your senses. You might see all the reasons you can’t do what God is calling you to do or go where He’s calling you to do. Yet, if you feel like God has called you, then you’ve got what you need.

Be courageous, and let us show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.” – 2 Samuel 10:12 (AMP)

In today’s Bible verse, we see an army getting ready for battle, and they are choosing to be courageous. That wouldn’t be easy, would it? Think about going to fight someone. That wouldn’t be easy. However, when you know God, courage becomes easier.

As you read through the Bible, you see that God has always loved humankind. God has always provided and come through for the people who trusted Him and loved Him. And the same is true for you. God wants to provide every need you have for the calling He has for you. It’s just up to you to trust Him, and that when He speaks, it’s truth. Regardless of what you feel or see around you if you have a word from God, it has to come to pass in your life!

That’s good news. So encourage yourself today. God loves you, sent His son to die for you, and wants to provide for you in every way. That means you can be courageous, knowing that you’ll have everything you need for the battles that you face.

It can be easy to think that all the prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament don’t really have much to do with your day-to-day life. How does knowing Jesus fulfilled a bunch of prophecies really help you with your math test? Or how does that help you in your struggle with fear?

Here is one of many ways it can help. Fulfilled prophecies give more weight to the rest of the Bible. So if you can believe that the Bible is accurate because the prophecies are specific and point to Jesus, then it helps you believe that Jesus is your solution to fear or that dreaded math test.

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. – 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (NIV)

God said that He would establish his kingdom forever in today’s prophecy. And while that might not directly relate to math or fear problems, it does show us something important.

It shows us that there’s a bigger story going on. It’s easy to get caught up in all the daily problems that we forget that life is bigger than just us. God has been working behind the scenes to bring us a solution to our fear, our pain, our misery. And not just ours. He’s the solution for the entire world.

So today, know that God has been working behind the scenes, since the beginning, bringing the world a solution to all their problems.

There are many examples of God’s plan to rescue us from our sin found in the Old Testament. In reading these, we see that there are many prophecies and patriarchs that spoke about Jesus.

Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” – John 1:45 (NLT)

In today’s verse, we see that Philip was familiar with many of these. When Philip learned of Jesus, he realized that Jesus was the one the Old Testament and the prophets had written about.

What good news! Jesus is the one that the Bible is all about. It’s the story of how He came to be the solution for the problem Adam had created. God the creator stepped into our story and decided to make things right. He was going to do what we could not do on our own. He was going to pay the price once and for all for our sins.

The message of the Bible is that our creator became our savior. We were undeserving, helpless, and without hope. And yet God loved us. The Bible points to Jesus. As we read more each day as Christmas approaches, realize that the reason for all of this is love. God loved us. When we didn’t get it. When we didn’t deserve it, in spite of it all, He came. That’s good news! And it’s what Christmas is really all about!