Section 3: The Light Dawns
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-20, Galatians 4:4-5
As I sit down to write this Christmas day devotional, it is not lost on me where you might be reading it. Whether it’s Christmas morning or evening, whether you’re home or traveling, with the ones you love or apart from them, whether it looks the way you hoped or not, Christmas came, didn’t it?
The day we remember the birth of our lowly baby-King, the day we worship with wonder the God who can form bones in a virgin’s womb, and the day we contemplate all that it means that our Creator would choose to be Creator-with-us, is finally here! Friend, whatever the circumstances, whatever the obstacles, you are here, too. You chose to open your Bible today—to anchor the festivities in Truth. In the midst of a day that lauds the new, you paused to return to the ancient. I’m so glad you’re here.
Today’s reading is another year older, and yet somehow it can sit on our laps or in our hands or in our ears and mouths as fresh as the day it occurred. God kept His two-millennia-old promise to Abram. He chose righteous Joseph and Mary to appear unrighteous in order to be the parents of His only Son. He invited the uninvited shepherds to hear the news first by sending an actual crowd of angels to proclaim literal “peace on earth” to their weary ears (Luke 2:14). God came in the least and most spectacular way, to be with us.
I’ve been meditating on this truth over this season of Advent, and it has met me in a fresh way this year. Maybe it’s because being with people isn’t always easy, and this only becomes magnified in a season of togetherness. As I have been with folks this December, I have felt all the feelings that happen when people spend time with people. Joy, fullness, irritation, impatience…the whole range! And it hit me that God chooses to be with me. He doesn’t feel about me the way I feel when I’m with people I don’t enjoy or understand. From what I know about the love He has for me, and because the blood of His Son covers me, I believe He does understand me and even enjoys my company. “God with us” has taken on a new meaning for me this year and it has only increased my desire for “Raechel with God.”
I hope you know that He left His comfort in order to be your comfort. I hope you know this is true about you, too.
Because of the truth of what we read today, “God with” not only happened in Bethlehem then. It extends beyond Galilee and Jerusalem. Because of Christmas, “God with” is even bigger than the pillar of fire at night and cloud by day. It’s not only in tents or temples or burning bushes. Because of Bethlehem, and because Jesus left us His Spirit, “God with” reaches from Nazareth to Nairobi to New Hampshire, from Capernaum to Charlottetown to Colorado Springs. It extends from then to now to eternity because God intends to dwell with His people again in a way mankind hasn’t known since the garden.
As you sit with these passages from Luke and Galatians today, consider as clearly as you possibly can the reality of “God with you.” And on this day that we remember and celebrate God becoming like us—God being with us—my prayer is that the most remarkable part of your day (more than gifts or food or fellowship or lack of any of these things) will be that you met with the One who came as a baby in a manger, that you know Him personally and sensed His Spirit’s presence with you today. That you had the opportunity to worship Him and you took it.
My prayer for you—for all of us—is that our preparations for the Christmas season would dim in comparison to our preparations for the return of our King. That “God with us” would be both our comfort and our aim. And, whether I’m the first or the fortieth to say it to you today, Merry Christmas, beloved one. Jesus came for you, and that is worth celebrating today!
Written by Raechel Myers
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149 thoughts on "Christmas Day: The Nativity"
Merry ⛄!
Lord you are good lord and I thank you!
❤️
Merry Christmas from NW Wisconsin
The promise of God choosing to be with me isn’t conditional. I believe that lie more often than not. God chooses to be with me only IF I deserve it or WHEN my performance is up to par, etc. This stems back to my growing up without an earthly father. This is an unconditional, stand-alone truth that God CHOOSES to be with & actually ENJOYS me, the real me. This is difficult for me to grasp & believe. Surely I must have to BE and/or DO something to EARN this kind of intimacy. I don’t want this to cause me to think too highly of myself, like I’m doing God a favor by serving Him. I also don’t want to use this as an excuse to sin. I also don’t want this to cause me to overomaticize my relationship with God because He is still Holy & is be revered as such.
Merry Christmas from Jacksonville, FLORIDA.
LAUREL – I grew up in Rockford. I moved away at 46.
Merry Christmas from Queensland Australia!!! Thank you, SRT. I am so blessed that God has led me to an amazing community of sisters from around the world to read The Word, pray and share together. Bless you all.
This devotion was awesome! Thank you.
Thank you Victoria!!
♥️
This ! ❤️ Thank you!
Merry Christmas from Vancouver, Washington!
I love that phrase “you paused to return to the ancient”. Merry Christmas everyone!
Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas from central North Carolina!
Merry Christmas Shes! God is with us! I love what Rachael said about Jesus enjoying our company. I feel sense of the importance of showing that same kind of love towards the people in my life whom I feel uncomfortable around or irritated by.
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Merry Christmas Shes! God is with us! I love what Rachael said about Jesus enjoying our company. I feel sense of the importance of showing that same kind of love towards the people in my life whom I feel uncomfortable around or irritated by.
Merry Christmas Shes!
Merry Christmas from Lynchburg VA !
Love the SRT family and the SRT daily devotions
I have grown so much gaining the Bible knowledge that
the SRT team presents to us.
May God bless you and the SRT team
Such a happy and comforting end to a day most definitely filled with many different emotions. Merry Christmas. Thank God.
This is a good reminder when holidays this year have been a little harder to enjoy. Merry Christmas from NC!
Merry Christmas from Brazil. Thank you SRT for this beautiful study. my heart is full of joy and hope for the future, because Jesus is already there. He is indeed GOD WITH US!
Merry Christmas from Corpus Christi, Texas. Where ever you found yourself this Christmas, I hope you felt the love of Jesus wrapped around you. He loved you so much that He came as a baby to Earth just for you. I love the SRT community.
Merry Christmas SRT sisters from Kingston TN. I want to tell you all what a blessing you have been to me this last year. I have learned from your insights and shared in your joys and sorrows. I hope all were blessed today.
Merry Christmas from Pittsburgh, PA! Regardless of the miles between us, we gather here as family, each a sister in the family of God. So thankful for SRT and all of you!
Love the reflection of pausing in a day that focus so much on new that we’re slowing down to return to the ancient.
God is with us in the present by helping us reflect on the past so that we can have hope for the future❤️
Love the reflection of pausing in a day that focus so much on new that we’re slowing down to return to the ancient. ❤️
Merry Christmas from Arnold, Missouri!! I’ve loved the Advent study and excited it’s not over yet!!
So thankful that we can look back at God’s fulfilled promise of Him coming to earth and anticipate His second return, fully making all things right.
Merry Christmas from Arnold, Missouri!! I’ve loved the Advent study and excited it’s not over yet!!
Merry Christmas to everyone from Queens Village, New York
Merry Christmas from Michigan! Praying for everyone to feel the presence of our savior today. Emmanuel!
Merry Christmas from Sugar Land, Texas
I loved this devotional so much today! I became a Christian on Christmas Eve 19 years ago. I’m so thankful that God decided to meet with me then and continues to meet with me. I praise God that he isn’t done with me yet.
Thank you. ❤️
Merry Christmas from Athens, Alabama!
Merry Christmas from Edinburgh, UK! Great devotional today.
Merry Christmas to everyone from Chandler, Arizona!
Merry christmas to all! Our savior was born today! What a beautiful day ❤️
Merry Christmas from The New Forest ,Hampshire,England
Christmas Blessings From Manheim, Pa! I have especially loved this Advent study…I have so needed to focus on “The Everlasting Light of Immanuel” this year, when there has been so much darkness… Thank you Raechel and Amanda( and your talented staff) for your unwavering commitment to God’s Word… and making it so invitingly available… Grateful for the day I was introduced to SRT! I do my best to invite others into the fold!! ♥️
Praying for all those with a vacant place this year. Remember they are an angel watching over you all.
What a blessing this study has been as my husband and I went through it together. Merry Merry Christmas from NE Indiana!
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus. I’m so very grateful that you are with us.
Merry Christmas from Eagle River, Alaska! My prayer for all of us is for peace in our hearts and homes. To remember God is with us always. What a beautiful Advent study this was! Thank you SRT!❤️❤️
Merry Christmas from Whitehall, Pennsylvania. As I read this aloud facing my window, the sun broke through the clouds and lit my face aglow. I started to read faster because I didn’t want it hat sense of His spirit to flee but it only became more intense as the words of Truth filled my heart. God with us indeed. Thank you, God, for the gift of your Son, my precious Lord and Savior.
Our grown up Christmas List & life long Christmas Wish comes true! Happy Christmas & Merry New Year to Shes clasping hands around the world on this awaited day. Sharing the Love on a chilly, but not damp, Christmas morning from the Pacific Northwest zip code 97209!
AMEN! Merry Christmas Ladies!
Merry Christmas from Rockford, IL! Thankful for the SRT community, comments, concerns…my thoughts and prayers are with each of you for a joyous holiday season.
Merry Christmas from Saskatchewan, Canada!
Merry Christmas from Colorado. Love to all my Sisters in Christ. Praying for you Emma, may you feel His love mighty around you and your sweet boys and know Jesus is right there with you in this time. Sharon, Jersey Girl praying for Don and his family. God’s grace and healing. Lexi Sharer, praising God with you for your healthy baby boy! Such a lovely Christmas gift. Hugs and love to all.
Merry Christmas from the Sandhills of Nebraska! What an encouragement to see She’s from all over the globe open the Word together on this day to honor the Light of the World, our Savior, Jesus.
Merry Christmas to all my SRT sisters around the world from Kansas.
Raechel’s message couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I found out yesterday, from my son, that my ex-husband had been very rude and offensive to multiple people at my son and d-i-l’s wedding. It was so bad that my son’s mother-in-law became very upset about it and left the party after the wedding early. My son has told me that he no longer wants to see or talk to his father and as far as he (my son) is concerned his father never is allowed to come to his house again.
My ex-husband wasn’t raised this way and none of the rest of his family members are this way so how and why he is this way I don’t know. I have to respect the wishes of my son and d-i-l.
Raechel said in her last sentence, “Jesus came for you, and that is worth celebrating today!” but isn’t it worth CELEBRATING EVERYDAY!!!!
Sisters be blessed and celebrate the Lord’s birth with great rejoicing. And remember Christ is the reason for our celebrating.
Merry Christmas from Yuba City, California! Raechel, thank you for this beautiful devotional. I will hold it in my heart.❤️ May all your Christmases be greatly blessed.
Merry Christmas from Rhode Island!️
Merriest of Christmases from Seattle!
Merry Christmas from Maple Valley, Washington! God is with us!
Heidi V praying for your daughter !
Oh I just saw the posts and saw I didn’t keep the trend! Merry Christmas from SoCal!! Grateful for the much needed rain, too!
Merry Christmas! Jesus is my comforter amen! This has been the most incredible study I’ve done since joining SRT earlier this year. Praying for you all!
Merry Christmas from Concord, California!
Merry Christmas from Montana, blessings to all, may we all find peace in this day!
Christmas peace from Dallas ❤️
Merry Christmas from a very snowy Sunriver, OR! May each of experience God With Us today and every day. @Lexi B – I’m from Fresno originally!
Merry Christmas from a very snowy Sunriver, OR! May each of experience God With Us today and every day.
Merry Christmas, such a Beautiful reminder that God is with all of us
Merry Christmas from Missouri! Our Savior is Born!!!
Merry Christmas SRT sisters, from Virginia! Love you all, praise the Lord for the gift of our Savior, Christ the Lord!
Merry Christmas dear SHE Sisters and friends! From Fort Meyers, Florida! Each one of you are so dear!
Written in my journal after today’s devotion.
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending your Son for us. God with us, God with Rhonda. Now, then, every day of my life. Did I look for you, did I feel you? Was I too busy trying to do everything myself, my own way? It didn’t work, and it doesn’t work now! I want to give it all to you- my stubbornness, my selfishness, my impatience, my inability for quick forgiveness. Please Lord take these from me and fill me with love and kindness, especially to my husband and those that challenge me. Shalom. Peace. Peace with us. Christmas comes and goes, but You stay with us, but we must lean in-to-you! That is my humble cry, give me you Jesus, give me peace in a not peaceful world, and give me Joy! Amen.
Thank you Rachel for such insight and writing! I will anxiously await the next study of John!
Merry Christmas from Alberta Canada!!! How beautiful to worship with you all!!
Merry Christmas to all of the SRT family from Old Town, Maine! I’m so grateful for this group and this fellowship in Christ. May you have a blessed day. ❤️
Merry Christmas everyone from Phoenix, Arizona!
Happy birthday, Jesus! ✝️. Merry Christmas
“God chooses to be with me . . .the blood of His Son covers me…”
RACHEL, thanks for this most worshipful and comforting devo! Savoring the Truth.
MERRY CHRISTMAS from SC.
DEANA G, We are almost neighbors!
What a blessing to see all of the places everyone is “tuning in” from!! Love our global community! “Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord!”
Merry Christmas from Ramsey, NJ!
@Megan praying for you today!
Happy Christmas. Yes, thank you Rachael. Your anointed writing is a treasure.
Today’s devotion is a gift to my heart on Christmas Day! Thank You SRT team for all you do!
Merry Christmas from Martinez California!
Merry Christmas from Dallas, Texas❤️
Merry Christmas from beautiful Colorado! May we carry the excitement and beauty of “God with us”every day!
Merry Christmas from Scotland!
Merry Christmas from Denver! I need to read this over and over and really let it settle. I did not expect to have the devotion this morning speak to me in such a fresh way. Thank you Holy Sprit an thank you Rachel!
Merry Christmas from Edgewater, Florida! ❤️
Merry Christmas from Alabama! Love to all my SRT sisters!
Merry Christmas! I truly needed this reading today. Learning about Christ’s birth alone in my room this morning was so captivating. We really do have a loving and compassionate Father.
Megan, Thank you for sharing. This is such an encouragement as my husband battles mental illness as well and it often feels hopeless. May this joy stay with you in
Merry Christmas from SE Okla. Balmy 70 degrees this morning.
Merry Christmas from New York! I hope everyone has a blessed and healthy holiday ✨
Merry Christmas everyone from Fort Wayne Indiana! This was my first SRT reading and it made the advent season so warm this year!
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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Merry Christmas from Houston, TX!
All I can say is, Wow! Praise the Lord , my Savior! That was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. Merry Christmas!
God with me… I’ll keep that today! Merry Christmas sisters- sincerely praying joy in your hearts and day! ✨
Merry Christmas everyone!
Merry Christmas from Orange County, CA!
Merry Christmas from the Gulf Coast of Texas!
Merry Christmas from Fresno, CA! Have a wonderful day SRT family!
Merry Christmas from Alabama, SRT sisters! May our awesome God encourage and comfort each of us as we celebrate the birth of our precious Saviour Jesus!!!
Merry Christmas from Lindsborg, Kansas! Praise the Lord for His marvelous light. May He shine through us as we celebrate Him today!
Merry Christmas SRT family!!
Merry Christmas from Imperial Beach, CA.
Praying for all of you. Hope your day is blessed and happy.
Glad tidings of great joy to all people! Merry Christmas from Chicago!
Merry Christmas from Brownsville, Tennessee!
Merry Christmas from Lake City, Florida! ❤️
Merry Christmas from Orange, TX
Merry Christmas from Centerton, AR
Merry Christmas Dear Friends from Clemson, SC:)!! So very thankful for our Lord and this online Bible study!! Blessings to you all!
The best news for all! Merry Christmas from Northern Michigan!
What an astounding thing we celebrate today! Merry Christmas from Ohio.
Merry Christmas from Dallas! Let there be light!
Merry Christmas from Murfreesboro, TN. He is with us! ♥️
Merry Christmas from southeast Michigan!!!!! I love that every morning this study is here and so are you. We did make it today. I pray you feel the Lords presence and peace. My FIL is back in the hospital so Christmas is well different but God remains the same ❤️
Merry Christmas from Germantown, TN.
Lord bless us this Christmas with peace that surpasses all understanding. Joy beyond material possessions. Love that knows no boundaries and strength that emanates from faith in You. Immanuel-God with us!
Merry Christmas from Indiana sisters. (What a blessing to see where people are posting from.) What a joy to join with sisters across the globe, rising up, to worship the King.
“Whether it’s Christmas morning or evening, whether you’re home or traveling, with the ones you love or apart from them, whether it looks the way you hoped or not, Christmas came…” Thank you Jesus. You came. You are here, Immanuel-God with us.
“In the midst of a day that lauds the new, you paused to return to the ancient.” (Love that Raechel) From before the Garden of Eden, through every tomorrow, He is Lord. From Indiana to Africa to the universes beyond, we worship I AM, as His children. “God with”…eternally.
Merry Christmas sisters. Thank you Jesus.
Merry Christmas from Colorado! Thankful for SRT sisters. May you enjoy your day with loved ones as we celebrate the birth of our King!
Merry Christmas from Saint Augustine, Florida….”God With!”
Greetings and Merry Christmas from Philadelphia, PA!
This season God as comforter, as with me as my comforter has taken on new sweet meaning. Even on this damp, mild, Christmas morning, as I sip tea and enjoy my tree, physically it is just me, and yet I know He is indeed with me.
merry Christmas from west virginia friends!!
I am praying for you—He holds so tightly to you!!
Merry Christmas from Michigan, USA. I am so thankful he left his comfort to be my comfort. Claiming he is “with me” today
Merry Christmas to all from NE Ohio, USA.
May we be found “glorifying and praising God for all [we have] heard and seen” today.
REMEMBER and REJOICE
Merry Christmas wonderful ladies of the SRT community! May the peace that surpasses all understanding be with you all!
Merry Christmas!!! Celebrating that God came to be with us, so that we might receive adoption as His children. Praise God!!!
Merry Christmas from Northern Cali ♥️
Merry Christmas! God is with us, He came for us! Lt the celebration begin.
Merry Christmas from Indianapolis. Read this with my husband and 3 week old Isaac this morning while nursing. Thankful for this ministry.
Merry Christmas from Louisiana! The darkness is broken, His Light is finally come. May it shine upon you, filling your heart with His mercies and unfailing love!
I woke up excited to read my Bible this morning. I couldn’t get to it fast enough. I’ve been struggling with intrusive thoughts about “leaving” my family. I’ve been struggling with the darkness. A battle has been raging in my psyche. But on this Christmas morning, while I wait for my miracle of a daughter to wake up and my absolutely God sent of a husband, I am reminded of the love of God and the sacrifices of Jesus that got me to where I am. Mental illness is hard. And while I pray for it to go away, there is a real possibility that it won’t. But as God as my shield and Jesus as my lamp against the darkness, I know I can make it. Merry Christmas, all. ❤️
Merry Christmas friends! Thankful for another season to celebrate my favorite story. ❤️
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM “96” SOUTH CAROLINA!!
Merry Christmas, beautiful, wonderful daughters of the Most High God! May you be filled with the quiet joy and wonder of Mary as she pondered and treasured the praises of her son in her heart; and may the glory of Jesus be on full display in your lives today as you celebrate the His birth.
Merry Christmas from Memphis, TN ❤️
Merry Christmas from Connecticut!
God is with us. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
Merry Christmas from North Carolina. May you find joy and peace in knowing and spreading the word of the Lord.
Merry Christmas from Georgia! Thank you for a beautiful and rich advent study!
Merry Christmas from Georgia!
Merry Christmas to all from Tennessee!
Merry Christmas from Tennessee! God WITH us is the Christmas story. May I, like Mary & Joseph, surrender my life to represent Him in my community today, tomorrow, always.
Merry Christmas (Christ-mas…more Christ) to a wonderful community of sisters!
Merry Christmas from USA in Central Texas. Truly this SRT Community shines light on the reality that God is with us all!
Merry Christmas from Ohio! May God bless everyone today and everyday!
Merry Christmas from California! Blessings in abundance as we celebrate the birth of our King!! O Come Emmanuel!
Merry Christmas from North Carolina, United States of America. May God’s grace and peace be with you today and into the New Year.
Merry Christmas from West Africa! I love spending Christmas morning worshiping “God With Us” with my African brothers and sisters in Christ!
“Then she gave birth to her firstborn son.” This small sentence, like it doesn’t mean much. I’m amazed at how Christ’s coming was so small and yet so big at the same time. Yes, He came as helpless baby. At the same time, a multitude of angels is sent out to tell this good news, to shepherds. A Savior is born, the Messiah. What better news there is? Merey Christmas to you all!
I sat in a stable, with cows mooing in the background earlier this month, to record this reading for the church! Not quite the ‘nativity’ but I felt it. I felt what I read..
This lowly person, sinner, me, for whom the baby king came rejoices with the angels and sings…(from the sidelines)
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!”
Luke 2:14
IMMANUEL,.. God with us! What a promise! Not just for then but for NOW AND ALWAYS and EVERYWHERE! No-one is exempt. He came for me. He came for you. He came for all.. AMEN.
Glory to God in the highest heaven..
My prayer for us today is that we take what we know, and we share with those who don’t. God with us.
BUT GOD..
I love you all.
Merry Christmas wrapped ever so tightly today, in love, in hope and prayers for a tangible feeling of ‘God with us’ day. ❤
6am in Edinburgh Scotland. How I love this global community of beautiful women growing in their understanding and love of God. And what a beautifully expressed blog, perfect for this year. Thank you SRT. Xxx
Merry Christmas from the UAE! May you be filled with the true joy of Christ on this day and forever more. My you know the peace, freedom, mercy, and love of Emmanuel, God with us!
Merry Christmas from the UAE! May you be filled with the true joy of Christ on this day and forever more. Immature ion