Daily Devotional from The Way Bible Church for December 24th, 2019

Many of the problems believers face today are a result of getting caught up in signs and missing what is significant. You see it happen quite often. People hear from God and get excited and emotional because of what they’ve heard or seen, but often that’s where everything stops. What you must realize is if your heart is not affected, you’ll only remember the sign and miss what is really significant. Take Mary as an example. A lot of people saw signs but Mary saw what was significant. The Stars were a sign that moved on. The Angels were a sign that made an announcement, declared it, then departed. The Shepherds saw a sign, enjoyed the experience, then went home. The Wise men came to offer a one-time gift as a sign. But then you have Mary.
Mary encountered all these signs but she is the only person in the whole Christmas story where it talks about her heart. She was the only one the Bible speaks of who was with Jesus from beginning to end. She was with Him at the manger, His first miracle, the cross, His resurrection, His ascension, she was even in the Upper Room at Pentecost. How was she able to stay so faithful in spite of what had to have been an extremely arduous and heart wrenching 33 year journey? It was because her eyes saw the signs, but her life had been changed by her heart seeing what was significant. With everything that has gotten wrapped up into what is now known as Christmas, it can be easy to lose focus on the One who makes Christmas significant. For this day to truly be what it is meant to be, a time of grateful remembrance for the only Perfect Gift ever given, you must determine to look past all of the signs and worship the One who is significant. – Love and Blessings, Pastor Jeff