Daily Devotion

 With Pastor Ancel Presnell

“BEYOND THE MANGER; THE SON IS GIVEN”

This time of year, gets so commercialized. We see department stores trying to gain profit while excluding Christ from the party, calling it a “Holiday” season. To many, Christmas is just about a little, innocent baby boy in a manger—and there’s nothing offensive about baby Jesus’ lawn decorations. But may I say: Jesus is so much more than a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Isaiah prophesied it: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The child born was fully human, conceived in a unique way. The Son given was divine, sent from God. He came from God, by way of a virgin. Never did a child come this way before Jesus, and never has a child come this way since.

The greatest story ever told doesn’t end with the birth, the life, or the resurrection—the story never ends! But we must look Beyond the Manger. That innocent baby had the government upon His shoulders from the womb right into His birth, and when He returns, the government of this world will be abolished. Our forgiveness didn’t come by the birth; it didn’t come by Mary; it came by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Isaiah 9:6–“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”