12 Days of Christmas Family Devotionalনমুনা

READ TOGETHER The day Jesus died was one of the saddest days in the history of the world. When he died, an earthquake shook the ground, as if the earth itself knew that Jesus was a good person who shouldn’t have to die like this. The curtain in the Temple that used to separate people from the presence of God was torn completely in half from the very top to the bottom. Even the Roman soldiers, who had been so mean to Jesus, believed he was the Son of God when they saw what happened. But the world wasn’t sad for long because three days later, when Jesus’s disciples went to find his body, it wasn’t there! Jesus had risen! Just like on the night Jesus was born, angels came to share the good news! They shouted joyfully: “Jesus is not here! He is risen! He is alive!” The angels reminded the people looking for Jesus’s body that Jesus said he would rise on the third day, and he did! Just as he promised! Just as God had planned from the beginning. In that moment, Jesus defeated death. He conquered Satan, God’s enemy, and made a way for us to live eternally (that means FOREVER!) with God and with Jesus. But God’s plan wasn’t done yet! After Jesus rose from the dead, he stayed on earth teaching his disciples for 40 days, and then he went back to Heaven to be with God. But when he left, he promised the disciples that he would be sending a special helper to them—the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit lives in us, teaches us, comforts us, and is the presence of God with us. If we believe in Jesus, ask him to forgive our sins, and promise to follow him all the days of our lives, the Holy Spirit comes to be our helper! We don’t have to do life all by ourselves. Through the Holy Spirit, we begin a very special kind of friendship with God and Jesus that starts TODAY! This is great news! We don’t have to wait until heaven to know God and Jesus. God loves us so, so much, that he wants to start being your friend as soon as possible, and be your friend FOREVER! This is what Christmas is really about. We celebrate the day Jesus was born in the manger because it means that God sent his Son to earth to be God with us, to die on the cross, to forgive all of our sins, and to invite us into a relationship with him that leads to eternal life. We celebrate Christmas because on that day, in a little manger in Bethlehem, God gave us the most important gift of all, a way to be with him again, as it was meant to be, way back in the beginning. TALK TOGETHER 1\. Why is it such exciting news that God sent us the Holy Spirit? 2\. How does it make you feel that God made this grand rescue plan just for YOU? PRAY TOGETHER Father God, we praise you! You have made a way for us to be with you. We love you so much, and we are so grateful that you sent Jesus to be born in the manger many years ago. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.