Bible reading, daily devotions, and more

And He Called His Name Jesus - December 25, 2025

“And Joseph took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:24-25).

Joseph was literally willing to tank his reputation. And he did – he traded it in for a pregnant fiancée and an illegitimate son and made the big decision of discipleship. He placed God’s plan ahead of his own. Rather than make a name for himself, he made a home for Christ. And because he did, a great reward came his way.

“And he called his name Jesus!” Of all the saints, sinners, prodigals, and preachers who’ve spoken the name, Joseph—a blue-collar, small-town construction worker—said it first. Joseph cradled the wrinkle-faced prince of heaven, and with an audience of angels and pigs, he whispered, “Jesus, Jesus, you’ll be called Jesus.” 

From maxlucado.com

Deuteronomy 34

The Message

The Death of Moses

34 1-3 Moses climbed from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah facing Jericho. God showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan, all Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh; all Judah reaching to the Mediterranean Sea; the Negev and the plains which encircle Jericho, City of Palms, as far south as Zoar.

4 Then and there God said to him, “This is the land I promised to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the words ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I’ve let you see it with your own eyes. There it is. But you’re not going to go in.”

5-6 Moses died there in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of God, just as God said. God buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor. No one knows his burial site to this very day.

7-8 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight was sharp; he still walked with a spring in his step. The People of Israel wept for Moses in the Plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

9 Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. The People of Israel listened obediently to him and did the same as when God had commanded Moses.

10-12 No prophet has risen since in Israel like Moses, whom God knew face-to-face. Never since has there been anything like the signs and miracle-wonders that God sent him to do in Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land—nothing to compare with that all-powerful hand of his and all the great and terrible things Moses did as every eye in Israel watched.

Our Daily bread by 

Karen Pimpo

TODAYS SCRIPTURE

Matthew 2:1-2, 7-12

Matthew 2:1-2

1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 

Matthew 2:7-12

7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another.

Jesus, the Greatest Gift

They opened their treasures and presented [Jesus] with gifts. Matthew 2:11

Todays Devotional

“What sweeter music can we bring/ Than a carol for to sing/ The birth of this our heavenly King?” The lines of this seventeenth-century poem “What Sweeter Music” by Robert Herrick were reimagined by modern-day choral composer John Rutter to become an Advent season favorite. Its gentle melody describes a long, cold season of waiting that’s thawed by the springtime feeling of Jesus’ arrival. The singers bring Him a Christmas carol; the listeners are invited to bring their hearts.

Rutter’s arrangement was commissioned to correspond with a church reading on the wise men who brought Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These mysterious magi traveled a great distance to meet baby Jesus with the express purpose of worshiping Him (Matthew 2:1-2). When they finally found Him, they “were overjoyed,” bowed down in reverence, and “opened their treasures” at His feet (vv. 10-11). Warned in a dream, they left without informing wicked King Herod (v. 12).

The Christmas season shouldn’t focus on material gifts—but it’s certainly about giving and receiving gifts. God gave His Son to heal a broken world. If we’ve never given Him our hearts, today’s a wonderful day to do so. If He already reigns there, let’s offer a carol of peace and joy as we think about His arrival all those years ago in Bethlehem—and wait for His return.

Reflect & Pray

What are some of the greatest gifts of Christmastime? What might you be reluctant to give over to God?

Dear Jesus, You’re the greatest gift of all. Everything I am, and everything I have, I give back to You.

Discover more about the Christmas story.

Todays Insights

Matthew’s gospel is bookended by the worship of Jesus (2:1; 28:17). In both accounts, readers see what the proper response to Christ should be. Based on what had been revealed to them, “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem” (2:1), bearing gifts to honor Jesus. They asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (v. 2). “Worship[ed]” (vv. 2, 8, 11) translates the word proskyneō—meaning “to fawn,” “to “crouch down” (literally or figuratively), “to prostrate oneself in homage” (reverence, adore). Matthew’s account of Christ shows that worship is the proper response to Him (see 8:2-3; 9:18-22; 14:33; 15:25-28; 28:9). The final use of the word worship[ed] in this gospel occurs in the last scene of the book, after the resurrection: “When they saw him, they worshiped him” (28:17). Today, as we celebrate Jesus—the greatest gift ever given—may we also respond with worship. 

From odbm.org

His Birth and Our New Birth

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).— Matthew 1:23

His birth in history. “The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He didn’t evolve out of history; he came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ isn’t the best human being; he is a Being who can’t be accounted for by humanity at all. He isn’t man becoming God; he is God incarnate, God coming into human flesh from the outside. His life is the highest and the holiest, entering through the lowliest door. Our Lord’s birth was an advent, an arrival with no precedent.

His birth in me. “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from the outside, so he must come into me from the outside. Have I allowed my personal life to become a Bethlehem for the Son of God? I can’t enter into the realm of the kingdom of God unless I’m born again from above in a birth totally unlike natural birth.

Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This isn’t a command; it’s a statement of fact, the fact upon which our entrance into the kingdom depends. The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. The instant he is formed in me, his nature begins to work through me. God manifest in my flesh: this is what is made possible for you and for me by the redemption.

Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.

COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - #10164

December 25, 2025

It was a Kleenex moment that Christmas season, for sure. Like the first Christmas, there was a newborn baby involved, but no manger. How about a Jumbotron screen at an Anaheim Ducks hockey game, of all places?

Sergeant First Class Robert Vandenberg had been gone for ten months. Hed never seen his newborn son. He was far away in Afghanistan when little Travis was born. So all eyes were on the big screen when he appeared suddenly to - at least in this small way - be "home" for Christmas.

Skype from Romania. Thats how his wife, and his one-year-old son, little Travis would make a connection this Christmas season. But with thousands watching this touching reunion by screen, the technology Grinch suddenly showed up. There was barely time for "hellos" before the sergeant started disappearing in a spasm of static. Sadly, his wife handed the microphone back to a team rep.

At that very moment, Sergeant Vandenberg walked down the steps of the arena and right into the arms of his wife! Then he picked up his new son and held him up in front of him - looking in his eyes for the very first time.

Im Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Coming Home for Christmas."

I dont know if they sell Kleenex at the stadium concession stands, but if they do, you can bet they sold out that night. I confess I reached for some when I saw it on TV. I think one of the reasons it touched me is that I saw something else in that moving reunion. I saw the first Christmas. I saw myself.

Christmas - when a God we thought was so far away came down to where we are. To hold us close. In fact, the ancient prophecy of the coming Messiah predicted it. And its our word for today from the Word of God recorded in Matthew 1:23, "A virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, God with us." Not just God projected on the screen of some church or religion. But God right here. God up close.

Too often, though, He has seemed far away hasnt He? Like theres a lot of distance between me and the God I really need. It turns out that distance is not just a feeling. Its real. But its not Gods fault. Its mine.

Lets face it, Ive wanted to believe in God, but I also want to run my own life. In essence, occupying the drivers seat in my life - a life He gave me. We have, in the words of the Bible, "left Gods path to follow our own" (Isaiah 53:6 NLT) and at great cost. Isaiah 59:2 says, "Your sins have cut you off from God." Actually, I knew that. I think we can all feel the distance.

But then...Christmas. As Linus so eloquently quoted to Charlie Brown, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11 KJVA). In that stable in Bethlehem, God stepped out of eternity and into time. So He could step into my life and your life and change it forever. Not God as a fuzzy image. Not God far away. God with us. With me. In my home. In my office. In the doctors office. In my grief. In my loneliness. In my pain. In "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4 KJVA).

But it would come at great expense to Jesus, because 33 years later, the hands of the Bethlehem baby would be nailed to a Roman cross. And today, this one who loved you enough to die for you, who came that Christmas for you and me is reaching out and saying, "On this Christmas day, would you give yourself to Me?" Hes been waiting a long time. Hes ready now for you to come. You can tell it by the tug you feel in your heart. That wont always be there.

So, right now while you can, say, "Jesus, Im Yours." Go to our website today if you want more information because there youll see how to be sure youve begun this relationship on this Christmas day. Its ANewStory.com.

See, Jesus came in Bethlehem to go to a cross so God could be your Father. And so you could be, forever, a child in His arms.