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Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)

Reflect
One of our favorite family stories is about the time my husband’s cousin made a particularly ambitious Christmas list. He copied down practically every item from a thick toy catalog. Then he added one final request: surprises.

Many of us go to great lengths to pull off a Christmas morning surprise. Even now, you may have gifts hidden away, tucked into nooks and crannies, or delivered to a neighbor’s house for safekeeping. Perhaps you’ve hunted down a gift that’s nearly impossible to secure. Maybe you’ll be up late on Christmas Eve doing a last-minute assembly.

Surprises can be delightful to give and receive, creating a sense of wonder and excitement around Christmas. But as we enjoy them, it’s good to remember that the advent of Christ wasn’t meant to be a surprise. God had been promising his people a serpent-crushing offspring from the earliest pages of the Bible (Gen. 3:15). The real story of Christmas isn’t a story of surprise but of fulfillment.

Through the Old Testament prophets, God revealed quite a bit of information about the coming Messiah. Jeremiah said he would be a king from the line of David (Jer. 23:5–6). Micah foretold he would come from the town of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). Isaiah said he would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14). Years ahead of time, God promised his people a Savior and gave specific details about his coming.

So when Philip went to share the news that Christ had come, notice what he said: “We have found him of whom Moses . . . and also the prophets wrote” (John 1:45). He didn’t say, “Surprise! God sent a Savior.” He said, “We have found him.” They knew the Messiah was coming. They were expecting him. Finding Jesus, for them, was confirmation of God’s faithfulness.

And that’s the story of Christmas for us too. The advent of Christ is a vivid reminder that God does what he says he will do, down to the last detail. Don’t skip over the details the Gospel writers record about the birth of Christ. It’s not extra fluff to fill out the story. In Matthew’s account of Christ’s birth, five times he writes something like “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet” (see Matt. 1:22; 2:5, 15, 17, 23). Why does Matthew repeatedly point out the fulfillment of prophecy? Because it shows us God’s faithfulness.

God’s faithfulness in the Christmas story gives us hope in our own stories. Just as God promised to send Jesus, he promises to be with us now through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus came the first time, he promises to come again. We can look forward in hope, confidently anticipating Christ’s second coming and the fulfillment of his promises to dwell with us forever (Rev. 21:3).

God may not give us everything on our wish list, but we can be sure he’ll fulfill all the promises he has made. Great is his faithfulness!

Respond
How have you seen God’s faithfulness to you in the past? In what areas of your life are you struggling to believe God’s promises? What might it look like for you to find hope in God’s faithfulness today?

Rejoice

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness!

– Thomas Chisholm, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

Editors’ note: This meditation appears in The Weary World Rejoices: Daily Devotions for Advent edited by Melissa Kruger (TGC, November 2021).

TheGospelCoalition. Advent Meditation: Hope Fulfilled. Winfree Brislely. November 29, 2023.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/advent-meditation-hope-fulfilled/

We are a people of promise. For centuries, God prepared people for the coming of his Son, our only hope for life. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfillment of the promises God made—that he would give a way to draw near to him.

Advent is what we call the season leading up to Christmas. It begins four Sundays before December 25, sometimes in the last weekend of November, sometimes on the first Sunday in December. 

1 Peter 1:10-12 is a clear description of what we look back to during Advent.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12 )

For four weeks, it’s as if we’re re-enacting, remembering the thousands of years God’s people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God’s salvation, for Jesus. That’s what advent means—coming. Even God’s men who foretold the grace that was to come didn’t know “what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating." They were waiting, but they didn’t know what God’s salvation would look like.

In fact, God revealed to them that they were not the ones who would see the sufferings and glory of God’s Christ:

They were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

They were serving us. We Christians on this side of Jesus’ birth are a God-blessed, happy people because we know God’s plan. The ancient waiting is over. We have the greatest reason to celebrate.

(Adapted from Treasuring God in Our Traditions)

Noël Piper is wife of John Piper, mother of five, and grandmother of sixteen. She is also the author of Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God.

DesiringGod. What is Advent? Noël Piper. December 2, 2009.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-advent

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus’ final words to His disciples have come to be known as the Great Commission. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” has become a central rallying cry for missionaries from the early church to the present day. Being part of missions and spreading the gospel message allows us to bring change around the world and be changed ourselves. As we enter the Christmas Advent season, we celebrate Christ’s birth and the gospel message we are called to share; here at MCC, our attention turns towards supporting the missional work of Operation Christmas Child.

Taking part in Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a great way to get involved in missions at MCC and partner with churches around the world to spread the good news of Christ. With OCC, you and your family can prayerfully gift a Christmas-themed shoebox filled with toys and necessities for a child. In 2024, churches around the world helped to send more than 11.9 million shoebox gifts to children in need. Each shoebox not only represents a gift of toys and necessities to a child, but something even more precious: the opportunity to share the love of God.

At the outreach events where the shoe boxes are delivered, local pastors and believers have the privilege to share the gospel with shoebox recipients and their families. These pastors and believers are trained by volunteers in the National Leadership Team on how to present the Gospel in a child-friendly way. After the event, children are invited back to take part in a 12-week discipleship program called the Greatest Journey. In the Greatest Journey, children learn more about the Bible, God, and how to share their faith with family and friends. Since 2009, 46 million recipients have participated in The Greatest Journey, and 23 million boys and girls have made professions of faith, changing not only their lives but the lives of their families as well.

Lives aren’t only changed around the world, but here at home as well, through end-to-end transformation. We encourage as you prepare your own shoebox, to be in prayer for the child that receives the box. Reflect on the Gospel message and the wonderful gift of Christ as you shop. Talk with your family about missions and how to reach the people around you with the good news of the gospel. There will be resources to help with prayer and discussion at the OCC table in the lobby. Feel free to contact Brittany Wendland with any questions or if you want more details on being involved with Operation Christmas Child. 

Bring change and be changed this Christmas season with Operation Christmas Child!

For many, the last few days before Christmas are rarely peaceful. This is especially true for parents and pastors. These days are packed with final (and often pressured) preparations of presents and programs and celebrations and sermons. “All is calm” is not our experience. This can leave us wondering if we are nothing more than Christmas “Marthas,” “distracted with much serving . . . anxious and troubled about many things” and missing the “Mary” moment in all the merry (Luke 10:40–42).

While such distractions are, of course, a year-round ever-present danger, let me encourage you with some brief Christmas perspective on busy-ness.

Remember Joseph and Mary
First, we must keep in mind that the original Christmas was not peaceful, not for Joseph and Mary. They were the first parents who had to prepare for Christmas and the pressure they felt dwarfs what most of us are experiencing right now. Bethlehem was overcrowded with census registrants. Things did not go as they likely envisioned. Joseph was desperately searching for lodging for his wife who was in labor. All he could secure was a stable.

If an unforeseen crisis emerges in the midst of your already challenging Christmas labors, remember Joseph and Mary. That place of desperation is often where the grace of God breaks in with the greatest power.

Remember the Ministry-Weary Disciples
Second, certain seasons of ministry and serving are simply exhausting. The Bible is full of weary saints who serve in the midst of various kinds of pressures. One example is the time in Capernaum when the crowds trying to get to Jesus became so great and demanding that the disciples didn’t even have time to eat (Mark 3:20). Were they “distracted with much serving” at that moment? In a sense, yes — meaning they weren’t sitting at Jesus’s feet peacefully listening. Yet, at that moment, from what we can tell, they were doing exactly what they should have been doing: helping all those people hear Jesus.

That is what Christmas is for our children and our congregations (and all the visitors in our homes and churches during the season): a time to hear Jesus. If making that happen means extraordinary busyness for you, it is very likely that you are doing exactly what you should be doing.

Get Away to a Lonely Place Later
There seems to have been a rhythm in Jesus’s ministry of very hard work followed by seasons of respite in “lonely” or “desolate” places (Luke 5:16; Mark 6:31). This is necessary for all of us. If your Christmas is an extraordinarily busy time of family and church ministry, then it is wise to plan a time, in January if possible, to get away from the chaos and listen to Jesus in his Word and to pray (here are some helpful pointers on how to do that). Find a lonely place where you have time to eat the Bread of life and be refreshed for the next exhausting push.

A busy, high pressure Christmas does not de facto mean you’re a Christmas “Martha.” You may be a desperate Joseph or Mary in an overcrowded Bethlehem or you may be a tired disciple in an overcrowded Capernaum. If that’s your call, work hard and serve well. Make the aim of your serving the progress and joy of the faith of others (Philippians 1:25) and aim to serve in the strength that God supplies (1 Peter 4:11). Then afterwards, withdraw with Jesus to a lonely place and be refreshed by him.

If your Christmas isn’t tranquil because you’re trying hard to make room in the world for Jesus to become “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) for others, you are in very good company. May God bless you.

* * * 

Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. He is the author of four books, including Not by Sight and most recently True to His Word. He and his wife have five children and make their home in the Twin Cities.

Desiring God. When God Gives You an Overcrowded Christmas. December 22, 2014. Jon Bloom. 

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-god-gives-you-an-overcrowded-christmas