Use this devo as you are able, in whole or in part. Don’t feel compelled to read it all. Simply read and meditate upon whatever catches your attention. The goal is enjoying time with God through His Word and in prayer. Questions about the devotional elements?

What is “Christmas”?

Call to Prayer

Prayer of Confession

Eternal, almighty God, how did your hands, which flung galaxies into elegant orbit, become the awkwardly uncontrolled hands of a newborn? How does your eternal being get inseparably woven into time-bound humanity? While the how of your incarnation widens my faith, may the wonder of why you’ve done this for me bring deep joy today. Amen. (Prayer based on the Westminster Confession, Q8.2)

*Prayer borrowed from Philip Reinders’ Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year

Reading Plan

This reading plan will help you to develop the habit of being in God’s Word each morning and evening. Come to this time with expectation. Expect God to reveal himself to you. Expect that he delights in you being there, even when you’ve wandered away. Growing a spiritual habit is a slow, patient process. So be kind to yourself as you grow! 

Readings are hyperlinked. Simply hover over the passage or click Morning/Evening Reading (email version).

Morning Readings:

Pray Psalm 100 | Read John 21

• Praying the Psalms: Read slowly. Take note of words and phrases. Bring them before the Lord in prayer and personalize the passage as you pray.
• NT Context: In deliberate parallel to the opening words of Genesis, John presents God as speaking salvation into existence. This time God’s word takes on human form and enters history in the person of Jesus. Jesus speaks the word and it happens: forgiveness and judgment, healing and illumination, mercy and grace, joy and love, freedom and resurrection. Everything broken and fallen, sinful and diseased, called into salvation by God’s spoken word. Jesus, in this account, not only speaks the word of God; he is the Word of God. Meditate on the passage, noting a few words or a phrase that stood out. Take them to God in prayer.

Evening Readings:

Pray Psalm 101 | Read 1 Chronicles 7

• OT Context: “Sovereignty, God’s sovereignty, is one of the most difficult things for people of faith to live out in everyday routines…This story makes it clear that it was not God’s idea that the Hebrews have a king, but since they insisted, he let them have their way. But God never abdicated his sovereignty to any of the Hebrew kings; the idea was that they would represent his sovereignty, not that he would delegate his sovereignty to them. Reflect on the passage. Who was the original audience, and what was their situation? How is that relevant to you today?

Sermon Devo

Winter series is coming up soon in late January. In the meantime, we will have a special short series called, “Words to Live By” where the pastors and elders of Oak Pointe Milford will share the passages and words that Christ has been using to shape them.

So during this series, we’re going to take a short break from the daily sermon devo. If this portion of the devo is part of your regular rhythm, then what should you do instead? 

Here’s one idea: Read along with our regular Old and New Testament readings and spend a few minutes after each reading simply dwelling in quietness before God. Think through what stood out to you, read the passages again, and then pray from those passages. 

Evening Prayer of Examen

• Where did you move with or feel close to Jesus today?
• Where did you resist or feel far from Jesus today?
• Where is Jesus leading you tomorrow? Ask for joy as you follow him.

Benediction