2023 Advent Devotional - Luke 2:21-35 (Day 26)

Luke 2:21-35 “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

Follow the plan.  This section of scripture recants what Mary and Joseph did with Jesus after he was born. They followed the scripture for their child as laid out by God from the book of Moses. They trusted and believed in the process and the plan.
So it should be with us. We need to follow the plan that God has provided for us with our Children, our lives. Deuteronomy 6: 7-8, “And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise.” Yes, being a follower of Christ is a mind set, a way of life. There are teachable moments though out the day, one just needs to be aware of them. Remember you can’t teach someone if they are not present to be taught.

Strive for a relationship with your child even when it is hard. Ephesians 6: 4 instructs us as follows, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” This verse is a reminder of the intent of the message, the disciple, the teachable moments we will have with our children. We need to pray that we are not looking at our own interest, but instead on the interest of our children. There has to be a purpose behind the discipline. It’s important for us to put into effect Hebrews 12: 11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Jesus, you have told us that there is no greater joy in seeing that our Children are following the truth. Give us wisdom, patience and the extra doses of love that are needed to train up our children in the way that they should go, so that when the get old they will not depart from it. 
- By Will Kiehl