Here is today’s devotion to start your day.
Available now at Power, Love & Miracles:
Saints, Sinners, and Scandals: Shepherds by Night: The First Evangelists [PLM+]
A Prophecy that Includes Us: Joel. The Bible Unplugged podcast, episode 64
Sunset’s Dawn, Part 14- Jake talks to Mindy [PLM+]
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Scripture: John 1:1
“He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.”
Reflection
Jesus wasn’t just born into obscurity—He was born into rejection. Not by accident, but by design. The Word who spoke the world into being came to that world and was turned away. He arrived in the land of His ancestors, the cradle of His covenant, the soil He Himself had formed—and found no welcome.
His own people didn’t recognize Him. His own relatives didn’t make room. The religious leaders missed Him entirely.
We imagine Christmas with warm lights and open arms. But the true scene is starker: a borrowed stable, strangers for company, and the cry of divinity wrapped in rags.
From His very first breath, Jesus knew what it meant to be misunderstood, misjudged, and turned away. The rejection didn’t begin at the cross—it began at the crib.
And still… He came.
Because love doesn’t wait to be received. It arrives uninvited and makes itself vulnerable. It offers itself even when it knows it will be refused.
This is the scandal of Christmas: that God didn’t come to the deserving, the prepared, or the ready—but to us, in our blindness, our busyness, and our brokenness.
And still… He comes.
Centering Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You know what it feels like to be shut out, overlooked, unreceived. You chose rejection to show me I belong to You. Enter again the parts of me that feel cast off. Make them Your home. Let Your love heal what others refused to hold. – Amen
Practice for Today
Think of a time you’ve felt rejected or overlooked. Invite Jesus into that memory—not to erase it, but to show you how deeply He understands.
Journaling Prompt
Where in my story have I felt “unreceived”—and how might Jesus be entering that space now?
Blessing for the Day
He knows the pain of the closed door.
He has stood where you have stood—unseen, unwanted, misunderstood.
Let Him into the places you’ve sealed shut.
And let His love rewrite the story of your rejection.
Pray As You Go
Breathe in: You came to me…
Breathe out: … even when I didn’t see You