Here is today’s devotion to start your day.
Available now at Power, Love & Miracles:
Saints, Sinners, and Scandals: Conclusion: Unplugging Christmas [PLM+]
Christmas: When Power Bows to Providence. The Bible Unplugged podcast, episode 68
Sunset’s Dawn, Part 21. Jake introduces Jen to Mendy
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Scripture: Luke 24:27
“Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Reflection
The Christmas story is not a surprise twist—it’s the center of a pattern, the fulfillment of a promise.
Long before Mary held Jesus, God had been preparing the world to recognize Him. Through prophets, symbols, feasts, and laws, He was laying down a trail of divine breadcrumbs. A serpent-crusher. A child born of a virgin. A ruler from Bethlehem. A suffering servant. A light to the Gentiles.
Jesus wasn’t inserted into history—He is the point of history.
From the garden to the manger to the empty tomb, the story is seamless. And once your eyes are opened to it, you see it everywhere. The Passover lamb? That’s Him. The tabernacle in the wilderness? That’s Him. The manna from heaven, the water from the rock, the fourth man in the fire? All signs, all shadows, all leading to Jesus.
Even Christmas itself, with its lights, gifts, and gathering, echoes the gospel: light shining in darkness, a gift freely given, a family reunited by love.
The beauty of prophecy is not just prediction—it’s pattern. And God, the master artist, has been painting Christ into every corner of the story.
Centering Prayer
God of the Long Story,
You are the thread in every page. You wove redemption before we asked for it. Open my eyes to the patterns, to the echoes of Your promise. Let every verse I read lead me closer to Your heart. – Amen
Practice for Today
Choose one Old Testament passage today (such as Genesis 22, Exodus 12, or Isaiah 9) and look for ways it points to Jesus. Let Scripture connect the dots.
Journaling Prompt
How has recognizing prophecy and patterns in Scripture deepened my faith in God’s timing and purpose?
Blessing for the Day
Let the story behind the story fill you with awe.
Every prophecy becomes a thread that binds your heart to His.
The pattern is not coincidence—it is love, woven through time.
Claim that you are part of its unfolding beauty.
Pray As You Go
Breathe in: Every page…
Breath out: … points to You
