Has the Manger's Familiarity Deadened Its Wonder?

Episode Summary. This agent of familiarity is hard at work this Christmas season, spreading layers of the poisonous dust of the ordinary over the manger in Bethlehem to deaden our senses to the staggering reality of what actually took place there. This episode seeks to blow off that dust to reveal with fresh clarity five ways the incarnation can evoke radical devotion to Jesus. May a fresh look at the incarnation fill us with fresh energy and passion to follow our Master well.

For Further Prayerful Thought

1. How do we balance the truth that sin is so heinous and God so just that only he could pay for our sin—the truth that we must take sin seriously—with the truth of God’s grace towards us and call to treat others with grace?
2. How can you better apply the truth that Jesus is your Great High Prist and Advocate, who fully understands every form of pain and injustice you experience?
3. How does Jesus’ choice to be born into a manger instead of a palace impact your heart?
4. In what way is the decision to become poor so that another becomes rich a definition of agape love? How can we better remember what it cost our Lord to redeem us?
5. How can we better draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit to change our default, subtle focus from ourselves to others and how I can serve them?

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