Let Us Go Now to Bethlehem. Todd Outcalt
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To Chelsey, Michael, and Logan
For Christmases past, present, and yet to come
Let Us Go Now to Bethlehem: Daily Devotions for Advent and Christmas
Copyright © 2020 by Todd Outcalt
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, write Upper Room Books, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37212.
Upper Room Books® website: upperroombooks.com
Upper Room®, Upper Room Books®, and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations not otherwise marked are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Hymns designated UMH are taken from The United Methodist Hymnal, Copyright ©1989 by The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN.
Front cover images: iStock and Shutterstock
Back cover image: 123RF
Cover design: Bruce Gore | Gore Studio, Inc.
Interior design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN
Print ISBN: 978-0-8358-1930-5
Mobi ISBN: 978-0-8358-1931-2
Epub ISBN: 978-0-8358-1932-9
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Part 1: Advent
First Week of Advent
Day 1: Being Alert
Day 2: Transformation
Day 3: True Charity
Day 4: A New Day
Day 5: Harmony
Day 6: Looking for Signs
Day 7: From Fear to Faith
Second Week of Advent
Day 8: Making Decisions
Day 9: Overcoming Adversity
Day 10: From Old to New
Day 11: Fear Not!
Day 12: Prepare
Day 13: Landscaping
Day 14: God’s Time
Third Week of Advent
Day 15: That’s the Spirit!
Day 16: Circumstantial Evidence
Day 17: Restoration
Day 18: A Mystery
Day 19: Greetings
Day 20: Family Life
Day 21: Wake-up Call
Fourth Week of Advent
Day 22: Planting Trees
Day 23: Getting Ready
Day 24: Mary’s Song
Day 25: Patience
Day 26: Signs of Life
Day 27: Rescued
Day 28: Christmas Eve
Part 2: Christmas
A Christmas Prayer
Christmas Day: Wonder
Second Day of Christmas: Ancestry
Third Day of Christmas: Hope
Fourth Day of Christmas: Count Your Blessings
Fifth Day of Christmas: Struggles
Sixth Day of Christmas: Test
Seventh Day of Christmas: Vision
Eighth Day of Christmas: Transformation
Ninth Day of Christmas: The Blessed Life
Tenth Day of Christmas: What’s the Good Word?
Eleventh Day of Christmas: Presents or Presence
Twelfth Day of Christmas: See the Light
The Epiphany: Givers
Questions for Personal Reflection and Small-Group Guide
About the Author
Notes
O little town of Bethlehem;
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by:
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
—Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”
—LUKE 2:15
We are all people of peculiar and particular histories.
We have our stories to tell—our sagas of challenges overcome, dreams dashed and fulfilled, adventures enjoyed, failures and successes, the names and faces of heroes and heroines. If offered the opportunity, we probably could list the highlights of our lives, along with the various low points, on a linear timeline.
But the truth is, we do not experience life in a linear fashion. Yes, we have beginnings and endings, mountains and valleys. But our existence is always experienced in the uncertainties of the great adventures that are before us and the foundation and learning that we pull behind. We can only learn from the past, and we anticipate what might