From: December 24, 2025
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8 ESV).
David, writing as a suffering servant of the LORD and speaking on behalf of God’s covenant people, prayed for renewed assurance of God’s steadfast love and clear direction for his life. Surrounded by enemies and pressed by troubles, he did not begin with strategy or self-confidence but with dependence on God’s character, specifically His love. David appealed to the LORD’s “chesed”—His covenant-keeping, loyal love—and rooted his request in trust rather than his own worthiness. He asked to hear of that love “in the morning,” expressing his daily dependence and need for encouragement. He also sought divine guidance, acknowledging that only God could reveal the right path. By lifting up his soul, David offered his whole life to God, modeling a posture of surrender for all who would follow the Lord.
This prayer is not only a personal cry; it is a pattern for our daily walk. We are invited to begin each day by acknowledging God’s steadfast love before facing the demands of life. We can ground our trust in Him before acting according to our own plans, feelings, or circumstances. We can seek God’s guidance for the steps we are to take, confessing that wisdom does not originate within us. We can lift up our soul, the seat of our will and desire, to the Father in humble surrender.
On this Christmas Eve morning, this prayer takes on even deeper meaning. David longed to hear of God’s steadfast love, but we celebrate that God did not merely speak His love—He sent it. John 3:16 declares that God so loved (“agapē”) the world that He gave His only Son. The “chesed” love promised in the Old Testament is the ‘agape” love revealed and embodied in Jesus Christ. Christmas is the moment when God’s love took on flesh. As we begin our days now, we do so with confidence, knowing God’s love has already been proven in Christ. This is how we learn, day after day, to hear His love at dawn, trusting Him to lead us where we should go.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we thank You for Your steadfast love that never fails. As we begin our days, help us to trust You above all else, to seek Your guidance in every step, and to lift up our whole soul to You. Thank You for sending Your love to us in Your Son. Teach us to hear Your love at dawn and to walk in faith throughout the day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 24, 2024
“And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD” (Zechariah 6:12 ESV)
The Lord told the prophet Zechariah to make a crown and set it on Joshua, the high priest’s head, repeating the words He had given him concerning the “Branch.” Who is this “Branch?” Was it the high priest, Joshua? Or was he referring to Zerubbabel, the leader of the exiles who was to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem?
The words of the prophecy were for neither of these, but for the One who would unite the offices of priest and king and build the true “temple of the Lord,” which is the Church. For the title, “the Branch,” is a clear reference to Messiah as prophesied by Isaiah (Isa. 11:1). The high priest’s name “Joshua,” or “Yeshua” as it is in the Hebrew, is the equivalent of the name “Jesus,” which means “God’s salvation.” Even the phrase “Behold, the man” is a Messianic prophecy that is unconsciously fulfilled in the mouth of Pilate at Christ’s trial (John 19:5).
This prophecy was partially fulfilled at Christ’s first advent, but will not be complete until His return. For Jesus has “laid the foundation” of the Church and on that Day, He “shall also complete it” (Zech. 4:9).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are amazed by the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. Our faith is increased by the perfection of Your Word. Therefore, we look forward to Christ’s soon return as we celebrate His first advent, knowing with confidence that He is coming again. Until then, strengthen us to live for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 24, 2023
“And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3 NLT).
The Apostle John saw a gathering of believers in heaven who had been faithful to the Lord, enduring the persecution of the beast during the tribulation, without worshiping his image nor taking his mark. John heard them singing a song, which he recognized as the song of Moses and of the Lamb. What kind of song was this?
Perhaps the song’s title was an expression of the unity of both the Old Testament, as signified by Moses, and the New Testament, as signified by the Lamb. Certainly, Moses was seen as a redeemer of the people of Israel, who led them out of Egyptian bondage. His life foreshadowed that of the Messiah, the Lamb of God who would redeem His people out from bondage to sin. Moses actually wrote a song of God’s redemption, which he and the Israelites sang together on the shore of the Red Sea after the Lord had parted the waters for them to cross (See Exodus 15).
John recorded the lyrics to the song that he heard the saints in heaven sing. Like the song of Moses, it is also a song of God’s redemption. Yet, the words point to a “King of the nations,” to whom all nations will one day come and worship. This King is the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
As we consider the Lamb of God born in a manger on this Christmas Eve, let us join the saints in heaven in singing of our Redeemer!
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Jesus, the Lamb of God. As we gather today with family and friends, help us to keep Jesus at the center of our celebration. For our Redeemer lives and we invite Him to sit at the head of our supper table today. Our Redeemer lives and we will sing of Him on this Christmas Eve! In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 24, 2022
ADVENT MEANS COMING
O how the psalmist David cried out to the Lord! He held nothing back in his prayers. Like a child insistently crying for his mother’s attention, David made his complaint known to the Lord. He would not be content until the Lord answered.
Have you seen a child in such a state? Nothing will do but his own mother’s touch. Even though another family member tries to comfort the child, his wailing grows more persistent. This is how David prayed for the Lord to “come quickly.”
On this Christmas Eve we remember that the Lord has come. Yet, we also look with confident expectation for Him to come again. As the apostle John closed his Revelation of Jesus Christ, he heard the Savior say, “Surely I come quickly,” to which he replied, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we give thanks for the many blessings You have bestowed on us this day. Above all, we give thanks for the gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Stretch forth Your hand to change hearts as we declare Your gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 24, 2016
Those who will come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah during the tribulation will sing a song of Moses and a song of the Lamb. These are Messianic Jews. The song of Moses may refer to the song that the Israelites sang in Exodus 15, a song of deliverance from Egypt. However, now they have believed in the Messiah of whom Moses was only a type. So, they also sing a song of the Lamb, celebrating the One who is both Savior and King. The ones singing this song of Moses and of the Lamb are the focus of the Great Tribulation. For while the seven years of tribulation are a time of judgment, they are also a time of great revival among the Jews who finally embrace Jesus as the Lamb of God. For some of us, the only way to get us to consider faith in Jesus, is to go through a time of tribulation. Many of us have to hit bottom before we will ever look up.