Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

“Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!” (Luke 12:51 NLT)

This may come as a shock to you, but the real Christmas story is not about love, peace, harmony, and gathering with family around a crackling fire. The real Christmas story is about conflict. It always has been, and it always will be. In Luke 12:51, Jesus said, “Do you think I have c...

“And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.” (Revelation 13:8 NLT)

We celebrate Christmas to rejoice over God’s most precious gift to us. The birth of Jesus Christ is a gift from God that came in simple wrapping, as well as a gift that we don’...

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT)

When you’re a child, Christmas is all about receiving gifts. In December, your head is swimming with nothing but images of your favorite toys. But the true message of Christmas is not the presents we give to one another. The true meaning is the gift that God gave to us, His Son Jesus Christ.

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“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:23 NLT)

As Christmas approaches, we have the opportunity to carefully consider the wonder of the Incarnation—that mysterious moment when God became a man. Of course, there’s no way for us to fully appreciate the sacrifice involved. But that shoul...

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2 NLT)

Christmas is a time of giving, and I’ve found it to be true that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. If you’re like me, you can’t wait to give your gifts. When you get something for someone, you want to see the joy they have in receiving it.

Matthew 2:11 tells us t...

“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’” (Matthew 1:20–21 NLT)

When an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph...

“She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” (Luke 2:7 NLT)

Imagine for a moment that it’s your birthday and your friends and family have decided to throw you a party. It isn’t just any party. It’s a mega party. Everyone that you know is there. There are gifts galore and the largest cak...

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!’” (Luke 1:26–28 NLT)

It’s difficult for us to understand, two thousand years after the eve...

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.” (Galatians 4:4–5 NLT)

When we think of Christmas, we think of the arrival of Jesus: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wo...

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” (James 1:17 NLT)

You’ve probably heard the saying, “All that glitters is not gold.” But it’s equally important to remember that all that’s gold doesn’t necessarily glitter. That is, not all valuable things appear...

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16–17 NLT)

When people give Christmas gifts to each other, they usually put a lot of thought into their selections before buying them. For better or worse, ...

“For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” (1 Timothy 2:5–6 NLT)

One way to prepare for Christmas is to consider the long-reaching implications of the Incarnation. There’s a reason that human history is split into two eras: be...

“Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 NLT)

In all your preparations for the holiday season, make sure you don’t miss the point of celebrating Christmas. Missing the profound meaning and implications of Jesus’ coming is surprisingly easy to do. The innkeeper in Bethlehem could have been an eyewitness to God’s arrival on earth. He could have been immortalized in na...

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isai...

“They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11 NLT)

One of the best ways to prepare for Christmas is to prepare for worship. Embracing a spirit of worship and praise opens our hearts to the true joy and meaning of Christmas. Worship has been central to...

“King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, ‘Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?’” (Matthew 2:3–4 NLT)

Imagine for a moment that you’re living in first-century Jerusalem. You hear mysterious visitors from the east speak of a star that has been leading them t...

“Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.” (Matthew 2:7 NLT)

We can prepare our hearts for Christmas not just by reading God’s Word, but also by reflecting on it. We can celebrate the fact that Jesus’ coming fulfilled prophecies that had been announced centuries earlier. We can lean into the trustworthiness of its promis...

“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” (Jeremiah 29:13 NLT)

If the Christmas story—the well-known narratives of Matthew 2 and Luke 2—is so familiar to you that you can practically recite it from memory, try considering it from a different perspective. Try thinking of it as the successful end to a long search.

The arrival of the wise men in Jerusalem likely created quite a stir. These w...

"For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross." —Colossians 1:19–20

One sobering way to prepare for Christmas is to remember that our spiritual enemy doesn’t take the holidays off. The apostle Peter wrote, “Stay alert!...