{"id":306586,"date":"2020-11-30T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/the-christmas-story-up-close\/"},"modified":"2020-11-30T07:00:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-30T12:00:05","slug":"the-christmas-story-up-close","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-christmas-story-up-close\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christmas Story- Up Close"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where is Christ in the busyness of the Christmas season? David Mathis gives insight on how to draw from the awe and wonder of the original Christmas story to refocus our hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/mp3.familylife.com\/fl2020-11-30.mp3","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:25:55","filesize":"23.74M","filesize_raw":"24890555","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2816,2822,2891],"tags":[4642],"podcast_series":[8412],"cwp_profile":[9675],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-306586","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","category-growing-in-your-faith","category-making-memories","tag-christmas","podcast_series-the-christmas-we-didnt-expect","cwp_profile-david-mathis","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/306586\/the-christmas-story-up-close","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/306586\/the-christmas-story-up-close","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"iIRakgLOvm\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-christmas-story-up-close\/\">The Christmas Story- Up Close<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-christmas-story-up-close\/embed\/#?secret=iIRakgLOvm\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;The Christmas Story- Up Close&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"iIRakgLOvm\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"spectra_custom_meta":{"_wp_page_template":["default"],"transcript_url":["https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2020-11-30.pdf"],"audio_file":["https:\/\/mp3.familylife.com\/fl2020-11-30.mp3"],"transcript_content":["<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave: <\/strong>You know, the toys\u2014they are going to be in a closet in five years\u2014but when you find a mission that\u2019s changing the world, and you generously give to that\u2014that\u2019s eternal. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dave:<\/strong> I\u2019ve got to tell you. This has been one incredible year. I mean, think about the year we\u2019ve just gone through; and it\u2019s really been hard. It\u2019s really impacted, in many ways in negative ways, marriages. They are in trouble; there are people struggling, getting divorced through this year. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Oh, it breaks our hearts!\u2014like it has been really hard to <em>hear<\/em>. We\u2019ve received so many prayer requests here; and man, we\u2019ve been praying. We know that people, more than ever, are needing Jesus; they need hope; they need help. We <em>want<\/em> to help! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> We get to be a messenger for grace. <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> speaks into marriages that are in trouble, and it\u2019s <em>critical<\/em>. Think about this\u2014and I want you to hear me\u2014this is a year, of all years, to support what we\u2019re doing\/to be a partner with us, because what we do brings help and hope. Literally, it changed our marriage.; it\u2019s changed your marriage, I\u2019m guessing. And you get to be a chance to help others. I\u2019m looking you right in the eye: \u201cWith me, we\u2019re going to give generously. We are asking you to help us, because we can literally be <em>life<\/em> for people in this moment.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> From here to the end of the year is a <em>significant<\/em> time for us at FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>. What happens over the next few weeks will determine what 2021 is going to look like for our ministry. We\u2019ve had to make some hard calls this year, because we faced financial challenges; so we want to ask <em>you<\/em> to give. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHere is the <em>good<\/em> news about all of this. When you make a donation today, whatever amount you give is going to be matched, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $2 million. We\u2019ve had some friends of the ministry, who have agreed to provide this matching-gift opportunity. We\u2019re pretty excited about that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> So you give a gift today; your gift of $100 is matched with $100 from the matching fund. If it\u2019s a $1,000, there is another $1,000 that comes out of that matching fund. Whatever you give, it\u2019s going to be matched, dollar for dollar. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re going to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d by sending you a couple of thank-you gifts. First, we\u2019ll send you a copy of my book, <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em>, which is all about what the Bible has to say about what real love looks like in a marriage relationship. And we\u2019ll send you a flash drive\u2014this is pretty cool\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014more than 100 of the best <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> programs from the past 28 years. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s amazing! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> We\u2019ve gone through and pulled out what have been listener favorites on marriage, on parenting, some of the great stories we\u2019ve heard over the years. This flash drive is the best of the best. It features you guys, Dennis and Barbara Rainey, guests we\u2019ve had. We\u2019ll send the flash drive and the book as a thank-you gift when you donate today. You can go to FamilyLifeToday.com to make your donation, or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY. We just want to start this week off by saying, \u201cWill you help us out here at <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>?\u201d We need to hear from you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also want to talk about Christmas and getting ready for Christmas. You know, I think, over the years, as we\u2019ve gone through this with our family, I\u2019ve started to look forward more and more to the spiritual season of Christmas\u2014not just the holiday and the traditions\u2014but keeping\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014Jesus at the center of all of this is so\u2014not only so important\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> It\u2019s critical, I think. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014it\u2019s such an <em>opportunity<\/em> for us, as parents. It\u2019s like, in volleyball, it\u2019s the set at the top of the net. You\u2019ve got a chance to spike home some really good, solid, spiritual truth over the next several weeks. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve got David Mathis joining us this week on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. David, welcome. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Thank you, Bob. Good to be here. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> He\u2019s like, \u201cAre you guys ever going to stop talking so we can talk about something of substance?\u201d [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> David is an author; he is a speaker. Do you work fulltime with Desiring God? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> I do; yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Anybody who goes to the Desiring God website\u2014and sees articles\u2014I\u2019ve benefitted from so much of your writing on there. Now, the Advent devotional that you\u2019ve put together called <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>, which your heart for this book is so that, in the midst of a busy season, we can keep calling our hearts back to what this season is all about. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right; we want to keep Christ <em>central<\/em> in this season. When we get the volleyball set\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014that Christians would spike that in our families, in our churches, with our neighbors. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> And we would know how to spike it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I think that\u2019s what you\u2019ve done; you\u2019ve given us a tool\/a reminder\u2014Scripture. I love your book; because it really does give us some new insight, maybe, that we haven\u2019t discovered in the Bible\/that we haven\u2019t noticed before. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Explain Advent because some people didn\u2019t grow up hearing about Advent like\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Your church didn\u2019t do anything with\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t grow up knowing what Advent was. There\u2019s a lot of people who don\u2019t know what it means. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Advent is based on a Latin word, <em>adventus<\/em>, that means \u201ccoming\u201d or \u201carrival.\u201d It\u2019s the marking of\/the celebrating of the <em>coming<\/em> of God Himself in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. Advent is\u2014it\u2019s a season of <em>waiting<\/em> for that great coming\/that great <em>first<\/em> coming. There\/also, the second coming gets drawn in as well. When we sing, \u201cJoy to the world, the Lord has come\u2026,\u201d Isaac Watts wrote that about the <em>second<\/em> coming. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> And we sing it at Christmas, because there <em>is<\/em> this kind of mapping on of the first coming to the second coming. The Old Testament saints <em>waited<\/em> for the first coming; we\u2019re waiting for the second coming; there\u2019s an overlap there. That first Advent\/that main Advent is the <em>coming<\/em> of Jesus in that first Christmas that we celebrate on our seasons. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> This is something that has been a part of church tradition and the church calendar for <em>centuries<\/em>. There\u2019s really not anything in the Bible that points us to Advent as something we\u2019re supposed to do; but the Bible does point us to the events that happen before Jesus came and reflecting on that is really what Advent is about; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right, Bob. You said a minute ago about Advent being an opportunity. I like to say that Advent is not an obligation; it\u2019s an opportunity. Romans 14 is very clear that Christians are <em>not mandated<\/em> to celebrate days, and feasts, and seasons. There is no biblical mandate that you must celebrate Advent during the December time, or Lent during the Easter season, or a specific Christmas Day\/a specific Easter Day\u2014these are <em>options<\/em>; these are <em>opportunities<\/em> for us as a Christian. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I want us to do, since most of us <em>do<\/em> celebrate some sort of Christmas season, is: \u201cLet\u2019s make Jesus central in it. Let\u2019s make the most of that opportunity that is Advent.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> And Advent also says, \u201cDon\u2019t start on December 24<sup>th<\/sup>\u201d; right? It\u2019s like: \u201cBack it up and take a month\u201d? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right. One way to say it is: \u201cThe 24 hours of Christmas Day is just too little time to celebrate how <em>stupendous<\/em> it is that God Himself <em>became<\/em> human and tabernacled among us in the person of Christ.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne way to approach Advent is to say: \u201cHey, let\u2019s take 24 <em>days<\/em> and more to prepare our hearts and to lengthen out the celebration\u201d; because that\u2019s one way that Advent serves us\u2014is by lengthening the celebration of Christmas back toward our Thanksgiving\/back toward the early parts of December. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut another aspect\u2014and this is the way that Christians have <em>mainly<\/em> talked about Advent throughout the history of the church\u2014is Advent is a season of <em>waiting<\/em>. It\u2019s like the fast before the feast. When you fast before a feast, the feast tastes <em>all the better<\/em>. As you mark the Advent season with <em>waiting<\/em>, and with putting yourselves back into the <em>shoes<\/em> of God\u2019s first covenant people as they <em>waited<\/em>\u2014year after year, century after century\u2014for this promised, anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah to come\u2014it\u2019s captured so well in the song, <em>O Come, O Come Emmanuel<\/em>, with the minor chords\u2014how they <em>waited<\/em>. <em>O Come, O Come Emmanuel<\/em> is a really good <em>theme<\/em> song for Advent as a season of waiting. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs we rehearse that together, as Christians, we grow in anticipation; we grow in our patience; and we ready ourselves for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas Day. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> In the history of the church, some people have looked at Advent and looked at Christmas differently. They\u2019ve seen Advent as this time of waiting; they don\u2019t put up the decorations early. They don\u2019t put presents under the tree early. They kind of save everything for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> We\u2019ve all heard about <em>The Twelve Days of Christmas<\/em> because we sing the silly song; but most of us don\u2019t know what the twelve days of Christmas means. It, typically\u2014this is more often than not in church history\u2014people have\/the church has celebrated the twelve days of Christmas. They\u2019ve said: \u201cThis is such a significant celebration; let\u2019s lengthen it out to twelve days,\u201d\u2014so December 25<sup>th<\/sup> through \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJanuary 6<sup>th<\/sup>\u2014January 6<sup>th<\/sup> being the Epiphany, which is Greek for \u201cappearing\u201d or \u201ccoming.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou get this Advent season of celebrating Jesus\u2019s coming; you\u2019ve got January 6<sup>th<\/sup> celebrating the arrival of Jesus among us; and there is a twelve-day season there to celebrate this great <em>feast<\/em> of Christmas. Advent, then, is the <em>fast<\/em> coming before the feast. Sometimes, Christians have been strict and said: \u201cLet\u2019s not do the Christmas tree,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s not do the decorations,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s not sing the bright, happy Christmas songs,\u201d\u2014that we love, like <em>Joy to the World<\/em>\/\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014\u201c<em>Hark! The Herald Angels Sing<\/em>\u2014\u201cLet\u2019s not sing that <em>until<\/em> the twelve days of Christmas,\u201d\u2014which if, that\u2019s what you do\u2014God bless you; that\u2019s fantastic. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat you want to do in your home\u2014that\u2019s great\u2014I want to help you keep <em>Jesus<\/em> central in that season. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Well, David, in your book, you talk about how the first Christmas teemed with the unexpected. Even the title of your book, <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>, what do you mean by that? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> It is amazing to reflect on <em>how<\/em> many things were unexpected in that first Christmas. For us, it seems so obvious. I mean, we do it every\u2014the wise men come every year; the shepherds come every year\u2014we\u2019re so used to the story. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> But to put ourselves <em>back<\/em> there, 2,000 years\u2014and to think of the surprising way God did all the twists and turns\u2014that King David would talk about his great Messiah\/his great descendant that would be coming; and then it would be 1,000 years\/Isaiah would prophesy; and it would be 700 more years, and Malachi would give us the last revelation in the Old Testament. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFour hundred more years after Malachi, and then, that the angel would come to an unwed woman?\u2014the virgin birth is one of the <em>great<\/em> surprises. And then the angel would come to <em>Nazareth<\/em>\u2014such an out of the way place that all the Gospels have to <em>explain<\/em> what it is, because readers have never <em>heard<\/em> of Nazareth\u2014it is a backwater town. People have heard of Bethlehem; that was the City of David\u2014it\u2019s small compared to Jerusalem\u2014but nobody ever heard of <em>Nazareth<\/em>. That is <em>serious<\/em> backwater. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne detail after another\u2014that God would save His Son by bringing Him out of <em>Herod\u2019s<\/em> jurisdiction to Egypt\u2014God saved His people from <em>Egypt<\/em>; now, they are going to <em>Egypt<\/em> to save His Son. There is one unexpected thing after another. Even in that early season, when He goes to temple to be dedicated, that Simeon, an old man, would say to Mary that: \u201cA sword will pierce your soul as well.\u201d \u201cWhat do you mean?\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014\u201ctalking about this little baby?\u2014a sword is going to pierce Him, and a sword is going to pierce <em>Mary\u2019s<\/em> soul as well? What\u2019s going on?\u2014what tragic\/what catastrophe is going to <em>happen<\/em> to this child?\u201d It is one unexpected thing after another. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe magi and the shepherds are a part of that as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Now, when you go through the Advent season with your family, do you start talking about those kinds of things? I mean, what\u2019s it look like for a family\u2014you\u2019ve got twins; right?\u2014a ten-year-old? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Twin boys who are ten; my daughter, Gloria, has a Christmas birthday. The book is dedicated to Gloria. She will be six\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014this Advent. Then, Mercy is three-and-a-half. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Talk to me. A lot of families are listening; they are like, \u201cOkay; I\u2019m going to do this Advent thing; I\u2019ve never really done it. What would it look like?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Alright. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> First of all, get your book; right? [Laughter] You\u2019ve got to start there; and then what? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Here is an idea. If you\u2019re a father of a family like mine, with young kids, the kids can handle a verse or two\u2014it\u2019s really direct\u2014and then Daddy\u2019s heartfelt explanation of why that verse matters. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat we\u2019ve done at the Mathis house the last couple Advents\u2014and you can do it very differently, and I think we\u2019ll probably do it again this way this year\u2014is we take one verse for each day. Beginning December 1, I\u2019ve got a verse assigned to that day all the way through December 24<sup>th<\/sup>. We wrap up the verse: we print it out and wrap it up with a piece of chocolate. Then we take that verse for the day, unwrap it; I read the verse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wait! Who gets the chocolate? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> We all do. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Oh, you all get a piece. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s why it\u2019s <em>good<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Okay; good. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Mommy and I get chocolate too. [Laughter]Unwrap\u2014read the verse and give my explanation of why that verse is significant: \u201cWhat is the <em>meaning<\/em> of that verse related to Christmas and the season of our celebrating?\u201d Then we break up the chocolate, and we all hold it up. I say, \u201cChrist has come,\u201d and all the kids say, \u201cChrist will come again\u201d; then we eat the chocolate. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Good. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> See, if you want to know what my 24 verses would be, there is a verse at the beginning of each chapter. Day 1, Day 2\u2014all the way through Chapter 24\u2014each has a banner verse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne thing you could do\/one way you could use this resource for your own devotions during Advent\u2014as well as for your children\u2014is Mom and Dad could read the meditation on the verse and then close the book, put the book aside, gather the kids, read the one verse, and then just share from your heart what comes to mind from reading the devotional\u2014any thought\/anything that struck you\u2014share that with your kids just briefly, and maybe have a chocolate together, and pray together. [Laughter] That\u2019s one way to move through Advent. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Well, I mean, the beauty of that is\u2014we\u2019ve never done this. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> No; we haven\u2019t celebrated Advent. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I mean, when you\u2019ve got tickets to a great concert, and you start counting the days, you get so excited\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Oh, yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> \u2014because you know\u2014I mean, I was thinking, when you were talking about Advent, the NFL does this every week. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Oh my; that\u2019s right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> If you think about what people do, it\u2019s just crazy\u2014they watch pre-game shows all week long. I know I\u2019ve done this when I watch the Super Bowl; I\u2019ll sit down and watch the pre-game I <em>never<\/em> do that [for other games]; I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, I\u2019m so excited now for the game,\u201d because I know some of the backstory. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what Advent is doing. It\u2019s like taking you back, [saying], \u201cGet your heart read; get your heart ready; get your heart ready,\u201d day after day after day. It makes the day so much more significant. I can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve never done this, <em>honestly<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> I know so few dads that would say, \u201cOh, our family devotions are really where we want them to be. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re doing it every day. It\u2019s the right length.\u201d Usually, there\u2019s always, \u201cOh, I go way too long,\u201d or \u201cWe don\u2019t have the devotions,\u201d or \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go how I want.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAdvent is a <em>great<\/em> opportunity to work on that as a family. It\u2019s a good occasion to say, \u201cYou know what? We\u2019re going to do this <em>daily<\/em>\u2014is one verse. I\u2019m going to read one verse, and I\u2019ll give you 30 to 60 seconds of why I think that verse is important, and let\u2019s pray together.\u201d That could be a great thing to do in your family to help just jump start a spiritual dynamic\/a family devotion that would be regular if it\u2019s not daily. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You say in your book, \u201cChristmas is not a beginning; it\u2019s a <em>becoming<\/em>\u201d? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Oh, yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> What does that mean? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Okay; that\u2019s talking about the incarnation, about God Himself becoming man. Jesus <em>didn\u2019t start<\/em> in Mary\u2019s womb. The eternal second Person of the Trinity has <em>always<\/em> existed; so Christmas is, in that sense, a <em>becoming<\/em>. It\u2019s not Jesus\u2019 beginning, but God Himself, in the person of His Son, is taking on our full humanity. He <em>becomes<\/em> human without ceasing to be God. This is just amazing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis is an important truth for us to understand, as humans, that humanity and divinity aren\u2019t opposed to each other on the same plain of reality such that to be fully human means you can\u2019t be God. For Jesus, He is fully human and fully God; humanity and divinity operate on different levels of reality such that fully God can take on full humanity\u2014that God Himself can become man <em>without ceasing<\/em> to be God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what we mean in the book by saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a becoming; it\u2019s not a beginning.\u201d Jesus doesn\u2019t start in Bethlehem; He doesn\u2019t start in Mary\u2019s womb. Jesus has <em>always<\/em> been there in happy, joy, and relationship with His Father; and the Father sent the divine Son, who became human, at that first Christmas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> We\u2019ve just got a little understanding of the <em>Hypostatic<\/em> Union? [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> The <em>hypostatic<\/em> union\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if people understand that, but you just\u2014[Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Look at you throwing out a <em>theological<\/em> term like that! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You know, I actually went to seminary about 50 years ago. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I <em>know<\/em> that; I <em>know<\/em> that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> No; I mean, you literally just described it, and didn\u2019t even use the term. People are like, \u201cWow; that\u2019s a powerful concept.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> A little insider tip\u2014is that so much theological language is really just to help keep in place very simple realities. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>David:<\/strong> If you just learn the terms, you see how simple they can be. <em>Hypostatic<\/em> is just the Greek word for \u201cperson.\u201d It would be much easier for us to call it the One-Person Union; by that, what we mean is that united in the one Person of the divine Son\/the eternal divine Son\u2014in that one Person\u2014there is the union of full divinity and full humanity. It didn\u2019t happen at the same time\u2014Jesus has always been fully divine; He\u2019s always been fully God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, at Christmas\u2014this is what we mark\/this is why Christmas is so significant\u2014He <em>became<\/em> one of us to the <em>full<\/em>\u2014fully human body, human emotions, human mind, human will. He took on our human <em>environment<\/em>. He <em>identified<\/em> with us in totality, except for sin, that He might come and save us. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I <em>love<\/em> your enthusiasm about this; because as you\u2019re talking, I\u2019m thinking, \u201cKids would get this.\u201d You could explain it in a way that, I mean, God is fully God but fully human. To explain that to your kids, they can kind of start grasping it. If you are excited about it, your kids are going to get excited about it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOur daughter-in-law puts out her nativity scene; and as she does that\u2014the first time I went over to her house, I said, \u201cWhy are all the shepherds over here across the room?\u201d She said, \u201cOh, the journey has just begun.\u201d I thought, \u201cEven that, it would be so fun to move the shepherds\u00a0 a little closer every day, and to explain what is going on in history right now; because kids can get that visual, and they can start to feel what is going on.\u201d\u00a0 Even the fact that the angels came and sang to these shepherds, who were nobody out in the field, that could be so fun to have a conversation about that with the kids. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to find it; I thought, maybe, I could find it here on my computer right now; but I can\u2019t. One Christmas\u2014right before Christmas, when our girls were still, I think, like seven and four\u2014maybe six and three\u2014Mary Ann said, \u201cCome in here. Sit down in the living room.\u201d She said, \u201cThe girls have got something for you.\u201d I said, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d They stood by the fireplace, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled. They said, \u201cIn those days, there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night in the fields.\u201d They went through Luke 2. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> They had memorized about 12 verses of Scripture, the Christmas story from Luke. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s <em>impressive<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> It was <em>very<\/em> impressive. I\u2019m not sure Katie understood about half the words she was saying [Laughter], but this is something Mary Ann had been working on with them during the Advent season. They gave it as a gift to Daddy right before Christmas. This is how a mom and a dad can say, \u201cWe\u2019re going to make Jesus the center of December.\u201d There is a lot going on with so many activities and so much busyness that we can set Jesus off to the side and kind of get to Christmas even, go, \u201cOh, yes, yes; it\u2019s about Jesus tomorrow; isn\u2019t it?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think, David, this is what you are doing in this devotional you\u2019ve written. You\u2019re saying, \u201cDon\u2019t let this season become a distraction. Make sure our focus is on what it ought to be on.\u201d The book that David has written is a devotional called <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect: Daily Devotions for Advent<\/em>. I know Advent is underway, but you can get a copy of the book now and get caught up once the book arrives. Go to FamilyLifeToday.com to order David Mathis\u2019s book, <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>; or you can call us for more information. Our number is 1-800-FL-TODAY. Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com; or order David Mathis\u2019s book, <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>, by calling 1-800-358-6329\u2014that\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tQuick reminder\u2014we\u2019ve already talked about this today\u2014the month of December is going to be a significant month for us, here, at FamilyLife\u2014the month ahead. We\u2019ve had some friends, who have made a significant offer to us. They have agreed that they will match every donation we receive this month, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $2 million. Of course, we\u2019re hoping to take full advantage of that matching-gift opportunity. We\u2019re asking <em>you<\/em> to make as generous a yearend contribution as you possibly can. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf God has used this ministry in your life, if you believe in what we\u2019re all about here at FamilyLife, if you want to see FamilyLife continue on your local radio station, be as generous as you can be. Go online or give us a call and make a yearend contribution. We\u2019ll say, \u201cThank you,\u201d when you do by sending you two things: a copy of my book, <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em>, which is all about 1 Corinthians 13 and how that applies in a marriage relationship; and we\u2019ll send you a flash drive that has the top 100 <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> programs of all time\u2014programs on marriage, programs on parenting, on family, some great interviews we\u2019ve done with names you will recognize through the years. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe flash drive is our thank-you gift to you, along with my book, <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em>, when you make a yearend contribution. Again, you can do that today. You can get that out of the way; get it done for the year\u2014go to FamilyLifeToday.com to donate, or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to donate over the phone. Thanks, in advance, for your support of this ministry; and we do look forward to hearing from you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, tomorrow, we\u2019re going to continue to look at the details of the Christmas story to see the surprising things we learn about God and His grace by studying the birth of Jesus. David Mathis joins us, again, tomorrow. I hope you can be with us as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas; a Cru<sup>\u00ae <\/sup>Ministry. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2020 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>"],"_seopress_titles_title":[""],"_seopress_titles_desc":[""],"_seopress_robots_index":[""],"duration":["00:25:55"],"show_notes":[""],"_thumbnail_id":["294104"],"filesize":["23.74M"],"filesize_raw":["24890555"],"_uag_css_file_name":["uag-css-306586.css"],"_uag_js_file_name":["uag-js-306586.js"],"_uag_page_assets":["a:9:{s:3:\"css\";s:82560:\".wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape-top svg{width: calc( 100% + 1.3px );}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape.uagb-container__shape-top .uagb-container__shape-fill{fill: rgba(51,51,51,1);}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape-bottom svg{width: calc( 100% + 1.3px );}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape.uagb-container__shape-bottom 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is Christ in the busyness of the Christmas season? David Mathis gives insight on how to draw from the awe and wonder of the original Christmas story to refocus our hearts.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2020-11-30.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave: <\/strong>You know, the toys\u2014they are going to be in a closet in five years\u2014but when you find a mission that\u2019s changing the world, and you generously give to that\u2014that\u2019s eternal. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dave:<\/strong> I\u2019ve got to tell you. This has been one incredible year. I mean, think about the year we\u2019ve just gone through; and it\u2019s really been hard. It\u2019s really impacted, in many ways in negative ways, marriages. They are in trouble; there are people struggling, getting divorced through this year. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Oh, it breaks our hearts!\u2014like it has been really hard to <em>hear<\/em>. We\u2019ve received so many prayer requests here; and man, we\u2019ve been praying. We know that people, more than ever, are needing Jesus; they need hope; they need help. We <em>want<\/em> to help! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> We get to be a messenger for grace. <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> speaks into marriages that are in trouble, and it\u2019s <em>critical<\/em>. Think about this\u2014and I want you to hear me\u2014this is a year, of all years, to support what we\u2019re doing\/to be a partner with us, because what we do brings help and hope. Literally, it changed our marriage.; it\u2019s changed your marriage, I\u2019m guessing. And you get to be a chance to help others. I\u2019m looking you right in the eye: \u201cWith me, we\u2019re going to give generously. We are asking you to help us, because we can literally be <em>life<\/em> for people in this moment.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> From here to the end of the year is a <em>significant<\/em> time for us at FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>. What happens over the next few weeks will determine what 2021 is going to look like for our ministry. We\u2019ve had to make some hard calls this year, because we faced financial challenges; so we want to ask <em>you<\/em> to give. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHere is the <em>good<\/em> news about all of this. When you make a donation today, whatever amount you give is going to be matched, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $2 million. We\u2019ve had some friends of the ministry, who have agreed to provide this matching-gift opportunity. We\u2019re pretty excited about that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> So you give a gift today; your gift of $100 is matched with $100 from the matching fund. If it\u2019s a $1,000, there is another $1,000 that comes out of that matching fund. Whatever you give, it\u2019s going to be matched, dollar for dollar. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re going to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d by sending you a couple of thank-you gifts. First, we\u2019ll send you a copy of my book, <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em>, which is all about what the Bible has to say about what real love looks like in a marriage relationship. And we\u2019ll send you a flash drive\u2014this is pretty cool\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014more than 100 of the best <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> programs from the past 28 years. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s amazing! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> We\u2019ve gone through and pulled out what have been listener favorites on marriage, on parenting, some of the great stories we\u2019ve heard over the years. This flash drive is the best of the best. It features you guys, Dennis and Barbara Rainey, guests we\u2019ve had. We\u2019ll send the flash drive and the book as a thank-you gift when you donate today. You can go to FamilyLifeToday.com to make your donation, or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY. We just want to start this week off by saying, \u201cWill you help us out here at <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>?\u201d We need to hear from you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also want to talk about Christmas and getting ready for Christmas. You know, I think, over the years, as we\u2019ve gone through this with our family, I\u2019ve started to look forward more and more to the spiritual season of Christmas\u2014not just the holiday and the traditions\u2014but keeping\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014Jesus at the center of all of this is so\u2014not only so important\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> It\u2019s critical, I think. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014it\u2019s such an <em>opportunity<\/em> for us, as parents. It\u2019s like, in volleyball, it\u2019s the set at the top of the net. You\u2019ve got a chance to spike home some really good, solid, spiritual truth over the next several weeks. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve got David Mathis joining us this week on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. David, welcome. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Thank you, Bob. Good to be here. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> He\u2019s like, \u201cAre you guys ever going to stop talking so we can talk about something of substance?\u201d [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> David is an author; he is a speaker. Do you work fulltime with Desiring God? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> I do; yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Anybody who goes to the Desiring God website\u2014and sees articles\u2014I\u2019ve benefitted from so much of your writing on there. Now, the Advent devotional that you\u2019ve put together called <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>, which your heart for this book is so that, in the midst of a busy season, we can keep calling our hearts back to what this season is all about. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right; we want to keep Christ <em>central<\/em> in this season. When we get the volleyball set\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014that Christians would spike that in our families, in our churches, with our neighbors. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> And we would know how to spike it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I think that\u2019s what you\u2019ve done; you\u2019ve given us a tool\/a reminder\u2014Scripture. I love your book; because it really does give us some new insight, maybe, that we haven\u2019t discovered in the Bible\/that we haven\u2019t noticed before. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Explain Advent because some people didn\u2019t grow up hearing about Advent like\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Your church didn\u2019t do anything with\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t grow up knowing what Advent was. There\u2019s a lot of people who don\u2019t know what it means. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Advent is based on a Latin word, <em>adventus<\/em>, that means \u201ccoming\u201d or \u201carrival.\u201d It\u2019s the marking of\/the celebrating of the <em>coming<\/em> of God Himself in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. Advent is\u2014it\u2019s a season of <em>waiting<\/em> for that great coming\/that great <em>first<\/em> coming. There\/also, the second coming gets drawn in as well. When we sing, \u201cJoy to the world, the Lord has come\u2026,\u201d Isaac Watts wrote that about the <em>second<\/em> coming. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> And we sing it at Christmas, because there <em>is<\/em> this kind of mapping on of the first coming to the second coming. The Old Testament saints <em>waited<\/em> for the first coming; we\u2019re waiting for the second coming; there\u2019s an overlap there. That first Advent\/that main Advent is the <em>coming<\/em> of Jesus in that first Christmas that we celebrate on our seasons. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> This is something that has been a part of church tradition and the church calendar for <em>centuries<\/em>. There\u2019s really not anything in the Bible that points us to Advent as something we\u2019re supposed to do; but the Bible does point us to the events that happen before Jesus came and reflecting on that is really what Advent is about; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right, Bob. You said a minute ago about Advent being an opportunity. I like to say that Advent is not an obligation; it\u2019s an opportunity. Romans 14 is very clear that Christians are <em>not mandated<\/em> to celebrate days, and feasts, and seasons. There is no biblical mandate that you must celebrate Advent during the December time, or Lent during the Easter season, or a specific Christmas Day\/a specific Easter Day\u2014these are <em>options<\/em>; these are <em>opportunities<\/em> for us as a Christian. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I want us to do, since most of us <em>do<\/em> celebrate some sort of Christmas season, is: \u201cLet\u2019s make Jesus central in it. Let\u2019s make the most of that opportunity that is Advent.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> And Advent also says, \u201cDon\u2019t start on December 24<sup>th<\/sup>\u201d; right? It\u2019s like: \u201cBack it up and take a month\u201d? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s right. One way to say it is: \u201cThe 24 hours of Christmas Day is just too little time to celebrate how <em>stupendous<\/em> it is that God Himself <em>became<\/em> human and tabernacled among us in the person of Christ.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne way to approach Advent is to say: \u201cHey, let\u2019s take 24 <em>days<\/em> and more to prepare our hearts and to lengthen out the celebration\u201d; because that\u2019s one way that Advent serves us\u2014is by lengthening the celebration of Christmas back toward our Thanksgiving\/back toward the early parts of December. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut another aspect\u2014and this is the way that Christians have <em>mainly<\/em> talked about Advent throughout the history of the church\u2014is Advent is a season of <em>waiting<\/em>. It\u2019s like the fast before the feast. When you fast before a feast, the feast tastes <em>all the better<\/em>. As you mark the Advent season with <em>waiting<\/em>, and with putting yourselves back into the <em>shoes<\/em> of God\u2019s first covenant people as they <em>waited<\/em>\u2014year after year, century after century\u2014for this promised, anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah to come\u2014it\u2019s captured so well in the song, <em>O Come, O Come Emmanuel<\/em>, with the minor chords\u2014how they <em>waited<\/em>. <em>O Come, O Come Emmanuel<\/em> is a really good <em>theme<\/em> song for Advent as a season of waiting. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs we rehearse that together, as Christians, we grow in anticipation; we grow in our patience; and we ready ourselves for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas Day. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> In the history of the church, some people have looked at Advent and looked at Christmas differently. They\u2019ve seen Advent as this time of waiting; they don\u2019t put up the decorations early. They don\u2019t put presents under the tree early. They kind of save everything for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> We\u2019ve all heard about <em>The Twelve Days of Christmas<\/em> because we sing the silly song; but most of us don\u2019t know what the twelve days of Christmas means. It, typically\u2014this is more often than not in church history\u2014people have\/the church has celebrated the twelve days of Christmas. They\u2019ve said: \u201cThis is such a significant celebration; let\u2019s lengthen it out to twelve days,\u201d\u2014so December 25<sup>th<\/sup> through \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJanuary 6<sup>th<\/sup>\u2014January 6<sup>th<\/sup> being the Epiphany, which is Greek for \u201cappearing\u201d or \u201ccoming.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou get this Advent season of celebrating Jesus\u2019s coming; you\u2019ve got January 6<sup>th<\/sup> celebrating the arrival of Jesus among us; and there is a twelve-day season there to celebrate this great <em>feast<\/em> of Christmas. Advent, then, is the <em>fast<\/em> coming before the feast. Sometimes, Christians have been strict and said: \u201cLet\u2019s not do the Christmas tree,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s not do the decorations,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s not sing the bright, happy Christmas songs,\u201d\u2014that we love, like <em>Joy to the World<\/em>\/\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014\u201c<em>Hark! The Herald Angels Sing<\/em>\u2014\u201cLet\u2019s not sing that <em>until<\/em> the twelve days of Christmas,\u201d\u2014which if, that\u2019s what you do\u2014God bless you; that\u2019s fantastic. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat you want to do in your home\u2014that\u2019s great\u2014I want to help you keep <em>Jesus<\/em> central in that season. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Well, David, in your book, you talk about how the first Christmas teemed with the unexpected. Even the title of your book, <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>, what do you mean by that? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> It is amazing to reflect on <em>how<\/em> many things were unexpected in that first Christmas. For us, it seems so obvious. I mean, we do it every\u2014the wise men come every year; the shepherds come every year\u2014we\u2019re so used to the story. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> But to put ourselves <em>back<\/em> there, 2,000 years\u2014and to think of the surprising way God did all the twists and turns\u2014that King David would talk about his great Messiah\/his great descendant that would be coming; and then it would be 1,000 years\/Isaiah would prophesy; and it would be 700 more years, and Malachi would give us the last revelation in the Old Testament. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFour hundred more years after Malachi, and then, that the angel would come to an unwed woman?\u2014the virgin birth is one of the <em>great<\/em> surprises. And then the angel would come to <em>Nazareth<\/em>\u2014such an out of the way place that all the Gospels have to <em>explain<\/em> what it is, because readers have never <em>heard<\/em> of Nazareth\u2014it is a backwater town. People have heard of Bethlehem; that was the City of David\u2014it\u2019s small compared to Jerusalem\u2014but nobody ever heard of <em>Nazareth<\/em>. That is <em>serious<\/em> backwater. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne detail after another\u2014that God would save His Son by bringing Him out of <em>Herod\u2019s<\/em> jurisdiction to Egypt\u2014God saved His people from <em>Egypt<\/em>; now, they are going to <em>Egypt<\/em> to save His Son. There is one unexpected thing after another. Even in that early season, when He goes to temple to be dedicated, that Simeon, an old man, would say to Mary that: \u201cA sword will pierce your soul as well.\u201d \u201cWhat do you mean?\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014\u201ctalking about this little baby?\u2014a sword is going to pierce Him, and a sword is going to pierce <em>Mary\u2019s<\/em> soul as well? What\u2019s going on?\u2014what tragic\/what catastrophe is going to <em>happen<\/em> to this child?\u201d It is one unexpected thing after another. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe magi and the shepherds are a part of that as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Now, when you go through the Advent season with your family, do you start talking about those kinds of things? I mean, what\u2019s it look like for a family\u2014you\u2019ve got twins; right?\u2014a ten-year-old? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Twin boys who are ten; my daughter, Gloria, has a Christmas birthday. The book is dedicated to Gloria. She will be six\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u2014this Advent. Then, Mercy is three-and-a-half. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Talk to me. A lot of families are listening; they are like, \u201cOkay; I\u2019m going to do this Advent thing; I\u2019ve never really done it. What would it look like?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Alright. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> First of all, get your book; right? [Laughter] You\u2019ve got to start there; and then what? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Here is an idea. If you\u2019re a father of a family like mine, with young kids, the kids can handle a verse or two\u2014it\u2019s really direct\u2014and then Daddy\u2019s heartfelt explanation of why that verse matters. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat we\u2019ve done at the Mathis house the last couple Advents\u2014and you can do it very differently, and I think we\u2019ll probably do it again this way this year\u2014is we take one verse for each day. Beginning December 1, I\u2019ve got a verse assigned to that day all the way through December 24<sup>th<\/sup>. We wrap up the verse: we print it out and wrap it up with a piece of chocolate. Then we take that verse for the day, unwrap it; I read the verse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wait! Who gets the chocolate? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> We all do. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Oh, you all get a piece. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> That\u2019s why it\u2019s <em>good<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Okay; good. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Mommy and I get chocolate too. [Laughter]Unwrap\u2014read the verse and give my explanation of why that verse is significant: \u201cWhat is the <em>meaning<\/em> of that verse related to Christmas and the season of our celebrating?\u201d Then we break up the chocolate, and we all hold it up. I say, \u201cChrist has come,\u201d and all the kids say, \u201cChrist will come again\u201d; then we eat the chocolate. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Good. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> See, if you want to know what my 24 verses would be, there is a verse at the beginning of each chapter. Day 1, Day 2\u2014all the way through Chapter 24\u2014each has a banner verse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne thing you could do\/one way you could use this resource for your own devotions during Advent\u2014as well as for your children\u2014is Mom and Dad could read the meditation on the verse and then close the book, put the book aside, gather the kids, read the one verse, and then just share from your heart what comes to mind from reading the devotional\u2014any thought\/anything that struck you\u2014share that with your kids just briefly, and maybe have a chocolate together, and pray together. [Laughter] That\u2019s one way to move through Advent. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Well, I mean, the beauty of that is\u2014we\u2019ve never done this. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> No; we haven\u2019t celebrated Advent. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I mean, when you\u2019ve got tickets to a great concert, and you start counting the days, you get so excited\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Oh, yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> \u2014because you know\u2014I mean, I was thinking, when you were talking about Advent, the NFL does this every week. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Oh my; that\u2019s right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> If you think about what people do, it\u2019s just crazy\u2014they watch pre-game shows all week long. I know I\u2019ve done this when I watch the Super Bowl; I\u2019ll sit down and watch the pre-game I <em>never<\/em> do that [for other games]; I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, I\u2019m so excited now for the game,\u201d because I know some of the backstory. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what Advent is doing. It\u2019s like taking you back, [saying], \u201cGet your heart read; get your heart ready; get your heart ready,\u201d day after day after day. It makes the day so much more significant. I can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve never done this, <em>honestly<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> I know so few dads that would say, \u201cOh, our family devotions are really where we want them to be. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re doing it every day. It\u2019s the right length.\u201d Usually, there\u2019s always, \u201cOh, I go way too long,\u201d or \u201cWe don\u2019t have the devotions,\u201d or \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go how I want.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAdvent is a <em>great<\/em> opportunity to work on that as a family. It\u2019s a good occasion to say, \u201cYou know what? We\u2019re going to do this <em>daily<\/em>\u2014is one verse. I\u2019m going to read one verse, and I\u2019ll give you 30 to 60 seconds of why I think that verse is important, and let\u2019s pray together.\u201d That could be a great thing to do in your family to help just jump start a spiritual dynamic\/a family devotion that would be regular if it\u2019s not daily. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You say in your book, \u201cChristmas is not a beginning; it\u2019s a <em>becoming<\/em>\u201d? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Oh, yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> What does that mean? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Okay; that\u2019s talking about the incarnation, about God Himself becoming man. Jesus <em>didn\u2019t start<\/em> in Mary\u2019s womb. The eternal second Person of the Trinity has <em>always<\/em> existed; so Christmas is, in that sense, a <em>becoming<\/em>. It\u2019s not Jesus\u2019 beginning, but God Himself, in the person of His Son, is taking on our full humanity. He <em>becomes<\/em> human without ceasing to be God. This is just amazing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis is an important truth for us to understand, as humans, that humanity and divinity aren\u2019t opposed to each other on the same plain of reality such that to be fully human means you can\u2019t be God. For Jesus, He is fully human and fully God; humanity and divinity operate on different levels of reality such that fully God can take on full humanity\u2014that God Himself can become man <em>without ceasing<\/em> to be God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what we mean in the book by saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a becoming; it\u2019s not a beginning.\u201d Jesus doesn\u2019t start in Bethlehem; He doesn\u2019t start in Mary\u2019s womb. Jesus has <em>always<\/em> been there in happy, joy, and relationship with His Father; and the Father sent the divine Son, who became human, at that first Christmas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> We\u2019ve just got a little understanding of the <em>Hypostatic<\/em> Union? [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> The <em>hypostatic<\/em> union\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if people understand that, but you just\u2014[Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Look at you throwing out a <em>theological<\/em> term like that! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You know, I actually went to seminary about 50 years ago. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I <em>know<\/em> that; I <em>know<\/em> that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> No; I mean, you literally just described it, and didn\u2019t even use the term. People are like, \u201cWow; that\u2019s a powerful concept.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> A little insider tip\u2014is that so much theological language is really just to help keep in place very simple realities. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>David:<\/strong> If you just learn the terms, you see how simple they can be. <em>Hypostatic<\/em> is just the Greek word for \u201cperson.\u201d It would be much easier for us to call it the One-Person Union; by that, what we mean is that united in the one Person of the divine Son\/the eternal divine Son\u2014in that one Person\u2014there is the union of full divinity and full humanity. It didn\u2019t happen at the same time\u2014Jesus has always been fully divine; He\u2019s always been fully God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, at Christmas\u2014this is what we mark\/this is why Christmas is so significant\u2014He <em>became<\/em> one of us to the <em>full<\/em>\u2014fully human body, human emotions, human mind, human will. He took on our human <em>environment<\/em>. He <em>identified<\/em> with us in totality, except for sin, that He might come and save us. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I <em>love<\/em> your enthusiasm about this; because as you\u2019re talking, I\u2019m thinking, \u201cKids would get this.\u201d You could explain it in a way that, I mean, God is fully God but fully human. To explain that to your kids, they can kind of start grasping it. If you are excited about it, your kids are going to get excited about it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOur daughter-in-law puts out her nativity scene; and as she does that\u2014the first time I went over to her house, I said, \u201cWhy are all the shepherds over here across the room?\u201d She said, \u201cOh, the journey has just begun.\u201d I thought, \u201cEven that, it would be so fun to move the shepherds\u00a0 a little closer every day, and to explain what is going on in history right now; because kids can get that visual, and they can start to feel what is going on.\u201d\u00a0 Even the fact that the angels came and sang to these shepherds, who were nobody out in the field, that could be so fun to have a conversation about that with the kids. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to find it; I thought, maybe, I could find it here on my computer right now; but I can\u2019t. One Christmas\u2014right before Christmas, when our girls were still, I think, like seven and four\u2014maybe six and three\u2014Mary Ann said, \u201cCome in here. Sit down in the living room.\u201d She said, \u201cThe girls have got something for you.\u201d I said, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d They stood by the fireplace, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled. They said, \u201cIn those days, there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night in the fields.\u201d They went through Luke 2. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> They had memorized about 12 verses of Scripture, the Christmas story from Luke. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s <em>impressive<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> It was <em>very<\/em> impressive. I\u2019m not sure Katie understood about half the words she was saying [Laughter], but this is something Mary Ann had been working on with them during the Advent season. They gave it as a gift to Daddy right before Christmas. This is how a mom and a dad can say, \u201cWe\u2019re going to make Jesus the center of December.\u201d There is a lot going on with so many activities and so much busyness that we can set Jesus off to the side and kind of get to Christmas even, go, \u201cOh, yes, yes; it\u2019s about Jesus tomorrow; isn\u2019t it?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think, David, this is what you are doing in this devotional you\u2019ve written. You\u2019re saying, \u201cDon\u2019t let this season become a distraction. Make sure our focus is on what it ought to be on.\u201d The book that David has written is a devotional called <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect: Daily Devotions for Advent<\/em>. I know Advent is underway, but you can get a copy of the book now and get caught up once the book arrives. Go to FamilyLifeToday.com to order David Mathis\u2019s book, <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>; or you can call us for more information. Our number is 1-800-FL-TODAY. Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com; or order David Mathis\u2019s book, <em>The Christmas We Didn\u2019t Expect<\/em>, by calling 1-800-358-6329\u2014that\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tQuick reminder\u2014we\u2019ve already talked about this today\u2014the month of December is going to be a significant month for us, here, at FamilyLife\u2014the month ahead. We\u2019ve had some friends, who have made a significant offer to us. They have agreed that they will match every donation we receive this month, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $2 million. Of course, we\u2019re hoping to take full advantage of that matching-gift opportunity. We\u2019re asking <em>you<\/em> to make as generous a yearend contribution as you possibly can. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf God has used this ministry in your life, if you believe in what we\u2019re all about here at FamilyLife, if you want to see FamilyLife continue on your local radio station, be as generous as you can be. Go online or give us a call and make a yearend contribution. We\u2019ll say, \u201cThank you,\u201d when you do by sending you two things: a copy of my book, <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em>, which is all about 1 Corinthians 13 and how that applies in a marriage relationship; and we\u2019ll send you a flash drive that has the top 100 <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> programs of all time\u2014programs on marriage, programs on parenting, on family, some great interviews we\u2019ve done with names you will recognize through the years. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe flash drive is our thank-you gift to you, along with my book, <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em>, when you make a yearend contribution. Again, you can do that today. You can get that out of the way; get it done for the year\u2014go to FamilyLifeToday.com to donate, or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to donate over the phone. Thanks, in advance, for your support of this ministry; and we do look forward to hearing from you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, tomorrow, we\u2019re going to continue to look at the details of the Christmas story to see the surprising things we learn about God and His grace by studying the birth of Jesus. David Mathis joins us, again, tomorrow. I hope you can be with us as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas; a Cru<sup>\u00ae <\/sup>Ministry. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2020 FamilyLife. 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