Luke 2:33 “And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.”

Joseph and Mary were right in the middle of something huge.They got a front row seat to the greatest life ever. Imagine what it must have been like to be there with Jesus every day. Surely they learned a lot about themselves during the time that they were caring for Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for letting us be involved in raising kids for You! It is an honor. Who knows what You will do with their lives? The potential is great. You work in each person’s life. Thanks for the blessings! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Chris I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:32 “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

   It is difficult for us to understand well now, but there was a time when the Gentile world had little in the way of truth. Jesus changed all of that. Even this hemisphere, which stood in relative darkness for so long, had the light of His truth finally brought to it.

Heavenly Father, to know that You have given us the light of Your truth is so wonderful! You are merciful and gracious, and it is all by Your plan. You put it all together from the beginning. You have made it all possible. How can we ever praise you enough? You are worthy of all praise and honor! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:31 “Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;”

   This short little verse packs a lot in. God has made His plan of salvation right before our very eyes, so to speak. Though the evil world system was not helpful to it, He worked it all out anyway. His absolute power over history is evident by His selection of a people in the Old Testament. He then narrowed it down throughout time until the time came for His dear Son, the Messiah, to arrive. And, ever since He has worked in His church. And it has changed the world for Christ.

Heavenly Father, how can we possibly praise You enough? Your plan is amazing! It is nothing shy of impossible in our minds, yet the possible is possible with You. And thus, it has become reality. Thank You for Your salvation! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:30 “For my eyes have seen Your salvation”

   Salvation is not a thing, it is  a person. Jesus is salvation. This is one of the most vitally important points for us to understand and proclaim in our own time. We tend to see concepts separated from the person of Christ, and the person of God the Father.
   For example we have those who would purvey the Golden Rule, and yet leave the Eternal Christ behind. There is a desire to sift out of Christianity that which mankind feels it can live with and then throw away the rest. We must fight this urge. There is a great danger in teaching good as a concept without teaching God as a reality. To remove Christ from salvation is to move towards that syncretism that will one day hand the world to the antichrist. And final destruction will follow.

Heavenly Father, thank You for salvation in Jesus Christ Your Son! We will praise You forever for Him. You are infinitely wise in Your plans for this little planet. Thank You for helping us to understand Your universe through Your Word. It is all so very beautiful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;”

   We all remember the little acronym R.I.P. This means to ‘Rest in Peace’ and has been in use for many hundreds of years. Jews and Christians alike employ the idea. However, we should understand that this epitaph is more expressive than it seems on the surface. It is indeed, as in this verse, tied to the hope of salvation. Simeon knew he could rest in peace because he had seen the Christ, the One who gives us eternal hope. So, to rest in peace does not mean to die forever, but for our body to rest until that future resurrection. It should have special meaning to those who belong to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank You for hope in Christ! You give us grace for death and life. Hope in Him is not just a nice way of thinking, it is a sure reality that we can rely upon. We praise You for Your plan of salvation! Never could we honor You enough dear Father. You are so wise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:28 “he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:”

   Here we find that Simeon ‘blesses’ God. However, the same exact concept is translated ‘praise’ in Luke 1:64. So, which is it? It is both. When we praise the Lord, we are blessing Him. This really puts things into a different perspective. We ask for God’s blessing in our lives. His blessing, though not a praise of us, makes our lives more praiseworthy. So, rather than always asking, how can I be blessed, we should ask, how may I bless Him? When we come together on Sunday, for example, our goal should be to bless God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for always working on our behalf. You bring great blessings into our lives. We will praise You forever! You are worthy to be blessed. We want you to be blessed every day that we live. We praise Your mighty Name! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:27 “And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,”

   The Lord orchestrated the meeting with Simeon. This would be something Jesus’ parents would remember for a long time. Every visit to the temple in Jesus’ life was action-packed. And that is only appropriate since it was the Lord’s house.

Heavenly Father, thank You for putting everything in our life together. You know Your plans for us. You understand every aspect of who we are. Thank You for making us. Thank you for redeeming us by the blood of Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:26 “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

   We do not know exactly how this was revealed to Simeon, whether in a vision or dream. Though it is more likely it was done directly as the Holy Spirit was ‘upon’ him according to the previous verse. This would indicate that Simeon had a very healthy relationship with the Lord. Unique knowledge and unique obedience often go together.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving to each of us the knowledge we need for our lives. We can live so much differently because we know You. Your grace changes everything! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:25 “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.”

   The consolation of Israel was a touchy subject. Simeon likely understood all that was involved in the coming of the Messiah. But many saw the Messiah as their ticket to freedom from the Romans. This is an easy trap to fall into. We tend to project the events of our current moment onto the template of Scripture. Though being aware of prophecy is a very good thing, paranoia is never a good assistant to the understanding.
   For example, every event of this time is not a sign of the Second Coming. Many may be, but we must use care when we begin making everything prophetic.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the imminent return of Christ! We look so much forward to it. We will praise You for ever for Your plan and Your timing. You know just exactly what should happen and when. We can trust Your every intention. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:24 “And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

   Luke includes a lot of detail that others would miss. This particular detail helps us understand better the socioeconomic status of the family of Jesus. Joseph and Mary must not have been very wealthy. Though many would remind us of the gifts of the magi, all very valuable, the magi would not have yet arrived. Even then, Joseph and Mary were hardly set for life financially speaking.
   This is only appropriate as Jesus spent most of His earthly ministry caring for the spiritual needs of the common man, rather than the social elite.

Heavenly Father, thank You for caring for each and every one of us, no matter our social station. You do not judge by the outward things, but by our hearts. We will praise You forever for making Your gospel available to the masses rather than just a select group. You are worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.