WEEKEND RECHARGE!

June 21, 2026 

Monday, June 15—Luke 1:46–56
Tuesday, June 16–Luke 1:57–66
Wednesday, June 17—Luke 1:67–80
Thursday, June 18—Luke 2:1–7
Friday, June 19—Luke 2:8–20

Following the reflective questions see a discussion on the date of Christ's birth and one of my favorite passages from Ken Gire's Intimate Moments with the Savior. 

Below are reflective questions. I encourage you to prayerfully read each one and choose one or two to focus on. 

1. PRAY: Ask God to open your heart so you can hear him speak to you about the issue.
2. RESPOND: Confession. Repentance. Surrender. Thanksgiving.
3. ACT: Take the steps to do what God is calling you to do.

Reflective Personal Discipleship Questions

1. Where is God asking me to trust and obey him, even when his plans disrupt my expectations or may lead to misunderstanding, sacrifice, or discomfort?

2. Which attribute of God highlighted in Mary's song—his grace, mercy, power, holiness, justice, or faithfulness—do I most need to embrace and rely on in my current season of life, and how should that shape my daily discipleship?

3. What specifically can I pursue to help the next generation develop a wholehearted devotion to Jesus?

4. Because Jesus has redeemed us, we can "serve him without fear" (Luke 1:74). What fears, burdens, or obstacles are keeping me from serving Christ more fully, and how does the gospel address them? 

5. Like John the Baptist prepared people for Jesus, what specific opportunity do I have this week to point someone toward Christ through my words, actions, or testimony?

6. How does God's choice to reveal Jesus' birth to shepherds challenge the way I view my own significance and usefulness in God's kingdom?

7. The shepherds responded immediately to the angel's message and sought Jesus. What is one step of obedience God may be calling me to take in response to his Word today?

Was Jesus born on Christmas? 
Traditionally the birth of Jesus is celebrated on December 25. However, many have challenged this. Some believe that Christmas was originally linked to the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which honored the god Saturn, and that December 25 was adopted as the time to celebrate Jesus when Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire in AD 380. However, Saturnalia was celebrated from December 17 to 23, not on December 25. 

Many argue that late December would have been too cold for the shepherds to be outside with the sheep. But the average high in Bethlehem in December is 57 degrees and the average low is 45 degrees. These would not be temperatures too cold for shepherds. 

Titus Kennedy, in his book Excavating the Evidence for Jesus, makes the following arguments. 

●      Zechariah's duties in the temple took place on the Day of Atonement, the tenth day in the month of Tishri (September–October).

●      Elizabeth became pregnant during the second half of September (Luke 1:23-24).

●      Six months later, in approximately late March of the following year, Mary became pregnant (Luke 1:26–45).

●      After a nine-month pregnancy, Jesus would have been born in late December. 

●      The church father, Irenaeus, writing in the 2nd century, argued that the conception took place on March 25 and the birth of Jesus nine months later on December 25.

●      The historian Sexus Julius Africanus (late 2nd/early 3rd century) made the same argument as Iraneus.

●      A commentary from the early 3rd century also makes this argument.

●      Kennedy cites others making the same argument.

The point that Kennedy makes is that December 25 has nothing to do with "religious syncretism or attempting to replace pagan holidays after the legalization of Christianity. In fact, there is not one suggestion in any of the early writings that the date for Christmas was chosen to supplant a pagan celebration . . . Numerous early manuscripts suggest that the birth of Jesus probably occurred on or around December 25…." 

For further study see, Titus Kennedy, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus: The Archaeology and History of Christ and the Gospels (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2022), 34-36. 

I have always appreciated Ken Gire's description of the birth of Jesus. The following is taken from his book, Intimate Moments with the Savior: Learning to Love (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989), 5. 

Mary…reaches for the shivering baby. She lays him on her chest, and his helpless cries subside. His tiny head bobs around on the unfamiliar terrain. This will be the first thing the infant-king learns. Mary can feel his heartbeat as he gropes to nurse.

Deity nursing from a young maiden's breast. Could anything be more puzzling—or more profound?

The baby finishes and sighs, the divine Word reduces to a few unintelligible sounds. Then, for the first time, his eyes fix on his mother's. Deity straining to focus. The Light of the World, squinting.

Tears pool in her eyes. She touches his tiny hand. And hands that once sculpted mountain ranges cling to her finger.

She looks up at Joseph, and through a watery veil, their souls touch. He crowds closer, cheek to cheek with his betrothed. Together they stare in awe at the baby Jesus whose heavy eyelids begin to close. It has been a long journey. The King is tired.