Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas

Worshiping Jesus is something we need to do always, but this season, the time we celebrate Jesus’s birth, is often so filled with activities our quiet time suffers. Ironic, isn’t it? But it doesn’t have to be this way. We just need to be intentional. So, I’ve intentionally written a reading plan that can help stir your heart for the One who is the reason for the season. 

In the past I’ve written Christmas posts on joy, worship, and the shepherds, but this year my heart has been drawn to two wrinkled skinned, perhaps hunched backed, older biblical characters who have become the inspiration for this year’s reading plan. They are Simeon and Anna.

Worship prepares us to be used by God

When we think of Christmas, we think of angels and shepherds proclaiming Jesus’s birth, but two of my favorite people in the Christmas story aren’t usually included in the mix. They are Simeon and Anna. If you ever wonder if you’re too old or too hidden to ever be used by God, you need to study these two prophets.

Simeon was elderly.

But the Holy Spirit directed him to go to the Temple, and he obeyed.

Anna was old too. At eighty-four, the widowed Anna had spent most for her life worshiping and fasting night and day in the Temple.

Though their names don’t mark a book of the Bible like John or Matthew, and their fame during their lifetime was probably minimal, God knew them and used them. I love how He does that. Do you remember their story? It’s found in Luke 2 after the angels and shepherds and Christ’s birth.

Worshiping Lovers of God

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived….Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismissyour servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
      a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

….There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2: 21,35-38

No angels sang. They’d gone back to their posts.

No bright lights shone. Just the flicker of the candles lit the room.

No shepherds gathered. They’d gone back to their sheep.

Waiting Arms, Perfect Timing

Can you envision Simeon holding out his hands beckoning Mary to let him have the joy of holding her baby? He had waited so long. As he held the tiny Messiah, he proclaimed both hope and warning.

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Luke 2: 34-35

I wonder if a chill ran down Mary’s spine at the sound of those words. If so, maybe Anna’s words, countered Mary’s fear. Luke continued the story:

Coming up to them at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:38

At That Moment

God is so faithful. Would it have been too much for Mary to bear Simeon’s words had not Anna been there at just the right time? She had spent almost her whole life in the Temple night and day worshiping and fasting. Waiting on God. And when He came, she knew just what to say at just the right moment to the mother of the Savior.

Anna had made worship her sole purpose in life. And though her role in the Bible is small, though her story is tucked away between glorious angels and miraculous healings, her part was important.

Simeon’s part ranked up there too.

And so does yours.

How do we prepare for our role–our purpose?

The life of these ancient saints tells us how. Simeon and Anna played their roles with grace, confidence, and perfect timing because they were worshipers.

Do you want to hear God better? (Just as Simeon knew to go back to the Temple.)

Worship.

Do you want to be used by Him to help others? (As Anna was.)

Worship.

Do you want to be in the right place at the right time? (As they both were.)

Worship. It’s more than going to church or singing a song.

3 Ways to Worship God

1. Study the Word.

Did you know that studying God’s word is a form of worship? Digging into this treasure of wisdom and grace fills our souls with heaven. Reading the Bible does not get us into heaven, but it brings heaven to us. I’ve provided a reading plan to help with this, but I also have Bible studies and other reading plans as you continue into the new year. The One Year Bible is awesome too, but I want to encourage you to study as well as read. They are not the same.

2. Fast and Pray

When we fast, we empty ourselves to hear God clearer and to be reminded to pray. When my stomach growls, I pray words of thankfulness and praise. Fasting reminds us of God’s faithfulness and provision. It also reminds us to rely on Him.

3. Worship with Music at least 20 minutes a day.

Turn the TV off. Leave your phone in another room and turn on worship music. Don’t just listen but sing out loud. Lift your hands, dance around your home, fall on your knees, and worship. I also like to put earbuds in my ears to stream worship music as I walk in the mornings. Worship whether you feel like it or not. It also ushers heaven into your heart.

December Reading plan

This reading plan (click here or on the image above for the printable) is not like my other ones. I came across this idea (I think on Pinterest), and I thought it was brilliant. Rather than just one verse a day, this reading plan takes us through the book of Luke. If you read a chapter a day starting December 1, you will read the entirety of Jesus’s life finishing on December 24, the day before Christmas. I’m interested to see how this will focus my filters of Christmas this year. Hopefully, this will give us a new perspective as we gaze on the nativity scenes in our homes. Let me know if you use this reading plan to help prepare you for Christmas and how it affected your celebration this year. I pray it makes the miracle of Christmas bigger for all of us.

Let’s pray together

Pray with me? Hold my hand.

“Father, we worship you. Make our life a testimony of your goodness like Simeon and Anna’s. Help us worship you intentionally every day like they did. You are so worthy. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for that sweet baby born in a shepherd’s field whose tiny hands were the same hands who helped you form Adam from the dust. Those hands that would one day be nailed to a Cross. As we read the gospel of Luke this month, speak to us in new ways and give deeper insight to the miracle of His birth–your first born Son. Amen and amen.”

PS. This was a refreshed post from 2021 with a new reading plan. If you want a Christmas reading plan with short verses and prompts to journal, here’s that link.