Christmas Carol Devotional 1 Day by Thomas Nelson

ZONDERVAN

A Christmas Carol Devotional

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ISBN 978-0-310-46805-9 (audiobook)

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Many quotations in this book are from the original version of A Christmas Carol , by Charles Dickens. It was first published as a novella in London in 1843 by Chapman & Hall and is in the public domain.

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STAVE ONE Marley’s Ghost

Day 1

Saving Scrooge

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Luke 19:10

Marley was dead: to begin with.

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol doesn’t open with Scrooge in his counting house, Bob Cratchit hunched over his work, or Fred begging his uncle Scrooge to come for Christmas. It begins with the words “Marley was dead: to begin with.” Dickens goes on for several paragraphs, driving home his point: Scrooge’s business partner, Marley, is dead and gone. Though the sign above their warehouse door still reads “Scrooge and Marley,” Marley is no more. He isn’t sick, he isn’t traveling, he isn’t even just mostly dead. He’s dead—“dead as a door-nail.”

As tempting as it is to skip over these details and jump ahead to the Victorian Christmas scenes we love so well, it’s important to take in what Dickens is telling us: If Marley isn’t dead, then “nothing wonderful can come of the story.” If Marley isn’t dead, the rest of the story isn’t possible. If Marley isn’t dead, nothing wonderful can happen to Scrooge.

You see, this story isn’t about Marley. It’s about Ebenezer Scrooge— a man described as a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone” and “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” A man as “hard and sharp as flint,” who lives his life as “secret, and self- contained, and solitary as an oyster.” A man “no warmth could warm, no wintry weather [could] chill.” A man so miserable he doesn’t even know it.

Marley is as “dead as a door-nail,” but Scrooge may as well be. He is a man in dire need of rescue, of saving. He is lost and he needs to be found. And thus far, nothing has had the power to penetrate his cold, hard exterior. No person. No human need. Not his employee, his nephew, or the people on the street. Not even the weather.

On Christmas Eve, something wonderful is going to happen to Scrooge. The one thing that will finally capture Scrooge’s miserly attention is a visit from his dead

business associate. It will take Marley’s dreadful ghost, his horrid predictions of the future, and three fearsome and ghostly visitations to get through to Scrooge. It will take something impossible, something supernatural, something wonderful to pierce his heart. On the night before Christmas, Scrooge’s whole life is going to change.

And what an incredible picture of God’s glorious rescue plan for us. On the night when Jesus was born, God did something impossible, something supernatural— something wonderful: He sent His Son on a mission to save us. On that holy night, all of eternity shifted— our eternity shifted. On that sacred night, in a lowly manger in Bethlehem, “the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared” (Titus 3:4). And our world was forever changed. On Christmas, Jesus came on a rescue mission. He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He came to seek and save you. Apart from Christ, we’re dead as doornails, hard and sharp as flint, solitary as oysters. Without Him, we are dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). But because Jesus came, we have eternal life. Because Jesus was born, because He lived, because He died and rose again, our sins are forgiven. Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Not because of the stockings or the candy or the

ornaments. But because of what God did for us in the sending of His Son. On Christmas, we celebrate the arrival, or advent, of Jesus Christ— the moment God took on flesh and came to Earth to save us.

On Christmas, we celebrate the day God set our salvation story in motion.

Prepare Him Room

Like Scrooge, we’re all in need of saving—we all need Jesus to rescue us. As you ponder the meaning of Christ’s birth, think about all Jesus did to get your attention. Remember all He did to find you. Think about the circumstances, the people, and the events that led you to Him. And thank Him for coming into your life to save you.

If you long to see God do something wonderful in your heart this Christmas, take time over the next few days to read through Luke 1–2. As you read, consider once again the miracle of Jesus’s birth. Take note of all the supernatural things God did to get our attention: The promises and proclamations. The angels and messengers. Mary, the virgin girl. The journey to Bethlehem. The innkeeper and the animals, the shepherds and the

stars. The baby in the manger. The Messiah sent to save us.

If you’ve never thought of Christmas as your own personal rescue story, if you long for spiritual revival, or if you’ve never put your faith in Jesus, take this time to pray and ask God to open your eyes to the wonder of Christ’s birth. Ask Him to awaken your heart. Ask Him to make it personal. And if you’ve never done so before, ask Him

A Christmas Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank You for the miracle of Your birth. Thank You for coming to rescue me. Thank You for coming to find me. I want to live my life devoted to You, my Lord and my Savior. I dedicate this holy and sacred time of year to the celebration of Your birth. Help me rediscover the joy of Christmas and the won der of Your coming. Revive my heart and fill me with a renewed sense of awe and childlike faith as I prepare my heart and home for Christmas. In Your name I pray, amen.