Today is the 30th, and tomorrow I will stop with the Christmas devotionals (I think). I do not know where I am going to study next, but I would like to continue passing on what I am learning, with occasional devotional posts on this blogspot. I know probably only a few on my list read these long-winded devotionals, but I guess you are the ones meant to read it, and I hope you have gained something from it. I know I have learned so much this month that I didn’t know before about the Christmas story that had become a bit passé for me. And I feel like I have only scratched the surface.
So, we continue with the last couple of days of our story. Yesterday, after encountering Herod, the wise men had found Jesus in Bethlehem in a house with his mother. They had followed the star there, then worshipped him, opened their treasure chests and presented him with precious and costly gifts.
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
God is still actively speaking to the characters of this story, even the pagans, this time in another dream. He warned them not to return to Herod. Then, he spoke to Joseph in a dream. These men had sought Jesus to worship him and to bring him gifts. Now Herod was searching for Jesus himself, but for a totally different reason – to murder him.
13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
So, two more dreams occur, both warning dreams. One for the wise men not to return to Herod, and the other for Joseph to quickly get up and run with his family to Egypt. As tricky and deceitful and sly as Herod had tried to be, God knew exactly what Herod had in mind – to kill Jesus. To find exactly where he was and put to death anything or anyone that would oppose his throne. Satan has tried throughout history to silence our salvation. (A whole other Bible study!) He had the baby boys killed when Moses was born, but Moses escaped. He has always tried to stop the seed of righteousness, now putting in Herod’s heart to kill Jesus. But God was already a step ahead of Herod and had warned both the wise men and Joseph. This gave Joseph time to flee with his family to Egypt. (The Egypt thing, again, is a whole other Bible study!) Odd that he should be sent to a land that is a picture of slavery, bondage, oppression, and sin. But also how very appropriate, as Jesus was born into a world just like Egypt, with us all in bondage and slavery to sin. Yet he appeared right in the midst of it all, to lead us out of it. He came right where we were to bring us out.
16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
Can you imagine the scene that day when the soldiers charged into Bethlehem and went from house to house brutally murdering every young toddler and baby boy while their mothers screamed in horror? I don’t even want to dwell on the horror of what that day would have been like. I would imagine some of the mothers also lost their lives that day trying to save their children. I know I would have. Can you imagine the aftermath in that town, the wounds that would never heal in the hearts of the parents of this town in this story that is recorded for all of us to always remember? So, friends, ALWAYS keep in the front of your mind this fact: that Satan is ruthless. He doesn’t care who he kills, steals from or destroys, no matter their age or their innocence. He doesn’t care if it is you, your child, your finances, your health. His goal is to destroy using any means possible. And although it is true that we cannot blame everything in this world that happens on Satan, it is imperative that we are pure in heart and following the Lord closely, so that we can hear him when he speaks, whether it is through a dream, a word from a Christian brother or sister, a scripture that jumps off the page at us, or a deep knowledge that God is speaking to you. Why? So that we will be under his watchful protection. Then, when he tells us to watch out in a certain area of our lives, we can avoid the destruction that the devil surely wants to bring, by taking the precautions that the Lord provides for us and for our safety.
I have a stupid, almost comical, example of this. This morning, I was reading the last couple of chapters in Isaiah and God seemed to be talking to me rather strongly about those who turn away to do their own thing and rebel right in the sight of the Lord. And I began to think, “God is there something I am doing that is sinful because I couldn’t think of anything at the moment?” OK, here is where it gets funny. Perry and I have this energy/vitamin drink called “Spark” that we order from a health supplement company. It has tons of vitamins and amino acids and also some caffeine in it. I have drunk (drank?) it for years now, and something in it it really helps me with my chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. I do not want to go a day without it. Coffee just won’t do what Spark does. I always tell him a few days ahead of time that we are running out because, my friends, I am strongly and gravely concerned when the Spark gets low in the house! There are a few things in life that gravely concern and disturb me: When they run out of tuna at Subway, when they do not offer pecan pancakes on the menu at Cracker Barrel, when they run out of soy milk for my latte at Starbucks, and when we run out of Spark in the house! On occasion, Perry (who is in charge of ordering the Spark), has not ordered it in quite enough time for it to get here, or Fed Ex did not have it to us in time, and there was an occasion I went 5 days without it!! Not good.
So this time, I thought ahead and I put a couple of scoops of Spark powder in a little baggie and hid it in the cupboard behind the coffee cups. (Sounds like I’m stashing cocaine doesn’t it?) I thought, if it doesn’t get here in time, I’m covered, and Perry can fend for himself because he doesn’t need it like I do.
So, I get up yesterday, and in the container there is only one scoop of Spark left and I enjoy the last presumed precious glass of liquid gold we know as "Spark" before it arrives via Fed Ex, (hopefully the next day). As I did, Perry comes in from training and tells me he noticed there was only one serving left, so he made coffee and let me have the last of it instead of drinking it himself. And I told him how sweet he was as I sipped and savored my Spark and how much I appreciated his thoughtfulness. And I really truly did. He gave his Spark to me sacrificially. And that is where it all began.
So, the next morning, when I sat down with that secret hidden delicious scoop of Spark that no one but myself knew about, and began to be “spiritual” and started reading Isaiah, God convicted me!!! I know, that seems crazy and trite, but he did! And here is the thing – it wasn’t really about the Spark. It wasn’t wrong to be sitting there drinking Spark like I do every morning when I study my Bible. What was wrong is that Perry and I are a team, we are one in the sight of God, and anything I keep from him, hiding it for my own use and my own pleasure, and not sharing with him, is a wedge that is put in our relationship. A form of dishonesty and self-preservation. I know at this point some of you are saying that is utterly ridiculous and a far stretch, but, Hey, I’m just telling you what God convicted me of today. He said everything starts with a small little grain, seemingly insignificant, and it doesn’t even cross our mind that there is a problem with the action. Then it takes root and becomes a way of behaving, and grows more, and before long it is a huge thorny bush. So, God checked me on hiding the Spark! He said if I could hide that from Perry without thinking twice about it, what is the next thing I would hide from him, and the next thing after that? Of course, then, as soon as Perry walked in, I told him I had hidden some Spark and there was one scoop left and that he could have it. And I sat reading my Bible, feeling scolded like a little kid. But God reminded me that there is no condemnation for us who are in Jesus (Romans), and by the time I got up from the couch I actually was thankful and appreciative that he pointed out something so small to me. He caught it right at the start, he exposed a dark area in me that I honestly didn’t even think about when I hid that Spark. And he showed me how easy it is to slowly get caught up in a stronghold that you didn’t even see coming.
That is how Satan works though. Like Herod, he is very subtle, always planning, always scheming, always cleverly presenting himself as an ally. And if we are not in tune to the Lord, we WILL fall for his schemes because we have gone out from under the protection of God.
Now, I know I have totally chased a rabbit trail away from wise men and Jesus and Herod, but I don’t know, it just came to me today and I thought I’d share that random thing with you. About remaining under God’s protection, about listening to him even in the small seemingly insignificant things.
As the first chapter of Jesus’ life story comes to a close, Joseph took his family to safety. He continued to hear the Lord, because he was later instructed in a dream to return to Israel, specifically back to Nazareth, where he would spend his childhood years alongside Joseph and Mary, and eventually his brothers and sisters, Mary and Joseph’s children.
So, in looking back over this month, I see past the outer layer of this story much deeper now than I did before this month started. I see people, just like us, chosen by God for a purpose. I see angels coming from God’s throne, dreams being dreamed, doubts and fears being raised, time being spent alone in silence, time away with the Lord, putting his desires ahead of our own reputation, allowing him to plant things in us that he desires to birth, choosing to join him in what he is doing even when it changes the plans we had for our lives, and of course, bringing a truly human tiny baby, yet wholly God, into the middle of our darkness to bring us light. I see that when people allow God full access to their lives, that he will do miraculous things, and that nothing, not kings or Satan himself, can stop his plan. God will always accomplish what he sets out to do.
As you enter this New Year within a few hours, I will leave you with these verses to carry into 2010 with you.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days, when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land.”
God has a plan for you this year, a purpose, and you can be sure it involves knowing him, listening to him, spending time with him, and learning from him. You can also be sure it involves you touching other people with his love. The question is, will that be the resolution that matters to you the most this year?
I hope it is, for you and for me both.
Love in Christ,
Teresa (prayerfully expecting a shipment of Spark today)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Day 23, The Christmas Story - Treasure Chests
We talked about truth from the mouth of unbelievers (the wise men), and arrogance within the body of Christ (the Jews). Today, we pick up after Herod had talked to the wise men and gotten all the information out of them that he could, then requested that when they find Jesus, they inform him of where he is. I followed tradition by saying there were “three” wise men (assumed because of the three gifts), but the Bible actually never states how many there were, the exact place they were from, or their names. So if you ever hear mention of these things, they are tradition, but not found in the Bible.
9 After this interview (with Herod) the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
So, the star was still there (long after the day of Jesus birth), and my tree is still up, so that is confirmation I can continue with this story.
I found a little background on the wise men that I find interesting and want to pass along to you. The word Magi is a Latin form of the plural of the Greek word magos (μαγος pl. μαγοι), itself from Old Persian maguŝ. The term is a specific occupational title referring to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars, and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time a highly regarded science. Their religious practices and use of astrological sciences caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic. Translated in the King James Version as wise men, the same word is given as sorcerer and sorcery when describing "Elymas the sorcerer" in Acts 13:6-11, and Simon Magus, considered a heretic by the early Church, in Acts 8:9-13. Also, I find it interesting that the practice is condemned in the Bible, yet God brought these astrologers/sorcerers to see his son. And that they came to worship him and give him gifts!
After their meeting with Herod, the astrologers continued on to Bethlehem, with the star still leading their way, and then the star stopped over the place where Jesus was. The men were filled with joy, having now arrived at the home of this new baby king. And they were going to see him after all their months of studying and traveling. They entered a house and found Mary and Jesus there. Jesus could have been up to 2 years old when he was found by the Magi. Mary and Joseph were still in Bethlehem, for however long it was, and had not returned to Nazareth. When the men found him, it says they bowed down and worshipped him. These pagan men recognized that this baby was the rightful king of the Jews. They traveled countless days and nights, and forsook everything to come to find him. Eventually “every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord”.
11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The astrologers brought with them treasure chests containing gifts for the baby. The three gifts they brought are significant. I’m not sure if they even realized that or not, but I believe in part they did. The gold signifies Jesus’ position as King. Frankincense is an incense that was burned by the priests in the temple, and signifies Jesus’ position as our High Priest. Myrrh was an ointment used medicinally for healing, and also was an embalming ointment used to anoint one’s body at death, a gift that would point to his sacrifice of death for us one day. I wonder if Mary kept that ointment all those years, and if that ointment was used on Jesus when he was taken down off the cross.
But what is significant is that they sought him, traveled to find him, inquired about him, searched diligently, and prepared a chest full of gifts for him, to be opened before him when they bowed and worshiped him.
What is our treasure chest? Our heart, of course. The Bible says wherever our treasure is, there our heart is also. When we truly see Jesus as our King, our Priest, and our Savior, the only response can be worship and giving ourselves, opening our chest and giving him our heart. Giving him all of us, our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our time, our talents, our finances, our very being.
I pray that today you will search your heart and think about the treasure you have hidden there. Then ask yourself, is this a treasure that I am not willing to give up for the one who gave up life for me? What is it that I hoard as more important than the ultimate treasure of Jesus himself? Do I recognize who he really is and have I come to the place I am willing to open up my treasure chest and give him the only gift I can give him – my life?
Teresa
9 After this interview (with Herod) the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
So, the star was still there (long after the day of Jesus birth), and my tree is still up, so that is confirmation I can continue with this story.
I found a little background on the wise men that I find interesting and want to pass along to you. The word Magi is a Latin form of the plural of the Greek word magos (μαγος pl. μαγοι), itself from Old Persian maguŝ. The term is a specific occupational title referring to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars, and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time a highly regarded science. Their religious practices and use of astrological sciences caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic. Translated in the King James Version as wise men, the same word is given as sorcerer and sorcery when describing "Elymas the sorcerer" in Acts 13:6-11, and Simon Magus, considered a heretic by the early Church, in Acts 8:9-13. Also, I find it interesting that the practice is condemned in the Bible, yet God brought these astrologers/sorcerers to see his son. And that they came to worship him and give him gifts!
After their meeting with Herod, the astrologers continued on to Bethlehem, with the star still leading their way, and then the star stopped over the place where Jesus was. The men were filled with joy, having now arrived at the home of this new baby king. And they were going to see him after all their months of studying and traveling. They entered a house and found Mary and Jesus there. Jesus could have been up to 2 years old when he was found by the Magi. Mary and Joseph were still in Bethlehem, for however long it was, and had not returned to Nazareth. When the men found him, it says they bowed down and worshipped him. These pagan men recognized that this baby was the rightful king of the Jews. They traveled countless days and nights, and forsook everything to come to find him. Eventually “every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord”.
11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The astrologers brought with them treasure chests containing gifts for the baby. The three gifts they brought are significant. I’m not sure if they even realized that or not, but I believe in part they did. The gold signifies Jesus’ position as King. Frankincense is an incense that was burned by the priests in the temple, and signifies Jesus’ position as our High Priest. Myrrh was an ointment used medicinally for healing, and also was an embalming ointment used to anoint one’s body at death, a gift that would point to his sacrifice of death for us one day. I wonder if Mary kept that ointment all those years, and if that ointment was used on Jesus when he was taken down off the cross.
But what is significant is that they sought him, traveled to find him, inquired about him, searched diligently, and prepared a chest full of gifts for him, to be opened before him when they bowed and worshiped him.
What is our treasure chest? Our heart, of course. The Bible says wherever our treasure is, there our heart is also. When we truly see Jesus as our King, our Priest, and our Savior, the only response can be worship and giving ourselves, opening our chest and giving him our heart. Giving him all of us, our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our time, our talents, our finances, our very being.
I pray that today you will search your heart and think about the treasure you have hidden there. Then ask yourself, is this a treasure that I am not willing to give up for the one who gave up life for me? What is it that I hoard as more important than the ultimate treasure of Jesus himself? Do I recognize who he really is and have I come to the place I am willing to open up my treasure chest and give him the only gift I can give him – my life?
Teresa
Monday, December 28, 2009
day 22, Christmas from a Toddler's Perspective
Good Monday morning. Whew! The rush is over, the paper cleaned up, and some of you ambitious people have your tree down already! I am one of the keep it up until New Year's people. So, since the tree is still up, that means I can still talk about the Christmas Story, right?! I was going to talk about the wise men further today, but instead, I’ve decided to talk about the truth I have found in a child's Christmas.
Shaelin is my granddaughter, now 3½ years old, and does not stop running (or talking) from the minute she wakes up until she goes to sleep at night. She is very well spoken and intelligent and focused, and of course, beautiful, with huge bright blue eyes, and more spunk than you would think such a small package could hold! (Of course, I’m not at all prejudiced!) She and my daughter lived with us for a while after she was born and I am especially close to her.
Anyway, I’ve observed her this season and also last Christmas, and I’ve learned so much by watching her, as I always do. Because of her innocence, she takes things at face value. She is a joy to spend time with and she loves to come play at Tisi’s house (that’s me). She lives in pure honesty. She hasn’t learned the trait of covering up, hiding, lying.
I have a nativity set I’ve had since my children were little. It is unbreakable and I’ve always allowed them to play with it. So last Christmas was the first year that a new generation has played with it. Shaelin went straight to it almost every time she came to the house. Over the years, I’ve added a few pieces, the last one being the “inn”. There is an innkeeper outside with his hand pointing people on down the street. The door opens and there is a light on in the inn.
When Shaelin first pulled her stool up to the table to stand and play with the nativity, she was drawn to the baby. I told her his name was Jesus and she picked him up and in her little girl inborn nurturing ways says, “Oh, baby Jesus” and held him close to her. Then she took him in one hand and with the other went “tickle, tickle, tickle”. Then she informed me he needed his diaper changed. To her, he was a baby, just like every other human baby, and she treated him as such. It bothered her that he was outside in the stable, and every time she left the house, I would always find baby Jesus just inside the door of the inn. She knew he needed a place, and that he did not belong outside.
Then on Christmas night last year, all the kids and Perry went to see Benjamin Button, and Shaelin and I stayed home and played. She sat in my lap and we were drawing pictures on a doodle board she got for Christmas. I drew a rough picture of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and sang “Away in a Manger” to her. Then I said, “Christmas is Jesus’ birthday”. And we sang Happy Birthday Dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to You. And I love what happened next. She walked over to the nativity and got Jesus and brought him back to me. Then she realized that on a birthday there are presents. She got up out of my lap and said, “Oh, baby Jesus, I find you a present”. She went over to the tree and looked under there for something to give to Jesus. There still was a small box under the tree that I had gotten a candle in the year before as a gift, but the box was so pretty I just wanted to put it under the tree. There were snowmen outside, nothing religious on the outside of this Christmas box, and on the inside it was just blue with stars, like the sky. There was nothing in it. She went right to that box and picked it up and brought it back to him. And said “Happy Birthday Jesus, here is you a present.” And we opened the box. And she decided it should be a house for him, a room for him to stay in. And so, that is now Baby Jesus’ home, and every time the lid would go on the box, she would say “open the door and let Jesus in his house”.
Now, don’t you know that I will ALWAYS have that box under my tree on every Christmas?? It will be a reminder to me. That a child, in her innocence, saw so clearly, that Jesus needs a place to call home. That he became just like us, that his mother held him and tickled him and changed his diaper and he was a real human child. And that, on his day and every day, you should seek to give him a gift. You give an unused package, pretty on the outside, but empty inside, and you open the door and you allow him to come in and make it his home. It doesn’t get much more simple than that, does it?
Thank you Shaelin for the gift only a 2-year-old could give her Tisi. It was my best gift of all. The gift of innocence and love and giving.
I pray he has found a home in you.
Merry Christmas
Teresa
Shaelin is my granddaughter, now 3½ years old, and does not stop running (or talking) from the minute she wakes up until she goes to sleep at night. She is very well spoken and intelligent and focused, and of course, beautiful, with huge bright blue eyes, and more spunk than you would think such a small package could hold! (Of course, I’m not at all prejudiced!) She and my daughter lived with us for a while after she was born and I am especially close to her.
Anyway, I’ve observed her this season and also last Christmas, and I’ve learned so much by watching her, as I always do. Because of her innocence, she takes things at face value. She is a joy to spend time with and she loves to come play at Tisi’s house (that’s me). She lives in pure honesty. She hasn’t learned the trait of covering up, hiding, lying.
I have a nativity set I’ve had since my children were little. It is unbreakable and I’ve always allowed them to play with it. So last Christmas was the first year that a new generation has played with it. Shaelin went straight to it almost every time she came to the house. Over the years, I’ve added a few pieces, the last one being the “inn”. There is an innkeeper outside with his hand pointing people on down the street. The door opens and there is a light on in the inn.
When Shaelin first pulled her stool up to the table to stand and play with the nativity, she was drawn to the baby. I told her his name was Jesus and she picked him up and in her little girl inborn nurturing ways says, “Oh, baby Jesus” and held him close to her. Then she took him in one hand and with the other went “tickle, tickle, tickle”. Then she informed me he needed his diaper changed. To her, he was a baby, just like every other human baby, and she treated him as such. It bothered her that he was outside in the stable, and every time she left the house, I would always find baby Jesus just inside the door of the inn. She knew he needed a place, and that he did not belong outside.
Then on Christmas night last year, all the kids and Perry went to see Benjamin Button, and Shaelin and I stayed home and played. She sat in my lap and we were drawing pictures on a doodle board she got for Christmas. I drew a rough picture of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and sang “Away in a Manger” to her. Then I said, “Christmas is Jesus’ birthday”. And we sang Happy Birthday Dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to You. And I love what happened next. She walked over to the nativity and got Jesus and brought him back to me. Then she realized that on a birthday there are presents. She got up out of my lap and said, “Oh, baby Jesus, I find you a present”. She went over to the tree and looked under there for something to give to Jesus. There still was a small box under the tree that I had gotten a candle in the year before as a gift, but the box was so pretty I just wanted to put it under the tree. There were snowmen outside, nothing religious on the outside of this Christmas box, and on the inside it was just blue with stars, like the sky. There was nothing in it. She went right to that box and picked it up and brought it back to him. And said “Happy Birthday Jesus, here is you a present.” And we opened the box. And she decided it should be a house for him, a room for him to stay in. And so, that is now Baby Jesus’ home, and every time the lid would go on the box, she would say “open the door and let Jesus in his house”.
Now, don’t you know that I will ALWAYS have that box under my tree on every Christmas?? It will be a reminder to me. That a child, in her innocence, saw so clearly, that Jesus needs a place to call home. That he became just like us, that his mother held him and tickled him and changed his diaper and he was a real human child. And that, on his day and every day, you should seek to give him a gift. You give an unused package, pretty on the outside, but empty inside, and you open the door and you allow him to come in and make it his home. It doesn’t get much more simple than that, does it?
Thank you Shaelin for the gift only a 2-year-old could give her Tisi. It was my best gift of all. The gift of innocence and love and giving.
I pray he has found a home in you.
Merry Christmas
Teresa
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Day 21, The Christmas Story - Pagans
Good Christmas Eve morning! I know you all are ready for tonight and tomorrow (haha). This is the day you try to get all the little things pulled together. Maybe some of you are doing a lot of cooking today or tomorrow. I'm looking forward to my family being here tonight and tomorrow. We'll play games and eat and play some more and laugh a lot.
Well, today we are going to talk about the "wise men". Actually when the wise men came to Jesus “Christmas” was over. They didn’t come to the manger, but actually to Jerusalem, and then later to a house where they found Jesus with his mother. Sorry to burst your bubble at the outset, but here we go...
Matthew 2
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”
We see three men (actually the Bible never says three, that part is legend - sorry to burst your bubble again) coming from distant lands, actually they were pagan astrologers, who traveled hundreds of miles to see this newborn “King of the Jews”. They showed up in Jerusalem after weeks or even months of travel, asking where they could find the newborn King of the Jews? All the people in Jerusalem became “deeply disturbed”. Knowing how religious the Jews were, and especially the spiritual leaders, they were probably quite taken aback by these pagans coming into their Holy City and asking where their newborn king was. In their arrogance, some of them probably thought “how dare a pagan Gentile come to us and tell us the king of the Jews is born! What do they know about our prophecies and about our God? We are God’s chosen people. Don’t they realize that we would have known it if our Messiah had been born?”
But these astrologers had obviously been watching the star as it arose and had been studying it and following it. Herod eventually caught wind of what was going on in the city and became very concerned, and called for a private meeting with these astrologers. I find it very interesting that they were knowledgeable enough about Jewish prophecy, that they came to seek and worship this king from hundreds of miles away, yet the king of the Jews didn’t even know his people’s own beliefs and prophecies? He had to consult the spiritual leaders. These unclean Gentiles knew of the prophecy and believed it and traveled that far to see this king and, not only to see him, but to worship him and bring him gifts.
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
In an act of strategy, he invited the wise men for a private meeting. Don’t you know he wined and dined them? He learned all about when the star first appeared, about their background as astrologers. He picked their brain for every bit of information he could get. He feigned interest in their astrology and hung on every word. Then he commissioned them to go search for this baby, and when he was found, he asked the men to please come back and tell him so he could go and worship him too. We all know Herod never intended to worship Jesus. He was gathering information. Herod was probably beside himself wanting to know where this supposed king was. He wanted nothing and no one to overthrow his rule. He had even had some of his own wives and children put to death if they dared cross him in any way. He was ruthless. He was a paranoid, power hungry man, and he had a plan.
Today what strikes me about this section of the story is that, in our arrogance, and in our “spiritual knowledge”, we as Christians can sometimes have an appearance of being “holier than”. We forget our holiness is in Christ alone, and that sometimes he speaks his truth even through unbelievers. He spoke through a donkey in the Old Testament, so I’m sure it’s not too hard for truth to come out of the mouth of even unbelievers. Truth is absolute and truth is His, no matter what mouth it comes out of. It is us Christians that are sometimes too proud, too knowledgeable, too spiritual, to admit that we totally lost focus of the main thing – finding Jesus and worshiping him. No wonder sometimes we are ridiculed by unbelievers. If we have any form of arrogance, we should be ridiculed. God himself hates our arrogance. And so will the people around you that are looking for Jesus. They won’t want any part of what you think you have to offer, that is, if you are willing to offer it at all.
As this Christmas Eve is upon us, I pray we would re-evaluate our “Christianity”. Is it truly a humble walk with the Lord? Or is it an “I’ve got it together”, “no pagan’s gonna tell me anything I don’t know”, “I’m God’s chosen, who are you?” attitude. If we do not approach this new year with absolute humility before God and before all those around us, we will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the coming year for Christ! I pray that the first thing on our list of New Year’s “resolutions” is humility before God, being open to being used by him in whatever way he wants to use us. Remember, the only knowledge we have, the only spirituality we have, the only salvation we have is because of that baby the pagans took months to travel to find, when nobody in Jerusalem bothered looking. We are no different than any unbeliever, because all we have is from God, and that same grace is available to them too. And some of them will be seeking him this coming year. The question is, will you help them to find him?
I pray this is your most blessed of Christmases. There will not be a post tomorrow, but there will be one on Saturday. I pray that quiet awe will begin to surround you as the darkness sets in tonight and that your heart will be silent before your King and that you will feel the quiet holiness of this season. Tonight, set aside some time just for him, just for the king. Give him the first gift of Christmas - yourself. Before you go to bed, go outside in the dark and look up into the sky. Look into the same stars that were in the sky 2000 years ago on the night Jesus came to us and realize he is still with us - Emmanuel.
Merry Christmas,
Teresa
Well, today we are going to talk about the "wise men". Actually when the wise men came to Jesus “Christmas” was over. They didn’t come to the manger, but actually to Jerusalem, and then later to a house where they found Jesus with his mother. Sorry to burst your bubble at the outset, but here we go...
Matthew 2
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”
We see three men (actually the Bible never says three, that part is legend - sorry to burst your bubble again) coming from distant lands, actually they were pagan astrologers, who traveled hundreds of miles to see this newborn “King of the Jews”. They showed up in Jerusalem after weeks or even months of travel, asking where they could find the newborn King of the Jews? All the people in Jerusalem became “deeply disturbed”. Knowing how religious the Jews were, and especially the spiritual leaders, they were probably quite taken aback by these pagans coming into their Holy City and asking where their newborn king was. In their arrogance, some of them probably thought “how dare a pagan Gentile come to us and tell us the king of the Jews is born! What do they know about our prophecies and about our God? We are God’s chosen people. Don’t they realize that we would have known it if our Messiah had been born?”
But these astrologers had obviously been watching the star as it arose and had been studying it and following it. Herod eventually caught wind of what was going on in the city and became very concerned, and called for a private meeting with these astrologers. I find it very interesting that they were knowledgeable enough about Jewish prophecy, that they came to seek and worship this king from hundreds of miles away, yet the king of the Jews didn’t even know his people’s own beliefs and prophecies? He had to consult the spiritual leaders. These unclean Gentiles knew of the prophecy and believed it and traveled that far to see this king and, not only to see him, but to worship him and bring him gifts.
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
In an act of strategy, he invited the wise men for a private meeting. Don’t you know he wined and dined them? He learned all about when the star first appeared, about their background as astrologers. He picked their brain for every bit of information he could get. He feigned interest in their astrology and hung on every word. Then he commissioned them to go search for this baby, and when he was found, he asked the men to please come back and tell him so he could go and worship him too. We all know Herod never intended to worship Jesus. He was gathering information. Herod was probably beside himself wanting to know where this supposed king was. He wanted nothing and no one to overthrow his rule. He had even had some of his own wives and children put to death if they dared cross him in any way. He was ruthless. He was a paranoid, power hungry man, and he had a plan.
Today what strikes me about this section of the story is that, in our arrogance, and in our “spiritual knowledge”, we as Christians can sometimes have an appearance of being “holier than”. We forget our holiness is in Christ alone, and that sometimes he speaks his truth even through unbelievers. He spoke through a donkey in the Old Testament, so I’m sure it’s not too hard for truth to come out of the mouth of even unbelievers. Truth is absolute and truth is His, no matter what mouth it comes out of. It is us Christians that are sometimes too proud, too knowledgeable, too spiritual, to admit that we totally lost focus of the main thing – finding Jesus and worshiping him. No wonder sometimes we are ridiculed by unbelievers. If we have any form of arrogance, we should be ridiculed. God himself hates our arrogance. And so will the people around you that are looking for Jesus. They won’t want any part of what you think you have to offer, that is, if you are willing to offer it at all.
As this Christmas Eve is upon us, I pray we would re-evaluate our “Christianity”. Is it truly a humble walk with the Lord? Or is it an “I’ve got it together”, “no pagan’s gonna tell me anything I don’t know”, “I’m God’s chosen, who are you?” attitude. If we do not approach this new year with absolute humility before God and before all those around us, we will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the coming year for Christ! I pray that the first thing on our list of New Year’s “resolutions” is humility before God, being open to being used by him in whatever way he wants to use us. Remember, the only knowledge we have, the only spirituality we have, the only salvation we have is because of that baby the pagans took months to travel to find, when nobody in Jerusalem bothered looking. We are no different than any unbeliever, because all we have is from God, and that same grace is available to them too. And some of them will be seeking him this coming year. The question is, will you help them to find him?
I pray this is your most blessed of Christmases. There will not be a post tomorrow, but there will be one on Saturday. I pray that quiet awe will begin to surround you as the darkness sets in tonight and that your heart will be silent before your King and that you will feel the quiet holiness of this season. Tonight, set aside some time just for him, just for the king. Give him the first gift of Christmas - yourself. Before you go to bed, go outside in the dark and look up into the sky. Look into the same stars that were in the sky 2000 years ago on the night Jesus came to us and realize he is still with us - Emmanuel.
Merry Christmas,
Teresa
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Day 20, The Christmas Story - Anna
Good Christmas Eve Eve! I hope you are not too hurried and harried to enjoy the upcoming days. Yesterday, we looked at Simeon in the temple, and today we look at a woman in the Temple named Anna.
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
There are women who are prophets mentioned in the scriptures several times. Anna is one of those women. For some reason, Luke gives more attention to women in his gospel than Matthew, Mark or John. And I’m glad he does, because he has shown us females what an integral part women can play in Christianity. Yay! From what we read it seems that Anna had become a widow only 7 years after her marriage. If you remember, from Jewish betrothal customs of the teenage girls, she would have only been in her early 20s when she became a widow. That means she had been staying at the temple for over 60 years! (I wonder if this is where Catholics get the idea of nuns. Bishop Stafford, if you are reading this, I’d love to hear about that.)
Anna’s father was Phanuel. Some sources say he was a high priest. If so, Anna would have grown up in the presence of a father who was a devout religious figure, devoted to God’s service. She would have known the meaning of every item of his priestly garments, his ephod, the stones on his breastplate, the colors of the robe and what they represented, the word of God rolled up into little pouches that he wore. I am sure he probably sat with her on more than one occasion and explained to his little girl all about what it meant to be a priest, a high priest. He would have been the only one allowed to go into the Holy of Holies. In modern day, she would have been a PK, a preacher’s kid. Now, I’m not a preacher’s kid, but I’m a preacher’s granddaughter, another preacher’s niece, and another preacher’s step-daughter, and life being raised around preachers is definitely different. Everything about your life is immersed in the church. Like I had told you in an earlier study, I spent my young days right by my granddaddy, going to the hospitals, visiting people at their home to witness to them, picking up carload after carload of kids for VBS, playing in the living room while my grandfather studied his Bible there for hours, went to more funerals as a little girl than most people go to in their lives, pretend teaching in a classroom while he was up at church doing stuff, standing by him after service while he shook each member’s hand as they left the church, (so they had to shake my hand too). Not the normal kid’s upbringing. But I loved it, and I still treasure it, and I’m sure Anna did too. It is a deep and dear part of anyone raised around it. So much so that after her husband died, as a young woman in her 20s, she devoted her life to being at the Temple, to prayer, and to fasting.
I’ve said if anything ever happened to Perry, I’d do like Anna and just devote myself to the church, go to Bible college, and do something in ministry. Guess I'd be a Baptist nun, haha. Now, believe me, I don’t want anything to happen to Perry because I love him dearly and he is one of the most wonderful blessings I have in my life. No one could ever replace him in my heart. But, I guess this may have been what Anna did. Alone, young, widowed and grieving, she returned as best she could, to what she had always known. After her husband died, she devoted her life to living at the Temple, to prayer, to fasting. She was called a prophetess. These are the trademarks that identified her to others when they heard the name “Anna”.
Also, as a woman, there were only certain areas she could have even entered around the temple, namely the outer courts. She could not go where the men went inside of the temple. But still, she devoted her life to God and stayed as "close" to him as her culture would physically allow her to. So as an old woman on this special day, she walked upon Simeon talking to Mary and Joseph about their son, Jesus. She heard the things he was telling them.
(33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”)
As she heard his words, she began to praise God. She realized that the fulfillment of all her prayers was bundled up right in front of her. The hope of her heart was revealed to her that day. And as a result, what was her response? She told everybody. It says she talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. What an amazing and exciting day that must have been for this old woman. She never held her own children in her arms, but she held the Messiah. She never could enter into the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies, but she held the Holy of Holies in her own arms and peered into his own face.
Anna’s father’s name, Phanuel, means “face of God”. Her father may have sought God through sacrifice and priestly duties, but his daughter, Anna, as devoted to God as himself and maybe even more so, would actually one day be the one to get to see the face of God in the human form of a 6-week-old tiny baby. Anna is a form of Hannah and means “grace”. God bestowed his grace on a woman that day when he allowed her to see what the priests never would, even though she would never be allowed to walk where the men walk. How's that for grace? Both her father's name and her own name were prophecies over her life.
I find it interesting that it says she talked to those who were “waiting and expecting God to rescue them”. She knew they would receive her report. Some people do not want to hear your report, and some will not receive it, but some are looking for something, and they are desperately praying and hoping and waiting for God to rescue them. When God reveals himself to you, it is not so you can keep it to yourself. It is a lifeline to throw out to others who are praying for rescue. To the one who is drowning and just about to go under. And like Simeon, she could not be silent about what she had been so graciously allowed to see. Both Simeon and Anna, in their old age, after years of seeking their Messiah, were both allowed to have him revealed to them, both allowed to actually hold him in their arms, both allowed to share with everyone they could what they had witnessed before their death. I can picture God's hand that day reaching out through the veil of the Holy of Holies, even before the veil ever ripped in half when Jesus was crucified. He reached outside the holiest place, out past the inner court, on to the outer court, where common people live. He reached out past the curtain that day.
I love a phrase in a song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean called "Mercy Came Running", where it says "I can almost see Mercy's face pressed against the veil".
Like Anna, like Simeon, like the "wise men" we will study tomorrow, everyone of us who seeks him WILL find him. It is a promise he has made to you. Jesus does not hide from us, nor does he play games with us. He wants to reveal himself to us. But he is a gentleman, and even though he knocks at your door and seeks you, he will wait for you to invite him inside. And when you finally do seek him with all your heart, he will faithfully make himself known to you. He wants to be known by us. He wants what we see to make a big enough impact that we are changed, and that we tell other people. Not because it is the “duty” of us as Christians, but because something alive and active is in us, and it flows out of us to others because it cannot be contained within human flesh or kept to oneself. Religion cannot do that for you – only relationship can do that, can make you want to share him with others, can allow you see others through God’s eyes of love, can cause you devote yourself wholly to him and him alone.
So today, and forever, seek him, diligently, earnestly, and you WILL find him.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. And we will see the final group that sought him in this story, the pagan astrologers who came hundreds of miles...
Click http://www.actionext.com/names_p/phillips_craig_and_dean_lyrics/mercy_came_running.html to hear this song.
Mercy Came Running - lyrics
Once there was a holy place
Evidence of God's embrace
And I can almost see Mercy's face
Pressed against the veil
Looking down with longing eyes
Mercy must have realized
That once His blood was sacrificed
Freedom would prevail
And as the sky grew dark
And the earth began to shake
With justice no longer in the way
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
Once there was a broken heart
Way too human from the start
And all the years left it torn apart
Hopeless and afraid
Walls I never meant to build
Left this prisoner unfulfilled
Freedom called but even still
It seemed so far away
I was bound by the chains
From the wages of my sin
Just when I felt like giving in
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
Sometimes I still feel so far
So far from where I really should be
He gently calls to my heart
Just to remind me .... MERCY CAME RUNNING
Happy Christmas Eve Eve! The gift of Mercy is born to YOU! Can you see his face pressed against the veil?
Teresa
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
There are women who are prophets mentioned in the scriptures several times. Anna is one of those women. For some reason, Luke gives more attention to women in his gospel than Matthew, Mark or John. And I’m glad he does, because he has shown us females what an integral part women can play in Christianity. Yay! From what we read it seems that Anna had become a widow only 7 years after her marriage. If you remember, from Jewish betrothal customs of the teenage girls, she would have only been in her early 20s when she became a widow. That means she had been staying at the temple for over 60 years! (I wonder if this is where Catholics get the idea of nuns. Bishop Stafford, if you are reading this, I’d love to hear about that.)
Anna’s father was Phanuel. Some sources say he was a high priest. If so, Anna would have grown up in the presence of a father who was a devout religious figure, devoted to God’s service. She would have known the meaning of every item of his priestly garments, his ephod, the stones on his breastplate, the colors of the robe and what they represented, the word of God rolled up into little pouches that he wore. I am sure he probably sat with her on more than one occasion and explained to his little girl all about what it meant to be a priest, a high priest. He would have been the only one allowed to go into the Holy of Holies. In modern day, she would have been a PK, a preacher’s kid. Now, I’m not a preacher’s kid, but I’m a preacher’s granddaughter, another preacher’s niece, and another preacher’s step-daughter, and life being raised around preachers is definitely different. Everything about your life is immersed in the church. Like I had told you in an earlier study, I spent my young days right by my granddaddy, going to the hospitals, visiting people at their home to witness to them, picking up carload after carload of kids for VBS, playing in the living room while my grandfather studied his Bible there for hours, went to more funerals as a little girl than most people go to in their lives, pretend teaching in a classroom while he was up at church doing stuff, standing by him after service while he shook each member’s hand as they left the church, (so they had to shake my hand too). Not the normal kid’s upbringing. But I loved it, and I still treasure it, and I’m sure Anna did too. It is a deep and dear part of anyone raised around it. So much so that after her husband died, as a young woman in her 20s, she devoted her life to being at the Temple, to prayer, and to fasting.
I’ve said if anything ever happened to Perry, I’d do like Anna and just devote myself to the church, go to Bible college, and do something in ministry. Guess I'd be a Baptist nun, haha. Now, believe me, I don’t want anything to happen to Perry because I love him dearly and he is one of the most wonderful blessings I have in my life. No one could ever replace him in my heart. But, I guess this may have been what Anna did. Alone, young, widowed and grieving, she returned as best she could, to what she had always known. After her husband died, she devoted her life to living at the Temple, to prayer, to fasting. She was called a prophetess. These are the trademarks that identified her to others when they heard the name “Anna”.
Also, as a woman, there were only certain areas she could have even entered around the temple, namely the outer courts. She could not go where the men went inside of the temple. But still, she devoted her life to God and stayed as "close" to him as her culture would physically allow her to. So as an old woman on this special day, she walked upon Simeon talking to Mary and Joseph about their son, Jesus. She heard the things he was telling them.
(33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”)
As she heard his words, she began to praise God. She realized that the fulfillment of all her prayers was bundled up right in front of her. The hope of her heart was revealed to her that day. And as a result, what was her response? She told everybody. It says she talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. What an amazing and exciting day that must have been for this old woman. She never held her own children in her arms, but she held the Messiah. She never could enter into the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies, but she held the Holy of Holies in her own arms and peered into his own face.
Anna’s father’s name, Phanuel, means “face of God”. Her father may have sought God through sacrifice and priestly duties, but his daughter, Anna, as devoted to God as himself and maybe even more so, would actually one day be the one to get to see the face of God in the human form of a 6-week-old tiny baby. Anna is a form of Hannah and means “grace”. God bestowed his grace on a woman that day when he allowed her to see what the priests never would, even though she would never be allowed to walk where the men walk. How's that for grace? Both her father's name and her own name were prophecies over her life.
I find it interesting that it says she talked to those who were “waiting and expecting God to rescue them”. She knew they would receive her report. Some people do not want to hear your report, and some will not receive it, but some are looking for something, and they are desperately praying and hoping and waiting for God to rescue them. When God reveals himself to you, it is not so you can keep it to yourself. It is a lifeline to throw out to others who are praying for rescue. To the one who is drowning and just about to go under. And like Simeon, she could not be silent about what she had been so graciously allowed to see. Both Simeon and Anna, in their old age, after years of seeking their Messiah, were both allowed to have him revealed to them, both allowed to actually hold him in their arms, both allowed to share with everyone they could what they had witnessed before their death. I can picture God's hand that day reaching out through the veil of the Holy of Holies, even before the veil ever ripped in half when Jesus was crucified. He reached outside the holiest place, out past the inner court, on to the outer court, where common people live. He reached out past the curtain that day.
I love a phrase in a song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean called "Mercy Came Running", where it says "I can almost see Mercy's face pressed against the veil".
Like Anna, like Simeon, like the "wise men" we will study tomorrow, everyone of us who seeks him WILL find him. It is a promise he has made to you. Jesus does not hide from us, nor does he play games with us. He wants to reveal himself to us. But he is a gentleman, and even though he knocks at your door and seeks you, he will wait for you to invite him inside. And when you finally do seek him with all your heart, he will faithfully make himself known to you. He wants to be known by us. He wants what we see to make a big enough impact that we are changed, and that we tell other people. Not because it is the “duty” of us as Christians, but because something alive and active is in us, and it flows out of us to others because it cannot be contained within human flesh or kept to oneself. Religion cannot do that for you – only relationship can do that, can make you want to share him with others, can allow you see others through God’s eyes of love, can cause you devote yourself wholly to him and him alone.
So today, and forever, seek him, diligently, earnestly, and you WILL find him.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. And we will see the final group that sought him in this story, the pagan astrologers who came hundreds of miles...
Click http://www.actionext.com/names_p/phillips_craig_and_dean_lyrics/mercy_came_running.html to hear this song.
Mercy Came Running - lyrics
Once there was a holy place
Evidence of God's embrace
And I can almost see Mercy's face
Pressed against the veil
Looking down with longing eyes
Mercy must have realized
That once His blood was sacrificed
Freedom would prevail
And as the sky grew dark
And the earth began to shake
With justice no longer in the way
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
Once there was a broken heart
Way too human from the start
And all the years left it torn apart
Hopeless and afraid
Walls I never meant to build
Left this prisoner unfulfilled
Freedom called but even still
It seemed so far away
I was bound by the chains
From the wages of my sin
Just when I felt like giving in
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
Sometimes I still feel so far
So far from where I really should be
He gently calls to my heart
Just to remind me .... MERCY CAME RUNNING
Happy Christmas Eve Eve! The gift of Mercy is born to YOU! Can you see his face pressed against the veil?
Teresa
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Day 19, The Christmas Story, Simeon and Seeing
21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD.” 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
We studied the circumcision ceremony when we looked at John, Zechariah and Elizabeth, which occurred eight days after the baby’s birth. There is another “ceremony”, a purification offering. I don’t know the exact time table of Mary, Joseph and Jesus leaving Bethlehem, or where the circumcision ceremony was performed. Or when they traveled to Jerusalem to the temple. All I know is there was a lot of traveling going on in the first couple of years of Jesus’ little life. This offering would have been made when Jesus was 40 days old, and the purification offering was for the purification of the mother. Also, according to Jewish law, if her first child was a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord. They were required to sacrifice two turtledoves for this. This shows Mary and Joseph's poverty, for that was the sacrifice required of poor people. Those with wealth would have been sacrificing larger animals.
Most interesting of all to me was that they had to redeem him, or “buy him back” from the Lord with a certain sum of money.
How interesting that Mary and Joseph took their child after 40 days to the temple in Jerusalem. What an ironic picture that they “bought back” and sacrificed for the very One who would buy us all back with the sacrifice of his own life, his own blood. And all the while the Redeemer of them all was in their presence!
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there.
And yet again we have another person filled with the Holy Spirit. It honestly had never entered my mind that there was this much activity of the Holy Spirit until I studied this story more closely – how active the Holy Spirit was during this whole process. You think of him being there on the day of Pentecost and from there on out, but you don’t really stop to realize he’s been at work all along. It’s like watching an orchestra of divinely coordinated events.
A man named Simeon was eagerly looking for, and expecting, the Messiah. He was a devout and righteous man. Because of his relationship with God, earnestly seeking the Messiah, the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he actually got to see the Messiah. So on this day that day Jesus was being brought to the temple, the Spirit led Simeon go to the temple also. So that when Jesus came into the temple, Simeon was already there. When he saw Jesus, he recognized this child as the Messiah. The Holy Spirit revealed it to him. He opened his eyes. Simeon took Jesus in his arms, and as he held his newborn Messiah in his very own arms, he praised God with the blessing that you see here:
He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Why did Simeon see the Lord, the Messiah? Because he had so earnestly sought him with all his heart. Everybody quotes Jeremiah 29:11, but have you read further? Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” What a promise! God wants to be found. But your heart must seek for him like you look for a lost treasure. Daily.
Why is it we complain we can’t see God at work, we don’t hear him, it doesn’t feel like he’s there? Maybe we haven’t searched for him with all our hearts. Maybe finding Jesus isn’t the foremost concern in our life, the thought that wakes us up in the morning, the consuming passion of our life. Do you honestly even want to find him this week, during all the Christmas commotion? Is that on your list of things to do? Maybe our spirits are never quiet enough in his presence to hear the Holy Spirit tell us where to go, how to position ourselves, where to wait, to be there waiting when Jesus shows up!
Matthew 6:33 says “seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you”...
Simeon had been seeking Jesus, so intently so, that he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would get to see him before he died. Simeon saw what the shepherds saw, that the Messiah had been born. He held the very Messiah in his arms and worshiped his God, saying “now let me die in peace, because I’ve seen your salvation”. Jesus was the desire of Simeon’s heart. And God was pleased to bless Simeon with seeing the Messiah for himself before he died.
We are all seeking something. What is it every day that you are seeking, that consumes your waking and sometimes sleeping thoughts, that takes your extra time, that asks for your money, that you think about the moment you wake up, that you ponder about, make plans for, study about, watch? What is your primary focus? What is the desire of your heart?
Excitement? Fun? Retirement? Your stock and 401k recovering? Your team making it to Superbowl? Fantasy Football? Your weight? Your looks? The acceptance of your peers? Your paycheck? Your house and car? And on and on your list might go...
Let me say this - You WILL find what you seek for, in one way or another. It just might not be exactly how you thought it would be.
Luke 11:9-10 says “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
So, what is it that you really are seeking deep in your spirit? I think if you are quiet long enough and brutally honest with yourself you will have to admit that what you seek, no matter what form it seems to be taking, is peace and contentment, and that can only be found by seeking one thing – a person - a savior - Jesus. Just as Simeon did. Seek him with your whole heart. Everything else will take care of itself. And while you live here on earth you will also get to see Jesus – every day.
Can you say like Simeon did "I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people?" It is my hope that you can.
Praying for open eyes to see.
Love, Teresa
22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD.” 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
We studied the circumcision ceremony when we looked at John, Zechariah and Elizabeth, which occurred eight days after the baby’s birth. There is another “ceremony”, a purification offering. I don’t know the exact time table of Mary, Joseph and Jesus leaving Bethlehem, or where the circumcision ceremony was performed. Or when they traveled to Jerusalem to the temple. All I know is there was a lot of traveling going on in the first couple of years of Jesus’ little life. This offering would have been made when Jesus was 40 days old, and the purification offering was for the purification of the mother. Also, according to Jewish law, if her first child was a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord. They were required to sacrifice two turtledoves for this. This shows Mary and Joseph's poverty, for that was the sacrifice required of poor people. Those with wealth would have been sacrificing larger animals.
Most interesting of all to me was that they had to redeem him, or “buy him back” from the Lord with a certain sum of money.
How interesting that Mary and Joseph took their child after 40 days to the temple in Jerusalem. What an ironic picture that they “bought back” and sacrificed for the very One who would buy us all back with the sacrifice of his own life, his own blood. And all the while the Redeemer of them all was in their presence!
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there.
And yet again we have another person filled with the Holy Spirit. It honestly had never entered my mind that there was this much activity of the Holy Spirit until I studied this story more closely – how active the Holy Spirit was during this whole process. You think of him being there on the day of Pentecost and from there on out, but you don’t really stop to realize he’s been at work all along. It’s like watching an orchestra of divinely coordinated events.
A man named Simeon was eagerly looking for, and expecting, the Messiah. He was a devout and righteous man. Because of his relationship with God, earnestly seeking the Messiah, the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he actually got to see the Messiah. So on this day that day Jesus was being brought to the temple, the Spirit led Simeon go to the temple also. So that when Jesus came into the temple, Simeon was already there. When he saw Jesus, he recognized this child as the Messiah. The Holy Spirit revealed it to him. He opened his eyes. Simeon took Jesus in his arms, and as he held his newborn Messiah in his very own arms, he praised God with the blessing that you see here:
He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Why did Simeon see the Lord, the Messiah? Because he had so earnestly sought him with all his heart. Everybody quotes Jeremiah 29:11, but have you read further? Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” What a promise! God wants to be found. But your heart must seek for him like you look for a lost treasure. Daily.
Why is it we complain we can’t see God at work, we don’t hear him, it doesn’t feel like he’s there? Maybe we haven’t searched for him with all our hearts. Maybe finding Jesus isn’t the foremost concern in our life, the thought that wakes us up in the morning, the consuming passion of our life. Do you honestly even want to find him this week, during all the Christmas commotion? Is that on your list of things to do? Maybe our spirits are never quiet enough in his presence to hear the Holy Spirit tell us where to go, how to position ourselves, where to wait, to be there waiting when Jesus shows up!
Matthew 6:33 says “seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you”...
Simeon had been seeking Jesus, so intently so, that he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would get to see him before he died. Simeon saw what the shepherds saw, that the Messiah had been born. He held the very Messiah in his arms and worshiped his God, saying “now let me die in peace, because I’ve seen your salvation”. Jesus was the desire of Simeon’s heart. And God was pleased to bless Simeon with seeing the Messiah for himself before he died.
We are all seeking something. What is it every day that you are seeking, that consumes your waking and sometimes sleeping thoughts, that takes your extra time, that asks for your money, that you think about the moment you wake up, that you ponder about, make plans for, study about, watch? What is your primary focus? What is the desire of your heart?
Excitement? Fun? Retirement? Your stock and 401k recovering? Your team making it to Superbowl? Fantasy Football? Your weight? Your looks? The acceptance of your peers? Your paycheck? Your house and car? And on and on your list might go...
Let me say this - You WILL find what you seek for, in one way or another. It just might not be exactly how you thought it would be.
Luke 11:9-10 says “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
So, what is it that you really are seeking deep in your spirit? I think if you are quiet long enough and brutally honest with yourself you will have to admit that what you seek, no matter what form it seems to be taking, is peace and contentment, and that can only be found by seeking one thing – a person - a savior - Jesus. Just as Simeon did. Seek him with your whole heart. Everything else will take care of itself. And while you live here on earth you will also get to see Jesus – every day.
Can you say like Simeon did "I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people?" It is my hope that you can.
Praying for open eyes to see.
Love, Teresa
Monday, December 21, 2009
Day 18, The Christmas Story, Uncontainable
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
Can you imagine being one of them, a shepherd....being visited by angels? Wondering why it was us shepherds that God sent an angel to announce his birth? Getting your eyes opened into the spirit realm for a moment in time? Going into town and finding things just as the angel had told you? Finding a familiarly smelly cave with a man, a woman, and a newborn baby swaddled in strips of cloth, laying in a feeding trough of hay, surrounded by animals? And finally, the “aha” moment as you stood looking at the infant "shepherd" and it dawned on you. The realization that set in that he was like you. Lowly. Common. Working class. Plain. Regular. Like you. He came down to your level. He chose to announce it to you. He invited you to him. He bypassed kings and queens, and came to you. You are invited to see the Savior. You are invited into his tangible presence. He is like you, but still somehow God. God, here, with me.
Of course he is a king, of course he is God, but he laid down his rights as king to come to you. He wanted to come here. To change your life. To make your life more full than you ever thought it could be. To become your Savior, but also to become your friend. To show you that you could talk straight to him without having a priest talk to him for you. To walk with you and cry with you through hard days, to laugh and rejoice with you on the good ones. To be available to you at any moment of the day or night. To be faithful to draw you close to him no matter what you had done. To take your place for the punishment of yours sins, even though he had no sin of his own to be punished. To spend forever with....
Do you realize what level he stooped to, just to come to us? Do you realize he WANTED to? He chose to? The author of life, creator of everything, creator of YOU, reduced to a tiny...naked...hungry...crying...shivering... helpless bundle, totally dependent upon a human for his existence, for his nourishment, for his warmth, for his safety and protection. All because he wanted to come rescue you.
Ask God today to show you the level of sacrifice it took for Him to become one of us. The irony of being born to a carpenter, who would teach him how to create and fashion wood with his hands (even though it was him that created the tree and who taught men to create), to play in the sawdust at his feet as a toddler, to build your first project together with your dad as a young boy, to stand alongside him as a teen helping him build, and then as a man to have your own hands and feet nailed into that wood...all because he became one of us.
17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
It was just as the angel had told them! What they saw and experienced could not be contained! They had to share it! They were changed men! They took it back to their daily lives with them, “glorifying” God. Can we say the same? Can we say that what we have experienced by having Jesus come into our life cannot be contained to the point we have to talk about it? Can we say we take it with us everywhere we go, even into our workplace? Can we say it has made us a changed man or a changed woman forever? Does our very life bring honor and glory to God by the way we now live it?
All they saw that day was a baby. You and I have seen the whole picture - of his birth, his life, his ministry, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit. We have the books in the Bible to read about him, we have first hand accounts. We have it all. What do we do with it all is my question today?
I got a glimpse of what we do with it all, with the precious gift of Jesus we have been given. Just one trip to Kohl’s and Target hampered and grieved my spirit! Lines of people herded into roped off waiting lines like cattle, waiting for the “next available cashier”, people obviously tired and overspending, lights, tinsel, decorations, Christmas tree dinnerware, sales, sales, sales, dancing snowmen, penguins, and singing Santas, an old lady arguing in the aisle with a grandson because he couldn’t tell her what everybody wanted, a child tired of waiting in line, tired of being in a buggy. People scurrying everywhere to get something, anything, just so Aunt Hazel has a present under the tree. It has just never affected me like it did this time. It all seemed so foolish, like “chasing the wind”. Bowing to a god, a "spirit" of commercialism that has totally distracted us from the birth of our only hope. I feel ashamed of what we have done, of what it has all become. Of how ignored our guest is at his supposed celebration.
The only “birthday” celebration I’ve ever known where the “honoree” doesn’t get a gift, gets virtually ignored, and the guests go about lavishing on each other, but never on him. How odd and how selfish we humans are. Why are we not giving him anything?
But yet, knowing this would be, he still came. He knew we would do this. He knew mankind would totally reject him and find something else to worship. He knew he would be the last to get any recognition. He knew that materialism and commercialism would overtake us. He knew Santa would become the hero of the holiday and the Easter bunny the hero of the most sacred of his days. And he still came. He is still there, in the shadows, in the dark and dirty places, waiting for us. Because he thought we were worth it. And he is waiting for you.
What would it even look like this year to turn our hearts totally toward him? To give him a gift? Even the phrase “the true meaning of the season” has become cliche. What is it your parents say they want when you ask them? “Don’t get us anything, they say. Write me a card or something.” They want to know you. They want to know that you love them. Stuff is unimportant to them because they are your parents. Our Father is the same way. He just wants us. It’s all he’s ever wanted –us.
When you wrap the last of the stack of gifts, or when that last gift is opened Friday, sit among the paper and the bows and all the stuff you and your family have acquired, and ask yourself did you forget to give the most important present of all. Did you forget to give yourself to Christ? In the midst of all the giving mayhem, what did you truly give this year?
I love you all and I hope you truly sense what he has done for you. So much so, that you cannot contain it!
Teresa
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
Can you imagine being one of them, a shepherd....being visited by angels? Wondering why it was us shepherds that God sent an angel to announce his birth? Getting your eyes opened into the spirit realm for a moment in time? Going into town and finding things just as the angel had told you? Finding a familiarly smelly cave with a man, a woman, and a newborn baby swaddled in strips of cloth, laying in a feeding trough of hay, surrounded by animals? And finally, the “aha” moment as you stood looking at the infant "shepherd" and it dawned on you. The realization that set in that he was like you. Lowly. Common. Working class. Plain. Regular. Like you. He came down to your level. He chose to announce it to you. He invited you to him. He bypassed kings and queens, and came to you. You are invited to see the Savior. You are invited into his tangible presence. He is like you, but still somehow God. God, here, with me.
Of course he is a king, of course he is God, but he laid down his rights as king to come to you. He wanted to come here. To change your life. To make your life more full than you ever thought it could be. To become your Savior, but also to become your friend. To show you that you could talk straight to him without having a priest talk to him for you. To walk with you and cry with you through hard days, to laugh and rejoice with you on the good ones. To be available to you at any moment of the day or night. To be faithful to draw you close to him no matter what you had done. To take your place for the punishment of yours sins, even though he had no sin of his own to be punished. To spend forever with....
Do you realize what level he stooped to, just to come to us? Do you realize he WANTED to? He chose to? The author of life, creator of everything, creator of YOU, reduced to a tiny...naked...hungry...crying...shivering... helpless bundle, totally dependent upon a human for his existence, for his nourishment, for his warmth, for his safety and protection. All because he wanted to come rescue you.
Ask God today to show you the level of sacrifice it took for Him to become one of us. The irony of being born to a carpenter, who would teach him how to create and fashion wood with his hands (even though it was him that created the tree and who taught men to create), to play in the sawdust at his feet as a toddler, to build your first project together with your dad as a young boy, to stand alongside him as a teen helping him build, and then as a man to have your own hands and feet nailed into that wood...all because he became one of us.
17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
It was just as the angel had told them! What they saw and experienced could not be contained! They had to share it! They were changed men! They took it back to their daily lives with them, “glorifying” God. Can we say the same? Can we say that what we have experienced by having Jesus come into our life cannot be contained to the point we have to talk about it? Can we say we take it with us everywhere we go, even into our workplace? Can we say it has made us a changed man or a changed woman forever? Does our very life bring honor and glory to God by the way we now live it?
All they saw that day was a baby. You and I have seen the whole picture - of his birth, his life, his ministry, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit. We have the books in the Bible to read about him, we have first hand accounts. We have it all. What do we do with it all is my question today?
I got a glimpse of what we do with it all, with the precious gift of Jesus we have been given. Just one trip to Kohl’s and Target hampered and grieved my spirit! Lines of people herded into roped off waiting lines like cattle, waiting for the “next available cashier”, people obviously tired and overspending, lights, tinsel, decorations, Christmas tree dinnerware, sales, sales, sales, dancing snowmen, penguins, and singing Santas, an old lady arguing in the aisle with a grandson because he couldn’t tell her what everybody wanted, a child tired of waiting in line, tired of being in a buggy. People scurrying everywhere to get something, anything, just so Aunt Hazel has a present under the tree. It has just never affected me like it did this time. It all seemed so foolish, like “chasing the wind”. Bowing to a god, a "spirit" of commercialism that has totally distracted us from the birth of our only hope. I feel ashamed of what we have done, of what it has all become. Of how ignored our guest is at his supposed celebration.
The only “birthday” celebration I’ve ever known where the “honoree” doesn’t get a gift, gets virtually ignored, and the guests go about lavishing on each other, but never on him. How odd and how selfish we humans are. Why are we not giving him anything?
But yet, knowing this would be, he still came. He knew we would do this. He knew mankind would totally reject him and find something else to worship. He knew he would be the last to get any recognition. He knew that materialism and commercialism would overtake us. He knew Santa would become the hero of the holiday and the Easter bunny the hero of the most sacred of his days. And he still came. He is still there, in the shadows, in the dark and dirty places, waiting for us. Because he thought we were worth it. And he is waiting for you.
What would it even look like this year to turn our hearts totally toward him? To give him a gift? Even the phrase “the true meaning of the season” has become cliche. What is it your parents say they want when you ask them? “Don’t get us anything, they say. Write me a card or something.” They want to know you. They want to know that you love them. Stuff is unimportant to them because they are your parents. Our Father is the same way. He just wants us. It’s all he’s ever wanted –us.
When you wrap the last of the stack of gifts, or when that last gift is opened Friday, sit among the paper and the bows and all the stuff you and your family have acquired, and ask yourself did you forget to give the most important present of all. Did you forget to give yourself to Christ? In the midst of all the giving mayhem, what did you truly give this year?
I love you all and I hope you truly sense what he has done for you. So much so, that you cannot contain it!
Teresa
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