God Keeps Us Moving! Jesus in Bethlehem and Nazareth and Galilee – Luke 2, Matthew 2, Micah 5

After the rituals required after the birth of Jesus, the family returns to Nazareth – and where Luke moves on to telling us the story of Jesus as a teenager, Matthew’s gospel brings in information about the Magi Wisemen from their lands, and Joseph and Mary travelling WITH Jesus FROM the land of Israel to Egypt and back…So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

What can we learn from these travels? Not just that God kept them moving – but that God led them to the places and people whom He needed them to see.

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

If God is growing the baby of Jesus – imagine what He can do for us and with us… Grace is upon us too – we have God’s grace with the accepting faith and repentance to follow Jesus. Grace is an umbrella of Love which allows us to gather ourselves together even when it is raining brokenness from the outside.

Last night I thought oh yes, I will finally get to a Monday night faith gathering in time for their Christmas program – with friends whom I knew and friends whom were probably going to be there – and with new friends whom I would meet that night. God did not disappoint – but oh for me? STUCK in traffic – actually it kept moving slowly slowly- and for some reason the left lane was moving fastest and I kept in it… but 2 hours for a 45 minute trip – I had to be thinking “what is God thinking here” – He is holding me back on purpose or just the timing – or just the whatever… And yet it has nothing to do with me – as I pray for those in that accident which I learned had been 4 hours before – no fatalities but some injuries and surely more than just a minor inconvenience which I was having… and since the highway was going to be shut down until midnight – likely they had to rebuild a barrier or two besides remove the trucks – I am sure it was an unexpected turn for the workers too…

ANYWAY – I digress like my detour and as I had to exit one exit early which leads to the zigzag travel through suburbia, developments, farmsteads which are idle, and the darkness of the countryside where the deer are always a risk to jump, I still realize that I made it. I made it – and my friends saved me a plate of shepherd’s pie – just like the message was about shepherds being shepherded and us being asked to be led by the Lord to do His Work and speak praises and tell others about the Good News – in our own stories…

My story is HIS story, I told a new friend – that His actions and our willingness to obey and act and listen and speak and care are all purposeful even if we don’t see it – like waiting in traffic. It was one of those traffic days – God kept me moving – and pausing to refuel – both my car and my life and my lunch…

May we always realize that the Lord has everything under control and we need to keep moving best we can to where He leads…

AMEN

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Luke 2 NKJV

Christ Born of Mary

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented in the Temple
Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Anna Bears Witness to the Redeemer
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

***

***

The Boy Jesus Amazes the Scholars
His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Jesus Advances in Wisdom and Favor
Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Matthew 2
New King James Version
Wise Men from the East
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Flight into Egypt
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Massacre of the Innocents
Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”

The Home in Nazareth
Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Micah 5 NKJV

The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem

Now gather yourself in troops,
O daughter of troops;
He has laid siege against us;
They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

The Coming Messiah

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”

Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
And this One shall be peace.

ASSURED in Order to Assure and Reassure, Anna and Jesus, Luke 1-2, Psalm 103

ASSURED – Anna Bears Witness to the Redeemer – Anna was Assured and Assuring. Mary and Joseph must have been assured – and reassured – by the repeated assurance of another person in the temple who was praising God and came up to them while they were holding baby Jesus.

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

How interesting the shepherds were heralded by angels to go/come, Simeon was moved by the Spirit internally to go/come visit the temple that moment, saw the babe as redeemer as he prayed to see. But Anna? Anna was ALREADY THERE – already ready to serve and to praise. (and why did the Lord send double reinforcements in the temple – a male and a female voice each praising – or simply showing these double reinforcements that they were on the right track in praising for years and years – encouragers to keep encouraging!)

My grandma’s name was Anna – is Anna – and although she passed over 40 years ago now, I can remember her smile and joy in her grandkids. I can remember the gifts she put together at the table at birthday celebrations – they were small gifts for each person in a brown paper lunch bag tied with ribbon and then the ribbons were all tangled and you took your name tag tied to the other side and you had to unwind yourself and untangle with all the tablemates to get your bag – fun… Grandma already was in the fun… How encouraging for us to be those grandma-types now – to help others in the fun…

Anna, the prophetess, was surely assuring to the people who came to worship. Anna served God constantly day and night by prayers and by working the praise into witness. Fasting and Prayers – we could always devote more time – Anna did. Anna was gifted of those long years that opportunity to both see the Savior – but also to ASSURE and reassure His Parents. Like an angel, Anna was ALREADY IN THE KNOW that GOD ALREADY IS A GOOD GOD and worthy of being served.

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness...” God speaking to Moses in Exodus 34:6

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” David in Psalm 103

Yesterday I was SO BLESSED to share the sermon in my church – the family of believers with us are very spiritually strong and it is a JOY to be able to share openly with them as an encourager who gets encouraged. Assuring assurances. I was blessed it went well – with the enthusiastic prop craft that we all got to make – a torch bearing many LIGHT scriptures – over 70 – and making a remembrance to go out and share the light however you can… it was blessed. I stepped afterwards downstairs and in that quiet moment I praised the Lord for it going well and my eyes caught a lotion bottle on a shelf that said: ASSURED – yes – I was assured at that moment of God being in charge – of God making it go well – of the Lord working in all our lives. WE ARE ASSURED AND THEN READY TO ASSURE. THAT IS THE ANNA IN US – AN ASSURANCE TO EVERYONE – GOD IS MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS – AND WORTHY TO BE PRAISED.

Later that morning I had the opportunity to assure others – and remembering that I was assured – it becomes both an honor and a duty to assure others that GOD IS WITH US – IMMANUEL !!!

AMEN

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Psalm 103 NKJV

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies – A Psalm of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.

Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

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Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1 or reading:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Luke 1-2 NKJV
Dedication to Theophilus
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The Song of Mary
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Birth of John the Baptist
Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

Circumcision of John the Baptist
So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.” But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

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The Boy Jesus Amazes the Scholars
His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Sermon: Jesus IS the Light

Just to say I have been SO EXCITED to share this GOOD NEWS in this sermon this morning is an understatement. I have been SO EXCITED all week and ever since I actually got the scripture that helped ILLUMINATE this year long sermon series – BEEN SO EXCITED – and I will recap today about Jesus being the Light. (And I have a special surprise for everyone) SO EXCITED!!!

TO quote Silent Night: “Son of God, love’s pure light – Radiant beams from Thy holy face – With the dawn of redeeming grace – Jesus Lord, at Thy birth…”

And let us reflect – Hey, that is a LIGHT joke – but really – we are to REFLECT the LIGHT OF THE WORLD – we are to see and feel and comprehend this Light, to KNOW GOD, to experience this LIGHT and not hide it – and to SHOW LOVE to God and one another by reflecting this Light, to encourage with this LIGHT – the LIGHT of presence and the LIGHT of HOPE – which we can share to GROW COMMUNITY.

As we heard in the John 1 scripture reading this morning: the light coming into the world. The Light SHINES in the darkness – And darkness has not overcome it… In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

YES!

For unto, us, a child is born, unto us a son is given…

Angels proclaimed to lowly shepherds about a Baby in the manger who is Christ the Lord: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Scripture tells us that surely the generations and generations ached for this LIGHT to come into the world – after Abraham after Isaac after Jacob, after Moses, after David but we are told by many prophets and especially Isaiah: that a Savior would come WHEN THE TIME WOULD BE RIGHT, right? That when the SAVIOR would come into the world, He would be the MESSIAH, the Wonderful Counselor Mighty God Prince of Peace.

The LIGHT has come into the world – darkness has not overcome it.

And I think there was lots and lots of darkness this week. I mean, I have to shut off the news quite often, but there was a lot this week. And somebody asked me at work if I knew why the flags were at half staff, and I had to say that I didn’t know – But I could imagine half a dozen reasons from this week alone… There’s a lot of darkness in the world. But remember the victory of Jesus. Remember that the only Healer for this sin sick world in Jesus and He has entered the world, Immanuel, God with us. And He WILL come again.

I’m sorry we could not gather last week for sharing a message with everyone due to the snow storm. And yet, that snow – that GLORIOUS SNOW – the snow was so brilliantly bright. I felt like I needed sunglasses, and even the next morning when the sun came out, I couldn’t believe how bright it was.

I drove my youngest up to work because you know, the Subaru was in its glory and the brightness of the fresh snow on the trees was immense. I can’t even imagine and my heart can start to feel how immense the light of Jesus coming into the darkness was a gazillion times brighter and IS a gazillion times brighter. When the angels announced to the shepherds about the baby and where to find Him, imagine the LIGHT and seeing the glory of God. But really, we are still not talking about the sunlight nor moonlight not even starlight, We are talking about the light of a Savior.

Quoting Simeon, who got to hold this baby Jesus in his arms, Simeon said this Savior is a consolation for the people of Israel and a LIGHT OF SALVATION TO THE GENTILES – And as we lit the Advent candles this morning, remember the light was increasing more and more and more. And we talk about physical link to represent Jesus and we have to remember that we’re talking about internal light. We’re talking about direction, talking about the light of hope, the light of lighter burdens. We’re talking about the warmth of the light in the warmth of our hearts. And we also talk about growing community by sharing this hope by being God’s hands and feet, by giving reason for our hope in Jesus and that He goes with us…

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And now I want us to discuss what this light means to us. And how we can share the impact. And don’t worry, I have not just one prop, knowing you love props, I have a prop for each one of us… and I want to give US the opportunity for each of US to talk about the LIGHT and how have experienced light…

I will give you a minute to collect your thoughts about LIGHT – how you have experienced it or how you may SHINE it … (Hand out bags of props) – YES! We ALL get to make a prop and take it home and let the LIGHT SHINE with it…

(HAND OUT THE BAGS)

Now before we open our bags – is there anyone who wants to share right away about LIGHT? talk about the LIGHT and how have experienced light? (wait…)

Well, I want you to find the three colorful fringed pieces of paper – each person gets one orange, one yellow and one white… each person also gets a brown or black base… On these colorful pages, you will find old testament and new testament scriptures about LIGHT – what the LIGHT means – how we share – Who God is – and about faith…

Let us share some (not all) of these scriptures – who wants to pick one from the orange paper – the old testament references? One from the first column – one from the second – or one from the third? Etc And the yellow paper – these are many from the gospels and into the first acts… Then the white paper – the acts and the letters and the book of revelation. Anyone care to read one from those papers? (pick on people if necessary)… WAIT FOR READINGS

OK – what are we going to do with these scriptures and these props???

I had seen a tremendous show maybe 10 years ago – a new telling of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” – by the great grandson of Dickens, Gerald Dickens… and there is always a tidbit of insight to be gained from the re-hearing this classic tale – even if I have seen Scrooge – a Christmas Carol a thousand times – this had a couple small sprinkles of “new to me” verbiage – because it was faithful to the original text which I never heard and is usually omitted from the glitzy productions –

We know that this A Christmas Carol is a redemption story certainly for Scrooge – a return – a repentance – a realization…

And although ghosts of Christmas past present and future are fictious, the part that struck me – and plays into our prop today is from my favorite of the Dickens’ ghosts: the Ghost of Christmas Present – “the like of which you have never seen before” – because every Christmas making life fresh and renewed again…

The text that peaks my interest was/is about the Ghost of Christmas Present’s torch – not only did he shed the LIGHT for Scrooge to see – he SHARED the LIGHT in a fantastical way – the torch shared physical light – yes – but the original text mentions the Ghost sprinkling incense and water drops on people arguing in the streets to make them of good humor – WOW

Here is the text: Imagine Scrooge and the big jovial Ghost of Christmas present walking the streets: “ soon the steeples called good people all, to church and chapel, and away they came, flocking through the streets in their best clothes, and with their gayest faces. And at the same time there emerged from scores of bye-streets, lanes, and nameless turnings, innumerable people, carrying their dinners to the bakers’ shops. The sight of these poor revellers appeared to interest the Spirit very much, for he stood with Scrooge beside him in a baker’s doorway, and taking off the covers as their bearers passed, sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch. And it was a very uncommon kind of torch, for once or twice when there were angry words between some dinner-carriers who had jostled each other, he shed a few drops of water on them from it, and their good humour was restored directly. For they said, it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas Day. And so it was. God love it, so it was.”

WOW – love that imagery and that truth that us – not sharing incense not dripping water or fire but sharing light and love – peace and prodding – sharing the living water from Jesus – from the Light? Giving needed relief to the poorest of souls – all these things causing the people to become more friendly jovial and full of LIGHT especially at Christmas.

—

SO let us make these torches! THESE ARE ALL UNIQUE – don’t be afraid! You will roll the orange paper first – with the writing on the outside – insert it into the torch and flare the flames out – and them the yellow paper – rolling with writing on the outside – and insert it – and then finally white but this time with the writing – and insert that so that you can read the writing from the inside.

Let’s be that beacon – light that reflects our Lord – our Hope – our Jesus…

—

Dickens knew improving the lot of life of those in the 1800’s AND all the world is what Christmas can bring about about – Christmas is an opportunity for us and for the Lord finding the lost and saving the world one soul at a time –

Christmas present is a heartfelt reminder to find peace on earth that is in Christmas – from Christmas – Immanuel God with us… Reminding in Christmas – redemption is 100% due to Christ’s birth AND His Sacrifice.

Like Tiny Tim says: God bless us everyone – and Tiny Tim, the character of a little boy with a crutch and legs supported by iron frames, states: “that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”

Yes we know of Jesus as this Miracle worker but we ALSO know Him of our Salvation – and the Lord who shows us the Way: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus is quoted as saying in John 8:12 SO LET US CHERISH AND FOLLOW THAT LIGHT OF LIFE

—

So we wrap Up our Advent series of sermons still with anticipation of CARRYING this LIGHT – like the Christ Candle in our hearts and on our wreath – in our torches – we remember Jesus, You are Light, You are Love, You are Hope, You are Joy – You are the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 59 2-4 reminds his people of Israel, of the jews, that: the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. And Isaiah foretells that also the Gentiles shall come to His light, and kings to the brightness of His rising. Urging for all of us to Lift up your eyes all around, and see…”

Please Pray with me: In the beginning was the word, we know this powerful word is Jesus Lord and Savior that changes community lives, one person at a time. And so let us take our selves – (take our props – whatever light you can shed and share) – yes AND our hearts and spirits and steps – and be that life of Christmas now – no ghost but real people reaching out to real people with the JOY and energy and HOPE of our Savior. God Love us!

AMEN

Behold Jesus, Behold the Hearts Revealed, Luke 1-2

Behold – we know that Jesus entering the world gave the praying Simeon cause for seeking out the baby brought in the temple, the day that His parents Mary and Joseph brought him for the prescribed sacrifice to follow the law of Moses, a visit prescribed after Mary’s recovery from the birth.

Revealed – Simeon praised: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Simeon, clearly moved by the Spirit to know the truth (over the others there who surely saw just a poor couple and a baby), continued to state what would marvel Mary and Joseph – continuing the confirmation of what the angels revealed to the shepherds and what that the Angel Gabriel revealed to Mary: “you shall bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Simeon has awaited this day – of answered prayer.

Beholding Jesus, Simeon was filled with the Spirit and this made him a Holy Spirit messenger for revealing truth – And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. The Simeon revelation, which although was foretold in the scriptures, must have hit home even more intensely at that moment for Mary and Joseph – especially Mary whom would see her precious son Jesus be crucified: Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Revealing Jesus, Simeon knew what he prayed for – to see this – to know the prophecies would be fulfilled – and to see God’s plan – not just for himself but for the kingdom of God to be restored – the sons of Jacob and their tribes the Israelites, the Jews, to be consolidated again in Glory, and for the Gentiles to know and follow the direction of this great light – that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Behold: ‘that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed‘ is a mission of Jesus – to reach everyone who would hear – and this Immanuel, God with us, in a baby Jesus was a sign of the “time was right” for God to intervene and bring forth a NEW Covenant. Jesus as a baby, a sign, a God, and a person “which will be spoken against”, meant that Mary would see the retaliation of the threat that He was interpreted as – to be reviled and put down and crucified as someone who was a threat to earthly order. True.

Hearts reveal that we are broken people in a broken world and the healing must come from a Savior – a Messiah. We may behold the many hearts that are revealed, including ours, to the truth, starting with Simeon, then Anna, as it was with Mary and Joseph, with Zacharias and Elizabeth, and with the shepherds and the wise men… That we all “Behold the Beheld” – Jesus IS Christ the Lord…

Amen

—
Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1 or reading:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

***
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
***

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Simeon Sees Simeon Says Salvation’s Son Saves

OH SIMEON!

Not Simon says – but Simeon SEES and Simeon SAYS!

Scripture pretold such things, surely Simeon Studied!.

Simeon, led by the Spirit, surely startled and soothed.

Simeon Sees Salvation’s Son, a Savior!!!

Senior awaiting satisfaction before surrendering in death.

Sweet eyes satisfied – sees glory for Israel, consolation in God’s Son.

Such LIGHT of Salvation’s revelation SHINING for the Gentiles

Simeon swaddles His Savior as a babe, simply soul satisfyingly.

Simeon’s sure statement: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

Simeon Sees Simeon Says Salvation’s Son Saves

Sweet Amen

Amen

—

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

—

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

***

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
***

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Poor No More, Praising a Prescribed Purification Petition, Luke 1-2

… and when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Jesus was, is, and is to come.

Jesus was born as prescribed – a Holy Healer for our sick sinfulness – a LIGHT to enter the broken dark world – a Savior Messiah for Jews and Gentiles – a Child of God – and God as a child. And Jesus came as a substitute for sacrifice – fulfilling the law of Moses as required – like a lamb, Jesus became the atonement for all.

And as prescribed in the law of Moses, from Leviticus, Jesus was circumcised after birth. Jesus was raised in the traditional ways of the time. Mary and Joseph were faithful true to the Lord, despite their poverty. And the Lord made accommodations for the poor – providing for them: 2 small birds instead of the more expensive lamb.

Mary was needing ritual purification after childbirth as prescribed too: Now when the days of her [Mary’s] purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Yes, allowance for the poor – instead of a lamb, they were able to bring a small sacrifice. And isn’t that all of us – we are poor in spirit and poorer in the contrast to the almighty fulfilment with God – and so we have been gifted this Jesus, a substitute to bring us closer to God – to purify and to petition – and this we PRAISE. WE ARE POOR NO MORE!!!.

Poor no more – we are to be Praising a Prescribed Purification Petition – Jesus came to complete us. “He exalted the lowly” – by becoming even lower than the poorest people and lifting them all up. We have the glorious Victory in Jesus.

May this we praise.

Amen

—

Leviticus 12:1-8 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. ‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

—

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

***
Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

***

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Today, Ponder our Christmas Jesus, Luke 1-2

Today I ponder a Christmas Jesus – it seems that the only break from stress comes when I ask the Lord to calm the commotion in my life – it really happened 2 days ago when I was in a frenzy and just prayed and just calmed down… Returning to the Lord gave me peace back.

We can ponder in our lives of any good and any bad – but what we should treasure in our hearts is the good and especially ponder our God – our Savior and Prince of Peace – our Christmas Jesus – and our knowledge of the Almighty Amazing Forever Hope. Jesus has victory – we best pause in that praise. And ponder…

Here is the pondering scripture today – of Mary – of Shepherds – of all who were told and of us – a recounting of the event that Luke the gospel writer recorded details so important: So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

I ponder what 11 years has been since I wrote a pivotal piece for me, my “Christmas Flood”… That piece was a flurry of thoughts moving in my head and the baby Jesus growing in my soul made me ponder in my heart. Mary pondered too. Mary was visited by an angel, gave birth then heard an open exclamation of visiting shepherds telling her what they saw and heard – “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” – heard from a multitude of angels in the midst of the Glory of God, yes Mary pondered this and kept this and “all these things” in her heart, actively pondered them. The shepherds made known the angels’ proclamation – and some of us need to ponder this proclamation – and some of us need to make known what we ponder in our hearts…

My Christmas Flood piece was written in a flurry of brain and bursting heart of soul and settling down into my life changing – so much for the good – to give an eternal pondering and an immediate focus. Mary surely HAD to focus on birthing this baby. The shepherds HAD to focus on the angels and then their mission to go see “the sign” that was given to them. And all in amazement must focus on amazement.

And so here is 11 years ago – my piece which helped me heal – which urged me in a way to share for others to understand and to heal and find that peace of Jesus – as a baby – as a Savior – as a PONDER PLACED – Our Christmas Jesus…

AMEN and here is the writing:

Christmas Flood, 17DEC2014 (one week after an awakening diatribe that I wrote 10DEC where God found how to re-find my peace and grow my soul and my faith)

Christmas is like a flood of spiritual emotion, not a light or sustained soaking rain that allows the parched ground to slowly open up and absorb the much needed rain. Christmas is like that short downpour deluge of flooding rain, where only some water gets to the plants and the rest runs off into the gutters or low points. Like in modern construction, we (our spiritual souls) need to set aside flood plains, safe drainage areas so that the spiritual seeds that we have planted all year long aren’t washed away … that the parched spiritual soul is not choked by flood waters. So we can nurture, patiently, our delicate growing belief that God works in our lives every day.

We need sustaining rainfall. We pray for rain, yet do we prepare for it? In the movie “Facing the Giants”, the coach of a “bad news bears”-like football team is finding the need for an emotional awakening (as well as improved football skills) both for his team and himself. A colleague relates him the story of the two farmers in a drought…two farmers looked to God for rain, but only one prepared for it, so which fields receive the much needed rain? The gist of the quote from the movie is:

“I heard a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain. And both of them prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?” Well, the one prepared his fields for it. Which one are you? Mr. Bridges (the older advisor) continued. “God will send the rain when He’s ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.”

“Which one are you? God will send the rain when He is ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.”

Christmas finds us year after year flooded with buckets of wasted non-nourishing rain, excessive tinsel-covered giant hailstones and mud mud mud clogging and blocking our spiritual path…. If only we set up rain collection barrels to collect the deluge of Christmas excess rain to save some for watering our souls after the new year, to use all winter until we get to the next soaking rains of Easter, the greens of spring, the rebirth thru resurrection.

How can we prepare for rain? How can we dig trenches for excess while welcoming the much needed spiritual lift that comes with a baby in a manger. How can we? Pray. Pray for guidance. Pray for peace and clarity in your heart. Pray for the calming presence of God. And prepare. Prepare for the arrival for both spiritual and non-spiritual abundance. While you need to appreciate and delineate between the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and that of the showy, wing-flapping commotion caused by angels dragging your soul to the cradle…while you need to appreciate and delineate between your heart bursting with Christmas joy (think Dr Suess’ Grinch’s heart growing “three sizes that day”) and your head saying ‘slowdown, wait, don’t get swept away with emotion’ ….

Either way, you need to prepare your fields for rain

—

AMEN – and thank YOU Lord for your Peace…

—

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

***
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
***

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Goodwill Towards Men, Luke 1-2

It must have been a surprise – it WAS a surprise – but these were the chosen few – shepherds – who would be led to the baby Jesus. Shepherds who normally shepherd were being gifted shepherding by a distinct directive of angels.

WHY? To show God was sending signs and messages, preparation and promises of the Promise fulfilled – a Savior was born – one that they had awaited hundreds of years for. WHY? Because God was showing and living “Goodwill toward men”. WHY? Because of the broken world of people. WHY? Because of sin separating us from God.

SO, God sent His Son to get us back close to Him – to allow the forgiveness of sins. AND, in demonstration of His Will – to then will all of us towards good will demonstrated towards each other, including forgiveness, generosity, tolerance, light and direction.

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Peace is a place of the heart into service and into understanding – Goodwill is peace prayed for and pursued. Jesus came to be the Prince of Peace.

Amen

—

Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1
or reading:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

***

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
***

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Not Perfect, but Temporary, Luke 1-2

It’s not perfect but falling asleep on the couch is OK – and obviously nap-worthy.

But then not being able to get to sleep normal is not OK – but I will survive.

Not perfect but temporary… (means I will indulge in a nap later!)

There’s lots that is not perfect in this world – not that I have much to complain about myself – like the lack of falling asleep – but there are other things we all worry about – like our family – our situations – our futures – our life. And yet one of the MOST important comforts of living a Christian life is to remember that THIS TIME IS TEMPORARY – Heaven awaits and is forever…

Mary, Jesus’s birth, Joseph’s caretaking, and life in Roman-ruled times, well – as uncomfortable it is to give birth to a baby – uncomfortable to be NOT at home – uncomfortable to have ridden a donkey that much pregnant – uncomfortable and concerning to be turned away from indoor niceties only to have to a back stable – the baby – our Savior foretold – and Mary’s song praising – well He, King, would be placed in a feeding trough for animals… NOT ideal – but no problem for God.

AND… TEMPORARY…

What harshness of this world today = well, it compares to harshness of the past – no era is perfect – and no era has as much hope either than the hope we bring to our daily lives because we DO know these hardships (and sweet life) are TEMPORARY…. We make do and Mary did too! Eventually Mary did move out of that stable – but then again they had to keep moving – knowing that Herod was after them – Joseph and Mary and Jesus moved to Egypt for a time – Jesus Himself had no place to “lay His head” – meaning the Son of Man was always on the move – and all of the people in this world He would sacrifice for – to bring them Home to Heaven in God’s Grace and Mercy – forgiveness.

And what is God’s situation for us to be without Him in Heaven? TEMPORARY – and God thru the sacrifice of His Son restores righteousness in life and love for His people. God’s temporary was LONG – is LONG – in longing for His children (us). Let us remember this BRIGHT spot – God has a HOME for us.

And yes there ARE bright spots in life – not just the hardships – and there are hopes – and holidays – and sharing – and love… And these are not lost in the shuffle or struggle of today. If the hardest struggle we have today is compain-worthy then let us ALSO try to have the BEST praise that is praise-worthy – that Jesus DID come – Jesus IS Blessing us – Jesus WILL come again. Our time awaiting His return is TEMPORARY…

Remember – our days here are temporary – but our lives with Him are ETERNAL…

Amen

—

Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1
or reading:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary

***

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Register with This Child, Jesus, Luke 1-2

What a beautiful Christmas season this is… We are even expecting snow tonight!!!

Best is keeping my/our head in the scriptures, heart in the hope, head in the game, and eyes (sight and eyes of our hearts) fixed on REGISTERING with the people, the children, and especially THE CHILD, Jesus.

It’s a history lesson when we remember the hustle and bustle is nothing new, the very busy marketplace and city of Bethlehem and Judah was recreated recently at a friend’s church, BUSY! And I only had a half an hour, so I breezed through, no kids for me so no need to stop at EVERY craft station, but OH how I would have loved that as a child – bringing back 1970’s memories of my time when the local 4H club had sponsored a day of Christmas crafts, I can still see us now making angel wings out of dried milkweed pods spray painted silver… loved that…

And I loved this event, I had never been there before, and did not know what to expect, but especially was pleased to be able to stop at the prayer tent, asking prayers directly for a friend and her family, as she moved cross country and is readjusting… thank you for prayers…

This busy marketplace was a recreated scene at the church which was where the people were called to travel and register due to a decree from Caesar… these reenactors led you from the marketplace to the nativity, downstairs, where fifteen people at a time got to listen to the story of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. Beautiful… and then we got cookies!!! Yum… and I was struck by the extreme friendliness of all the people. In an event that crowded, they had to keep everything flowing…

Then, I was able to jump out, get home and switch gears to a local school for a girl scout Christmas party. I went not to dance but to help with crafts and to cleanup. My kids are grown, but my heart still is with these families and the next generation of girl scouts… and this party is a known chaos of fun, two hundred girls. I put on my Christmas tree hat and arrived while they were deep into their activities… I stationed myself with the crafts just as simply pick up trash and keep it semi organized. But in the middle of my trash picking a couple times I stopped when some little child asked me to help with their ornament, and that’s when I realized I had been just breezing through and not registering, not registering with the children or the moms… so I stopped and I made eye contact and I connected. It all registered. Serving and helping is a time to REGISTER with the people.

“All went to be registered, everyone to his own city.”

We need to REGISTER this holiday season. Register with the meaning, and being a servant, with being anticipatory of it all, and REGISTER SPECIFICALLY WITH ONE CHILD, JESUS.

There is nothing better to birth this Christmas season than to birth and rebirth our faith. It’s time to register with the real meaning…

I picked up a small book, “Why the Nativity?” by David Jeremiah, and the chapter about Bethlehem… that city had seen so much in the history and backstory of the coming of Jesus from Ruth and Naomi to King David, including the anointing by Prophet Samuel. And that Bethlehem is called the “bread city” fittingly, for our Jesus, Who is the Bread of Life… our Daily Bread…

At the girl scout event, I registered with just a few girls and they remembered me for my science and camping stuff, it’s very little compared to our troop leader… and it’s not important that they remember me, but I know the importance of the girl scouts remembering that there are so many who have helped them. Now let us remember the many who have helped us…

Let us this Christmas especially register with the CHILD, JESUS, who has helped us more than we ever could know…

When I look at my old Christmas cards or my old decorations, those people are no longer living with us, but they are spiritually here and their memories are real. Those memories register with us…

Let us remember and register with Jesus… Who was and IS, and IS to come…

Amen

—

Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1
or reading:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

***

Christ Born of Mary
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

***

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

A Horn of Salvation – Jesus Came, Is Here, Is Coming, Luke 1-2

It is good to question – it is good to write!!!! In this next section of Luke – the coming of John the Baptist and of Jesus – the next section is about Zacharias’s prophecy. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,” …

Sure I asked google – “what is a HORN of Salvation?” – and of course the first answer is Jesus – YAY – and the answer continues the raising up is the strengthening and the call and the everything (and there are there are interesting tidbits of answers here: https:// www.gotquestions.org/horn-of-salvation.html)

I also sent this question to a new professor friend pastor. In these over 10 years of my faith 100% with Jesus, life (as in the Holy Spirit) has brought me many more folks who look into these deep question things – the nuances – the many interpretations or words that might have been different translations…

So without torturing the text, it’s still good to probe…

The Horn of Salvation: We know the answer is Jesus – for our Salvation is by His acts – and yet I did ask: does this horn refer to the old horns of the day (animal for ?) AND OR the new horn sound from the trumpet that will shout out when Jesus comes back? or maybe probably ALL of it! I know that the google searches can only bring you so far – information wise – and the Holy Spirit knows all… Plus the time of the writing – Zacharias didn’t have to say everything – the Bible doesn’t have to tell us everything – and Luke didn’t have to list everything because his readers would have perhaps studied the scriptures and known already – whereas we (as a society and even modern christians don’t dig into all the old testament work as we should…)

Anyway my new professor pastor friend said: “Luke 1:69 seems to be a direct reference to Psalm 18:2. “Horn” here is used as a metaphor for strength (picture two antelope or rams bashing heads) rather than any derivative use, such as a musical instrument or a receptacle for oil. (The Leviticus geek in me is tempted to make a reference to the horns of the altar, which were splashed with blood on the day of atonement…)”

Yeah well cool! Glad I asked!

Questions are good…

Answers are discussed

And Salvation is worth the exclamation of Zacharias!

Anyway – as this day, December 10th, is a special anniversary day – 11 years ago I wrote a diatribe of my lack of faith – which led to more writing – and more faith – this day is a reminder to KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And keep praising!!!

For 11 years since Dec 10th 2014, when the Lord decided it was fine time to get my head on straight over the course of 2 months 2014-2015, I had a tremendous awakening that caused me to write it all out. Yes, my first 10-15 writings or so were so raw and yet needed to process – and then in that first 50 writings and life interactions, I landed Feb 1st 2015 with 100% trust and love and knowledge and belief in Jesus. It was totally like the Lord God led me to Jesus as Lord and Savior – and I had to accept what I could no longer deny…

BLESSED BLESSED BLESSED…

So, I continue to write now – processing and learning and sharing….

So blessed to keep asking deeper into faith while simply accepting Jesus as All in All!!! Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and me too… He has raised up a horn of salvation for the house of His servant David AND us Gentiles too!!

Thank you for reading!!!

Amen

—
Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1 or reading: https:// www .biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.

***

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,

***

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

HUMBLE not ENTITLED, Mary will birth Jesus for ALL of US

HUMBLE – that is a great word to describe Mary, mother of Jesus. Mary was HUMBLE, not ENTITLED.

God sent an angel to tell her – and God sent a Son to dwell and grow in her – and God sent a Savior to save her – AND US…

…

HUMBLE

Unbelievable

Mary

Bearing Our

Lord

Emmanuel – God with us…
…

Mary was a teenager when she learned her whole life would change – and she dedicated herself to that duty that the Lord established into her. Mary had an encouragement from her relative Elizabeth who praises: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” – Recorded in the Gospel of Luke chapters 1 and 2.

Mary sings in response of this amazing fulfillment of time: Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.”

And as I think back to my life at that time of teenager-ness – God also intervened and helped me feel my worth in an age that was and is so broken for so many – so tumultuous between childhood and growing into adulthood – so emotionally wrought – so unknown… God intervenes to show us worth – God reaches us to make us worthy – God grows in us to show us LOVE.

Mary was realizing that she was regarded as His maidservant – but not in an entitled way – Mary would choose to accept this with humility, and she knew that it was God “has regarded the lowly state” of her. AND THAT lowly not worthy state IS OUR OWN SELVES AS WELL – lowly as we are on this broken earth and in need of our Savior. MERCY as we would be humanly condemned but instead we are spiritually uplifted with GRACE. “AND HOLY IS HIS NAME.”

“And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.” – “He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.” – Remember how we can give up worldly things to accept that treasures are in Heaven and that we are to be hungry for the Spirit.

“He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.” – Mary gives us a history HIS story lesson – that the Messiah would come from the nations born of Jacob (Israel) who wrestled with God and saw the angels up and down to heaven as on a ladder. That the Messiah would come from amongst the many promised descendants of Abraham – revered as God’s friend and servant – who lived humbly and walked with God. Mary would understand God’s continuity and goodness – His Almightiness and Majestic Ways – and His Mission.

HUMBLE not ENTITLED, Mary will birth Jesus for ALL of US – “Jesus-ers” and “soon to be Jesus-ers” and “Jesus-wants-you-to-know-Him-ers” – EVERYONE…

ALLELUIA and AMEN

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
****

The Song of Mary
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.
***

But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

The Family Returns to Nazareth
So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Boy Jesus Amazes the Scholars
His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now soit was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Blessing to Those Who Believe, for the “Jesus-Wants to MEET You-ers”, Luke 1-2

Fulfillment – Blessing – Strengthening – Peace

These are but a few of the benefits of knowing Jesus.

Salvation – Forgiveness – HOPE – JOY – and FOREVERNESS

If you don’t know Jesus – at least know that JESUS WANTS TO MEET YOU

JESUS ALREADY KNOWS US – and each of our souls – souls leap at the knowledge of Jesus – one just has to feel the deep deep leap that is TRYING to be noticed…

Jesus, fully God and fully man, was fully “delivered” by the Holy Spirit before He was even born – and that FULFILLMENT of years of prophecy came first as a message from an Angel Gabriel to Mary, His earthly mothers womb, Mary. John the Baptist, a prophet from God sent to pre-tell the world about Jesus Messiah, was 6 months grown in his mother’s womb, Mary’s relative Elizabeth. Baby John LEAPT FOR JOY in Elizabeth’s womb upon Mary’s visit to see her. “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Yes blessings abound for those who believe and for those who follow that leap that is deep – the knowledge of Jesus becomes the foundation of faith that continues to bless us – Jesus is the PROMISE fulfilled.

Jesus’s Arrival on Earth was pre-planned from the beginning – and His Return will be our next great prophecy fulfilled – in the meantime – KEEP THE FAITH!

KEEP THE FAITH

AMEN

Luke 1 section: Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told herfrom the Lord.”

Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV Prophecy from hundreds of years prior: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

—

Luke 1-2 NKJV
Dedication to Theophilus
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

*** Mary Visits Elizabeth

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

***

The Song of Mary
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Birth of John the Baptist
Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

Circumcision of John the Baptist
So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented in the Temple
Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Anna Bears Witness to the Redeemer
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

The Family Returns to Nazareth
So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Boy Jesus Amazes the Scholars
His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Jesus Advances in Wisdom and Favor
Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1 or reading:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

NOT SPEAKING speaks VOLUMES, especially for “About to meet Jesus-ers”

I have had times when I could not speak – a few times – lost my voice and for a stretch about 25 years ago I held up a sign that said “Howdy” and carried a notepad to communicate – for like a month! I recovered from that ailment – but weird. Then there was the time in college, freshman year, for “morgue hours” – which meant we couldn’t converse in the hallways during exam study time – final exams – time for quiet – so instead I carried a sign that said “Howdy” and maybe “good bye” and waved it in the hallway because I couldn’t not be a social person!

So – when I am not speaking – well that says volumes. Also when we do need to communicate that old adage is: “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Well, the Lord even tells us to HOLD THE TONGUE – because it is the most vile part of the body – the evil it could speak is worse than anything… Imagine then “not speaking” and remaining quiet to people whom we don’t get along with – might speak more volumes – at least it keeps the peace.

Not speaking but visibly shaken and who knows – Zacharias (from learning about him as that time’s chosen priest to do the sacrifices in the temple – recorded in the gospel of Luke, chapters 1 and 2) came out from the temple as if he had seen AN ANGEL!!!! HE DID! His NOT SPEAKING spoke volumes to these “About to meet Jesus-ers”… We don’t know what Zacharias told those people later, through writing on a tablet – but he certainly would have had a lot to write about! He surely motioned the size of the angel if his hands could expand that wide! And Luke, the physician and writer who interviewed all the people he could after Jesus was arose from the dead and during his travels in the early days of the church, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, recorded these amazing wonders of what was happening at the time of Jesus’s birth.

We do know Zacharias doubted what the angel Gabriel spoke of – that he would become father to the great prophet John the Baptist – in the footsteps of Elijah, and he doubted because of his wife’s old age that she was barren. But the angel told him God had a plan – and then the angel told him that he would not speak – lose his voice. Then we know later, that as soon as he was later filled with the Holy Spirit – in naming his son John, set aside for greatness, Zacharias spoke again – singing praises for God. He was not silent forever – but his NOT SPEAKING – and knowing his experience – was volumes enough to his soul – and noticeable to the people.

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.

Also noticeable was and is that Elizabeth retreated and hid when she had conceived – but she did praise God by saying that He took away her shame for previously being barren all those years – Elizabeth praised that the Lord did that – that the Lord had a plan – and we know that it was for her – and for her child – and for the world of people. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Can we imagine being quiet and praising God? Can we imagine that we only get a glimpse of this plan that the Lord has and even if we can’t speak of it right now, or have troubles right now, we can await the greatness that is to come – and we can also recount when the Lord has been faithful to us in the past and know that our perseverance will help.

We can speak volumes without words – so imagine if we choose the right words at the right time – and let the Lord through the Holy Spirit fill our mouths “at the right time” – let the Lord answer in our heads before we speak it to others – not calculated but cautionary for cause. Let us find the time for not speaking and for speaking – especially for the people who need to see Jesus in us… If they don’t know Him, may our actions speak to His Life and Love. May we be dedicated to Him.

Amen

—

James 1:19-20 NKJV So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

—

James 3 NKJV
The Untamable Tongue
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Luke 1-2 NKJV
Dedication to Theophilus
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

The Song of Mary
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

Zacharias’ Prophecy
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Glory in the Highest
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Circumcision of Jesus
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Luke 1-2 NKJV – Dedication to Theophilus – Here is a Bible Gateway link for listening: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/bubb/nkjv/Luke.1

or reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201-2&version=NKJV

Christmas Unexplained

If there’s one thing that has gone unexplained this Christmas, for me, it is the appearance of what I could say is way too many christmas penguins!!! I have no explanation, but I have visualized more penguins this year, than ever. But it’s probably because I know I have a heightened awareness of noticing them. I don’t necessarily like this (nothing against regular penguins, mind you), I don’t like it because it reminds me of a falsehood planted by a movie “When Santa Claus Comes to Town”, showing one penguin “Topper” to work with Santa at Santa’s workshop – but it’s the wrong attribute of the North Pole, penguins are only at the South Pole (and remarkable animals they are) – it is the carried away portion of interpretation I don’t like, for no good reason. And I DO know that this is ALL SILLY and there’s plenty of Santa Christmas unexpected and unexplained – and SILLY. I mean I have no problems with other Santa misconceptions, I’m not sure why these penguins BUG ME this year specifically, except that my last resort (should have been my first resort) is to connect my situation of visualization with a spiritual perspective and I write what it COULD mean in a devotion… It’s all personal because I have to process verbally in some format..

(Hilarity aside, I do NOT want to collect penguins, so nobody send me one… And I already have a few.)

I started asking this morning: “Lord, let’s close this chapter away this year, ok?”, before I undecorate, let me know what I should write, process, penguin away. I know that there is a lesson in unexplained penguins with a yet connected Christmas experience – this is of a foreigner – so perhaps for my writing and certainly there’s lots in the pondering to explain in the real Christmas story of You without even placing it on a certain date that got introduced thousand plus years ago as a calendar feast day… Perhaps we can be reminded that as beautiful as this earth is, we are foreigners here. As beautiful as Christmas scenes are, You came in not with flashing lights and neon, but humbled as a baby, You were and still are viewed too as foreign and even radical in love, to so many who don’t know You, do not understood You.

Christmas unexplained became Easter realized for so many, including us in faith.

Lord, You are not of this world, but connected fully to it’s people, and creatures, and creations. You Lord, remind us to work in place, be Your hands and feet in our little corner of the earth, at Christmas and always. Ah… our mindset also must shift to not be afraid to humbly move away from comfort and into the foxholes of life, move into mission and movement. Take the baby of our Christmas faith and raise it up in foreign territory, like Joseph and Mary going to Egypt, and back, protecting the Jesus in our personal perspective and care.

I’m not ready to put away Christmas decorations yet, we only just now got some snow and the tucked away feeling that I allow myself for January (but not February because that finds me ready for winter camping with scouts and polar plunges etc)… but for now I will stay in and ponder christmas unexplained and process what can be processed with the explanation that as homey as we make it here in our houses or this earth, it’s still not our home.

Work in the world, like Jesus, but stay away from the trappings…

Let us waddle like a penguin in danger and away from it (like this ice this morning), walk like a penguin and yet fly in faith with Jesus to wherever we need to go, explained or not…

Christmas unexplained is faith realized…

Amen

—-

Paul’s exhortation to fellow Jesus believers in those early days:

Hebrews 13:1-2, 5-NIV

Concluding Exhortations

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

…

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

—

John 8:12-30

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?” But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

“Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Travel Smart, Listen Wisely, Follow Humbly, Epiphany, Book of Matthew, 06JAN

With today’s or any day’s weather it’s smart to watch the radar, and the traffic cams. Seems wise to know when to go or not. Have supplies in the car too. TRAVEL SMART.

Travel Smart, Listen Wisely, Follow Humbly.

It’s Epiphany! The arrival of the kings to Jesus and well they traveled SMART, not just because they were watching where the caravan animals stepped, but because they were educated and read the radar of the skies, following what they learned about a king of the Jewish people being born out of Judah, and traveled smart listened wisely to the angels on the way home too, avoiding Herod, who had evil intentions.

The wise men were “divinely warned” and were humble in following – they went to worship and give gifts – they traveled however long was required, watching the start, following it, and took the long route when necessary.

Joseph also traveled smart and listened wisely and followed humbly, the family escaped Herod by going to Egypt, they traveled and then returned. It was both for safety as well as fulfilled prophesy.

Matthew the author of the book also followed humbly, he followed Jesus as a disciple, followed humbly in giving up his known life for one of piety, study, exploration and exposition into what it meant to be a new Christian. He knew to follow and Jesus knew to pick Matthew.

Jesus traveled smart and listened wisely and followed humbly. Jesus as God had much to know about the people He would encounter, He conversed continually with His Father God, and He directed the Holy Spirit of God to be instilled in us as a living word. Jesus followed humbly in fulfilling scriptures and bringing salvation by divine destiny, desire and duty.

May we follow too.

Travel Smart, Listen Wisely, Follow Humbly.

Amen

—-

Matthew 2:1-15

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Flight into Egypt

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025!

Trust. Forgiveness. Abundance. Goodness. Peace. A Path Forward.

Those are the continual themes for the last week of readings in the Jesus Calling daily devotional – which I didn’t read until now because I didn’t take the time. Time flies, right? It’s already next year! Yeah! Thank God for extended Christmas spirits and Christmas refrigerators too, because there’s even so much christmas food that has to WAIT until we have time to eat it! So, it’s not hard to imagine that it is tough to process the end of the year at the end of the year or the beginning of the next!

NEW YEAR 2025 is already here! So, yes, THANK YOU LORD, for FAITH in TRUST, FORGIVENESS, GOODNESS, PEACE, ABUNDANCE and a PATH FORWARD. These are consistent themes for us NOW and in the future. Let us look to the Lord to fulfill our relationship with Him and others AND trust in the Lord in the times of trials, of which 2025 surely will have.

It’s impossible to not feel both relief and sadness of the Christmas stuff that isn’t so important a week later. It really shows us that like the uneaten ugh calories, we need to toss the falsehood that may have creeped into Christmas and get back to the strong sustenance, the protein of provision of the Lord’s coming, His Daily Bread.

Thank You Lord for the new year and the consistent never ending You!

Amen

Jesus keeps Christmas Easter and FOREVER Alive, Micah 5

It’s still Christmas for people, for those still celebrating and for those who wait for loved ones delayed in visiting, or are in the hospital. The tree will hold, the fridge will preserve, the date on the calendar means little compared to the celebration stage. Just like every holiday, it is the celebrating that is a state of mind over everything. It’s the REALNESS of the SAVIOR over the symbolism, the CONNECTION over the commercialism of convenience. (And why would precious gifts go 50% off based on a date anyway if they were THAT important in life.) Let us choose Christmas cheer over gifts this time of year.

What’s real Christmas? Jesus arriving! Jesus arriving to fulfill prophesy (as written in Micah 5), be the babe of humble means from Bethlehem in lowly Judah, AND to be wonderful counselor, Jesus to be Mighty King of the ultimate Kingdom, AND to rule as KING upon His return on earth, AND to be acknowledged as KING of our hearts all the days in between… Real Christmas becomes Real Easter… Real Easter becomes a wait to see Jesus return from the heavens… “and He will be our peace…”

What about the Israelites and all the scattered Jewish people? Jesus Messiah will come back for Gentiles and Jews. Micah 5 states about a Savior: He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

Micah educates all that Jewish people will be scattered, but remain loyal to Israel: The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples – AND – lifted up in triumph over your enemies. This is not just ancient history but future prophesy. And with God’s “anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me”,God will surely demonstrate His Almighty Power.

So Jesus keeps Christmas Spirit alive and we worship God for His Greatness, celebrating Jesus for His Mission, and stay tuned to the HolySpirit for directions on giving credit where credit is due: God from ancient old is still current and will reign again on earth. Jesus wants to reign in our hearts forever.

We know it as prophesy AND now TRUTH.

CHRISTMAS continues for those still learning about Jesus. Easter comes for saving all. And Jesus comes again to put all evil down forever.

Amen

—

Micah 5 NIV

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders.

The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man. The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue. Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.

“In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds. I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles when I demolish your cities. I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me.”

Jesus Insurance for our EXIT STRATEGY

I was just about to be at the “Dancing through Life” part of the movie, and yet I had an exit plan, meeting the roadside assistance tire repair person outside the theater, and plans to come back in, as I had already chatted with the ticket taker. Plus we took out the spare tire from the trunk in preparation, before going into the movie, and I had already told the tow people that I was in the movie. Seamless plan. Worked out great, had a plan, they knew the drill, so even on Christmas Day in the cold, it was like “Dancing through Life”… all OK… On the donut spare tire now, taking to the shop later today (it was a nasty pothole just before the theater and thankfully we have tire insurance, that plus roadside AAA is so convenient, pays off in emotional calmness for situations). Blessed.

And later now, I was thinking how I (we) escaped into movie land, knowing both the whole storyline in advance AND I certainly will see this movie version again to fill in the missed scenes. It was fine, escaping life for a moment in the movie and also capping off a great day of Christmas home-body joy. Dinner was prepped, eaten and stowed away in the fridge… Good food good people good day, a satisfaction of a finished Christmas prep too. Check Christmas pressure off my list, DONE. So, FLAT TIRE? A mere minor blip in the day. A slow decompression of a leaking tire like my breathing relaxing…. But a tire? Convenient chaos? It’s like knowing the movie in advance that you can anticipate the scary bits and be OK. So, an adventure of teaching today (my youngest’s car, his education), convenient as we both have the day off and an oil change scheduled, hmmm pre-convenient, hmmmm…).

Life has flat tires, but our emotional comfortable confidence to keep moving forward is OK. Insurance pays it forward. Life experiences prepare us. We will be OK. Keep moving.

Let me SWITCH to a separate thought and situation, an unexpected jolt I got 2 days before Christmas, I had learned of an unfortunate passing of a church friend in October, just heard of it now, so strange not to be in the loop then, so thetefore I can not process it now, but will. I was not in the mix of it, oblivious, and another friend, whom I also had not seen in months at my old church, was shocked that I didn’t know. But most there didn’t know until later either. We are curious how she passed, what happened with her cat, of which she sent me a cute fall photo where the cat adopted the table centerpiece. Cute. Our “aged” friend was in “decent enough” health just a week and couple days before she passed, when I had seen her last. So on that day we had gone to a renovated nature trail space, and I mentioned I was going to another friend’s church festival just after, a friend who had suddenly died earlier that year. Hmmm… it was a text message conversation after the nature walk, so I knew the last time I saw her, and it was not unusual for us to not chat for stretches of time. I don’t know her family well either, no connection there. Hmmmm…. (God bless her family, surely in shock.)

In processing hindsight, I’m glad that my friend was in a GOOD PLACE WITH THE LORD and she had an EXIT STRATEGY of TRUSTING THE LORD for all the next steps of LIFE, no matter our ages. A month away from a milestone birthday, she surely had thought about it, even if surely the quickness of it was not in her foresight. What about her stuff? Well, she won’t worry about it now, new life “with her Jesus”. (Prayers for her family for sure, and yet my friend is set in Jesus’s arms).

We know that the Lord is not just “LIFE INSURANCE” – saving us forever – He is also “ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE” – comforting us along the way – paving and paying ahead too. We can stay calm.

It’s like that backlit EXIT sign at the theater, there’s a plan to get out, there’s a world out there to ignore for a moment, an hour, a day – And there’s JOY on earth knowing Jesus came to make the Way AND show the Way.

In the movie I was watching, the wizard was no wizard, he had NO exit strategy nor ability to get the characters through the movie chaos. But OUR LORD??? Not only does He know the EXIT STRATEGY, He IS the EXIT STRATEGY, and Jesus IS the road to travel on too, every step.

Not “follow the yellow-brick road” but “FOLLOW THE JESUS-LAID ROAD” – that should be our life song.

EXIT STRATEGY? Check that off the Christmas list!

DONE

Thank you Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

Amen

(Praying for you all to have had a peaceful Christmas appreciating Christ.)

Merry Christmas, Jesus is Here!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

A blessing of Christmas is to realize we made it to Christmas, actually it was coming whether we were ready or not. Now, let us be praying for Christmas realization in everyone’s hearts, with Christmas commotion and commodity now to be calmed, if just for a moment. There is no power that could separate us from the love of Christ and the calming He gives us, if we tap into this peace and see His Work within our hearts. Therefore soak in the Savior over every situation.

Recently I saw the glow of the Spirit in the glow of the face of a sweet young lady portraying Mary at a Living Nativity, she BEAMED! The cautious Joseph watched on… The scene a JOY in the middle of chaos as there was a swirl of family chitchatting, kids exuberant in running around, and animals all around. It was a sight to see, but mostly a moment of peace in chaos to know Christmas is Christ coming for you and me, for all.

When Jesus came, it WAS chaos and confusing scenes in the land, times of upheaval and strife. But the few paying attention to the prophets were to know there would be a Messiah, the Lord above all, to be born in Bethlehem. Micah tells of the judgment of the people, but the Savior too, stating Jesus is to be known: AND THIS ONE SHALL BE PEACE.

Peace is a personal journey – let us all know a peace that comes from Jesus and shine this knowledge and contentment of our forever, if just for a moment, if just in a smile.

Merry Christmas!

For now He shall be GREAT To the ends of the earth; AND THIS ONE SHALL BE PEACE.

AMEN

—

Micah 5:1-5, old testament, prophet states: The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem

Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

The Coming Messiah

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me THE ONE TO BE RULER in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. And HE SHALL STAND AND FEED HIS FLOCK In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And THEY SHALL ABIDE, For now He shall be GREAT To the ends of the earth; AND THIS ONE SHALL BE PEACE.

Vintage Eyes, Christmas Eve Blessings

A poem…

Vintage Eyes

It’s not an old but new insight,

What you see with your eyes.

And it is all special,

Sometimes even a surprise.

For your sight has an old soul,

So gaze at the world from your vintage eyes.

Then see anew, the Light of the Lord,

His Unchanged Light is for us to newly realize.

Even with vintage eyes…

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Recently I was helping a friend get her tree out of the garage, heavy but we were simply rolling it then carrying it by grabbing the white wrapped sheet. Two people easier than one and we got it done. I held the front and she held the back. Then as we stood it up (the weighted tree stand already attracted), we immediately started sliding the white sheet and lifted it up off the top. We had motions of knowing what to do and just then I had a Flashback – I had a Flashback – but not to my history but to ancient history that my soul connected to – I realized we were doing the reverse wrap of what Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathia we’re doing. They wrapped up the body of Jesus after death, and we were unwrapping this tree of Christmas, breathing life into the Christmas season and situation of the moment, and sighing of accomplishment. We both could be weary of the Christmas prep OR we could be strengthened by the mission of Christ. The completion of burial was but a pause before the JOY of Jesus Forever – the unwrapping of Christmas in our own special way was a forever moment in advance. This surely rang true in my soul as we were friends not just of this earth, but faith friends forever by the power of the Lord. We were in the midst of the Lord in His work of preparation.

From where and when Jesus was laid to rest, we know He rose. And from where He went into Heaven, we know He will come again. Our hearts do prepare Him room now by the HolySpirit, our hearts now open up a vintage soul of knowledge as the Lord has set all of eternity in us, and our hearts can find His peace. Now known, our eyes must be those that SHINE that TRUTH. Our hands to motion in His mission. Our vintage eyes hold a mystery of the Lord unveiled in our souls. What a wonderful Christmas gift He gives us, knowing Him. Immanuel, God with us.

So let us prepare Him room by unwrapping the trees, the gifts, but especially our souls for us and for others to know His Love. Let that Love shine…

Merry Christmas eve…

May we be prepared in our hearts, above all else.

Amen

—

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecc3:11

John 1:4-5

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 19:38-42

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

Luke 1:49-55

And Mary said:

“…For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

1Peter 3:15-22

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits – to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

A Jesus Jumpstart of JOY

Oh we’re getting down to the wire, and I started placing the ornaments on the tree, it seemed the right timing to start. I put Christmas movies on as well, to help my energy, I need Jesus to Jumpstart my battery. However I was starting to grumble to myself, I was complaining at Christmas, I’m sure it’s common, and there is a natural frustration in the preparation, this time of year. Terrible to say but true. And it IS WORK to pull Christmas decorations presents cards food, etc, all together, isn’t it?! and is it appreciated? etc etc? Hmmm…

Grumble Grumpy Grrrr…

And then…. I saw the reminder word: “JOY”, a JOY ornament engraved on a wood piece…

That’s the ornament sensation that snapped me back to remembering the JOY of Christmas, and it’s not about grumbling. Where’s my JOY? Jesus, help, geeze. I DID have a good day already, so why am/was I grumbling?!!! I did get time for this right now, but the “why didn’t I get help?” creeped in… well, I just then got help: HolySpirit conviction against complaining and a Jesus Jumpstart of JOY. JOY is the focus and the benefit of the season, so JOY has got to be a RETRAINING word, giving us (me) and a better focus on the deep meaning of Chrisrmas being Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

J.O.Y. can remind us of our priorities:

Jesus

Others

Yourself, in that order. You are last, Jesus is first.

And for Jesus? JOY is a fruit of the spirit given to those who open their hearts to heaven, their focus to growing, their branches to bringing forth God’s fruit.

And yes, my mental shift started, acceptance wise, not just because I like ornaments on my tree too, but that others in my house DO really appreciate it all coming together, any potential visitors would love to see the tree and ornaments. So, in this early decorating, when I found the star that was buried in the ornaments and placed it on the top of the tree I finally got the attention and agreement with the placements position. (And then people in the house started helping, whew…)

Yes, I got the star straight, and I got my priorities re-straight – to think of Jesus is to know He sacrificed and went the extra mile. To think of others is to especially know you can go the extra mile. And yourself? To think of yourself is to remember that you’re going to have forever to sit down and relax, so keep moving now.

And when you think of yourself and forever? Who brings that to you now? Jesus.

We are in the home stretch, so rest well, and rehydrate and rejoice, and re-JOY again and again.

Thank you Holy Spirit for the Jesus JOY reminder!

Amen

PS, later I found the magnet I thought I lost in a pocket, but there it was on my fridge and I misses it – it says: “PRAY HARDEST WHEN IT IS HARDEST TO PRAY” – YES!!!

And like a Christmas tree with hundreds of decorations and plenty of branches to decorate, let us remember that in ourselves there are many places to bear fruit. Jesus, the Vine, said we are the branches, so let’s keep keeping them open for the Lord to hang fruit! The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL. Galatians 5:22-23

Jesus will find many nooks and crannies to fill. Don’t expect these from the world, but in yourself as Jesus builds your faith in Him and life to live in God’s love. Especially Lord, please give us of Your JOY!!! Jesus could say J.O.Y. stands for “Jumpstarts, Oh Yeah…”

Amen Amen

Laboring of Love

The laboring of Love, sweeter than anything, tolerant of hot situations, and surely God is in the mix all the time. Love Wins.

Perhaps we are not done with our Christmas prep, I’m surely not. I’m certainly not done with work stuff before setting that aside for a few days vacation. I’m reminding myself that I need to stop prep for Christmas to simply BE in Christmas, for example that the party I attended is actually mentally attended by me IN a Christmas Spirit, IN a jolly mood, IN JOY. And not just needing to collapse on their couch.

Then again, Mary and Joseph were laboring in their day just about now, Mary for sure about to give birth, the innkeepers were laboring busy, the Maji at some point started prep, and as for the gifts – someone labored hard to get them ready to prepare or purchase, and perhaps we all should tip our postal workers and delivery drivers just a little more for their back-breaking work.

Cookies – I attended a very unique if not the best cookie party concept ever – with friends just bringing dough and baking there, and sharing and eating… so just a little prep led then to a chatty fun bake-off… and what amazement to me were there were no duplicates.

The laboring of love, sweeter than cookies, tolerant of hot oven touches, and surely in the mix all the time.

The laboring (for anything) one could have is different when done together, it’s truly “many hands make light work”. And this is true of everything, work work included, and including decorating the tree, which my friend I visited gave me the privilege of placing the angel on. Beautiful. Not laboring there even if I was stretching to reach.

So what’s the labor of getting through day to day that plagues us with stress when we go it alone? What’s the deal with hard to get our selves organized or motivated? We are stuck in the go it alone mentality. BUT are we? NOPE! We HAVE THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY WITH US ALWAYS. Maybe we have stretching to do, like my reaching up to put the angel on the tree, but if we tap into real angel realms of warriors, they can help us!

Jesus may have waited for being born on earth, BUT Him as God already was laboring in LOVE, already fully God. Mary waited for Him too, laboring in love. So it’s OK for us to wait AND labor right now, (just rest your legs more), and appreciate Christmas IN the labor too.

And Rest in LOVE too, because the laboring of God IS in love and for us to know to rely upon Him.

Jesus the Son, God the Father, Holy Spirit the advocate, Three in One, never change like shifting shadows of time. ALL OF GOD IS WITH US ALWAYS, not away or elusive, but surely right here to help. So close, God is allowing and helping every breath.

Ok, making cookies are checked off the list, eating is ongoing, but the sweetness of Christmas? FOREVER…

Amen

White as Christmas Snow, Isaiah’s Forecast

I didn’t know the snow would stick, it’s BEAUTIFUL!!! Just enough to be pretty, will probably melt later, won’t stick around for a white Christmas, but technically I can say we have snow! It’s even on the winter solstice!

It was sort of predicted, without the hype this time around! I had just gotten my “SNOWBARU” car decorations on, a new wreath this year with big flakes when the real stuff came, unexpectedly, and I appreciated it melting on a busy Christmas-time preparation day. Still much to do…

Expectation and appreciation for a White as Snow situation was unfolding in a manger in Bethlehem, in the Christmas gift of Christ. Isaiah forecasted this, he predicted in prophesy, and became a scribe of the Lord’s special message, for a Savior would come, Who would cleanse the sins of all “WHITE AS SNOW”…

Reading Isaiah, it is clear the earth’s people would take a while to respond, as the prophets told of Jesus coming, but only a few saw the light through the hundreds of years passing… Only a few knew to look. It’s so clear now IN the LIGHT, but for those who walk in darkness still, we pray they see. It’s still a long winter, so much to do before spring. If only we can see the preparation time as purposeful.

Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow”

So, in an AMAZING Way, the Lord brings as CHRISTMAS SNOW – His mercy and grace to last forever – to forgive us – to bring us into His fold. Jesus was prophesied to come to earth and shepherd us, although His physical body melted as snow, pain and sorrow in a short 33years before crucifixion, HE ROSE and rehydrated our lives with His Living Water, and separated our sin far away from us. WASHED CLEAN. Christmas, Easter and Forever.

A gift of a Savior is SALVATION FOREVER. Thank you Isaiah for your forecast. Thank You Lord for the snow, and You as our GIFT.

Now that is perfect Christmas preparation…

Amen

—

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

Isaiah 51:1-6 NKJV

The Lord Comforts Zion

“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.”

For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

“Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished.

Joy To The World, WOW

I had the privilege of joining the girl scouts for some Christmas caroling and cookies and cocoa… Yes Rudolph is a favorite, and so cute was the suggestion to sing rocking around the christmas tree. My friends are amazing with all that they do as moms and teachers and ALSO leaders to scouts, like hundreds of scouts over the years…

I was very pleased to sing: “Joy to the World”!!! AND… Well I didn’t know this (and thank God for Wikipedia), but Joy to the World is NOT a Christmas song, but a highly published poem, mentioning in its lyrics NOT the first coming of Christ, but the SECOND! Oh!!!

OH!!!! Not even ho ho ho, not Christmas. But oh oh oh!!!

So please do give it a listen. And feel the JOY in ANTICIPATION that will be coming, anytime now, when Jesus returns! What a WONDERFUL and FOREVER Christ GIFT that will be!!! That’s truly Joy to the World, to have Jesus start our forever.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. OH OH OH, That’s the full circle with Jesus, the Word from the beginning, then upon Christmas, He Came, and Easter, He Rose, and His Second Coming, He “Proves” the Nations – judging them, seeing them bow down, AND He gives believers forgiveness and that is the equity given to all.

Now that’s a Wonder of HIS LOVE!!!

AMEN

—

This is from wikipedia:

Lyrics of

“Joy to the World” has four verses, although the third verse is occasionally omitted. [FYI – That third verse connects to the curse of Adam having to toil the ground, Genesis 3]

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

—

This is what Wikipedia says:

“Joy to the World” was written by English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts, based on a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian State and Worship. The paraphrase is Watts’ Christological interpretation. Consequently, he does not emphasize with equal weight the various themes of Psalm 98. In first and second stanzas, Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the King. Watts did not write this hymn as a Christmas carol, as the lyrics do not reflect the Virgin birth of Jesus, but rather Christ’s Second Coming. Stanza three, an interlude that alludes to Genesis 3:17–19 rather than to the psalm text, speaks of Christ’s blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin. The cheerful repetition of the phrase “far as the curse is found” has caused this stanza to be omitted from some hymnals. But the line makes joyful sense when understood from the New Testament eyes through which Watts interprets the psalm. Stanza four celebrates Christ’s rule over the nations.” The nations are called to celebrate because God’s faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.

—

Psalm 98

Sing to the Lord a new song,

for he has done marvelous things;

his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,

burst into jubilant song with music;

make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;

let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

—

Genesis 3:17-18 KJV

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

What a DIFFERENCE a Year Makes, and 10! Christmas Flood, 17DEC 2014 and 2024!

What a difference a year makes! Just a recheck at the doctor right now, for my youngest, and no worries here, got a GREAT result! I am camped out, our 630am appointment. Last year was nerve wracking a bit, our regular eye doctor, a professor himself, identified a non-issue tiny cyst, surely just that, but wanted it checked anyway. So a year ago we cautiously awaited the tests and eventual great news of yes, just a benign little natural cyst. Now, a year later, a recheck and like camping in the waiting room, it’s a PROCESS, tons of people here, a four hour staged set of exams and consultation. It is know a known, what a difference a year makes, no worries and grateful for good medical insurance and doctors and health care, yeah!

What a difference a quick year makes, continued marching into the future… and WHAT A DIFFERENCE 10 YEARS MAKES!!! 10 YEARS now of my Spiritual Awakening season in life, when the Lord appointed the time to knock my socks off in a Christmas Flood, rolled STRIKES knocking down my disbelief system, and flooded my dry soil, causing me to think my head was exploding and causing me to write out my whole awakening. Wow, 10 years. 10 years, over 2000 writings now…

It’s not just a time to stop and marvel, even though I do sometimes, it’s a KEEP MOVING and PRAISING season for me, for a reminder of all our faith lives…

I do praise God’s grace and mercy and love in our lives, peace in pur purpose

Here is the original writing and explanation:

https://debbieupper.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/christmas-flood-17dec/

I did not know then, for why I wrote this piece – but obviously now, the Lord was telling me to prepare my soul and brain for rain… the new reign of Jesus in me… this was a crucial start of my flood of awakening!

I wrote this and a diatribe before and a Lego Christianity piece after, and I then hid them in my car, hid all my first couple dozen writings in my car. I thought I was going crazy…

I don’t hide them anymore… and I cherish the years of being able to know to reach for the Lord.

Thanks Lord for my Christmas Flood Dec2014 – Feb2015, 10 years ago now! I posted into a blog one year later… I’m now over 2000 blogs with over 100 followers online.

CHRISTMAS FLOOD, 17DEC2014

This is my pivotal first piece to process what I didn’t know what was coming to me – a monumental earth-shattering life change – but it came… like a FLOOD

Christmas Flood, 17DEC

Christmas is like a flood of spiritual emotion, not a light or sustained soaking rain that allows the parched ground to slowly open up and absorb the much needed rain. Christmas is like that short downpour deluge of flooding rain, where only some water gets to the plants and the rest runs off into the gutters or low points. Like in modern construction, we (our spiritual souls) need to set aside flood plains, safe drainage areas so that the spiritual seeds that we have planted all year long aren’t washed away … that the parched spiritual soul is not choked by flood waters. So we can nurture, patiently, our delicate growing belief that God works in our lives every day.

We need sustaining rainfall. We pray for rain, yet do we prepare for it? In the movie “Facing the Giants”, the coach of a “bad news bears”-like football team is finding the need for an emotional awakening (as well as improved football skills) both for his team and himself. A colleague relates to him the story of the two farmers in a drought…two farmers looked to God for rain, but only one prepared for it, so which fields receive the much needed rain? The gist of the quote from the movie is:

“Which one are you? God will send the rain when He is ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.”

How can we prepare for rain? How can we dig trenches for excess while welcoming the much needed spiritual lift that comes with a baby in a manger. How can we? Pray. Pray for guidance. Pray for peace and clarity in your heart. Pray for the calming presence of God. And prepare. Prepare for the arrival for both spiritual and non-spiritual abundance. While you need to appreciate and delineate between the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and that of the showy, wing-flapping commotion caused by angels dragging your soul to the cradle…while you need to appreciate and delineate between your heart bursting with Christmas joy (think Dr Seuss’ Grinch’s heart growing “three sizes that day”) and your head saying ‘slowdown, wait, don’t get swept away with emotion’ ….

Either way, you need to prepare your fields for rain.

Keeping Christmas Simply but NOT MinimizingLY

I love the little reminder that pops up on Facebook with an image of the Nativity and the statement that “The first Christmas was pretty simple. It’s okay if yours is too.” This significant statement both allows us to not be overwhelmed with elaborate, but also to remember what makes Christmas Christmas, and that is the Christmas Christ Child. Keep Christmas simple but don’t minimize the importance.

Christmas is spiritually complex as well as simple easy, in that Jesus did all the work, Mary labored in birth and Joseph labored in traveling and shepherding and Jesus labored in making it all come to fruition – human pain in and out of this world and God-level pain in the lamb being slain.

My pre-christmas weekend was filled with decorating and decorations, mine (got my tree lights on plus swept the empty boxes out of the living room as my “village” is now set up), and seeing the decorations of others especially helping a friend sell lots of treasures, plus seeing neighbors’ lights and etc…. I loved seeing the creches, new and old, as reminder of the real reason of the season… And I decompressed one moment in the sunshine Saturday, untangling mixed strands of golden plastic garland that called to me while I rested my feet sitting in a porch rocking chair.

UNTANGLED!!!

Isn’t that our Christmas prep in a handful – TANGLED and then UNTANGLED or put back away still tangled for next year. Let us try to untangle it all. That’s our mental challenge for Christmas: a mixture simple beauty with the glitter of unsimple reality. It’s the hype that gets us – There is hype of the weather and you realize it’s only rain. There is hype of the news, yet if you shut off your viewing of the media blitz, you can live in the moment more clearly than living in fear. Then there is hype of the Christmas Season, ALL TANGLED WITH BUSY!!! Life TANGLING what JESUS ALREADY UNTANGLED.

Jesus untangled the evil puzzle well before time on this earth began. The real meaning of Christmas is to give Jesus the opening on earth to crush evil, “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”, and to now await His return. Jesus won, Jesus wins. We could celebrate in awe of the power and sorrow of the need for Jesus. And yet let us live in spiritual soothing, live in joy and live in a victorious mentality. Not our victory but His, yet the spoils we enjoy are eternal life. Not that’s the present to unwrap! JOY in knowing our home is heaven! Imagine THAT tree of life!

Keep Christmas special and simple by remembering the JOY equating thinking of JESUS, then OTHERS, before Yourself. J.O.Y.

J Jesus

O thers

Y ourself

That’s keeping Christmas simply but NOT MinimizingLY.

Amen

God With Us is Now God Within Us, Immanuel.

It was just nice to have someone else plan the work party events, that’s how I adapted to an event choice that I thought at first was a bit iffy for the crew [and what a great crew we have]. Well, I was wrong about the iffy, we were grateful to have had a good time with great people. And we invited some of the former members of the department as well.

So yeah, I originally thought “well I didn’t NEED yet another trinket nor mug from a ceramics painting event”, and I don’t, but I was GRATEFUL to see on the top shelf of ONE I really COULD add to my Christmas collection, inside and out, and so I painted Mary and Joseph holding Jesus.

Ah, the Christmas scene is one envisioned much better than I could paint, and yet Isn’t that true where we put our own colors upon the opportunity of life. And therefore, and since the piece was just within our budgeted level, I embraced it and started painting 88 fleshtone, 13 basic brown, 35 bright blue, and prevailing purple to represent royalty in the Lord, even as a babe, in which scripture tells us Jesus was plain and unremarkable in appearance. I was grateful to have no embarrassment in expressing faith at work, especially with us having a multi-faith ERG employee resource group now at work, SO I gleefully painted and remarked how nice it was to simply sit and paint and relax. Ahhhh…

Embracing the Faith, gifted of the Lord, Who embraced us before we were even born.

Immanuel is “God With Us” and the scriptures remind us that God with us is also now: “GOD WITHIN US”. I enjoy the image portrayal of the ceramic showing the surround of Joseph around Mary around Jesus. It is the inside glow and greatness, for which I did attach earthly golden and deep purple colors to. It will show vividly after the ceramic has gone through the fire.

Isn’t that us too? Our spirit shines brighter after going through the fire. Faith is kindled and cools our furnace fiasco, our unquenchable burn through life. God gives direction from within, Holy Spirit flames and Living Water become steam to keep moving us like a locomotive, simmering like a cup of tea, and in awe of quiet peace in our souls like a sweet moment of a baby, a mom, a dad.

Now, we envision this scene from a little bit of clay, but really the simplest of portraits would not capture our hearts image. Isaiah said Jesus would be plain: “There is no beauty that we should desire Him” – so isn’t it most remarkable what our souls see over earthly eyes.

God With Us is Now God Within Us. Can not have a better view than that.

” A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

Amen

—

Matthew 1:20-25 NKJV… behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

—

Isaiah 53 NKJV

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked – But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

—

Luke 2:25-35 NKJV

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Potential Everything, Jonah 1

Quite unusual to remember dreams, yet NOT unusual to have a vivid dream, one that woke me up. I dreamt for some reason that I was a new professor going to give a lecture, on PHYSICS, wow, like high-school level or college, yet the kids were little kids and the fellow professors came too, to evaluate me. Weird. The lecture hall was humongous and old and lots of noisy stuff was going on, like people were wandering in and out. And then I shut the doors and started the lesson energetically. The lesson was to be about potential energy. And?

Well, I started in a way to grab attention in the chaos, started with a light hearted comedic routine, a conversation about someone having potential… They could potentially do this or that… And I was just about to grab my transparencies and start the lecture officially, talking about potential energy, when I woke up.

HMMM…

Isn’t that the truth? When we wake up, we put our personal potential energy and potentially EVERYTHING we have to use.

What will we do today???!!! The potential is endless.

This interestingly, does relate to the next chapter as I’m reading and writing through the Old Testament – and what a blessing to stumble upon an old favorite – Jonah – and to get new INSIGHTS (and I don’t just mean looking from inside the whale).

INSIGHT IS FOUND LOOKING INSIDE YOUR LIFE, HEART, and HOPE in relation to these scriptures.

And the Lord, day to day, has insight into our own motivation, and fear, and that is where we start with Jonah, his fear. The Lord wanted him to go to a place he didn’t want to go and do the work of the Lord that he didn’t want to do, even so much to tell the people on the ship that he was running away from God. We do know that we can’t run away from the Lord. And He will remind us to count upon Him.

I have a friend who’s always saying that she’s gonna go to H.E. double toothpicks and not to Heaven. And that does pertain to Jonah, because the Lord does want us to be with Him, shepherded so much that we don’t get there by our works, only by His pull, His whale of a plan. Christmas-time is also perfect for discussing HOW the Lord came into the world for His mission, a mission to SAVE. Jesus accepted and fulfilled the mission, because the Lord does NOT want us to go to H.E. double toothpicks. Jesus came to the world to free us from the whale of woe, and bring us to Heaven. And that is our potential EVERYTHING, Jesus leading the way.

There’s lots of exciting things in the story of Jonah and there are movies and books and whales of tales (and tails). Jonah, even though he was a prophet, did not want to go preach at Ninevah, the city that was corrupt and scary. He jumped on the boat in the other direction and the storm raised by the Lord made the whole ship fearful. Here’s the part that I somehow breezed over in all my many readings of these chapters, (thus the reason to reread and get new insights), the sailors cast lots to identify Jonah as the cause. Cast Lots! The Lord surely stacked the deck against Jonah hiding, the Lord has the potential EVERYTHING to make ANYTHING go His Way, from lots (chance tickets) to storms, to people, to evil itself all working towards the purposes of the Lord.

Potential Everything… for Jonah, God got him to fess up, jump overboard to save the ship, get swallowed up in a whale for protection and direction and contemplation, because God knew He wanted Jonah for this job.

Potential Everything… for us to!!! God wants us to participate in the basics to the extravagant to the everything, in life. First the basic: BELIEVE. Next the potential: LISTEN. And of course the EVERYTHING: FOLLOW God’s Lead.

Jonah teaches that God will give us the motivation-moving whale too! Jonah shows that our faith will IMPACT other’s faith. Our willingness to BELIEVE and LISTEN and FOLLOW IS the Bible teaching that our lives can demonstrate. Don’t need to let others cast lots to find you, be BOLD in your potential energy to SHINE the Light, and then keep moving.

And apologize too for missteps – we are all prone to them – hopefully they don’t rock the boat too much. Jonah apologized, and made the proper correction at that point. And if we are in a storm, we need to cling to the Lord for calming it.

Well, lots of potential EVERYTHING to learn from the story of Jonah.

May we all see the light for when the whale’s mouth opens and spits us out into today’s POTENTIAL EVERYTHING adventure.

Amen

—

Jonah 1

Jonah Flees From the Lord

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

(TO BE CONTINUED… )

Cuteness, Cookies, Contemplating Christmas

Contemplating Christmas is the shift of the season… my taking a half day off on Friday helped me move into Christmas mode… (plus wearing my Santa pants for comfort and warmth…)

The best inspiration? FRECKLES…

Seeing the FRECKLES of the sweet little girl’s face was seeing the CUTENESS of the season. I was at a Friday night girl scout party helping with the crafts, in charge of the hot glue gun, PERFECT for my skillet and my non-afraid finger burning. I am experienced in that by choice, hot glue guns over white glue are to crafts what the electric sewing machine is to a needle. Faster.

The FACES of the scouts, yeah 150 plus for a rocking dance, cookie, craft event, a service unit MEGA holiday event, were a reminder of the SWEETNESS of children. The beauty of seeing how God made us in His Image is seeing fresh faces. The faces of asking, trusting, and thoughtful crafting minds were the highlight of the evening, better than the Christmas cookies (which were SO GOOD), better than the event I just had left, a tree lighting out in the cold with Santa on his fire truck, BETTER than sitting on my couch contemplating Christmas containers in preparation… (Don’t worry, it will all get done somehow)…

Christmas is best prepared in the heart. Christmas is best shared in the hope. Christmas is KNOWING the LIGHT of the season and SHINING alongside… it’s not necessary to get in the flashy part of Christmas, just the spiritual part.

My Christmas prep includes visiting holiday houses, music programs, etc. And yet helping is better than watching. And those freckles? I was a freckled faced kid too, in sweetness we can help guide the next generation to know sweetness in the Christmas season.

Isn’t Christmas seeing the image of hope in the children? It was surely the hope of Jesus to see people believe in the desire of God, the King of Glory, to come directly to earth to be God with us, Immanuel.

So, here’s a reminder that you and your own face can help make Christmas bright, so get out there and SHINE… A SHINING face is the HEART of God beaming through the rest of life’s ups and downs… Don’t cloud Christmas, let it reign.

Keep Christmas special. Christmas is for children at heart, of all ages.

Amen

—

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory.

A Blog before the Blogs… 10 Years of Writing in Faith

Allow me some time to reminisce that it is ten years ago that the Lord was making me “aware of the need to share” – and Facebook was and is a great sharing tool, but it had to blossom into blogs that I could write to order my thoughts and move onto my day. Writing is Journaling. Blogging is exploding. Faith is For Faith’s sake, wherever the Lord’s pulling you.

I certainly did not know, 10 years ago, of our HolySpirit gearing up to EXPLODE in my mind, when the Lord would say “GO”! There’s lots of writing about His Wow, and of methodical teaching me scripture, and lots of processing in between. I knew 2000 writings ago that I was forced into faith sharing electronically to SAY 100% Jesus, I believe in You now… (I’ve even written about that Feb 1, 2015)…

WELL, 10 years ago, I was at my beloved Christmas family band dinner and concert. We had moved to the area 13 years prior (so 23 years now) moved away from family. It was tough and the church embraced us sweetly. The Christmas band concert was a jump start to my Christmas being the first Sunday of December. My first one, 2002, I sobbed crying in the back because my 1 yr old daughter was improving from a bout with RSV and my family was not going to drive home up north. Sobbed and sobbed but this Christmas dinner became my dinner of faith family.

Fast forward… a blessing in the pain…

And DINNER? YUM! Ham, pineapple stuffing, and those little round potatoes from a can in butter and parsley. My kids love them, still buy the cans. (And thanks to the rice pudding angel too, yum…)

At dinner that evening I heard “Come to the Cradle” – “come and find peace” – the Michael Card song for perhaps the first time – this song and singing became my awakening montage – recorded – surely listening 1000 times that season as our worship leader, my now friend, sang it so sweet and in a calling way to really “come and find peace“… In HolySpirit fashion, our sound manager handed me a cd copy of the concert afterwards so I could make recordings for shut ins. Who knew my own faith was shut in TRAPPED in my ego, pride, busyness and ignorance. That was about to change. OH YEAH…

Ten years ago, I can ALSO see and feel the moment of our discussion (probably one of the first, as our contemporary worship leader was fairly new and I didn’t go to those praise band services after traditional service, especially since I was busy in Sunday school), talking about something faith related in the doorway to the dinner and our pastor beckoning him to come eat, but him holding up a “one moment” gesture as he sensed a faith conversation that was immediately important. It was weeks later that it was crucial for me to seek his input to my head explosive in a faith awakening I never saw coming. Real. Really real… GOD. No one else but God.

There’s 10 years of stories and WRITING especially those that first 2 months Dec 2014 – Feb 2015 (with writings that I retroactively posted into blogs after I realized God wouldn’t let me NOT write). So 10 years later, my broken record to some, that I am STILL celebrating the Lord’s victory of awakeningly “putting my head on straight”. Gratefully, my heart was already ready to receive my King… “Every heart prepare Him room.” is what I wrote on that Facebook post on Christmas band concert/dinner day. Yes, the Lord was “in the room” that day and started rearranging the furniture to make MUCH MUCH MORE room in mine!

Thank You Lord!

(Thanks for reading my ramblings)

Here is my Facebook page post, 10 years ago today, and screenshots. The Nativity I placed on my lawn today is a welcome sight to my heart AND mind ready to behold – AMEN:

Dec 7, 2014

“When they say on airplanes: “put your oxygen mask on first before you help others with theirs” – well this also pertains to me and Christmas – i energize and prepare myself for Christmas so that i can spread the joy the rest of the month. An annual tradition at my church fills me with joy – the wonderful Christmas Band Dinner and Concert – this means dinner with a church family who have embraced me and our family in the last 13 years we have been here. It includes not only the moving brass and woodwind ensemble but my favorite sing-a-longs… it feels oh so good to sing the carols no matter how awful i sound!

i have given up that notion of waiting until the end of the month for christmas – and I am allowing myself the whole month of December for Christmas – four whole weeks to share the love of the Christmas season – from teaching sunday school to seeing the lights to being part of the living nativity – eating pineapple stuffing to laughing while doing dishes – i am so blessed to have my church family! Every heart prepare Him room.”

Amen Amen

Amen Amen Amen

Every Heart Prepare Him Room

debbieupper.blog

10 years of room rearranging…

A Blog before the Blogs… 10 Years of Writing in Faith

Where is Saint Nicholas’s Stash Now?

A blessing to remember childhood levels of joy in the Christmas season. Today is Saint Nicholas Day, a Czech European traditional feast day of a saint who shared money and gifts with children. Beautiful in tradition.

But where’s the sets of our Saint Nicholas stash now? My St Nick gifts were candy and such back then, but now I think from the American dream of purchasing power in the 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s plus, our sacks have EXPLODED. And stuff now stashed in our tucked away buckets and bins. Me too. I’ve got my house, and mom’s and a farmhouse and more… not saying that we have to deal with it, but we probably should…

Such treasures are STUFFED and surely the tree and gifts under the tree won’t get there until the tree stand is uncovered – and not just tinsel but a total MOVEMENT of our maybes into motivated movements. Christmas FLASH from the STASH won’t be flailed up until we get the STUFF out. The stash is STASHED… maybe *yes MAYBE* today I plan a half day of work and then HOURS to decorate this weekend, or at least move the buckets downstairs. Saint Nicholas is now crushed in every corner embedded with other stashed stuff. Serious stuff.

Here is the flipside of us needing stuff: the geyser-levels of GETTING RID OF STUFF. You can’t take it with you and Santa can find you again with new stuff. Time to pare down or just walk away… So, my friend is moving cross country, and needs to STEP AWAY from what she STASHED and STOWED and SHEPHERDED from three families of SWEET memories. Seventy plus years of stuff (I don’t know how long, but SEVENTY starts with an “S” like Stuff)… Sure, well it’s a lot of time for stuff stashing… Vintage and velveteen and volumes and various. It’s now out of the bins and buckets and beautiful in view, set up like a Christmas house tour for an estate sale… First of a series. I make only the marvel here, NO JUDGEMENT no judgement, because my VOLUMES of many generations of St Nick stash is still in stowed away stage. At least hers is out for enjoyment.

I’m thinking of the joy of a giving house tour, but for her it’s perhaps a time to move forward and sort other stuff…

Volumes of St Nicholas gifts given and gotten in LOVE.

So let us pause, for in the corner is a special set of sculptures, the reminder of the REAL meaning of Christmas in a beautiful Nativity creche. Here is the reminder of a Savior who saved us from Sin and the worldly stuff that we stash and get stuck in. Me too. We are to know that Jesus SAVES.

My favorite items of the stuff? The push pin Styrofoam Christmas ball ornaments are among them, that is my vintage classic memory trigger.

My favorite event of the season? The little baby who saved us, not the stuff. And of the Gift of Jesus Who gave away His most precious self to the cause.

Jesus IS the saving stuff.

Solely.

Amen

Advent-ing a New Beginning

A beautiful prayer gathering I attended last night and our host brought true reminders to “Advent AGAIN” – yes – to pray for a new meaning or revelation or rekindling and certainly a new surrender of anything blocking our view of Jesus our Savior.

To ADVENT fresh and new is something the Holy Spirit always wants, and “Advent-ing” the NEWNESS is the Lord’s Way to approach each day, let alone each year. Advent-ing new as a gifted clue…

I saw this beautiful nested nestled wooden Nativity scene of Joseph surrounding Mary surrounding baby Jesus, precious and true. Advent-ing again, my insight saw Jesus being born within each of us. I have now known this born again as coming from within for almost 10 years now awakened. A marvel to me.

Yes, Jesus placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit God Himself. Jesus, the Word, created everything through God, as the Light that can never be overcome (as our host brought the book of John scriptures to surrender and surround our thoughts in).

I also felt in this wooden Nativity portrayal of Joseph and Mary and Jesus as an Advent-ing-again INSIGHT of the unique portrayal of Adam and Eve people (as if they came from the same origin being from one piece core of wood), having the blessings of beginning the Re-Beginning New Beginning of Jesus and the new Covanent of God with the people (us) beginning salvation inside from within.

Another insight was of Jesus being the vine and us the branches, as surely this wooden set was carved from a tree branch. We need only to just look within, during this Advent Christmas and always, to find new good reconnection to our Lord.

We may surround ourselves or we can be overtaken by the Christmas rush. We may notice a new ornament, too much glitter, but if we stop looking out to look inside, we can see something new that has been newly revealed.

Let us ADVENT a NEW BEGINNING today, and carry that LIGHT with us always.

Amen

–

John 1:1-5 KJV[NIV]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended [or overcome] it not.

—

From Psalm 1 NIV

Blessed is the one…

* whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

* who meditates on his law day and night.

*That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…

—

John 15:1-11 NIV

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.“

Advent-ing towards Christmas

I’m shocked that Christmas is coming so fast… yeah, they warned us with a late Thanksgiving, but geez it’s 3 weeks away to Christmas Day. I only got rid of the Halloween candy recently and that was in WARM weather in comparison to the chill now…

It’s not the calendar, but the chill in the air that does help me usher in the feeling of December and that of the Christmas Spectacular almost side show busy. But it’s the reason meaning of Christmas which is captivating. And so, slowly, I have begun another thin precious book (“Why the Nativity” by David Jeremiah who wrote “Answers about Heaven “), about answering questions about the Nativity, not the building but the ENTRY of HEAVENLY HEALING, that comes with JESUS as a BABY. Christmas completed.

I must remind us that Christmas doesn’t start at Christmas. The precariousness that we know of a baby being born in a manger is so unique that it demonstrates ALL THE MORE of God being in charge and giving charge of a baby to a family He picked to shepherd the great Shepherd.

This little book, “Why the Nativity”, inexpensive on ebay, is priceless in the reminder that God sees the fullness of time and our place in it, our moving time is but a small yet crucial placement for Him in us. The book reminds that the prophets were placed to guide us in both knowing what will happen and knowing WHO is happening. God is happened, happening, will happen – because God never changes and always exists. The end is not an end but a beginning we can’t fathom.

Do we have to fear the future? No, God is already there. Just keep moving like that donkey delivered Mary, and carry the LIGHT of the Christmas Spirit always, no matter the date…

Keep John 8:12 in mind:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Amen

Living IN Nativity, For All Seasons, including NYC

It was a beautiful Living Nativity during the Rockettes Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.

The whole program was SPECTACULAR, and yet the Nativity scene I did not expect and that brought a tear to my eye, as I appreciated reverence and realness to the season. Yes, was beautiful to hear the scriptures and see these devout scenes, singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing in a public presentation, including an angel, Maji and camels and they spoke of gifts for a King, to be a Healer. The people clapped, I felt HOPE in that too, people hearing a message of HOPE.

Christmas in NYC is special, the crisp weather and colorful decorations (even if the main tree wasn’t yet lit until later this week, it WAS impressive to see). It’s ALL a sight to behold, but wow lots of people and at Bryant Park I was balking at the $5 apple cider donuts but realizing that location location location is what people are paying for, not just the donuts. And as we DO bite into the commercialism too much, and me seeing Santa’s on every bike-taxi plus 40 more on stage at Radio City, we puff Christmas into flossy candy strewn everywhere like tinsel…

An overload in stimulus has to be counteracted with good walking shoes and not trying to take it all in. Grateful I’ve been to NYC recently and this felt like I could just galk at everything and not be a super tourist indulging. So it’s OK if you simply take in that Christmas in New York City, or anywhere, as a display of a Christmas that is felt and enjoyed as a season of LOVE.

I sat in Radio City’s first floor section thinking about Annie in the 1980’s movie scene for the time they got to go to Radio City, and her amazement, which the place has amazed for almost 80 to 90 years. Vintage classic, I love the art deco, thinking of 40’s fancy ladies resting in the powder room’s comfy green chairs. This is the first time I’ve seen the Rockettes perform, although I’ve been on a couple on tours of the building previously. It was unmistakably amazing to see the Rockettes timing and sound of the tapping and especially that slow toy soldier domino effect of being knocked down and holding each other. Also, so cool was the color images in projection all throughout the theatre walls, THAT was unexpected and not anything you could appreciate fully unless you sat under it, even fake snow… There were drones in flight, and Santa shadows that moved in independence, and the fireworks and Santa’s sleigh that zoomed right off the stage into the sky. Spectacular.

We rode with friends into the city after lunch at a familiar place and then went back home via a train after a long day. I still remember the little things of the day, things to remember and things to forgive and forget. Isn’t that like Living IN a Nativity ourselves? Taking in the majesty of Jesus being born, then living out our days as Jesus would, noticing details, helping. Living IN the moment.

Living IN Nativity was seeing the smart little girl at lunch knowing her colors, especially PURPLE. Her parents didn’t mind her gibber-gabbering to me and I gave her my little plastic turtles that I fished out from my purse, she will have more fun with them than me. They reminded me of my friend who has a t-shirt with the phrase “I taught the turtles to sing” referring to God majesty in creating. And living in the moment was seeing an inquisitive little boy at the entrance of the theater trying to re-hook the ribbon separator, I realized that I could help him learn how it worked while we waited. When I see people whom I will never see again, I wonder if in Heaven we will run into each other.

And when we were hightail hiking down to the train, all needing the decompression we all did from an over-extravagent day, I appreciated reverence of the Living IN Nativity as I saw particular shops “randomly” next to each other display “free gift” and “Grace” Cafe… yes… It was a reminder to me to give forgiveness to scenes where I felt hassled and ask forgiveness for when I hassled the scene. For Jesus with living out of the Nativity scene gave us grace as a free gift.

Living IN Nativity is letting God fix things, but you watch the events unfold like the unbundled Christmas tree limbs falling down into place…

Living IN Nativity is being THANKFUL, reverent, real. Living IN Nativity is living in the moment, and being in timelessness of finding the LOVE of the season, in ALL seasons, gifted before tracking time ever began.

Living IN Nativity is LOVE!

Amen and Spectacular!

—

Luke 2: 8-14, KJV. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Snow, Season Shifts, and Such, Savor and Savior it

Ah, snow…

It’s a known – “watch the weather” – so I did – and it was more beautiful than scary. I do love snow, so while I really was on a mission to strategically get through it, I did stop occasionally to admire it. (And I packed winter gear for sure – boots and winter coat were donned!!!)

The journey started at 40 then 37 degrees then 33 for a while, 32 just a moment, then down the mountains 33, 37, 40…. rain-snow-rain. So I had fall – winter – fall seasons, and because it was almost 70 last week, forsythia flowers were blooming up at mom’s – spring sprung twice as a surprise each of these recently warm years… I thought how great the northeast has stockpiles of salt deposits – how fittingly convenient… salt melts snow….

The hills surrounding got 4 to 12 inches of snow, but the valley got rain, lots that the minor gorge creek at the bottom of the road was pouring down in volume.

The trip through mountain elevation caused me to see up to 8 inches of big fluffy snow at one point, but I didn’t stop for that photo, because the roads were really good, salted, and there was a gap of precipitation, and the height of day is when my Dad always preferred me to get through the mountains. I was subaru-safe and slowed down. It is nice to be up home this weekend, pre Thanksgiving moments with my mom, brother, and today planning work at my aunt’s farmhouse (only 4 inches snow there)… it’s normal to keep going in snow…

The snow sandwiched in the middle of my seasons did get me thinking of Christmas, it seemed not out of place then in the moment, otherwise I am so NOT ready to switch my palette of life of browns and yellows, faded red oranges to WAY TOO BRIGHT red and green, not until after Thanksgiving. So right now preferred browns and yellows in my sights added in white. Christmas is coming, but savor THIS season first, whatever the temperature.

However slow or fast this Christmas season comes, it’s not a delay of understanding the REAL SEASON SENSATION – that is of course the story of Jesus coming – advent starts soon. Well 9 months before Jesus’s birth we are also clued into a preparation story, mary with Jesus is prepared by Elizabeth and cousin John the Baptist, and dad Zachariah having to wait to get his voice back. Ah, many a waiting story…. In Zachariah’s account in Luke, is like spring inside fall (forsythia not overrun with snow) reading about Jesus Savior as hope, in the song of Zachariah, Luke 1:67-75, we see a people who saw the glimpse of the new within the old season. We savor THIS Savior season.

So yes, we can glimpse this season shift in Luke’s gospel account, the crucial connection between old and new testaments but one long journey for Jesus and David’s line…

It’s like snow in my fall, spring in my step, and the real WARM UP to the season!

Zechariah’s Song

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

—

THEN SPEAKING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST v76-80

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

AMEN AMEN

Faith Makes It Possible, Luke 1

I thought I am SO busy I don’t know if I have time to write this morning but the Lord showed me something on the floor in the clutter of the room, but for a moment I thought it was one of my dollar store stickers that said: “FAITH does not make it easy – FAITH makes it POSSIBLE”… Amen to that and then some. Amen to not easy. Amen to FAITH making things work, and work together for His purposes. We can believe in this message. We can believe God will ALREADY and ALWAYS be with us. (and especially since He Holy Spirit used but a swirl in my vision for something that was NOT that sticker – wow)

“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37 KJV… This was the angel Gabriel talking about Jesus to fulfill a plan for forever. If God can work out the WHOLE plan in advance and see it succeed, He can work on our plans now, as we faithfully try to align with Him. We project tough things into this trust statement if we trust God’s Word, which we should. We should also remember FAITH is believing in things and direction unseen. We got to give it to God…

Mary and Elizabeth would bear sons of great importance… Jesus and John the Baptist… surely God can help us with the little and big things today and always…. let us apply FAITH. Jesus IS the Possible – Trust God for everything possible.

Amen

—

Luke 1:26-38 NIV

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Merry Christmas in July!

Merry Christmas in July!

Don’t let this heat and humidity make you sigh!

We are not decorating like December, just adding a splash of red and green to the eye.

It is a moment to let our Christmas Spirit multiply.

Born a baby, grown a Savior, a lamb slain, yet Jesus forever IS young and spry.

And what’s the gift today I pray to encourage and spy?

Wider faith in all, Holy Spirit to touch us all, by and by.

Try moments to remember ‘God IS with us’ – ALREADY. Try hope, just try.

So let us be the JOY today, an inner and outward SMILE we will apply and re-apply.

Let us ring out Hope JOY Peace and LOVE, this MERRY CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!

AMEN

—

Titus 3:1-8 NKJV

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

It’s All a Blur

I wanted a photo of a sign that said “No horses on bridge”, but I moved my arm and it’s all a blur photo-wise. Trust me LIFE is all a BLUR too.

I would know, being old enough and yet young enough that there’s many things that have changed in my mere few decades. To me, my young age sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t feel like a lot. You too? So I say it’s like a blur, but with crisp moments that seem like yesterday and wish would return like tomorrow. (Then again glad others are gone, water under the bridge.)

The bridge. Can you imagine a time someone would have walked a team of horses across this rennovated but once 1800’s metropolitan country-ish bridge, between cities now, or be tempted to cross even with car traffic because this bridge was then and now convenient? Can you imagine a time someone would have owned horses for transportation and work let alone pleasure, or would have even had a place to go on a horse, would have even had enough time to ride a horse???… I can imagine that for THEN but not for now. Time is a blur.

Look, I didn’t even have time for a proper photo as traffic stopped and then decided to go. Another time I had plenty of time stuck in the middle of the bridge for a day photo of the awesome trusses. Every rush hour this FREE (once toll) bridge is packed. Trust me the horses would have had a faster crossing on foot on the sidewalk! No, no one walks across on the sidewalk anymore either! And I’m old enough and young enough to say “Remember when people walked to work, school, groceries?”… yeah life’s a blur.

Bumpy rides seem smoother in hindsight.

I crossed the bridge driving my daughter to and from her internship. I loved the time chatting in the car, backed up traffic or not. I appreciated the time making the most out of Christmas, open and closed in a short month, I’m holding onto it longer, to appreciate one day at a time because that’s all I could handle and because we ALL don’t know about tomorrow let alone next year. Lord willing yes or no, just go with the flow.

So, also this week I was picking up my outside knocked-over neon nativity decorations after a windy wet storm. There was a ten dollar bill blown up the hill, sitting in front of a king! Wow, a king that delivers! And I thought what would Jesus’s family have used those gifts for, of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh? Were they symbolic gifts? Practical gifts? Both? And what should I spend this 10 dollars on?! It’s cool, but 10 dollar 50 years ago would have bought a lot more! What would it be in Jesus’s time? Things change. Jesus doesn’t, but times do. I will think about this ten dollars – perhaps it like taxes and toll bridges are needed to be paid and the Lord provides that too (just ask Peter and that fish). Isn’t it good that Jesus paid the price for our toll toiling life bridge to Heaven too?

What doesn’t change? That time moves fast. What shouldn’t change? Our opportunities to say thank You Lord, whether in pain or in peace, it’s JOY in the Journey which fills our praise.

If we take it one day at a time, we can lock in and focus on the One True Sure LIGHT that is Jesus! We won’t have a blur but will see Him clearly, leading us!

Keep Shining Lord.

Be unblurred.

Amen

Wise to Follow Too – Epiphany – the Pull of the Spirit

I had to turn the car around, park, and go take a photo. First in the morning and then another in the evening. These were beautiful nativity scenes that drew me close. The Lord and the craftsmanship and the fleeting last bits of Christmas, barely started getting in the Christmas spirit then boom, it’s over. Christmas day faded so fast, I barely even look at my tree anymore, let alone water it. The Spirit however stays ready to be held again, Jesus in us. Living Water gives REPLENISHMENT OF SPIRIT, let us pray for a fresh filling.

I have to say that while driving around (which I do a lot), and when being still too, nothing never brings me closer to anything like when I am approaching the pull of the Spirit. The great awesome Mystery, the Wonder of the Savior, His coming heralded by Star not for show but for direction. That following causes the DRIVE in me, in us, it is SPIRIT-GIVEN for eternity-loving-living. Jesus pulls us close.

And this sign of a star to the Maji was a draw to begin and continue a LONG journey, for which they knew would be for the birth of the King of the Jews, a ruler to shepherd, a Christ to Save Jews AND Gentiles. So the Star was a guiding light, a source of focus, we would be wise to follow too: “the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” The Wisemen followed prophesy and we best too. The Wisemen had a long trip to see the baby Jesus, but not as far as Jesus came to come to them and to us.

Jesus would to be killed with the innocents, as foretold by Jeremiah the prophet, except God’s Plan extended His stay for such a mission fulfilling prophecy and Jesus, the lamb already slain to perform this mission, was taken safely away to Egypt and His life preserved and mission reserved. Joseph and Mary followed God’s direction to where to go, save the Savior from Herod’s fear-caused killing spree. Jesus was spared.

The scripture pretold the “how”, the “when”, the “where” and the “why”, and surely Joseph and Mary appreciated how they were to follow directions for returning to the land set aside by God, to readjust their direction (not Judea), find a home (now Nazareth), and begin a life. They had to trust. We best follow the faith placed in us that is shining through our dark nights, guiding us too on God’s Path for us, directing and redirecting to find a home in God, and to begin a life in God. We are God’s Why, for His Love is for us, forever. Let us trust in Him.

We would be wise to follow too.

Amen

—

The Wisemen Kings – Matthew 2 – Wise Men from the East

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Flight into Egypt

Massacre of the Innocents

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted,.because they are no more.”

The Home in Nazareth

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Name Above All Games

I’m glad my children are both home for Christmas. That’s my gift, having them home… Time goes fast. Grown up kids grow up even faster…

Time to prepare for Christmas day is becoming shorter and shorter, as there are Christmas gifts to organize, wrap, and still to buy. The tree is beautiful, this year my friend came to help decorate, 4 hours it took us, yeah! Crazy amount of ornaments! The village is also done. The cookies were baked and consumed a while ago. Now nearly all that’s left is “just” Christmas morning prep in that last push. Enjoy a blessing of a weekend before Christmas – whew – because now it’s on… !!!

The cat is in on it all, even saw her presents ahead of time, geez, digging in the closet. But the most amazing sight? She posed – poised picturesque under the tree, surely to get our attention. And that cat has an opinion on everything. The Christmas cards, hmmm, I’ve started them but will work on them next week, after Christmas, good for me to send in decompression mode when I will rest in the appreciation of the Christmas rush ended and the Christmas lush feeling just started. I will enjoy the doneness of achieving living thru one more christmas-prep-game and pressure off… whew…

God gives us this lush feeling in resting in Him. It’s not a game to Him. He is Name above all names, and above all games. He also is NOT still, His HolySpirit hyperspeed is unfathomable to us. My mind is blown by the attention to detail He gives to our daily lives, from before eternity.

So in this Christmas time, God is giving an ongoing theme of the real meaning of Christmas – I’m so grateful – it is in “stop the insanity” moments – just like portrayed by the Peanuts gang, in a Charlie Brown Christmas. I’ve started with a little book of the story, then over and over the same Luke scripture has been showing up, then my eye catches anything Peanuts gang – to my eventual Christmas cards going to get Peanuts stamps, and yet I got them 6 months ago… crazy… God knows to stop the games of life and remind us of Him.

What I do know in these last bits of prep time, it’s to take the praise time! Take the down time to regain uptime with the Lord. Christmas prep might feel like a marathon rat race game, but let us bow down at the NAME above all names and over of all games, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. He wants us to remember Him, always. Remember the JOY in the Lord because everything else will fade away.

Amen

Praise Be to the Lord – Christmas JOY to KNOW

So many scriptures to touch our hearts before Christmas – David knew the Lord – and heard God’s Promise to bring salvation to all who would turn to Him. David did turn to the Lord – in asking mercy and in JOY. May we also do this always. For JOY, PROTECTION, SALVATION, STRENGTH, may we look for our Shepherd now and Christmas and always.

Amen and please read of the JOY to KNOW: Psalm 28 Of David.

To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back on them what they deserve. Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again.

*** Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

*** The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Oh Messiah

Always brings warmth to my heart – to know of Simeon and Anna in the temple and how they knew Jesus – as a babe – both that they knew to wait on the Lord – studied and believed the scriptures and prophets – and that they were able to see the fulfilment of the birth of the Christ Child – the Messiah in Jesus – for the world.

But in Simeon’s truth telling – he clearly knew and said how Jesus would be a stumbling block to many who may have spoke of him as a potential – an earthly king – but could not understand him – or open their hearts to Him as Heavenly king, Messiah. Simeon told us the known future that Jesus would be a dividing force between people who knew and did not want to know. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” And Anna spoke of the redemption brought by this child, Jesus – who is Immanuel, God with us.

Oh – that we would always tell of Who gives our HOPE – that we would always be watching and working for Jesus through the Holy Spirit to open hearts – to tell of the redemption to so many who may hear – oh that they would hear! Oh Jesus – fill us with YOUR WISDOM – become real IN us to serve You and Love You – and share your HOPE.

Oh Messiah – won’t you open eyes and hearts – this Christmas and always.

Amen

Luke 2:25-40

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

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

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Jesus – If You Know Him, Let it SHOW

Oh – Zachariah was “in the know”.

He sang sweetly and wanted to let it show.

Jesus was coming – salvation – mercy – blessed to really know.

Zachariah’s son John, pre-prophet like Elijah, was ready to go!.

God’ was bringing TRUE the Kingdom’s Promise of long ago.

Jesus, Immanuel, God with us – forgiveness and peace to flow.

If you know, serve Him, let it SHOW!

Jesus – our Christmas baby – in us may He grow.

Amen

The hope in Zachariah (father of John the Baptist) singing that the Savior was coming1!!

Luke 1:67-79 – Zechariah’s Song

Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

I’ll Be Home for Christmas – in My Heart

People always ask: “Are you ready for Christmas” – ??? – Well, is it best to answer them with my fumbling list of people’s presents not yet purchased let alone conceived? – or say “Well, at least I got my tree! No decorations but at least I am still watering it. “…. HMMM… I think I will try to answer spiritually next time, “I’m ready in my heart. “… I’m ready for the true meaning of Christmas in my heart. Amen on that.

“I’ll be Home for Christmas” – “you can count on me. ” – Oh the song resonates with me and the longing too. But I realized one could sing it in reverse thought – to receive people home for Christmas, like “I’ll be the Home for your Christmas, come Home here.”… Yes, please have all the meaningful Christmas token things here with me at my house… And yes, since my daughter (I hope) will be returning from college (I hope) at least on that overnight and day, to be here (I hope and pray), instead of her independent-apartment-grown-up-lifestyle these days, I’m praying that she comes home for Christmas. I’m blessed she’s independent but I want her to know, both my kids to know, they have a Home with me for Christmas and ALWAYS. SO, “I’ll be home for Christmas” – “you can count on me” – count on Mom, I will pray they know that, I’m sure they do.

And what about that real meaning of Christmas? Are we standing yearning like Charlie Brown: “Isn’t there anyone who understands what Christmas is all about?” Remember the classic pause in the Peanuts Christmas practice musical for Linus to recite the scripture from Luke 2:8-14, and let us absorb that and keep walking towards that real reason, Jesus IS the One Who beckons us: I’ll be your HOME for Christmas, I will receive you, let Me be your Home inside your heart. Know Me inside you and know My Peace.

Through Jesus, as Christ the Lord God and Savior, we are welcomed Home forever with God. May we also be Home with Him in our hearts everyday. Making a good welcome for Him in JOY.

Amen

—

Linus Van Pelt quoting scripture: “And there were in the same country. shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of GREAT JOY, which shall be to ALL PEOPLE. For unto you is born this day in the City of David A SAVIOR, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, Goodwill toward men.’ “

(Photos from an adorable 2 inch book version of Peanuts Christmas.)

I’ll Be Home for EVER, a new Christmas Song

To the tune of: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

I’ll be home for EVER,

God prepared for me.

White as snow, our robes will glow,

Praising Him under His Tree.

Christmas, Easter, All Days will find me

Where the love light gleams.

I’ll be home for EVER,

Jesus, Savior, Mine…

I’ll be home for EVER,

To be on Jesus’s Team.

Amen

Stay a Child of God

This is one of my favorite non-real biblical fairy tales, an old folk song (link below for Sting singing it) where Joseph was so mad at Mary being with child that he said: “Let the father of the baby gather cherries for you”… Then the cherry trees themselves lowered their branches to the ground. Joseph stood down and apologized. Humbled. MARY GOT HER CHEIRRIES EITHER WAY.

It’s not a real story, no, not in the Bible, but oh the imagery is fantastic and the point of the story is stirring, and the necessary humility that Joseph (and we) need to have for God is both as Creator and Controller – but BETTER THAN THAT, HE IS OUR COMPASSIONATE FATHER.

Humbled yes, but the imagery that holds me captivated is of the trees bending down, it’s the compassion on the Child and the mom, also a child. And Mary happily gathered cherries. Now we also don’t know if Jesus made Mary’s life easy (but surely He would also tell her to enjoy one day at a time) – and we do know that He would be compassionate towards her – and we do know He was obedient to God His Father too.

The truth in this story is that God does love us to be childlike towards Him in acceptance and Joy. We often must “adult” in earthly life, but as for living best, we can acquiesce to a GREATER POWER who molds us and wants to please us at the same time. Imagine life eternal with acceptance of Jesus’s sacrifice for our wrongs – we are released to be children again – forever.

Let us therefore stay a Child of God, now and forever, enjoy His Warmth of constant attention and love. Enjoy the Christmas Gift of a Christ Child and a Grown Savior.

Amen

“Sting sings cherry tree carol. Live in newcastle dec 2009” on YouTube

LYRICS

When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he
He courted Virgin Mary, the queen of Galilee
He courted Virgin Mary, the queen of Galilee

When Joseph and Mary were walking one day
Here is apples and cherries so fair to behold
Here is apples and cherries so fair to behold

Then Mary spoke to Joseph so meek and so mild
“Joseph, gather me some cherries for I am with child”
“Oh, Joseph, gather me some cherries for I am with child”

Then Joseph flew in anger, in anger he flew
“Oh, let the father of the baby gather cherries for you”
“Oh, let the father of the baby gather cherries for you”

So the cherry-tree bowed low down, low down to the ground
And Mary gathered cherries while Joseph stood down
And Mary gathered cherries while Joseph stood down

Then Joseph took Mary, all on his right knee
Crying, “Lord, have mercy for what I have done”
Crying, “Lord, have mercy for what I have done”

When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he
He courted Virgin Mary, the queen of Galilee
He courted Virgin Mary, the queen of Galilee

Micah 5 NKJV

The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem

The Coming Messiah

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CHRISTMAS FLOOD, 17DEC2014

Christmas Flood, 17DEC

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