Blog: “Discovering His Living Hope”

A Prayerful Christmas Eve Reflection: Praying For A ‘Silent Night.’ Luke 2:9

Luke 2:8-20 GOD’S WORD Translation

Angels Announce the Birth of Jesus

8 Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. 9 An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. 10  The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those who have his good will!”

15 The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.”

16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. 17 When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. 18 Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed.

19 Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

20 As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Silent Night, Holy Night is a beloved Christmas carol with humble beginnings which dates back to 1816.

It was written by a young priest in Germany after a longstanding war and fall in political and social status, this song was inspired when he took a long walk one cold winter night, noticing the cold stillness and peacefulness of his little town.

Since then, it has risen, been picked up by multiple composers and performed in a ton of churches all across the world, from quaint churches in small towns into the largest of majestic cathedrals, and even presenting it to the King of Prussia. 

All that to say, there is a beautiful message intertwined between the beautiful words in this song.

It touches each of us who sing it on a different level and in an intimate way.

Calling us to pause and reflect and take notice of what is a silent, a peaceful, and calm, in the ultimate revelation of the glory of God in the highest – a holy night.

In the midst of all the political ruckus, in the midst of a government census to raise more taxes, to gain more wealth and more prestige for the government,

In the midst of all the subsequent consequences – whole families are uprooted to travel vast distances to places where they were born as Joseph, Mary were.

All kinds of hoops to jump through at the very utmost inconvenient of times.

Mary is ready to give birth – how is it to ride on the back of a donkey, mile after mile, up and down as the donkey walks upon and over the sandy and rocky soil?

All this supporting the weight of a child in her womb, near end term pregnancy.

The weight of mine months weighing heavily already upon her teenage body.

Would Joseph had made her walk any of that distance leading the donkey as he sat on the donkey’s back – we would have a much different opinion of Joseph.

Up and down off the donkey so Mary could walk around all through the night.

The weight of all that responsibility upon both of their lives, generations more.

Can we read their minds right now – when will the night ever come to an end?

And just when they hope they have come to their desired end – a place of rest and a place where they could attend to the labor and delivery and care of their newborn son – what do they hear that night – “Sorry, but no room at the Inn!”

And somewhere off in the distance, in the middle of the night there are a bunch of shepherds going about their regular rotations of guarding someone’s sheep.

A quiet night for them – like any other night which has not created for them a regular routine – suddenly a host of angelic beings explodes great light into the darkness – praising God – bursting into song, singing loudly 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have his good will!”

How is that for a senses shattering wake up call in the middle of the night?

How does that put your “regular ho hum hum drum” routines on the edge of “Danger, Danger, and pending doom and all out “fight or flight” sheer panic?”

Then just as fast – the night settles down as the angelic hosts disappear.

And the shepherds are left wondering what just happened?

Wondering about the mysterious words the angelic host just left them with:

10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

So much to sort out – actually too much to sort out in the middle of what had started out to be just another quiet and relatively peaceful regular night shift.

Just another of those quiet and relatively peaceful regular night in Bethlehem?

A family in need of a place to bring their first born son into the world – but there is no place – there is no room in the inn – so they’re on their own to find a place.

The noise coming from the inside all of those occupied rooms in the at night?

An explosion of the brightest light anyone had ever seen, night eyes having to suddenly accommodate themselves to that light, ears which a long tuned into the long expected sounds of the silent darkness – on alert for all the dangers – now have been rocked, shocked by the songs of “Glory to God in the highest!”

Reading these words in the year 2023, it does something to our weary souls.

So, lets try to settle all this down “was it a silent night holy night?” a bit …

Just the words of the first verse sets the much needed, required tone for us all;

Silent Night. Holy Night. All is calm. All is bright. round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

These words are so easy to utter, but truly being silent and seeking His holiness in a season that is wrapped and consumed with all the pressures and demands to do more, be more, get more, can drive us to a place of unforeseen busyness and even disappointment – unfortunately, the end result can steal our peace!

Stepping away from it all, recalling the history of this hymn reminds us to step away from all the noise, open our hearts in a way to receive the gift of stillness.

2. Silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight; glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!

3. Silent night, holy 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, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

4. Silent night, holy night, wondrous star, lend thy light; with the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King; Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!

1. In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Text: Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1894

In the bleak midwinter, may you and I find time to seek the silent moments this season, where you and I are met with the very highest glory of our Holy Creator.

Let the sound of that “silent” beautiful interaction allow us to lean in and rest, prompting us to praise Him for His faithfulness and rejoice in His Son’s birth!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father God,

We come to You with weary but humble hearts full of thanksgiving. You are a kind and gracious Father, with such unspeakable love for us, giving Your one and only Son to take on our sins so that we can have a life with You outside this one (John 3:16).

Lord, I lift up those that are in need of rest. Those who are craving a silent night. I lift up the mom who is striving to make special memories for her children, only to just become overwhelmed by the stress of it all. I pray for the parent rocking a fussy baby to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, in need of much physical rest. I pray for the dad crunching the numbers, wondering how he is going to financially afford all the items on his child’s Christmas list. My heart and prayers go out to the lonely grand parents missing their children and wishing they were closer – as you are close to us.

O Gracious not so silent God, You know each and every one of us intimately and our dire situations that pull us away from You. Please remove the distractions, heavy burdens, and demands, and grant us Your peace. Replace the fallacies with Truth found in Your Word. Give us grace and space in our schedules to meet with You and be refueled by Your tender love. Create vacancies, make room in our hearts to receive that precious gift of stillness, silence, born from a night of your glory being revealed.

In the coming stillness of the night, We stand upon Your promise to extend rest for not just our physical, mental, and emotional well-being but to meet us and grow us spiritually as well. This is not just a gift we want to receive at Christmas but year-round as You extend Your mighty hand to those in need, calling us to take hold.

Please make room open our hearts and minds to accept the image of Your pure rest when we fall into the patterns of this World and become consumed with things that keep us restless. Things that keep our minds swirling all night. When we do this, we fail to recognize the nature of Who You are, distracts us from the good You are doing.

Thank you, God, for offering us the gift of a silent night and a bright and brighter and holy night in the gift of the birth of Your precious Son, as well as an invitation to call silently upon You to meet with us intimately. You deserve all our thanks and praise.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: Do We Know With a Certainty How Silent a Night it Was? Luke 2:1-7

Luke 2:1-7 English Standard Version

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.[c]

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

“Silent Night” is a favorite Christ­mas song for many people around the world.

Its gentle swaying melody suggests a “heavenly peace” in which “all is calm.”

But let us listen again to this calmness

Do you hear what I hear? that our usual picture of Jesus’ birth is far from calm.

Above the fields near Bethlehem, sometime in the night, out of nowhere, an angel army disturbs the shepherds calmness, breaks into their evening, shocks them out of their senses, sings out, announcing good news – the glory of God.

The Good News: somewhere back in town, shepherds and wise men and sheep, cows, camels, and gifts are all crowded together around a family inside a stable.

And somewhere in the midst of all that burst of commotion is the baby Jesus.

Trying to stay warm in its swaddling cloths, trying to sleep with cattle lowing.

But hold on.

Let us take a step back for a “silent” moment to sort this exciting business out.

According to Matthew’s Narrative, the three wise men don’t show up until later.

So let’s take them out of the picture, along with their gifts.

And there’s no mention of a stable—just a manger, a hay filled feeding trough.

So there might not be animals making any of their natural sounds there either.

Now let’s back up to the first hour or two after Jesus’ birth.

Commotion will come later, when the shepherds find “Mary and Joseph, and the baby . . . lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16).

But for now, as lamplight flickers, all we can see is Mary, the baby and Joseph.

Hurting, exhausted, Mary is fast asleep. Joseph might be a bit tired too and perhaps, he is able to find somewhere where he can get warmed, and rest too.

Meanwhile, Mary’s snugly wrapped baby, now content from his first first life experience, feeding, sees light, shadow, and movement with his newborn eyes.

Let’s stay right where we are, “silent as the night with the newness of the light just born, shining brighter and brighter and brighter still, in the deep darkness.

And let’s pause here, for just as much time as is needed to take in that picture.

The God of all Creation is the Light – a newborn baby watching shadows sway.

Against What We May Call “Silent Night Holy Night”

Like most people, both believers and non believers, once or twice a year folks, I have sung “Silent Night” hymn many times, often on Christmas Eve in church.

Yet lately, since my open heart surgery, contemplating my life as I do now, the “silence” referred to in the iconic carol recently took on new meaning to me.

The word “silence” appears many places in Scripture.

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=silence&version=AMP

but I found much more than just an absence of sound in several references.

STARTLING SILENCE

In Revelation chapter 8, silence creates a uniquely powerful scene.

John writes, “When he [the Lamb] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour” (Revelation 8:1 NIV).

While John describes many things, creatures and beings in heaven prior to this, it is suddenly unfathomable that it all goes silent as described in this moment.

In this silence is a depth of awe, deep reverence, reflection, and anticipation like nothing before, as the revelation of Jesus Christ is about to come to fulfillment.

THE PRAISE OF SILENCE

In the prophetic book Habakkuk, we see another reminder of the reverent place of silence – The Word says, “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20 NIV).

And in the prophetic book Zephaniah, we see “Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near” (Zephaniah 1:7 NIV).

There is mounting, maturing praise within the silence of a God-fearing heart.

A SILENT NIGHT?

Luke 2:6-7 Amplified Bible

6 While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth, 7 and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [[a]swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

The popular carol declares that the night of Jesus’ birth was a “silent night,” a “holy night” with all “calm and bright.”

But, think about it has any woman ever given birth in complete silence or calmness, what would her smile sound like, her joy, her tears sound like?

It’s hard for me to imagine that the animals weren’t making their natural sounds, especially among the sudden unrest, unexpected commotion in the stable; the sound of a newborn crying or that Joseph wasn’t offering a word of encouragement, a prayer, or a declaration of praise as Mary was giving birth.

Was that ancient setting really like an inanimate, decorative tabletop nativity set that we are used to seeing in our homes, our churches, or live nativities ?

Knowing what is in my heart right now, rehabilitating from my heart surgery, looking even deeper than ever before into the eyes of my wife, listening to my dog barking -it seems unlikely that the momentous night was literally silent.

The lyrics of the song simply frame the event in wonderfully poetic terms.

Luke 2:6-7 Amplified Bible

6 While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth, 7 and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [[a]swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

But perhaps what is true, what is hidden, waiting to be revealed in us, from deep within us, is that there was this ever growing and maturing holy atmosphere of silent praise, would be an indescribably raucous act of worship pleasing to God.

Realize: on that ancient night, in that ancient time, there was so much more to observe, to listen to, to speak of this particular silent night than a lack of sound.

A CHALLENGE

My challenge, then, as Christmas Eve, Christmas approaches, as we get all of ourselves ready to go to evening or midnight church, as we sit in all our pews is for us not to, as we hold lighted candles or even fake ones, sing “Silent Night” envisioning only a perfectly still and orderly scene with everyone comfortable and content – for in reality – comfortable and content were far from the truth.

Instead, let’s intentionally try to grasp deep in our hearts what was surely the ultimate awe, reverence, reflection, and anticipation that humankind had ever experienced as God Himself entered the world in human form – a crying child.

This Christmas, let us not be without praise even if we can somehow be without the usual noise and commotion – within the silent night, let us declare a godly silence as the true act of worship at the revelation of He who is worthy of it all.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 King James Version

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

1. Silent night, holy night,
all is calm, all is bright
round yon virgin
mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.

2. Silent night, holy night,
shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from heaven afar,
heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

3. Silent night, holy 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,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

4. Silent night, holy night,
wondrous star, lend thy light;
with the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Text: Joseph Mohr, 1792-1848; trans. by John F. Young, 1820-1885 (sts 1, 2, 3) and anon. (st 4)

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Advent Reflection: Something Truly Wonderful Happens When Your Heart Grows Three Sizes! Ezekiel 36:24-28

Ezekiel 36:26-28 The Message

24-28 “‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Our passage from Ezekiel speaks comforting words.

Here the Sovereign Lord promises to use his people to declare his holi­ness among the nations. 

But the question is: were the people of Israel up to this most difficult task?

Already in Egypt we have seen their repeated hesitation to follow God.

They grumbled and complained, twist­­ing and turning against God’s will, refusing to trust him.

And then once they established their home in the promised land, their disobedience spiraled out of control – read the book of Judges.

We these words for ourselves and we wonder if it was even going to be possible for the people of Israel, on their own, reveal the holiness, righteousness of God.

And TBT, the sad fact was that it was completely impossible for them to do so. 

But in this passage, as well as others sprinkled throughout Ezekiel and the other prophets, we will find God’s own promise to bolster the hearts, minds, and wills of his people by putting His Spirit in them.

He promises to cleanse them from their impurities and give them a new heart.

To take hearts of the hardest stone and create in them a heart of flesh for God.

God himself, through the Holy Spirit, makes his people a witness to the nations.

Just as the people of ancient Israel fell short in following God, so each one of us struggles to be holy – our hearts are no less than theirs – made of hardest rock.

When a Child Smiles Your Heart Grows Three Sizes

In Dr. Seuss’s classic Christmas tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch suffers from having a small heart.

The source of his heart problem is his severely negative outlook on life, an absence of feeling joy clear, a lack of understanding the meaning of Christmas.

Only the very most negative feelings give him the greatest satisfactions in life.

Anything that might bring even 1% joy or happiness is to be immediately gone.

As the story goes, the Grinch tries to put a stop to Christmas, but in the end, as a little child smiles at him, he comes to understand what Christmas is all about, his heart grows three sizes! This heart change makes a big difference in his life.

I’m not very sure what Dr. Seuss’ intentions were when he wrote the story back in 1957, it was a few years before I was born, but it certainly comes across as a Christian parable to me that parallels the change that takes place in a person’s life when he or she comes to understand the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Immanuel, God’s only Son, was born to save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

Matthew 1:20-23 The Message

20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic revelation to full term:

Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).

When the light of the Good News of Jesus dawns upon the heart of a person, God replaces the heart of stone, with a new, fleshy heart – a new person emerges.

As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Welcome Christmas – While we stand – Heart to heart – And hand in hand.” 

It might just make all the difference in the world.

Holy Child of Bethlehem, 
Descend to us, we pray; 
Cast out our sin and enter in; 
Be born in us today!

We hear the Christmas angels 
The great glad tidings tell; 
O come to us, abide with us, 
Our Lord Emmanuel! 
(from O Little Town of Bethlehem)

We celebrate the real meaning of Christmas because of the power Jesus brought to change our hearts-the power of a child to smile at us, to melt our cold hearts.

Going Deeper with God and your families, your friends, your neighbors too: 

  1. Give an example of a time when you changed your mind about something. 
  2. How did the words or actions of others influence your change of heart? 
  3. Towards the end of the story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” what happened that caused the Grinch to change his mind about Christmas? What lessons might we learn from the story? 
  4. How has understanding the true meaning of Christmas made a difference in your life?

Even more Quality Family Time: 

Gather your family together and watch the classic half-hour Christmas cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 

Then, using the content above, pick up your bibles and lead your family in a devotional discussion about how Jesus has the power to change our hearts.

Pray the Spirit into your family time,

Emmanuel

Emmanuel, Emmanuel,
His name is called Emmanuel
God with us, revealed in us
His name is called Emmanuel
We love Him so, we love Him so,
His name is called Emmanuel

Author(s): Bob McGee

Copyright: 

1976 C.A. Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Call on the Holy Spirit today and ask Him to fill you, your family, friends and neighbors’ hearts so that you can be holy and reflect his holiness in his world.

He will turn hearts of hardest stone into a heart of truest love and goodness.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord, I thank you for all you’ve done for me. I just pray that you would change me, oh God. Please guide my heart, from stone to flesh, and help me to grow into the person you want me to be. Rather than me following my own ways, please purify my heart and make me more like you. Please guide my path and help me take steps that will guide me toward your plan for my life and not my own whims. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: The Wonder of All Wonders, Miracle of All Miracles, the One True Mystery of All Mysteries! ! Luke 1:29-35

Luke 1:29-35 Revised Standard Version

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” 35 And the angel said to her,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born[a] will be called holy,
the Son of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Opinions? It is not Jesus’ birth which is so remarkable but His conception.

When the angel appeared before her, announced that although she was a virgin, Mary would have a baby who would rule the entire universe, she simply asked the most sensible question possible: “How?”

And with that single question of “How?” asked in the loneliness of the moment, the miracle, mystery moment, we arrive at the very heart of the Christian story.

How was this child to be conceived?

How was God’s own created and ordered human physiology going to be set aside – where a man and a women come together and have sexual intercourse and by God’s own mystery and miracle moment, one sperm enters one egg and conception happens, life begins and God goes to work to weave together a baby.

Psalm 139:13-18 Revised Standard Version

13 For thou didst form my inward parts,
    thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.[a]
    Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
15     my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
    in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    When I awake, I am still with thee.[b]

God was going to make it happen.

By some unknowable miracle, by some unknowable mystery, He would do it.

The language of being “overshadowed” reminds us of God’s divine presence being symbolized to the Israelites by a great cloud pillar (Exodus 40:34-38).

The conception, in other words, would be miraculous, would be mysterious and would be undeniably supernatural too, able to be accomplished by God alone.

As Apostle Paul contemplated, pondered, worked through the theology of the incarnation, he wrote, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

He emphasized that the Redeemer had to be human so that He would be of the same nature as those whom He came to save: a man dying for mankind.

But it was equally imperative that the true Redeemer should be perfectly holy, perfectly righteous because no sinful person could effect atonement for the sins of others – He had to be Immanuel—God with(in) us—and He had to be man.

The early Christians hammered out the incarnation’s implications and came up with ways to describe the one who was conceived by the Spirit in Mary’s womb, coming to the true convictions that have passed down to us in the early creeds.

Our spiritual forefathers identified the wonderful mystery of the incarnation, bowed before the mystery and miracle of it, and affirmed through the holy scriptures that indeed Jesus was, is, and remains, very God and very man.

The idea that God would supernaturally invade this world shouldn’t surprise or discomfort us.

Considering how hardcore sin is, it takes a supernatural invasion of God into individuals’ lives, after all, to bring them to living faith, just as God sovereignly wonderfully worked a miracle in Mary’s womb in order to bring us – Redeemer.

Jesus told Nicodemus that unless someone is born from above—a birth brought about by God through His Spirit—they would not see God’s kingdom (John 3:3).

If we have been brought to salvation, it is only because God alone has done it.

You did no more to save yourself than Mary did to become pregnant with your Savior – the “How?” of salvation is forever answered only by – “God did it.”

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God calling me to be wonderfully, mysteriously, different?

How is God miraculously reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

Ephesians 2:8-10 Revised Standard Version

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

So, kneel today before the wonder, miracle and mystery of God taking on flesh.

And bow today before the wonder and mystery of God redeeming you – for that, no less than the virgin birth of the Son of God, is the supernatural work of God.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 139:1-18 Revised Standard Version

The Inescapable God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
    thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
    and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before,
    and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high, I cannot attain it.

7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
    Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me,
    and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee,
    the night is bright as the day;
    for darkness is as light with thee.

13 For thou didst form my inward parts,
    thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.[a]
    Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
15     my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
    in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    When I awake, I am still with thee.[b]

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Testimony: The Wonder and the Mystery of One Single Birthday. Luke 1:29-35

Luke 1:29-35 New International Version

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

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

35 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[a] the Son of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

There was a long time in my life where I severely doubted God’s existence.

I refused to understand or try to 1% understand how people would accept the existence of an all powerful divine being controlling everything in existence.

For thirty years – Sheer nonsense!

For thirty years – Utterly impossible!

Then one day I found myself in a place where I could not mouth one thing to one person, including myself, what exactly I believed about anything at all.

I was a completely blank slate – my soul was empty, my heart was emptier yet.

One day, I went to a church – not to a bar, not to a restaurant, not to a movie.

I ended up entering that church – sitting down in its rear most pew so I would not be noticed and could make a quick escape in case someone called out to me.

Over the next several months, I found myself moving closer and closer to the front of the church – to the front most pews – closer to their tall wooden cross.

I joined that church and enjoined myself to a “Friendly Men’s Bible Class” and began a time in my life when serious Bible Study, prayer became my #1 passion.

Now, twenty plus years later, all those negative thoughts of God > I could never understand how people could doubt the existence of God and of Jesus Himself.

2 Timothy 2:14-15 English Standard Version

A Worker Approved by God

14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God[a] not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,[b] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Over those years it was many many hours of personal study of the Word of God.

I did not go to seminary or to any bible school or college - much too expensive.

Instead I devoted myself to study bibles, concordances, dictionaries, and long hours sitting in a Friendly Men’s Bible Class listening to experienced teachers.

Then all of that expanded when I became attached to online sites like blue letter bible https://www.blueletterbible.org/ – I could dig deeper into the languages.

Then the greater wonder of the Word of God was revealed and I looked into the deeper meanings gaining deeper understandings of what the original authors intended for all those generations of ancient and early readers and listeners.

Then the great bewilderment of asking how could God possible exist became even greater wonderment at how people could not possible believe in Jesus!

The Word of God reveals very clearly that thousands of years before the birth of the Messiah, the prophets wrote about this event – this first birthday of Jesus.

Isaiah 7:14: “Well then, the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman who is pregnant will have a son and will name him ‘Immanuel’.” GNB [Immanuel means ‘God with us’]

Jeremiah 23:5-6: “The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation’.” GNB

Micah 5:2: “The LORD says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times.” GNB

The words of the prophets, the prophecy was clear about the virgin birth, the place it would happen and about Jesus being special, someone who will change quite literally everything for Israel and for all of those who hear his teachings.

Even today, more than two thousand years after He walked the earth, people still adhere to diligently fellowshipping, to reading and to studying His Word.

It must all come together somewhere, for some much greater reason, to mean something more, don’t you agree, that His legacy survived for such a long time?

Why is it then that we still doubt? Have we become so consumed by greed and ego that we stopped looking to the One who created us and gave us a Savior?

John 5:44: “You like to receive praise from one another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how, then, can you believe me?” GNB

During this festive season, why don’t we try to remember the truth, the reason why we celebrate?

I know the actual birth date may be all wrong, but that is not the point here.

The point is finding wonderment in one day in the year when we can become still in front of God and thank Him for the wonderment of this one great gift.

This is the time to NOT DOUBT, but to wonder, believe in this Child’s greatness.

Forget about looking for that one perfect gift for that one single perfect person.

Forget about buying expensive presents.

Forget about impressing others with your grand trees and extravagant feasts.

Remember Christmas begins with CHRIST, and is indeed about a wonderful gift.

The ONE GIFT that has the wonder, power, to save us from eternal damnation.

Read the ancient passages of the Word of God to your family, to your friends on Christmas day – before you sit down to Christmas dinner and opening the gifts.

Read the ancient prophecies, study the ancient prophecies, pray the prophecies.

Read the Gospel Narratives of His birth being the fulfillment of God’s promises!

Study those Narratives of His birth being 100% fulfillment of God’s prophecies!

Pray to the Holy Spirit to make the wonderment of them all become 100% alive!

Accept them today, do not wait, do not doubt their truth, cease to wonder, just 100% enter into the light He provides and you will never be in darkness again.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 Revised Standard Version

Song of Trust and Security in God

A Miktam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
2     I say to the Lord, “Thou art my Lord;
    I have no good apart from thee.”[a]

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the noble,
    in whom is all my delight.

4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;[b]
    their libations of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names upon my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    thou holdest my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    yea, I have a goodly heritage.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
    my body also dwells secure.
10 For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,
    or let thy godly one see the Pit.

11 Thou dost show me the path of life;
    in thy presence there is fulness of joy,
    in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: Whether its Read at Advent, At Christmas, and Always, God’s Word Never Fails! Luke 1:37 

Luke 1:36-38 English Standard Version

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[a] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Luke 1:37cNew International Version

37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

This verse allows us to know the authority of God’s word.

God is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever.

For example, God used His word to create the heavens and earth and all things; He promised to give Sarah over childbearing age a child and blessed Abraham; and His word also made the blind see, the lame walk and Lazarus come alive.

Plenty of historical facts bore witness to the authority and power of God’s word.

And even more, God’s word can change us, can save us and can bring us the light and hope.

When in these times and seasons of max celebration and unspeakable joy we are pained in failures and setbacks, God’s word can comfort us, help us regain faith.

When we are confused about life and unable to find direction, God’s word will guide us forward.

When we live in sin and cannot free ourselves, God’s word can show us the way of practice so that we can break free from the shackles of sin.

The Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

From this we can each see that God’s word practically gives us the supply of life.

Therefore, it’s so important to read God’s word and we can put it into practice.

What if we were asked why God’s Word is Important?

Luke 1:37 New International Version

37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

When the angel Gabriel visited the unsuspecting Mary with news of her being highly favored and chosen to carry and give birth to God’s only son on earth, he left her with a spoken promise that we can all hold onto (Luke 1:37).

In our socially and politically engineered world today, where countless people are rewriting God’s Word to say things He isn’t saying and to support causes that go against His will, we need to remember that God’s Word will never fail.

Especially now with the weight of socially, politically, globally changing times, there are individuals and groups are believing God’s Word needs a new spin on it and updating, a cultural modernization to keep up with the changing times.

But these are foolish, untrue thoughts, attitudes because they are dead wrong. 

2 Corinthians 4:4 explains the source behind their ideas. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 The Message

3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.

When people so arrogantly or so naively think they can rewrite what God said and meant, they are only revealing their lack of knowledge and faith in Him and exposing their underlying uninformed, or badly educated unbelief in His Word.

As John 8:47 explains, “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” 

John 8:42-47 The Message

42-47 “If God were your father,” said Jesus, “you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”

Still, God’s Word cannot really ever be changed, rewritten, or torn down.

In fact, it can’t even be touched, damaged, or modified in any way that lasts.

Humans do not have any of the power or authority to make His word void.  

Matthew 5:17-19 English Standard Version

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Whether people are being deceived, really believe what they are promoting is true or knowingly determined to tear down God’s Word, all their efforts are in vain As Psalm 119:89 confirms,

“Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”

Psalm 119:89-96 The Message

89-96 What you say goes, God,
    and stays, as permanent as the heavens.
Your truth never goes out of fashion;
    it’s as relevant as the earth when the sun comes up.
Your Word and truth are dependable as ever;
    that’s what you ordered—you set the earth going.
If your revelation hadn’t delighted me so,
    I would have given up when the hard times came.
But I’ll never forget the advice you gave me;
    you saved my life with those wise words.
Save me! I’m all yours.
    I look high and low for your words of wisdom.
The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me,
    but I’m only concerned with your plans for me.
I see the limits to everything human,
    but the horizons can’t contain your commands!

God’s Unchanging Word

Although some individuals, groups may think they can rewrite and reword what God is saying to us, they are actually powerless to do so because His word comes with an everlasting promise, to stand eternally (1 Peter 1:25) to never, ever fail. 

1 Peter 1:22-25 The Message

22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,
    its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers wilt,
    God’s Word goes on and on forever.

This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

To help us in understanding how God’s word is lasting and never changes, Isaiah 40:8 describes, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:6-8 The Message

6-8 A voice says, “Shout!”
    I said, “What shall I shout?”

“These people are nothing but grass,
    their love fragile as wildflowers.
The grass withers, the wildflowers fade,
    if God so much as puffs on them.
    Aren’t these people just so much grass?
True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade,
    but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.”

Likewise, we read and diligently ponder the admonition from these words …

Spoken by Jesus Himself …

Matthew 24:32-35 The Message

32-35 “Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer’s just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you’ll know he’s at the door. Don’t take this lightly. I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.

The Living Word

God’s Word is not like human words written in the past.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Because God’s Word is living, it is timeless, untouched by changing times, and able to speak to hearts through all generations.

“So is my word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

Isaiah 55:8-11 The Message

8-11 “I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

In ordering priorities, organizing our thoughts, choosing our words, let us all speak, write, share God’s Word over our own whenever given the opportunity.

Whereas our own words may at times fall flat, become outdated, or fail to have a good lasting effect, God’s Word is never void or falls short of its divine purpose.

A Sure Foundation

Because God’s Word is, from beginning to end, sure, solid and steadfast, we can count on it being a strong unbreakable foundation for us to build our lives upon.

We can have absolute assurance, maximum confidence in God’s Word because it doesn’t change with the times, or politics, or culture – it will not fail us, ever.

We can ground ourselves, base every day of our lives, on its principles because modern-day thoughts and opinions do not change the 100% truth of His word.

As 1 Corinthians 3:11 reminds us, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 The Message

5-9 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.

9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

John 1:1-5 GOD’S WORD Translation

The Word Becomes Human

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning.

3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.

4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.

5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.

John 14:1-7 English Standard Version

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4  And you know the way to where I am going.”[c] 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.[d] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus said; “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me”

Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Take time in these next coming weeks to commit to truly reading God’s Word.

At Christmas, make a gift of a study Bible, In the New Year, resolve to ask God alone to reveal His truth to you and show you how to apply it to your daily life.

Develop the habit in the coming year, if you’re uncertain what God’s Word says about a situation, resolve to check His Word first before making any decision.

When sorely tempted to choose what the world tells you to do over what God says is right, commit to following and trusting His Word over worldly advice.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:9-16 GOD’S WORD Translation

9 How can a young person keep his life pure?
⌞He can do it⌟ by holding on to your word.
10 I wholeheartedly searched for you.
Do not let me wander away from your commandments.
11 I have treasured your promise in my heart
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Thanks be to you, O Lord.
Teach me your laws.
13 With my lips I have repeated
every regulation that ⌞comes⌟ from your mouth.
14 I find joy in the way ⌞shown by⌟ your written instructions
more than I find joy in all kinds of riches.
15 I want to reflect on your guiding principles
and study your ways.
16 Your laws make me happy.
I never forget your word.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Refrain:
Go tell it on the mountain,
over the hills, and ev’rywhere;
go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.

1 While shepherds kept their watching
o’er silent flocks by night,
behold, throughout the heavens
there shone a holy light. [Refrain]

2 The shepherds feared and trembled
when lo, above the earth
rang out the angel chorus
that hailed our Savior’s birth. [Refrain]

3 Down in a lowly manger
the humble Christ was born,
and God sent us salvation
that blessed Christmas morn. [Refrain]

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Advent Reflection: Our Bringing The Gift of The Greatness of Our God Unto Others This Christmas. Luke 1:26-28

Luke 1:26-28 New American Standard Bible

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin [a]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the [b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was [c]Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord [d]is with you.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In an instant, in one moment of time, young Mary’s life was forever changed.

As the angel of the Lord spoke about her future, Mary went from an obscure Jewish teenager to the hand-selected mother of the long-awaited Messiah.

In that exact moment, everything changed when she understood her destiny.

This obscure teenage girl Mary didn’t have nor know any power or popularity, wealth or fame; nothing was great about her we don’t even know her last name.

Yet in this great moment she was chosen by God above all women throughout all time to bring the greatness of God’s salvation and healing into this world.

The bearer of God’s greatness in her womb, it’s the kind of salvation needed by both paupers and presidents, rich and poor, black, white, known and obscure.

And such healing would become the spark of life in the darkness of dead men’s souls, and bridge the one great divide between lost humanity and a loving God.

Yet her journey was not without difficulty as she had to deal with practical facts: not fully understanding God’s plan, or God’s greatness, all of those judgmental people speaking lies about her, about the coming greatness of her own first born son, her own doubts and fears, and trusting God to vindicate and protect her – Mary’s story was that trial of faith – yet she made it through and so can we.

Because like Mary, we are all, in our own God-ordained way, anointed, called to bring something extraordinary into the world – the Greatness of our great God.

Psalm 145:1-7 English Standard Version

Great Is the Lord

[a] A Song of Praise. Of David.

145 I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

But to do so, we must learn from Mary’s experience.

1. Commit Ourselves to Personal Righteousness

“Personal righteousness” refers to a commitment by believers to live their life consistent with our great God’s high calling to carry His light into a lost world.

Matthew 5:13-16 New American Standard Bible

Disciples and the World

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how [a]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a [b]hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor do people light a lamp and put it under a [c]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

We must commit to display integrity, purity, honor, respect and holiness.

Our lives should be examples for others to emulate – not perfect lives without fault, failure or messiness, but lives consistent with being on a mission for God.

We must hold on to, we must cling to God’s grace, not as an excuse to sin, but as a motivating force to present our whole selves to God live honorably before God.

Romans 12:1-2 New American Standard Bible

Dedicated Service

12 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, [a]acceptable to God, which is your [b] spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this [c]world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may [d]prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.

We should neither become judgmental nor a stumbling block to those who desperately need to experience His humbling greatness, Christ’s forgiveness.

Personal righteousness is an enormous battle that we commit to fight in order to be messengers, examples, of God’s love that helps lead people to salvation.

And I believe a life of “personal righteousness” was a factor in “Hailing Mary” Mary’s favored anointing by our great God to bear the Messiah for mankind:

Luke 1:26-28 Revised Standard Version

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”[a]

These verses imply that Mary, who was divinely chosen for this extraordinary task, was chosen partly because of her commitment to personal righteousness.

In fact, the Word makes it clear that there is a connection between personal righteousness and God’s decision to entrust great responsibilities to people.

This also implies lackluster personal righteousness limits the effectiveness of the individual in their being God’s messenger, their message in their success.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Revised Standard Version

The Example of Jesus

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Anything less than focused commitment to personal righteousness will become our own millstone, weight standing in the way of our God-given assignment.

And I am quite convinced that if we would fight as vehemently for personal righteousness as we do for social righteousness, or pointing out the sins of the world, we would greatly impact the world in much more GOD profound ways!

2. Make Our Not So Great Selves Available Unto God

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 The Message

26-31 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, actually chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

Translation – neither you nor I have to be ‘great’ to do great things for God! 

Notice here what Mary later says of herself on behalf of future generations:

Luke 1:46-55 The Message

46-55 And Mary said,

I’m bursting with God-news;
    I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
    I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
    the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
    on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
    scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
    pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
    the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
    he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
    beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

Luke 1:46-48 New Living Translation

The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise

46 Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
    and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

“Lowly Servant Girl,” “Low estate” means someone who is low in rank, considered vile, or who is humiliated.

It describes a person who is down and out, rejected, despised, overlooked or simply not popular!

Although it can’t be proven, some people believe Mary was perhaps the least in her father’s house, as if she were under some particular contempt and disgrace among her family – like the belittled Cinderella archetype of ancient Israel.

Regardless, whatever her actual social place in her family, it is clear that Mary felt there was nothing “favored” extraordinary about Mary! Yet, God chose her.

Why?

The Word of God for His Children demonstrates that she made herself available to God; “unfavored” to be used by Him to carry out His extraordinary mission.

In her own “unfavored” “humbled and lowly estate,” She was willing to make room, in her “unfavored by man” life, in her virgin womb, for God to use her.

I might guess if we took a hard look at our “unfavored lives” our own “humble estates” busy schedules, our wildly diverse priorities, most of us would mirror Martha, the sister of Mary Magdalene rather than Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Luke 10:38-42 New Living Translation

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39  Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Translation – our “blessed and highly favored” schedule is probably packed too full to focus on the “blessed, highly favored” things of God, matter most in life.

At times, our “favored” lives get so cluttered, so over-burdened that we don’t have time or mental space to be available for God to use in any significant way.

If that somehow unfavorably resonates with you, then it’s time bring them back into favorability, to reorganize, reprioritize some things; we must intentionally make ourselves fully available so that we are able to carry out anything He asks.

3. How Well Do We Understand the Purpose of Favor?

One of the most memorable words of the angel’s announcement was “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you…” (Luke 1:28).

Many times, we will intentionally misunderstand favor in our society.

God’s favor is not all about a blessing, good breaks and open doors, favorable versus unfavorable circumstances in order to increase personal or social status.

Rather the purpose of divine favor is to anoint us, to bring God into our spheres of awareness, which allows us to accomplish what God needs done in our lives.

– Joseph found favor with Potiphar, found favor in prison, and found favor with Pharoah…because his purpose was to serve as Prime Minister over Egypt in a time of great famine.

– Young David found favor in the eyes of the prophet Samuel, and God touched David’s sling shot with favor to defeat the giant Goliath in battle…because his purpose was to serve as King of Israel.

– Daniel found favor in the courts of the wicked King Nebuchadnezzar…because his purpose was to serve as the prophet of the LORD to the nations.

– Esther found favor in the eyes of the King of Persia…because her purpose was to serve as an intercessor to save her people from destruction.

Favor is not as much for our person, as it is for our purpose. 

Even so, when we commit our humbled unfavorable selves to God, that mindset then status of “favored by God” does positively affect our lives in many forms.

4. But Are We, like Mary, Willing to Risk Everything

Think of what young Mary risked to bring the salvation of God into the world.

Imagine all of those dinner conversations with her parents.

Or the angry, hushed argument raging between her parents, Joseph’s parents.

Imagine the “eyes and gossip” of her village community, what it felt like to walk to the marketplace, sit in synagogue or look into Joseph’s wounded eyes.

For Mary to fulfill her God-given assignment, she had to release control and risk it all: her reputation, family and friends, her financial security – her life.

In the culture of that day, she could have been severely humiliated, divorced, and ultimately stoned to death for adultery while being betrothed to Joseph.

Whatever God entrusts you to bring into the world, regardless of your sphere of influence, be aware there could a day, might be a high and mighty personal cost.

Jesus did not try to hide this aspect of being His disciple.

Luke 9:22-24 New Living Translation

22 “The Son of Man[a] must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

One of the greatest challenges for many of us, especially in Western society, is seeing, acknowledging, publicly confessing ourselves as God’s actual servants.

We will allow ourselves to forget that as believers, we have given our lives over to Christ, we are no longer our own; rather, we have been bought with a price.

The Christ who created us and redeemed us from death now has the sovereign right to direct our lives and our actions in it, regardless of perceived risk to our most favored plans, our most favored social standing or financial well-being.

But every person who lives, who impacts the world in a significant way for God understands this truth.

For example, we will see the Apostle Paul in his epistles constantly reaffirm his submission to Christ.

Romans 1:1-4 Amplified Bible

The Gospel Exalted

1 Paul, a [a]bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative), set apart for [preaching] the [b]gospel of God [the good news of salvation], 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures— 3 [the good news] regarding His Son, who, as to the flesh [His human nature], was born a descendant of David [to fulfill the covenant promises], 4 and [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated to be the Son of God with power [in a triumphant and miraculous way] by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

A “bondservant” was someone who had been purchased as a slave.

At the time appointed for them to be set free, they elected to stay with their master for life and serve them, because of love.

Ultimately, that’s what it takes to bring divine greatness to the world in an impactful way.

By Covenant, it requires we that love Jesus so much that, even though we must reprioritize things in our lives to reflect His character, intentionally make room in our schedules to answer His call at any time, and to be courageous enough to step out in our unfavored status in life, in a faith well beyond our comfort zone.

We devote our lives and everything we do to favorably serve Him as our Savior.

It may seem unfavorably impossible now, but nothing is impossible with God!

He is greater than our human limitations, He can find favor in our unfavorable circumstances to prepare and position us for every good thing He has planned. 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 Complete Jewish Bible

16 (0) Mikhtam. By David:

(1) Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.
2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
3 The holy people in the land are the ones
who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.

4 Those who run after another god
multiply their sorrows;
To such gods I will not offer
drink offerings of blood
or take their names on my lips.

5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup:
you safeguard my share.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
I am content with my heritage.

7 I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
8 I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices,
and my body too rests in safety;
10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol,
you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.
11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: While We Wait For Him, Do We Know How To Say Why It’s Important To Draw Near To Him? James 4:7-10

James 4:8-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible

8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people! 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow. 10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The Advent and Christmas seasons are a powerful and unique time of year to remember that Jesus came from eternity to make a way for us to be near God.

In his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus built a bridge between us and God allowing us to have continual, unhindered communion with our Creator.

But God can’t force us into nearness with him.

Even as believers filled with the Holy Spirit, we can choose to live as if God is still far off.

So this Advent, Christmas season, may we choose to open our hearts to the living God that we might experience fullness of joy in his loving presence.

Except, what do we do when we cannot find God?

The Christian author C. S. Lewis searched for God during the illness of his wife without finding him.

In his book A Grief Observed, Lewis wrote, “Meanwhile, where is God? … Go to him when your need is desperate … and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double-bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away.”

Both believers and non believers, sceptics and agnostics and atheist’s have searched for God without being able to find him.

David, who wrote of the wonderful comfort of God in Psalm 23, also cried out in Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus said those self same words on the cross (Matthew 27:46).

If for some reason you can’t seem to find God, or identify with the voice of God calling them as Eli and Samuel, let God know you can’t find Him—then listen.

Listen longer, Listen harder, Listen hardcore, Listen continually, continuously, Listen repeatedly, Listen as if your very eternity (because it is) is at highest risk.

Psalm 139:23-24 Holman Christian Standard Bible

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive[a] way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.

God is right where He always is.

The writer C.S. Lewis found that perhaps the volume of his own cries deafened him “to the [still small] voice [he] hoped to hear.”

He wrote later, “I have gradually been coming to feel that the door is no longer shut and bolted. Was it my own frantic need that slammed it in my face?”

Accept God’s invitation: “Come near to God and God will come near to you.”

Come as you are, empty handed, and with a simple prayer.

God is where we are.

Says Jesus in John 6:37, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

It’s a sure promise.

Try Identifying The Importance of Our Drawing Near

James 4:7-10 Easy-to-Read Version

7 So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives.[a] You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. 9 Be sad, be sorry, and cry! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness. 10 Be humble before the Lord, and he will make you great.

James 4:8 contains a profound promise of God.

Scripture says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” 

For a while I thought this verse seemed backwards.

Does not God do the drawing?

Is not God the one who’s constantly pursuing us?

After diving deeper into the meaning of James 4:8 I discovered an important truth that’s foundational to living in communion with God: the door of God’s heart is always open to us, His love is always for us, presence always available.

At Calvary, The Father turned away from Jesus as ours sins rested squarely on His Son’s shoulders ensuring He would never ever have to turn away from us.

To draw near to God is to simply open our hearts to what was always available.

It’s not that God ever withholds his presence from us.

It’s that He never forces us to abide in Him.

If all us sheep want to go our own way, He willingly and patiently waits for us.

And the moment that we turn our hearts back to him, He is there to fill us with a grand celebration, revelation, of His loving nearness and unwavering devotion.

Luke 15:17-24 GOD’S WORD Translation

17 “Finally, he came to his senses. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more food than they can eat, while I’m starving to death here? 18 I’ll go at once to my father, and I’ll say to him, “Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. 19 I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. Make me one of your hired men.” ’

20 “So he went at once to his father. While he was still at a distance, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son, put his arms around him, and kissed him. 21 Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore.’ [a]

22 “The father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s celebrate with a feast. 24 My son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

In his book, The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer describes two veils.

The first veil was the veil between the Holy of Holies and the world was torn at the death of Jesus, signifying the availability of God’s manifest presence to all.

The second veil is the veil of our own hearts, our decision to tear by God’s grace.

Whether it’s the effects of sin and shame or a lack of understanding what’s available to us in Christ, all of us have the ability to veil places in our hearts.

Like the Prodigal son while wildly spending our inheritance, all of us can shield our beliefs about our identity, our possessions, or all our relationships from the abiding presence of Jesus and live to live far apart from communion with Him.

We all have the ability at any given moment to go our own way and miss out on abundant life.

Isaiah 53:6 GOD’S WORD Translation

6 We have all strayed like sheep.
Each one of us has turned to go his own way,
and the Lord has laid all our sins on him.

But the truth is that the Christian life is not about our ability to abide in God perfectly, but about God’s grace to draw near to us in response to repentance.

Reading Scripture, God has no expectation that we would live this life perfectly.

He remembers our frame and knows we are dust (Psalm 103:14).

What God desires from us is to allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate any parts of our lives that are not His that we would be quick to repent, return to our right minds, renewing our worship, and enjoy his grace-filled presence once again.

God is not angry with us for veiling your heart.

He knows better than we do the reasons we are not letting him fully in.

His heart is filled with the fullness of compassion for us that we might all live to experience the fullness of His grace rather than strive, condemn ourselves for all of our bodily and sinful, spiritual failures and unchangeable imperfections.

While we wait for His Advent, our Christmas gifts, why not take some brief time today to rend apart the veil of your own heart, draw near to God, and experience the abundance of His glory, the nearness of His breath, His manifest presence.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s promise to draw near to you if you will draw near to him. Allow the truth of God’s word to fill you with faith to encounter God.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

2. What parts of your heart seem veiled today? 

Where are you going your own way?

Where in your life are you not experiencing abundant life in God synonymous with communion with him?

3. Rend the veil over your own heart today and allow God to flood those places with his forgiveness and grace.  

Take time to allow him to fill you with a revelation of his love.

Psalm 139:23-24 The Message

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:19-20

May Hebrews 10:19-22 provide joy and hope to your heart as you seek to draw near to your heavenly Father:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Lord our God, show us your presence in our lives. Help us to trust that you will never let go of us. As you have promised, you will never forsake us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection Does Mary Saying ‘Treasuring All These Things in Her Heart’ Speak to Anything About How We Reveal Christ Today? Luke 2:19

Luke 2:19-20 English Standard Version

19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

As many times as I have read these verses from Luke’s narrative, I believe I have never seriously pondered, nor really asked the question: What did Mary ponder?

Did she drop to the ground in “shock?”

Did she kneel in prayer?

Did she laugh or giggle or pinch herself, trying to grasp the truth that lying in front of her in a manger was the Son of God himself, the promised Messiah?

Did she wonder how the whole of God could also be a real human baby boy?

Did she wonder about all of God being her first born baby that needed cuddling, feeding, diaper changes, baths, potty training and her motherly attentive care?

Somewhere, our Mary surely realized that she was in the presence of a miracle.

Somewhere, thinking about what the shepherds had said, she probably thought back to the very day nine months earlier when she too was visited by an angel.

On that day she learned that she, a virgin, would become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the child in her womb would be the very Son of God.

Almighty God, who Created all things, brought order from chaos, who is beyond space and time, chose her young life to empty himself, to take on human flesh.

By some miracle she could not begin to comprehend, out of His greatest love for her you and me, He came as a baby born to this mother that night in Bethlehem.

Somehow, somewhere on this day, sit and ponder for yourself: there in the manger lay our Savior, who would surrender his own life for your sake, mine. 

The one whom Mary held and nursed, who could not even hold up his head and would need his bottom washed, his diaper changed, would too need to be taught when, how to stand up and walk, would need her help to even stand up on his own, what to touch, not to touch, was God in the flesh, come to make us whole.

One day this very real human being needing every single inch, need every single ounce of our life’s energy, our support in the good times and the bad and all the very worst, to just get through the day, and issues growing up, issues of puberty how to make friends would choose to give his very real body over to be crucified.

And Mary would be there to ponder every single precious moment of that too.

Will we, today, take any one single moment to ponder these things with Mary?

Pondering How We Ourselves Will Reveal Jesus Today

Luke 2:19-20 The Message

19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The shepherds returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!

The seasons of Advent and Christmas.

Time to make all those travel plans.

Time to hang all those lights and decorations both inside and outside the house.

Time for a family outing to go to some tree farm, some nursery, or some mall parking lot and look among all of the trees which have been cut and harvested.

Time to go up to the attic or the lost in the garage or the storage out back and retrieve all of the treasured family and the traditional Christmas decorations.

Time to make a family day and set the tree up and decorate it to its finest and plug it in and light it to its brightest glow – so our neighbors may admire it.

Pick a theme for the Christmas season – Country Christmas or Red, White, Blue.

Cookie cutter Christmas, an International theme – whatever is in your hearts.

Time to pull out all of those recipe books of all your families favorite foods.

Time to buy all those last minute gifts, sing all those carols, watch the movies.

Many Christians will also read the traditional Christmas stories from the Bible in some form, the Prophecies from Isaiah, birth narratives, Matthew and Luke.

The biblical Christmas narrative tells an exciting story filled with prophecy, danger and supernatural guidance, protection, and even angelic declaration.

Young Mary moves and reacts at the center of the story, a young girl of faith who is given a difficult and epic role — to be the mother of the Son of God.

She and her betrothed Joseph are given one miraculous supernatural message after another, whether through angels or people and they must know its God.

At one point, the Bible tells us Mary “treasured all these things in her heart.”

We’ve heard or read this phrase a hundred times, and we can often look over it as too familiar.

But we should we our contemporary selves not take the time Mary and Joseph did to ponder and explore this miraculous story and the glory of God, further?

What does Mary’s “treasuring all these things in her heart” say about how we reveal Christ today?

In the Gospel of Luke, the story begins with the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and announcing that she will conceive and bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of the Most High.

Mary, initially perplexed, accepts this divine calling with humility and faith.

Subsequently, she visits her relative Elizabeth, who is miraculously expecting a child, they share in a moment of joy, praise for the work of God in their lives.

As the narrative progresses, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem due to a decree from Caesar Augustus, who has ordered a census.

It is in Bethlehem that Mary gives birth to Jesus in a humble setting — a manger — because there is no room in the inn.

Shortly after Jesus’ birth, angels appear to shepherds in the fields, proclaiming the good news of the Savior’s arrival.

The shepherds then visit the holy family and share the angelic message about the significance of the child they have just witnessed.

Amidst these extraordinary events, Luke 2:19 provides a real 1st century glimpse into young Mary’s deep emotional and spiritual response to the unfolding story.

The verse states, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

This reflection captures for us today Mary’s deep contemplation and thoughtful consideration of all these miraculous events surrounding the birth of her son.

This verse highlights Mary’s contemplative nature, emphasizing her role not only as the mother of Jesus but as a woman of deep faith and spiritual insight.

She could have easily been overwhelmed by these epic events, but she, as Luke states, instead, sat, pondered and meditated on the events and their meaning.

Her response is a model of lasting obedience, faithfulness and contemplation in the face of extraordinary occurrences beyond all human pale to comprehend.

The Gospel of Luke the continues to unfold the narrative of Jesus’ early life as a child growing up, and maturing, in ministry, in ultimate sacrifice for humanity.

Mary’s role remains significant throughout, from her initial acceptance of the angelic message to her presence at key moments in Jesus’ earthly journey.

What Did it Mean for Mary to Treasure All These Things in Her Heart?

Mary’s incredibly mature act of treasuring and pondering as a teenage mother reflects a deep and profound spiritual reflection which sets us a high example.

The miraculous nature of Jesus’ conception, the angelic announcements, and the visitations from shepherds all pointed to the extraordinary nature of Jesus.

Her response indicates that at her age she recognized the divine significance of these events and patiently sought to understand the deeper spiritual meanings.

Mary, as the mother of Jesus, played a central role in the unfolding of God’s plan for salvation.

By pondering, treasuring these events, this young teenager Mary acknowledged the sovereignty of God, creative handiwork of God in her life, and in the world.

Her contemplation suggests a recognition these were not mere coincidences but rather direct divine interventions holding profound implications for humanity.

The events surrounding Jesus’ birth were shrouded in mystery, divine purpose.

Mary, in pondering and treasuring these things, plumbed the depths, embraced the incomprehensible mystery of God’s plan for humanities final redemption.

She recognized that her role as the mother of the Messiah was part of a grand and intricate narrative that had been steadily unfolding throughout history.

Her response can also be seen as an expression of gratitude.

Gratitude for the angelic messages, the visitations of shepherds, and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

By pondering and treasuring these moments, this young Mary acknowledged the fullness of blessings bestowed upon her and expressed unyielding gratitude and obedience to God, for being chosen as a vessel for God’s redemptive plan.

Mary’s act of treasuring and pondering implies a greater personal and intimate connection with the divine.

It suggests that she did not merely witness these events passively but actively engaged with them on a spiritual and emotional level.

Her mother’s heart became a repository for the sacred moments that unfolded around the birth of her son.

Treasuring these things in her heart might have also served as that essential source of strength and guidance for Mary in the future when Calvary came.

As Jesus grew and matured and embarked on his earthly ministry, Mary’s reflections on the miraculous events surrounding his birth likely provided a foundation of faith and resilience for the toughest challenges that lay ahead.

She contemplated, she pondered, she treasured them all, which speaks of an inclusive nature to each event as part of a whole, both for her individually, for her family, for the nation of Israel, and for generations ahead and the world.

She did not reject any part of the message she didn’t like but received it all.

Further, she didn’t consider these things intellectually, as if she would one day write a long theological treatise or submit Doctoral dissertations on the events.

Mary acted like these wonderful events should impact the state of her heart, and others, and she valued these revelations where they mattered: in her heart.

How Do Jesus and the New Testament Teach Us the Importance of Our Hearts?

Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament consistently emphasize the importance of truth in the hearts of believers.

Jesus speaks of the types of people who are blessed at the beginning of the famous Sermon on the Mount, what we call the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

Speaking of our whole heart, Jesus responds to the question, “What is the greatest commandment?” with the following answer: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

Mary didn’t simply acknowledge her heart but used her heart to focus on the truth of the events around her. We must address our hearts with truth.

In John 8:32, Jesus declares, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Here, truth is not merely a collection of facts but a transformative force that liberates individuals from the bondage of sin and ignorance.

The idea of know here is an intimacy, a oneness.

We must let truth deal with our hearts because the heart is the problem.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus links the condition of the heart to the words spoken:

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts — murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

Matthew 15:18-20 English Standard Version

18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

This underscores the importance of cultivating a truthful and righteous heart to produce words and actions aligned with God’s will.

Jesus used parables to deal with the importance of receiving the truth in our hearts.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus likens the good soil to those who hear the word of God and understand it.

This understanding is rooted in truth, emphasizing the necessity of truth in the receptive heart for spiritual growth.

Later in the New Testament, Paul writes the following about God’s love in the first letter to the Corinthians. “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

This highlights the inseparable connection between love and truth.

Genuine love is grounded in truth, and living truthfully is an expression of authentic love.

Where do we find God’s Truth? In His dynamic, living, powerful revealed Word.

How Can Christians Today Reveal Christ to the World?

Revealing Christ to the world through treasuring God’s Word and truth in our hearts is a powerful way for Christians to embody the teachings of Jesus and share the transformative impact of faith. What are some of these principles?

1. Live out biblical principles. 

Mary didn’t hear and say amen and then leave to do her own thing.

God’s Truth revealed through Christ Jesus is meant to be lived out daily.

Luke 9:23-24 English Standard Version

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

This includes demonstrating sacrificial love, compassion, humility, and justice in our daily interactions.

By aligning words and actions with those in our biblical teachings, we become true living testimonies of the revealed transformative power of God’s Word.

2. Integrity in character. Mary treasured it all.

This is integrity.

We can reveal Christ by exemplifying honesty, kindness, and ethical conduct in all aspects of life.

A character shaped by God’s Word becomes a beacon of light in a world often marked by moral ambiguity.

3. A heart for service. 

Mary submitted to the Word of God through the angel to serve God and others.

The teachings of Jesus emphasize service and selflessness.

We can reveal Christ by actively engaging in acts of kindness, generosity, and service to others.

This outward expression of love mirrors the selfless love modeled by Jesus and draws people to the transformative message of the Gospel.

4. Sharing the gospel. Mary received the Word in her heart but also in her womb, becoming a vessel for God to work through for salvation for others.

Treasuring God’s Word includes a commitment to sharing the Good News with others – Christians can reveal Christ by effectively communicating the message of salvation and the transformative power of a relationship with Jesus.

5. Being born again. Mary was the first embodiment of the incarnation.

God created a new life within her, and Jesus was both human and divine.

As both God and man, Jesus was the first of a new race of people, the born again, the new creation.

We cannot reveal Christ without the incarnation, God in our hearts.

We must rest in this new, divine nature he shares with us.

6. Responding to adversity with faith. 

For Mary, following the Word of God meant she would face adversity and difficulty, but she faced it with faith and trust.

The same is true for us.

We are promised difficulty by Jesus, but we are also promised we can overcome those difficulties with Christ (John 16:33).

He has overcome the world, and so will we if we continue with Him.

By facing adversity with faith, resilience, and trust in God’s promises, we reveal Christ’s sustaining presence even in difficult circumstances.

7. Cultivating a joyful spirit. 

After getting a confirmation of God’s power and word when meeting with Elizabeth, Mary sang a song blessing God for his redemption and salvation.

The joy that comes from treasuring God’s Word is infectious.

We can reveal Christ by cultivating a spirit of joy, gratitude, and contentment.

This joy becomes a dynamic living testimony to the transformative impact of God’s Word upon the ever fickle and finicky sin blasted human heart.

By embodying the teachings of Jesus and sharing the transformative power of God’s Word, believers become powerful agents of change and ambassadors of their Savior Christ in a world that desperately needs all the light of the gospel.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:1-16 The Message

119 1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

* * *

9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: As We Watch and We Wait as We Anticipate and Expect, What Exactly Are We Doing Anyway? James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18 The Message

Live Well, Live Wisely

13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

According to 1 Kings 3 in the Bible, In a dream, a young new King Solomon was told by God that he could ask for anything he wanted, and he would receive it.

He is given what amounts to a “blank check” signed, guaranteed 100%, by God.

Instead of asking for a long life, riches, popularity, or power, Solomon asked for wisdom – he understood that the “wisdom that comes from heaven” is the one thing we need more than anything else if we are to be what God wants us to be.

According to our reading from the third chapter of James for today, wisdom is not some intellectual pursuit or intellectual gift that makes us more intelligent.

True wisdom does not come from a high I.Q. or from high scores on high school aptitude tests or college entrance exams.

True wisdom is a gift from God, given to help us live life as God expects us to.

It is the kind of wisdom that literally effects every area of our everyday lives.

Says James,

“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

As we eagerly or not so eagerly watch and we wait, as we anticipate and expect the world around us to either fly apart at the seams or for our Savior’s second Advent, which ever one comes first, this is the #1 wisdom each one of us needs.

Putting our faith into practice, hearing God’s Word, speaking and teaching God’s Word and doing it, begins with asking God for his wisdom (James 1:5).

James 1:5-8 The Message

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, and ask believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Without praying for our “blank check” we can’t be what God wants us to be.

Wait for God.

Anticipate God

Expect God.

Listen for God.

Hear God.

Be mindful of God.

Pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to help you experience as King Solomon had those thousands of years ago -“the wisdom that comes to us from heaven.”

Why? Because It Is God’s Wisdom Our World Needs!

James 3:13-18 Easy-to-Read Version

True Wisdom

13 Are there any among you who are really wise and understanding? Then you should show your wisdom by living right. You should do what is good with humility. A wise person does not boast. 14 If you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to boast. Your boasting is a lie that hides the truth.  15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help people who have trouble and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. 18 People who work for peace in a peaceful way get the blessings that come from right living.

Considering our education system, listening to what is being “taught” to the children as the truth, it is incredibly easy to confuse wisdom and intelligence.

If someone allegedly has all the right answers and an encyclopedic knowledge of seemingly every subject known to man, and particularly of Bible verses, we may be prone to assume that they are wise — and they each very well could be.

But equally true is that they may well not be, for raw intellectual ability and the capacity to retain a vast number of facts don’t necessarily equate with wisdom.

In his epistle, the author James correctly links wisdom not with just knowledge alone but also with good conduct and meekness.

The one who is truly wise in God’s sight will act in a way that accords with the humility (Philippians 2:3-4), gentleness (Ephesians 4:2), joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16) that God asks of His people.

God, who needs no counselor (Romans 11:34), doesn’t need us either to impress Him with what we know or with what we want other people to believe we know.

God tells us what draws His appreciative gaze is the man or woman, girl or boy, who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).

Isaiah 66:1-2 English Standard Version

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

66 Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
    and what is the place of my rest?
2 All these things my hand has made,
    and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
    he who is humble and contrite in spirit
    and trembles at my word.

James has a memorable phrase for this approach to ourselves and to life:

“the meekness of wisdom.”

A genuinely wise person knows exactly how much they will never know.

They know that however much they come to know, it is only ever going to be a tiny portion, miniscule fraction, of the vastness of the knowledge that God has.

Intelligence marked by wisdom will not be polluted by our showy displays of grandiose verbosity or railroad others with “gold medal” intellectual vigor.

Instead, such a measure of wisdom will be marked by a kingly humility which will always aim to build others up with whatever we have—be that physical, or intellectual, spiritual, or emotional strength.

Wisdom echoes the prophet Isaiah, who acknowledged, “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary” (Isaiah 50:4).

Isaiah 50:4-9 Easy-to-Read Version

God’s Servant Depends on God

4 The Lord God gave me the ability to teach, so now I teach these sad people. Every morning he wakes me and teaches me like a student. 5 The Lord God helps me learn, and I have not turned against him. I will not stop following him. 6 I will let those people beat me and pull the hair from my beard. I will not hide my face when they say bad things to me and spit at me. 7 The Lord God will help me, so the bad things they say will not hurt me. I will be strong. I know I will not be disappointed.

8 God is with me, and he is the one who shows that I am innocent. So no one can say I am guilty. If anyone wants to try to prove me wrong, they should come here, and we will have a trial. 9 But look, the Lord God helps me, so no one can prove me guilty. As for them, they will all be like worthless old clothes, eaten by moths.

The truly wise maintain a high view of God, a sober view of themselves, and a generous view of other people.

How do I know if I have a high view of God?

If I am constantly aware of just how much I depend on Him for everything.

How will I know if I have a sober view of myself?

If I admit I am aware of my own shortcomings and understand that all I have is only what I have received from God—if by my own public and private lifestyle, if I am in the habit of pointing away from myself instead of towards myself.

How do I know if I have a generous view of other people?

If I am routinely building them up instead of cutting them down.

This is the sort of wisdom from above which pleases God, which the world so desperately needs from you and me—a gentle yet strong expression of wisdom that demonstrates itself in our speech, good conduct and consistent meekness.

As we watch and we wait, just how does this not so eagerly challenge us today?

As we go about our daily affairs waiting for Christmas, waiting for the promise of a new and we pray a better year ahead, how does God’s wisdom challenge us?

As we anticipate and expect How does this, will this, challenge us tomorrow?

How will will either of us eagerly pursue living with this true wisdom today?

In the name of God, the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24 New International Version

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

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

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

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

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

Lord, our God, Author of all life, Giver of every good and perfect gift, grant us our portion of your wisdom to help us understand your Word and to live by it every day. Guide us into peaceful, wise living that shows your love. In Jesus name, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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