Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
5-7 During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.
8-12 It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.
13-15 But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Every story has a preface – it is what needs to be said before diving in.
It often sets the stage, the tone, for the masterpiece ready to unfold.
Sometimes it is direct author commentary, and many times it explains the story before the story –
as famed Radio Broadcaster, Commentator the late Paul Harvey might say;
“There Will Always be a Story before the Rest of the Story.”
Luke 1:1-4The Message
1 1-4 So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story’s beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught.
Narrator Luke begins his Gospel, lays the foundation for why he is writing this letter to Theophilus, he shares with us an amazing moment in history.
So that we can know “beyond the shadow of doubt” the truth of the stories we have read, been told, our whole lives, the reliability of what we were all taught.
To that much desired end, Luke introduces us to a righteous priest named Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth. We are told that they are obedient to God’s law, and have grown old, past the years they could have had any children.
Zachariah, a priest in the line of Aaron, happens to be on his regular rotation duty at the temple in Jerusalem, and is “set apart” chosen as the priest to enter and burn incense before the Lord – this is his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This would be the one and only time Zechariah would enter the Holy Place.
What a responsibility and privilege! As he enters, he brings the incense, representing the prayers of God’s people, before the presence of the Lord.
Zechariah also brings his own prayer, the desires and longings of his heart.
This is incredibly refreshing to me.
When approaching the throne room of God, Zachariah is honest.
He quietly tells God what is really on his mind and in his heart.
Too often, when we are in church and given an opportunity to share a prayer request, we first default to sharing other people’s troubles and not our own.
We don’t come right out and shriek that we struggled with reading God’s Word this week, or that we messed it up as parents or as human beings that morning, or we desperately need God to show up in the midst of a shredded relationship.
Even in our own private time, when we are supposed to be communing with God alone, we first give a glossed over report so we can make things quick and easy.
Why is that?
Why are we afraid to spend the time to be real, to be broken and raw, why are we so timid about unleashing all of ourselves before the One God we know loves us?
It’s exhausting being “all clammed up, neat-and-tidy, its all okay” Christians.
In Luke’s Narrative, Zachariah is clammed up, he offers no prayers for himself.
Maybe Zechariah was tired, long the righteous man before God, but where were the expected “abundant rewards” and “heavens open floodgate of blessings?”
Zacharias had no children to pass his priestly knowledge and experience to.
There was no hope of any coming generations to further his family lineage.
He loved and served the Lord his God with everything he had for many years.
He loved his wife Elizabeth with the same fervor he loved and served His God.
In this hushed place where few people ever enter, Zechariah cannot help but share his burdens when he has been charged with interceding for his people.
God’s answer for Zachariah’s faith – breaks the 400-year silence of heaven.
Luke 1:13-17 The Message
13-15 But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
A son…with the spirit and power, style and strength of faith of the great Elijah the Prophet….heralding….preparing the people for the coming of the Lord…
Emmanuel, God with us, God within us, the promised Messiah, is coming soon.
And, Zechariah’s son will lead the way, pointing the Jews back to their long-awaited Savior – softening the hearts of parents to children. kindling devout understanding among even the very hardest, harshest of scorners and skeptics.
God raised up Elijah during a dark time in Israel’s history, where their most evil king prevailed to lead the people’s hearts to betray the God who loved them.
God gave Elijah the gift of fervent, powerful, intercessory prayer (James 5:17-18)
Elijah obeyed God’s plan and stood up, alone, to face those idol-worshippers on Mount Carmel. He called down fire from heaven, and God demonstrated His great power, proving He was God, and the people turned back to their Sustainer.
However, Elijah was also threatened, became fervently scared and ran away to the very deepest wilderness, to the mountain of God, seeking direction, help.
God sent His ravens to feed Elijah when Elijah had 100% given up on himself.
God Himself miraculously answered, comforted him and gave him instructions.
All of this will come to life in new ways as Zachariah’s coming John “will turn many Israelites back to the Lord their God, back to a devout understanding!”
But long years of personal doubt, of severe questioning, of God, had dulled his faith, had made Zacharias cynical and critical of himself and critical of God.
He openly questioned the angels words of prophecy – threw them back into the angels face – probably with not so much as even a respectful glance upward.
The angel responded and disciplined Zachariah for his actions towards him.
Zechariah can’t speak when he leaves the temple because he doubted God’s word, he will not be able to say a word until he sees with his own eyes the birth of his son, until he hears the baby’s cry and holds his son in his own hands.
Now, he has a little more than nine-months to quietly meditate on the angel Gabriel’s words, to “to talk and to walk back” his own behaviors and actions.
The story before the story is about to collide with the One who wrote them all.
God caught Zechariah in the fulfillment of divine promises — fulfillment that occurred with the coming of the Messiah. God had chosen Zechariah, along with his wife Elizabeth, to play crucial roles in God’s great coming story of His grace.
Zechariah experienced the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as a priest to burn incense [1] at the great Temple in Jerusalem.
While performing his duties, a heavenly messenger visited him and revealed that he and his aged and barren wife Elizabeth, like Abraham and Sarah would have a son and that son would bless many, would lead many to their Messiah.
Despite being well past the age to have children!
Zacharias had a significant story to tell that would reverberate over all history!
God was answering their prayer.
The messenger told Zechariah to name their son, John. He obeyed, and God used Zechariah’s “simple” testimony of faith, obedience to bless the world.
Zacharias gets only the briefest of mentions in the pages of holy scripture.
But, his story transcends the ignominy of that very briefest of mentions ….
His lonely, quiet and much reserved story now transcends generations ….
Adds enormously, magnificently to that “great cloud of witnesses” who have come before this generation, live now in this generation, born into future ones.
Zacharias’ story becomes a great lesson for anyone of our own faith journey’s.
As but the briefest of testimonies to turn our hearts back to God’s, provide for us that great Holy Spirit opportunity to gain more understanding of God’s plan.
In this Christmas season, indeed in all coming seasons, We have a story too!
A God favored, indescribably prized and abundantly valued story to tell to our family, friends, and co-workers, our neighbors in God’s own neighborhood,
God, our Father Matters!
Immanuel, God with us and Within us Matters!
God, the Holy Spirit, our Intercessor, Matters!
We have our Doubts and those Doubts Matter to God, our Father!
We have our faith, steadfast or wavering or absent, and that Faith matters!
We have our fellowship, Koinonia, with God, our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
That fellowship, that connection, that Koinonia, absolutely matters to God!
Our faith or absence thereof in that Koinonia, absolutely matters to our God!
Become more humble and more devout in our praise, prayers, our worship, of the One who abundantly blessed, who’s coming again to take us unto Himself.
Become more aware of, to acknowledge, to recognize, to act upon the relevance and significance, the great privilege, and greater responsibility of our humble role as the Body of Christ, God’s accountable church ministering into the world.
Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy whene’er we hear that glorious word! Refrain: Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
2. Faith of our fathers, we will strive to win all nations unto thee; and through the truth that comes from God, we all shall then be truly free. (Refrain)
3. Faith of our fathers, we will love both friend and foe in all our strife; and preach thee, too, as love knows how by kindly words and virtuous life. (Refrain)
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 113English Standard Version
Who Is like the Lord Our God?
113 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! 5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
Father, my Creator, Perfecter of Faith and faithfulness, please accept my meek efforts at learning and living obedience, including in the little, clear, and simple things, as an offering of my love to you. Grant me such grace as I can handle in the moments of my doubts and failures, to turn back to such testimonies as Zacharias’, to become more devout, more understanding. Take that and my obedience and bring glory to your name and a blessing to your people whether others know of my part in your plan or not. In Jesus’ name, to his glory, I offer you this humble prayer and my life. Adeste Fidelis! Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
13-16 This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.
To Love, to Be Loved
17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
It is ALL in the DOING!
John speaks directly to the heart of love as he writes, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”
Loving is not an abstract, optional concept.
It originates with God,
and we pass along God’s love in our relationships with others.
Renowned Author, Ethicist and Theologian Lewis Smedes put it this way in his book Love Within Limits:
“God’s love song is in many ways like other great love songs. . . . Our challenge is to find ways to bring the heavenly rhapsody down into our own worldly realities.”
How true—and also realistically, truthfully how difficult! Only one person, Jesus, lived out perfectly the demands of perfect love, and he was crucified.
Living with one another gets messy, and people can be so difficult!
We live with family, friends, and neighbors who often seem determined to test even our desire to love.
But God didn’t command us to like one another. Jesus, after stating that the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God . . .” reminded everyone that the second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
That is not an optional command.
Jesus also described it as a new command and gave the reason for us to obey it:
34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”John 13:34-35
Jesus expects us to live out His love in very visible ways, to obey his commands.
I fervently pray the Christmas season, or any season for that matter, also reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 22:39, about the second most crucial commandment Christians should keep. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
While I could focus solely on myself this Christmas,
My Wife and I find it infinitely more rewarding to help spread the merriment of the holidays to those around us, including to those who are our literal neighbor.
By doing this, our lives becomes engulfed in God’s love and Immanuel’s joy, and both our hearts become more focused on the reason for the season: Jesus!
To help you the reader do the same, here are 10 ideas to bring your neighbor, your family, yourself a bit more of God’s Love, Immanuel’s joy this Christmas.
1. Host a dinner.
Savor the Christmas season this year by cherishing time spent with the people in your life.
Invite a few of your neighbors over for a potluck dinner.
Cook the main dish and ask a few people to bring sides and desserts.
If you’re feeling extra hospitable, provide all aspects of the meal and let your neighbors enjoy their evening.
Just make sure you communicate with all your neighbors about any dietary restrictions.
When it comes time to have your neighbors over, make your home extra festive: turn on your Christmas tree, lighting your favorite Christmas-scented candle.
Have light Christmas music playing in the background, too! Sit around the fireplace (or this video of a fire) and enjoy God and one another’s company.
When it comes time to leave, give your neighbors a small gift, like a mug with hot cocoa packets and marshmallows – maybe their souls will be warmed up!
2. Organize a cookie exchange.
Every year, my wife and I know a great couple who will spend hours upon hours in the kitchen, over a nice warm oven and bake well over a thousand cookies of all flavors and will distribute them to their family, their friends, and neighbors.
Or perhaps, instead of baking however many varieties and myriad different types of Christmas cookies, maybe try hosting a cookie exchange this year.
Find a handful of neighbors who would like to participate and have each select one or two types of cookies to make.
You can ask everyone to bake their holiday favorites, or you can assign cookie types to prevent repeats.
Then, invite everyone over to to the house, exchange cookies with one another.
Everyone will leave a variety of cookies, without having to be chained to their kitchens all of December.
You can even turn the cookie exchange into an entire afternoon celebration.
Put on your favorite Christmas movies and music and provide hot cocoa and and coffee and popcorn and the aromas of God’s Love. Invite neighbors to stay for a couple of hours to watch a flick and nibble on those delectable cookies.
3. Provide babysitting.(as much as you are able and it is needed by your guests)
Christmas is a hugely busy time.
There are never-ending parties and celebrations, a million and a half things to bake, and gifts to purchase and wrap.
This last part can be especially tricky for parents of children who still believe in Santa or just want to manage to keep the gifts they’re giving a hidden surprise.
If you have a neighbor with small kids, offer to watch them one evening so their parents can get their Christmas shopping done.
Or even just take a night off together.
If you have kids, too, see if you can work out a child swap for a couple of hours.
With their approval and their permission, watch their kids one night, send your kids to the neighbor’s house another night – share some cookies and hot cocoa.
This way, they can get their shopping done in peaceful bliss.
4. Shovel their driveway.(as much as it may be required and you can safely do)
After a particularly heavy snow, I came home from work one day to find that our neighbors had shoveled our driveway.
Well, actually, I came home to see our neighbor in the middle of snow blowing our driveway, so I looped around the block one more time, parked my truck and picked up my shovel and I summarily started on my other neighbors driveway.
I know, I know—kind of, sort of, just a might bit and largely neighborly gesture.
But, I love shoveling the driveway, even though it might be some dense snow.
You too can be that great neighbor to someone else. Grab your shovel or snow blower, help someone out, especially someone like an ailing or elderly person.
But honestly, truthfully everyone will then appreciate having the “shovel the driveway” checked off their list for them so whoever you help will be thankful!
5. Go caroling together.
I know, I know, I know – so utterly and completely old fashioned, isn’t it?
A wise man once said, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
Okay, yeah.
You caught me ….
and now my cheeks are blushing ….
The guy I’m talking about is Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf, but that does not detract from his wisdom.
Christmas caroling spreads God’s love and great cheer at lightning speeds.
Grab your family and friends and go door to door singing some of the all-time classics, like Silent Night or Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
If your feeling extra festive, feel like you want to go over the top with your caroling, bring a plate of cookies along and offer your neighbors a sweet treat.
6. Organize a neighborhood food drive.(with a bit more neighborly planning)
Nothing gets people in the true Christmas spirit quite as well as helping others. Bring your neighborhood together this Christmas by organizing a food drive.
Contact your local food bank and ask what nonperishable food items they need.
Print out a list of those foods, along with an explanation of what you’re doing, and deliver that info sheet door to door.
If someone isn’t home, either leave the sheet in their mailbox or on their front door. Let your neighbors know they can drop off the goods on your doorstep at any time and also designate a day that you could come to pick up any items.
Together, you will help restock your local food bank in the midst of the season during which they serve the most people.
7. Be a secret Santa.
My Wife and I love to do this ….
Our absolute favorite way to give Christmas gifts is secret-Santa style.
We absolutely love the idea of people anonymously receiving a present they were not expecting.
It can be such a huge blessing, and with no one to thank, they turn their gratitude towards God.
Your secret-Santa present can be something small like a Christmas movie, caramel popcorn, or hot cocoa.
Or your gift could be something life-changing, like a new washing machine.
Another secret-Santa idea I love is to collect pocket change and loose dollar bills throughout the year.
Then deliver that jar of money to the doorstep of a random homeless neighbor.
By giving these gifts without receiving credit, it really highlights how generous, compassionate our Heavenly Father is and how he abundantly blesses all of us.
8. Host a wrapping party.
I do not know about you, but I often have a gift for weeks before I actually get around to wrapping it, mostly because of my lack of wrapping paper. Or tape. Or ribbon. Or gift tags. (I’m pretty much a wrapping-mess!) (I despise wrapping!)
So why not host a present wrapping party for you and a few neighbors?
Have each person bring a pair of scissors and a few rolls of wrapping paper.
Provide tape, ribbons, and snacks.
Put on a Christmas movie, crank up some festive music, spread some Christmas Cookies around and spend your day wrapping all the presents you are giving.
It is an especially great idea for college dorms or student apartment buildings.
It provides students with an opportunity to get together, have a party, wrap their gifts, eat some favorite cookies, all before going home for the holidays.
It’s also a fantastic stress-buster during the chaos of finals week!
9. Help Decorate
Driving through a neighborhood where almost every home has lights on their house and a tree in its window is such a joyful treat.
But the problem with Christmas decorations is that they often have to be set up in crummy weather.
The cold, snow or ice can be especially tricky to brave, and the last thing you want is someone slipping off their roof.
Also, let’s be honest: setting up Christmas decorations can be exhausting!
Some years, it’s a struggle to find the time to set up your decorations.
So, if you have a neighbor who usually decorates but hasn’t yet this year, reach out and see if they need help.
It’ll bring God to their doorstep and Immanuel’s joy to your neighbor, and to the rest of your neighbors who get to look back at the beautiful decorations!
10. Give a Simple Card
It’s hard to explain my joy when I open our mailbox, and there’s a piece of mail that is neither a bill nor a mass of advertisements all addressed to “our current resident.” It’s almost like the Christmas-morning-equivalent of adulthood.
Why not give our God a chance to freely advertise some of His great love for “all of our current residents,” take advantage of this super simple, inexpensive way to bring Immanuel’s joy to your neighbors?
Buy a multi-pack of Christmas cards and write a small heartfelt note about how much these people mean to you.
Tell stories of how they have blessed you this year, and thank God for them for being great neighbors.
Bonus:
this is a great way to introduce yourself to neighbors you do not know as well.
Introduce yourself via a card and follow up with your neighbors with one of the other ideas in this article.
The Christmas season lends itself exceedingly and abundantly well to forming yearlong relationships with your neighbors.
You just never know what God will do with such a relationship ….
It is ALL in the DOING ….
John’s letter gives us magnificent clues on how to stretch the season.
We celebrate Christmas all year when we stick to the basics of “loving God and carrying out his commands.”
And these “commands” are not complicated.
The central command is to love God and neighbor. For example, says John, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.”
So, as we finish our Christmas gatherings, finish unwrapping gifts, take down the Christmas tree and box and store the lights and decorations, we should keep celebrating our FIRST love of the birth of Jesus, by loving others as he loves us.
“Peace and goodwill to all”
must become FOR ALL a blessed and highly favored year-round labor of love.
It is ALL in our DOING!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 100 The Message
100 1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.
5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.
Almighty, all-merciful God, through Christ Jesus you have taught us to love one another, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even to love our enemies. In times of violence and fear, let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, so that we may not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.
Help us to see each person in light of the love and grace you have shown us in Christ. Put away the nightmares of terror and awaken us to the dawning of your new creation. Establish among us a future where peace reigns, justice is done with mercy, and all are reconciled. We ask these things in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus, as your neighbors often we are difficult to love. Thank you for always loving us and being our example of patience and perseverance as we seek to love others in your name. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
39 Now at this time Mary arose and hurried to the hill country, to a city of Judah (Judea), 40 and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him. 42 And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed [spiritually fortunate and favored by God] is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her [by the angel sent] from the Lord.”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
One of the most touching moments in the Christmas narrative comes after Mary, miraculously pregnant with the baby Jesus, journeys to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, also miraculously pregnant with her and Zachariah’s son – John.
Together, the two blessed and highly favored women recognize this honor and in a miraculous moment for the ages, rejoice at the role they play in God’s plan.
The story is told in the Gospel of Luke, which contains the most descriptive information about the conception of Jesus and the impact of such a miracle.
As we read in the account, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit”(Luke 1:41).
Let’s ask ourselves -what is so magnificent of young Mary visiting Elizabeth?
Not only does it teach us much about faith, and family, it also confirms God’s plan and shows us how we are to celebrate when we are in a similar situation.
What Has Happened Just Before Mary walks 90 miles to visit Zacharias and Elizabeth?
Before the visit, we are first told of the priest Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, who was “righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” (Luke 1:6).
But Luke also tells us they were beyond their child rearing years, being childless and very old, which was both a disgrace and shame at that time in their culture.
However, one day, when Zacharias was serving God in the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and said Elizabeth would bear them a son, John (v. 13).
Moreover, the angel said John would be a prophet in the power of Elijah, who would “turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (v. 17).
Elizabeth was overjoyed at this honor and secluded herself for a time, praising the Lord for this miraculous pregnancy and God’s favor upon her (v. 25).
Then, when Elizabeth is six months pregnant, the angel Gabriel visits a virgin, Mary, in the town of Nazareth and informs her that she is favored by God and is to conceive and birth a child, Jesus, who will be called the Son of the Most High and will reign over her people forever (Luke 1:30-32).
The angel Gabriel further explains she will become pregnant because of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High, and the “holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (v. 35).
Gabriel also tells Mary, her cousin Elizabeth is also miraculously pregnant.
Incredibly, Mary readily accepts this important role, telling Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant …. May your word to me be fulfilled” (v. 38).
What Does the Bible Say about Mary walking 90 miles down a roadway to Visit Elizabeth?
Right after this, we are told by the Word of God that young Mary hurries to make a long 90-mile journey to visit Elizabeth — which at that time, without vehicles, would have likely taken her at least four to five days, possibly longer.
When Mary got there, she went into the house and greeted Elizabeth.
The Bible says that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, “the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41).
Elizabeth then loudly exclaims that Mary and her unborn child are blessed and that Elizabeth is favored by the visit by “the mother of my Lord” (v. 43).
Elizabeth also joyfully tells Mary her unborn child leaped in her womb for joy.
Mary then bursts into a praise-filled song called The Magnificat, rejoices in God, acknowledges the grace she has received, declares God’s victory, and confirms for all of us this as part of God’s larger plan in the world (v. 46-55).
Question – Why Does Mary Visit Elizabeth?
We are not specifically told why she visits Elizabeth, but we can certainly imply she — having just been told by Gabriel, her cousin is also the blessed recipient of a miracle — wanted to be with someone else who could understand what she was going through, secondly, as family, wanted to be able to support Elizabeth.
Perhaps she also, filled with the Holy Spirit, was compelled to visit Elizabeth as a way of bringing her divine grace and confirmation of God’s work in them both.
Question – Why Is This Visit Magnificent?
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is magnificent for a number of reasons:
1. Mary, and the unborn Son of God, brought God’s grace and confirmation to both of them.
Young Mary’s courageous, unescorted, unaccompanied visit was not an easy trip but a huge undertaking involving much physical risk and lengthy travel.
But Mary knew it was necessary — and the grace and confirmation it brought caused the Holy Spirit to fill Elizabeth and made the child in her womb leap.
2. It shows Mary’s indomitable faith and certain trust in God’s protection.
We know from Mary’s words to the angel Gabriel that she believes him and accepts her role as mother to the Son of God.
But her actions — making the roughly 90-mile journey to visit Elizabeth — show her faith and willingness to trust in God, be obedient to God, as well.
It’s a reminder of what James says in James 2:17, that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by giving ourselves to God, trust obedience and action, is dead.”
3. From one Generation to countless Generations – It reveals Elizabeth’s faith.
The visit also majestically reveals Elizabeth’s proclamation of faith.
The Bible tells us Elizabeth was overjoyed when she became pregnant, but when her unborn child leaped, and she herself became filled with the Holy Spirit in the presence of Mary and her unborn Savior, she did not just “marvel at this.”
Rather, she magnificently, majestically exclaimed;
“in a loud voice” that both Mary and her baby were blessed and that Mary was carrying the Lord (vv. 42-43) – she spoke her faith aloud for anyone to hear.
4. It provides an opportunity for celebration.
Not only were they filled with the Spirit, but both the women celebrated their joy together. Mary and Elizabeth both sang their songs of deepest praise which first and foremost glorified and praised God, confirmed God’s plan for them.
5. It is a magnificent example of the importance of Christian fellowship.
Neither woman was ever going to become familiar with the word “Christian,” a term that wasn’t even going to be created until several years after Jesus’ death.
But gathering together to celebrate and draw comfort in this miracle is exactly what we should do. God’s people are supposed to be in community with each other. Not only is it helpful, but it also enables the power of the Holy Spirit.
So much is possible when we claim our God-given gifts of the Holy Spirit and like Mary we risk everything to “walk miles and miles and miles and miles” to join with and support others who have different gifts to build up God’s people.
Too often we allow ourselves to fall into bickering, division, and self-righteous rhetoric. And while it is important to address systems and principalities that do breed and foster and magnify injustice, it is equally important to build upon our strengths and create and support vital networks of God’s transformational love.
6. Some consider this to be Jesus’ first miracle.
Many consider Jesus’ action of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana to be his first miracle (John 2:1-11).
The Apostle John notes it was indeed “the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory” (John 2: verse 11).
However, I believe Jesus’ unborn presence caused Elizabeth to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then Elizabeth’s unborn child to leap with joy within her, which many may feel is a miracle in itself, or at least a divine act of major significance.
7. It was John the Baptist and Jesus’ first meeting.
We’re told Elizabeth’s unborn child is John the Baptist, who baptizes Jesus with water, plays an important, biblically significant role as the one who prepare the people for the coming of Messiah in accordance with the ancient prophecies .
But while as men, they reportedly don’t meet until the day Jesus asks John to baptize him (Luke 3:21-22), this moment, as unborn souls, through the work of the Holy Spirit is biblically their first meeting.
8. It shows a magnificent example of what we should do when faced with a calling or assignment from God.
In the course of our lives, God calls us to do things outside of our comfort zone, even at the risk of death, ministering into areas of cities and towns with known drug gangs, whether that is moving to a foreign land to become a missionary or taking a very unpopular stand for faith which results in imprisonment or worse.
Surely Mary could have been aghast at the perils of her new role — after all, being pregnant but unmarried might bring her disgrace or even cause her to be accused of and condemned for adultery, a high crime punishable by stoning.
But she willingly accepted her assignment and, even more, rejoiced at it. This is exactly what we should do when God asks us to do something to fulfill his plan.
Question – What Does This Mean?
The Bible tells us Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went home.
Later, Elizabeth did indeed give birth to John the Baptist, and Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Messiah.
As mothers, these women played hugely important roles in their sons’ lives, in their families lives and we can learn much from them in our own families lives.
Family, Community . . . a Reflection of Immanuel – God in Us and God within Us
Genesis 12:1-3Amplified Bible
Abram Journeys to Egypt
12 Now [in Haran] the Lord had said to Abram,
“Go away from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And [a]I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you [abundantly], And make your name great (exalted, distinguished); And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others]; 3 And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you, And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you. And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed.”
Why do we become families?
Many years ago a man received a message from God, and God basically adopted this man.
Later God gave him the name Abraham, which means “father of many.”
And yet Abraham had no children.
Then God promised to bless Abraham with many children, and somehow, in some miraculous way, through Abraham’s family, God would incredibly and miraculously bless all the peoples of the earth.
God stayed faithful and true to his promises to bless the world’s peoples through Abraham, even though Abraham’s descendants were dysfunctional.
And God surprised everyone by keeping his promises through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, a descendant of Abraham.
It turns out that Immanuel, born of Mary, recognized by Elizabeth, was Savior not only for Mary, God’s adopted people, but also for all other peoples as well.
And by faith, by confessing, trusting in the salvation message of Jesus, people from all nations, tribes, and languages can also be adopted into God’s family.
So when we as family and friends gather this coming Christmas eve or day, sit at our tables in our homes, we come to the Lord’s table and it is a family table.
Just as we do not get to choose our families and all our relatives, there may well be people in our church family whom we might not have chosen are invited too.
God chose Mary and Joseph, and Elizabeth and Zechariah, He chose them—and us—to be gathered together as an essential part of telling his own family story.
So we become family to belong to God’s family but also family to each other – brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our Savior, and beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God, our Creator and at this family table there is God’s grace.
Hebrews 12:1-2English Standard Version
Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith
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 endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Why do we enter into community?
The writer of Hebrews spends a whole chapter (Hebrews 11) talking about “heroic” people from Israel’s past who lived by faith. And that provides encouragement to believers to keep living faithfully for Immanuel each day.
Let us remind ourselves, The Body of Christ, God’s Church in and throughout the world, Christian community, our neighborhoods and Communities of faith are so much bigger than the host of people who are geographically close to us.
It is also about believers across the miles and miles and miles of our very own small villages, towns, cities states and counties and countries and the world.
It is also inclusive of earlier generations, current generations and the future.
The generations of witnesses connects us together in one, great community!
God, the Father and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit ….
Holy One in Three …. in PERFECT COMMUNITY ….
Why do we enter into community?
Because God is in perfect community, and we are created in His image.
John 3:16-17Amplified Bible
16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.
God loves us so much, favors us so much, that he sent his only Son, Jesus, who laid down his own life for us in order to set before us His example of family, to reveal His community, and to re-enter our community with us, His creation.
And we ought to find favor, we ought to love others so much that we enter into community again and again with love and with the hope of something greater.
Community is a reflection of God’s favor, God’s love living in us and within us.
It is who and what and why we were created to be.
Our simple family in God’s magnificent family ….
Our simple community in God’s magnificent community ….
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God Sustains His Servant.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
40 I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear [with great reverence] And will trust confidently in the Lord.
4 Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies. 5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of your wonders, They would be too many to count.
6 Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them; You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word]; Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne]; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly; Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness], As You know, O Lord. 10 I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart; I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation. I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
O God, my Strength, I put my trust in You. You have never forsaken those who seek You. You have never let me down. I know that You never will let me down because my life so far has become a testimony of Your greatness. Mold my witness and my testimony into Your image, and as Mary and Elizabeth held you close in their hearts, hold me just close to You. Show me how to mature as a Christian and improve on my walk of faith. Steady my trust in You so that it never wavers, no matter what battles I face on this earth. I declare that my faithfulness to You will be strong at all times. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
39 Now at this time Mary arose and hurried to the hill country, to a city of Judah (Judea), 40 and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him. 42 And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed [spiritually fortunate and favored by God] is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her [by the angel sent] from the Lord.”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Why Should This Happen to Me?
Whether in those most ancient of days of biblical times or in our modern days,
Why should anything happen to anyone in the Kingdom of the Most High God?
The much needed Revelation of Faith?
The much desired Revelation of Hope?
The much required Revelation of Love?
Maybe the significantly needed, desired, required Revelation of all three?
Elizabeth was utterly amazed.
She could hardly believe what was happening to her.
Not only was she expecting a child in her old age, but she also had the awesome privilege of meeting her relative Mary, the expectant mother of the Lord Jesus.
Suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit, the previously barren Elizabeth exclaimed, “Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Why me?
Why me, Lord?
I’m sure many of us have asked this question at one time or another for a diverse variety of reasons.
Something unexpected happened in our lives, and we could not help asking, “Why me?”
Someone unexpected happened in our lives, and we could not stop asking the question: “Why Me?”
Someone, indescribably, undeniably special just happens to quietly walk into the middle of our busy or not so busy lives at the most in opportune moment.
Inexplicably, unexplainable things begin to change and we ask: “Why Me?”
We tend to ask this question especially when things go wrong.
Maybe we have lost someone we have loved.
Perhaps we have had to deal with a physical disability, or we were diagnosed with a terrible illness, we may have lost our job, or our business may have failed, we are in financial straights and the one question was right there:
“Why me?”
We tend to ask this question when everything suddenly starts going right.
But there is a more important question in this Advent season:
Why should we have the privilege of getting to know Elizabeth and Mary?
Why should we have the privilege of being “reintroduced,” “reacquainted” to the Presence, the intercessory works, ministry of God, the Holy Spirit, in US?
Why should we have the privilege of getting to know the expectation of the coming birth of Immanuel, “God with US, God within US, God OUR Savior?”
Why should we be so privileged that the Lord should come to earth for people like Mary and Elizabeth and US, WE who did nothing to deserve his coming?
As we approach the celebration of the birth of the Savior, we do well to ask, Why should we be so favored?
Let us stand amazed that the fullness of God should love us so much that he sent his only Son, Immanuel, to bring us back to himself, give us eternal life?
One of the central themes of the beautiful story of when Mary visits Elizabeth is the revelation of the unshakeable unquestioning undeniable faith of both these women in God – even after long numbers of years when God appeared absent.
We see this faith witness through several moments which occur during the visit.
What Is the Context of Mary’s Visit with Elizabeth?
Elizabeth was an elderly barren woman experiencing the shame in her era of being childless.
Her priestly husband Zechariah, having no child to carry on his name, might have been shamed enough by his wife’s shame to sought another wife. But he didn’t. Rather, the couple remained faithful to each other and faithful to God.
Luke 1:13-17Amplified Bible
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your petition [in prayer] was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him [a]John. 14 You will have great joy and delight, and many will rejoice over his birth, 15 for he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord; and will never drink wine or liquor, and he will be filled with and empowered to act by the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”
The hard pressed Zechariah found this beyond hard to believe since he and his wife were “aged” far beyond childbearing years, so he then questioned Gabriel,
“How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
Luke 1:18-20Amplified Bible
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I be certain of this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age.” 19 The angel replied and said to him, “I am Gabriel; I stand and minister in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent [by Him] to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 [a]Listen carefully, you will be continually silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe what I told you; but my words will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Just as Gabriel had prophesied, when Zechariah returned to Elizabeth, she did become pregnant and Zechariah could not speak.
When Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, Mary, a young relative engaged to her fiancé Joseph, was also having her own unexpected encounter with Gabriel. He visited her one night and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1:29-38
Mary understood Gabrielle’s message that she and Elizabeth were both having miraculous pregnancies that few would understand or believe possible.
She did not hesitate but hurried off to visit Elizabeth who lived about 50-100 miles away.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.Luke 1:39-40
Here are four significant faith moments when Mary visits Elizabeth:
1. Mary Had Faith That Elizabeth Would Welcome Her
It wasn’t by chance that Gabriel told Mary about Elizabeth.
God knew that Elizabeth was going to be the perfect spiritual mother and mentor for Mary because not everyone would accept as true either of their miraculous stories of God’s sudden, favored, supernatural intervention.
A young Mary had faith that she would find comfort and reassurance, welcome and true acceptance in spending time with her much older relative Elizabeth.
Gabriel’s mention of Elizabeth’s pregnancy compelled Mary to go to her immediately!
She wasn’t daunted by the inconvenience, time required, energy expended or sacrifice, considering she was in the first trimester of her own pregnancy.
Mary did not stop to count the cost, weigh the hardships of the travel, analyze if that was really, truly what the Lord meant, worry about how it would affect her schedule, relationship with Joseph or if Elizabeth was too old to relate to her.
Mary must have felt that Elizabeth was a safe person. She could go to her with this supernatural story and Elizabeth would receive her with compassion.
Once there, she would learn that Elizabeth had her own supernatural God story.
2. Elizabeth Had Faith That There Was a Great Reason God Sent Mary to Visit Her
Imagine Elizabeth opening the door to a teenage unwed pregnant distant relative she hasn’t seen in years.
She was going through her own hardship of being an elderly pregnant woman with a priestly husband who could not tell her why he could not speak to her.
But from Elizabeth’s response at Mary’s arrival, it does not seem like she is worried or fretted that the house was a mess, or she was out of bread, or that she looked a sight and Zechariah really was not even close to himself lately.
She did not tell Mary that there were a million things she had to do to get ready for her own baby so this definitely, probably was not a good time for her visit.
Elizabeth wasn’t judgmental or condemning. Instead, the Bible tells us . . .
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:41-45
Before Mary could even explain her immaculate conception, the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth and she knew Mary was carrying the blessed Messiah.
Elizabeth began to prophesy about Mary and her baby.
She knew Mary had also believed and trusted in the Lord just as she herself had done.
Two divergent women of faith from different generations but the same God.
We’re now Face-to-Face With God, Elizabeth and Mary: Generation to Generation,
Pray and please note that while young Mary needed someone to prepare her for long pregnancy and giving birth to the Messiah, more importantly, she needed someone who understood and had insight into what this future would entail.
3. Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth Confirmed God’s Plans
God had a definite plan for Zechariah and Elizabeth’s, son, John the Baptist, to be the forerunner of Mary’s own unborn son, Immanuel, the future Messiah.
Upon meeting, both women, by Holy Spirit revelation, knew that immediately.
After the Holy Spirit–inspired greeting from Elizabeth, Mary’s heart filled with joy as she trusted God and she responded to Elizabeth with a Spirit-filled hymn of praise, hope, and faith which is today called the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. (Luke 1:46-49)
4. Elizabeth and Mary’s Strong Common Bond Was Their Faith Testimony in God
Even though there was an obviously significant age gap and the women’s individual mission from God was different, their lives, their babies’ lives and their families lives, and our families lives, would be intricately intertwined.
Mary stayed for three months with Elizabeth and since Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Mary arrived, perhaps Mary even helped with the birth of baby John.
We have the vantage point of knowing the future for both babies.
During Mary’s visit there would be great camaraderie between the two women, one very young and one very old, who were each fulfilling God’s purpose in a way that was probably difficult to explain believably to others. .
I am reasonably sure they spent a great deal of time in prayer and affirming their faith and hope in God and each other that while their experience came with certain definite hardships, the blessings far outweighed the difficulties.
We do not read any discussion of poor me or why me, only praise God it’s me!
Mary had to be overjoyed and affirmed as she listened to her older wiser relative confirm she, Mary, was blessed indeed, as are all of us who put our faith in God.
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”Luke 1:45
What Can We Each Learn Today from These God Gifted, God Given, Faith-Moments?
There had to be many who severely questioned the credibility, veracity, and the implications of Elizabeth and Mary’s stories, but someone who has experienced something similar to us can understand our deepest concerns and even fears.
That’s why it’s so highly favorable and highly valuable that we maintain faith-filled, hope and love filled relationships where we feel safe to share our stories.
It takes real courage and “stand your ground” fortitude to stand strong and upright in what you believe when the world is trying to undermine your faith.
It’s so important for Christians to gather and worship together corporately at church, in small groups, and mentoring relationships to encourage each other, pray together, study God’s Word, and remind them that Jesus is real and alive today in every believer’s life realizing nothing happens by chance to a believer.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Jeremiah. 29:11
Luke 1:46-47, 49 (Amplified Bible)
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Faith Is Believing in What We Cannot, Do Not, Probably Will Not, Ever Understand!
The foundation of the Christian life is the gift of faith that we freely receive by asking Jesus into our heart.
Believers should spend significantly more time than they do right now seeking and reaching out for the ever faith-filled hand of God in every circumstance.
Recognizing those timely God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit supernatural interventions and seeing purpose comes with spiritual maturity.
The Bible says that believers who have yet to see God’s involvement in their life, but still believe, will be rewarded for their patience and unquestioning faith.
But in reality, becoming a Christian, receiving Baptism and Holy Communion is the most influential evidence of a true divine revelation in every believer’s life.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:1-3
When faith, hope and love seem impossible, all things are possible with God!
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
36 And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “[a]Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.Gospel of St. Luke 1:36-38
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” St. Augustine of Hippo
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.
8 O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.
3 When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have established, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than [b]God, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Lord, our God, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior, we ask that through your Holy Spirit we can feel something of the awe of Elizabeth. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
6 And when Joshua had sent the people away, the [tribes of the] Israelites went each to his inheritance, to take possession of the land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 Also, all [the people of] that generation were gathered to their fathers [in death]; and another generation arose after them who did not know (recognize, understand) the Lord, nor even the work which He had done for Israel.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
How amazing!
An entire generation had passed after Joshua died (aged 110) that did not
“know the Lord or knew the work that He had done”.
How could this happen to God’s chosen people?
These were the same people He performed miracle after miracle for.
Again, a whole generation of Israelites don’t know who God was!
This might seem like a familiar story to you if you live anywhere on earth.
A generation is currently on the rise that has never stepped foot into church, never or barely reading their Bible, never taught or even learned about Jesus.
What do we make of this?
It can be easy to place blame on others but, really, the next generation comes down to you and me.
We are responsible for the discipleship and upbringing of the next generation.
Let us stop passing the blame and start taking responsibility.
If you have kids, don’t just expect the church or school to teach and disciple them; be involved.
If you have generations of people coming to your church, do not just expect the church alone to reach and teach and disciple them; be and become the involved.
If you have friends or family or neighbors who are struggling, take an active role in their lives, and in sharing with them the truth about God with them.
My legacy is not what I did or I will do for myself, it is what I am doing right now, what I will do in all of my collective tomorrow’s for the next generation.
Our ministry and mission is to serve all generations for the coming generations.
Acts 13:34-37Amplified Bible
34 And [as for the fact] that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay [in the grave], He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David [those blessings and mercies that were promised to him].’ 35 For this reason He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.’ 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried among his fathers and experienced decay [in the grave]; 37 but He whom God raised [to life] did not experience decay [in the grave].
There are many deeds that David did during his life.
He did many great things even as a young man.
He did many not so great things for the generations of his own children.
Despite all of that, God still referred to David as “Man after my own heart.”
However, none speak as loud to us as this text. “David served his generation.”
The question is in our goodness and mercy, “can we serve our generation?”
The question is in our faults and failures, “can we still serve our generation?”
Can we still acknowledge, preach, teach God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Can our witness and our testimony remain genuine and influential for others?
Our witness and testimony as a church is to reach our generation for the Lord.
Considering socio-economic, political pressures, the task seems impossible.
Jonathan Edwards said “The obligation of every generation is to understand what God is doing and then do it with Him.”
Reverend Andy Stanley asks me one question that simply wrecks me as I pray.
He asks this question of me and of all generations: “What breaks your heart?”
He framed the question with this statement: “You do not have to change the world, but you do have a responsibility – you have to change something.”
His point was God did not ask us to change everything, but he did give us each particular gifts and passions – it is those passions that pave the road to change.
The moment he asked the question, I knew my answer.
My heart breaks for the coming generations – of my step son, and of his son.
My heart breaks for young, younger people growing up in a culture increasingly antagonistic, negative and downright brutally hateful towards Christianity.
My heart breaks for the next generation and the hostility they face from both the outside and the inside of the church.
Yes, inside the church – their knowledge of the real Jesus Christ of the Gospels.
I want to fight for them.
I want to affirm them.
I want to prepare them.
I want to teach them and even preach to them ….
I want to witness and testify to the real and genuine Jesus Christ to them.
You see, I believe the next generation should receive the church from us better than we found it.
We should prepare the next generation to take the baton and run past us.
Ephesians 4:17-24Amplified Bible
The Christian’s Walk
17 So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls], 18 for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart. 19 And they, [the ungodly in their spiritual apathy], having become callous and unfeeling, have given themselves over [as prey] to unbridled sensuality, eagerly craving the practice of every kind of impurity [that their desires may demand]. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way! 21 If in fact you have [really] heard Him and have been taught by Him, just as truth is in Jesus [revealed in His life and personified in Him], 22 that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], 24 and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation].
We have an accountability to God for those future “great clouds of witnesses!”
Handing the next generation a battered and beaten and defeated version of the church we inherited means we fail to add to God’s “great clouds of witnesses.”
Truth is: Investing in the next generation isn’t easy.
Truth is: Investing in the next generation is never going to be easy.
Truth is: Investing in the next generations was never meant to be easy
Truth is: It involves Christ-Like sacrifice.
Truth is: It involves Christ-Like grace.
Truth is: It involves Christ-Like humility.
Truth is: It involves a Christ-Like future-focus.
Truth is: It involves our becoming like Christ Jesus.
Truth is: Jesus has a lot to say about reaching the next generation.
I want to highlight a few of those.
Here are 4 things Jesus tells us about reaching the next generation.
1.) Jesus came down to others. He didn’t expect others to come up to his level.
Salvation and redemption are a product of Jesus refusing to accept equality with God (Philippians 2).
He wasn’t content with his throne in heaven.
He came down to us.
Jesus had more knowledge and power than any person on earth.
Yet he used the power to serve others.
He used the knowledge to reach those who were powerless.
For us to acquire power and knowledge but not use them to affirm, serve and encourage those without it is not only horribly bad stewardship, it is ungodly.
I hear these statements often.
“The next generation needs to practice patience. They need to stop making everything about them. We sat in pews every Sunday and listened to boring sermons. We paid our dues. The next generation needs to do the same.”
Now, does the next generation have selfish tendencies?
Absolutely.
But this is not a generational problem.
It is a human problem.
So, what does Jesus reveal to us about solving this problem?
He comes down.
He empties himself.
He does not tell the apostles to come up to his level.
He gave up everything, humbled Himself – He humbly came down to them.
When the church asks the next generation to give up all their desires and ways to connect with God, we are not effectively modeling the ways, mind, of Jesus.
We are expecting those less mature, less powerful, and less knowledgeable to reach up.
Instead of coming down and engaging the next generation on their level, they must come up to ours.
Truth is: It is selfish pride.
Maybe the next generation is leaving the church because they are exhausted from constantly having to feed those who are already full.
Maybe the next generation is leaving because they are tired of reaching up and conforming to our way of doing things. Maybe the next generation is leaving because the church’s attitude is more self-centered than Christ-centered.
2.) Jesus spoke the language of the culture.
When I was in high school if you wanted to call someone, you used something called a dial phone.
Anyone under 20 or even 30 has no idea what I am talking about.
Today, land lines are virtually non-existent.
Why?
They aren’t the most effective way to communicate.
That title belongs to cell phones.
Cell phones allow us to message anyone in the world instantly, check social media with a click, make phone calls anytime and accomplish virtually any task in life no matter where we are.
Today, if are not using a smartphone, you and I are generations behind.
What does this have to do with Jesus?
Glad you asked. Jesus believed strongly in effective communication.
This is why he spoke in parables.
He didn’t use large “churchy,” academic words when speaking to crowds.
He could have, but he chose not to.
Why? He wanted to effectively communicate.
That is why he used stories.
Stories connected.
Stories were the most effective way to communicate God’s message.
The church should want to effectively communicate as well.
“Why doesn’t the next generation call someone instead of always texting?
Why are they on social media so much?”
Well, the answer is because text messages and social media are the most effective and quickest forms of communication today.
It’s ridiculous to use a dial phone to do business, and it is ridiculous to not embrace the most effective ways to communicate.
So, we can stop throwing up our hands because the next generation does not communicate like we do.
Or we can embrace a new, more effective form of communication.
After all, Truth is: They might have something significantly GOD to teach us.
3.) Jesus did nOt lecture. He loved.
“When it comes to the next generation, we need to stop lecturing them and start loving them like Christ first Loved them.”
I can’t tell you how many “lectures” I received from my dad over the years.
“what were you thinking? You know better than that! here’s why you are wrong, I cannot believe you could ever make such a terrible decision!”
And you know what those lectures did for me?
EXACTLY! Pushed me further away.
Maybe it’s time to admit lecturing the next generation does little to change or influence change within them.
What the next generation needs to know is we are FOR them.
They need to know we love them.
They need to know they will struggle.
They need to know they will fail.
They need to know they will have their share of faults.
But when they know they are affirmed and loved, they will be compelled to get back up and keep moving, they will run toward the cross and not away from it.
When the next generation constantly hears what they did wrong, what message are we sending to them?
I know what message was sent to me: You better not mess up or God will be mad at you. Unless you do things the “right way,” you aren’t accepted around here.
It’s weird.
Jesus seemed to understand better than anyone that lecturing did not serve the ultimate goal or purpose of transforming people.
The only ones Jesus lectured were the Pharisees.
But that’s because they were gluttons of knowledge and power.
They did the very opposite of Jesus.
The Pharisees expected others to come up to their level.
You won’t find an example of Jesus lecturing those aware of their sin.
Instead, you will find Jesus loving them and embracing them.
You will find Jesus speaking life to them.
He did not excuse their sin, but he did not lecture them either.
There is a way for one generation to push the next generation towards God without lecturing them.
Truth is: Just look at Jesus.
Jesus not only came down to those with less power, he invested in them.
He spent his time preparing a group of men to take over after he left.
Jesus knew his time on earth was short, and he knew his mission was larger than his time on earth.
Jesus didn’t come to earth seeking to build an earthly kingdom that wouldn’t sustain after his departure.
He came to build God’s kingdom that would last forever.
Jesus came to prepare people, not allow people to feed him.
The problem with many churches is they aren’t preparing the next generation.
They aren’t concerned with the church after their departure.
“Who cares what happens after our departure? After all, we paid our dues, now it is time for us to enjoy the fruit of our patience.”
If Jesus had the attitude of many church leaders today, the church would be non-existent.
But Jesus did not believe power, wisdom, and title were grounds for others to feed him.
He poured into others.
2 Timothy 4:6-8Amplified Bible
6 For I am already being [a]poured out as a drink offering, and the time of [b]my departure [from this world] is at hand and I will soon go free. 7 I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. 8 In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.
The goal was for everyone to cross the finish line.
Not just him.
Not just those alive during his earthly ministry.
Everyone.
Jesus came to earth with a future-focus.
He came to earth with a selfless focus.
Jesus knew if the message terminated on him, his mission failed.
The same is true for the church today.
If our infinitely selfish actions and attitudes create an untenable environment is not sustainable for the “great clouds of witnesses” next generations, we’ll fail.
The church is infinitely larger than us.
The church is infinitely more than the here and now.
Again, the next generation is my passion.
I will never give up on them.
I vow to spend more time affirming and loving them than condemning them.
The real and genuine and living Jesus of the Gospels shows us some principles for reaching into every single one of all those “next upcoming generations.”
– I pray we’ll think seriously about them!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us pray,
Psalm 100Amplified Bible
All Men Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness and delight; Come before His presence with joyful singing. 3 Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, [a]not we ourselves [and we are His]. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting, His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.
78 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Do you take any nominal or significant measure of time in these hectic days of getting everything exactly “just right” for Christmas or any other day, to look into mirror before and after you brush or comb your hair, to consider, ponder,
Everyone who calls themselves a Christian is in essence a teacher of the faith, because we represent God to the outside world. What we say and do is a testimony to our faith and beliefs. To honour our Heavenly Father’s great love and compassion for all mankind, let us represent Jesus well to all our family and friends.
“What has God done in my life?”
“What has God done in your life?”
“What is God doing in my life right now?”
Looking at your husband or your wife, your children, grand children, best friends, the workers being busy in the grocery store or department store?
Looking at all your neighbors house’s outside your living room window?
Looking at the rest of the surrounding homes on the street where you live?
At the person who just drove their car or their SUV or their truck by you?
Maybe God healed someone in your family…
Maybe God helped you restore a broken relationship…
Maybe God miraculously provided for unmet financial needs…
Maybe God just healed and restored them or a member of their family?
Miraculously provided for and just met one of their specific financial needs?
Miraculously provided measure of courage and strength to meet a difficult and insurmountable personal challenge – talking to their bosses or their coworkers?
No matter what God has done, is doing and will certainly do for you or others, in their immediate and far off futures, we always be prepared to give an answer to that question with a story, a personal story, an inspired and empowering story.
The human brain is wired by God to tell, to learn from, and remember, stories.
That is why today’s verses from what would later become Psalm 78 were so fully and completely and utterly meaningful, Asaph had to write them down.
Not just write them down in some private personal journal kept in his bedroom.
But written down for the benefit of countless future generations yet to be born.
That’s why today’s devotional verses from Psalm 78 are so MY GOD powerful.
When the psalmist wrote:
“we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, tell of his power, and the wonders he has done,”
God very specifically meant parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, leaders and teachers, those ‘influential ones’ in all our lives would share of their God stories with their kids, God’s, their neighbors, at every available opportunity.
When we zoom out, the Bible is not primarily a singular collection of rules or of covenant propositions—it is filled with stories of God’s power and wonders too.
Of Adam and Eve, their Sin, hiding from God, the resultant consequences…
Of Noah and his hardcore faithfulness before God – building an ark…
Of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children…
Of a young idealistic boy named Joseph and his techno colored coat…
Joseph, betrayed by his brothers out of jealously, thrown down a well…
Joseph, conspired against eventually sold into slavery into Egypt…
Joseph, whom God used to set the example of redemption, mercy…
A Judge named Deborah who led her people, delivered them in battle…
Young Barren Woman named Hannah severely scorned by her people…
The Scorned Hannah who prayed and found favor with God – A Son …
Young Samuel, who said: “speak Lord for your servant is listening”…
God delivering the Israelites from Egypt through miracle after miracle…
The Miraculous Life of a once condemned Moses – leading God’s people…
The faith and courage of a young David standing up to the bully Goliath…
God answering young King Solomon’s prayer for wisdom to rule wisely…
Story of a man named Job going from blessed to utter chaos and back…
Stories of genealogies’ and generations – Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:21-38
The Story of a young teenage Girl named Mary who found favor with God…
Fulfillment of Prophecy: The Birth Narratives of Immanuel, God With Us…
Story of an older couple Zacharias, Elizabeth who found favor with God…
Miraculous Interactions with the Thousands, of Feedings and Healings…
Of a Good Samaritan, a Prodigal Son, A lonely, isolated woman at a well…
Crossing un-crossable Borders long considered to be “high end taboo.”…
the unredeemable – at a tax booth, Zacchaeus climbing a community tree…
the outcasts, one’s no one else would dare to approach, named “Legion”…
who were declared to be untouchables – Lepers, Incurables, Prostitutes…
those who have struggled their whole lives for anyone to help them…
raising the dead of a lonely widow, of a family friend named Lazarus…
Jesus’ perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection…
The Holy Spirit’s work through the New Testament church…
And these are just a few I could think of in this devotional moment
The list quite literally goes on!
Too many personal stories to tell in this one short devotion ….
Each one with a story of immeasurable significance to us reading this today.
Everyone one of us who calls themselves a Christian is in essence a teacher of the faith, because we represent God to the outside world. What we say and do is a testimony to our faith and beliefs. To honour our Heavenly Father’s great love and compassion for all mankind, let us represent Jesus well to all our family and friends.
So, here’s a challenge I am presenting to you and for your consideration:
Write down a list of your God stories to share with the next generation.
What if every holiday you shared a new story with your kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews?
What if everyday you would share a new story with your wife or husband, your children, your grandchildren, your siblings, your friends, your own neighbors?
What would happen, what could happen, what might, will happen if the next generation saw God didn’t just do “blessed and highly favored” “praiseworthy” “trustworthy, stuff untold thousands of years ago—GOD IS still active today?
Every single one one of us who confesses Christ as their Savior, who calls upon the Lord for His Grace and for His Favor, who calls themselves a James 1:22-25 Christian, is in essence a teacher and proclaimer of the faith, because we each represent, each reveal, God to the outside world. What we say and do, how we act and behave, in public and in private is a testimony to our faith and beliefs. To genuinely honor our Heavenly Father’s great love and compassion for all of mankind, as Jesus did, let us represent Jesus well to all our family and friends.
And not just in other families, but in your own.
Not just in your home but other people’s homes?
In a whole entire street and block of homes?
In a whole entire community of neighborhood homes
You don’t even need to be a parent to do this.
If you teach Sunday school, volunteer at youth group, mentor kids…
Share your God stories!
If you talk to someone while you are shopping or you are working …
Share your God stories!
If you are talking to someone about getting help for your computer or your internet service or for your smart phone ….
Close the conversation with something like this …
When they ask if you have anymore questions or if there is “anything else” …
“Yes, there is just one thing more thing … “May you find favor with God today!”
You just never know what that will do for that person on the other end …
You just can never know what GOD will do for that person on the other end …
Make your list.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit …
Check it once and then check it twice and then thrice times more …
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit …
Share your God stories. Do not “hide them from your ‘descendants.’”
Countless future generations are counting on you and me to do our parts!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God, my Father ….
Let my testimony of you in my life be as true and faithful your testimony is faithful and true of me in your life. Please, let my story reveal your story!!!
9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
God has no bounds ….
God will fit in no one’s box even if the size of that box is the size of the universe.
Yet, in restrictive confines our own humanity, we serve a God of boundaries.
In God’s limitless capacity, endless creativity, indescribable glory and infinite wisdom, His boundless existence, God still chose to create boundaries for us.
God still had vision for what was good, right, pleasing, and perfect.
And as children made in his image, we are to live, think, and create as he does.
In a world marked by unbounded busyness from seemingly boundless infinite opportunities, it’s important now more than ever for us to create boundaries.
And still, in God’s infinite wisdom, He knew we would never be satisfied with such a limited, narrowed and restrictive space being forced and pushed upon us.
Our ever wiser God, full of grace and truth and a vision of and for reality, knew we would never be satisfied with our unlimited limits and unlimited boundaries.
This is a lesson we learned from the Tower of Babel – we want to reach the sky!
We are insatiable creatures.
We are insatiably curious, we have this insatiable desire, in that we want to know, to see, to experience, go far beyond the limits of the known Universe.
And the miraculous part of it is this, even after Babel …. IT IS A GIFT OF GOD!
Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Amplified Bible
God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man
11 He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good as long as they live; 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and see and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
To be a true person of vision is to live this life in light of eternity.
Without a real revelation of eternity, this life will be marked by hopelessness and a sense of aimless wandering.
Without a real revelation of eternity, our limited vision for a life of unlimited abundance and blessings would stop directly with eyes in front of our hands.
God wants us to know Him!
God wants us to be in relationship with him!
God wants us to be in an everlasting connection with Him.
“remove THY hands from in front of THY faces, seek MY face, seek MY hands!”
Only when our destination comes into view can we rightly see the diverse array, the myriad and myriad of various circumstances littered, strewn along the long and winding and widening concourses of this temporary life God limits us to.
Ecclesiastes 3:11-13Easy-to-Read Version
11 God gave us the ability to think about his world,[a] but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time.
12 I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13 God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God.
To look to eternity requires us to trust.
Our minds are finite.
In the only world we have ever known, life is marked by a beginning and end, by birth and death.
But in and throughout the length and breadth of Scripture we discover that God is the Maker of life, the Great and infinite Physician and the Conqueror of death.
We discover in the coming of Jesus, as is revealed in the four Gospels, we are promised eternal life in unhindered, unveiled, communion with our Creator.
To live with our limited vision for eternity is limitless trust things are not as they will be and to surrender the entirety of this life with hope for the next.
When we live seeking satisfaction from the things of the world, we live as if heaven did not exist and God did not usher in his kingdom through Jesus.
Our limited vision for the things of this world would grow abundantly, blessedly grow more and more dim, to only have final value in the Giver of all good gifts.
So our possessions, relationships, and work only have value here because they are a series of diverse shadows of what is to come when all things are made new.
God planted the seed of eternity within us knowing, only through Him, it will germinate and raise itself above the ground revealing the vast beauty therein.
Having such a vision of vast beauty here on earth our vision for eternity should prayerfully lead us to create beautiful boundaries around everything in this life.
It should lead us to such an abundantly beautiful lifestyle of surrender that our hearts might never become tied to that which is fleeting, can never fully satisfy.
Leads us to a lifestyle of fully enjoying all the beautiful the things God has given and gifted to us, including our vision of Immanuel, all the while knowing all the things of this life are merely fleeting shadows in comparison to what is to come.
Do you feel tied to the things of your life today?
Feel as if your unlimited vision of eternity is forever tied to your possessions, relationships, work owns you rather you enjoying them to the glory of God?
From your vision of eternity, are you only seeking to find total satisfaction in the “rusty” things of the world, or are you finding peace in the hope of heaven?
Take time today in guided prayer to surrender your life again to Jesus.
Allow God to cut away any ties you have to that which is chaining your heart to this world.
Find abundant joy and peace in the unlimited freedom that comes from God’s promised gifts of abundance and blessings living in light of a limitless eternity.
May you find freedom and joy these days as you receive the gift of vision and set up beautifully hopeful, prayerful boundaries under the leadership of Holy Spirit.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Take quality time today in guided prayer to surrender your life again to Jesus.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on what the Bible says about eternity. Allow Scripture to fill you with vision for what’s to come.
“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.” Psalm 102:25-27
“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”John 17:3
“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? 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.” John 14:2-3
2. Are you living in light of eternity? Do you feel your heart tied down to any things of the world?
31 “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.” Matthew 6:31-34
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
3. Hopefully, Prayerfully set boundaries around having vision for eternity.
Lay down anything holding you back from living in freedom from this world at the feet of Jesus.
Take time to enjoy God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that the foundation of your vision for life would be full communion with him.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! 8 You have said, “Seek[a] my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”[b] 9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!Psalm 27:7-9
My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord
84 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b] 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!Psalm 84
In Galatians 5:16 Paul writes, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
When you take time to enjoy God every day and seek to live in communion with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God will faithfully guide you away from your vision of the “rust worthy” things of the world and full into His fullness of joy in Him.
May you find comfort and hope in connection with the living God today as you seek to live with God’s boundless, boundary less, unlimited vision for eternity.
14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception). 15 John testified [repeatedly] about Him and [a]has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [b]has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’” 16 For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. 17 For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father].
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Some of us are what we might call “truth people.”
We tend to draw firm lines between right and wrong, and we feel that we have a moral responsibility to speak up when something just does not sound right.
Sometimes this is a gift because God can use us to identify sin and injustice, urging people to bring about change.
But sometimes it hurts our relationships because we can focus on the negative and be judgmental, pushing people away.
Meanwhile, some of us are “grace people.”
We gravitate toward the idea of God’s love and forgiveness, and we don’t like making a scene or creating conflict.
Instead, we try to forgive others and move on.
This too can be a gift because God can use us to bring harmony into tough situations.
But we likewise need to be very careful not to ignore serious hurts and problems that should definitely and decisively be addressed.
In the Bible we learn what God is like in the life and teaching of Jesus.
And we see how Jesus brings the practices of grace and truth together.
Jesus is infinitely compassionate—willing to unconditionally forgive the sins of all who place their faith in him.
At the same time, he is definitely not the least bit afraid to speak a hard word of of extraordinarily hard and difficult truth to bring someone deeper into faith.
At this time and season in my life, what do need from God?
At this time and season in your life, what do you need from God?
Grace extended from every which direction into every which direction?
Ceaseless, Unrelenting, Repetitive Messages of Encouragement?
Daily Unimaginable Miracles of Indescribable Unbelievable Forgiveness?
Ten thousand Words of harshest truths to set me in the right “GOD” direction?
John 1:14-18The Message
14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
16-18 We all live off his generous abundance, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.
“I promise I will be back soon,” a World War II soldier told his young wife before leaving her and their infant son.
Four years of war and fighting went by.
The young mother would show her boy a portrait of the soldier and say, “See, that’s your daddy. One day he’s going to come home.”
In reality, she didn’t know what to expect of the promise her husband made.
One morning the boy said, “Mommy, wouldn’t it be great if right now Daddy would just step out of the picture frame and we became a whole family again?”
In a sense that is exactly what God did 2,000 years ago.
As part of his eternal plan, he stepped out of heaven and became a man so you and I could look at Jesus and say, “That’s what God looks like.”
The apostle John described the stepping out,
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NIV).
This verse is the climax of John’s prologue as John completes his introduction of Jesus by proclaiming his humanity in the midst of his divinity.
This verse contains the truth behind the story of the angels and shepherds and their journey of witness they made to Bethlehem that first Christmas morning.
Without this singular verse the rest of the story has no meaning.
John 1:14 tells us what really happened 2000 years ago-and what it means to us today.
The key words are grace and truth.
This verse reveals four great certainties:
Jesus became human;
Jesus lived among us;
Jesus revealed his glory;
Jesus invites us to himself.
I. Jesus became human
John states, “The Word became flesh.”
Notice the link with verse one: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 NIV).
The Word that always “was” (verse 1) now became a temporal event at a point in history.
Furthermore, the Word that “was God” (verse 1c) now came into being as flesh, that is, he exists as a human being.
We often say that Jesus is God.
That is true.
But here’s an incredible statement: God became Jesus of Nazareth!
When he stepped out, Jesus Christ became the visible expression of the invisible God, He became a visual aid, as it were, to reveal the nature of God the Father.
He was God in a suit of flesh.
He was God expressing himself in a language that we could understand.
He was God announcing to the world: “I have come!”
Theologians refer to this action as the Incarnation.
This is a hard concept for us to understand.
In fact, many debates transpired in the early church as to what it really meant.
Some people said Jesus was not really a man; he just ‘looked like’ a man.
Others said he had the body of a man but he did not have a human soul.
Still others said Jesus was two people in one body-sort of half-God, half-man.
And unbelievers said it was all nonsense-that Jesus wasn’t God at all.
They claimed he was an ordinary person like you and me with a sin nature just like everyone else on planet earth.
All of those ideas are wrong.
When Jesus stepped out, the infinite God took on the form of a tiny unborn baby boy.
The Son did not cease to be God when he became a man.
He added humanity but he did not subtract deity.
He was fully God and fully man-the God-man.
Ponder that for a moment.
The Almightiness of God moved in a human arm.
The love of God now beat in a human heart.
The wisdom of God now spoke from human lips.
The mercy of God reached forth from human hands.
Jesus was God wrapped in human flesh.
Remember the story of the little girl who was frightened at night during a thunderstorm.
One dark and stormy night, She cried out to her Daddy, “Help me.”
Her Daddy in the next room said, “Honey, God loves you and will take care of you.”
Another bolt of lightning and clap of thunder caused the girl to cry out again, “Daddy!”
Her Daddy gave her the same response, “Honey, God loves you and will take care of you.”
The storm raged again and the frightened girl yelled again.
Her Daddy’s response was the same.
But then girl replied, “Daddy, I know that you love me and I know that God loves me, but right now I need someone with skin on.”
When Jesus stepped out he was God with skin on.
God became a man in human flesh.
II. Jesus lived among us
Notice the next phrase of John 1:14, it reveals the residence of God on earth, “. . . and made his dwelling among us.”
The word dwelt literally means “to pitch a tent;” or as military folks call it “to bivouac;” or as theologians define it as “to tabernacle.”
In fact, the Tabernacle was sometimes called the Tent of Meeting because it was the divinely-appointed meeting place between God and man.
In the same way-but in a significantly deeper sense-Jesus is the place where we meet God today.
Eugene Petersen in The Message paraphrases this verse,
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 MSG).
For thirty-three years God moved into our diversity of neighborhoods.
He walked up and He walked down our alleyways streets and boulevards.
When he stepped out, Jesus lived among us.
Why?
“Pitching a tent among us” implies God wants to be on familiar terms with us.
He wants to be close to us as our skin is to us.
He wants a lot of interaction.
If you come into a community and build a huge mansion with a wall around it, you are probably saying that you don’t really want to be bothered by people.
But if you set up a tent in my back yard, you will probably use my bathroom, eat often at my table, play with the neighborhood kids.
This is why God became human.
He came to pitch a tent in humanity’s back yard so that we would have a lot of dealings with him around the campfires and firepits.
III. Jesus revealed his glory
Next John speaks of the manifestation of God’s glory: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father.”
Again, Eugene Peterson rewords, “We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son.”
When John writes, “We have seen,” he uses a word that means to gaze intently upon, to study intently as under an electron microscope as in a laboratory.
It’s a word from which we get the English word theater.
The word glory refers to the visible manifestation of God’s presence and power.
It carries with it the idea of significant weight, authority and importance.
When Jesus stepped out, when he walked on the earth, people could see, gaze upon, God’s presence shining through him.
They saw the importance of God in their lives.
And, just so there was no mistake John recorded seven signs or miracles that openly declared the glory of God.
When Jesus turned the water into wine at Cana of Galilee, John tells us that “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him” (John 2:11 NIV).
Jesus was not even minimally trying to be invisible nor was he obscure.
When you look at Jesus, you see the face of God.
God wants to be seen and to be known through his Son.
When you hear Jesus teach; you hear God teach.
When you come to experience Jesus; you experience God.
In Jesus we see God.
From my days as a Counselor for Homeless Veterans, I remember this talk:
An older man sat in my office and listened as I explained the gospel to him.
Finally he said, “I just can’t believe all that stuff.”
So I asked him, “What would it take for you to believe?”
I would believe if God came down, stood in front of me and told me himself!”
“My friend, he already has come down,” I replied.
“He came down 2,000 years ago and lived among us.
If you don’t believe that, then I have nothing better to offer you.”
“Go, and learn what that means ….!”
IV. Jesus invites us to himself
Finally, this verse ends with a powerful word of invitation.
It tells us that Jesus came to the earth “full of grace and truth.”
Eugene Peterson says he was
“Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.”
When he stepped out, Jesus offered grace and truth.
These are the final two great pair of words of John’s prologue as he introduces Jesus.
Grace is an irresistible compulsion to give men more than they deserve which springs spontaneously from the deep, boundless, unlimited generosity of God.
Truth, on the other hand, has roots in a divine determination to be consistent, predictable, and thereby continuously trustworthy in dealing with mankind.
Grace without truth is easily seen as sentimentality while truth without grace can appear to be an inflexible rigidity.
These two words explain why Jesus stepped out, coming to the earth.
Because he was full of grace, he died for you and me while we were yet sinners.
Because he was full of truth, he was able to pay for our sins fully, completely.
Here is the good news for people like us.
Because Jesus is grace-full, we can come just as we are to him.
We don’t have to clean ourselves up first.
Because he is truth-full, you can come in complete confidence knowing that he will keep his promises.
When he promises a complete pardon for your sins, He absolutely means it.
The one present the world needs is grace and truth.
We find it in unmatched, unmatchable, abundance in Jesus Christ.
Over and over again, I have asked alcohol and drug abusing depressed homeless veterans what is constantly pushing them to the brink of life at home or streets.
Their answer is so sadly consistent that it must have a deeper meaning than we realize.
“Oh, that’s easy …. I am just no damned good,” they tell me.
Sometimes they are hearing voices, so I ask what the voices say.
“That I am absolutely worthless to everyone including me, that I should die.”
The problem is excruciatingly real as it is excruciatingly dangerous and lethal.
The problem is minutely, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, annually, perennial.
As long as humans have existed, we have always somehow sensed that we were not something that we ought to be – and never going to be who we ought to be.
As long as we have been wounded by family, friends or strangers, or enemies we have always found a way to severely devalue ourselves, to crush our self-worth.
The ONE cure for all the fractured suffering of the human heart, all the terror we visit upon one another, all the guilt we bear with bent spines our whole lives, all the horrible, condemning voices, is the fact of grace.
Grace in its simplicity, I propose, is the greatest concept in human history.
This season, we celebrate the birth of the author of grace.
He came to Earth worthless and was born into oppression and domination.
He came to a place and people broken, and in the end was broken himself.
The author of grace was told by many that he was no good, that he was a liar, that he a drunk, was useless, deluded, demon possessed and intensely mad.
Finally, he received the ultimate rejection and insult, and paid with his life.
He was broken for the broken and hated for the hated.
He was “despised and rejected,” so that the despised and rejected would have a living hope and comforter – and yet, in all of it, he announced the cure of grace.
He told us what we already knew; that we were broken and needed repair.
He told us the repair would be free for the taking, that we were all loved in spite of the voices in our heads, hands of the bullies hurting us, words of our enemies trying their harshest to crush our spirits, cruelties of our families and friends.
In bringing us grace he changed the world.
He said that we could never do enough to be truly good; but we could share his goodness and accept the gift he offered equally.
In that one fell swoop, he negated any other contingent therapy for the misery of humanity.
No wealth or position could cure our loneliness; no rule or law could overcome our weakness; no plan or good deed could earn our healing.
Only the gift He Himself brought – Only Himself.
At Christmas, Jesus shouts down the voices in our ears with:
“You are worth absolutely everything to me!
I will make you good!
You do not need to die.
I came to do it for you.
Then you will actually, truly, genuinely, really live!”
At Christmas, the cure of grace embodied came for all.
Brokenness was broken at last.
Jesus Christ, only begotten Son of God …. full of Glory, Grace, and Truth!
What are the deeper implications of this to us personally?
What are the deeper implications of this to us connectionally?
What are the deeper implications of this to us relationally?
What are the deeper implications of this to us intimately?
What are the deeper implications of this to us ULTIMATELY?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made flesh and came to dwell among us as the unique and only begotten Son of God, Who alone truly qualifies to be our Redeemer. Thank You that He was born into the human race as a man – fully God yet fully man – so that by His birth, life, death and Resurrection, He could become the singular substitute for the sin of the world. Thank You that by grace through faith in Him, I have been redeemed. What a wonderful loving Savior, full of all grace and all truth. To Him be all praise and glory, AMEN.
34 Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible, dwelling presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained on it, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 In all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out; 37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey on until the day when it was taken up. 38 For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
“I just want to give all the glory to God.”
We’ve all heard athletes and artists on T.V. who have made this statement.
After winning a championship, or a Grammy, they point it all back to God.
Their words are correct but what does that mean?
At the end of the day, we are either living for God’s glory or for our glory.
We are either building God’s kingdom or building our own kingdom.
Making Jesus famous or living to make ourselves famous.
Our goal as Christians should be to make Jesus famous.
Living for God’s glory simply means living for Jesus and inviting Jesus into every area of our lives.
This means that our aim should be to please God in all we say and do.
It is this posture and attitude of praise and worship which brings God glory.
We go to church and we bring the weight and the burden and the glory of all the stuff which occurred during the week prior – all of our personal stuff, all of our family stuff, all of our children’s stuff, all of our work stuff and after worship we hope to leave church with a significantly less burdened shoulder and soul.
We have all had experiences where we have left church on Sunday or a worship retreat or Bible study of some kind, felt the presence of God as we worshiped Him – a wonderful experience and we did not ever want that feeling to end.
But yet, how long does it take until we fall back into sin or go back to living like before – our shoulders are burdened again, our backs and souls are bent over?
Usually not too long – Monday morning – thirty seconds before our first coffee.
If the presence of God was visibly and tangibly around us before that first cup, and again all day, every day, do we think we’d fall into the same trap of sin?
By the time we walked out the door of our house and to our vehicles to start the day, we were reflecting the glory of that first cup of coffee and not that of God?
Before you’re too quick to answer, let’s look at the cloud of the Lord and Israel.
The Bible tells us that throughout all of Israel’s journeys, the glory of God’s presence was continually with them – in quite a remarkably tangible way.
They could see His glory in the cloud that filled the tabernacle by day and fire was on it by night.
From the moment they left Egypt all the way through the books of the prophets who foretold of yet another exodus out of Babylonian captivity, the Cloud of the glory of the Lord our God held both great theological meanings and functions.
It represented the following, and probably much more in their ancient context:
guidance and leading Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness into the promised land (Exodus 13:21; Numbers 14:14, Nehemiah 9:12; Psalm 78:14)
a sign that the nations was to break camp and continue their journey or to stop and set up camp (Exodus 40:36-37; Number 9:17-23)
protection from Pharaoh and his army (Exodus 14:19-20)
the personal presence of God/the angel of the Lord was among them (Exodus 13:22; Exodus 14:19, Exodus 14:24, Exodus 40:38, Numbers 9:15-16)
it summoned them together to battle (Numbers 10:34-35)
it summoned them to together to prayer, praise and worship (Exodus 33:10)
it both concealed God glory and was a manifestation of it (Exodus 16:10, Exodus 19:9, Exodus 19:16; Exodus 20:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 34:5, Deuteronomy 4:11, Deuteronomy 5:22)
provided revelation (Exodus 33:9, Psalm 99:7)
a dwelling place of God (Numbers 9:18, Numbers 9:22, Numbers 10:11)
God dwelt over the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:2)
a visible manifestation of God for installing the 70 elders and Joshua into service (Numbers 11:25, Deuteronomy 31:15)
inaugurated the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35)
provided shade from the sun and protection from storm (Number 10:34; Psalm 105:39, Isaiah 4:5)
at night it became a pillar of fire to give them light (Exodus 14:20)
Wherever they went, the cloud of the glory of the Lord their God led them.
And still, despite God’s obvious presence the nation ended up turning to idols.
As they left Egypt and met God at the mountain, they stood as a nation and said they would do what God wanted them to do – they would obey his commands.
They said that God would be their only God and they would be His people.
They said God’s glory would be their only glory and that glory would shine!
But when Moses goes to the top of the mountain for 40 days they get Aaron to make a ‘god’ – a Golden Calf – for them to serve and to pray and to worship too.
When God recognizes what is going on, He nearly removes an entire mountain in rage, Moses is left to try, convince God the people are still worthy of mercy!
Throughout the Hebrew Testament those ancient Israelites struggled mightily with idol worship – nearly all of the ancient Prophets condemned them harshly.
Bringing this into the New Testament,
Bringing this into the time of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus our Savior …
John 14:1-12New Living Translation
Jesus, the Way to the Father
14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b]3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
John 14:23-26New Living Translation
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Ephesians 2:11-22New Living Translation
Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Do not forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
A Temple for the Lord
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
As believers, God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwells within us. (John 14:23)
We are His temple. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
We are carefully joined together in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Together, we the Body of Christ, are His house, built on the foundation of the Apostles, the words, deeds of the Prophets – Christ Jesus is our cornerstone!
Yet, I cannot help but wonder ….
Even in these most uncertain of times when our faith is tested every which way to Sunday by the glory of our socio-economic, socio-political shenanigans’ ….
Why should our hearts be nearly as troubled as those of the ancient Israelites?
Are we any less different than those ancient Israelites with our own idols?
Are we more or less worthy of our own condemnation for our idol worship?
If it came right down to it, if we were brutally honest with ourselves, whose glory do we reflect and shine forth- that of our idols or that of the Lord God?
If each of us walked around God’s neighborhood with the cloud of the Lord by day and fire by night as a meter for how much our lives reflected God’s glory, would there be a big cloud or a tiny one or worse yet, a totally empty blue sky?
Would the fire by night be burning bright or just a little flicker or not at all?
The glory of God isn’t just a feeling, an event or an Old Testament experience—
Its a towering spiritual tsunami of everything contained in the character of God.
The word glory is literally translated “heavy weight,” meaning the heaviest, biggest, grandest thing about someone.
It has been called the manifested presence of God, but it is far more than just a presence, it’s power.
The kind of power which redeems, resurrects, delivers, overcomes, transforms.
It is infinitely greater and infinitely stronger than any other power in existence.
And it belongs to us.
Yet, maybe you feel like the glory of God is untouchable, unreachable.
Maybe you think of the manifestation of the glory of God as something reserved for special church services or an extraordinary circumstance.
All the while, though, you long to see the power of God manifest in your life, your family, friends, communities, neighborhoods, church and your country.
But did you know that the glory of God is available to you 24/7?
It’s built-in.
That’s how God designed it—it’s how He designed you.
Because you were born of God (John 1:13), that glory is inside you right now!
All things that the Father has—including His glory—belong to you and to me.
This means His glory isn’t too far out of reach.
It’s right within your grasp!
Below are four ways you and I can tap into the glory of God by faith.
Look for the Glory
“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.” –Acts 7:55, NKJV
If we aren’t expecting to see the glory of God, we probably won’t reach for it.
Just like anything in the kingdom of God, it takes faith to see a manifestation.
The glory of God is a visible power.
In the Hebrew Testament, the glory appeared as a cloud, smoke or fire.
This visible power is also known as Shekinah glory, which is the Hebrew name given to the presence of God dwelling on the earth.
The nation of Israel saw the glory when God came down to meet them on Mount Sinai.
Exodus 24:17 (KJV) says, “The sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount.”
The prophet Habakkuk got a glimpse of that fiery glory, too.
He described it as like the sun, blazing in the sky:
“His brightness was as the light; he had horns [or shafts] coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power” (Habakkuk 3:4, KJV).
The same glory that raised Jesus from the dead was manifested as fire by night and a cloud by day in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21).
This same glory separated Israel and the land of Goshen from the rest of Egypt when there was light in the land of Goshen, but not in Egypt (Exodus 10:23).
What was that light?
The glory.
The glory of God’s presence.
Can we see those same physical manifestations of God’s glory today?
Yes!
There are countless testimonies of individuals and groups of believers having seen visible evidence of God’s glory – up to and including both yours and mine.
Pray for the Glory
“For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” –Romans 8:18, NKJV
How do you pray for the glory of God?
First, pray that the glory will be revealed to you and in you.
You and I can see and experience the glory of God, but we must diligently ask and seek for it to be revealed.
When we pray the glory into the earth, miracles, signs and wonders will occur in the Body of Christ, God’s own Church and in our own personal lives also.
When Moses saw the glory of God, he asked, saying, “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18, NKJV).
When believers gathered together in a spirit of unity, seeking the Lord, the glory appeared in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, and sat on the head of each person there (Acts 2:1-4).
Each born-again believer has the ability to manifest God’s glory here on earth, but we must steadfastly believe when we fervently pray. (James 5:12-18)
That’s why Jesus told Martha that if she would believe, she would see the glory of God (John 11:40).
Finally, pray Ephesians 1:17-18—that you would know the hope of His calling, which is the hope of His glory.
Pray that you will understand the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
When we inherited Him, glory was deposited in us, but we have to receive revelation of what it means to walk in that glory.
Prepare for the Glory
“…the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” –Romans 5:5, NKJV
Did you know there are degrees of the glory?
If we want to experience the fullness of God’s glory, we must prepare our spirit.
How?
By walking in faith hope and love. (Romans 12:10-13, 1 Corinthians 13)
It takes faith to receive and operate in the glory—and faith works by love (Galatians 5:1-7).
That means the glory of God will increase in us in direct proportion to how we walk our walk and talk our talk all in the maximum glory of God in His love.
So, to increase the amount of the glory in your life, we must walk in love.
Put simply—more love, more glory.
The spirit of strife and division is always there, lurking and looking for an opening and a way into your life and mine.
Never, ever let our love guard down!
Then you and I are on our way to being filled with the glory!
Walk in the Glory
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” –2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV
The glory of God looks for a dwelling place.
The original house for the glory of God was the tabernacle.
But under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit builds a temple in every believer.
First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (NKJV).
We are God’s house—His temple. Only, this temple is no longer in a fixed location.
This is a house where serious amounts of multi-tasking takes place ….
This house can walk and talk and live and love and correctly preach the gospel!
Now, it’s one thing to have the glory, but it’s another to know how to walk in it.
The good news?
You and I have everything you and I need inside you and me to do so.
When the believers experienced the glory of God at Pentecost, they didn’t just go back to living normal lives.
They emerged from that place as separate from the rest of the world and as light in the midst of darkness.
They went out and started turning the world upside down for Jesus.
They preached the gospel; worked miracles, signs and wonders; and the Lord added thousands to the Church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47).
That’s the glory we need to be operating in!
The early Christians were no different than Christians today.
But here’s the key: Those first believers received the same Spirit we did when we got saved and baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Christians today are carriers of God’s glory just as surely as they were!
When we walk in the glory of God, we have a fire in us which the devil himself cannot withstand. (John 1:1-5)
We are told to put on the armor of God, which includes the shoes of the glorious gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).
There’s glory in your feet and in mine!
That’s what gives you and me the power to walk on Satan.
That’s why the only thing the devil is to the Church is a footstool.
Start practicing these four ways to tap into God’s glory by looking, praying, preparing and walking, and watch the glory of God be revealed in you!
Don’t live without understanding God’s glory and what it means to your life.
Start saying by faith right now:
“The glory is in me! I receive it! I’m walking in it!”
Get more God-inside minded,
Start acting, being, doing, like a glorious temple of the Lord of glory today!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.Alleluia!Amen.
Heavenly Father, you have called me to glorify You, to model a life of love and service and sacrifice to those around me. Teach me to live and minister in Your glory, to love and serve my fellow believers, neighbors, coworkers, and those you have brought into my sphere of influence. I realize I have been uniquely wired and placed where I live and work. Teach me to love well. You are my perfect example of walking in love. You sent your son to die on the cross for me. Teach me to be sacrificial in how I treat and love those around me. This brings you glory, and my heart’s desire is to bring you the recognition you deserve. I pray the world will see your love in me. I long to bring you glory through the way I treat each person. Help me to see everyone as humans made in your image. And help me extend the love that’s been extended to me through your son Jesus. It’s in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Father, fill us with your glory and may it go forth, shine bright in a lost world that desperately needs you.
8 In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for [a]all the people. 11 For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
The way all too many of us approach Christmas has not changed in years.
Consider this illustration I just received from a friend ….
A family during the great depression was unable to afford anything but the bare necessities, and even then, barely.
One day the news came that a circus was coming to town.
Tickets cost one dollar.
The little boy came running home excited with the good news and eager to get the money from his dad, he jumped up onto his fathers lap as he read the paper.
The father regretfully told his son that he could not provide him with that much money, but if he went out and worked on some odd jobs, he might make enough to purchase a ticket on his own.
The dad promised to match what the boy could earn.
The boy worked feverishly around the neighborhood and, just a few days before the circus came to town, he found that he had just enough, including his dad’s contribution, so, He took the money and ran off to town to buy his circus ticket.
The day the circus came to town, he grabbed his ticket from his dad and rushed out to the main street, where he stood on the curb as the circus parade went by.
He was so thrilled to watch the clowns, elephants, and all of the performers. A clown came dancing over to him and the boy put his ticket in the clown’s hand.
He eagerly watched as the rest of the parade went by.
After the parade, the boy rushed home and told his father that he had been to the circus and how much fun it was.
The father, surprised that the boy was home already, asked him to describe the circus.
The boy told of the parade that went down the main street and of giving his ticket to the passing clown.
The father sadly took his son in his arms and said,
“Son, you did not see the circus; all you saw was the parade.”
That boy reminds me of myself and so many other people at Christmas time.
They get caught up with “stuff of the season,” the carols, trees, lights, gifts.
They think that they are experiencing what Christmas is all about.
But the reality of it all is this, all they are doing is seeing the parade passing by and do not realize they are missing the main event, the true joy of Christmas.
More importantly we go through life thinking everything is good with our souls – we walk like ducks, smell like ducks, quack like ducks but we are not ducks…
get the picture?
Good time to remember that the first Christmas night:
“The glory of the Lord shone around them”
This season of Christmas let us be more aware, make it about God’s glory.
Luke 2:8-11Complete Jewish Bible
8 In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks, 9 when an angel of Adonai appeared to them, and the Sh’khinah of Adonai shone around them. They were terrified; 10 but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord.
Let’s go through the passage and comb through to learn…
We will make pit stops and pickup 7 words to help us take it in.
I. LUKE 2:8. SHEPHERDS
“IN THE SAME REGION THERE WERE SHEPHERDS…”
The greatest event yet on the face of planet earth has just happened in Bethlehem; and we read that in that “same region” there were shepherds.
A. Same region:
i. In the same region: The divine dignitary shares the same space.
I understand the narrative requires this telling but I had to pause to take it in.
This is the first pit stop.
Let me explain what caught my attention…”same region”
This ‘divine dignitary’ invited the shepherds to share his space —“in the same region”.
ii. In the same region: Translation = This was David’s city.
The fields were probably the same area where he kept watch – fought the lion and killed the bear and confronted with God’s aid, the Philistine giant Goliath.
Now in this same city is now born another Shepherd like no other.
A shepherd who is also a lamb – the Lamb of God. [John 1:29; John 10:11].
B. The Shepherds:
i. The Status
Shepherds were the lowest on the social ladder.
They lived in the fields and cared for the sheep 24/7 and so could not keep the Mosaic law, the Sabbath, the other traditionally required temple ceremonies.
Not very different from all those long years ago from a land called EGYPT.
Genesis 46:33-34Complete Jewish Bible
33 Now when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 tell him, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors.’ This will ensure that you will live in the land of Goshen — for any shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians.”
“Shepherds were an utter abomination to the Egyptians”. Genesis 46:34.
They were infinitely worse than social outcasts.
ii. The privilege accorded to the shepherds
Why is this important?
Many years later when Jesus begins His ministry we read how crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
…”How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” [Jn 7:16].
This statement was not about being literate but about being a Scholarly Rabbi which took years of disciplined learning.
They had come to believe only such will receive and explain the revelation of God.
This first Christmas the privilege accorded to the Patriarchs, the Pharisees the Priests and the Rabbis was now granted to shepherds.
The first proclamation of the glad tidings was to those who were poor and social outcasts.
C. Fulfillment of the Isaiah 61 Prophecy
This beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 61 starts with the lowly shepherds.
This is what the Lord reads in Nazareth when the scroll was given to Him.
“The Lord has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor,” [Isaiah 61 / Luke 4 / Luke 2].
“IN THE SAME REGION THERE WERE SHEPHERDS…”
All praise and thanks be to God that even today just as the shepherds, you and I are invited to “the very same region,” watch the Divine unfolding, centre stage.
Then this story that happened 2000 years ago is something you and I can be a part of.
II. SILENT NIGHT
LUKE 2:8. “…KEEPING WATCH OVER THEIR FLOCK BY NIGHT.”
This is our second pit stop.
It was a ‘silent night’ as the carol goes.
That night seemed no different from any other night – except of course that the hands of Almighty God pulls apart heaven’s veil for all those glorious moments.
However, on earth it was a different story.
There were political and social rumblings that’s worth noticing.
A. Augustus Caesar’s taxation:
Luke Chapter 2 opens with the news of taxation.
Bethlehem was probably swarming with ‘Censees’ and ‘Censors’—those who came to give their census and those who were there conducting the census.
However, I sincerely doubt that the census experience was a pleasant one.
Years later as Luke’s readers would read or hear about the birth of Jesus they would be confronted with the context or the time when Jesus was born; and it would have undoubtedly brought up past memories that were not pleasant.
Let me explain:
i. Taxation changed from ‘kind’ to ‘coins’:
Paying taxes in kind was acceptable in some sense by the Jews but the coins contained the image of Caesar which led to a revolt by Judas and his bands.
Acts 5:34-37English Standard Version
34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
Gamaliel refers to Theudas when confronted with the issue of Peter and John and the Council determining the acceptable disposition of the other Apostles.
Theudas and his group had believed God will give them victory for opposing the coin taxation since they were standing up against idolatry.
However, the uprising was squelched by the Romans.
The Jewish rulers were increasingly cautious not to upset the Romans and thus lose their temple and their land and their livelihoods if not their very lives too.
But the issue of coin taxation continued to be a contentious even 30 years later.
Luke 20:19-25English Standard Version
Paying Taxes to Caesar
19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality,[a] but truly teach the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius.[b] Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
That was the ‘trap’ question that Jesus was asked, “Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar?”
We know the Lord’s classic answer –
whose image does it bear? And whose do you bear?
Luke 20 verse 25: He said to them“Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s ….”
ii. Poll Tax:
Poll tax is a tax not on the income of the person but on the number of heads in the family.
Apparently Joseph was not a ‘clever’ businessman but an obedient servant.
Joseph did not wait till after the census for him to avoid having to pay for two additional heads.
2000 years ago we read about the timing, Quirinius was governor of Syria, the lives of all those so affected are wonderfully connected to the Gospel narrative.
Truth be said: Whether AD First Century or our 21st Century the incident that occurred that silent night is something that will 100% change our lives forever.
Get this:
It is in the ‘light’ of those darkest socio-economic, socio-political moments the rest of the first Christmas story unfolds before every single coming generations.
We can be thankful to God the silence of that night [indicative of the silence for the past 400 years of the inter-testamentary period between Malachi and the Gospels] was torn apart by the angels long awaited announcement of Messiah.
III. SH’KHINAH OF THE ADONAI [GLORY OF THE LORD]
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [Luke 2:9-10].
This is our third pit stop.
A. NOT THE GLORY OF THE ANGEL
In the two appearances of Gabriel, Gabriel prefaced his announcements with “fear not”.
While we do not know the identity of this angel, we still hear the phrase “fear not”.
However, we are now not confronted by a “mere” angel but by the glory of the Lord – which is certainly, definitely, a more fearful experience than any other.
We read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, about their Mt. Sinai experience that the children of Israel had:
Hebrews 12:19. and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
Here now for the first time, the revelation of God’s glory was with ‘glad tidings of great joy’.
• A ‘terrible thing’ that froze the feet and the vocal cords of their fore fathers and killed their priests, suddenly, is now, an indescribable matter of great joy.
B. UNDERSTANDING GLORY
We have a terrible time wrapping our head around the theme of “Glory of God”.
i. What is Glory?
Manifestation of His holiness
Isaiah 6:3. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, the whole earth is full of His… [not holiness] but glory.
• Glory of God from this passage is the inherent quality of God.
• Glory is the manifest beauty of God’s holiness.
No wonder it has been a terrible thing.
How could sinful men ever meet a glorious God?
God’s answer is Jesus Christ.
ii. Glory of God in Jesus Christ
Though we cannot know what the shepherds experienced that night,…
We too are given the privilege to experience the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
We read:
Hebrews 1:3.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and
• the exact imprint of his nature,…
John 1:14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory,
[whose glory?]
• glory as of the only Son from the Father,
• full of grace and truth.
A PASSAGE BY REVEREND DR. JOHN MAC ARTHUR:
Excerpt from: Thou Long Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.
“..…God only whispers in His creation. He revealed a shadow of His glory in the Shekinah. But He speaks with absolute clarity in his Word.
“God…spoke” [Hebrews 1:1] – and not in a whisper but in full voice.
Still, there was an incompleteness in it all until,
“[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. [Hebrews 1:2].
Now that is God shouting.
You cannot mistake it.
John 1:1-5Amplified Bible
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
Christ is 100% God, and you see every attribute of God manifest in Him: His judgment, His justice, His love, His wisdom, His power, His omniscience.
It is all there in person as we read and study and pray through these Gospels, we see Him physically walking through the world, working His work, living His life.
The fullness of God may be seen as it was never seen before in Jesus Christ.
Who is Jesus Christ?
He is the glory of God. He is the “express image” of God’s glory.
He is the embodiment of the brightness of God’s glory. [John 1:14].
Jesus is the shining forth of God.
– Just as the bright untouchable radiance of the Sun reaches the earth to light us, to warm us, to give us life and growth, so in Christ do we sense the warmth and fullest radiance of the glorious light of God touching on the hearts of men.
– The sun is never without its brightness.
The radiant brightness of the sun cannot be separated from the sun and yet it is distinct.
And so, Christ is God and yet distinct.
– He is God and yet He is the manifestation of God.
– He is the glory of the Lord who shouts the reality of God, which was only whispered in time past.
God’s answer to the dilemma of sin is Jesus Christ – the glory of God made manifest in human flesh.”
We are thankful that the Son of God became the Son of man that first Christmas.
C. No common ground
In the old Hebrew covenant, when the glory of the Lord came down, all business stopped.
• Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle [Exodus 40:34-35].
• When Solomon built his temple for the Lord as a place to offer sacrifice and the glory cloud came down, the priests were so overwhelmed with its presence that they could not do their priestly duties. [1 Kings 8:10-11].
In the old covenant the glory cloud and the presence of the Lord did not abide in the same space that was occupied by men.
Moses: The glory of the Lord left Moses wanting more. Even though Moses had personally witnessed such astounding miracles and the coming of the cloud on Mt. Sinai, on the Tabernacle, his true longing was to see the glory of the Lord.
He had to be “merely satisfied” with “seeing” the “back” of the goodness of the Lord, and obviously ONLY after the Lord fully passed by where he was standing.
D. A promise that “all flesh will see the glory of the Lord”
Isaiah 40:3-6.
The first part was fulfilled by John the Baptist [Luke 3:4-7]; and the later part by Jesus Christ though its complete fulfillment is still in the future.
A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
E. This coming of the ‘glory of the Lord’ is the good news of great joy
The angel announces the Gospel – “the euaggelizō”.
The original expression is: “I evangelize unto you great joy”.
• Jesus is the “Good news”
• Jesus is the matter of great joy.
• Jesus makes possible for the revelation of the glory of God to all flesh.
In Jesus, heaven’s gate have been opened wide – the news is to “all people”.
• You are now no more the outcasts of the society.
• You and I can now become the citizens of heaven.
IV. THE SAVIOR
Luke 2:11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
A. The gift: Jesus is our Christmas Gift
• “Unto you”: God’s gift to us on Christmas day is Christ Himself.
• Born…City of David: Christ is born in the city of David, so that Psalm 87 will be true for us with regards to the city of God:
Speaking about the city of God,
we read in Psalm 87.4.
“This man was born there.”
This possibility for man and woman to be born in the City of God opens up because of the incarnation, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• Christ the Lord: Your savior is Christ the Lord.
He is Immanuel, God incarnate.
B. The Result: Our transformation, as we “Behold the glory of the Lord in Jesus Christ”
2 Corinthians 3:18. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image [the image of Christ] from one degree of glory to another.
John Owen: One of the greatest privileges and advancements of believers, both in this world, and unto eternity, consists in their beholding the glory of Christ.
If the glory of the Lord does not grip our attention exactly today and in this exact world, we are exactly eternally lost.
C. The Warning: Consequence of rejecting the glory
Woe to the one who rejects the glory of God made manifest to us.
We read in Romans chapter 1.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.(Romans 1:22,23, NASB).
Earlier, we read about the children of Israel:
Psalm 106:20. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a golden ox that eats non existent grass.
The nation of Israel, having seen and experienced the glory of God thought Him being no more glorious than a golden calf utterly incapable of eating or moving.
The natural expression of glory of God is praise that must bubble over; an over zealous thanksgiving that cannot, under any circumstance, ever be contained.
• Anything less is spiritually dangerous.
• Anything less indicates that we are still dead in our sins.
Luke 2:12-20Complete Jewish Bible
12 Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” 13 Suddenly, along with the angel was a vast army from heaven praising God:
14 “In the highest heaven, glory to God! And on earth, peace among people of good will!”
15 No sooner had the angels left them and gone back into heaven than the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go over to Beit-Lechem and see this thing that has happened, that Adonai has told us about.” 16 Hurrying off, they came and found Miryam and Yosef, and the baby lying in the feeding trough. 17 Upon seeing this, they made known what they had been told about this child; 18 and all who heard were amazed by what the shepherds said to them. 19 Miryam treasured all these things and kept mulling them over in her heart. 20 Meanwhile, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen; it had been just as they had been told.
V. A SIGN
Luke 2:12. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
This is our fifth pit stop.
Sign is “Semeion” in Greek means the “finger-marks” of God.
A. The paradox
Not sure if you caught the paradox of this passage yet?
Paradox ….
a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
a statement or proposition that, despite its sound (or its apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems utterly senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
Shepherds had just seen the great display of Divine glory.
What could be the next possible steps?
• That they would have expected now to be invited to the palace?
• That they would witness the transformation of Bethlehem – the city of David because the Messiah is now here?
We all probably expect to see something that would top this experience or at least something that somehow or in some minimal was, almost matched it.
Instead, they are invited to go and find “a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger”.
Notice 3 things that’s in stark contrast to what they just observed:
a. It’s a baby.
• How can a baby be a savior? The Christ?
b. In swaddling cloths
• A baby just like any other. For they were all wrapped just the same. You wouldn’t be able to identify the Messiah if laid in a nursery together.
• If they had not witnessed the grand spectacle they would never have identified this baby as the Savior of the world.
c. Lying in a manager
• Something is terribly wrong with this picture – a picture framed by human mindset.
Notice: the revealed Glory of God by His angel armies on one hand; and the humility of a lowly mom and dad, the baby in a feeding trough on the other.
No wonder we sing:
Wisdom unsearchable, God the invisible. Love indestructible in frailty appears.
Lord of infinity stooping so tenderly.
Lifts our humanity from our own lowly troughs to the heights of His throne.
O what a mystery meekness and majesty.
Bow down and worship for this is your God.
Beloved Brothers and Sisters,
Cherished Sons and Daughters of the Most High God,
This is our God.
B. The sign screams He is now one of US.
The sign screams out that He who is the Christ has become one of you.
Not just a human but one whom even the poor can associate with.
The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is this that none of us are excluded in the glad proclamation.
We all can be a part.
VI. THE SONG/SHOUT
Luke 2:13-14. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!
This is our sixth pit stop.
A. And Suddenly with the angel…
R C Sproul:
“All heaven broke loose… [and I think that hell must have frozen over]”
This angelic choir would make Handel’s Messiah concert look like a class of kindergarten singing.
B. “Glory to God in the Highest; and peace on earth”
A praise that rose heavenward; and a peace that came downward.
“Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.”
Peter talking to Cornelius and his household says:
Acts 10:36. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Angels in heaven praise the Lord.
But now even the shepherds – so you and I can say:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”
VII. THE SPONTANEITY
Luke 2:17, 20.
verse 17. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
verse 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The seventh and final pit stop.
A. The speech of the shepherds
[verse18] What do you make of the phrase “all who heard”?
• Was it Joseph and Mary?
• Was it the milling of those who like Joseph had come to Bethlehem for the census?
Who saw the baby but had not idea what they were beholding till the shepherds told them.
• Was it crowding of the heavenly hosts in that cramped cavern or the open courtyard, trying to catch a glimpse of Deity.
The shepherds were hyper excited to tell the story:
• The shepherds didn’t seem to care that they would not be believed for such an improbable story.
• They didn’t seem to care that no one would listen to them.
They just could not an would not stop talking.
• They had just seen the ‘fingermarks’ of God – a baby laid in the manger.
That’s the timeline of the Gospel story isn’t it?
• The Gospel story reminds me that the one who was laid in the manger by Mary [Luke 2:12] is the one who was, some 30 years later crucified upon a wood cross.
Three days after being sealed into an impenetrable tomb, HE walked out ALIVE!
• Hallelujah!
However, the story neither begins in the manger nor ends in the grave.
My response is therefore to rejoice. I cannot and will not ever keep quiet.
VIII. WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
Why this unnatural silence?
Why isn’t our spirit extolling in the glory of the Lord?
If the shepherds were UNABLE BUT to talk about the what they saw, why is it that we are silent?
A. Telling all who will hear
We often wonder how can we can tell our neighbors about Jesus?
Our excuse!
• I don’t know where to begin?
• I don’t know what to say?
If those are your questions, then learn from the shepherds.
• They said what they saw.
• They repeated what they heard.
And so can you and so can I.
Let me end with two closings.
A. Remember the Shepherd was also the Lamb
Because of Jesus, I can face anything.
That is something I will share.
1954 film, White Christmas:
“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep.
I count my blessings instead of sheep.
And I fall asleep Counting my blessings.
When my bankroll is getting small.
I think of when I had none at all.
And I fall asleep Counting my blessings.
If your worried and you can’t sleep.
Just count your blessings instead of sheep.
And you’ll fall asleep Counting your blessings.
B. Remember that gratitude cannot be silenced.
Shepherds and the glory of the Lord in the same sentence.
Shepherds enjoyed a great heritage in Israel with Abraham, Moses, and David as notable shepherds, God being identified through Psalm 23 as a great shepherd.
But by this time in Israelite history, they were not highly regarded.
They smelled like sheep.
They spent their time with sheep.
They were not really clean and religious enough to be considered spiritual.
So when God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to shepherds with his contingent of angels he makes his point clear: Everyone is loved by God, everyone has immediate access to God, and everyone is desired by God.
Because of Jesus, I am grateful.
That is why I will share.
Let your gratitude and praises last forever!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You in Jesus’ name for purposing to redeem mankind, by sending Him to be born in Bethlehem of Judea on that astonishing night, while shepherds watched their flocks. Thank You for the good news of great joy, which is for all people who trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Thank You, Father, that You did not leave us dead in our sins, but purposed from the foundation of the world, to give Jesus as the perfect Lamb of God, Who would take away the sin of the world and become the good Shepherd of the sheep, for all who would trust in His holy name. Thank You that in my Savior Christ I have nothing to fear and everything for which to be thankful. Thank You in Jesus’ name, AMEN.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 