When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Luke 2:15-20 (NLT)
Shepherds may seem like unimportant, uneducated men. But they have something to teach me.
“Let us see.” The shepherds are told God’s Good News. They didn’t just sit together on the hillside and enjoy that news. They went to see what His proclamation looked like.
I have also been told the Good News of God. And He has directed me to various places and people where I can see His Good News in the flesh.
Every newborn baby shows the miracle that comes from God. As a hospice nurse I was honored to stand as a witness as God took His children home to live with Him for all eternity. In my own sinful life, God revealed how He sent His Son to die so that my sins are covered by Jesus’ Blood and I can live for all eternity with my Father. Every day I learn more about the depth of God’s love.
After seeing, they told everyone. Who have I told about what I have seen? Sharing God’s Good News does not require that I stand and shout and argue someone into accepting their need for a savior. It is sharing what I know in my heart about the Savior who died for me. It is living what I have learned. If I ran into a couple who were dying of thirst, would I “forget” or feel too embarrassed to share my canteen of water with them?
They glorified and praised God for all. I want to confess to you that I did something yesterday afternoon that I haven’t done – well, in a long time. I spent over an hour just thanking God. I didn’t ask Him for a thing. I just kept thanking and praising Him. I need to do it more. God gives so much. He is worthy of all my praise and thanksgiving.
God uses shepherds, angels, mothers, fathers, children, animals, flowers and trees, clouds and rain – all that He has created to teach me more about Him and our relationship. Are my eyes and heart open to learn?
(I will be resting next week, December 30 – January 3; spending my time praising and thanking God!)
Glory to God from Handel’s Messiah – The London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra
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As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 (NLT)
A father is a protector, a teacher, and a provider. When God sent His Son to earth, He chose a carpenter, Joseph, to be His hands and feet in caring for His Son. He continues to do that with you and me, gives us earthly parents.
Earthly parents aren’t perfect. Joseph’s response to Mary’s announcement of God’s plan was probably the way I would respond. Disbelief and hurt that I had been deceived. Would I have believed a dream and followed the instructions of an angel? Joseph knew that this plan of God’s was not going to be easy. He knew there would be gossip and even the possibility of exile from the Temple leadership. That was only the beginning of their trials.
When I was young and newly married, I had a plan, a dream of what my life was going to be like. I saw the husband, the children, the house, and life we would have. Almost 40 years later I can say without hesitation that little of my plan has brought forth any fruit. My life is more wonderful and more painful than I ever imagined but the process of moving from my plan to God’s was disconcerting and difficult.
Joseph’s example is one of faith and steadfastness. He did not demand understanding before he gave obedience. Can I do that? Will I let go of my plan and accept God’s plan for my life? Will I trust God for His timing and outcome? And not only in my life but in the lives of my children as well?
Jesus promised us a life that is abundant, not with the world’s definition of prosperity but in the Presence of God in my life that produces a tremendous harvest for His Kingdom and personal fruit in my life. Jesus said He came to glorify the Father. As His disciple, that is why I am here also – to glorify my Father in Heaven. I am here to tell everyone about God’s Gift for each of us. My Father: protector, teacher, and provider. (And so much more!)
A Strange Way to Save the World written by Dave Clark, Mark Harris, Don Koch & sung by 4Him
Posted inMatthew|Comments Off on Christmas: The Father
But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
31 Jesus answered them,“Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Luke 5:30-32 (CEV)
As each year passes I am more humbled at the magnitude of God’s love for me. Jesus came to save me because spiritually I was terminally ill, and I didn’t even know it.
Jesus could have fulfilled the perfect sacrifice without living here on earth for 33 years.
Emmanuel certainly could have been born in a house in Nazareth, but instead showed me how the most glorious moments may happen in unlikely places.
Emmanuel could have been born to Godly people who would have been able to provide Him with educational opportunities and a home that was comfortable. Instead Jesus showed me the importance of parents who make obedience to God their first priority.
Emmanuel could have chosen disciples that were part of the upper class, well-connected and influential. Jesus chose people who were willing to leave everything and follow Him.
A baby in a manger with a young girl-mother full of faith. Shepherds and sheep on a hillside startled into a glorious time of worship that sent them to seek what was told to them.
What will I do with this Child? This Savior who has completely changed my life? I will worship Him, open my heart to His love, and follow wherever He leads me.
A Baby Changes Everything written by Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman & sung by Faith Hill
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Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” Luke 2:34-35 (NLT)
What were you doing when you were 14 years old? Most of us were not married and certainly not having a baby. Yes, Mary lived in a different time and culture but she was still “just a girl.”
The Holy Spirit. Once again I see how the Spirit of God is powerful as He brings the seed of God to unite with the one He has chosen to nurture and bring God in the flesh to us. It is this same Spirit that also gives Mary the strength and courage she requires to stand in faith.
The Community. The questions and speculation that were whispered about Mary’s marriage to Joseph and the coming baby were just the beginning of a lifetime of family and others who rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah and instead saw Him as a lunatic and fanatic.
The Plan. God always has the best plan and perfect timing but He does not bring peace and ease as we know it. The peace and ease comes to my spirit as I walk in His will. Mary is told here by Simeon that this child, the Messiah, would be opposed. What??? For generations Israel had prayed and waited for the promised Messiah to come and now here He is! But He will not be revealed as a king and conqueror but as a servant.
The Child. On a joyful occasion when Joseph and Mary present Jesus in the Temple, He is recognized by both Simeon and Anna. Mary must have rejoiced as the revelation began, so she thought. To then be told of the opposition that would come and how the events of His life would be so painful for her to watch, it would be like a sword running through her heart. No longer a joyous occasion.
Only the Beginning. The pain Mary would experience was only beginning. The innkeepers rejected she and Joseph any lodging. Many would reject Jesus’ message of servanthood. As she watched Jesus stumble as a toddler, so He would stumble under the weight of the Cross on the way to Calvary. Mary watched Jesus leave her and the carpenter shop to begin the mission for which He was sent. She also watched Him complete that mission as He died. Is there a greater pain for a mother than to watch her child die?
The apostles often met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind. The women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers…
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Acts 1:14, 2:1-4 (NLT)
God is faithful. He will give us whatever we need to walk the path we have been given. But we must do our part. Mary shows me how important it is to keep my eyes on God, my ears tuned to His voice and stay surrounded by Believers. We are not promised a life of ease but a life abundant with God’s presence.
Breath of Heaven written and sung by Amy Grant
Posted inActs, Luke|Comments Off on Christmas: The Mother
Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac.” Genesis 28:10-13 (NLT)
I have several Nativity scenes set up around my home. Some are set down low so that children can play with them and move them around as they remember the story. I have been putting myself into the scene and considering what might have been going through the minds and hearts of those present.
Do you believe in angels? The Bible certainly has many accounts of angels. This passage from Genesis about Jacob speaks clearly to me that angels come and go from heaven and earth. They spend a great deal of their time in the presence of God. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells me that angels sing their praises in worship as an ongoing, never-ending celebration.
Angels announced the Messiah’s birth, not to kings and rabbis, but to shepherds who were doing what Christ continues to do, watch over the sheep. Have you ever been camping? The stars in the sky seem so close. It is a quiet and beautiful scene – and then suddenly there is an angel! The shepherds may have all been asleep with one or two keeping an eye open for predators. The appearance must have had them rubbing their eyes in disbelief and quickly shaking their buddies awake!
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” Luke 2:8-14 (NLT)
Jesus tells me in Matthew’s gospel that during The End, angels will be tasked to separate the wicked from the righteous (Matthew 13:29). He said that angels are assigned to care for children and have the direct ear of the Father (Matthew 18:9-11). Angels even attended Jesus after His fasting and temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:11) and again in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). And I am warned by the writer of Hebrews that the strangers I might ignore or consider of little consequence might, in fact, be angels that I am entertaining (Hebrews 13:2)!
A friend, who didn’t know of my own meditation going on about angels, shared yesterday that she was having a trying day and turned her radio on just as Angels Among Us began to play. She wept as she felt the care and attendance of God. I believe that is what angels do: they illuminate the Presence of God. God is always with us but sometimes God sends an angel to us who helps us to hear and see God more clearly.
Angels Among Us written by Don Goodman & Becky Hobbs, sung by Alabama
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All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)
The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:17-20 (The Message)
Look at these two Scriptures! Go ahead and read them one more time. Isaiah, a prophet who lived over 700 years before Jesus, is inspired by God to deliver His promise that God will come and live with his people. And then Jesus, that prophesied LORD and risen Messiah, says He, God will be with us every day, every day through eternity. Do I understand what that means?
I just went to Facebook and took a scan at the entries that some of my 300+ friends have posted in the last few days. There are wonderfully cute pictures of children, requests for prayer for themselves or loved ones who are ill or going through a rough time, links to articles about war or rumors of war and economic ‘cliffs’, and invitations to various church events, Christmas concerts and parties. And in every entry I am so very grateful for Jesus’ promise that He is with us. Do you have doubts that God is there in all of this?
Matthew 18. Jesus says that children are important in His Kingdom. He said we are to come to Him with the same faith as a child has. I believe Jesus approves of anything that I do that pours love on a child, encourages a child, or empowers a child to be all that he/she can be in their life, in His Kingdom.
Matthew 14, Luke 22, John 11. Many may wonder where Jesus is when suffering in its many forms and war come. In Matthew 14, I read that Jesus was told of his cousin John’s death and withdrew. He took time to grieve and talk to His Father. Then He saw the 5,000 waiting for Him and He had compassion. In Luke 22, Jesus asked for ‘a pass’ on the suffering that was to come. He wrestled in this spiritual suffering to the point of sweating blood. In John 11, He wept with Mary and Martha as they grieved over the death of their brother, Lazarus. From my own experience, I know that Jesus is right there with me, through every step. From the day that I knew my son had cancer, through every treatment, every surgery, every decision, every dark night, even his death, Jesus was there. He was there in every moment of joy and printed it on my mind. He was there with all my questions, over and over again. And He has been there to wipe every tear.
John 2. Jesus enjoys a good party, even a wedding. The relationship that Jesus forges in three years with these twelve men had to involve some talk around the evening fires that included stories and laughter. The commitment to the mission that they are given including the persecution is forged in the trust and faith that is built during those three years and sealed with the Holy Spirit. God was with them every day and in all ways.
There is no greater comfort to me than Jesus’ promise that He is with me and is not going to leave me no matter what comes into my life. He is here when I am hunched over the ledgers trying to stretch my budget yet a little more. There as I watch a news report about a war or hurricane and know that there are people who will suffer. He is there laughing when I Skype my grandchildren and they tell me a silly story and there holding me when the call ends and a tear or two falls because another holiday has gone by.
God is with us. That is also who Jesus is to me. I am humbly grateful for His faithfulness and great love.
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!
Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken!”
A voice said, “Shout!”
I asked, “What should I shout?”
“Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.
The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:1-8 (NLT)
It is thought that this passage of Isaiah was given while the Israelites were in exile. It means something to me, now, in 2011.
I cannot begin to imagine the feelings and thoughts of the Israelites as they are slaves in a land foreign to them in social structure and in religious beliefs and practices. Despair that they will ever return home. Did they think that God had abandoned them? I could describe my feelings like that.
When I am bowed over, I hear God’s tender voice encouraging me to lift my head and see that He is right there with me. He never left. I allow the problems and difficulties to become so big in my mind that I think no one can overcome them. The Holy Spirit speaks God’s truth to me and the “giants” begin to shrink down to size. They become what they truly are – those yippy little dogs that make so much noise and bite my ankles, causing me to take my eyes off my Creator and LORD.
How much time do I spend in a day thinking about problems, trying to figure out the “why’s” and “what’s next”? Now, how much time do I spend meditating on God’s words? If I spend more time on problems than I do reading, praying, and learning more about God, that could give me some explanation why my problems seem so big! But if I spend more time with God and then take His wisdom and knowledge and consider the problems, my perspective is more clear and realistic.
Receive God’s comfort and His wisdom and His great love. Accept it like a child accepts the tender cuddling of their father. A child doesn’t expect their father to charge for that comfort. Our Father doesn’t charge either.
Comfort Ye My People from Handel’s Messiah, sung by Jerry Hadley
Posted inIsaiah|Comments Off on Real Comfort – Even at Christmas
Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. Isaiah 53 (NLT)
As I continue to make the effort and time in my day to prepare to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, I am struck once again that Jesus did not have the look of a king. He did not stand out even as David was noted to be. Jesus was just an ordinary looking guy. He did not draw people to him by His eloquence but drew them with the message itself and His love that just seeped out of Him for others.
Jesus came and went with little notice by the Roman government except for Pilate and that was only a few hours in a specific week. Did Jesus even get mentioned in a report to Caesar? I don’t know, maybe some of our historians know.
I am sad as I watch the minimal attention that Jesus receives even now. We sing a few songs but pay more attention to our new Christmas dress or sweater than we do the new Spirit that is knocking at the door to our hearts. We spend time and money on electronics, toys, and food to give to those we love instead of books and music that encourages time in study and prayer of our LORD. Is my observance and celebration of the Messiah’s birth as a Believer any different than the twenty other people who live in my neighborhood? Am I more passionate about whether the employees of Wal-mart greet me with “Merry Christmas” than I am about whether we both know in our hearts this Christ Child as Savior, LORD and Friend? What are my reasons for this season? What is really in my heart?
We Are the Reason written by Warryn Campbell & Tamara Savage, sung by Avalon
One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was confused by the angel’s words and wondered what they meant. Then the angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:26-33 (CEV)
Mary was not a person in the Bible that I could identify with as I was growing up. She was represented to me as submissive, quietly assured of God’s benevolence, and just a young, sweet girl. None of those characteristics would have been applied to me by people who knew me. But then I actually read the Bible for myself and that is not the Mary that I found there. I read some history and Mary became someone I could learn and grow in my own relationship with God. In my mind I sat down with Mary and asked her about what happened to her after she received this great honor of being called by God to give birth to His Son, the Messiah. Glorious in Kingdom terms but pretty harsh in the world she lived in.
I had plans. Mary was engaged to a man, Joseph. To be engaged in her time was like being married. The contract was signed and all that was left was the celebration and the consummation. To break the contract was a reallybig deal. And coming up pregnant was a reason to break the contract – especially if the groom wasn’t part of the pregnancy!
Mary had plans. Like most of us, preparing for the wedding celebration and a new household is a frantic time but it is the best time! You have dreams about how wonderful it is all going to be. And then this stranger (an angel?) suddenly appears and shatters all those dreams that you had, to tell you that God has a different plan for you. It’s an overwhelming plan. It is more than you could have asked or imagined and yes, you are humbled by His call. And then the reality of that plan begins to take shape.
Family are the first to judge with my church a close second. And so Mary goes to her parents and to Joseph and tells them she is pregnant – by God. I wonder who she told first. There is no record of Mary’s parents’ reaction but in that time in history and in the culture it is doubtful that they were calm and understanding. We know that Joseph had decided to divorce her quietly. I’m not sure how “quietly” that could be done in a small town and synagogue (Matthew 1:18-25). And a possible response to a girl who would have sexual relations outside of marriage was to stone her to death, and this was done by the good and ‘righteous’ church people!
When the ‘chips are down’, I was surprised who was with me. And so Mary is saved from a possible stoning because Joseph receives a dream from God, explaining that Mary was telling the truth and that he, Joseph, was to be the earthly father to Immanuel. And Joseph steps up and takes on the responsibility of his pregnant wife. I bet Nazareth was like any other town in that it had ‘busybodies’ who were quick to start doing the math and determining whether Mary was pregnant before the wedding. People like that love to snicker and whisper behind your back when they see you at the market and as they sit near you in the church.
And then the night of labor comes and Mary is far from home, far from family. She isn’t in her clean bed but in a stable, lying on a dirt floor. She doesn’t have a midwife to be there for this first birth. Had she ever been in attendance herself when someone had given birth? Joseph’s experience would have been with farm animals. And so Mary labors alone with her husband and gives birth to – the Messiah – in a stable with their donkey and maybe a cow present. And just as she may have dozed in exhaustion, the door to the stable is filled with shepherds who say they have heard about the baby from a chorus of angels. It is an extraordinary night! This may have been the first time that God shows us again that “family” isn’t about blood relations but about God-relations, those who do His will are our family (Mark 3:31-35).
Another less than uplifting prophecy. Jesus is presented at the Temple for circumcision and dedication as the first born son, as is tradition. A priest, Simeon has, like all of God’s people, been waiting for the promised Messiah. God reveals to Simeon that this child is the One he has been waiting for. After so many generations, what an extraordinary blessing to Simeon! And then he delivers another message from God to Mary –
Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” Luke 2:34-35 (NLT)
Have you ever had a sword pierce your soul or your heart? I believe I have. A message from God is often not uplifting but convicting so that God’s people will turn to God’s will.
Then there were the cries of all those babies. Soon after the birth, Mary and Joseph learn that crazy King Herod is so afraid that this rumored Messiah-king will threaten his little kingdom that he orders all, all the boys two years and younger who lived in Bethlehem and its vicinity to be killed. So the soldiers came, burst into homes or snatched them up on the streets or out of their mother’s arms and ran them through with a sword! Mary and Joseph escaped the massacre, again because of a dream, but you know they were aware of what was happening and they knew the ‘why’ of it. What a terrible journey to Egypt that must have been. No one to care and support them. (Jeremiah 31:15)
God and I. And so when all this is read and discussed, I see how God faithfully walked with Mary every step of her life. From the announcement of her pregnancy to her son’s horrific death and departure back to the glory from which He came, God never left this fragile woman. He wrapped her in His strength and so she completed the mission she had been given.
Mary, Did You Know? written by Mark Lowery & Buddy Greene & sung by Kathy Mattea
While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. 21 Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, Matthew 1:20-22 (CEV)
Lectionary texts: Isaiah 7:10-16, Psalm 80, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25
Have you ever done a family tree when you were in school? I remember doing one when I was in elementary school and how difficult it was to make the names fit into the little boxes on the tree! I had 31 letters in my first and last name and my parents and grandparents also had long names. I needed a big sycamore tree to hold the names of my people!
Some of my classmates found out they had princes and dukes in their ancestry. Most, however, were like me; they came from hard-working farmers who raised their family and died within a 50 mile radius of their birth.
I’ve been reading Matthew and Luke’s gospels and some history in a study Bible and considering Jesus and His heritage. Did you ever wonder why God chose a poor girl from Nazareth to be the mother of His Son? And Jesus’ earthly father was a carpenter, not a rabbi. The King of Kings was born, not in a palace, but in a smelly animal shelter. He took His first nap, not on satin sheets but on straw in a manger. What was the purpose in God doing that?
I was born in a Midwest hospital to a woman who’s career was being a wife and mother. She only finished 8th grade. My father was a truck driver and finished only 10th grade. They were proud of their families who were farmers but they wanted something more for their children so they decided to choose a different life from their parents. They were raised in different denominations of the Christian faith. Their “mixed marriage” was a big deal in their communities and in their individual denominations, which would not allow them to marry in a church. They married in the priest’s home.
When I read about the events of Jesus’ birth and consider mine, I know that Jesus understands where I come from and welcomes me into His family with open arms. God’s message to me and all His children is, “You are welcome here. Come on in to the stable and see the Messiah who has come to save you!” I am not defined by where I was born or how I was raised. I am defined by a Savior who is the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords. He came to us in the most humble of circumstances and yet that did not diminish who He is still today! I come to worship Jesus and talk to Him – just as I am. I am broken and messed up and Jesus washes my feet and every other part of me and makes me brand new, every day.
Come to the manger this Christmas. Do not just look with your eyes and see a baby in a stable. Look with your heart and spirit and see your LORD and Savior. Come just as you are, whoever you are. And receive the truth that because of Jesus, you are a child of the Most High God!
Just As I Am written by Charlotte Elliott (1835) and sung by Willie Nelson
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
