Gabriel visits Zachariah

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The First Christmas RGB6God sent his angel Gabriel to tell Zachariah, an elderly priest, that his barren wife Elizabeth was going to have a son in her old age. Read the story yourself in Luke 1:5-25.

This son would grow up to become John the Baptist. He like the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah. The angel Gabriel told John how his son would prepare the Israelites for the coming of the Lord.

If you read the passage from Luke above, you know that Zachariah didn’t really believe Gabriel at first. For this reason Gabriel told Zachariah that he wouldn’t be able to speak until after the baby was born. Everything happened as Gabriel said it would, and John the Baptist became a great prophet who led the people to repent of their sins and to prepare their hearts for the coming Kingdom of God. You can read more about the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:57-80.

Today we would do well to remember John’s message and prepare our hearts anew to meet the Christ Child in a spirit of repentance. How do you prepare your heart to draw near to Christ Jesus? Before we can truly enjoy fellowship with Jesus, we need to confess and turn away from any and all known sins in our hearts and lives.

This post corresponds to the second mini-story for children in The First Christmas by Janice D. Green. It is available here.Front cover RGB (300)

Messiah… anticipating Advent

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Crown (Messiah)Long before the Christ child was born the Jewish people had been looking for their promised Messiah. The Jews hoped the Messiah would deliver them from the oppressive Roman government and restore their nation.

The first prophecy of the Messiah’s coming was given in Genesis 3:15 when God reprimanded the serpent in the presence of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Several other references in Genesis and the early Old Testament books identify the line through which he would come, that of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Judah, and King David. Later Micah 5:2 identified Bethlehem as the place from which the Messiah would come. For more prophecies of Jesus as Messiah click here. It was no secret that the Jewish nation was looking for Messiah, yet when he arrived the Jewish leaders did not recognize him.

The Christian church today views the days of December 1 through December 24 as a time of advent – a time to revisit their years of waiting, a time of anticipating the coming of the Christ. We need this time of preparation if we are to fully appreciate the birth of the Christ Child and everything that it represents. If we truly respect the holiness of this event, we will be careful not to let the clamor of Christmas shopping and preparations drown out the awe and sense of worship that Christ’s birth deserves.

James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Let’s take deliberate steps to draw near to God in Bible reading and prayer each day. Read the first few chapters of the books of Matthew and Luke several times this month. If you have the opportunity, watch the movie The Nativity Story:The Journey of a Lifetime, a Story for All Time. It can be ordered through Amazon or YouTube.

Watch for more posts in the days ahead about the events surrounding the birth of the Christ Child.

For younger children The First Christmas, by Janice D. Green, illustrated by Violet Vandor. Front cover RGB (300)

Developing a spirit of thankfulness

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9018608_sGive thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Do you find it hard to be thankful at times? I know it is for me. It doesn’t make me proud to admit this, but in my heart I know it is true. I’ve had a healthy share of disappointments in my life, and perhaps you have too.

But in spite of our circumstances, God’s will for us is to give thanks, even when it doesn’t come naturally. …it could be because doing so helps us to keep things in perspective. After all, Jesus the Christ – the Son of God – left his home in heaven to come down to this earth as a baby to grow up and to live his final years on earth as a homeless person. He came to teach people to love God and to help them (and us) to understand how much God loves us all. He came to show us how to live in joy and peace with God.

We might think we have it tough, but Jesus’ circumstances were as far from easy as one could get. He had his moments of glory followed by the rejection of the religious leaders who set out to ridicule, torture, and kill him on the cross because they were too jealous to accept him and his love. Even Jesus’ Twelve Disciples – his closest friends – deserted him as they ran out of fear of the Roman soldiers who arrested Jesus.

Jesus suffered through all of this and more because he wants to forgive our sins and to be my/your best friend. Kinda mind-boggling isn’t it? He could have left us to flounder in misery and watched from his home in Paradise, but he chose to come to our rescue.

When I remember what Jesus did for me, it helps me to feel thankful, no matter what my circumstances. The Apostle Paul (the first missionary in the Bible) wrote in a letter “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12 (NIV) 

Pray with me that God will help us keep our hearts and minds filled with gratitude and thankfulness for every day and every experience. May our lives be filled to overflowing with joy and thanksgiving so that others will want to know Jesus as Savior and friend as well.

 

 

Where do I put my trust?

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (Proverbs 3:5 NIV)

 

38650721_sQuite often I start my day doing a Sudoku puzzle when no one else is up. I work these puzzles to keep my mind sharp, and at my age this is important.

But what are my actions saying when I start my day with Sudoku? Am I saying it is more important to invest in my mind (self-sufficiency) than to invest these precious first moments of the day with my God inviting him to direct my steps and my thinking. I feel under conviction and am considering steps to put a Bible or devotional material along side the puzzles especially for those early morning moments. The puzzles aren’t bad, they are simply not always the best choice.

What are the things that tend to crowd God out of your life?

45380570_sWhat is the most important thing in your life?

What are your goals?

What do you need to make your life better?

Is God in the picture as you answer these questions?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7 NIV)

 

God wants the very best for your life. Do you believe this?

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16492171_s“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” —Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Are you reluctant to trust God with your life because you fear he will push you to do things you don’t want to do? I remember experiencing an element of fear as a teen – a fear that I would be captured in some kind of spirit led trance and made to look foolish. I don’t know where the fear came from, and now more than 50 years later I can honestly say that I’ve never been sucked into doing anything I wasn’t willing to do at the time. A wise lady once told me that the Holy Spirit was a gentleman and would never make me do anything I didn’t want to do.

That probably isn’t the same kind of thing you fear. More likely you fear God will cause you to give up some things you do for recreation with your friends. Some fear God will ask them to become missionaries in outer Mongolia or in Africa. Others fear God will turn them into weirdos. This kind of thinking is shortsighted when we stop to consider just who God is.

God knows us better than we could ever hope to know ourselves because he created us. He gave us our hopes and dreams, our likes and dislikes, our abilities and our circumstances. He also created a beautiful world and universe where everything from the greatest galaxy to the smallest microbe works together. God knows what works and what doesn’t work.

God understands human nature because he created it. He understands what it takes to make harmony and what causes discord in our lives. Not only that, God sent Jesus his Son to be born as a human being and to walk with people on this earth over two thousand years ago. He experienced first hand what it was like to be human, to face temptation and peer pressure. Jesus gets it. Today Jesus sits with God pleading for us when we goof up.

What are your fears when it comes to living for Jesus? You can talk to God about anything and everything. Are you angry with God? You can even talk to him about that. After all, when Jesus was dying on the cross he prayed “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” Your anger for whatever the reason can’t possibly be worse than the torture Jesus went through that day.

So let it all hang out and talk to God about whatever is on your mind. Any good relationship must begin with honesty and openness.