Looking Back

Looking forward

 

 

Somewhere in time, ten days ago, we celebrated a new year.  Many people make resolutions for the New Year.  I don’t, I make goals and plans.  If I don’t make it in a year, it’s still a goal and I will make it eventually.  Plans don’t always work out, but I guess that’s part of life.

With the New Year and the resolutions we can make, it’s a time of looking forward.  For some people, this is a time of great anticipation.  Others have a hard time looking forward, because when they look back – well – what’s back there couldn’t possibly lead to a brighter future.

I have an App from Bible Gateway and it gives me a section of the New Testament to read each day.  On January 1^st, it took me to the first chapter and book of the New Testament.  It went through the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

If I was God and I was planning my family tree, I would try to get all the heroes of the faith in it. The family tree of Jesus has some illustrious figures and some notorious ones.

Of course, there is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – but no Elijah, or Enoch, or Jeremiah.  There is Rahab – she was the temple prostitute that hid the Jewish spies. Then there was Ruth, she was raised in a pagan culture.  Of course David – well he was a King, but Jesus didn’t come from one of the wives known for something wonderful.  His family tree includes Bathsheba and if you remember her, she and David and an adulterous affair. 

What is wonderful about each person I mentioned is this is what they were, not how they stayed.  Rahab knew the Jewish God was God, which is why she hid the spies.  This knowledge revolutionized her world.  She no longer worked in the Pagan temple, she became a wife and a mother and a follower of Jehovah.

Ruth also followed Jehovah.  She wasn’t raised to, but she saw God reflected in the family she married into and she was smart enough to not turn back when times get tough.

Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon. He is remembered as a wise king.  I don’t think he would have turned out as good, if his mother didn’t instill some good qualities in him. 

When we look back at the rubble of our lives, don’t lose heart.  It matters not where you have been, or what you have done – it matters what you choose to do now and who you choose to follow.

 

 

Matthew 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife^[a] of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.^{[b] 8} Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon,^[c] and Amon begot Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. ¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

 

 

 

 

No Blog

Well almost no blog

 

 

Somewhere in time, the day before yesterday, it was Christmas.  I should be reflecting on Christmas or making New Year resolutions.  I should be, but I’m working today.  I worked the day after Christmas. 

I’m thankful I have a job, but this time of year it feels like I don’t have time to celebrate.  I work overtime like crazy and then I have one day to celebrate one of the most spectacular events in human history.

So in honor of the days after Christmas – for those of us who would still like to celebrate, I give this verse to ponder.

 

Psalm 118:24New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in in it.

Happy day after Christmas.

 

The Christ Candle

O Holy Night 

 

 

Somewhere in time, approximately two thousand and fourteen years ago, a child was born in a manger.  This child revolutionized the world.

The Final Candle of advent is the Christ Candle. Traditionally it’s a white candle.

That special night Mary knew the child she carried was Holy.  Joseph knew the Christ child was to be born.  But did they expect the angels, the star or the wise men.  Probably not, but imagine how wondrous that all must have seemed.  

Did they expect when their child was still young, he would be amazing elders in the temple?  Did they know he could make the lame walk or the blind see? 

Did they know he would be crucified?

Did they realize that twelve hundred and fourteen years later, people would set aside a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior?

I don’t think they did.  I think our human minds can’t grasp the vision of God. But they knew, from that day on, the world would change.  

Matthew 1:21New King James Version (NKJV)

²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christmas is a time to remember that love came to earth.  God stepped down from His throne in heaven, to humble himself and be born as a baby. In the most humble of circumstances, in the most humble of places, the creator took on the form of the created in order to show His infinite love for us.

As we celebrate, the most holy of holidays, let’s give glory to God on the highest.  Merry Chirstmas!

 

 

Shepherds watching thier flocks

Advent, the third Sunday

 

 

Somewhere in time, this Sunday, it’s the third Sunday of Advent.  Learning about Advent has been interesting.  Each special part of the Christmas story is celebrated.  This time, it’s the shepherds.

With the Shepherd candle, we celebrate joy and hope.

If we think about it, shepherds were not the rulers of society. They were not revered, or wealthy or powerful.   They lived alone at times, out in the elements, guarding sheep. 

But God wanted to show that his coming was for everyone.  There were wise men following a star, but there were also shepherds just watching their sheep. Doing what they always do with no idea of the miracle happening nearby.

Suddenly the sky grew bright as a host of angels appeared. 

Luke 2:8-14New King James Version (NKJV)

Glory in the Highest

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold,^[a] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”^[b]

Sometimes, when our lives are filled with the daily grind of responsibilities, we may feel like shepherds.  We are not rich, powerful or even known or respected by thousands of people. 

But God came to earth for us.

Our joy doesn’t come from our circumstances and our hope is not in this world. 

What could be better than that?

 

The Bethlehem Candle

Advent – 2nd Sunday 

 

 

Somewhere in time, tomorrow is the second Sunday of Advent. The second candle is the Bethlehem candle.  

Bethlehem was part of prophecy; it was known the Messiah was to be born there.

It brought to mind something I saw on television a few years back. They tried to unravel the mystery of Jesus and basically they were so far off it was funny.    One theory was that she was an unwed mother, so the stories of angels and miracles were told to hide this unpleasant fact. They traveled to Bethlehem to make it look convincing.

Well – come on – they are missing several parts of the story.

How did this young couple convince Caesar to issue a decree that would send them to Bethlehem?

How did they get wise men to travel for many months to see the newborn child?

How did they make the angels appear to the shepherds watching their sheep in the hills?

How did they convince a star to shine so brightly people could see if for miles around?

How did they know to flee to Egypt right before the decree to kill all infant boys in Israel was enacted? 

I think it’s easier and makes much more sense if we just agree that Jesus was God made man.  God stepped out of paradise to join the people of earth in the most humble of circumstances – but the entire universe knew the ruler of the universe was here.    

 

Micah 5:2New King James Version (NKJV)

The Coming Messiah

² “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”

 

 

 

Advent - The first Sunday

Prophecy 

 

 

Somewhere in time, tomorrow, it’s the first Sunday of Advent. 

Advent is not something I have normally celebrated as part of Christmas, but as I learn more about it I wonder why I haven’t.  There are four Sundays in Advent. There is a candle lit for each Sunday. The first is tomorrow and it’s a purple candle - purple is for royalty. It's a celebration of the prophecies of the coming Savior and king.

It was prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. That he would be called out of Egypt. That he would be called a Nazarene. 

The virgin birth, the death upon a tree – where all prophesies told long before Jesus walked the earth.

Yet when Jesus walked the earth, the people who knew the prophesies the best didn’t recognize that Jesus was the fulfillment of them. 

Perhaps if they had done a little checking they would have found that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. His family had fled to Egypt to escape the Herod’s attempts to kill newborn Jewish children.  Why couldn’t they put two and two together?

Well, there are more prophesies waiting to be fulfilled.  Christ came once as a suffering saint, and the world missed it.  He is coming again as a conquering King.  Let’s not be caught unawares when that happens.

Isaiah 9:6New International Version (NIV)

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

 

Mandisa - What Child Is This? (Official Lyric Video) from mandisa on GodTube.

Being Thankful

It’s a matter of perspective.

 

 

Somewhere in time, this Thursday, America celebrates Thanksgiving.  The pilgrims gave thanks for surviving the winter. They gave thanks for food, shelter and health.  After the battle of Gettysburg, during the Civil War, President Lincoln established the Federal Holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I love having a holiday to remind us to give thanks, but I have been thinking about that.  What we are thankful for is a matter of perspective.

If we only have one pair of shoes and they are tattered and torn, we may not be thankful for them until we have no shoes at all.

If we have a job that is a daily drudge, we may not be thankful until we suffer the loss of that income.

If our home needs work, or it’s too small, or it’s not in the location we want; we may not be thankful for it until we are homeless.

I was watching a documentary about Corrie Ten Boom, one of my hero’s in the faith.  She and her entire family were arrested in World War II for hiding Jews from the occupying Nazi’s. She and her sister were together. One of the prison camps they ended up in was Ravensbruck.  It was notorious as one of the worst. They were placed in a barracks that had twice the women it was designed to hold. It was filthy and filled with lice and fleas.

They found out, however, that the guards would barely set foot in their barracks because they did not want to be infected by the lice and fleas.  The two sisters were thankful they could openly share from their small Bible and pray with the other prisoners.

What are you thankful for today?

1 Thessalonians 5:18New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.