Setting the Stage

December 21, 2013 purposeunderheavenLeave a comment

The time approaches.

A woman who trusts God carries a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit. Her adventure is about to begin. But right now the very pregnant virgin girl is traveling from her home to the town of Bethlehem.

Matthew 1:

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Joseph agreed to marry the young girl even though she is pregnant because an angel speaks to him in a dream. Now, he travels by Mary’s side to the city of his ancestors, Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting

The timing could not be worse, but they have to go because of the Census.

Luke 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

They trek for days to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem, 4 days maybe more. They would have had to take care to protect the baby.

Out in the fields near Bethlehem, shepherds watch over sheep. Shepherds near Bethlehem cared for the lambs which would be used for the Passover sacrifice.

And some where to the east of Jerusalem, the location is not stated, but some think Babylon where Daniel had lived and been a leader of the Kingdoms wise men. Where ever they were from, they were watching the sky and soon a star would appear to them. Since we have little information about when the star appeared, they may have already seen the star and been on their way or it may appear in a few days. The trip probably took a couple months to complete in a caravan.

In a temple in Jerusalem, two people wait to see the Messiah.

Everyone is in their position we are days away from a point in time when the world will never be the same.

Advent · Christmas · Uncategorized

Angels (Messengers of God)

December 11, 2013 purposeunderheavenLeave a comment

Drive through town and there are angels everywhere. Angels made of metal frames lit with lights. Angels topping trees. Angels on wrapping paper. And all the angels look strangely girly.

But Gabriel, the Angel sent to make all the announcements about Jesus most definitely looked like a man. Trouble is I am not sure a guy sitting on top of the tree has the same impact. I know he looked like a man because of the description in the book of Daniel.

Daniel saw Gabriel and described the being he saw as “one who looked like a man”. The actual word in Hebrew means warrior or a valiant man.

This is our first look at Gabriel, but he is really busy in the Gospels.

And every where Gabriel appears, the first words out of his mouth are “Do not be afraid”. I am not sure if his general appearance is frightening but I suspect it is his tendency to just appear suddenly that causes the fear, but either way, it is obvious he isn’t the soft sweet angel of Christmas tree decorations.

Now, I think Gabriel made a mistake telling Zachariah not to be afraid. When the old priest first sees the angel standing in the Holy area of the temple where no one other than the priest was allowed to be, he was terrified. The angel tells him:

Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.¹⁶He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to 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.”

Now you would think Zechariah’s response would be wow this angel (word means messenger from God) just popped in from no where to tell me my prayer is going to be answered. But no, his first response is how can I know this is really going to happen.

Think about it on two levels. First minutes ago he is trembling in awe of the messenger. Now he is how do I know you can do what you say. And second, this is answered prayer. Why was he praying if he didn’t think God could answer?
Gabriel doesn’t appreciate this change of attitude and tells Zechariah that he will not be able to speak until the baby is born.

This baby grows up to be John the Baptist–a man of great faith.

Now Gabriel gets a new assignment a few months later. He appears to a young teenage girl.

The virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

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

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

³⁵The 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 the Son of God. ³⁶Even 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. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”

Now I doubt Mary had been praying let me get pregnant by the Holy Spirit and no one in my village will believe me. They might even stone me. Joseph will not want to marry me. Yep that is what I want Lord. I am doubting it had ever crossed her mind.
But Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message is:

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

I look at my life and wonder how often I am a Zechariah. Do I pray my prayers without truly believing God can answer the prayer? When I see God move, do I see his hand or do I wobble and doubt?

Prayer: Lord help me to have stronger faith. Help me in my unbelief.

Meditation: Think about answered prayers

Action: Make a list of answered prayers; write it down. Look at it often to remember what God has done.

12 Days of Christmas · Christian. · Christmas

Sixth Day of Christmas: Reviewing the Nativity Characters

December 30, 2012December 30, 2012 purposeunderheaven1 Comment

Let’s zoom in on our nativity scene for a minute.

We have elite sages from some where in the East headed to Bethlehem. They represent nobility and the highest levels of knowledge for their times.

Mary, probably 15 or 16 years old, descended from the great King David lives a humble peasant’s life in the small village of Nazareth. A women described as favored by God. A teenage women God trusted with His only begotten son. Basically, you can say Mary is a small town teenager who loves God.

Joseph, we have no idea of his age, but we know he was also of the family of David. We know he was an craftsman. He worked with his hands to create the things needed by others. Many believe he was a carpenter though the word can be used for any of the crafts. This man knew he could have dealt harshly with Mary when he discovered she was pregnant, but he had compassion for her. Then the angel came in his dream and told Joseph the baby was from God and to take Mary as his wife. Joseph immediately did as God asked.

Shepherds leave their sheep in the fields after hearing from the angels.

Luke 2 ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

In this moment we have Angels, the highest of creation and who stand at the throne of God, announcing to Shepherds about the God of creation taking on flesh and being born a baby. The shepherds represented a strange group of people. These men live at the edges of society. But shepherd’s in the Bethlehem area were probably raising sheep for the Passover sacrifice. The feast of Passover required only perfect sheep be sacrificed; these shepherds raised the sheep and provided lambs with no blemish for the Passover. They also would be among the first to see Jesus our Passover Lamb.

1 Corinthians 5: 7B For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us

Journel Exercise

Who do you relate to in this crowd? Are you of the educated elite? Or are you a hard working crafts person? Do you work in an important profession that no one respects? I am assuming you are not an angel.

The last people to be a part of Jesus birth are a man named Simeon and a women named Anna. Simeon waits in the temple for the messiah. God has told Simeon that before his death he will see the Messiah. And he does.

Luke 2

²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

³⁰For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

³¹Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

³²A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Are you waiting for the second coming of Jesus? Really waiting in expectation?

Anna was an elderly woman who spent her days in the temple praying and fasting. She received the honor of also beholding the infant. Are you more like Anna? Do you spend your days in prayer?

Last question

Of our crowd, who do you wish you were like? Why?

12 Days of Christmas · Christian. · Christmas

Third Day of Christmas–What are we doing here?

December 27, 2012 purposeunderheaven1 Comment

The early traditions of the church held that the days before Christmas were fast days. A time preparing one’s heart for the celebration of Jesus birth. The true Christmas season ran from Feast Celebrating Jesus birth to the Epiphany. The ancient church actually established the Feast of Epiphany prior to the settling on the date of Jesus birth. There are 12 days from the first feast day Christmas to the eve of Epiphany.

Wreaths and other Christmas decorations go up near the 25th of December in the western branch of the church and remain up until the eve of epiphany.

Specific traditions for the Twelve Days of Christmas vary as you move around the world.

In our modern hustle bustle society, I think a fast, of a negative type, often occurs during the days from December 1 until Christmas day. This is the type of fast we should never experience and leaves us weakened. Society places intense pressure on people during the pre-Christmas time for parties and shopping and rushing to every play or school performance. We often go great lengths of time without any quite time with God. One shame in our modern lives is that many reach Christmas Day drained of any closeness to Christ.

The twelve days provides a quieter time to contemplate the bible story of the first days of our Lord’s life on earth. We need to stop and refuel for the year a head.

Journal Exercise

Do you feel drained and distant from God after Christmas or do you feel closer. Why?

In response to the Shepherds arrival at the nativity and their repeating what the angels said, we have the following bible verse.

^{Luke 2:19}But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

What part of the story of Jesus Birth do you hold in a special place in your heart? Is it the angels announcing Jesus birth to Shepherds in the Fields? Is it the shepherds rushing to Bethlehem to see the baby? Maybe it is the wise men coming to place gifts before Jesus?

Write your thoughts regarding your favorite part of the nativity story and why.

Christmas · Christmas Traditions

Angels, angels, angels

December 15, 2012 purposeunderheavenLeave a comment

Angels top our trees, angels stand in our yards, angels every where of every size can be found.

But then, angels flooded the Christmas story.

First we have Gabriel appearing in the temple with great news for Zacharias. This angel came with assurances that the priest’s prayers would be answered. Even though Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were past the age of having kids, they would soon be expecting a baby boy whose name would be John. He would grow to be the one who would prepare the way for the Lord.

And Zacharias’ response to this wondrous news

Luke 1 ¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

Gabriel closed Zacharias mouth until the baby was born and he was asked what to name the baby.

A few months later in the town of Nazareth, Gabriel shows up with more news.

He appears to a young 13 or 14 year old girl engaged to marry. The angel informs the young girl, a virgin, she will conceive a child by the Holy Spirit. This baby’s name will be Jesus (God’s salvation).

Mary knows this news means she will be at a minimum mocked in her community. There is a real possibility her husband to be would have her stoned or removed from the community. Her life will take a significant turn with this news.

And what is Mary’s response

Luke 1 ³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Journal exercise

What would your response be if an Angel appeared to you?

If an angel appeared telling you that a prayer would be answered, would you believe or ask for proof?

If the angel asked you to do something really hard what would your answer be?

You may not get an appearance from an angel, but you may know that God is asking you to do something for Him. How have you responded to those requests to do hard things?