Luke 1:26-29
“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”
Who wouldn’t be? An angel comes from out of nowhere and announces that you are not only highly favored by God, but that the Lord is right there with you! This is not something we often see today…and it is also not something that they often saw back when Mary was planning her wedding to Joseph.
Mary was naturally a little nervous…or greatly terrified—whichever. She probably knew that the Lord was with her, as she was a young woman who loved the Lord and knew Him as her God. But to learn that you are highly favored? That the Lord of the Universe thought of a young peasant girl as highly favored by the Lord? She was probably reviewing her short life and wondering what that meant. She was soon to find out…
Luke 1:30-33
“But the angel said to her, ’Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’”
And then the angel reminded her of that which she had already forgotten—that she had found favor with God. Such favor that she was the only one worthy in all the world to carry the Son of God within her virgin womb. God loved her so much and thought so highly of her that He chose her to be the one to raise Jesus and be his earthly parent. Mary was the balance God had chosen on earth to prepare Jesus to reign over all of Heaven again…only this time with greater urgency.
Because it was through Mary that Jesus was being prepared to take on the sins of the world. God told Mary what Jesus’ purpose was and why Jesus was coming to earth. Mary had probably thought of many other ways that the Messiah would come…but not in the form of a tiny baby, and most certainly not through her!
Luke 2:19
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Any new mother tries to capture and write on her heart every single memory surrounding the birth and the beginning of their first child’s life. The sweet smell of new baby wrapped in the arms of a new mother…all the dreams that mother has for her child as she looks down on the newness of hope encircled in blankets and precious dreams.
Much like any other mother, Mary had dreams for Jesus. But she had to give them up. She had to let go of any dreams she had for her little baby because she realized that in raising Him, she was not just raising her son. She was raising God’s Son.
She knew that His mission was greater than any dreams she might have had of bouncing His grandkids on her knee someday. His legacy would be one that would not be earthly, yet would impact the earth so powerfully that one day, many parts of the world would not even allow His name to be spoken.
She knew that her first born son would one day take the weight of the sins of the world on his shoulders and pay the price for each person ever born.
So as she carefully observed all that surrounded the unusual birth of Jesus, she kept it tightly within her so she would never forget how Jesus came to earth to save even her from her own sins.
She who had been highly favored still needed a Savior.
And Jesus was the One sent to do it…for her…and for us.
Friday, December 21, 2007
The Ultimate Re-Gift
Re-gifting is the phrase to coin this time of year. One of the radio stations here in Atlanta has even been hosting a "re-gifting closet" every morning throughout the month of December just to re-gift unwanted items. Of course on the radio, people know they are receiving something coming out of the re-gifting closet.
How about the rest of us? When we open a package under the tree or in a restaurant or at someone's house, was that gift REALLY picked out with great care and precision, with the giver knowing in their heart of hearts that each of us, as receivers, would cherish and treasure it? Were our passions and our desires considered as the gift was chosen, or did someone dig in a closet to find a 3 year old candle to give us?
Makes you think, doesn't it? Don't feel too bad. We re-gift for a variety of reasons...money...extra stuff we don't need...the list goes on and on.
God also played in the closet of re-gifting. He decided that the beautiful world He is creating beyond this one would not be beautiful enough if He had no one to share it with. And so, in the love and compassion that only God can give, came the best re-gift of all.
Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Isaiah 9:6-7
"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. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."
Not only did God re-gift and re-package Himself--He even told us He would do it. Hundreds of years before Jesus was conceived, God told us of His plan to re-gift Himself. Why did He do it?
Maybe so we could see Him more clearly.
Maybe so He could truly understand what it meant to be human.
Maybe so we could recognize Who He is.
Maybe so He could recognize our sin for what it is.
Maybe so we could relate better to Him.
Maybe so He could demonstrate that the greatest gift of all is His love in the form of a tiny baby.
God didn't just rush to His closet to grab the first thing He could find to give us. We didn't pay attention to all the other signs, so this present was thought out much more carefully. What would He look like to us? How would His demeanor be? How long would it take to carry out the mission and accomplish the goal?
Most importantly, how would we recognize that this present was from Him?
God announced the coming of Jesus--our precious re-gift--with prophecies in Isaiah and then with trumpets in Luke to shepherds in the fields.
Luke 2: 13-15
"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angels, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.' When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'"
God whispered His presence that night...and shouted it as loud as He could. The ultimate love re-gift--the complete saving package--the most ordinarily beautiful present--had come to save each person in the world from the world itself.
It was God's last effort to grab our attention. But make no mistake. It was not a last minute decision. God knew we would need Jesus. So He prepared for thousands of years in advance to re-gift Jesus to us. Re-gift Himself to us.
The ultimate re-gift--the gift of saving love dressed as a baby in a manger--yet reigning on the throne over the entire universe.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Just Believe.
When we were touching down in Iowa on Monday morning, the fields everywhere were (still are) covered with snow. From his window view, Benjamin could see the snow everywhere, and even though it sparkled white, his first comment was "Look at all that sand, Mommy!".
He could not wait to play in the sand!!
Due to the ice storm that came through, he did not get to experience the "sand" until the next night. Steve and I showed him the icicles and let him touch them and then made him a snowball and he threw it. He was amazed at the "sand" and how cold and wet it was. His big, black eyes were so expressive as he stomped the "sand" and threw the snowball and touched the icicles.
He was a little afraid, a little excited, and just could not believe that it was not sand, after all.
He has now figured out that it is snow...but he is still a little afraid of it. He's not sure what it is or what it is supposed to do. He just knows it is not sand. A crisis of belief for our almost 3 year old boy.
How much like Benjamin are each of us when it comes to Jesus?
Luke 8:50 "Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, 'Don't be afraid, just believe..."
In this passage, Jesus is telling Jairus to not be afraid...to just believe that his daughter had been healed. Jesus had healed her before ever reaching or seeing her. He told Jairus to believe in his heart that his daughter had been healed without Jesus physically being there to heal her.
I don't think more powerful words had yet been spoken by Jesus. Just believe? Can you imagine Jairus? The thoughts in his head. He had just been told by his servants that his daughter was dead. Now this Nazarene man who seemed kind and might just be the Messiah was telling him to "not be afraid...just believe...". Impossible?
Not with Jesus. Jairus did as he said. And as a result, his daughter was healed. A crisis of belief had just occurred...and Jairus had chosen to believe Jesus.
Jesus came simply...humbly...completely human and completely a King. And in His own words, He reminds us over and over to "not be afraid, just believe". What does that mean for each of us?
Depending on our circumstances, it could mean anything.
Just believe that He will provide during the most difficult financial times.
Just believe that He will stand beside you as you are wheeled away to surgery.
Just believe that He gives you strength as you face an unexpected turn in your journey of life.
Or...depending on our lives...it could mean this:
Just believe that Jesus came to earth.
Just believe that Jesus came simply...humbly...to save us from this world.
Just believe that Jesus is the King...the only King.
Just believe. The angels told us to do that before Jesus did, didn't they?
Luke 2:8-12 "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"
Do not be afraid. Jesus is here. Just believe. He is Who He says He is. He is Who the angels from Heaven proclaimed Him to be. The baby in the manger is the great King of all creation. The sweet, innocent child is the most powerful Lord of the earth. The sleeping child we find in Bethlehem created Bethlehem and sits on the throne right now, watching over all the earth and preparing a home in Heaven...if we heed the warning of the angels and of Jesus Himself:
"Do not be afraid...just believe..."
He could not wait to play in the sand!!
Due to the ice storm that came through, he did not get to experience the "sand" until the next night. Steve and I showed him the icicles and let him touch them and then made him a snowball and he threw it. He was amazed at the "sand" and how cold and wet it was. His big, black eyes were so expressive as he stomped the "sand" and threw the snowball and touched the icicles.
He was a little afraid, a little excited, and just could not believe that it was not sand, after all.
He has now figured out that it is snow...but he is still a little afraid of it. He's not sure what it is or what it is supposed to do. He just knows it is not sand. A crisis of belief for our almost 3 year old boy.
How much like Benjamin are each of us when it comes to Jesus?
Luke 8:50 "Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, 'Don't be afraid, just believe..."
In this passage, Jesus is telling Jairus to not be afraid...to just believe that his daughter had been healed. Jesus had healed her before ever reaching or seeing her. He told Jairus to believe in his heart that his daughter had been healed without Jesus physically being there to heal her.
I don't think more powerful words had yet been spoken by Jesus. Just believe? Can you imagine Jairus? The thoughts in his head. He had just been told by his servants that his daughter was dead. Now this Nazarene man who seemed kind and might just be the Messiah was telling him to "not be afraid...just believe...". Impossible?
Not with Jesus. Jairus did as he said. And as a result, his daughter was healed. A crisis of belief had just occurred...and Jairus had chosen to believe Jesus.
Jesus came simply...humbly...completely human and completely a King. And in His own words, He reminds us over and over to "not be afraid, just believe". What does that mean for each of us?
Depending on our circumstances, it could mean anything.
Just believe that He will provide during the most difficult financial times.
Just believe that He will stand beside you as you are wheeled away to surgery.
Just believe that He gives you strength as you face an unexpected turn in your journey of life.
Or...depending on our lives...it could mean this:
Just believe that Jesus came to earth.
Just believe that Jesus came simply...humbly...to save us from this world.
Just believe that Jesus is the King...the only King.
Just believe. The angels told us to do that before Jesus did, didn't they?
Luke 2:8-12 "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"
Do not be afraid. Jesus is here. Just believe. He is Who He says He is. He is Who the angels from Heaven proclaimed Him to be. The baby in the manger is the great King of all creation. The sweet, innocent child is the most powerful Lord of the earth. The sleeping child we find in Bethlehem created Bethlehem and sits on the throne right now, watching over all the earth and preparing a home in Heaven...if we heed the warning of the angels and of Jesus Himself:
"Do not be afraid...just believe..."
Friday, December 7, 2007
Meeting Jesus...
Psychiatric Pez Dispensers. Have we come to depend too much on the world and how it can soothe and comfort us? As we look around right now at all the “holiday sales” and “free gifts with purchase” and crowded restaurants…it seems that the pez dispensers have become critical to getting through the stressed season.
What does your pez dispenser look like?
How is it possible that this is what God actually planned for us? Simply put, it's not what God planned at all.
It's what we did to ourselves.
What does Jesus think about Christmas as He watches us celebrate it?
Does His heart ache with sorrow as He sees us spending money freakishly as we beat down people at the mall for that great last sale, and rushing past the churches…the food banks…the ones who represent Jesus and Who He really is.
He’s the one in the mall, sitting alone, watching us rush by.
She’s the one alone at the bar…drinking the last drink of the night.
He’s the one lying inside the MRI machine at the Children’s Hospital.
She’s the one late at night, wondering how to pay the bills now that she’s left alone to raise her kids.
Each of them need to know Jesus. The real one.
Matthew 26: 39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’”
Jesus wanted nothing more for us than love. His love. Love that started in a manger and died on a cross before being brought back to life. Jesus gave up all of Himself so He could be Himself for us. He gave us all we needed to be all that He wants.
He wants us to be love. We tend to offer the world our Christianity. We even try to offer them “Christ-like” Christianity. But how often do we really offer them Christ alone?
Giving up something for someone when they don’t deserve it, that’s love.
Doing something for someone else when you don’t expect anything in return, that’s love.
Jesus doesn’t expect anything in return. But He came that cold winter night in the hopes that we would return His love…regardless of what it looks like.
Presents? We’ve been given more than we ever need and much more than we deserve in the grace of Jesus Christ.
And if we don’t offer Christ alone instead of offering ourselves, how will anyone ever meet Jesus?
What does your pez dispenser look like?
How is it possible that this is what God actually planned for us? Simply put, it's not what God planned at all.
It's what we did to ourselves.
What does Jesus think about Christmas as He watches us celebrate it?
Does His heart ache with sorrow as He sees us spending money freakishly as we beat down people at the mall for that great last sale, and rushing past the churches…the food banks…the ones who represent Jesus and Who He really is.
He’s the one in the mall, sitting alone, watching us rush by.
She’s the one alone at the bar…drinking the last drink of the night.
He’s the one lying inside the MRI machine at the Children’s Hospital.
She’s the one late at night, wondering how to pay the bills now that she’s left alone to raise her kids.
Each of them need to know Jesus. The real one.
Matthew 26: 39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’”
Jesus wanted nothing more for us than love. His love. Love that started in a manger and died on a cross before being brought back to life. Jesus gave up all of Himself so He could be Himself for us. He gave us all we needed to be all that He wants.
He wants us to be love. We tend to offer the world our Christianity. We even try to offer them “Christ-like” Christianity. But how often do we really offer them Christ alone?
Giving up something for someone when they don’t deserve it, that’s love.
Doing something for someone else when you don’t expect anything in return, that’s love.
Jesus doesn’t expect anything in return. But He came that cold winter night in the hopes that we would return His love…regardless of what it looks like.
Presents? We’ve been given more than we ever need and much more than we deserve in the grace of Jesus Christ.
And if we don’t offer Christ alone instead of offering ourselves, how will anyone ever meet Jesus?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
What Are We REALLY Doing?
Luke 12:15 "Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Today I read an article by Bob Burney entitled "Christmas Shopping: Are We Funding the Corruption of Our Kids?" It is such a great article that applies to every aspect of our lives that I thought I would use it for today's devotional.
"The results are in: Christian parents are scared to death of their own children. Does that sound alarmist? You decide. A recent study from the Barna Research Group provides for us an incredible window into the homes of American, "born-again" Christians. The view is frightening and should have the attention of all thoughtful Christians. The latest research looks at the attitudes of parents with respect to the gifts they're buying their children. The scope of the report was limited to "media" gifts. It's somewhat shocking to see that those who consider themselves "born-again" Christians will spend more than $1 bil on things like CD's, DVD's, video games, and maagazines for children under the age of 18.
But this alone is not what should arrest our attention. It's the fact that parents--Christan parents--are buying their children gifts that they personally do not believe are good for their children. Would any parent intentionally buy their child something they know is harmful? Eveidently yes. The most widely purchased media gifts by Christian parents were DVD's. According to the study, 25% of Christian parents admitted that they were not comfortable with what they were givng to their own child.
The next most popular gift was music CD's. A full 1/3 of Christian parents said they had concerns about the content on those CD's. Next in line were video games. A shocking 46 percent of the Christian parents handing a video game to their child expressed charing over the content of the game. The list of gift continues with equally shocking results concluding with downloads on mobile phones. Overall 70% of Christian parents who purchased dowloads for their children's phones were not pleased with the content of the particular dowloads.
It would seem that the inmates are running the asylum. Well, maybe that's a poor analogy. then again, maybe not. This does seem to border on the insane. Why would parents knowingly give their children things they believe are not good for them? Is it possible that parents are terrified that their children may not like them? Is it possible that parents are far more concerned about appearing cool to their children than they are about providing direction, guidance, and limits? Sadly, this seems to be the case.
The causes for this unforunate reality are probably legion. One explanation may be that some parents are so insecure in themselves that they feel they just have to be "cool" to their kids. Another reason might be that far too many churches have fed a narcissistic hunger in America by giving their congregations far more of what they want rather than what they need. The "experts" that give instruction on how to be "relevant" may in fact be confusing parents--parents who are just as vulnerable to peer pressure as their children.
In the study, George Barna offered his own thoughtful analysis:
"The process of selecting appropriate Christmas presents for children is a microcosm of the spiritual tension millions of Christian adults wrestle with. Many Christian parents are striving to serve two conflicting masters: society and God. They refuse to believe that they cannot satisfy both. Sadly, this Christmas season will produce enormous stress for numerous Christian parents who don't want to disappoint either God or their children, but whose ultimate choices will disappoint both God and themselves, while providing gifts that are not in the best interests of their children. For Christians, the Christmas season should be a time of celebration and appreciation of the life of Jesus Christ. Instead, that joy is being minimized by the pressure and confusion introduced by our focus on material consumption and fulfillment."
Indeed. So what should we do? If Christians have any chance of impacting our culture we must begin by doing what's right rather than what's merely expedient. Parents must start parenting with eyes fixed on only one master: the Lord Jesus Christ."
___
Steve and I found this article interesting as newer parents. We just finished a class at church called "Effective Parenting" by Chip Ingram (author of Walk through the Bible). Through this class, we learned several things in raising Benjamin and soon, Michael, that we hope we will be able to use throughout the next 20 years of direct parenting:
1. Kids need discipline--loving discipline. They crave being taught their boundaries. The best way we can do that is to know when to say the word NO to our kids. They may hate it, but they will learn better how to live in this world because of how we work with them to teach them right from wrong.
2. We need to be the example for Benjamin and Michael to learn how to love Jesus with all their "heart(s), soul(s), mind(s), and (collective) strength. Are we being the parents we want our children to become? If not, then we need to make a direct shift in how we model what we believe and most importantly, Who we believe in.
3. If we act like we are afraid of our kids, they will know it and take full advantage of it. We can't be our childrens' friends. We can have fun with them, play with them, and love them...but right now Benjamin's thinking is very concrete--very black and white. As he nears teenage years, his thinking will become more abstract--and he will begin to test the grey he finds in the middle. This is when we have to unite and remember to keep everything in perspective. We are still in control of the daily lives of our kids until they move out of our homes.
We hope that in light of the glitter and glamour the world shines this time of year, that this article and the verses I inserted prior to it will help all of us to keep perspective. The glitter and glamour the world offers will go away. But the love and time and effort we put into the investment of our children will never go away.
And the type of love, time, and effort we put into our children will ultimately determine the outcome of the types of lives they live either for or against God.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Today I read an article by Bob Burney entitled "Christmas Shopping: Are We Funding the Corruption of Our Kids?" It is such a great article that applies to every aspect of our lives that I thought I would use it for today's devotional.
"The results are in: Christian parents are scared to death of their own children. Does that sound alarmist? You decide. A recent study from the Barna Research Group provides for us an incredible window into the homes of American, "born-again" Christians. The view is frightening and should have the attention of all thoughtful Christians. The latest research looks at the attitudes of parents with respect to the gifts they're buying their children. The scope of the report was limited to "media" gifts. It's somewhat shocking to see that those who consider themselves "born-again" Christians will spend more than $1 bil on things like CD's, DVD's, video games, and maagazines for children under the age of 18.
But this alone is not what should arrest our attention. It's the fact that parents--Christan parents--are buying their children gifts that they personally do not believe are good for their children. Would any parent intentionally buy their child something they know is harmful? Eveidently yes. The most widely purchased media gifts by Christian parents were DVD's. According to the study, 25% of Christian parents admitted that they were not comfortable with what they were givng to their own child.
The next most popular gift was music CD's. A full 1/3 of Christian parents said they had concerns about the content on those CD's. Next in line were video games. A shocking 46 percent of the Christian parents handing a video game to their child expressed charing over the content of the game. The list of gift continues with equally shocking results concluding with downloads on mobile phones. Overall 70% of Christian parents who purchased dowloads for their children's phones were not pleased with the content of the particular dowloads.
It would seem that the inmates are running the asylum. Well, maybe that's a poor analogy. then again, maybe not. This does seem to border on the insane. Why would parents knowingly give their children things they believe are not good for them? Is it possible that parents are terrified that their children may not like them? Is it possible that parents are far more concerned about appearing cool to their children than they are about providing direction, guidance, and limits? Sadly, this seems to be the case.
The causes for this unforunate reality are probably legion. One explanation may be that some parents are so insecure in themselves that they feel they just have to be "cool" to their kids. Another reason might be that far too many churches have fed a narcissistic hunger in America by giving their congregations far more of what they want rather than what they need. The "experts" that give instruction on how to be "relevant" may in fact be confusing parents--parents who are just as vulnerable to peer pressure as their children.
In the study, George Barna offered his own thoughtful analysis:
"The process of selecting appropriate Christmas presents for children is a microcosm of the spiritual tension millions of Christian adults wrestle with. Many Christian parents are striving to serve two conflicting masters: society and God. They refuse to believe that they cannot satisfy both. Sadly, this Christmas season will produce enormous stress for numerous Christian parents who don't want to disappoint either God or their children, but whose ultimate choices will disappoint both God and themselves, while providing gifts that are not in the best interests of their children. For Christians, the Christmas season should be a time of celebration and appreciation of the life of Jesus Christ. Instead, that joy is being minimized by the pressure and confusion introduced by our focus on material consumption and fulfillment."
Indeed. So what should we do? If Christians have any chance of impacting our culture we must begin by doing what's right rather than what's merely expedient. Parents must start parenting with eyes fixed on only one master: the Lord Jesus Christ."
___
Steve and I found this article interesting as newer parents. We just finished a class at church called "Effective Parenting" by Chip Ingram (author of Walk through the Bible). Through this class, we learned several things in raising Benjamin and soon, Michael, that we hope we will be able to use throughout the next 20 years of direct parenting:
1. Kids need discipline--loving discipline. They crave being taught their boundaries. The best way we can do that is to know when to say the word NO to our kids. They may hate it, but they will learn better how to live in this world because of how we work with them to teach them right from wrong.
2. We need to be the example for Benjamin and Michael to learn how to love Jesus with all their "heart(s), soul(s), mind(s), and (collective) strength. Are we being the parents we want our children to become? If not, then we need to make a direct shift in how we model what we believe and most importantly, Who we believe in.
3. If we act like we are afraid of our kids, they will know it and take full advantage of it. We can't be our childrens' friends. We can have fun with them, play with them, and love them...but right now Benjamin's thinking is very concrete--very black and white. As he nears teenage years, his thinking will become more abstract--and he will begin to test the grey he finds in the middle. This is when we have to unite and remember to keep everything in perspective. We are still in control of the daily lives of our kids until they move out of our homes.
We hope that in light of the glitter and glamour the world shines this time of year, that this article and the verses I inserted prior to it will help all of us to keep perspective. The glitter and glamour the world offers will go away. But the love and time and effort we put into the investment of our children will never go away.
And the type of love, time, and effort we put into our children will ultimately determine the outcome of the types of lives they live either for or against God.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Immanuel--"God With Us"
Immanuel—“God With Us”
With Christmas coming soon, the shops are filled with people. Often, angry people. Families fight over who gets to put certain ornaments on the tree. TV violence seems to worsen, often leading to violence in real life. People lose jobs, loved ones, homes. Negativity and pain are more acute. How can someone ever find the true meaning of Christmas with the world portraying it as such a commercial holiday?
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
There are signs everywhere. Street signs tell you to stop, yield, merge, and do not enter. Interstate signs tell you exit numbers, restaurants and gas stations at each exit, and even the names of towns you can find if you get off the interstate to see them.
The engineers who created the signs knew we would need them. Especially for the directionally challenged! If four cars are coming to a crossroad and no one has a stop sign, what will happen? Exactly. CRASH!
God is the master of signs. Throughout the Bible, He is constantly putting signs on the road of each person’s life as if to say “Come this way and follow me” or “Don’t go down that road”.
God’s biggest sign was the sign of His son. His biggest, and perhaps one of His last really big signs signifying His love for us. Why? Because He knew we needed more than just signs from God.
He knew we needed Immanuel, Jesus, which literally translated means “God with us.” God gave us so much more than a sign when He sent Jesus to earth. He gave us Himself—the ultimate sign of sacrifice and love—and the packaging He sent was not necessarily something to catch your eye.
A dirty manger and a virgin teenager with a bunch of cows and donkeys and sheep? Is that the packaging one would expect God to wrap Himself in to show the world that He was in fact for us?
The answer is yes. To get our attention, God entered the world in a very small town so quietly, so humbly, so simply to show that He gets it. He gets us. We couldn’t find Him with all the signs He gave. So He gave the ultimate sign: Immanuel.
He came to us. He is Immanuel. And He is right here, with us, this Christmas.
Don't miss Him!
With Christmas coming soon, the shops are filled with people. Often, angry people. Families fight over who gets to put certain ornaments on the tree. TV violence seems to worsen, often leading to violence in real life. People lose jobs, loved ones, homes. Negativity and pain are more acute. How can someone ever find the true meaning of Christmas with the world portraying it as such a commercial holiday?
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
There are signs everywhere. Street signs tell you to stop, yield, merge, and do not enter. Interstate signs tell you exit numbers, restaurants and gas stations at each exit, and even the names of towns you can find if you get off the interstate to see them.
The engineers who created the signs knew we would need them. Especially for the directionally challenged! If four cars are coming to a crossroad and no one has a stop sign, what will happen? Exactly. CRASH!
God is the master of signs. Throughout the Bible, He is constantly putting signs on the road of each person’s life as if to say “Come this way and follow me” or “Don’t go down that road”.
God’s biggest sign was the sign of His son. His biggest, and perhaps one of His last really big signs signifying His love for us. Why? Because He knew we needed more than just signs from God.
He knew we needed Immanuel, Jesus, which literally translated means “God with us.” God gave us so much more than a sign when He sent Jesus to earth. He gave us Himself—the ultimate sign of sacrifice and love—and the packaging He sent was not necessarily something to catch your eye.
A dirty manger and a virgin teenager with a bunch of cows and donkeys and sheep? Is that the packaging one would expect God to wrap Himself in to show the world that He was in fact for us?
The answer is yes. To get our attention, God entered the world in a very small town so quietly, so humbly, so simply to show that He gets it. He gets us. We couldn’t find Him with all the signs He gave. So He gave the ultimate sign: Immanuel.
He came to us. He is Immanuel. And He is right here, with us, this Christmas.
Don't miss Him!
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