by Sharon O | Dec 27, 2016 | Uncategorized
For the last few weeks we have gone back and studied and remembered what it took for the Christmas story to take place.
The many people like casts in a play, each had a role, each had a circumstance they were involved in.
God directed and placed each and every one of them in a certain role so that the story could be fulfilled.
John 3:16-18The Message (MSG)
[16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.
And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”]
I believe nothing was by accident. God KNEW Mary needed Joseph, HE knew Joseph needed her, He KNEW Mary would need the encouragement of Elizabeth.
He knew that the Shepherds would not be believed as credible witnesses had they NOT seen the baby and proclaimed with ‘conviction’ what they had seen.
God KNEW everyone would need the guidance and shock value of the Angel Gabriel to make HIS point.
It was all thought out and all master planned.
Isn’t it wonderful?
Isn’t it so simple?
John 3:16Revised Standard Version (RSV)
[16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.]
I hope you have come to believe too.
by Sharon O | Dec 23, 2016 | Uncategorized
Matthew 2 The Message (MSG)
Scholars from the East
[1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East.
They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews?
We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth.
We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
3-4 When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well.
Herod lost no time.
He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5-6 They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:
It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land, no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”
7-8 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East.
Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared.
Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned.
As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off.
Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies.
It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child.
They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother.
Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him.
Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod.
So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.]
The story is wrapping up and soon Mary and Joseph would go not be able to go back to their homeland with their baby boy.
Herod was very angry that the wise-men did not do what he told them.
So they headed to Nazareth where they stayed for many years.
The birth of Jesus is full of intensity, of miracles, of communication between angels and man.
It is a wonderful outpouring of God’s great love for us.
A baby was born so we could see that God would go to great length’s for us to be saved and have salvation.
There is more to the story for us found in the New Testament books.
The baby grows and becomes a KING and humbled himself on a cross so we could have hope.
I pray we can see and feel this wonderful love through the Christmas story.
by Sharon O | Dec 21, 2016 | Uncategorized
The next cast of characters we see in this story of baby Jesus, were the Wisemen.
In our modern day ‘versions’ of Mary and Joseph and Jesus in the manger we often have the Wise-men arriving when the shepherds were there.
That actually was not a very accurate bit of information for it was months even up to a year or two, before they saw the child.
There were no names given that we could know but modern ‘theologians’ say they were named, Gaspar, Melchior and Bathasar.
I am not sure how anyone would know that, but some say these men were considered wise men or Magi.
They brought to the baby special gifts not normally given to a young child.
Gold was considered to be a symbol of divinity, frankincense was a symbol of righteousness, myrhh was a spice used for embalming it symbolizes bitterness, suffering and affliction.
Now if Mary or Joseph knew any of this information it would be quite unsettling for them I would assume.
As young parents you are not expecting these type of gifts given to your tiny little son.
It has been said they arrived on the scene after traveling 800-900 miles on camel or by walking.
It took a long time of travel to get there.
There were no fast cars or ways of travel in those days.
They were sent by Herod who had a motive unknown to them as they traveled.
They were actually doing a ‘duty’ for him, only we will find out later it back fired on Herod.
Some of the nativity story as we know it has been created to make a ‘wonderful little’ story book setting.
It actually was a rough road for many who journeyed their way to Bethlehem.
The travel was long, hard and tiresome.
The marvelous ways God showed up were amazing, and the story continued with each and every character.
The next cast of characters were the wise men, playing a part of the role that God had chosen for them.
They followed the star and trusted in the process.
The teach us to listen to the stillness of God. To follow what they knew to be true.
They humbled themselves and they recognized the worth of their gifts, for they knew the word of God
and they knew it was a appointment for them orchestrated by God.
The story continues as we journey towards the end.
by Sharon O | Dec 19, 2016 | Uncategorized
As they were in the temple with Simeon, Mary and Joseph met another one who had waited for a life time for this moment.
Luke 2:36-38
[Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman.
She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers.
At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.]
Anna becomes one more important character in this cast of characters.
She was married at a young age we can assume, her husband passes away after seven years. (which by the way is a number that is often used as biblical)
Then it says she was a widow for eighty-four years. So like Simeon she was very old, ninety two plus at least fourteen years. (my guess)
She had patiently waited in the temple for the messiah to come.
Every week, she waited and prayed. Can you even imagine the patience and trust it took for her to believe it would happen, someday?
Every time a young couple would come in with their precious little baby, she wondered and waited and asked herself, is he the one?
When she saw Simeon she knew by the words that he had said, and perhaps by his countenance shown, that THIS was the one.
How exciting for her.
Finally the waiting was over.
Did that mean she could finally leave the temple? we are not told the ending of her story.
We can only begin to believe that God orchestrated each character and each time frame like a scene in a play.
To finish what was started. The theme was “A baby would be born and HE would be the Messiah”.
Luke 2:19
Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself.
We can begin to be thankful, deep within our hearts just like Mary did, and know that God went to great lengths, to bring us salvation.
by Sharon O | Dec 18, 2016 | Uncategorized
The story continues for Mary and Joseph.
Their little baby becomes a week old and they learn as they can, the responsibility of becoming new parents.
A tradition when one had a little boy was to do the rite of circumcision on the 8th day.
Luke 2:21
[When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.]
It was a formal gathering where the baby was given the name chosen and then it was officially done.
On this particular day it was most meaningful for someone who had been waiting…many years.
25-32
[In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel.
And the Holy Spirit was on him.
The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died.
Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple.
As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.]
33-35
[Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words.
Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,
This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted— the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are.]
This I am sure was not the plan of Joseph and Mary when they took baby Jesus to the temple.
But God…set it up for Simeon to see, (again seeing with our own eyes) the baby.
He had waited all his life and he anticipated this moment many times.
He knew what to look for, as he was in tune with the HOLY SPIRIT’S leading.
This had to be both very exciting and a little confusing for Mary and Joseph.
Still not fully realizing the magnitude and the depth of ‘their little baby boy.’
What we begin to understand while reading this story over and over, is the orchestration of God.
It all happened at the right time, for the right reason with the right people so scripture could be fulfilled.
