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The fourteenth day of Christmas

by | Dec 15, 2014 | Uncategorized

On this fourteenth day of Christmas we learn more of the Christmas story.
Luke 2:1-12
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. 
About the same time some wise men (*or magi or astrologers or astronomer’s) from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 
“Where is the newborn King of the Jews? we saw his star as it rose
 (*or star in the east) and we have come to worship him.”
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, 
“Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, for this is what the prophet wrote:
‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you and who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”
Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, 
“Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. 
And when you find him, come back and tell me so I can go and worship him, too!”
After this interview the wisemen went their way. 
And the star in the east guided them to Bethlehem.
It went a head of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with great joy! 
They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary 
and bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route,
for God had warned them in a dream to not return to Herod.
The twelfth group of people in the Christmas story were the wisemen.
They were well known in the region and most likely, they were very aware of the stars and which ones would shine and form constellations, which as an astrologer they would also know
the grouping of stars at the time of someones birth.
It was symbolic to see a star in the sky.
On this night, the night when Jesus was born they saw a special kind of brilliance.
It was a star out of the ordinary and it rose and and became brighter until it arrived at the place where Mary and Joseph and Jesus was staying.
It was a home, a house, not an inn with a stable.
The baby was nearing age two now because most likely it took them months to find him.
(Remembering there were no GPS devices back then).
The star led them to the house where Mary and Joseph were with the baby. Studies have said they were in a home, as it took months to find the baby and when they found him he was near the age of two.
There gifts were symbolic of royalty, of death, and of priesthood.
This was no accident. The gifts were chosen for a reason.
On the fourteenth day we learn of the twelfth group of people.
God continues to use the ordinary. The least expected.
As we move through the Christmas story we soon realize it is not just
about a little baby born in a manger, in the town of Bethlehem.
It is so much more.
So much ordained and planned as the story continues.

The thirteenth day of Christmas

by | Dec 13, 2014 | Uncategorized

On the thirteenth day of Christmas we learn of the eleventh person of the Christmas story.
The prophecy of Anna.
Luke 2:36-40
Anna, a prophet was also there in the temple.
She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher,
and she was very old.
Her husband died when she had been married only seven years.
Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.
She never left the temple but stayed there day and night, 
worshipping God with fasting and prayer.
She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph,
and she began praising God.
She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
I am not sure if we have ever heard of her before other
than in this scene in the temple.
She was a prophet and she understood and knew that
Simeon would know without a shadow of doubt who
was the one to come to rescue and save the people.
She saw the excitement in Simeon and his worship of
the baby and then at that moment, it was clear to her,
this is the one they had been waiting for.
He is here. The Messiah.The chosen one.
I would imagine she had to have been very in tune to the prayers and
petitions of those in the temple, since she had lived there
for so many years.
I would also think that because of her excitement upon seeing this child, she confirmed one more time to Mary and Joseph that this baby, their baby, was the chosen one.
The Messiah who they had been waiting for.
On the thirteenth day of Christmas we read about
Anna and the hope that was fulfilled for her along with Simeon.
Before they died they both were blessed to see the
Savior who had been sent by God.
Luke 2:39 
When Jesus parents did all the requirements of the law
of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.

The twelfth day of Christmas

by | Dec 13, 2014 | Uncategorized

Jesus is presented in the Temple
Luke 2: 21-23 
Eight days later when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law according to Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 
The law of the Lord says. “If a woman’s first child is a boy, 
he must be dedicated to the Lord.”
The prophecy of Simeon
Luke 2:25-35 
At the time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. 
He was righteous and devout and eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 
That day the Spirit led him to the temple. 
So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus 
to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there.
He took the child in his arms and praised God saying, 
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. 
He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and 
he is the glory of your people Israel.”
Jesus parents were amazed at what was being said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother,
“This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, 
but he will be a joy to many others. 
He has been sent as a sign from God, 
but many will oppose him. 
As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. 
And a sword will pierce your very soul.”
Our tenth person of the Christmas story is Simeon.
I don’t believe we have heard of him until this passage in the story.
His age did not discount his significance or value to the prophetic words spoken over Jesus.
He confirmed and revealed the significance of who Jesus was
to Mary and Joseph.
She remembered her conversation with Elizabeth about her baby boy
and the experience with the angels and the shepherds.
They both knew he was a chosen child yet they remained amazed
at the prophetic words from an old man, who waited at the temple.
I wonder what it felt like for them, to have him reach out and hold their precious son and then reveal to them, his future, of leadership, of signs and wonders, and also his death,
as he tells Mary a sword will pierce your soul.
Anyone who has lost a child knows the piercing of the heart that cuts
deep into the soul of a mom and dad. It’s an intense loss.
I don’t believe at the time of his birth did they ever imagine the
depth of pain and agony his death would bring them.
One can never know that kind of sorrow until it surrounds them.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, we learn of Simeon a gentle old man, who waited
patiently year after year for the Messiah to come.   

The eleventh day of Christmas

by | Dec 12, 2014 | Uncategorized

Luke 2: 8-12
In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, 
keeping watch of their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the 
glory of the Lord shone around them, and 
they were filled with great fear. 
And the angel said to them, 
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David 
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
The ninth group of people in the Christmas story are the shepherds.
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 
“Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, 
which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and
found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning this child. 
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, 
for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
At the time of Jesus birth the shepherds were not the most popular people in the land.
They were often considered as outcasts, dirty, unsociable and even marginalized.
But they were chosen.
It was an ordinary night for them only the skies were full of brightness, they knew the stars and they knew what it should look like and on this night it was very different.
They were terrified when they saw the angels and heavenly host.
I am amazed at that because these men, these rough and rugged shepherds were fearless.
They knew how to fight predators who wished to harm their sheep.
Nothing gave them great fear. BUT the angels did.
Can you even imagine what they saw and heard?
It had to be so convincing for them to leave the sheep and run to go see the new baby.
Their job was to protect at all times, nothing would ever make them leave their flocks for they knew they were vulnerable alone.
Yet they left the herds to go find Mary and Joseph and the little baby born lying in a manger.
God showed the shepherds their worth when he included them in the Christmas story.
(Remembering the song, “oh Holy Night” and the line in it that says “and the soul found it’s worth”.)
He valued them enough to draw them into the eternal, forever known story and they became credible witnesses when they saw and later shared about the baby Jesus.
What a way to share the story of a miraculous birth.
Common shepherds who were fearless and courageous, not respected but heard, when sharing the story of how they bent down and experienced the new little Jesus child.
Another one of those life altering moments.
On this eleventh day of Christmas we learn of the ninth set of people,
who were not forgotten but chosen to help tell the Christmas story.

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