December 14 ~ Matthew 1:3-8
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."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
”Just in case”… how many things do we do in our lives “just in case?” Just in case we get exposed to the flu, let’s get a flu shot. Just in case it rains, let’s take a jacket or umbrella. Just in case the test is harder than we thought, let’s study for a few minutes. Just in case So-and-So calls, we better have our cell phone turned on! Just in case there really IS something to all this talk of Jesus and heaven and hell, we better go to church and at least act halfway like decent folk!
I find a lot of things about this part of “The Christmas Story” interesting. First of all… notice that the “kings” were not present immediately after Jesus’ birth, as depicted in almost all nativity scenes. They traveled from far away, maybe even weeks later. Another thing I find interesting is that Herod was so worried about this tiny baby who was supposed to be the Messiah. Isn’t it funny that he considered this infant “competition” of sorts? Why was he so afraid? Clearly on some level, Herod recognized Jesus’ importance and believed that His birth was extraordinary.
So if only “just in case,” Herod decided he better do something about this newborn baby. He used the scholars – the wise men/kings – to use their wisdom, genuine study and research to find the baby Jesus. Herod pretended that he wanted to worship, too… but it was all a ruse – a trick. He really wanted to destroy this “competition” baby King.
You know, we are all a lot like Herod. There are so many things we either really don’t believe deep in our hearts (lack of faith?) – and more than a few others we don’t WANT to believe or follow. Either they are hard or considered less than fun, or they seem “uncool.” And so we make up excuses. We have backup plans “just in case,” and we use others to do our dirty work. We are deceptive, skeptical, and downright low and dishonest in ways great and small. And yet… God sent Jesus to save us. This is the essence of Christmas. Knowing that from almost Day One, people would be out to kill Jesus, to smear His character and reputation, to renounce Him as the Messiah – God sent Him anyway. This is the good news of Christmas! Nothing and no one could stop God from loving us. Nothing and no one could keep Him from saving His children. Isn’t it great to be one of God’s very own? Doesn’t focusing on this make Christmas better than ever?
©2008 Debbie Robus
------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 13 ~ Matthew 2:1-2
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."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
“What do you know, girl?” That is almost always how my friend Julie greets me. This is her version of “How are you doing?” She doesn’t actually want to know what I know… she is using that as her special greeting – something she has made a habit of using as her “hallmark” salutation! If she relied on friends like me for her knowledge and information, she would be fumbling in the dark most of the time!
In the context of the three scholars, or “wise men”/kings, as we know them, they DID want to know… and through study and paying close attention, they learned a LOT! When I first read these verses, it occurred to me… “How did these men know that the star in the East signaled Jesus’ birth? How did they even know about Jesus?” In digging deeper and doing some study of my own, I discovered that these men had been researching such things for a long, long time. They had studied the prophecies of the Old Testament. They had paid attention to astronomy – and probably even astrology, to the extent that it contributed hints and “leads” for their other studies. They had listened to others and watched for the predicted “signs and wonders.” Why else would three scholars in the West have paid attention to a star in the East and followed it? How else would they have known that Bethlehem was a holy city and the logical place for the King of the Jews to be born?
Surely God had a hand in all of this. Surely He led these men and orchestrated the events of their studies, their wisdom, and the signs and wonders in their path. But more than that, we need to remember that these men were paying attention! They were doing the things that led them to this result. They were studying… listening… watching. AND… they believed what they learned! And yes, there was quite a bit of faith involved.
My point for today is that we have a lot of information placed in our path each and every day. What are we doing with it? Are we studying and listening and watching and gleaning what is important while tossing the rest? Are we focusing on the right things? Are we sure that we would recognize “signs and wonders” if God sent them our way? Would we dismiss them as being for someone else if they seemed like a “Star in the East” guiding us in the “West?” God IS trying to get messages to us each and every day. He IS sending us “signs and wonders.” The question is… are we paying attention – and will we recognize Him?
©2008 Debbie Robus
--------------------------------------------------------
December 12 ~ Luke 2:19-20
19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
You know how you overhear your mom bragging about you to some of her friends, and you are a little embarrassed. You sort of feel like the nice things being said are just words… after all, she IS your mother, and she is supposed to think you are great, right? So what if Mary, the birth mother of Jesus, went around telling everyone about this great thing that had happened and how her son was the Messiah, the Lord and Master of all who will believe in Him. People would think she was nuts! At the very least, they might not believe her because of her close proximity to this situation!
But the shepherds… well, that was another story. They had witnessed an angel showing up in the field surrounded by bright light. They had been led by that light to a manger, where just as the angel predicted, a newborn baby was wrapped and in the arms of His mother. I don’t know about you, but I think if something like that happened to ME, I would become a believer pretty fast, and I would want to tell EVERYONE!
You know, God didn’t have to do things this way. He didn’t have to send Jesus in this form or under these circumstances. Jesus could have instantaneously appeared on earth as a full-grown man. He could have just started walking the earth teaching and proclaiming Himself as our Savior and urging those who heard Him to believe and follow His teachings. But God had a plan… and it involved a whole lotta faith! God is all about free will – our loving Him because we WANT to, not because we have to or are afraid to do otherwise. So HE sent Jesus in the form of a human baby, and He led shepherds to find Him and then start spreading the Good News. And now, God is depending on US to be the shepherds and keep getting the word out. How are you doing? Are you spreading the Gospel, or are you keeping it to yourself?
©2008 Debbie Robus
-----------------------------------------------------------
December 11 ~ Luke 2:8-18
8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."
13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
(Scripture from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Did it ever occur to you that the shepherds might not have been able to find the baby Jesus if Joseph had found a room somewhere for Mary to deliver? Suppose the shepherds had been challenged to go house to house in Bethlehem, looking for a newborn baby. It’s possible that there might have been other babies born that same night! But a baby born in a manger… now there couldn’t have been very many of those! AND… who was going to question a handful of shepherds looking for a manger?
Do you see how God orchestrated this all beautifully? He didn’t have the shepherds seeking a “needle in a haystack”. He sent angels and light to guide them – and then He placed His Son in a manger – the logical place for shepherds to be. In the same way, and with equal care, God orchestrates the events of our lives. He sets things in motion, guides our path, and often sends angels to show us the way.
The KEY is to recognizer this guidance. Seldom, if ever, is an angel going to bathe us in bright light and speak to us directly. Our guidance will most likely be more subtle… a scripture, a “still small voice” in our heads, a clear “sign” that is an answer to prayer, meditation, and/or worship. Things go so much better when we follow God’s lead… the question is… how well are you paying attention?
©2008 Debbie Robus
-----------------------------------------------------
December 10 ~ Luke 2:6-7
6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
(Scripture from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Does it strike you as odd that Luke only gave a couple of sentences to the actual birth of Jesus?! It’s sort of like, “Oh, by the way, while Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem, they had a baby, and since there wasn’t a vacancy at the inn, they had to have him in a barn!” What? Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was born in Bethlehem in a stable? How did it happen? What were the details? Did Joseph really try to find another place? Were there complications in the birth? Who helped with the delivery?
Why do you suppose that Luke didn’t give us more information? Matthew gave us even less. If the birth of Jesus Christ was truly this amazing, incredible thing, then why do those who reported it not give more details? In MY opinion, there are a couple of reasons: 1) the reporters were men, and men just don’t give as many details as women – especially about something like the birth of a baby; and 2) the birth itself is not the story. We’ve made it a big deal over the years, and we’ve built celebrations and plays and incredible illustrations around this “manger scene,” but the story is not the actual birth of Jesus. The story is the events leading up to His birth, and what happened afterward… the reaction of those in surrounding areas (shepherds, kings, King Herod), and the life that Jesus led in the next three decades, culminating with His crucifixion.
Several years ago, I heard a beloved pastor say that the real story of Christmas was NOT Christ’s birth –the real story was in the crucifixion and the events surrounding Easter. I was at first somewhat offended by that notion, but once I began to really study the life of Jesus and what His coming to earth meant for us, I realized that there IS so much more to this story than just the birth in the manger. Yes, the birth is important, but only in the context of everything else. I pray that as you celebrate Christ’s birth this season, you will also celebrate His LIFE among us, and the ultimate sacrifice He came to make for us on the cross.
©2008 Debbie Robus
----------------------------------------------------------------------
December 9 ~ Luke 2:1-5
1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever had to do something you didn’t want to do? We may not agree with every law on the books, but we still have to obey them. We may feel our taxes are too high, but we still have to pay. We may not want to go to school or work, but we must! There is something to be said for accountability… and Joseph gave us a great example. Surely he had all kinds of great excuses for not going to Bethlehem. For one thing, his soon-to-be-wife was very pregnant, and it was a long, cold trek… and apparently, he only had one donkey! But still he went… and so did Mary. You know, she could have probably stayed at home, but notice she realized her place was with Joseph and traveled with him to his home town.
There are always going to be things we don’t like or want to do. There are always going to be rules with which we don’t agree, schedules we’d rather not meet, and people who are telling us to do things we don’t like. But clearly the scriptures set a precedent for obeying laws and doing the right thing. If Joseph and Mary were able to be obedient in their circumstances, we have no excuse for not doing the same. It may not always be easy or fun, but nobody said being an obedient Christian was going to be a walk in the park!There are so many lessons in the “Christmas Story” … and obedience to authority is one of them – whether it is your parents, your teachers, your boss, the government, or God. In all things, be obedient and faithful, and as we will see in days to come, you will be blessed for your efforts.
©2008 Debbie Robus
-------------------------------------------------------
December 8 ~ Luke 1:65-80
65-66 A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this."
67-79 Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he'd do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.
And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest,"
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God's Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.
80 The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I hope you are getting a clearer picture of the greatness – the importance – of John, the son of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zachariah. He is important to the Christmas story. He was the forerunner of Christ – the original “front man,” and in years to come, he would pave the way for Jesus with many people. John would prepare people to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and repent of their sins. He would spread the gospel – the Good News of Salvation in Christ.
As important as John was to the “Christmas Story,” he had a more far-reaching role. John the Baptist, as he would come to be known, was a model of how we should witness for Christ. He told others about Jesus. We should tell others about Jesus. He encouraged people to stop living sinfully… both by his own example and by his teachings and ministries to others. We should model this behavior in our own lives and interaction with others. John the Baptist’s life was prophesied in Isaiah as one who would be a “voice crying in the wilderness”… and he did preach in the wilderness of Judea. God gave Isaiah the vision of John’s birth and ministry long before he was born… and God planned the birth and life of each one of us.
We may not be John the Baptist, but we are all called to prepare the hearts of others to receive Jesus Christ, just as he did. In this way, we have our own role to play in the Christmas story, even today. Are you up for the challenge?
©2008 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment