You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2012.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. Luke 2:8
When you have a really big announcement to make, you want to make it known to the largest, most influential audience. That’s one of the keys to marketing. Market to the most influential people, the largest number or people and in the best location.
But God never has followed the rules of the world. When he decided it was time to send us a Savior he broke every rule in the book.
- He made the announcement to the lowest class citizens in the then-known world. No body paid any attention to Shepherds. They spent most of their time away from the mainstream of society, watching sheep and looking at stars. Yet that’s who God chose to make the first announcement to.
- He made the announcement to a small group of people, in an obscure place, at a time of day when most people were asleep. The angels brought their message of joy to a small group of shepherds, of all people. Not only that, but often, when shepherds joined together for the night they took shifts. One or two watched while the others slept. So when the heavens exploded in light that night it startled the few who were awake and awakened those who slept!
- He made the announcement in a place where most people never went due to safety, distance and remoteness. The hills of Judea were beautiful, but rugged. Few people chose to visit them just for the joy of it.
- He made the announcement to a group of people who had little chance of being, or becoming influential in society.
Lonely.
Forgotten.
Scorned.
Fearful.
Little or no hope of advancing on the social ladder.
Those were the people God chose to give the news of the arrival of Messiah.
Why is that important? Because God is still in the business of reaching out to those who feel forgotten. From the very beginning God chose the weak to conquer the strong; the insignificant to be significant; the forgotten to be valued; the scorned to be restored.
In our world, even in the church, we often measure a person by his or her giftedness, talents, financial stature or ‘spirituality’. Our Heavenly Father does just the opposite. He looks for those who are least to make strong. He gives his greatest messages to those least likely to receive anything from him at all.
Feeling small this Christmas? Feeling like everyone else is moving forward while you are falling back? Just can’t get into the ‘Christmas Spirit?’
Maybe you lost a loved one this year and there will one less gift under the tree.
Perhaps you lost your job this year and for the first time in your entire life, you are being forced to rely on others’ help to make it financially.
Maybe you are going through, or have recently gone through divorce and feel your entire world crashing in around you.
Perhaps the doctor gave you a bad report on your check up.
I have news for you, and so does the Creator, Sustainer of the Universe. He came to give joy. Joy that pierces through everything that wants to pull you down. His message is just for you, just for this time, just because he loves you.
You can come to him-He’s waiting for you.
PRAYER: Father I thank you for revealing yourself to us in times, places and ways that go against the world’s wisdom. I pray for those who are going through tough times this season. Give them the message of your joy. Reveal to them the message of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: Matthew 2:5 (NLT)
When the Magi came to Jerusalem looking for the new King, we are told that all Jerusalem was in an uproar over their question. By now Jesus was perhaps two years old. The rumors about the baby in the manger had most likely died away. After all, even back in Biblical days the idea of a Messiah being born in a manger, of angels singing to a bunch of neighbors, and the young mother being an unmarried teenager from the small, obscure hamlet of Nazareth seemed pretty preposterous.
When Herod came to the priests to seek an answer to the Magi’s question they were quick to quote scripture to him. They knew full well that location of the birth a new King. It was spelled out clearly by the prophecy in Micah as well as by other prophets. The signs were there.
Jesus would say later in his ministry, when asked about his return, to watch for the signs. Dates and times weren’t for us to know. When buds form on trees and flowers push through the hard ground of winter you know spring is coming. When you see wars, rumors of war, political and relational turmoil, an increase in sin and other abominations, you know I’m coming back.
In the same way, there were many signs that the coming of the Messiah was close. Who knows but that there were many babies born around Jesus time in which people asked: “Is this him? Could this be Messiah? It had been 400 years since there were any prophecies spoken. Four hundred years of silence by God, four hundred years of waiting by the people. Four hundred years to grow complacent and skeptical.
Did they see the star as well and choose to ignore it? Did they hear the rumors and spend their time determining why this could not be the way God would do things? Did their skepticism keep them from seeing the ‘handwriting on the wall’?
Dead faith is faith in which we refuse to look at the answers. We see the truth and decide to follow only those that don’t interfere with our own plans, our own ambitions, our own interpretation and determination of how God works. Dead faith is unable to see God’s handiwork because we are blinded by our own ideas, our own traditions, our own determination of God’s ability to fulfill his promises.
Dead faith is religion. We aren’t called to follow religious dogmas. We are called to relationship with a living Savior. Dead faith follows an unapproachable God. Relationship can only happen with a living being. Our God is not dead or unapproachable.
Not a single priest offered to go check out the story the Magi told them. Not a single religious leader took enough interest in their story to see if maybe, just maybe it really was the Messiah. It simply wasn’t important enough to them. It wasn’t worth their time.
PRAYER: Father, you show us on a daily basis, through your Word and your Spirit, how we should live. May we never be guilty of ignoring the ‘stars’ the signs in our lives. Help us to see you clearly and act on what we know. Amen.
When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the people in Jerusalem. Matthew 2:3 (NCV)
Not everyone was happy when the news came of a newborn baby and the rumors of the Messiah being born. Tradition teaches us that Jesus was most likely an inquisitive little two-year-old by the time the Magi appeared in Jerusalem.
No doubt the goings on in Bethlehem had reached the streets of Jerusalem by then, but the stories were most likely, largely unsubstantiated. A few shepherds coming into town to tell of the miraculous birth would carry little clout. They were, after all, shepherds. Besides, most likely the new family had returned home to some little, insignificant town…Nazareth. After all, it was common knowledge that a king would be born anyplace other than Bethlehem, and a Nazarite? Not a chance.
But just about the time that the rumors had completely died, a caravan arrived in town looking for the new king of Israel and they caused quite a commotion.
King Herod had no right to the throne he inhabited. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He got to his position of power through violence, rage and deception. He ruled with an iron fist. If you followed Herod, you were safe. But no one dared cross him.
There were others worried about the rumors as well. The priests and others who were content in their tradition were nervous about making any waves with Herod. He allowed them to practice their religion as long as it didn’t interfere with his program. Tradition does that. It brings us to a place of complacency.
Complacency. Contentment. Religious tradition. All the things that kept Jerusalem quiet. But the Messiah was never about coming to bring complacency, he was about coming to expose the injustice of power and free those under its grasp.
No wonder then that all Jerusalem was in an uproar over the news of a new king. They didn’t want their way of life disturbed; their tradition tampered with; their religion shown to be full of hypocrisy and allegiance to a God-less King. They were unwilling to take a stand and uninterested in God changing them. They were more worried about the earthly King than they were excited about Messiah, God with us.
Not much has changed since the Magi came to Jerusalem that day. People are still content to worship their own way; still content to live safe lives steeped in tradition without making waves. Staying obscure is staying safe.
But that little two-year old the Magi visited doesn’t call us to complacency. He doesn’t call us to be safe. He calls us to a new life built on relationships, not rules. Our Father doesn’t work in ways the world expects, he works in ways that bring dramatic, life-long change.
PRAYER: Holy Father, I thank you today for the babe in the manger. The Magi remind us all that we should never be complacent in looking for you. They remind us that you work in ways we don’t expect. Empower us to be watchful for your working. Amen.
They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”Matthew 2:2 (NCV)
There is, perhaps, no time in the mind of a child (of any age) more full of expectancy and anticipation than Christmas. The excitement and wonder of the lights; the brightly colored packages and the hopes that are within them all add to the anticipation.
Will I get that bicycle I’ve always wanted? Will the doll that talks be in this package? Will I finally get that video game I’ve been hinting about all year? I hope…oh, I hope it’s what I think it is. Will he give me the ring at Christmas? The princess thinks with a noticeable twinkle in her eye.
One year my nephew put socks on his Christmas list. Since he worked hard and worked outdoors often, we decided that would be a good, useful gift for him. So we bought him a couple packages and wrapped them with sincerity and love. Unfortunately, so did everyone else in the family. Yep, that’s right. EVERYONE. 25 packages of socks! Needless to say his anticipation was smashed and he never asked for socks at Christmas again!
The promise of a coming messiah was hundreds of years old by the time the star finally appeared in the sky. It had been so long that many had forgotten about it, thus it went unnoticed by the priests, the King and everyone else.
We aren’t told exactly where the Magi were, only that they were ‘east of Jerusalem’. What we do know is that their anticipation, their expectancy never waned, not for a moment. I wonder what it was like when the first of them noticed the star. Night after night of watching. For many an entire lifetime of watching! But then. Then the night came when someone said, “Look! There it is! In the western sky! He’s here! He’s been born!”
Did you get goose bumps? I’ll bet he did. Did the excitement almost overwhelm you? I imagine it did overwhelm him. Had there been cell phones back then he’d have awakened every one of his colleagues.
“The King has been born. We must hurry. Get the caravan ready. Load the Camels with gifts. Hurry. He’s been born!”
Jesus says we must be like children in our faith. May we be like children in our ‘expectancy’ as well. May this Christmas season rekindle the excitement we had as children, only let that excitement be due to the coming of the Christ-child.
The Magi are known for their gifts, but gifts wasn’t their main reason for coming, worship was. In the same way, as we look forward to the Christmas season; as we enjoy the company of family and friends we rarely see; as we enjoy the giving and receiving of gifts and sharing all those holiday goodies, may we remember to worship the King.
PRAYER: Father, I love Christmas. I love everything about Christmas, the lights, the food, the music, the gifts. But in the hustle and bustle of this holiday season please remind me to worship you for sending Jesus. Amen.
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. Numbers 24:17
Every once in awhile you’ll see them at sporting events or on billboards on the commute into work. Signs bearing the words “JOHN 3:16” emblazoned on placards, bumpers and roadside signs remind those of us who are Christ-followers of God’s love for the world, others scoff and smirk. Just another weird ‘Jesus person’.
From time to time you’ll see other verses of scripture put up on display, but not very often do you see Numbers 24:17, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
Rather than curse Israel as he intended to do, the prophet Balaam spoke words of hope for the people. His words had both a ‘present’ message and an eternal one. This small fledgling nation would someday become a great nation under a powerful leader and it’s boundaries would be expanded and secure.
But more than that, the eternal implications were great. Beyond the golden era of King David, a messiah would arise. He would take away the sins of the world! His reign would be eternal, just, and full of love. His scepter would be one of grace, compassion, forgiveness and comfort for those who followed him.
This hope, this ‘seeing him, but not now; beholding him, but not near’ is like the first light of dawn on the horizon. Barely more than a faint glow, it grows brighter as dawn approaches. For the watchful eye, the heart the fears the dark, the approaching dawn brings hope. The night will soon be over; the hidden dangers will be exposed; the enemies of our souls that love the darkness because their deeds are evil will flee.
As the horizon lightens our sense of expectancy grows. As evil seems to triumph over good; as morality and the things of God seem to be threatened, we harbor in our hearts the promise that someday our king will triumph. Some day the expectancy of the dawn will be as bright as the noonday sun!
Later, this light, this star spoken of in prophecy would say to those who would hear him, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).
Matthew tells us more when he quotes Jesus as saying, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14).
This light rising in the darkness; that brings hope to a hope-less world is Jesus Christ. In him we not only have our hope, but we reflect that hope to those around us. The Christmas Star is much more than a reminder of a little baby in a manger. It’s a present promise of future hope, just as the dawn promises us a new day.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus I thank you for the hope you give us on a daily basis. Help me to reflect your hope to those in need around me today. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 