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The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the Law of Moses says a mother is supposed to do after her baby is born. They took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord, Luke 2:22 (CEV)
Plain and simple reality of it is, church can be boring. Depending on the style of worship, many churches do the same thing at the same time, and, at times, for reasons unknown.
It’s really no wonder that the younger generations question why we do the things we do and why we do them. It’s a sad reflection on the body of Christ that entire church families have been split because some wanted to things done differently and others wanted to protect the ‘status quo.’
Things haven’t changed much of course. During the time Jesus walked on earth the worship in the ‘church’ was pretty much the same as it had been for hundreds of years. Offering sacrifice, celebrating feasts, making pilgrimages were all a well orchestrated process with little room for deviation.
The key to true worship then, just as now, was attitude. I wonder what was going through Joseph and Mary’s head as they entered the temple that day! They had no doubt witnessed many dedications of children in their lives. They’d seen the ceremony, watched the sacrifices, and perhaps joined in the celebration.
The Law of Moses demanded that each child be dedicated to the Lord. Boys were dedicated about 40 days after their birth, girls a bit later. But each child was taken to the temple and sacrifices offered to the Lord.
There can be many ‘theological’ opinions on the method and the process of the dedication, but the reason for this activity was to present the child before the Heavenly Father, the one who formed him/her in the womb. The earthly parents come before the Heavenly Parent to give back to him what he’s given to them.
The main player in the process was God, not the parents.
Do you think Mary and Joseph were a bit more aware of that fact as they entered the Temple than other parents? They both had conversations with angels. They’d heard the report of the shepherds. They’d seen prophecy fulfilled before their very eyes. And it wasn’t done yet!
While none of us as parents have had angelic visits proclaiming our children to be the ‘Messiah’, we all have the same responsibility that Mary and Joseph did. We all need to realize that our children are not our own. They are on loan to us from the Father who created them. Our responsibility is to nurture them throughout their lives in a way that glorifies their creator, not our tradition.
The dedication of a child to the Lord (regardless of the method) is much more than a ritual. It’s much more than a one-time occurrence. Dedication of our children to the Lord is the beginning of a process, not the end. The responsibility of teaching Gods’ ways falls on the parents, not the church (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
Dedication of our children to the Lord is much more than a ritual and lasts a lifetime.
PRAYER: Father I pray for our families. I pray that parents will rely on you for the wisdom to teach their children in your way. I pray for children, that they may find the freedom in Christ to live fulfilled lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
My God, I trust you. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies laugh at me. Psalm 25:2
People let us down.
That’s not by any means an earth-shattering statement. Sometimes they let us down unintentionally. They have every intention of fulfilling their promise but are unable to do so because of some unexpected circumstance.
Other times they are unable to fulfill their promise because they underestimated their ability to carry out the work they said they would do.
Sometimes, they just forget the obligation they made to you.
And, there are those who, much as we hate to admit it, make a promise that they had no intention of keeping. They quite simply intended on deceiving you.
When promises are broken they cause wounds. The wounds broken promises cause are directly proportional to the importance of the thing promised to us. As an adult, the broken promise of a friend to meet us for coffee is relatively small and easily handled. The broken promise of a parent to be at a child’s ball game may seem small to the parent, but is very painful to the child.
The worst part about a broken promise is the destruction of trust. You trusted your spouse to stay true to the vows they spoke. Now you find out they’ve been cheating on you and you can never trust them again. Your boss promised you the promotion but filled the position from outside, and now your confidence in your job (and yourself) has been dashed. Your parents promised you a family heirloom when they died and you discover they’ve given it to someone else.
Broken trust wounds the soul. Broken trust makes you feel like a fool. Broken trust makes you feel like you are the object of ridicule to all those around you.
“You should have known better.” they say.
“Don’t know why you didn’t see that coming.”
“What did you expect?”
The arrows hit home. They lodge deep in the soul. As a child you may think, I can never trust my mom and dad. God promised me things too. If my parents don’t keep their promises, God won’t keep his either.
As an adult you resolve that you will never be hurt again. You will never take the chance on love. You will never let anyone control you to that extent again. You will never allow yourself to feel this pain.
It’s with this in mind that David pens the words of Psalm 25. David knew about broken promises. David knew the hearts of men could not be trusted. His prayer to his God is that he would not be let down, not embarrassed, not disgraced or laughed at or ridiculed for his faith in a God who was unseen and at times unpredictable.
We serve a God we can trust. Unlike humans, there is never a promise he was unable to keep. Sometimes we need to look back to see how he fulfilled his promises. Sometimes he fulfills them in ways we don’t expect. But you can trust him. He is willing and able to do just as he said he’d do…in his way…in his time. You can count on it. He promised.
PRAYER: Father there have been many times I’ve broken promises to others. I confess sometimes those promises were broken intentionally. Other times I was unable to fulfill my obligation. I thank you for never, ever letting us down. Thank you that I can trust you to do just as you say. Amen.
Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. Psalm 21:11 (NIV)
Have you ever gone through one of those periods where nothing you do seems to go right? I’m not talking about the economy, health issues, and the world-wide instability of natural disasters. I’m talking about those personal issues that keep you awake at night or follow you through the day, leaving you with a knot in your stomach. It seems like every day you are under attack in one or more areas.
Perhaps you are in one of those periods right now. You are in a hard relationship and it seems like nothing you do is helping to bring your spouse or significant other back into the loving relationship you once had.
It could be with your children. You’ve raised them the best you could. You’ve worked hard to give them everything they need (and maybe a few things they didn’t need), yet they still are growing away from you, away from God and away from the lifestyle you worked so diligently to instill in them.
Workplace relationships can be a breeding ground for conflict as well. Economic hardship, differing opinions on things, over zealous new employees, job security and
‘inappropriate friendships’ are just a few of the obstacles you can face at the workplace. You may be able to add to that list.
The hardest attacks we endure are the personal ones. Sometimes they are unintentional, other times they may not be. It doesn’t really matter whether they are intentional or not though because the stress they cause is the same; the battle for your soul is no different.
When we feel under attack the first question we ask ourselves is usually ‘Why?’ Why did he/she leave me? Why did my son/daughter do that? Why does my co-worker treat me like that? What did I do wrong?
Self-reflection can take us one of three ways. We blame others; we blame ourselves; or we blame God. The critical thing for us to remember is that all conflict comes from the great enemy, Satan. I’m not in anyway inferring that your co-worker, child or spouse is Satan in disguise! (You don’t want to go there!) However he is the ultimate source of all conflict either on the outside or within your soul. His desire is to pull you away from God and to keep you entrapped in a mindset of defeat, guilt and worry.
Here’s the good news. When you are operating within the will of God, nothing you do will fail. That may seem like prosperity gospel, but it’s not. I didn’t say everything will go well; the sky will always be blue and live will be grand. But God’s plan for you can never be thwarted by the enemy’s plans. When God is in something he promises that his work will be completed. Nothing can change that.
So, when you come under attack for something you have done, ask yourself this question: “Did I consult with God and follow his direction before acting?” It is imperative that all of our relationships be bathed in prayer so that his wisdom can work fully through us.
There are times though when you have prayed, studied and opened your soul to God and the struggle still rages on. It’s during these times we need to ask another question: “Father, what are you trying to teach me in this?”
We often look at struggles or conflict as failure when in reality its God’s way of teaching us something. I used to coach youth basketball. I would tell my team each year that I’ve never coached a team that lost a game. Of course, they’d look at me a little funny because they knew some of my teams had ‘come up short on the score.’ Then I would tell them, “if you learn something from a game where you came in second, you’ve never lost because winning is about learning, not coming in first.”
Make your Heavenly Father the basis for all your relationships. Remember that even when you are following him closely, struggles will come at the hands of the enemy. Ask your loving Father to help you learn from each conflict.
PRAYER: Father God, I’m tired of the struggles I face with other people. I confess that often the conflict in my life is because I’ve gone on ahead of you. Help me to follow your wisdom in relationships and learn from you when conflict comes. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 