Birth

This week, we have been taking a special look at the birth of Jesus ... the prophecy, the promise, and now the presentation.


Luke 2
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.


Birth. In every great story ever written, there is a turning point. It is a moment when the author begins to unveil their solution to the problem that has been slowly building throughout the story. When the story is made into a movie, the turning point is usually accompanied by music (or a change in tone and tempo). You know what I’m talking about. What scene flashed through your mind? For me, it was the scene in Hoosiers when Jimmy Chitwood told the angry crowd at the town meeting that it was time for him to start playing basketball and that he would only stay and play for Hickory if the coach stayed. It is one of the greatest moments in movie history. In God’s story (the greatest story ever written), Jesus’ birth is the turning point (one of the greatest moments in history). Jesus is the solution to our problem. There was even some music included to accompany the turning point. Here is what I would encourage you to do ... reread the story ... listen for the music ... allow yourself to feel the joy of knowing the answer has arrived! Merry Christmas!


I am going to take a couple of weeks off for the holidays (and the birth of our second child). You can always check out previous entries, in the archive section of the blog, during the break. I pray you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in a couple of weeks. God bless.

Servant

This week, we are taking a special look at the birth of Jesus ... from prophecy to promise to presentation. Today, we are going to look at how the promise of Jesus, that Isaiah prophesied about, would be presented.


Luke 1
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.


Servant. I love Mary’s question; but I think her response to the answer she received was not only better ... it was more important. Receiving God’s grace (or “favor”) is the easy part of being a Jesus follower. Accepting God’s response to some of our questions is the hard part of being a Jesus follower. My prayer is that God would mold my heart (and yours) so that my response to his answer (no matter how hard the question or how unwanted the answer) would be “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true”.

Given

This week, we are going to push pause on Paul’s letter to the Jesus followers in Corinth and focus on the birth of Jesus from prophecy to promise to presentation. First, we are going to look at the prophecy. Isaiah wrote one of the most famous prophecies about Jesus over 700 years before he was born. The words were originally written to the people of Jerusalem who were feeling the threat of attack from the nation of Assyria.


Isaiah 9
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.


Given. This time of year is all about giving gifts. Isaiah prophesied about the original gift ... given by God ... Jesus. I love the words he uses to describe Jesus ... “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. You have probably heard them mentioned once or twice in a Christmas carol. I would encourage you to take a minute to read through Isaiah’s description of the original gift. Go ahead ... read through it two or three times ... slowly enough to truly soak in each word. Individually, each word provides a beautiful gift. Collectively, it provides the best gift ever. I also wanted to offer you one last thought about this gift, written by Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Look at Jesus. As the Wonderful Counselor, he has the best ideas and strategies. Let's follow him. As the Mighty God, he defeats his enemies easily. Let's hide behind him. As the Everlasting Father, he loves us endlessly. Let's enjoy him. As the Prince of Peace, he reconciles us while we are still his enemies. Let's welcome his dominion."